Once called "American Dog," now renamed to "Bolt," Disney's upcoming release issued its first character shot today.
While it is only one shot, it's pretty easy to tell that the story centers around Harry Potter's dog as it travels to Los Angeles with Pepe Le Pew's girlfriend.
The film is set for an 11/26/08 release.
I hope you all have a safe and happy Holiday Season!
If Christmas isn't your thing, then may you have a very wonderful "your thing" and I'll see you back here in 2008!
I Watch Stuff has a bunch of new posters for Blue Sky's upcoming "Horton Hears a Who!" movie.
The film hits theaters on March 14th, but in the meantime you can print all of the posters out and make a flipbook out of them. I did and got to see the whole movie, which is as awesome as I had hoped, but is short, clocking in at just under a second.
Horton Posters at I Watch Stuff
IGN has a brand new trailer up for Pixar's upcoming "WALL-E."
Watching the trailer I was reminded of Spongebob, only with a roach instead of a snail and a giant ship instead of a gay starfish. That and the robot from "Short Circuit" instead of a yellow sponge.
In all serioussness, I found the shots of him entertaining himself with the junk to be the most engaging, and I hope there are more of those fly-on-the-wall moments in the film where we get to see the fascinating way in which the little guy keeps himself busy.
Click the image above or the link below to see for yourself.
IGN's Exclusive WALL-E Trailer
Artist and animator Armand Serrano has posted a bunch of images of the artwork used on the surf boards in Sony's "Surf's Up!"
I loved Chicken Joe's board, but then again I loved everything about "Surf's Up!" I can't stress enough what a wonderful Christmas gift this would make. Well... a copy of "Surf's Up!" and a Ferrari. You get those two things for just about anyone and they'll be thrilled, or my name ain't St. Nick!
Surf's Up Board Art
...and I hear me wetting myself with anticipation as I watch Blue Sky's latest trailer!
Seriously... the "Ice Age" films were good, but this trailer just looks nothing short of awesome. Sort of like me when I get a perm and wear a crushed velvet pants-suit.
Click the image above to see for yourself!
UDPATE: Fixed link now takes you to all sorts of sizes, including HD!
Posts may be slower than usual over the next few weeks as I try to figure this thing out:
What you see in that picture is my son, Sebastian, who was born this past Saturday!
Being that he's my first child, it's going to take me a while to figure out all of the bells and whistles, unless I can find an owner's manual somewhere.
Things are going great, and look for posting to resume soon!
Take care.
-Dave
The nominees for the 2007 Annie Awards have been announced, and based on the banner below, it looks as though whoever is behind the awards is quite full of themselves.
2007 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY
PRODUCTION CATEGORIES
Best Animated Feature
Bee Movie – DreamWorks Animation
Persepolis – Sony Pictures Classics
Ratatouille – Pixar Animation Studios
Surf’s Up – Sony Pictures Animation
The Simpsons Movie – Twentieth Century Fox
Best Home Entertainment Production
Doctor Strange – MLG Productions
Futurama “Bender’s Big Score” – The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Best Animated Short Subject
Everything Will Be OK – Bitter Films
How to Hook Up Your Home Theater – Walt Disney Feature Animation
Shorty McShorts’ Shorts “Mascot Prep” – Walt Disney Television Animation
The Chestnut Tree – Picnic Pictures
Your Friend the Rat – Pixar Animation Studios
Best Animated Television Commercial
CVS Watering Can – Acme Filmworks
Esurance “Homeowners” – Wild Brain
Idaho Lottery: Twister – Acme Filmworks
Oregon Lottery “Alaska” – Laika/house
Power Shares Escape Average – Acme Filmworks
Best Animated Television Production
Jane and the Dragon – Weta Productions Limited & Nelvana Limited
Creative Comforts America – Aardman Animations
Moral Orel – ShadowMachine
Robot Chicken Star Wars- ShadowMachine
Kim Possible – Walt Disney Television Animation
Best Animated Television Production for Children
Chowder – Cartoon Network Studios
El Tigre – Nickelodeon
Little Einsteins – Disney Channel
Peep and the Big Wide World – Discovery Kids
The Backyardigans – Nickelodeon
Best Animated Video Game
Avatar: The Last Airbender “The Burning Earth” – THQ, Inc.
Bee Movie Game – Activision
Ratatouille – THQ, Inc.
Transformers: The Game – Blur Studios
I'm pretty happy with the nominations for Best Animated Feature, and don't think I would have made any different choice as far as that's concerned, but I think the hands down winner has to be "Ratatouille." As far as the other categories, I'll keep my mouth shut (for once) because I frankly don't know a lot of the pieces that are listed well enough to comment on.
