New Details Released About ‘Frozen 2’

Disney has made exciting announcements today about the upcoming production of Frozen 2, the sequel to the most successful animated film in the universe, Frozen 1.

San Diego Comic-Con Begins Today, But It’ll Take the TARDIS to Get Me In

So, as much as I have always loved comics, cartoons and everything related to the world of being a nerd, generally, I have never attended or paid much attention to the many, varying comic conventions that are so popular these days. Maybe because I haven’t lived in SOCAL that long, but I now realize how incredibly out of the loop I am. In researching what, in relation to animation, this year’s Comic-Con has to offer, I have been bowled over by all the cool exhibits, guests and products available to the 130,000 fans that managed to get tickets to this exclusive event. I went online to try to pick up a ticket for Sunday because I am off work, but apparently I need to locate the Doctor about traveling back in time, since they are all long sold-out.

Part Three of ‘The Hobbit’ Gets a New Name

Since The Hobbit films have a tremendous amount of VFX and CG animation in them, we occasionally discuss them on our site. The latest news to come from the film’s production team is a new title for the third and final chapter in the series. Instead of The Hobbit: There and Back Again as previously announced, it’s now going to be called The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Get Ready for ‘The Desolation of Smaug’ on Blu-ray April 8th!

While it’s not necessarily considered an animated feature, New Line Cinema and MGM’s  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug probably has more animation in it than most films do. The monster hit film and second in Peter Jackson’s ambitious (and very long) The Hobbit trilogy is coming to Blu-ray on April 8th and is going to be available in lots of different packaging.

Box Office Report: ‘Smaug’ Hoards More Gold

For the weekend of December 13-15, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was the big winner at the U.S. box office, pulling in an estimated $73.7 million. While the weekend take was impressive for Smaug, Box Office Mojo reports that the films earnings were still 13 percent lower than the first film in Peter Jackson’s latest Middle Earth trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Jackson Will Direct next Tintin…Eventually

The Spielberg/Jackson MoCap film The Adventures of Tintin from 2011 may not have fared as spectacularly here as with the European audiences, but the film did favor well with critics and there are two sequels scheduled in the works. For the first film, Steven Spielberg directed and Peter Jackson produced. For the next installment, the two titans will reverse jobs and because of this, Jackson says the production of the next Tintin film will have to wait for a wrap on The Hobbit films.

Ray Harryhausen: A Retrospective

Drawing by Austin Madison

Though I can’t pinpoint my first experience with a Ray Harryhausen film, I know the one that inspired me the most. In 1981, I sat in a dark theater and watched Titans Clash. I watched men fight huge scorpions, and I saw Gorgons beheaded, and horses flew effortlessly before my eyes, and I was enthralled when the Kraken was released by the gods to cause terror and destruction upon the world. I was completely mesmerized by what I was seeing. This–this was what movie magic was all about.

“Animation Fascination” Episode 41: Cal Brunker – Writer/Director of ‘Escape from Planet Earth’

Listen Now!!

Scorch me, baby! Straight from Planet Baab all the way to the Dark Planet itself, we’re back with another episode.

Marc and Matt interview Cal Brunker the writer/director of Rainmaker Entertainment’s Escape from Planet Earth. They discuss Cal’s introduction into the world of animation, what it’s like working at different animation studios, and the zombie version of Gary Supernova.

Also discussed: review of Dreamworks’ The Croods, new trailers for Despicable Me 2 and Turbo, and whole slew of animation news.

Tintin Sequel in 2015, says Spielberg

In an interview published in the Times of India, Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg let slip that the sequel to his and Peter Jackson’s 2011 animated effort, The Adventures of Tintin, would be ready by Christmas, 2015.