2002 Golden Globes Awards

Shrek might have lost out the award for Best Musical/Comedy film to Moulin Rouge, but its co-stars Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz were one of the highlights of the evening when they presented the prize for Best Song. Overall, another big ceremony for Dreamworks!
 
 

The Anime Debate

Animation World Magazine asked ten animation professionals and commentators for their views about the anime genre, while the New York Times refers to it as "Japanese Cinema's Second Golden Age" in a special article by David Kehr.
 
 

Muppets News

AICN reports that a new Muppet movie is currently in the planning stages. It would deal "with Kermit’s early days (pre-Muppet Movie)" and looks "very promising" according to the online spy. Additionally, encouraged by the success of the one-time live 25th anniversary edition of the Muppet Show given on December 9th at Hollywood’s Palace theatre, "the Jim Henson Company is now seriously looking into mounting a Broadway stage version of the Muppet Show. This would not be cheesy with people in oversize Fozzie and Kermit costumes, but the actual show done on stage with the real puppeteers (...) dressed in black and the Muppets cavorting over their heads. Rather than be distracting, it added to the charm of the performance, and once the Muppets distinctive characters took over, you forgot the puppeteers were even there."
 
 

Box-Office Update

The $25M Nickelodeon hit Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius fell out of the top 10 after five weeks in release, with a $3.0M three-day gross, bringing its U.S. total to a strong $72.83M.
 
 

Return To NeverLand on PlayStation 

Though this item will only be made available on February 15, you can already pre-order it from Amazon. Also preview upcoming Ice Age items over at CountDown.
 
 

Did You Know That... DreamWorks negotiated with Fox to share distribution of Ice Age but couldn't come to an agreement with the competing studio.

 

 
 

Reminder: Golden Globes Awards Tonight on NBC

Tune in on NBC at 8 p.m. ET to find out live whether Shrek will grab the Best Comedy/Musical Film Award!
 
 

Two Great Animation Sites

That will make Spanish readers very happy! For everything Disney, check out DisneyFan Club, and for everything else: No Solo Disney. Two real mines of information with an easy-to-read format. Both sites are managed by Juan Bauty, who dropped me a note and is as desperate as I am to get his hands on the trailer for 101 Dalmatians: The Animated Sequel!
 
 

Arnold! The Movie

Those interested can now check out the official site of this Nickelodeon production, set for a summer release. Thanks to 'Eric'.
 
 

Worldwide Disney Release Dates

Non-U.S. residents will be happy to learn that the Disney Animation Archive just updated its calendar!
 
 

Did You Know That... Shrek was the first cartoon feature to compete for the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or award in nearly a half century.  The last animated film to be selected for the competition was Disney's Peter Pan in 1953. 

 
 

Where Else To Catch The 101 Dalmatians Sequel's Trailer

'Lancer' lets us know that the trailer is "also on the DVDs of The Princess Diaries and Princess of Thieves." Also, 'Justin' took the time to create this great storyboard style image -enjoy!
 
 

Ice Age's Official Site Gets A Really Cool Update!

In a continued attempt to differentiate the first Blue Sky Studios production from the rest of the crowd, Fox just put up an extremely entertaining site, where you take "your scrat" through a snow trail and help him pick up acorns, in order to discover character profiles, storyline, downloads... A bit complicated to get at first, but a regular menu is available for the ones of us with little patience or a slow connection! Ice Age hits U.S. theaters on March 15.
 
 

Tidbit on The Country Bears

Chart Attacks takes a critical look at this upcoming Disney live-action feature. "Directed by Peter Hastings (who won Emmys for his work on Animaniacs and Pinky & The Brain), The Country Bears follows America's biggest super-band who have disbanded after being "torn apart by the perils of their own success: ego, women, jealousy and a little too much honey." When an evil banker (Christopher Walken) attempts to destroy the Bears' favourite venue years later, Haley Joel Osment's character, Beary Barrison convinces them to play a benefit one last time. Also making audio or on-camera cameos will be a veritable bevy of music's biggest and brightest superstars, including John Hiatt (who did most of the soundtrack), Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Elton John, Brian Setzer and Queen Latifah. As for the bears (who, for the record, wear shirts but not pants), they'll all be suit-performers in radio-controlled costumes with facial expressions controlled by Jim Henson's people."
 
 

Ray Romano Talks About His Role In Ice Age

"It had a great story, it had heart, it had drama, and it had humor, and not only humor for the kids, but also for the adults. And that's very important, especially for a parent. Any time an animated movie comes out, I say, 'Please be funny, because I know I'm going to have to see it at least four times.'" The actor added to Sci-Fi Wire that "what was weird was when they came to my dressing room on my TV show, and... we talked about it, I said, 'This will be great. I'm playing a mammoth. I can put a little spin on my voice.' And they said, 'No, no. What you're doing right there is fine. Do that voice right there.' I didn't know whether to be flattered or not. Everyone else was putting on cartoon voices, and I just had to talk like myself. It was a lot of fun to do. I give [director] Chris [Wedge] all the credit. I didn't have much opportunity to work with other actors as you do in these things, but Chris helped me. This is my transition from TV, and I think it's good that I weaned the audience slowly to myself. First my voice. Next, I'll do like a back shot of me or something." Press previews were already hosted for the movie, which will be shown today at 12:30pm in Dallas, TX, AICN announces.
 
 

A Fan Tribute to Don Bluth

While I wouldn't normally point out to comments from forum, this one is worth reading, about a director too often criticized -sometimes with reason, but let's not throw the baby with the water bath. 
 
 

Review of the John A. Lent Book "Animation In Asia And The Pacific"

A"nimators across the region face the same artistic and pragmatic questions," summarizes Animation World Magazine. "Should they make crowd-pleasers or personal visions? Should their animation explore its home culture, or should it be made with an eye to the world market? Or, indeed, should the animators simply subcontract to transnational giants?" You won't find much more information in this review, so those interested can buy their copy now!
 
 

Court Rulings Go Against Disney in Pooh Dispute

Wanna know more about this nasty business? The L.A. Times dug it all out for you! Thanks to the Laughing Place for the heads up.
 
 

Studio Ghibli Changes Everything with Spirited Away

Nausicaa.net notes that Soft Image covers Studio Ghili's use of their software in this article. "It's somewhat of a thinly-veiled advertisment, but does contain interesting tidbits."
 
 

Shrek Unlikely To Grab The Best Picture Award At Tomorrow's Golden Globes?