Click the image above for even more nominees.
Complete list of Annie Award Nominees
Finally some news has leaked out on Ilion Animation Studios' "Planet 51," a film I've been very excited about for some time.
The film has now been sold to New Line Cinema for distribution (that's the good news), and will be in theaters sometime in 2009 (that "9" is the bad news).
According to an article on The Hollywood Reporter's website:
New Line is venturing into the animation business for the first time in its 40-year history by acquiring Ilion Animation Studios' $60 million feature "Planet 51" from Handmade Films International.
Written by Joe Stillman ("Shrek"), the story is set on Planet 51, whose inhabitants live in fear of an alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when astronaut Capt. Charles "Chuck" Baker arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, the astronaut has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and return home.
I don't know if you folks remember the screenshots from this film, but if you don't, let me give you a refresher:
Needless to say, I cannot wait for 2009!
The Hollywood Reporter's Article on Planet 51
Dreamworks' made for TV special "Shrek the Halls," will hit ABC tonight at 8/7c.
According to ABC:
Just when Shrek thought he could finally sit back, relax and enjoy his happily ever after with his new family, the most joyous of all holidays arrives. It's Christmas Eve and everyone is filled with holiday cheer -- except for Shrek. He isn't exactly the picture of yuletide joy, but for the sake of Fiona and the kids, he tries to get into the spirit of things as only an ogre can. Unfortunately, everyone seems to have their own ideas about what Christmas is all about, so when Donkey, Puss In Boots, Gingerbread Man and the whole gang try to join in on the fun, Shrek's plans for a cozy family celebration end up spiraling into one truly unforgettable Christmas.
I'll watch it, but I swear the first joke I hear about how eggnogg gives ogres gas, and I'm changing the channel.
ABC's lame Shrek the Halls website
Reviews, clips, and images at Newsday
Hey... I'm still on a massive turkey hangover, so excuse the lame title, but Dreamworks' "Bee Movie" cracked the $100 million mark at the US box office the past weekend.
While it's nowhere near the insane numbers of "Shrek," the creators have to feel pretty good about breaking $100 million, especially considering this was yet another talking insect film, and could have easily gone the way of "The Ant Bully" at the box office.
Not only that, but the $112 million the film has now brought in should pay for at least a tenth of the marketing budget used on the film. Kidding aside, Box Office Mojo lists the budget at $150 million, so the film still has some work to do just to break even.
If it doesn't, you can bet Jerry is going to bee in some hot water!
Forgive me.
Box Office Mojo's box office ranking for all computer animated films.
This was something I've been planning on doing for a while, and with my first child ready to show up any day now, I figured I had better get my tail in gear and get it out of the way.
2007 was the year in which animated films (no matter how good) felt the backlash of the previous year, in which film company executives did their best to ruin the genre for everyone.
No matter how good "Meet the Robinsons," "Surf's Up," and the others were, audiences just weren't ready to turn out in masses after being burnt by some of the flaming turds from the year before. However that doesn't mean that CG was without a home as "Shrek the Third" continued to give Mike Myers a reason to live outside of "Austin Powers" and "Ratatouille" scrounged up a hefty haul, despite falling short of previous Pixar gems.
Here is my rundown of the CG films released this year, in order of North American box off take. Obviously films like the recently released "Bee Movie" will continue to make money throughout the end of the year, so keep that in mind.
1. - Shrek the Third - $321 million
Yes, you read that correctly. "Shrek the Third" brought in $321 million in U.S. theaters alone, putting it third on the list of highest grossing CG films, behind "Shrek 2: We Hadn't Started Coming Up With Clever Names Yet" and "Finding Nemo." It's a good, but not great, film, and if you are a fan of the series, you'll find more to like here. My good friend, who is a casual animation fan, summed it up best when he said, "My family and I liked it, but we just felt like we had seen it all before." With "Shrek Goes Fourth" already announced, we can only hope that the filmmakers take a few more chances with everyone favorite green ogre.
2. - Ratatouille - $206 million
Pixar needs to sign Brad Bird to a lifetime contract and let the man do what he wants until he retires. If he wanted to make custom women's clogs instead of films, I'd even probably let him, because they'd be the best custom women's clogs ever. "Ratatouille" was a beautiful, charming, cinematic treat, and one that I now own on DVD and Blu-Ray. Sure I'm a Pixar nerd (who isn't?), but films like this one deserve to be seen by every person on the planet. Thank you, Mr. Bird... for giving me a reason to live.
