Episode 101: AF News Edition – Sequels, Reboots, and Awards Season

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“Animation is cinema. Animation is not a genre for kids. It is a medium.”

In this AF news edition, Marc and Stanford cover all the latest from the animation industry including upcoming sequels, reboots, and awards season galore! The 95th Oscars Feature Animation nominees are discussed, PHINEAS AND FERB is coming back and so are Hank Hill & BARNEY THE DINOSAUR, and HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is getting a live-action remake, all that, plus much, much more…

(recorded on: Monday February 20th, 2023)

‘Cinderella’ Cure for ‘Frozen Fever’

I prefer bad news first, so let’s begin with Frozen Fever. This 7 minute short that precedes Kenneth Branagh’s masterpiece retelling of Disney’s 1950 animated classic, Cinderella, is just annoying. Pandering, cheap, ridiculous premise (Elsa sneezes and snow babies pop out of her), cliché song and overall, just an obvious attempt at selling some new Frozen merchandise in the form of teeny stuffed snowmen and an Elsa dress that’s the same–but now in green! I pray this short is not indicative of what Frozen 2 is going to look like, but if the snowshoe fits…run away. Luckily, this brief, gratuitous sequel is not 90+ minutes long (yet) and the film that follows it is magical enough to almost make you forget Elsa singing, “a cold never bothered me anyway” (Get it? Cause she’s got a cold! And that’s also a line from “Let it Go.” Get it? Insert gun emoticon.) Almost.

“Animation Fascination” Episode 78: AF News – November 2014

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It’s a vintage AF team up in the latest news edition, Marc Vibbert is joined by Justin Vactor to discuss all the latest animation industry news from November.

Amongst the topics in this episode are reviews for Big Hero 6, Penguins of Madagascar, and the new Studio Ghibli Blu-ray releases. The announcement of Toy Story 4, The LEGO Movie sequel writers, Hullabaloo, and much, much more are also discussed.

(Recorded 11/22/14)

Disney’s Legacy Collection CDs Are a Must-Have for Music and Film Collectors

Walt Disney Records has begun rolling out their newly created line of collectible CDs entitled Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection. Starting first with Disney’s The Lion King, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, 15 new CD sets of classic Disney film and theme park music have been announced to be released through 2015 with hopefully more to be announced in the future.

“Animation Fascination” Episode 69: X-Men – Days of Animated Past

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The mutant brotherhood of Marc Vibbert, Stanford Clark, and Tom Fonss unite to talk all about the X-Men. They discuss their favorite animated incarnations of these astonishing mutants on television and film throughout the years.

So join them as they enroll at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, bub!

Also Discussed: the voice acting documentary I Know That Voice, what’s next for Star Wars, the new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer, and the Disney Blu-ray releases in August.

(Recorded on 05/19/14)

Watch This: See a Spinning CG Shoe in New ‘Cinderella’ Teaser

The Walt Disney Studios has released a new teaser trailer and poster for its upcoming live-action telling of Cinderella. The teaser is, well, truly a teaser. It reveals nothing except that our live-action heroine (played by actress Lily James) must learn to walk in some seriously high (and fragile) heels.

A Fascinating Day In Animation History: Walt Disney’s ‘Cinderella’ (1950)

Sixty-four years ago today, Walt Disney released his second princess fairy-tale story in hopes of matching the success of his first, Snow White. It had been eight years since the studio had come out with a full-length feature. “Package films” like Melody Time and Fun and Fancy Free had instead been released due to wartime budget cuts. The future of Walt Disney Studios depended on Cinderella doing well because Disney had put much more money into the film than was recommended. In the end, however, Cinderella did extremely well, being one of the top grossing films of 1950 and an enduring classic for every generation since its release.

June Foray, The First Lady of Voice Acting, to receive 2013 Governors Award

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) will honor the great June Foray, the undisputed First Lady of Voice Acting, with the lifetime Governors Award at this year’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards show on September 15th.

“Animation Fascination” Episode 32: The Guardians of Wrecking November

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We’re Back! In this episode Marc and Matt are joined by returning guest host Tim Costello to discuss November’s animation releases. From Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph and Paperman, to Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians, as well as a whole slew of Blu-ray and DVD reviews. They’re all here in this episode, plus much, much more…

“Animation Fascination” Episode 29: Bill Farmer – Voice Acting Legend

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In this episode Marc and Matt are joined by voice acting legend Bill Farmer (voice of Goofy, Pluto, Foghorn Leghorn, & Yosemite Sam as well as many others). Interview includes discussion of inspiration for Mr. Farmer’s career, great stories, and thoughts on stop motion animation. Marc and Matt also debate the ending of Bambi, all this and much, much more…