According to the Calgary Sun, Shrek, Gosford Park and Moulin Rouge all have a chance. For sheer audacity and brilliance, Moulin Rouge should win and probably will, but don't count out Gosford Park."
 
 

Box-Office Preview

Jimmy Neutron is expected to round up the top 10 at this weekend's U.S. box-office, and rack in another $4.3M to bring its total to an impressive $74.5M.
 
 

The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh Start Online

This August 2002 DVD release will include an all-new rendition of the bear's theme song as performed by Carly Simon, sneak peeks at two exciting new Pooh movies, a bonus featurette, and a behind-the-scenes interview with the original voices and animators. 
 
 

Did You Know That... In creating the musical score for the "Winnie the Pooh" featurettes, musical arranger Buddy Baker used musical instruments to help define the delightful personalities of the Hundred Acre Wood denizens. Pooh was represented by a baritone horn, Rabbit by a clarinet, Owl by the ocarina and French horn, Kanga by a flute and Roo by a piccolo, Piglet by the oboe, and Eeyore by a bass clarinet. 

 

 
 

101 Dalmatians: The Animated Sequel Goes Straight To Video Later This Year

'Justin' wrote back with more details on the movie's trailer: "about two minutes in length", it "shows a Disney artist's hand drawing a number of the puppies in a similar way to the promotional trailers on 102 Dalmatians. A black and white theme with the artist adding details to the drawings -eyes, spots and toungues.The drawn puppy, Patch, then comes alive and winks at the end of the trailer. Disney blurb runs throughout and we are told that it's on Video & Disney DVD in 2002!"
 
 

Return To NeverLand Review: "Disney Should Be Ashamed"

Chicago-based AICN reviewer 'Capone' has harsh words for what he refers to incorrectly as "Disney’s first animated sequel released in theatres" (many seem to forget the underrated The Rescuers DownUnder). A "vapid story" for a "cheap-looking" movie, "if there was ever a film that didn’t need to be made, this is it." Ouch! Let's be our own judge comes February 15!
 
 

101 Dalmatians: The Animated Sequel Trailer Premieres

'Justin' reports that a first trailer for this sequel can be seen on the Newsies DVD, which hit U.S. stores last Tuesday. According to the latest rumours, this sequel is likely to get a theatrical release. Please email me if you get your hands on a broadcast copy!
 
 

John Lasseter Inspired By Sleeping Beauty

John Lasseter told Ananova that a book about Sleeping Beauty inspired him to become an animator. He wrote to Disney after reading it and was offered a lot of encouragement. Now head of Pixar, he adds: "They invited me over, toured me around, encouraged me to take figure drawing classes, basic art. When I was a senior, I got a letter from Disney that they were starting an animation program at University, teaching their style of animation. I applied and was the second person accepted into the programme. When I saw the very beginnings of computer animation in Tron, it blew my mind. When I saw what computers could do, I said 'This is it!' Surprisingly, very few people saw the potential of applying computer techniques to traditional animation. When we were making Toy Story, people were asking me if I was sure people would sit still for a feature-length film of computer animation. Well, that was exactly what they were asking Walt Disney when he was making the first feature-length cartoon."
 
 

Release Date for Treasure Planet

Upcoming Movies confirms that the second Disney feature of the year will come to U.S. theaters the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, on November 27th, 2002. A December 2003 release had been considered at first during the movie's troubled production, back from its original Summer 2002 slot. Though the very healthy Lilo & Stitch started production after Treasure Planet did, it will hit screens first.
 
 

Spirit To Become the Pony King of Taiwan

Dark Horizons reports that UIP Taiwan (who handles DreamWorks films) has had an inspiration and apparently renamed the upcoming animated Spirit film to The Pony King in hopes to cash in on the success of the similarly titled 1994 Disney flick The Lion King. Taiwan funnily enough was one of the few countries in the world where Dreamworks' Shrek was a box-office failure last year so there's pressure on UIP Taiwan to work extra hard this year on this animated release.
 
 

Photos from the People's Choice Awards

Check out funny shots (1, 2, 3) of Mike Myers and Jeffrey Katzenberg after they received the Award for Best Animated Feature over at Yahoo.
 
 

Snow White 2 Plot Continued

'Mason' reveals more on the rumoured plot of this very moderately exciting sequel: the evil Queen's sister Noriss learns from her magical crystal ball that the only way to make Snow White and her family leave the castle would be to kidnap her friends the dwarfs. She goes to the mine asking the little men to help her find her way home, then pulls out 7 bags to kidnap each one of them. Only Dopey can escape from her claws by hiding behind rocks. Snow White, the Prince, and their 13-year old daughter Rose come to the rescue of the dwarfs with the help of Dopey...
 
 

Disney Led Last Year in Sales of DVDs, Videos

Bloomberg reports that Walt Disney Co.'s Buena Vista Home Entertainment unit won the title for most videos and DVDs sold to consumers last year, earning an estimated $2.1 billion compared with Warner Home Video sales of about $1.9 billion, or Dreamworks SKG's Dreamworks Home Entertainment with $635 million. The Mouse House was primarily helped over the holidays by the surprising success of Pearl Harbor and Princess Diaries though.
 
 

Scaring Up Some Fun

The L.A. Times reviews the five software titles based on Monsters, Inc. Thanks to the Laughing Place for the heads up.
 
 

The Great Mouse Detective Won't Run Out This Year

Originally scheduled for an early 2002 release on VHS and DVD, this title has been removed a few weeks ago from the Disney calendar.
 
 

Shrek Sets Yet Another Record

Universal Pictures Australia announced via Dark Horizons that the Shrek DVD has sold 350,000 units in its first eight weeks of release, making it both the fastest and biggest selling disc in the format's history.
 
 

Golden Globes Awards This Sunday

Tune in on NBC at 8 p.m. ET to find out live whether Shrek will grab a Best Picture (Comedy/Musical) Award!
 
 

Did You Know That... Exactly ten years ago, Beauty and the Beast received three Golden Globe awards from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association: Best Comedy/Musical Film, Best Score, Best Song ("Beauty and the Beast"). It was also nominated for a second Best Song ("Be Our Guest").

 

 
 

Teaser Site for Kaena: The Prophecy

A trailer is now available for this $27 million French CGI sci-fi adventure, Dark Horizons reports. Production started in early 1999 in Paris and this movie -which already went through two title changes, Gaïna then Axis- is tentatively scheduled for a Summer 2002 release. Set above a world where a giant tree called Axis rises 100 mile from the surface, this is tale of adventure that occurs when a young woman, Kaena (Kirsten Dunst), leaves her village hoping to discover why the tree's sap is disappearing. Coming down past the clouds, she meets the Selenites, a race (led by a Queen voiced by Anjelica Huston) that is also trying to keep the tree from dying, although by enslaving another race. Can Kaena discover why the tree that gives them all life is imperiled? The movie also features the voice talent of Richard Harris, as a village sage.
 