3. - Meet the Robinsons - $98 million
While a modest hit, I would have love to see "Robinsons" find a larger audience, if for no other reason than getting the chance to meet The Bowler Hat Guy, who is in my opinion the greatest movie villain to emerge in the last 20 years. While the film was a little too over the top in spots, it's actually got a lot of heart, and some true laugh out loud moments.
4. - Bee Movie - $94 million
Haven't seen it. Want to see it. Nine month pregnant women can't sit through movies in movie theaters. Not only do they have to pee every 5 minutes ("Excuse me." "Pardon me." "Sorry... again."), but the seats just aren't comfortable enough. I will sneak away at some point though... you have my word, Jerry.
5. - Surf's Up! - $59 million
By far the biggest disappointment on the list. Not in terms of the film's quality, which is superb, but in terms of the box office revenue. "Surf's Up!" was done in by being lumped into the "another talking animal" film, and not only that but the fact that most parents didn't want to sit through another "Happy Feet." Oh if they had only given it a shot, they would have seen that "Surf's Up!" is to "Happy Feet" as steak and lobster is to fried baby turds. Fans of animation and mockumentaries ("Spinal Tap," "Best in Show") should love "Surf's," but even folks who don't like those genres can at least marvel at the beautiful water. It's on DVD and Blu-Ray, and you need to add this one to your library if you haven't already.
6. - TMNT - $54 million
After a strong opening weekend ($24 million) prompted one of the Weinsteins to announce we would be seeing many more turtle films, things looked quite good for the four "heroes in a half shell." However it seems that most of the nerds who grew up loving the turtles as kids chose to see the film on opening weekend, because after that its take dropped off considerably. The film was decent, the acting was passable, and the visuals were top-notch (the scene in the rain on the rooftop is still amazing.)
7. - Beowulf - $28 million
Haven't seen it. Won't see it. Might rent it.
8. - Happily N'Ever After - $16 million
While audiences may not always be the best at spotting the gems, they can sure sniff out the stinkers, hence "Happily" only pulling in $16 million. My wife rented this not too long ago, and it only took me walking in halfway through and watching 5 minutes to know that I had seen enough. It just wasn't for me, and Rotten Tomatoes combined score for the film is a 4%, so I guess I'm not alone.
---
So there you have it. My year in review. All in all it was a great year, in terms of quality of CG films, with only a few lame ducks in the mix. 2008 slows a bit more over 2007, in terms of output, but with films like "WALL-E," "Kung Fu Panda," and "Horton Hears a Who" set to release, it should be another great year.
Take care!
...not going to see "Beowulf."
Yes, I know the film is getting good reviews. Yes, I know it's a "technical masterpiece." Yes, I know it's the first CG film in a long time that doesn't center around talking animals and/or insects.
I'm not going to see it.
I know I sound like a big animation snob, and I'll probably rent it on DVD, but I just can't allow myself to go see a mo-cap film. If you saw it and you liked it, good for you. That being said, I really hope it bombs at the box office. Not because I want to see anyone's work fail, but simply because it only takes on hit like this (and Happy Feet) to make movie studios everywhere decide that this is the way to go and that they don't need all of those snot-nosed "animators."
Maybe I'll give it a rent on DVD, maybe not. I won't fault you for going to see it, but if you want to try to convince me that it's the best thing since sliced bread, you've got another thing coming.
Oh yeah... it's everyone's favorite day of the week, and to celebrate, here's a picture of that robot from "Short Circuit!"
Of course I'm kidding and this is the poster for Pixar's upcoming "WALL-E" movie.
Johnny Lasseter recently had this to say about the film to Rotten Tomatoes:
"It's a love story. It's got a lot of heart but it's really appealing. It's less dialogue with the characters but it's really fantastic."
I'm glad that the film has a lot of heart and is really appealing. I usually hate films with a lot of heart... oh... and good stories. I hate films with good stories.
Who's with me?
More from John Lasseter on Rotten Tomatoes
EDIT: As Jason was kind enough to point out in the comments, this list is not the actual nominees, but the "short list" of hopefuls looking to be included in final nominations. So I'm an idiot. That being said, the post still stands, as frankly I don't think the films that I refer to below even belong on a "long list," let alone a "short list."
That Sesame Street song comes to mind and I begin to sing "Which one of these is not like the other ones, not like the other ones, not like the other ones..."
While I never like to directly bag on the hard work of artists, regardless of what they may need to do to pay the bills, it's pretty obvious that certain films in this year's list of hopefuls were submitted simply because they were animated, and not because they deserve the award.
