The latest and greatest trailer for "Ratatouille" is now up at the official site.
I'll let the trailer speak for itself, but then I'll interrupt it halfway through to say...
I want to spend the summer at a vacation home with Pixar, just cuddling and expressing my love for it.
Official Ratatouille Site (with new trailer)
IGN has a ton of "TMNT" clips posted right now, including at least one exclusive.
So if you're on the fence about seeing the film, head over to IGN's site and check out some of the clips. I already liked the art style, but I like it even more after seeing some of these clips. While some are much better than others (the jungle scene was awesome, while the clip with the Foot Clan in the office was just okay), overall the film looks great.
The film is currently scoring a 29% overall, but most of the critics agree that it looks great but has no substance. Sort of like Jessica Simpson reading outloud from the Larry the Cable Guy autobiography.
TMNT Clips at IGN
TMNT Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes
Grab a pizza and your sword which you never use to actually kill anyone, and head on down to your local theater today, because "TMNT" is slashing it's way onto movie screens!
Get ready for more shouts of "DUDE!", "COWABUNGA!", and "RIGHTEOUS!" than you can shake a stick at, as well as a burp joke at least once a minute.
In all seriousness, this looks like a fun movie, and a really great art style, so look for me at the theater.
I'll be the one wearing the "Donatello Does Machines Like I Do Hot Chicks" shirt.
Official TMNT Website
Normally I hate games that are used solely to advertise something, but in the case of the "Get the Glass Game," I can't possibly harbor any ill will towards it because it's just so well done.
I only played about 10 minutes of it, but that is simply because I'm at work, and I already spent 4 hours today playing Minesweeper, so I'm feeling a bit guilty. That being said, I can promise you that I will be playing tonight when I get home. What a great overall art style and just a fun concept.
Get the Glass Game
A new poster for "Shrek the Third" is now up at IMP Awards.
I love Shrek's heel touching pose, and the fact that they managed to sneak in the Gingerbread Man.
More Shrek the Third Posters at IMP Awards
Ever wonder how a studio can rack up 20 Academy Awards, countless nominations, and gross a combined total of $3.4 billion at the box office alone?
The answer is in the story, and the philosophy behind the telling of said story.
Animation World Magazine is currently running a great article on the inner-workings of the Pixar creative process, as told during the recent Screenwriting Expo 5.
Here, then, are some of Pixar leaders' foundational tenets:
- They make movies that they would like to see. They are moviegoers first and filmmakers second. They like being able to take their whole family to the same show.
- They shy away from story formulas. If one appears, they abandon it.
- Animation is a medium, not a genre. Be original. Dare to be stupid. When discovering your story, you have to be in a creatively safe environment.
- They do not pretend to be better than others in their ability. They band together to fix their mistakes. Their intent is to "just make good movies." In crafting their films, the regard is always what is best for the movie -- not the individual, not the studio.
- They try to cultivate the cheerful reaction that Walt Disney inspired through his animated films, to appeal to the sense of wonder in people's minds, stimulated by imagination.
There is a ton of great reading in this article, and a reminder to us all that while visuals are very important in the world of 3D animation, they don't mean jack squat if the story and planning isn't there to begin with!
Pixar Article at AWN
According to Coming Soon, a new "Ratatouille" trailer is set to release this Friday, and this one is official!
I'm not exactly sure if this is the reason that Disney had all of the YouTube versions of the Asian trailer pulled, or if it's just because they're Disney and they don't believe in fun. Either way, we don't have long to wait for the official one, so I think we'll be okay.
Coming Soon even has a link to where you can get a countdown clock to the trailer, in case you aren't sure when "this Friday" is.
Ratatouille Trailer Info at Coming Soon!
Here is a new foreign poster for the film, "Ratatouille":
There was also a new international trailer posted on YouTube today, which I found out about 10 minutes ago. I went to watch it, and by the time it was over, the video had been removed by Disney. I guess they figured since I had seen it, there were no more important people left to view it and they should just have it removed.
If it gets posted again, I'll make sure to let you know.
EDIT: Watch it while you can!
Poster via the Animated News Forum
The Winter student showcase from the students of Animation Mentor is now online!
As always, the high level of work coming out of The Ment is just mind blowing, and I can only hope that my time at the school produces work that even comes close to that same level.