 

New Page for Moby Dick

All the information gathered about this traditionally animated Dreamworks feature will be integrated in the site as soon as Fortunecity is back up -the server was supposed to be down from Sunday through Wednesday, but worked until Tuesday, so expect a couple more days of trouble.
 
 

More Rumours On The Plot of Snow White 2

'Mason' returned with more unconfirmed details about this direct-to-video production: apparently, Snow White and the Prince will indeed be seen raising their 13-year old daughter Rose, but the Evil Queen's sister will have kidnapped all the dwarves but one -Dopey, which will likely play a prominent role in the sequel. Stay tooned for more!
 
 

Garfield Goes CGI

The Hollywood Reporter announces that America's favorite rotund cat Garfield, his dull-witted canine cohort Odie and their perpetually single owner Jon Arbuckle are making their way to the big screen as a live-action feature, with a computer-generated Garfield. 20th Century Fox has optioned feature rights to Garfield, the long-running comic strip that John Davis will produce through his Davis Entertainment. The film will be written by Toy Story scribes Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, which will focus on the sibling rivalry between Garfield and Odie. The project is an ideal franchise for Fox and Davis, as the duo worked together on another live-action/CGI franchise, Doctor Dolittle and sequel Dr. Dolittle 2. As a reminder, an Opus feature is also currently in development.
 
 

The Evolution of Garfield

"Garfield," created by Jim Davis (no relation to the film's producer John Davis), was first published in 1978. Its characters changed a lot over the years, as you can see at the Garfield and Friends site. 
 
 

New Don Bluth & Gary Goldman Interview

Film Force asked 10 questions to the famous duo: Don admits that Rock-A-Doodle is the project that lived up the least to what he envisioned, while Faust is the film he would like to direct the most. Meanwhile, Gary hesitates between Anastasia and The Secret of NIMH as his greatest achievements, The Pebble and the Penguin or A Troll in Central Park as his major failures, and The Little Blue Whale by Robert Towne as his dream project for the future.
 
 

Photo Gallery from the Annie Awards Ceremony

Animation World Magazine hosts 8 pages for this Animation Hall of Fame, which features many celebrities including Shrek co-directors Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, Paul Dini, Bill Justice, Piet Kroon (Osmosis Jones), Margaret Kerry-Wilcox (the model for Tinkerbell), Kathy Najimy, and Leonard Maltin.
 
 

Embarrasing Disneyland Visit for Michael Eisner

Two weeks ago, Michael Eisner was put in an embarrassing situation in front of John Lasseter while hosting the Pixar mastermind and his young son for a visit to the Magic Kingdom, Mouse Planet reports. Young Lasseter Jr.'s excitement to head towards Tom Sawyer Island was only equal to his disappointment of finding it in an extremely poor condition: the suspension bridge was "temporarily closed for repairs" -since the Spring of 1999-, another wobbly barrel bridge was also "temporarily" closed -since the Disneyland maintenance department was too understaffed to get to it-,  while a visit to Fort Wilderness revealed a wood rot filled structure that has had the air guns removed and the turrets and climb through catwalks sealed off to visitors. A few minutes later when young Lasseter Jr. found an Island tunnel darkened by burned out light bulbs and a dangerously decayed section of the tunnel sealed off by Disneyland Facilities CM's with tacky plastic yellow "danger" tape worthy of an urban crime scene, Michael Eisner began to get visibly upset. John Lasseter politely explained to the Disney CEO that when he was a young man, he had actually worked at Disneyland for a time as a Jungle Cruise Skipper and had fond memories of the Disneyland of his youth. He further mentioned to Michael Eisner that it was obvious that parts of Disneyland were not being allowed to age gracefully, and that things would never have been allowed to deteriorate this poorly when he had worked at Disneyland. The Disney Head gave a few frantic phone calls for immediate patch-up fixes, but that was clearly an experience he could have done without to impress the talented director, who had previously declined his offer to leave Pixar in order to lead Disney Animation.
 
 

New Peanuts Cartoons On Their Way

Although no artist took over the production of the Peanuts cartoon strip following the death of Charles Schulz two years ago, a new animated Peanuts special, the first in more than eight years, has been scheduled to air on Valentine's day, February 14 on ABC, animator-director Bill Melendez told TV reporters in Pasadena Tuesday. Melendez said that the special was based on comic strips that Schulz had previously created. "He left us with several thoughts and ideas about [other] things that he wanted to do, and I still hope that at least a couple of those come to life," Melendez said. Producer Bill Mendelson said that one of the programs will be a "baseball show" titled Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown, to be followed by a Snoopy holiday special. 
 
 

Did You Know That... Several editors suggested that Snoopy became less of a focus in the Peanuts comic, but then unknown Charles Schulz quietly but firmly vetoed the suggestion.

 

 
 

Details on the Wallace and Gromit Shorts

"A year ago we were invited by Explore, an American magazine, to create a series of photographic vignettes themed, Wallace's Workshop. The series of pictures featured Wallace and his incredible inventions. It was this project that inspired us to create this new series of short films," Nick Park explains on the Aardman website, which also features several pictures from the project. "Using a free CD Rom 'album', fans will visit chosen web sites to collect a series of short film clips. Each set collected unlocks a whole film for viewing from the CD. A new film will be available for collection onto the 'album' each weekend."
 
 

New Osmosis Jones And Scooby-Doo TV Series

WB Kids is currently developping a spin-off TV series for this box-office bomb, MovieHole reveals. Described as a comedy-adventure piece, Ozzie & Drix follows a somewhat familiar format as white blood cell cop Ozzie and his partner, over-the-counter cold pill Drix, find themselves in a new venue: the City of Hector (the body of a 13-year-old boy). Here, Ozzie and Drix will investigate and combat such adolescent viruses as zits, body odor and the realization that girls exist. In more exciting news, Warner Bros Animation will launch this summer the All New Scooby-Doo, which will bring the gang into the 21st century with the same creature-related comedy type mysteries fans have grown to love. 
 
 

Grab Peter Pan And Return To NeverLand For Free

Disney has a very interesting special offer: a free movie ticket for Return To NeverLand with every copy of the Peter Pan DVD purchased. Thanks to 'Mason' for the notice.
 
