Animated News

WALL-E, Waltz with Bashir honored at Critics’ Choice Award

Jafar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:34:02 +0000

Variety reports that WALL-E picked up honors for animated feature and Waltz with Bashir won top foreign language film at the 14th annual Critics’ Choice awards. Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner, nabbing five trophies.

Batman, WALL-E, Simpsons winners at PCA

James — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:10:22 +0000

WALL-E was named Favorite Animated Movie at last night’s People’s Choice Awards, while The Simpsons won for Favorite Animated Comedy. The Dark Knight was the big winner picking up five trophies: Favorite Movie, Favorite Action Movie, Favorite Cast, Favorite On Screen Match-up, and Favorite Superhero.

New Christmas Carol poster

Meg — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:41:18 +0000

A photograph of a new poster for Robert Zemeckis’ motion-capture film A Christmas Carol can be seen at MarketSaw 3D. The one-sheet features a look at the character of Scrooge, who will be played by Jim Carrey. Carrey is also set to portray six other characters in the upcoming Disney movie, which will be screen in traditional as well as 3D compatible theaters. A Christmas Carol opens on November 6th, 2009. Thanks to Josh in the Animated News & Views Forum for the link!

Kimball to receive Oscar’s Bonner Medal

James — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:19:27 +0000

Mark Kimball has been named this year’s recipient of the Academy’s John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation, which is awarded in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy. Kimball worked at Walt Disney where he spent two decades working as the CAPS logistics system lead, a senior software systems specialist, a consulting engineer, chief technologist, and director of digital production. His feature credits include Tron, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Dinosaur and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Currently Kimball works as an independent media technology systems expert.

Disney announces 2009 animated Blu-ray slate, “Combo Packs”

James — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:06:21 +0000

Walt Disney Home Entertainment announced their slate of Blu-ray titles for 2009 today. In addition to the previously announced Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition BD (coming March 17th), also being released in HD for the first time are Pixar’s Monsters Inc. and A Bugs Life (no dates announced yet), and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition (October). Disney also announced many of its Blu-ray discs will be bundled as “Blu-ray + DVD Combo Packs” containing both formats in one package. Disney will continue to include a “DisneyFile” digital copy with selected titles.

Waltz with Bashir and Persepolis up for foreign film BAFTA

Jafar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:55:54 +0000

Variety reports that Ari Folman’s animated war documentary Waltz with Bashir and Marjane Satrapi’s semi-autobiographical animated feature Persepolis are among the five shortlisted films which will compete for best foreign language film at BAFTA this year. The full list of nominations for the awards will be announced on January 15 and the awards ceremony will take place on February 8, at London’s Royal Opera House.

The Secret of the Magic Gourd DVD in January

Jafar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:46:55 +0000

DVDTimes reports that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment have announced the DVD release of Disney’s first Chinese-language film The Secret of the Magic Gourd on 27th January. In addition to the English soundtrack, the DVD will also feature Mandarin and Cantonese language tracks. Extras will include “Too Many Toys” – Multi-level game, “Behind the Scenes” Featurette and “Bloopers”.

Catmull to receive Oscar’s Sawyer Award

James — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:19:55 +0000

Ed Catmull, currently the president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, has been named this year’s recipient of the Academy’s Gordon E. Sawyer Award for “his lifetime of technical contributions and leadership in the field of computer graphics for the motion picture industry”. Catmull co-founded Pixar, as well as the computer graphics laboratory at the New York Institute of Technology and the computer division of Lucasfilm. This will be the fourth time the Academy has honored Catmull. The Sawyer Award is presented to “an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.”

Seven films compete for Effects Oscar nods

James — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:05:07 +0000

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the films that will compete for the three Oscar nominations in the Visual Effects category at the 81st Academy Awards: Australia, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa DVD in February

Jafar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:24:19 +0000

DVDActive shares some early details on 1-disc, 2-disc, and Blu-ray releases of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa which will be out in stores on 6th February. The 2-disc release will include an exclusive all-new Penguin Adventure The Penguins of Madagascar. Full details are yet to be announced.