Winter Showcase at Animation Mentor
Yes I typed "3D" twice in the title, and that's because "Monsters vs Aliens," the upcoming film from Dreamworks set to release in Summer of 2009, is going to be both CG and 3D.
The growth in the number of theaters capable of projecting 3D films has dramatically risen in the past two years. It is expected by 2009 that there will be several thousand screens equipped for 3D. DreamWorks Animation believes that the rapid deployment of digital cinemas by exhibitors around the world and the latest technology developments will allow the company to take advantage of this new platform. The company has started production on its first film in this format, Monsters vs. Aliens (working title), intended for release in the summer of 2009.
I remember a time in the 80s when every film was in 3D, but the novelty quickly wore off. Is that something we really need to bring back? I just don't really see the need for it, especially if I have to wear the dumb glasses in the theater. Not to say the actual film won't be good, but I just don't know that 3D will really add anything to it.
Now I need to go take a nap on my waterbed so that I can get my rest before I head out on my four-wheeled roller skates and listen to my Walkman tape machine.
Dreamworks Press Release via Animated News
For those of you who don’t know, I’m enrolled in Animation Mentor, and I’m just about to wrap up my 2nd quarter (term? class?) there.
While I normally try to refrain from personal posts on this site (please try to ignore the 36 personal links in the right column over there), I do want to talk about my experience at “The Ment,” since I do get questioned about it from time to time.
The degree that I have in computer animation is from a chain of schools that you’ve probably heard of. I’d prefer not to mention the school by name, but chances are that if you live near a major city, you have one close by. The reason I’m not trying to name names is because I found my time there to be less than perfect. In fact, it was far from it. I vividly remember sitting in a Maya class, as an instructor took us through a Maya modeling book on how to build a spaceship. In other words, he wasn’t “teaching,” he was simply reading out loud. When a student would ask a question, this professor would then have to consult the glossary of the book, hoping that a key term the student mentioned in their question(s) could be found there. If not, he would tell the student he would have an answer for them next week, which was sort of like trusting a heroin addict to “have the money for you next week.”
I wish I could say that, at this particular institute of learning, this was the exception rather than the rule, but it really wasn’t. Now, as with anything in life, education is what you make of it, and there was some brilliant work that came out of the school. The problem is that it had little to nothing to do with what was taught, and really just a matter of sheer talent overcoming subpar teaching.
Upon graduation, I packaged up my little demo reel and sent it off to companies, convinced that I had no shot in hell at landing a job in computer animation, and boy was I right. Not with that reel at least. So here I was, having graduated with honors, as a member of the Dean’s list, with nothing to show for it but a demo reel that I even laughed at when I watched it.
In other words, saying I had a degree in animation from that school was worth about as much as a degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering applied physics from Jiffy Lube.
So when the chance to join up with Animation Mentor sprung up some months back, I was somewhat reluctant. I didn’t want to get burned again by a school that wasn’t accredited and had no real proven track record. However, once I looked at the student showcase for the first time, I couldn’t sign up fast enough. Absolutely everything contained in that showcase was better than anything I had done before, and I wanted to see if I could match that level of work.
Having no true animation experience, other than the one class in 3D animation I took at my former school, I had no idea what to expect. We started out animating a bouncing ball, a standard for early animators, to learn timing, weight and arcs. From there we progressed to a ball with a tail, then a ball with two legs (essentially two tails), and then something clicked…
I started to realize how each assignment was building on the previous. They didn’t just throw us in with a full-featured rig and say, “Make it do stuff,” as was the case at that other school. Instead they showed us how everything relates to the same principals of animation (developed and outline by the 9 old men), and got our feet wet a little at a time. After the ball with legs, we got a ball with legs and a torso/head. Next came arms. Suddenly, before you realize it, you’re working on a full-bodied rig, yet what you’ve learned keeps it from overwhelming you.
It’s an amazing structure, and one that continues to build, with full fingers and toes, and then a fully functional facial rig. All the while, somewhere deep in your mind, you’re still animating that simple little bouncing ball. Not only that, but you’re animating using the principals that have been introduced to you over time throughout the course. You aren’t just making an arm move, but you’re making that arm move with overlap, and you’re tracking your arcs, and you’re concerned with weight. Again, this is all done without you even realizing directly that you’ve started to focus on these things.