 

Rave Reviews for the Atlantis: The Lost Empire DVD

"The picture and sound are nearly flawless, while the supplements should satisfy just about anyone. [The collector edition of] Atlantis is by far the most comprehensive collector's edition that has been produced to date," DVD File applaudes. Furthermore, no "stone is left unturned" in the audio commentary, which sounds quite exciting! Meanwhile, Dark Horizons gives it a 8/10: "extensive, exhaustive and impressive." Thanks to 'Miguel'.
 
 

Patriotic Spirit Poster Now Available for Sale

Priced at $19.99 at All Posters, it is for those who can't wait!
 
 

Animated Movies Gets A Brand New URL: http/www.Animated-Movies.com!

In order to reduce the number of pop-up windows and decrease the risk of the site being down, I just moved the address of Animated Movies a bit further away from free unreliable services. You can now type http/www.Animated-Movies.com into your browser and be sure to be at the right place at the right time in the animation world! Don't be surprised if the address it redirects you to changes regularly -all you have to do is  (Netscape users should do it manually) and not worry about anything else. Also, as you can see above, the site celebrates its new identity with...
 
 

... A First Logo for Animated Movies!

Young Brazilian animator Fred Sposito lent his creativity and superb talent to Animated Movies, and came up with a first logo for the site: simple yet colorful and playful, it reflects the personality of Animated Movies. Make sure to check out Fred's fantastic online portfolio at http://www.fredsposito.hpg.ig.com.br/. Smart studio execs can contact him now by email at fredsposito@ieg.com.br to be the first to take him where he belongs -among the best of the animation field! Feel free to send me your feedback on the Animated Movies logo!
 
 

New Design from Treasure Planet

'Xavier' sent in a character design for Captain Amelia, which was drawn at the Disney studios from Montreuil, and comes from the upcoming Disney movie Treasure Planet.
 
 

Wallace and Gromit To Return In 2004's The Great Vegetable Plot

Ananova reports that Aardman claymation creations Wallace and Gromit are to star in 12 new one-minute films that will be released on video and the Internet in the Fall 2002. In the films Gromit is forced to try out some of Wallace's new inventions such as a TV toaster, a bowl-a-matic and mad vacuum cleaner. Their creator Nick Park told The Sun: "I've enjoyed bringing them to life again." Aardman Animation have already announced they are working on a new Wallace and Gromit film, called The Great Vegetable Plot, which will be released in 2004.
 
 

Cast Your Vote for the Best Animated Feature Oscar

Animation Magazine hosts a dummy Oscar Nomination Poll -results will be announced on February 11, a day before the actual Oscar nominations are unveiled!
 
 

Interesting Lilo & Stitch Book Cover

While it is unclear whether this work is still in progress or final, it is certainly worth taking a look at. Thanks to 'Celbi'. Enjoy!
 
 

When Warner Bros Sell Their Cells

Cartoon Research points out to the fact that a few months after withdrawing from the studio store business, Warner Bros now struck a deal with Clampett Studios Collections for their inventory of animation art. The Hollywood Reporter further explains that "Ruth Clampett, daughter of legendary Looney Tunes director Bob Clampett, (...) will create new limited-edition art based on classic Warner Bros. animation and film properties to be distributed to art galleries and high-end department stores." Comments Karen McTier, Executive VP Domestic Licensing at WBCP: "Ruth Clampett is the perfect choice for spearheading this operation because of her background -- both professionally and personally -- and unique appreciation for the collecting world and these pieces of art. By setting up this new program, Warner Bros. Consumer Products is showing a commitment to a premier collection of fine art and collectibles for the company's world-class family of properties." The online gallery also feature animation cells from Dreamworks production and The Simpsons, to name a few.
 
 

Did You Know That... While promoting Chicken Run, Nick Park admitted: "We often wondered whether we could make a whole feature film work [based on Wallace and Gromit]. Because the shorts have worked doesn’t mean a feature will. That has been our biggest challenge is making a whole 80 minutes be enthralling and captivating."

 

 
 

Third Return to NeverLand Poster

More explicit art has finally been released in what will likely be one of the final versions used for full-blown promotion of the movie next month.
 
 

Hayao Miyazaki Interview

Midnight Eye talked to the director of Japanese blockbuster Spirited Away during his recent trip to France. Find out why he usually starts working on his films before completing the script, or what his next directorial effort will be. No word on a feature-length project yet unfortunately...
 
 

Beauty and the Beast Box Office Report

In its first 13 days of release, Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition has brought in $7.7 million in 68 IMAX and Big Screen theaters in the U.S. and Canada, Digital Media FX reports. Surprisingly, Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition is not playing as well as Fantasia 2000 did two years ago. In Beauty and the Beast's second weekend, the classic animated movie grossed $2.1 million. However, Fantasia 2000 grossed $2.6 million in its second weekend and $3.1 million in its third weekend. Fantasia 2000 had a strong marketing campaign, while the marketing campaign for Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition has been considered weak. Fantasia 2000 scored over $49 million during its 2000 run in IMAX theaters. It also played in fewer theaters than Beauty and the Beast, though one has to admit that it premiered in IMAX, while Beauty and the Beast has already been viewed by most, on either regular theaters, TV or video. Check out the Laughing Place for more informaiton.
 
 

More on The Lion King III: Hakuna Matata

According to the Disney Animation Archive, Bradley Raymond, who already committed Pocahontas 2 and the infamous Hunchback 2, will helm the second sequel of The Lion King. Hakuna Matata will tell the story of how Timon and Pumbaa got together. Actor Ernie Sabella, who will resume his role as the voice of Pumbaa, told the L.A. Times last month that the video was due to be out around Christmas -though it is unclear whether he was referring to Christmas 2002 or 2003.
 
 

Dragon's Lair To Go Into Production Shortly

Don Bluth revealed on his website that he is now "anticipating the start of production" of the long in development feature adaptation of his video game creation. Plans were originally to kick it in last November.
 

Final Weekend Box-Office Data

#6: Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius with $5,523,825 (-39%) for a total $69,084,552.
#13: Monsters, Inc. with $2,195,669 (-43%) for a total U.S. gross of $247,458,486
#15: Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition with $2,073,437 for a total gross of $7,694,320
#42: Waking Life with $32,823 (-4%) for a total $2,649,367
 
 

Animagic's Tribute to Walt Disney

Check out this very good Brazilian site for a second set of interviews about Walt Disney and the art of animation. Thanks to webmaster Celbi Pegoraro for the heads up.
 
