The Animation Blog

Category: Films (Page 68 of 85)

‘Mary and Max’ claymation film to open 2009 Sundance Film Festival

November 20, 2008 / / 0 Comments

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune, MARY AND MAX, a claymation film, is set to open the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The film, from Australian animator Adam Elliot, will play January 15 at Park City, Utah’s Eccles Center Theatre.

Mary and Max is a tale of a pen-pal friendship between two very different people: Mary Dinkle is a chubby, lonely 8 year old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horovitz is a 44 year old, severely obese Jewish man with Asperger’s Syndrome living in the chaos of New York.

The film will be narrated by Australian actor Barry Humphries, who previously voiced Bruce the Shark in Pixar’s Finding Nemo.

Elliot’s HARVIE KRUMPET played at Sundance in 2004 and won the Oscar that year for Best Animated Short. MARY AND MAX is based on Elliot’s real-life pen-pal relationship over the last 20 years.

Mary and Max is set for a theatrical release in April 2009.

maryandmax2.jpg

‘Happy Feet 2’ to be made in new Sydney facility

November 17, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Australian newspaper The Age reports that ‘Happy Feet 2’ will be made entirely in Sydney, Australia in a new digital production facility that will employ an average of 438 people over three years, including some 230 computer-generated imaging artists.

The new digital production facility is expected to boost to the local movie industry, which has been criticised for a lack of investment in recent years.

Director George Miller praised the government’s assistance package and the Dr D facility, which has already attracted a number of big budget film projects in the pre-production stage.

happyfeet2.jpg

Guillermo Del Toro working on stop-motion ‘Pinocchio’ movie

November 17, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Geeks worldwide cried tears of joy as the news broke that Guillermo del Toro and the Jim Henson Co. are developing a stop-motion PINOCCHIO feature with a darker tone.

Del Toro spilled the beans to the fine folks over at Bloody Disgusting, revealing that he was working on the script with Gris Grimly, illustrator on 2002’s PINOCCHIO.

Del Toro is incredible busy, working on the highly-anticipated HOBBIT movie which will actually be spread out over two movies and will take about five years of his time. He is directing and co-writing along with the Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

As if that wasn’t enough, Del Toro is also working on remakes of FRANKENSTEIN, DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE as well as an adaptation of Dan Simmons’ DROOD.

pinocchiogrimly.jpg

Steve Carell stars in ‘Despicable Me’

November 14, 2008 / / 0 Comments

The fine folks over at Variety are reporting that Steve Carell will voice the title character in “Despicable Me,” a 3-D CG-animated film scheduled to be released in 2010.

Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Russell Brand, Jemaine Clement, Jack McBrayer and Julie Andrews will also provide voice wor for other characters.

Carell’s plays a man named Groo, who plots to steal the moon. Unfortunately for him there are three problems in his way — a trio of orphan girls who temporarily come under his care and won’t leave.

stevecarell2.jpg

A look at ‘Coraline,’ a new stop-motion animated movie

November 12, 2008 / / 0 Comments

From Henry Selick, director of ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas,’ and based on Neil Gaiman’s international best-selling book, comes the first stop-motion animated feature filmed in 3D.

Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door and discovers an alternate version of her life on the other side. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life and the people in it – only much better. But when this seemingly perfect world turns dangerous, and her other parents (including her Other Mother voiced by Teri Hatcher) try to trap her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination and bravery to escape this increasingly perilous world – and save her family.

Release date: February 2009

Check out the following five featurettes:

Continue reading

14 animated films submitted for Oscar consideration

November 11, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Fourteen features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 81st Academy Awards.

The 14 submitted features are:
“Bolt”
“Delgo”
“Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”
“Dragon Hunters”
“Fly Me to the Moon”
“Igor”
“Kung Fu Panda”
“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”
“$9.99”
“The Sky Crawlers”
“Sword of the Stranger”
“The Tale of Despereaux”
“WALL-E”
“Waltz with Bashir”

“Bolt,” “Delgo,” “Dragon Hunters,” “$9.99,” “The Sky Crawlers,” “The Tale of Despereaux” and “Waltz with Bashir” have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and meet all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process.

Under the rules for this category, a maximum of 3 films can be nominated in a year in which the field of eligible entries numbers at least 8 but fewer than 16.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.

The 81st Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2009, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

wall-e-new-trailer.JPG

‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ debuts at No. 1

November 9, 2008 / / 0 Comments

According to studio estimates Sunday, the animated sequel “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” was the number one movie at theaters this weekend with $63.5 million. The first “Madagascar” movie debuted with $61 million over the four day Memorial Day weekend in 2005.

1. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” $63.5 million.
2. “Role Models,” $19.3 million.
3. “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” $9.3 million.
4. “Changeling,” $7.3 million.
5. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” $6.5 million.
6. “Soul Men,” $5.6 million.
7. “Saw V,” $4.2 million.
8. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley,” $3.5 million.
9. “The Secret Life of Bees,” $3.1 million.
10. “Eagle Eye,” $2.6 million.

188623692.jpg

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2007–2026 The Animation Blog

Design by Anders Noren — Up ↑