It can be intense at times, but you never ever feel like there is an assignment that you can’t accomplish. Not only that, but in later classes you get a “pick list” that allows you to choose your level of difficulty for your assignment, which helps you to stay in a comfort zone of sorts.
Outside of the class structure, AM has done an excellent job with their “campus.” Though the school is online, I’ve had FAR more interaction with students then I ever had at previous schools (I’ve also attended a University). From the forums, to a 24 hour chat, to feedback that students can leave on each assignment, to the weekly live Q&A with my mentor, I have had no shortage of people to bounce ideas and questions off of.
I know it sounds like I’m being paid to write this stuff about The Ment, but I’m really not. For aspiring animators, this school is everything it bills itself as, and it keeps getting better. This is not 3 guys with a laptop running an online school that you see advertised during daytime television. This is the real deal, and far more rewarding of an experience than other schools that charge 5 times as much.
My ultimate goal is to make the switch from the technical side of life to the creative one, and I have no doubt that, with the help of Animation Mentor, I can (and will) succeed.
At some point, once I’m all finished with this quarter, I’ll post my progress reel, so that you can see my stuff first hand. In the meantime, I highly suggest you swing over to The Ment’s website and check out some of the work.
You’ll be glad you did.
Animation Mentor
Titled "Batman - Chapter One: Help Me!" this short from Isaak Fernandez Rodriguez looks to be a nice twist on an old character.
Not much is known, by me, about the short, other than the fact that it's currently being hosted over at Daniel Martinez Lara's website.
In any case, it's a fun little short film, and I hope there winds up being an Episode Two. Maybe even some prequels or something.
And I love when he jumps up on the coat rack.
Batman - Episode One: Help Me!
RE-Animation Blog
This is such an amazing little movie, but I'm pretty sure you need to be eating hallucinogenic mushrooms to fully appreciate it.
I bet this is like the third video you've seen today where a vegan zombie dances to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," but I'm showing it to you anyway.
Some good animation and poses in this one, but I have to admit that I have never heard of Tofu (the Zombie, not the crap food) before. Then I went over to the official site and you would think not knowing this character is like not knowing who Tom Hanks is.
Speaking of... I don't think Tom Hanks has ever been better than he was in "Bosom Buddies." That's not to say that he wasn't great in other roles, but man... he really nailed that roll. I wonder if he's ever considered making a movie out of that show. It might be just the thing to jumpstart his career.
Where was I? Oh yeah...
Tofu the Vegan Zombie Dances to Thriller
The Official Tofu the Vegan Zombie Website
...they just rename the damn thing "Pixarland"?
Upcoming Pixar (link below) posted a bunch of new high-res scans from the most recent Annual Report from Walt Disney. Contained in those images are bunch of concept art pieces from upcoming attractions at Disney's theme parks, and I think you'll probably notice a very similar trend in each of them right off the bat.
A few posts back I said that Disney really hasn't learned much from Pixar, even though they've spent millions of dollars to own/publish their work. Disney is still (as it has been for a long time now) about the dollar, and somewhere lost focus on the actual vision that Walt had of entertaining children and the young at heart.
So when I see these Pixar-themed rides, on one hand I think how neat they'll probably wind up being as Pixar is going to make sure that the quality bar is very high. Not only that, but some are just a natural fit, such as Carland now being "Cars" themed and the fact that "Finding Nemo" is a natural fit for the submarine ride.
On the other hand, I remember when Disney made rides at their theme parks just to entertain people and not to further their franchises. The Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribbean (remember... the ride came first, not the movie), and Space Mountain, just to name a few, aren't based on any franchise. They're just fun rides and they made a name for the park just simply based on the fact that they were fun.
These days it seems as though every ride at Disneyland or Disneyworld has to be based on a franchise, so that they can lead you through a little shop at the end of the ride and shove a crap-ton of merchandise down your throat.
The Pixar rides will probably be great, and I'll probably enjoy them, but I just wish that Disney would start to take chances again instead of always just milking every single franchise to death. Somewhere along the way, and it happened some time ago, Disney's train went off track, and I just hope to doesn't pull Pixar off with it.
More Images from Rides and Upcoming Pixar Films at Upcoming Pixar
A wonderful little short titled "Garto" by Luis Gomez Guzman is now available for viewing on his website.
