Month: June 2008 (Page 3 of 3)
andPOP has published an insightful interview with John Stevenson and Mark Osbourne, directors of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda, which is now in theaters.
Here’s an excerpt:
andPOP: Where did the idea for Kung Fu Panda come from? Did it originate with you, or did it come from higher up in DreamWorks?
STEVENSON: It was an idea that originated in the development department at DreamWorks, and it was something that people responded to when they heard the two things: kung fu – great, hardcore, use of athletic ability and discipline – and pandas – furry, cute. It was a great mix of two weird ideas, but it hadn’t found a voice. It was languishing in the world of parody –
OSBOURNE: It made everyone kind of chuckle, but nobody quite knew what to do with it, and when we came together we decided to reinvent the idea as an epic kung fu film, not a parody.
Head over to andPOP to read the entire interview.
Internet users and cubicle dwellers rejoice! Scott Adams’ Dilbert is now the first globally recognized comic strip to feature a daily animated version.
RingTales – the producers of The New Yorker Animated Cartoons and the creative team behind Dreamworks’ “Over the Hedge†– have an exclusive deal with United Media, Dilbert’s licensing and syndication company, to produce and distribute daily animated versions of the Dilbert comic strip. This includes yet-to-be produced strips and over 7,000 comics in the Dilbert library.
With an initial launch on Dilbert.com and MSN, daily Dilbert animated cartoons launched today on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/dilbert), and on iTunes as a free, subscription podcast. They will soon be available via RSS feeds, widgets, mobile and numerous other websites.
Here’s an example of one of the episodes:
Toon Boom Animation have launched Toon Boom Pencil Check Pro, which, according to them, is the most flexible line testing software available in the industry. Pencil Check Pro offers a wide array of capture options, an efficient line testing process and an advanced feature set.
Pencil Check Pro supports a full range of devices from scanners to DV/HDV cameras, webcams and digital cameras. Pencil Check Pro performs all capture operations from a unique interface and has a real-time preview for devices equipped with live video stream.
Sketch key poses directly in the software, playback instantly and use the audio track capabilities while filling the exposure sheet. Draw the in-betweens, clean the animation and prepare your work for inking and painting. Finally, add camera motion to deliver a complete line test of your animation.
Easily control the color and opacity of Xsheet columns for accurate preview. Enjoy the digital exposure sheet and use its annotation columns to add comments and sketches.
Pencil Check Pro is available online and retails at $399.99. Educational pricing is also offered: $299.99 for a single license, and $2,499.99 for a 10-unit lab-pack. For more information, please visit www.toonboom.com/products/pencilcheckpro/
Popeye The Sailor 1938-1940 V2 is coming to DVD on June 17th, and we’ve got a sneak preview for you. Below you’ll find a clip of one of the cartoons featured on the DVD along with a behind-the-scenes clip.
Popeye, Olive Oyl, and Bluto are back to entertain fans in 2008 when Warner Home Video, Hearst Entertainment and King Features Syndicate get set to release Popeye The Sailor 1938-1940 Volume 2 and Popeye and Friends Vol. 1 on June 17, 2008. The 2-disc Authorized Edition 1938-1940 DVD collection includes 31 original re-mastered and unedited theatrical shorts created by the legendary Max Fleischer. Popeye and Friends Volume 1 is a 1-disc set including 8 full-color shorts.
During an interview with Collider, it was confirmed that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as currently writing an episode of The Simpsons.
Here’s what Seth Rogen had to say:
“We called The Simpsons and asked if we could write an episode. Evan actually met James L Brooks at a party and James said he really liked Superbad, so we thought there’s our in. Maybe we could ask to write a Simpsons.
We went in and pitched them like 5 ideas and surprisingly they hadn’t done some of them. And…yeah…we all sort of settled on one during the meting and then we went out and wrote an outline and they gave us notes on it. Then we re-wrote the outline.”
Check out these new images from DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. View the rest at USA Today.
Animated movies can do everything live action movies can do — make us laugh, make us cry, make us go agape at the sheer wonder of it all.
Check out Moviefone’s Top 25 Animated Movies and see if you don’t agree.
A new animation magazine, GoMotion, will be launching in July and it covers everything you need to know about the world of 3D animation, from tutorials to interviews with industry insiders. You can preview the premier issue here.
Definitely seems promising. We’ll give you our impressions of the magazine once we get ourselves a copy.
Synopsis: Big Buck Bunny tells the story of a giant rabbit with a heart bigger than himself. When one sunny day three rodents rudely harass him, something snaps… and the rabbit ain’t no bunny anymore! In the typical cartoon tradition he prepares the nasty rodents a comical revenge.
You can also download this short film for free in various formats, including high definition, at the official website.
According to Variety, The Simpsons cast have signed on to a four-year deal which ups their salaries to about $400,000 an episode, up from the mid 300,000 range.
The deal means Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe) and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns) went back to work this morning.
Also, as part of his deal, Dan Castellaneta will be consulting producer on the series and serve as a writer as well as voicing Homer.
Because of the late start, only 20 of the usual 22 episodes will be produced.
