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I still don’t know how I feel about this Family Guy spin-off… I predict the bear family next door will steal the show.
Check out this brand-new trailer for the upcoming theatrical release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It’s much better than the previous trailer.
The Smurfs movie is finally official as Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation announced their involvement. The studios will develop a live action/animated movie based on the classic cartoon franchise.
David Stem and David Weiss are in negotiations to write the screenplay. They previously wrote Shrek 2 and 3, The Rugrats Movie and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
Running as part of NBC’s Saturday-morning lineup from 1981-1990, the cartoon was a huge success, winning two Daytime Emmy Awards and running for 256 episodes.
MyToons.com today announced the launch of HD Animation; a first for any online animation site. Animators and animation fans around the world can now experience both independent and studio animations in high definition – precisely as the creators intended them to be viewed – at MyToons.com.
In addition, MyToons’ new system allows users to embed and share HD animations at full resolution both on the MyToons site itself and on other pages throughout the Internet. Viewers can easily toggle from standard definition to high definition, as well as view animations full-screen.
DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda, starring Jack Black as Po the panda, has debuted as the number one movie, pulling in $60 million in ticket sales. This was more than enough to beat Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, which pulled in a respectable $40 million in ticket sales.
The top 12 films took in $172.4 million, up 32 percent from the same weekend last year.
Via MyWay
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.