Usually with these types of independently produced short films, the animation is great but the art is just okay, or the models are amazing but the textures aren't. It's usually a "this is good, but that is just okay," but in the case of "Garto," Luis does an amazing job of not only making the world they live in beautiful, but also in nailing things like fluids (the waterfall), lighting and overall doing a great job with the actual animating.
EDIT: You know what might be awesome? If I actually include a link to the film. I'm an idiot
Garto Short Film
Saw this last night while I was watching TV...
Brad Bird was at WonderCon, promoting his upcoming "Ratatouille," and made an interesting comment regarding a possible "The Incredibles" sequel...
“But I think at Pixar, the bottom line is the story that you’re telling. And Pixar does not look at sequels as a financial plan. We feel we have a relation ship with the audience and that they believe in each movie we put out. We believe completely in every movie we put out. If I can come up with a story that is as good or better than that first film, then I’d love to return to that world, but it would have to be story first.”
Philosphies like that one are why Pixar is where they are today, and why everyone continues to wonder how a company like Disney can spend so much time and money to land Pixar and yet not learn from them at all. Sure Disney has made some progress (bringing back 2D, letting Pixar consult on "Meet the Robinsons," etc), but overall they still continue to pump out straight to DVD releases and sub-standard films in the hope of making a quick buck. Pixar, on the other hand, understands that if the quality of the film comes first, the money will follow.
While I'm the first to say that I would LOVE to see "The Incredibles" get a sequel, what Brad says makes all the sense in the world. There is no sense in doing a sequel just to do a sequel.
More on Brad Bird's apperance at WonderCon from /Film
Looks like "Meet the Robinsons" will be brought to theaters in something called "Disney Digital 3D."
Awesome little short posted today over at the RE-Animation Blog called "Da Vincielo."
Some really great animation and humor in this touching story of a man who learned to fly by falling to his death.
Da Vincielo Website
RE-Animation Blog
Dreamworks announced its fourth quarter and full year 2006 financial results today.
In the fourth quarter, the Company reported operating revenue of $204.3 million with a net loss of approximately $21.3 million, or ($0.20) per share on a fully diluted basis. These results bring the full year reported revenue for 2006 to a total of $394.8 million and net income of $15.1 million, or $0.15 per share on a fully diluted basis.
So after all the dust has settled, Dreamworks Animation pulled in $15 million for the year, despite "Flushed Away" being such a turd at the box office. I happen to like the movie a great deal, but even Jeffrey Katzenberg threw it under the bus.
"Looking at our 2006 releases overall, Over the Hedge finished as one of the top performing domestic theatrical releases of the year and is performing well in home video," stated Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation. "Flushed Away, however, did not meet financial expectations despite critical acclaim. Its performance offset what was otherwise a strong year for the rest of our titles, especially in the home video market."
Sill, it's a testament to just how profitable the company can be to absorb a loss and still turn a profit, and with 2007 seeing the release of "Shrek the Third," chances are, like Shrek on a hill, the greenbacks will keep rolling in.
I kill myself.
Dreamworks Financial Report on Yahoo
Latino Review has a bunch of images and promotional art for Disney's upcoming "Meet the Robinsons."
I've said this before, but doesn't it feel like Disney is really just throwing everything at a wall to see what sticks with this one? Let's see... Dinousaurs? Check. Robots? Check. Aliens? Check. Talking Animals? Check. Evil villan? Check. Goofy kids? Check. Goth girl? Check.
Enticing me to buy a ticket to "Meet the Robinsons"?
Check.
Meet the Robinsons at Latino Review
In case you're living under a rock and haven't had the opportunity of having someone beat another pointless award show down your throat, "Happy Feet" one for Best Animated Feature Film at this year's Oscars.
It's pretty sad when only one of the nominated animated films this year (Cars) was actually animated and not motion captured, and it's only going to get worse once Hollywood begins to really follow the trend, now that HF has won.
Latino Review has posted some brand new images from Sony's upcoming "Surf's Up" film.
My wife is currently in Maui for a wedding, so seeing the beach photos from the film just make me even more jealous than I already was.
And just so everyone is clear, she too wears a coconut bra.
Surf's Up Images at Latino Review
The LlopisAnimation Blog has extracted all of the actual "Ratatouille" movie clips from the recent interview that Brad Bird did with ABC News and placed them all in one convenient location.