Listen... I like hotdogs as much as I like a good $60 steak, given the right circumstances, but I wouldn't expect my Oscar Meyer cheese-stuffed wieners to compete for a food award with a steak I can cut with my own hand. In the same manner, while some of the films in the list may be great for college kids sucking on a bong and eating Cheetos, or a Mom or Dad to bring their kids to see, they really can't compare on a pure filmmaking level to some of the other nominees.
To put it a different way, you don't go into a diamond store and find a couple of cat turds in the case next to the tennis bracelets and earrings.
All this being said, one of those turds will probably wind up winning and then I'll look like an (even bigger) idiot.
Oh... and if you're wondering, here is the list of nominees:
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
Bee Movie
Beowulf
Meet the Robinsons
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Shrek the Third
The Simpsons Movie
Surf’s Up
Tekkonkinkreet
TMNT
I'm off to eat now... suddenly I've got a craving for a hotdog.
It's a slow news day, so all I really have is this new trailer for the "Kung Fu Panda" videogame.
Be warned that there may or may not be spoilers in this trailer. I have no idea since I (obviously) haven't seen the movie yet.
Tomorrow I'll try to track down some more amazing footage like this.
So according to Cartoon Brew, some Brazilian Graphic Design students got together and tried to recreate Chuck Jones' "One Froggy Evening" in 3D.
While I commend them on their efforts, I will say that it takes some brass knockers to try and recreate an animated masterpiece such as this. I think they did an overall decent job, but the minute I saw the way the animated the frog's mouth, I was done. I watched this cartoon a million times as a kid, and I guess it was just engrained in my brain that when he croaks, his mouth opens up just a bit on one side and then rolls to the other. It sounds picky, but as soon as I saw that, something in my head just wouldn't let me enjoy the piece for the technical accomplishment that it is.
Not only that, but the students only managed to finish 2 minutes. I would have thrown their computers back at them, called them all "hacks" and then demanded that they leave my classroom immediately.
Of course then the professor would have asked what I was doing in his classroom, and why I was throwing the expensive equipment around.
You can swing on over to Cartoon Brew to check out the original.
Cartoon Brew's coverage of One (CG) Froggy Evening
In case you've missed on of the millions of commercials that seem to play every 5 minutes from my picture-box, Dreamworks' "Bee Movie" is hitting theaters today!
If you haven't heard of the film yet, let me clue you in:
Jerry Seinfeld is the voice of a bee who lives in a New York apartment. When his wacky neighbor, Kramer, decides to install a ferris wheel in his apartment, comedy mayhem ensues. Not only that, but Jerry's ex-girlfriend Elaine is dating a man who likes to snort Drain-O, and his best friend, George, yells a lot!
Should be really good, despite its current score of 56% over on Rotten Tomatoes.
Bee Movie Official Website
Bee Movie Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
One more Halloween style animation for ya'!
As for my car, there are no broken eggs on it yet, but I'm still trying to confirm if it was those same kids that apparantly trained a condor to dump on my hood.
Still in time for Halloween, here's a nice little zombie flick starring Tofu the Vegan Zombie:
Now... I've got to go make sure the kids I chased off of my front porch for tearing down my "Sorry... All Out of Candy" sign aren't egging my car.
Happy Halloween!
According to Animated News, Dreamworks' Holiday special "Shrek the Halls" will hit ABC on November 28th.
ABC, home of the beloved Christmas classics “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and others that have delighted generations, adds an instant classic to its holiday repertoire in November sweeps — DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek the Halls,” a half-hour of entertainment starring America’s favorite ogre and his friends and featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas. “Shrek the Halls” airs WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
For more info on the special, hit the link below or click on the logo above.
Animated News Info on Shrek the Halls
The brand new trailer for Dreamworks' "Kung Fu Panda" is now up over at /Film.
You get to see lots of live action clips of Jack Black acting like a jackass, but you also get a ton of footage from the movie itself. I've heard from a couple of insiders that this film will surprise a lot of people and is quite different from what everyone is probably expecting. Personally after watching the trailer it seems to be exactly what I was expecting, which is talking animals doing whacky things, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.
Kung Fu Panda Trailer at /Film
I had to have emergency surgery on my stomach this past Tuesady, and what a heap of fun that was!
Updates will continue once I'm feeling a bit better. I'm back at home now, but I'm still pretty drugged.
I'll be right as rain in no time at all, so don't worry your pretty little heads one bit!
I may have to stop using the "we don't talk about videogames much here on Bleeding Pixels" line, due to games like Team Fortress 2 and now Brutal Legend.
