Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Breaking bold new ground in mainstream dada-esque filmmaking, the bright yellow, pill-shaped Minions that stole so much of the 2010 animated hit Despicable Me are getting their own spin-off film, aiming for a 2014 release, EW has confirmed.
Some of you may be thinking “Whaaaa?” – the Minions have no discernible language, and their adorably antic behavior doesn’t immediately seem suited to sustain a 90-minute feature. READ FULL STORY »
Anyone who has read Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, or seen this spring’s blockbuster animated movie, knows that the truffula forest was critical to the survival of many peculiar species.
In “Serenade,” one of three bonus mini-films on the upcoming Blu-ray release, we see just how the bear-like Brown Bar-ba-loots use those colorful tufts to keep the species going — with a little help from Auto-Tune.
Image Credit: Everett Collection
There are dozens of pop culture references that could be used to start this story.
We could go with a Fat Albert-esque question: “Hey, hey, hey… guess who just bought a huge portfolio of classic kids’ titles?”
And answer it He-Man and She-Ra style: “DreamWorks Animation… has… THE POWER!”
Or there’s the Lassie route: “What’s that, girl…? A company called Classic Media found a bunch of family entertainment characters down in a well? And now they’ve all been scooped up by Jeffrey Katzenberg?” READ FULL STORY »
Walt Disney Studios Animation
The animated arcade adventure Wreck-It Ralph has already added characters from Q*bert, Paperboy, Pac-Man, Street Fighter, and Sonic the Hedgehog to its cast.
Now the feature film from Walt Disney Studios Animation has added stars from Modern Family, The Office, 24, and the Disney Channel to fill-out the list of supporting players.
Image Credit: Landmark/PR Photos
After the surface of Mars proved inhospitable, Deadline is reporting that John Carter director Andrew Stanton is returning to the lush and lively oceans on our own planet for a sequel to his 2003 animated blockbuster Finding Nemo. The project remains in development at Pixar Animation Studios, which has been Stanton’s primary filmmaking home for two decades.
Finding Nemo, meanwhile, will be re-released in 3-D on Sept. 14. To date, it’s earned $867 million in worldwide box office; adjusted for inflation, it still ranks as Pixar’s highest grossing film in the U.S.
Reps for Pixar and Disney declined to comment when reached by EW.
Read more:
‘Monsters University’ debuts four new trailers — each with a slight mutation — VIDEO
‘John Carter’: See the original opening scene criticized by Pixar’s brain trust — EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
CinemaCon 2012: Pixar announces spooky new project for ‘Toy Story 3′ director
The Projects: Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted; Rise of the Guardians; and The Croods
The Panel: Bill Damaschke, chief creative officer of DreamWorks Animation; James Baxter, supervising animator for The Croods; Tom McGrath, director of Madagascar 3; and Patrick Hanenberger, production designer for Rise of the Guardians. EW’s Anthony Breznican moderated the panel.
The Big Revelations: At the very end of the panel, Madagascar 3 director McGrath (who also voices Skipper the penguin) confirmed that the penguins of Madagascar will be getting their own feature film, out in 2015. It will be titled, appropriately enough, The Penguins of Madagascar (the same title as an animated TV Nickelodeon series from DreamWorks Animation). READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Focus Features/LAIKA
As the title hero of the stop-motion animated film ParaNorman (out Aug. 17), Kodi Smit-McPhee gives voice to an 11-year-old kid who is capable of seeing, and speaking, to the dead. It’s certainly familiar territory for the young Australian actor, best known for the bleak post-apocalyptic film The Road and the grim vampire tale Let Me In. “Actually, my favorite genre is comedy,” he says with a laugh. “It’s pretty ironic and funny that I always get these kind of dramatic, sad, kind of low-down movies that are really intense, I guess. But I don’t mind. I think it’s good to get those types of movies, ’cause they’re the ones that stick with you.”
As you can see in the exclusive photo from ParaNorman below, the character of Norman Babcock has to deal with some very spooky business. Smit-McPhee says never really got that scared himself doing the role, but acting the non-verbal noises that come with being chased by petrifying zombies was definitely a challenge. “An example would be when [Norman's] on the toilet and it starts to shake, I would have to actually sit in the chair and shake myself,” he says. “That’s probably the hardest part, just all those weird noises. We went from like little [heavy breathing] pants, and worked our way up even bigger, bigger, bigger, to terrified stuff. It was actually pretty draining.”
Check out this first look from the film to get a sense of what’s causing Smit-McPhee’s Norman all this consternation (click on the image for a larger version): READ FULL STORY »
We met Rise of the Guardians‘ new takes on classic characters like Santa and the Tooth Fairy in the animated movie’s first trailer. Now the latest preview is spotlighting Jack Frost, voiced by Chris Pine, who looks to be troublemaker-turned-reluctant hero (not such a far cry from Pine’s turn as Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek).
The tone of mystical wonder that pervaded the first trailer is still here, along with a few peeks at the movie’s more comic moments — including a revelation about which of Santa’s famed lists Jack Frost is on.
Rise of the Guardians hits theaters Thanksgiving weekend, November 21. Watch the trailer below: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Marvel
Walt Disney Studios Animation is officially joining forces with Marvel.
Big Hero 6 is not as well known as The Avengers, but it’s another group of powerful individuals with wildly different histories and powers, united by the Japanese government as a crisis-fighting super-squad.
Disney reps confirmed to EW that the film is in the early stages of development, though they declined to specify which filmmakers are involved. As Hollywood heads into Comic-Con next month, rumors are swirling …
Fantastic Fest has announced that the opening film of this year’s Austin, Tx., genre movie extravaganza will be director Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie. The black and white animated movie is to receive its world premiere on September 20 at the city’s famed Alamo Drafthouse cinema.
“Tim Burton stands as a titan of modern genre cinema,” Fantastic Fest co-founder and creative director Tim League said in a statement. “To world premiere the feature adaptation of his early beloved short is a huge honor for me personally and for the festival in general.”
The organizers of Fantastic Fest have also debuted this year’s poster, which is the work of artist Mike Saptuo. You can check it out below.
Read more:
‘Frankenweenie’ trailer: Meet Tim Burton’s cute dead puppy
Boxing hobbits! Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan ‘beat the s–’ out of each other at Fantastic Fest — VIDEO