The interview is still worth watching in full, but if you're the kind of person who eats the white cream filling out of the Oreos and throws the cookie shell away, then this may be right up your alley.
The LlopisAnimation Blog
Aside from holding the Guiness Book of World Records title for most vowels in a last name, Patrick Beaulieu also happens to be an amazing 3D artist, and has just posted his latest work on his official website.
According to Patrick:
Here's my latest character called Bobby Bubble. Ive used 3D studio max 9, Vray, Zbrush, shag fur and Photoshop to created this image.
Patrick's Official Site
Bleeding Pixel's 10 Quick with Patrick Beaulieu
Animated Views has an interview up with Chris Renaud, co-Director of the Academy Award Nominated "No Time for Nuts."
AV: What would you say was the biggest challenge you faced in writing and co-directing the short?
CR: I think to me, and I think Mike would agree with this, the biggest trick is pacing, honestly. I think that’s kind of the language of film. We had a lot of ideas that we wanted to get in there, and a lot of gags. Just to get them all timed so we felt they were working, and also so a fresh audience could understand them - the sort of balancing the break-neck pace with the clarity - I think that was the biggest challenge we both faced in putting this together.
And unlike the Brad Bird interview I posted a link to yesterday, I'm pretty sure the above shot is actually a picture of Chris.
Chris Renaud Interview at Animated Views
Brad Bird, director of "The Iron Giant," "The Incredibles," and the upcoming "Ratatouille," has been interviewed over at spline doctors.
It's an interesting listen, and worth your time to hear from the man behind the great animated films listed above.
NOTE: That is not Brad in the image above, as he has far less fur.
Spline Doctors
A great little short film by Justin Henton, a graduate from the Emily Carr institute.
The new trailer for "Bee Movie" is now up, and mixes live action Jerry Seinfeld with CG Jerry Seinfeld, both of whom are rather dry and make observations about Grapenuts not being grapes or nuts.
So buzz on over and have a look for yourself.
Isn't the bear in the clip the same one from "Over the Hedge"? They're both Dreamworks films, so it's certainly possible that he makes a little cameo in this one.
Bee Movie Trailer
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
Who wants to see a 15 second clip from Disney's new film, "Rapunzel Unleashed," animated by none other than Mr. Glen Keane, animator on such films as "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and "Tarzan"?
Stephen Ogden has posted the first of what he hopes to be many shorts starring a snowman called, "Flakes."
From the site:
"The idea behind Flakes is to make small, episodic animated films. I'm thinking of them as animated comic strips, and I hope that by keeping things small and simple, I'll be able to get quite a few stories out."
My hope is that in the next episode the snowman finally kills the idiot who always thinks it's funny to take the carrot and coal and make snowman privates with them.
Flakes Website
Some of the folks at Kaktus Films got together and made a nice little animation of a clumsy robot.
I did the same thing once on a skateboard, only my eye didn't fall out.
That would have been really cool though.
Mega Robot Returns
Official Kaktus Film Website
I'm not sure where this came from, but someone has posted an animation test for "Ratatouille" up on a website called Vimeo.
It's a really fun little clip with some cute animation, so I hope it's up for a while for fans and aspiring animators to check out.
Ratatouille Animation Test
EDIT: Here is the YouTube version if you don't want to visit the site posted above.
A really nice little spot from Studio Aka for Lloyds TSB.
I actually had to go and look up what Lloyds TSB was, and it's a bank. From watching the commercial, I honestly thought they were probably a company that either made trains or ran a public transportation system of some kind.
The more you know...
Lloyds TSB Commercial
Studio Aka
RE-Animation Blog
The new "Shrek the Third" trailer is up over on the tube of you.
Blur's Academy Award Nominated short, "Gopher Broke" is now available on iTunes.
At just $1.99 for the short, you can't help but buy it. It would be sort of like refusing to pay $1.99 for a bowl of gold nuggets dipped in chocolate, where all you had to do was suck all of the choclate off of the little nuggets and then take the gold to the bank. Of course when you got to the bank with a bowl full of slobbery gold nuggets, the teller may ask what the heck you were up to, so maybe getting "Gopher" off of iTunes for the same price really isn't the same at all.
Or is it?
The website for the upcoming "TMNT" film has been updated.
If you ask me, the one thing this site is missing is a healthy dose of dinosaur butt.
See post below.