If you can't tell by this overly-bloody clip, that there is Jack Black, starring in a brand new videogame that should be out next year.
I can't wait.
Oh yeah! It's time once again for Movie Poster Monday!
Truth be told, Bleeding Pixels has never had a Movie Poster Monday, and probably never will again. Just look at the poster and be happy it isn't Malaria Monday.
In case you have yet to see it, Animation Mentor has posted their latest showcase of student work.
Awesome work as always, and my hope is that the school will get a good enough reputation that I can simply show prosepctive employers my AM dimploma, and not have to actually show any of my own animations to land a job.
Fall 2007 AM Student Showcase>
Bleeding Pixels normally doesn't cover games too often, but when it's a game like Valve's awesome "Team Fortress 2," you sort of have to stand up and take notice.
Having played the game all last night on my Xbox 360, I can safely say that I'm addicted. The game is so simplistic in nature, and yet so deep in terms of the classes that it's going to take a long time for me to tire of the game.
Not only that, but it just looks amazing. The taunt animations, the cartoon feel, the color palette (simple on purpose)... all lend to the gameplay in one form or another. It's all done with a purpose, and it all combines to make a beautiful package.
This would all be well and good, but TF2 is really just a small part of "The Orange Box," which contains "Half Life 2" and Episodes 1 & 2 for the game, "Portal" and "Team Fortress 2," all for the price of a single game.
So fire it up and look me up (gamertag = dajohns).
Just be aware... when playing against me, I'll probably be on my couch, not wearing any pants.
You can finally download Blur's short, "A Gentlemen's Duel" from the iTunes store!
The thing will only run you $1.99, so just downsize your cup of Starbucks for today and get this as well!
Blur's Official Website
Sony's wonderful "Surf's Up!" hits Region 1 DVD shelves today!
If you missed this in the theaters, which many did, you owe it to yourself to go and pick up a copy, or at least give it a rent. The film is beautiful, funny, and just a great film from start to finish. Yes it's anthropomorphic animals, and yes it's another penguin film, but it's still worth watching (and owning).
Not only that, but Circuit City has it for $15 bucks, and I'm sure you can find it for that price or less at various other big chain stores.
It's a shame that this film didn't perform better in theaters, but with any luck, a ton of people will get to discover it on DVD.
Go now!
Looks like honey just got funny...
Personally I've always found honey to be funny, so I guess I'm just way ahead of my time. I also wear bras as earmuffs and drink motor oil with lunch.
So you've got even more stuff to look forward to!
This is actually a pretty funny marketing campaign for razors called "Fight for Kisses."
As a guy expecting my first child in December, I pretty much have to buy one of these razors now so that I can make my child hate me and in turn train to be some kind of badass baby ninja.
Fight for Kisses Website
Pixar has popped out a new poster for their upcoming flick, "WALL-E."
Upcoming Pixar also points out that a new trailer will hit on or around October 1st, and you can hit the link below for times and the location where you'll be able to view the trailer.
I'm so torn on this film...
On one hand, it's Pixar, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. On the other hand, the idea of sitting through a film with little to no dialogue about robots in a dump gets me less than excited. It's like if Victoria Secret released a catalogue jammed with attractive women, but they were advertising the new line of gunny sack lingerie.
I've been on vaction... it's the best I could come up with.
Upcoming Pixar's WALL-E Trailer Info
Blackfilm has posted a bunch of new shots from Dreamworks' upcoming "Bee Movie"... uh... movie.
The film looks promising, and I'm glad they decided to take out the whole part where the bee falls in love with the main female character (think I'm kidding?). That really would have made explaining the whole "Birds and Bees" thing to kids that much more difficult.
Blackfilm's Bee Movie Images
I am so in love with "Team Fortress 2."
It's going to be an amazing year for gamers...
UPDATE:Hi-Res Version Here
According to Variety, the sequel to Sony's "Open Season" is going straight to DVD.
Though "Open Season" grossed just a so-so $85 million domestically and $105 million overseas, Sony felt the pic performed strongly in homevid and that, with a good follow-up story, it would help meet the goal of increasing SPA's output.
"We don't have a deep bench yet , so we're certainly looking to have more product available," said Sony Pictures Digital prexy Yair Landau. "We felt we had a really fun story and the marketplace wants more 'Open Season.'"
Sequel will focus on one of the original pic's supporting characters, Mr. Weenie, a domesticated dachshund who escapes to join the rebellion of forest animals.
