Category: Animation News
40th Annie Awards Nominations Announced!
Yes, the nominations for the 40th Annie Awards have been announced! The Annie Awards, for those of you who don’t know, are like the Academy Awards for animation. It’s probably the highest level of recognition that one in the animation industry can get! I may post the full list of categories and nominations later, but for now I’ll just list the nominations for Best Animated Feature: Continue reading “40th Annie Awards Nominations Announced!”
Cate Blanchett in “Cinderella” Negotiations
Australian actress Cate Blanchett is apparently in talks to portray the evil stepmother in the Disney live-action reboot of “Cinderella.” Yes, Disney’s planning a live-action reboot of the classic 1950 film in the same manner as “Alice in Wonderland” and their upcoming “Maleficent.” The script is apparently being written by Chris Weitz.
Personally, I’m not a fan of re-imagining these animated masterpieces as live-action. I’m not saying that they’re bad; but if I had my way, I’d let Disney come up with new ideas for live-action films instead of feeding off their old hits of a different medium. Anyway, what do you think of this upcoming “Cinderella” reboot and what would your ideal casting be for it?
“Rise of the Guardians” Opens at #4
Dreamworks Animation’s “Rise of the Guardians” opens with a somewhat disappointing 4th place at the weekend box office. The film drew in $32 million over the Thanksgiving break. That’s understandable since it had to do battle with the latest Twilight flick, James Bond flick, and the Oscar buzz-generating, “Lincoln.” With a $145 million budget, I feel that the film can still become a hit, especially due to overseas markets. But, we’ll just have to wait and see. For all of you who have seen it, how did you like the film?
Tom Hanks as Walt Disney
We have a new photo of the actor Tom Hanks playing the animation icon himself, Walt Disney, in the forthcoming film, “Saving Mr. Banks.” The film will be about P.L. Travers, the author of the “Mary Poppins” series and will especially focus on Walt Disney’s negotiations with her to sell the rights to her book. The film is tentatively scheduled for December 20, 2013.
21 Animated Films Submitted for Oscars Consideration
The Oscars time is soon to come upon us! The 85th Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on February 24, 2013. So, naturally it’s only likely that films are soon to be submitted for consideration and voting by the Academy to be included in the hallowed nominations list.
And one category to have its contenders decided is the “Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.” 21 animated feature films from around the world have been submitted and with that amount, we may have up to 5 of them battling for the trophy. We’ll have to wait until January 10, 2013 to discover which 5 they’ll be, but let’s take a look at the 21 films submitted. Just to let you know, I have not yet seen many of these films, so my descriptions will be based on available plot summaries:
1) Adventures in Zambezia
Also known as Zambezia, we see that this computer-animated film was made in South Africa; actually we’ll see that a few of these films are from outside the USA. In this film, a young falcon leaves his home in the desert to discover action and adventure in the city of Zambezia.
2) Brave
Of course we have Disney-Pixar’s entry in the competition in which a young Scottish princess defies a custom and brings upon her kingdom a curse; one that she’ll have to muster up her bravery to undo. 
3) Delhi Safari
We get to one of India’s 2 entries in this category, this one being the first Indian stereoscopic 3D animated film. In this film, a monkey, bear, leopards, and other forest animals decide to go to the Indian Parliament and protest against the people’s destruction of their habitats and homes.
Continue reading “21 Animated Films Submitted for Oscars Consideration”
“Wreck-It Ralph” Wrecks Competition
Well, Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph” is the obvious victor of this weekend’s box office with an incredible $49.1 million! The critics are also agog with glee and pure commendation of the film (hence its mention on this blog, lol); a rare feat for current Disney! Does this predicted success of “Wreck-It Ralph” indicate a 2nd rise of Disney Animation i.e. a 2nd Renaissance per se? If so, where did it start from? Would “Tangled” be considered the starting point of this era of critic and common folk support and praise? Or would one consider the post-Pixar acquisition films as the starting point, i.e. “Bolt”? Whatever the case, “Wreck-It Ralph” is certainly on my list of films to see!
The Animation Commendation 