Official TMNT Website
The official website for Disney's "Meet the Robinsons" has been updated.
I can almost hear the Disney meeting now, "The official site just doesn't have enough Dinosaur butt in it. Let's make sure that happens with the new one. Kids think butts are funny."
You and me both, kids... you and me both.
Meet the Robinsons Website
...is no longer up.
Apparantly, Empire Movies had the new trailer up, but have since been asked to take it down by the folks at Paramount. In it's place is a note:
**Updated** at the request of Paramount Pictures, this trailer has been taken offline. It will air on TV this Wednesday on American Idol. Stay tuned for when it will no doubt be available online shortly thereafter.
So if you can manage to stomach another batch of people pretending to be mentally challenged and singing off key with the sole intention of getting on TV so that the former bass player for Journey, a crazy drunk, and a jerkhole snob with too much chest hair can tell them how terrible they sound, feel free to check out the trailer as well.
I'll wait for the YouTube version.
More Shrek the Third Still from Empire Movies
Just got an email today stating that "Minuscule" is coming to DVD March 22nd.
If you haven't seen the show, you really should check it out. Then you should try choclate with peanut butter, as that's really good too.
Official Minuscule Website
I'll probably get in trouble for even mentioning the name of the football game that will be played this Sunday, but if you want to watch the new commercial that will be shown during that broadcast for Disney's "Meet the Robinsons," you simply need to swing over to ifilm.
While the screenshot above isn't exactly mind-blowing, it is my favorite part from the short commercial. Of course, that "short" commercial probably cost Disney around a billion dollars to air during the Bowl of Superness.
ifilm's Meet the Robinsons Commercial"
Just wanted to remind everyone that "Open Season" hits DVD shelves today.
An interesting article over in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, regarding Dreamworks and their change in production philosphies.
So DreamWorks has a new motto for its business going forward: Slow down. The company has decided to add a year to the production of its films.
"We've been racing to the finish line and that has meant compromising on story telling sometimes," says DreamWorks Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg. There's a strong financial incentive, he adds: "If we improve our box office performance by 10 percent, it adds $100 million pre-tax profit to the company."
The studio has been making other changes, too. It has overhauled its top team after its problems in 2005, when it had to restate its earnings estimates twice because of miscalculating how many "Shrek 2" DVDs it would sell. That episode resulted in an informal SEC inquiry, which was later dropped. The Glendale, Calif. company also has has unified its production systems and streamlined its corporate structure.
Regardless of what you think the true motivation is behind this revamped schedule, it makes sense. The market is too flooded with barely-above-average CG films right now, and scaling back production to add time to the baking process, is good no matter how you slice it.
The one thing that does worry me about the article is Dreamworks apparent focus on sequels. With the exception of "Toy Story," Pixar has created a forumla of consistently making money without making sequels. That's not to say that Pixar's formula is the only one in the lab, but it seems to be working quite well for them, while at the same time keeping fresh and new ideas at the forefront.
The Post Gazette Article
Aniboom.com has posted the finalists for it's Aniboom Awards, and one is the deliteful "Prime Time."
It starts off with a booger joke, something that will immediately gain high marks from this judge, and continues on with some really great humor and art. The characters are well designed, and the animation more than does the job. Not only that, but it has some of the best booger FX ever seen in a short film!
Worth your time.
Prime Time on Aniboom
A new clip of "Lifted" has been posted up on AWN's Oscar website.
While it's relatively short, it's still worth checking out at least once.
AWN's Lifted Oscar Page
Watch this clip from the upcoming direct-to-dvd TinkerBell movie while you can, because Disney has been pulling them down off of YouTube left and right.
There is a new episode of "Minuscule" up on YouTube.
The folks over at Blur have finally updated their website, which now includes a trailer for their latest short film, "A Gentleman's Duel."
Seeing the teaser only makes me want to see the entire film that much more, and I really hope that they post it online just as they have done for their previous short films.
To see the two giant robots collide in front of that beautiful mansion sent chills down my spine. The entire film just looks gorgeous from start to finish.
Official Blur Website
There is a brand new (HD) trailer for "TMNT" up over on the Apple Quicktime site.
First of all, until I saw this trailer, I had no idea that the Weinstein Company was involved, which scares the turtle turds right out of me.
Second of all, I can already tell that the voices are going to completely ruin this film for me.
