This story at the {{link http://www.nypost.com/gossip/25434.htm New York Post}} says that Larry King’s role of the Ugly Stepsister in Shrek 2 will be expanded for the DVD version. In “a visit by American Idol to Shrek’s swamp, King’s character sings Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, which he previewed Monday when he accepted the We Are […]

Variety confirms that Whoopi Goldberg, Malcolm McDowell and Howie Mandel have provided voices for PK3: Pinocchio 3000, a futuristic take on Carlo Collodi’s classic produced by Canada’s CineGroupe, France’s Animakids and Spain’s Filmax Animation. It’s rare for toons from continental Europe to feature Hollywood stars. So the $12 million Pinocchio, which competed last week at […]

Animation Insider reports that Fighting Spirit, also referred to as Hajime no Ippo is scheduled to come to store shelves very soon from Geneon Entertainment. This Japanese animated series is a unique story of a young man striving to become stronger physically and mentally through his hard work and dedication to the art of boxing. […]

The Korean animated film Oseam, produced by Mago 21, was awarded the Cristal for Best Feature (Grand Prix Annecy) in the Feature Films Competition at the 2004 International Festival of Animated Film at Annecy, which ended on Saturday (local time) in France. Mago 21 staff said Sunday that during the animation festival, “Oseam” was a […]

Mind Game is a Japanese feature film directed by Masaaki Yuasa and produced by Studio 4°C. Based on the manga by Robin Nishi, the movie employs different techniques, mixing traditional animation and photographs in an explosive combination of action and violence. Mind Game tells the surreal story of manga artist Nishi,who is killed by the […]

Following the USA Today print article reported previously, MSNBC now has a five-minute video exclusively about the creation of Buckbeak, the gray hippogriff featured in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The written article included with the video is basically just a transcript of the featurette – so those who can’t work the MSN […]

According to Box Office Mojo, the Friday estimates put Garfield in third with $8 million, while Shrek 2 has fallen to the fifth spot, taking in $7,645,000. Prisoner of Azkaban remains in first with $11,210,000.

Following up on the first look at The Corpse Bride posted here previously, Ain’t It Cool News has put up more tantalizing looks at future animated (or animation-related) films. From this first AICN scoop, we get our first look at Open Season (reported here back in February as Sony’s first feature-length CG film), as well […]

{{link http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2004/commentary040604RAM.htm?logvisit=y&source=estmarhln001999&npu=y The Motley Fool}} posts an interesting commentary on the continuing struggle between The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios. “Pixar needs Disney because it owns Pixar’s past”, says Rick Munarriz. “Disney needs Pixar because it owns Disney’s future”.

Mentioned over at Animation Nation, the group Polyphonic Spree – most well-known for their song Light & Day, which was featured in the latest Charlie Kaufman film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – has fashioned a wonderfully weird Flash-animated website called Quest for the Rest. The purpose of the game is to guide the […]

Acclaimed special effects animator and artist Michel Gagné has finally written a follow-up to his intriguing comic book series about a brilliant alien inventor wrongfully condemned for the destruction of his home planet. Gagné writes, “It’s been a long time since the last issue of ZED – almost two years actually. For those who read […]

Assuming the likelihood that this will be a slow news day, we now point your attention to an official variant of the popular Google search engine, all in the language of the Muppets’ Swedish Chef. Then check out the Elmer Fudd version, but remember to be vewwy vewwy quiet when you do. Also of interest […]

USA Today has an interesting piece on the creation of Buckbeak, the half-horse, half-eagle creature known as a hippogriff, who plays a key role in the new Harry Potter film. “‘The hippogriff was probably one of the most complex creatures we’ve ever done (in the three Potter films),’ producer Mark Radcliffe says. Several artists, Radcliffe […]

Ultimate Disney has the picture of the Mickey, Donald, and Goofy: The Three Musketeers Gift Set.

IGN FilmForce chats with the creator of Garfield about his comic strip and the upcoming movie.