 

A Year-Long Celebration of 100 Years of Magic

In tribute to the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's  birth, Walt Disney World in Florida will host a year-long celebration "as big and broad as Walt Disney's imagination." You can find out more on the new parades, shows and attractions at the different Disney Theme Parks here.
 
 

Shrek Confirmed as the Critics' Favorite Toon of the Year

The Dreamworks blockbuster took home the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. Awards  last Friday, beating expected Oscar nominees Monsters, Inc. and Waking Life. It is now hard to conceive that any other feature could grab the first Best Animated Feature Award next March!
 
 

More Premiere Pix of the Jimmy Neutron Premiere

Cinescape just posted more photos from the movie's Paramount Lot premiere last month. Most of these have been available over at Yahoo for a few weeks now.
 
 

Broadway's Weekly Numbers

The Lion King remains stays in the top 3 plays in Broadway with 101.2% in attendance per performance last week, while Beauty and the Beast does well at number 7 with 95.0% and $620,153 in net receipts ($1,021,614 for Lion).
 
 

A New Address for Animated Movies!

In an effort to improve the quality of your experience with Animated Movies, many pop-ups and connection problems will disappear later this week, when the address of the site is officially switched from http://www.Animated-Movies.com (a free service that is too often down) to http://www.Animated-Movies.com. Beware of the dash! Members will receive an alert as soon as the address becomes active. Expect a surprise coming with that to celebrate Animated Movies' new identity!
 
 

Did You Know That... In June 2000, Roy Disney confirmed that there were plans for another Fantasia, at the time set for a 2006 release.  James Levine was reinstated for the occasion to conduct new pieces of music, and had already finished conducting a modern piece of music based on an African  rhythm: it involves a group of children in a small township in Africa, who watch a feather float through the air.  Seeing this, the children get an idea and make kites to fly in the air.  Adapting this modern piece of music continues the tradition of Fantasia as an experiment and vehicle to explore different cultural music. 

 

 
 
• Disney Launches An Unusually Creative Campaign for Lilo & Stitch

The poster. The Website. And best of all, a hilarious teaser debuted last week. In a Pixar-like approach, Disney took an exciting creative risk and played with its image to introduce its latest creation: in the minute-long trailer presented in theaters, TV and the Internet simultaneously, Stitch shows up in the beloved and classic ballroom dancing scene from Beauty & the Beast, only to mess it up and almost kill the masterpiece's protagonists! "Get your own movie," says an insulted Belle before walking out on Stitch and the Beast. The second part of the trailer is more conventional and places Stitch back into its own universe. If you can't download this jewel (high or low res), check out the screen grabs posted by 'robster16' on the Feature Animation Forum!
 
 
• Jeffrey Katzenberg Talks Animation, Shrek and Michael Eisner

While talking to the Hollywood Reporter about the Innovator of the Year award the magazine presented him, Jeffrey Katzenberg commented about the new Oscar category for Best Animated Feature: "I'm beyond thrilled and excited [that there is the new category]. Within it, like every other new category the academy has created over the years as this business has changed, there are going to be things that it will have to adjust in regard to the rules. For instance, the fact that it has decided that there has to be eight movies (submitted for academy consideration for the category to exist). It's totally arbitrary and based on today's level of production, which will not be maintained. My anxiety is that the academy will discover that animation will not steadily hit this level of production. In fact, not long after it announced the category last year, several animation studios actually went out of business." Asked about his view behind the animation market's down in the late 90s, Jeffrey further explained: "Like anything else with the movie business, animation looks easy, but it's not. It's really, really hard work and a very unique business. It takes a long time to learn it. Animation, more than any other kind of storytelling -- television, music, live-action features -- requires a large amount and diversity of talent to make it happen. Everything about it. Depending on the style of animation, it can take from 300 to 500 artists about three to five years to make a movie. That's an endurance test. People often ask why we have two directors and three producers on an animated feature. Why do we have department heads in addition to a production designer and an art director and then even within the departments have animators supervising other animators and then also have directing animators? Why all these people? Because we're in principal photography for 1,000 days. What human being has the mental and physical endurance to do that? The level of leadership needed to run an animated film is like what you need on a professional baseball team. You need different skills to come together as a team. Animation is a team sport. For instance, the sequence with the gingerbread man was created not by the directors or screenwriters but by a storyboard artist. A storyboard artist in this business is a writer. On [Shrek] alone, we had 12 or 14 storyboard artists, all contributing ideas. Then we have the actors and everything they contribute. So is this kind of animation personal filmmaking? No. As you know, under the academy's rules (for the animation category), we had to designate two people as being the most responsible for the production. The rules actually say "the person or persons" whose creative vision is reflected by the film. In itself, that is a contradiction to how animated films are made. Why are there four people allowed for the visual-effects category? So we put together a group of seven people who were most responsible for Shrek and then as a group decided who the two people would be." Asked about the risks involved in making films like this, creatively and businesswise, Jeffrey Katzenberg said: "It's almost a mathematical equation for me. You have original and/or unique equals risky. If you're doing things that have not been done before, there will be risk. Now, then you go to risky equals some failure. I learned that lesson almost 30 years ago when I first went to work at Paramount as a twentysomething wonk running around getting Barry Diller's dry cleaning or whatever I did back then. But I got to watch three guys up close and personal at that time: Charlie Bludhorn, Barry Diller and Michael Eisner. They had many things in common, but the one thing that made an incredible impression on me was that they believed the only way people can really do their best work in this business is if they are given the absolute right to fail. If they're not, then creative people won't take risks. Charlie Bludhorn gave that to Barry and Michael, and they gave that to everybody else in the company. Time after time, I would hear that we had to take risks -- prudent risks -- in order to succeed. I don't think there's any more important lesson that I've ever learned."
 
 
• Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Trailer Available Online

Download it now from the Tigress! 'Fred' also posted a variation of the movie's teaser poster on the FAF, which includes the official site's new tag line: "Some Legends Can Never Be Tamed." You can also check out Breyer Horses for new promotional toys, including a new plush line, playsets, and action figures.
 
 
• New Disney DVD Sites

Atlantis: The Lost Empire as well as Peter Pan each got their official site launch earlier this month. Features listing, order forms and Peter Pan wallpapers are now available online.
 
 
• Four Disney Titles Go On Moratorium

Disney has announced that Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, Mulan, Pinocchio, Tarzan and Tarzan: Collector's Edition will all go on moratorium, effective 1/31, Animation on DVD confirms. Retailers will not be able to order more copies of the product after that date, so what is on the shelf is all that will be available. Get your copy now if you haven't already! 
 