While the idea of straight-to-DVD always scares the pants off of me, I liked the original film a great deal, and will probably wind up picking up the sequel, even if it does wind up being a Sony executive's turd stamped into the form of a DVD.
If anything, it will make for a great conversation piece.
More on Open Season 2 from Variety
Blur Studios' awesome "In the Rough" short is now available on iTunes.
At only $1.99, you really can't go wrong. It's either that or you go buy a hamburger, but who needs to eat stuff when you have awesome animations to watch instead?
Just hit up the iTunes store and type in "In the Rough." Tell em' BP sent you.
Bleeding Pixels now has 100% more Digg functionality, so feel free to Digg away! Of course, I have no idea why you'd ever want to Digg a story that I probably stole from another site, but just in case the mood should strike you, the option is there!
"Better never than late," I always say.
It's official... Pixar's "Ratatouille" has now grossed over $200 million domestically.
Pixar couldn't continue the upwards trend of previous movies forever, but I have to think that they're still quite pleased with "Ratatouille," which just passed "Happy Feet" to move into the 9th spot in highest grossing computer animated films, behind "Cars."
It's sort of like how I couldn't continue to date supermodels the way I did. I'm dating a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader now, and that's still pretty good.
My wife is going to kill me.
Just in case you're wondering, "Ratatouille" has also raked in an additional $172 million in Foreign theaters. Unless you happen to live in one of those countries, in which case the domestic box office is actually the foreign box office to you and your box office is the domestic one.
Ratatouille info at Box Office Mojo
Though it may seem like it to some of you, I'm actually alive and well. I've been looking for things to post all week, but there just hasn't been much at all to report. I did get the inside scoop from someone working on "Bee Movie," that they had their wrap party last week, so that one is now on to final post production and will be in theaters soon.
Outside of that, my only other real news worthy item this week is that I got my boxers caught in the zipper of my shorts at work and had to rip them in order to get them free, in turn allowing me zip my fly closed.
I'm in talks with Pixar to turn that harrowing experience into their next movie.
In the meantime, just know that I'm still looking for stuff to post, so if you find anything, toss it my way!
Thanks.
Get it? C'mon... it's clever.
I had never heard of filmax or "Donkey Xote" until today, but the former has released a trailer for the latter.
The trailer looks decent, but I guess I expected more from a company whose previous films include such blockbusters as "Pinocho 3000" and...
You know what? I was just looking at the company's website trying to find lame movie titles to make a smartass comment, and now I see that "Donkey Xote" was released last year. So I guess that sort of backfired on me, as I'm posting a news item about a film that's been out for some time now. Heck... the trailer could have been out for two years now for all I know.
Good thing I didn't go with the "Shrek the Third" ripoff joke I had planned...
UPDATE: In doing some more poking around on the website, now I think the film is still in production. I'm so confused now. I'm reminded of the time when my wife put a blanket over my head and it took me an hour to find a way out.
Oh... and just so we're clear, I didn't misspell "Pinocchio" in "Pinocho 3000." I think that's how it's spelled in Spanish.
Donkey Xote Trailer
Donkey Xote Website
RE-Animation Blog
I had no idea that I could fall in love with a videogame.
You can watch the latest trailer using the link below, but I should warn you up front that Team Fortress 2 and I are pretty much a couple now, so don't try stealing her away from me. We're going to get married and have little videogame babies together, and there's nothing you or anyone else can do about it.
Team Fortress 2 Soldier Trailer
Here is the winner of this year's FJORG! contest at Siggraph:
For those of you who aren't sure what FJORG! is, here is the description from the Siggraph site:
SIGGRAPH 2007 officials, along with DreamWorks Animation, HP, and AMD, announced the winners of the world's first international FJORG! Competition - an "iron animator" event in which 16 competing teams from around the world had 32 hours to create the most impressive character-driven animation of at least 15 seconds in length adhering to at least one of two themes and using at least one of 16 sound bites.
Based on storytelling, animation talent, use of resources, creativity, and technical skills, the judges selected Team Mocap from Bowling Green State University for their animation "Switch" as the first place winners. The team consists of Jim Levasseur, Tomas Jech, and W. Jacob Gardner. Picture This, a team from Miami International University of Art & Design came in second place and Impulse, from The Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg, won third place.
For a complete list of particpants, and their entries, hit the link below.
The Link Below
Another fine short animation.
I would have totally started making out with the chair. I mean... I'm not really into the whole "chair thing," but come on... that chair is hot!
As with the previous post, you can hit the link below for high-res versions of the film.
Eric Drobile's Website
Really nice little short film.
If I were the frog, I would have totally hung out and ate butt flies off of the cow until I was too fat to walk.