Producers announce nominations

James — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:46:58 +0000

The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominations for their annual awards. Bolt, Kung Fu Panda, and WALL-E will compete for the Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures.

Monsters Vs Aliens to get 3D Super Bowl promo

Meg — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:43:47 +0000

The Associated Press reports that a 3D advertisement for DreamWork’s upcoming Monsters Vs Aliens will be aired during the Super Bowl. The 90-second sneak preview will have the largest audience of any 3D telecast, with Jeffery Katzenberg pegging it as “perhaps the biggest media-advertising event in history.” About 150 million pairs of 3D glasses will be given away at various Pepsi/SoBe Life Water displays around the country in preparation for the event, and a television ad promoting the sneak peak can be seen here. Monsters Vs Aliens opens in traditional as well as 3D-compatible theaters on March 27th, 2009.

NSFC names Waltz with Bashir best picture

Jafar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:22:59 +0000

Variety reports that Ari Folman’s animated war documentary Waltz with Bashir won the 43rd annual best picture prize from the National Society of Film Critics, edging out the runner-ups WALL-E and Happy-Go-Lucky.

Follow-Up: New character from Pixar’s latest revealed

James — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:53:43 +0000

Following-up on this story from Saturday where it was revealed that one of the names of a character in Pixar’s upcoming film Up was “Dug the Talking Dog”, here’s a reminder that you can actually see what he looks like in this Animated News post from July.

New Astro Boy images

Meg — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:43:25 +0000

Several new images from the big screen adaption of Astro Boy can be viewed at Latino Review. Several characters shots are featured on the site, as well as a small handful of concept art. Astro Boy blasts into theaters on October 23rd, 2009.

New characters from Up; new still; and more

Jafar — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 07:20:19 +0000

PixarBlog shares some details on the new characters from Pixar’s forthcoming feature Up which includes the characters “Dug the talking dog”, a female bird named “Kevin” and “Muntz”, the likely villain.

Additionally, the Blogsite also shares a new still which appeared in Entertainment Weekly in their exclusive first look at 12 big movies coming in 2009.

Also posted on the site is the cover art for the Art of Up book which will be available from April 29. According to the ChronicleBooks, “The Art of Up contains more than 250 pieces of concept art developed for the feature, including storyboards, full-color pastels, digital and pencil sketches, character studies, color scripts, and more. Quotes from the director, artists, animators, and production team reveal the sky-high creativity that elevated this whimsical film to new heights.”

Ponyo English cast details

Jafar — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 06:56:37 +0000

IMDB now lists some of the voice actors for the English version of Hayao Miyazaki’s film Ponyo on the Cliff. Nausicaa reports that it is likely from their ages that Noah Cyrus will be Ponyo, and Frankie Jonas will be Sosuke. Madison Davenport will be playing Kumiko, the only other child character in the film with dialogue. Produced by Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, Ponyo on the Cliff is likely to see a North American release sometime in 2009.

Artwork from Waltz with Bashir

Jafar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:51:10 +0000

OregonLive shares some artwork from Ari Folman’s acclaimed animated feature Waltz with Bashir. Based on Folman’s memoirs of the Lebanon War, Waltz with Bashir features artwork by award-winning Israeli illustrator and cartoonist Tomer Hanuka. David Polonsky has served as art director on the film.

Eartha Kitt, the voice of Yzma, dies

Jafar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:48:59 +0000

Eartha Kitt, singer, dancer and actress, died of colon cancer on Thursday at 81, reports Big Cartoon Forum. Kitt, who successfully played Catwoman in the Batman television series in the 1960s, was also the voice of Yzma in Disney’s 2000 feature film The Emperor’s New Groove which won her an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production. She also played Yzma in the subsequent TV series The Emperor’s New School and also in the 2005 direct-to-video movie Kronk’s New Groove.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa still strong at foreign box office

Jafar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:08:35 +0000

Variety reports that DreamWorks’ animated sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa remained robust in the top weekend slot at the international box office with $31 million at 6,211 playdates in 58 markets, bringing its foreign take to $278 million. The Madagascar sequel has now become the eighth biggest foreign grosser of 2008, tying it with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.