 
• Ice Age Gets Game Boy Advance Title

Ubi Soft Entertainment has teamed up with 20th Century Fox, to bring Ice Age to the Game Boy Advance hand-held video game system worldwide. The game will launch simultaneously with the movie, when it hits theaters in March of 2002. In the game, fans will enjoy 10 different levels that depict everything from icy caverns to lava-spewing volcanoes. Players can try on the power and size of Manny the mammoth in levels where stomping, striking and throwing big nuts ensures victory. If speed is their game, players can run, jump and slide while playing Sid the sloth during action and speed based levels. Make sure to avoid falling rocks, vicious saber-tooth tigers and other prehistoric creatures in this very cool adventure. 
 
 
• The CGI Production Process

Animation World Magazine features an interesting article covering everything from pre-production through final film/video output.
 
 
• Haunted Mansion Movie Officially Greenlit by Disney

Continuing a trend of focusing on so-called branded content, the Mouse House has greenlit its third feature film derived from a Disney theme park ride, Variety says. The studio will develop a script inspired by its Haunted Mansion attraction, and hopes to turn the picture into a franchise. Disney's The Country Bears, based on the Country Bear Jamboree ride, will reach theaters July 26; the studio recently greenlit ride-based Pirates of the Caribbean with Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor) attached to produce. In Haunted House, a father who has neglected his family encounters a ghost while on a job interview. The vision spooks him into a profound awareness of the importance of his family. David Berenbaum, part of Disney's writers-in-residence program, wrote the script.
 
 
• Fox Animation President Talks CGI and Ice Age

Chris Meledandri was interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter for an article about the boom of CGI: "Inevitably, the success of Shrek will encourage others to try it, but you have to realize that these are incredibly complex pictures to produce. It's a very young field, and there's a limited amount of individuals with the kind of experience necessary to pull off these movies. [With Fox's foray in the genre via Blue Sky Studios' Ice Age], we imagined what the Ice Age world could look like if rendered digitally -- the snow, the rain, the terrain -- and realized that it could be rendered to create a movie with a completely unique look. We liked the idea of creating characters that have a realism to them, to essentially create a realistic fantasy world." Responding to statements that CGI is starting to phase out traditional animation, Chris Meldandri commented: "This business is very cyclical. Clearly, there is less traditional animation being produced, but I don't think that means there won't be more in the future. In the near future, I think there is likely to be a continuation of the contraction of traditional animation, but eventually something will come along and swing the pendulum back in that direction."
 
 
• Monsters, Inc. Now the Third Biggest Animated Feature of All Time

Collecting an estimated $2.2 million this weekend, and a cumulative domestic box office of $247.7 million, Monsters, Inc. passed Toy Story 2 as Pixar's most successful film, Box Office Mojo observes. Toy Story 2, released in November 1999, achieved a total domestic box office of $245.8 million, and went on to capture another $253.3 in international box office receipts. Monsters international box office currently stands at $41M, but it has yet to be released in the largest overseas markets. Monsters' next target: Shrek's $267.7 domestic box office grab. But unless Monsters gets a box office boost by winning the first ever Oscar for best animated feature, there's not much of a chance that it will grab 2001's animated box office crown from that irascible green ogre. Meanwhile, Jimmy Neutron's U.S. total now stands to a very respectable $69.1M, with a 39% drop this weekend.
 
 
• Time Magazine Names Shrek "Best Movie of 2001"

Adding fuel to Shrek's attempt at winning the first ever "Best Animated Feature" Academy Award this March, Time Magazine commented that "the movie runs on his delightful spirit—and runs right past an adult's expectations for animation. We usually hope not to get too restless as we indulge the kids in their cinematic treats. But this pretty, fractured fairy tale offers us real wit—including some nice, satirical hits on the Disney tradition—while still giving the wee ones plenty of broad, silly fun." Shrek was the only animated movie to make the magazine's top 10 list. In other award news, the green ogre also became last Thursday the first animated film to be nominated for the Producers Guild Awards, presented by the Producers Guild of America. It also grabbed the Online Film Critics Society award for Best Feature and was voted favorite movie of the year at the People Choice's Awards.
 
 
• Escaflowne Trailer

Digital Media FX reminds us that the anime movie Escaflowne will get a limited release in the U.S. and Canada on January 25, and is then expected to have a wider opening around mid-February 2002. "Escaflowne epitomizes Japanese anime, providing a compelling film that breaks down the barrier of animation as an entertainment genre for children only," says Ken Iyadomi, Executive Vice President, Bandai Entertainment. "For fans of anime, as well as for all moviegoers, Escaflowne is a visual feast, and an exciting story brilliantly told with battle scenes and breathtaking displays of supernatural power that unfolds on the screen." Based on the television series The Vision of Escaflowne, the movie is centered around the story of Hitomi, Van Fanel – prince of the ravaged kingdom – and the legendary god of protection, Escaflowne. Watch the trailer now.
 
 
• Where The Idea for Return To NeverLand Comes From

'Mason' learnt from a Mouse House employee working on this project, which is now completed, that Roy E. Disney originally suggested at a staff meeting that Peter Pan be continued, when discussing which classic should get the sequel treatment next. Since most voice actors from the 1953 original were no longer available to reprise their roles in NeverLand -Bobby Driscoll (Peter Pan) died from drug abuse in 1968, Tommy Luske (Michael) lost his life in a car crash with a drunk driver, while Hans Conried (Captain Hook and George Darling) deceased from heart ailment in 1982-, the Disney management rejected Roy Disney's suggestion that 62-year old Kathryn Beaumont be brought back to voice the adult Wendy.
 
 
• Wynonna Sings for Lilo & Stitch

Country star Wynonna recorded the Elvis Presley hit "Burning Love" last October 29 and 30 at Ocean Way Studio on world-famous Music Row. The song will be featured in the last moments of Lilo & Stitch as well as over the end title. The recording will also be included on the film's soundtrack, with several other Elvis Presley originals. 
 