‘Mckain’ in the Animated News Forum {{link http://animation.skyblueproductions.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=3364#post3364 links to}} a page which has the details on Oddworld’s First Ten Years: The Art of the Oddworld Universe 1994 – 2004, a new book that celebrates the art and design of this computer animated game.

Garfield may want to stay in bed so he doesn’t see any of the reviews pouring in today. The {{link http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/Garfield-1133038/ Rotten Tomatoes}} tomatometer gives the film a dismal 11% freshness rating, with only 5 reviewers out of 46 giving the film a thumbs up. Some choice quotes include: – “The film is a veritable […]

If you haven’t made a trip over to Jerry and Amid’s {{link http://www.cartoonbrew.com/ Cartoon Brew}} recently, you’ve been missing out on some fantastic stuff! A couple of reports from the Annecy Animation Festival, a piece of rare Merrie Melodies artwork, new shots for the 3D TV special Popeye’s Voyage and some not so enticing images […]

The {{link http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-rup10.8jun10,1,2887305.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter LA Times}} (free subsription required) reports that Sharon Morrill has stepped up from being executive vice president to her new job as president of DisneyToon Studios, the animation department that produces the last of Disney’s 2D output, including the DTV releases. The brief report says that the unit is “fast-growing”, adding to […]

Toon Zone links to new images from the WB’s upcoming kids animation series based around Superman’s amazing canine, {{link http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=113309 Krypto The Superdog}}, coming to Cartoon Network for spring 2005.

Find out for yourselves just how good or bad the new {{link http://www.garfieldmovie.com/main.html Garfield: The Movie}} really is – it’s in theaters in the US now! Fans of the comic orange moggy can catch the cat in the UK on 30 July, while the film is due to open in Europe from mid-August to early […]

The Internet Movie Poster Awards has a new Danish poster for Garfield: The Movie, which will be in theaters tomorrow.

Slate magazine, over at MSN, has a fascinating new article by Clive Thompson in their Gaming section about the increasing CG uber-realism of human characters in video games, and the repulsive effect it has on its audience. Citing a phenomenon called the Uncanny Valley, discovered by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori, Thompson reflects on this trend […]

3DY Animacion takes a look at Fox and Blue Sky Studios’ Robots, and has some very positive comments, along with some new pictures, for the film. “It will be the year of Robots. You will see. Pixar, Disney and Dreamworks fear them,” claims the website.

One can now see the disc art for Home on the Range at Ultimate Disney, as well as a very positive reivew for Teacher’s Pet. “Energetic and funny, Teacher’s Pet maintains its Saturday morning TV feel but works as a clever feature film,” admits the website. Home on the Range will be available in stores […]

Cover art for Spider-Man: The Venom Saga is now available at DVDtoons. A trailer, along with a four-minute sneak peek, for the release will be available on the Spider-Man vs Doc Ock DVD, which will be released on June 29th. While DVDtoons states that Spider-Man: The Venom Saga will be released this winter, Toon Zone […]

Filmax Animation have posted their release schedule for their animated films being released up until 2006, as ‘tapestry100’ points out in the AN Forum.

At the AN Forum, ‘scoFo’ reveals that pictures of the 16-month, 2005 calendar for The Incredibles are now available at the French Incredibles fansite, The Indestructibles.

Variety, via Cinescape, is reporting that Dreamworks will be using popular television morning show journalists for the voice of a character in Shark Tale called “Katie Current”. US audiences will hear the voice Today co-host Katie Couric, but Australian audiences will hear the voice of popular morning personality Tracy Grimshaw. Shark Tale opens in Australia […]

Ain’t It Cool News has done it again with a first look at The Corpse Bride, which showed up at the Licensing 2004 show in New York. Another delightfully macabre stop-motion feature from Tim Burton, and produced at Will Vinton Studios in Oregon, The Corpse Bride is tenatively slated for October 2005. The template of […]