I heart butt flies.
For high-res versions of the film, go check out the official site below.
Down on the Farm Official Site
I think it's safe to say that Ratatouille is a hit.
Over the weekend the film moved into the 10th spot on the list of highest grossing animated films (domestically). It now sits at $196 million, in terms of domestic box office haul, and is about $1.5 million away from taking the 9th spot from "Happy Feet," which it will probably manage to do in a weekend or two.
The film has also grossed $119 million in international ticket sales.
I'm sure glad to see the film break even like that. $315 million was a ridiculous budget for a CG film, and so it's good to know that whatever it makes from here on out is pure profit. I hope Pixar learns from this bullet they dodged, as this financially distarous film could have really sunk the company.
It's fun to pretend.
Box Office Mojo's Ratatouille Box Office Info
Interested in helping take Bleeding Pixels to the next level? Know anything about website creation/coding? Want to work for no pay?
Then have I got a job for you!
I'm looking to take Bleeding Pixels a step or two further than it currently is, but the problem is that I'm about as dumb as a wet napkin, so I'll need some help. I'm looking for someone with some web coding experience who can help me make Bleeding Pixels more than just a blog. If you're interested, drop me a comment or email me (davesj-at-gmail-dot-com) and we'll talk. It's not something that needs to be done overnight, so it won't take up a ton of your time, and I'll take care of all of the costs, such as hosting.
If you're interested in helping out, please let me know!
Have you ever been in a room with people who were talking about a subject that you thought you knew a little about, only to have them inadvertently make you feel like a bumbling idiot who can barely hold the drool in your own mouth?
That's how I felt after watching Valve's video for their soon-to-be-released "Team Fortress 2" game for the Xbox 360 and PC. I understood about a tenth of what the narrator says, and yet by the end I was still giggling with delight and mumbling, "PURTY PICTURES!" to myself.
Still totally worth watching, even if you feel as though the guy talking might as well be speaking another language.
Small Version on GameTrailers
Large Version on IGN (may require sign-up)
Via DavisDVD, comes some great news! First the 3D stuff...
Above is the cover for the upcoming Ratatouille DVD release, which DavisDVD has some info on, that can also be found at Ultimate Disney, including word that the film will include a new short titled, "Your Friend the Rat."
DavisDVD and Ultimate Disney also both have word on the above "Pixar Shorts" DVD, which is set to release on November 6th, and will include (in chronological order): The Adventures of André & Wally B., Luxo Jr., Red's Dream, Tin Toy, Knick Knack, Geri's Game, For the Birds, Mike's New Car, Boundin', Jack-Jack Attack, One Man Band, Mater and the Ghostlight, and Lifted.
However what I'm most excited about is the non-3D release that DavisDVD also mentions, which is the up until now VHS-only, "Opus and Bill In: A Wish for Wings that Work." 
I cannot wait for this to release, as I've only seen it one time on TV, and it was mostly over by the time I surfed by and noticed it. The site claims that there will be no extras, but it's also going to retail for only $15 bucks, so I can't complain too much.
More info on all 3 from DavisDVD
More on the Pixar releases from Ultimate Disney
This is darn spiffy:
"Red and Boxbot Responds" was done by two guys in 48 hours during the 48h 3D jam 2007 in Stuttgart. Everything from boards, design to modelling, animation and shading.
In short: We had nothing when we started, and had everything when we finished.
However being aware of some of the few and minor flaws of the story and a couple of the shots, we got together 2 evenings to make the final polish.
Furthermore we have been gifted with an original score, done by René Brokop.
The most I've ever accomplished in 48 hours was the two days I spent trying to eat a King Size bag of peanut M&Ms. After several attempts, I realized it might be easier to open the bag and eat them individually, but by then it was too late.
Thanks... I'll be here all week.
DVD Active has a bunch of info on the upcoming release of Dreamworks' "Shrek the Third," including the box art.
I love it when they put quotes from some film critic on the cover like "The best Shrek yet!" If you are standing and looking at "Shrek the Third" on a DVD shelf, is what Mortomer Diphole of the Village Voice Times Tribune really going to sway you into purchasing it?
As for this blog post, I'd like to mention that Rod Morf of the Post Star Report Magazine had this to say:
"Best blog post on this blog within the last five minutes!"
I bet you're totally glad you read it now.
For a list of DVD extras and a super fancy rotated shot of the box, hit the link below.
Shrek the Third DVD info on DVD Active
The hits here on Bleeding Pixels have really spiked in the last few days, and it seems to be directly related to Blur's short film "A Gentleman's Duel."