 
• Don Bluth Comments On Robin Hood and The Rescuers

The talented director wrote on his official site that "there is a lot of entertaining animation in [Robin Hood]. Ollie Johnston's Prince John and the character Sir Hiss were hilarious. As a film it did not fare well in the theaters. Disney's first major success after Jungle Book (1966), was The Rescuers (1976). We believe that the marketing for Robin Hood just didn't reach the family audience. Most people, at that time, were not even aware that Disney still produced animation. At least, that is what we ran into a lot of the time. Robin Hood cost about $5.5 million and probably cost about the same to market in the US alone. We're not sure, but the movie probably grossed less that $20 million in the US theatres and even less overseas. So, the film probably did not make profit for the company. If a film "grosses" $20 million, the theaters get to keep approximately 50% of this money. So if Disney spent $5.5 mil on production and $5.5 mil on marketing and they only got back $10 million. Then they lost $1 million. Plus it costs more to market in the foreign countries. So, they probably lost money on the foreign release as well. On the other hand, The Rescuers cost approximately $7.5 million and Grossed $45 million world-wide on it's first release. While maybe not as funny as some of Prince John's scenes in Robin Hood, The Rescuers had a better story and seemed to attract a bigger audience. Remember, The Rescuers story was about rescuing a little girl from kidnappers while Robin Hood was mainly about adult characters in a story that had been told quite well in live action and is considered a classic."
 
 
• Another Don Bluth Toon Up Animation Seminar

Don Bluth will be holding another "Toon Up Animation Seminar" on April 13 and 14 at the Clarion Hotel in Allentown, PA. The two-day event will cover drawing, character design, animation, storyboarding, acting and directing. Tickets are $200 and seating is limited to 100 people. For more details, check out the Don Bluth website.
 
 
• Site Launch for the Walt Disney Studios

The new Paris-based theme park opens on March 16, and you can already find out everything you want to know at its official site: descriptions of the Studios' main attractions, listing of the boutiques, restaurants, and more.
 
 
• More Treasure Planet Pictures

Disney released a couple of official shots from its Christmas animated release, while Light Fantastic posted more scans from the movie's Pines of Rome sequence, featuring a ship flying among whale-shaped creatures. According to Dark Horizons, an official Disney calendar of upcoming calendars given away during press screenings for Snow Dogs announcing an unlikely August 27, 2002 release date for Treasure Planet.
 
 
• $892M in Movie, Video and DVD Revenue for Shrek

In response to Disney's recent press release about Snow White's international DVD success, DreamWorks movie studio announced last Tuesday that the green ogre has sold over $420 million worth of home videos and DVDs in just over two months on retail shelves, adding to its $472 million (and counting) at global box offices. DreamWorks said it has sold over 21 million VHS videotapes of Shrek, a record 7.9 million DVDs in the United States and another 2.1 million DVDs in international markets, making it the most popular video since all-time bestseller The Lion King. Consumers have spent more than $51 million renting VHS and DVD copies of Shrek so far, according to Video Software Dealers Assn.'s VidTrac, ranking the picture 29th on the rental charts for the year. 
 
 
• January 1, 2003: The Lion King on IMAX

Disney just opened a teaser site to present the animated king's IMAX trailer -efficient but far from exciting. You can view it now in large or small format.
 
 
• Cats & Dogs On the Short List of Nominees for the F/X Oscar

A 15-minute presentation for each of the 8 nominees will be given to the Academy on February 6 -the final three will be announced on February 12, at the same time as the other major awards. Cats & Dogs will have a hard time staying in the top trio considering it is competing against movies like A.I., BHarry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone, Jurassic Park III or The Lord of The Rings. Meanwhile, Monsters, Inc. is one of the seven films being considered for Achievement in Sound Editing for the 74th Academy Awards.
 
 
• Shrek 2 Will Not Deal With "Fairy Tale Conventions"

In the new issue of Creative Screenwriting, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, screenwriters of Shrek, explain why they opted not to pen the movie's sequel: "many great Shrek sequels can be made. We felt that all of the good sequel versions had a similar quality, which is that you'd always begin with the fairy tale conventions and out of those conventions you'd tell a dramatic and funny story. And the story that was chosen for Shrek 2 was actually one that does not deal with fairy tale conventions." Shrek 2 is slated for tentative December 19, 2003 release. 
 
 
• Theme Parks Hopeful for 2002 After Strong Holidays

After the nation rode an emotional and economic rollercoaster in 2001, Americans are more than ready to return this year to more traditional rollercoasters and rides at theme parks, fueling a much-needed rebound for the sector, industry experts told Reuters. Reeling from the weakened economy, which was compounded by the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, close to half the nation's top 50 theme parks had flat or declining attendance in 2001, analysts said. While discounts and promotions spurred better-than-expected year-end holiday numbers at many of the country's biggest parks, the big lift nevertheless gave industry watchers reason to feel optimistic for 2002. "Christmas week was a gangbuster. Walt Disneyworld Resort in Florida had to close its doors for a few hours because it had attendance overruns. And attendance was tremendous at other parks like Universal, as well," said Tim O'Brien, senior editor of Amusement Business, an industry publication. "The discounts and promotions helped, but more than anything, there was basic cabin fever. People had been cocooned since September 11 and they needed to get out again. That process blew the doors off the attractions,'' he said. "We had a strong holiday season and we are continuing to see an improvement since Sept 11. We hope to continue to see that improvement well into 2002," said Ray Gomez, spokesman for Walt Disney Co's(NYSE:DIS - news) Disneyland Resorts in Southern California. According to industry estimates for 2001, attendance at Walt Disney World in Florida fell about 4 percent to 14.8 million, while attendance at Disneyland in California fell about 11 percent to 12.4 million visitors. But industry analysts saw a brighter year in 2002.
 
 
• High Quality Country Bears Pictures

FilmForce and Dark Horizons posted the movie's first poster along with a couple of promotional shots. That one could be a lot of fun! The July 26 release will feature cameos by Don Henley, John Hiatt, Elton John, Queen Latifah, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and Brian Setzer.
 
 
• Greenlight Funds Happily N'Ever After

The Hollywood Reporter announces that Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sigourney Weaver will lend their voices to the animated comedy feature Happily N'Ever After for Vanguard Films' John H. Williams (Shrek) and Berlin-based Greenlight Media. The project, fully funded by Greenlight, is out to studios for a tentpole summer 2003 release. It will be the inaugural feature from Williams' partnership with Greenlight, which signed the producer to a multipicture production and development deal in June. N'Ever is inspired by classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales and is based on Greenlight's European animated television series SimsalaGrimm. Set in the fairy tale land of Simsala, the project explores what happens when the balance of good and evil is out of whack. Against this backdrop is an emotional love triangle among Ella (Gellar), her ideal prince and her unknown true love, who turns out to be Rick, the palace dishwasher (Prinze). Weaver plays the evil, sexy stepmother Frida. Gerhard Hahn (who committed the disastrous Asterix in Amerika) is directing the project from a script by Rob Moreland. Greenlight International, headquartered in Hilversum, the Netherlands, is handling worldwide sales for N'Ever. "This is a highly creative and entertaining project and a wonderful way for Greenlight Media and myself to start our relationship," Williams said. "Greenlight has already done a terrific job with the brothers Grimm fairy tales for television, and I'm looking forward to transferring these stories to the big screen with some of the same type of elements that made Shrek a success." Added Heath McLaughlin, president of U.S. operations at Greenlight Media: "The purpose of our relationship with John Williams and his Vanguard Films is to create exciting, high-concept family entertainment which can include animation, live action or both, to blend U.S. studio and distribution sensibilities with worldwide interest to create lasting international brands. This project is truly a global production and the first of what we hope will be a number of highly successful productions with John Williams."
 