It sure looks nice though.
TMNT Trailer on QT
By way of Animated News and their fancy forum, the first image of Pixar's upcoming film, "W.A.L.-E" has made it to the interwebs.
The image was in the latest letter to the shareholders that is also posted on the web.
It's awesome to finally know what happened to #5 from "Short Circuit," and I'm glad he's still able to find work in this day and age.
EDIT:Is it just me or if you look close can you also see a child's face on the front of the robot? Someone tell me I'm not seeing things.
Animated News Forums
Disney Letter to Shareholders
In case you missed the news, "Cars" won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.
The film beat out "Happy Feet" and "Monster House" to take the honor.
I must say I was surprised by the fact that no Weinstein films were nominated for this category, but then I realized I wasn't.
Complete List of Golden Globe Winners
Pixar's Official Site
Looks like Dreamworks has set February 20th as the release date for "Flushed Away."
According to the fine folks at DVD Active, extras are shaping up as follows:
Extras will include a commentary by Directors David Bowers and Sam Fell, two animated slug songs, a From Clay to CG: A Technical Journey featurette, a Meet the Cast featurette, a Jammy Dodger Fly-Thru, an animator's gallery, and a behind the scenes interactive tour. Completing the package will be a Flushed Away Jukebox, trailers, some interactive games, and more.
One additional extra is a short titled, "Why we spent millions of dollars on computers to make animation that looks just like the stuff we made with clay for way less."
That last extra probably isn't true.
DVD Active's Flushed Away DVD Info
Arthur and the Invisibles opened in theaters nationwide this past weekend, and the results were less than earth-shattering.
The film opened in 9th place with $4.3 million in ticket sales, making it the third lowest debuting computer animated film, just above "Doogal's" $3.6 million opening, but below "Happily N'Ever After," which opened last week with $6.6 million.
Now it's just a matter of seeing how the industry reacts, now that there have been more than a handful of animated flops released in the last year. Along with the two mentioned, films like "Everyone's Hero," "The Ant Bully," "The Wild," and "Flushed Away," have all underperformed, and there is an equally long list of films that just broke even.
For someone like myself who is trying to break into the business, it's scary on one hand to see this trend, as studios will inevitablly scale back production of animated films, leading to less job openings. At the same time, the quality bar will (hopefully) rise as studios re-focus on quality over quantity.
It will be interesting to see how the big name animated films such as "Ratatouille" and "Shrek the Third" perform in the year to come, as that will be a good measuring stick of whether or not audiences are fed up with animated films in general, or just fed up with bad ones.
Yet another great find from RE-Animation Blog.
Really nice animation and slapstick humor in this one.
Worth checking out for sure.
The Grandfather of Soul
RE-Animation Blog
"Arthur and the Invisibles" hits theaters today and should satisfy both fans of "The Dark Crystal," and fans of troll dolls.
Currently the film continues the recent tradition of poorly reviewed animated films, as compiled over at Rotten Tomatoes. The film currently sits at a 25% overall, with most critics saying that the two-hour-plus film is nothing new. Sounds like even the all-star cast of David Bowie and Snoop Dogg (I really wish I was making that up), couldn't save this one from the critics.
I guess they should have gone with my idea of "Arthur and the Nympho Women of Busty Beach" instead.
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews for Arthur and the Invisibles
Office AatI Site
One more from DVD Active today, which is the info for "Happy Feet," hitting store shelves March 27th.
Extras will include two new fully animated sequences (Mumble Meets a Blue Whale and A Happy Feet Moment), a Dance Like a Penguin: Stomp to the Beat feature, two music videos (Gia's Hit Me Up and Prince's The Song of the Heart), and the classic cartoon - I Love to Singa.
And while it isn't region free, it is Whoopi free (see "Everyone's Hero" release post), which is almost as good.
DVD Active's Happy Feet DVD Info
DVD Active has the details on "Everyone's Hero," which comes out on March 20th.
Extras will include a commentary by Co- Directors Colin Brady and Dan St. Pierre and Writers Jeff Hand and Rob Kurtz, a Tribute to Christopher and Dana Reeve, a making of featurette, and theatrical trailers.
I was really hoping for a way to disable Whoopi's voice, but maybe I'll have to hold out for the special edition for that option.
DVD Active's Info On Everyone's Hero DVD