I think the reason for this stems from people searching for the film on Google and hitting my site thinking I have the film posted. Yes I know the film has been leaked to a couple of video sites, and I won't say that I haven't watched. That being said, I'm also not going to provide links here for those types of unauthorized videos any longer.
While I can totally understand the desire to see something like that, I also feel that by not actually purchasing films like this one, it's going to cost studios like Blur money, which will in turn cause them to take less risks and produce a smaller number of films.
Again, I'm not trying to get all preachy here, because I too have watched the film in the format listed above, but I've since found out that it's available in a paid format as well, and so I promptly ordered it.
My hope is that Blur releases it to iTunes very soon, and in the meantime, you can use the link below to purchase the Stash Issue #32 DVD, which has the film on it as well.
Stash Issue #32 DVD, which contains A Gentleman's Duel
Warner Bros' "TMNT" arrived on DVD shelves today.
While the film didn't do too well with either critics or box office patrons, it was still fun and totally worth the $16 bucks you can find it for at some major electronics stores.
Your other option is to go fish 4 turtles out of your local pond, tape ninja weapons to them, and then film the action, hoping that something cool happens.
Trust me... it won't.
What do you get when you come to Bleeding Pixels?
Well frankly, you don't get much, besides an occasional sarcastic comment and any decent story I can strip from actual credible sites. However from time to time I do manage to piece together something worthwhile, as is the case with the ongoing (though never on schedule) "10 Quick" interviews.
This week is no exception, as we have one of the most respected folks in animation answering my silly questions.
Keith Lango is known around the animation industry as being someone who continues to champion the principals of traditional animation, in an attempt to keep the CG industry from falling (further?) into a rut. His online tutorials and sage-advice-filled blog are excellent resources for both aspiring animators and seasoned industry vets alike.
Take it away, Keith!
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you break into the business and get where you are now?
I started into Cg art and animation in 1994 mainly by accident. I had been doing graphic design and page layout for a while and was working at the local newspaper in Rochester NY when I got my first exposure to 3d via a co-worker who had StrataStudio Pro. I was hooked when I saw it. Shortly after that I bought my own copy of the software and I was off and running. I did mostly 3d illustration at first, then virtual environments, lots of corporate type stuff. Then I got into doing some advertising and then visualization work for an airport security training firm (that was an interesting job). All along I was developing my animation skills and I slowly transitioned into freelance character animation. I made my first short film in 1996 (it was 45 seconds long). That got me some more attention. By the time I finished my third short film "Daycare for Junior" I had developed a bit of a reputation. This was maybe 1998. In 1999 I left the world of freelance and went to work at Big Idea Production in Chicago. I worked there in all manner of roles and responsibilities in the studio for a little over 4 years. By the time I had left I'd done everything from write screenplays, animate, direct, storyboard, rig, helped architect a direct-to-video production pipeline and then remake a feature film pipeline as a CG supervisor. After the studio shut down internal production in exchange for outsourcing I moved on to Blur Studio in Los Angeles to work as an Animation Supervisor and Director. I was there for about a year and participated in a number of projects, including being a director over pre-production for their Oscar nominated short film Gopher Broke. I left there in 2004 to go to ReelFX Creative Studios in Dallas TX, where I was the animation director, as well as a director. I directed a DVD movie for Hasbro and led development on a number of other properties and projects. After a year I was getting pretty burnt out on management so I took the opportunity to step back down to be "just an animator" again and worked for a year at DNA Productions in Irving TX on their feature film project The Ant Bully. After that show wrapped the crew was laid off. Rather than head back out to the west coast to latch onto another project my wife and I decided that this would be a great opportunity to do something radically different. I had been running my Video Tutorial Service business on the side for about a year at the time so I was able to pay the bills. We decided to move down to Cuiaba' Brazil, out in the more remote central west region of the country. Down here we are actively engaged in developing a ministry project that brings clean drinking water to remote people living along the river banks in the Pantanal region, as well as providing some medical relief and spiritual hope. We've been here for a little over a year and we have plans to be here a while longer. The work is very demanding, requiring a lot of trial and error and patience, but it is also very rewarding when it goes well (I almost said 'when it goes as planned', but it never goes as planned. God has his own plans and we just stumble into them. ;o).
Meanwhile I am still doing my monthly VTS videos for subscribers around the world as well as teaching animators directly via my Animation Personal Trainer program. Teaching is my second great joy after animating, so I am really having a blast being able to combine both into one job. It pays the bills and allows my wife and I to be here doing what we're doing for those less fortunate.