 
• Pixar Can Boast Striking Effects on an Industry

Read a great L.A. Times article explaining why and how Pixar paved the way for all the other studios in this age of computer animation.
 
 
• A Difficult Beauty and the Beast Scene To Adapt for IMAX Screens

"[The 'Human Again' scene] just felt cumbersome and presented some story problems at the time that we couldn't solve," director Kirk Wise told the Chicago Tribune. "But ... when we saw the Broadway version, [composer Alan Menken], who had always loved the song, managed to reincorporate it and edit it in such a way that the story problems were solved and now it makes a very, very nice kind of story within a story." When animators who worked on Beauty and the Beast had the opportunity to go back in and fix imperfections for the movie's IMAX edition, one particular scene was driving producer Don Hahn wacky. "During the song 'There's Something There,' there's a scene where Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Lumiere are singing and in the background, you see Belle and the Beast having a snowball fight," director Gary Trousdale explained. "Originally, those drawings were about an inch and a quarter high and because they're so small, we didn't draw all the detail in them. And their faces were very rudimentary. So when these things were blown up ... on the giant screen, you go, "Whoooaaaaa! We gotta fix that."' Disney, at first hesitant to plunge into the DVD market, now embraces it. In October, Beauty and the Beast will receive the same kind of DVD treatment as Snow White, which came out as a two-disc set with a number of extras.
 
 
• Web Host In Maintenance Through Wednesday

You get what you pay for... Fortunecity will be down until this Thursday, so make sure to access Animated Movies through http://www.Animated-Movies.com and be patient if links and pictures are not working yet. Sorry about the inconvenience!
 
 
• Did You Know That... Pixar originated as the computer division of Lucasfilm, before Apple co-founder Steve Jobs purchased it for $10 million in 1986 and renamed the company.

 

 
 

A "Banner Year" for Animation

The top three movies of 2001 were made for kids -the boy-wizard fantasyHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, grossing $286 million through Sunday, followed by two animated hits: storybook spoof Shrek at $267 million and nightmare farce Monsters, Inc. at $236 million. Indeed, animated films as a whole enjoyed a banner year, accounting for nearly $800 million, or 10 percent, of the collective box office in 2001, said Tom Borys, president of the tracking service ACNielsen EDI. "We've never had two $200 million grosses in animation before, and we have two this year with Shrek and Monsters, Inc."
 
 

A Lot To Look Forward To in 2002!

2001 has been a very important year for animation, with the rise of Dreamworks, continuing cough of Disney's Animation division, and their growing dependence on Pixar. Hold on to your seat for an either more animated 2002!!
 
 

Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition Opens Today!

And it should earn a "princely sum" in large-screen houses, according to Variety. The paper further comments that the re-release is "better than ever: in terms of animation, it remains a uniquely elegant and entertaining mix of hand-drawn classicism and high-tech innovation. (Speaking of the latter: One of the original's most magical sequences, the computer-generated ballroom dance to the title song, is nothing short of stunning in large screen.) The Ashman and Menken score --justly praised by many critics back in 1991 as superior to anything heard on Broadway in decades -- has lost none of its capacity to delight." The L.A. Times is not so kind, titling "it was big enough already." Meanwhile, Daily Reviews gives the special edition 4 stars out of 5 and "highly" recommends it: "the insertion [of the "Human Again" scene] couldn’t be more seamless." Check out the movie's official site to find out where it's playing near you -and enjoy!
 
 

The Jungle Book and Peter Pan Considered for IMAX Treatment

According to 'Mason', Roy E. Disney recently announced that the studio is in the very early stages of adapting these two classics for giant screens -The Jungle Book was released 35 years ago, while Peter Pan will turn 50 next year. As a reminder, The Lion King is already locked for a 2003 IMAX release, while The Little Mermaid and Aladdin will hit large screens next if Beauty and King are successes at the box-office.
 
 

Petition for Song of the South To Be Released on DVD

'Eddie' points out to this official Disney page where you can request that the Mouse House releases this disowned classic on VHS or DVD. The link is on the top left, and in pure Disney style, the javascript request window was not working when I tried it. Let's try again!
 
 

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Trailer Online This Week

Dreamworks Fansite SKG reports that the movie's trailer is expected to pop up on the movie's official site sometimes this week.
 
 

Animation Supervisor Glenn McQueen Talks Monsters

VFX Pro features a great interview with M.I. animation supervisor Glenn McQueen. A free registration is needed to access the article. "Pete Docter, the director, has been noodling around with it for 5 years. I was on it for about 2 years. As soon as I wrapped Toy Story 2, I immediately went on to Monsters Inc." Glenn explains that early in the process, Sulley had tentacles and Mike had no arms -just two legs with prehensile toes.Each time Mike picked something up he shifted his weight to one foot and used the other as a hand.  But after a 20-second test was animated, the production team realized this would be too difficult to work around. Glenn McQueen further comments that Boo was the hardest character to animate, and that about "only about 40,000" storyboards had to be created for the movie!
 
 

Spirited Away Review at AWN: "Unnatural"

Animation World Magazine published a three-page article on Hayao Miyazaki's latest, to conclude that it might be "the most sophisticated and exciting anime film", but remains "nothing more than the attractions in Tokyo Disneyland." So far, the movie is only set for release in France and Asia -hopefully you will all soon have a chance to judge by yourself!
 
 

Meet Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson this Saturday in Pasadena

The two incredibly talented veteran Disney animators will attend a screening of the documentary "Frank & Ollie" on , the L.A. Times reports. You can find out more at the Pasadena Historical Museum site.
 
 

Did You Know That... Chip's character in Beauty & the Beast was originally meant as a one-line joke, but the producers liked the voice of Bradley Michael Pierce so much that they had extra lines written.