News


No comments

‘The Simpsons’ Showrunner Reveals How The Show Should End

  By Ju-osh M. • October 27, 2014 ,

000The Simpsons‘ showrunner, Al Jean, told CNN what he believes is the ideal way to end the series: Loop it back around the show’s beginning!

“There is an ending I’ve always had in mind, which was, I thought it would be cool if in the last episode they’re getting ready to go to a Christmas pageant, and they go to the Christmas pageant that opens up the first episode, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, so the entire series is a loop with no end. That would be my way of concluding the run, but nobody has asked me for it yet.”

To read CNN’s whole interview with Jean, click here.

No comments

Stop-Motion ‘Elf’ Special Coming This X-Mas

  By Ju-osh M. • October 24, 2014 ,

NBC has announced an hour-long, stop-motion animated special starring the characters from Will Ferrell’s hit holiday film, Elf.

Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas premiers Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. and will feature NINE new songs, including Happy All the Time, A Christmas Song and Nobody Cares About Santa Claus. Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) will voice Buddy, with Mark Hamill, Ed Asner, Fred Armisen, Gilbert Gottfried, Jay Leno and Kate Micucci also doing voices. The film will be animated by Screen Novelties.

No comments

The Inside Scoop On Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’
(Updated On 10/2 With Trailer & GIFs!)

  By Ju-osh M. • October 2, 2014 ,

10It took a little digging (and a helluva lot of YouTube clips), but Skunk has found some short-but-sweet quotes from the voice cast of Pixar’s upcoming animated feature, Inside Out. While the normally outspoken Lewis Black remains mum, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith and Bill Hader have all gone on the record regarding their characters.

Curious? Click through…

Continue reading

No comments

DreamWorks For Sale?

  By Ju-osh M. • September 28, 2014 ,

0The Hollywood Reporter reports:

“Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is in talks to acquire DreamWorks Animation in a deal that would value the company at $3.4 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. [...] DWA founder and CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg would sign a five-year contract to remain with the company, according to the source, who says the DWA board held an emergency meeting Thursday to consider the offer.”

To read the whole article, click here.

No comments

Animation Taste Test:
Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Popeye’

  By Ju-osh M. • September 18, 2014 ,

popeye_pullSony Pictures Animation and Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania) have released a li’l ‘taste test’ reel for their upcoming animated feature, Popeye. According to Tartakovsky, this video is “not a clip, not a trailer. It’s nothing from the actual movie. The voices are all temp. It’s just that represents what we all want to do. I couldn’t be more excited by the way it turned out, and I hope you enjoy it.”

Curious to take a peek? Click through… Continue reading

No comments

Disney Is Developing A ‘Haunted Mansion’ Animated Special

  By Ju-osh M. • July 17, 2014 ,

0THR reports: “Disney Television Animation is celebrating the 45th anniversary of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion attraction in a big way. The studio is developing [an] animated special inspired by the ghoulishly fun popular theme park attraction. [...] The Haunted Mansion special will be animated by legendary horror genre artist and children’s book illustrator Gris Grimly (Gris Grimly’s Wicked Nursery Rhymes), who also will exec produce and art direct. Scott Peterson (Phineas and Ferb) will serve as writer, EP and story editor.”

To read the whole article, click here.

No comments

Gus Van Sant to Direct ‘Death Note’

  By Ju-osh M. • July 9, 2014 , ,

0The Tracking Board is reporting that Gus Van Sant will direct Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Death Note, the starts amazing/ends atrocious manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.

While Van Sant would NEVER have appeared on my mental list of directors a major studio would hire to direct a manga adaptation, I’m delighted by how potentially perfect this pairing is. Anyone who has seen Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Elephant or Paranoid Park knows how skilled he is at bringing nuanced portrayals of the teen angst, anger and confusion to the silver screen. I’m really looking forward to this!

No comments

Disney Prepping ‘Enchanted 2’

  By Ju-osh M. • July 3, 2014 ,

0Disney has hired J. David Stem and David N. Weiss to write a screenplay for Enchanted 2. Animation fans may know Stern and Weiss from their work on The Smurfs movie and Shrek 2. (Then again, maybe not.) Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) is set to direct.

Animation maestro James Baxter handled the hand-drawn cartooning in the first film, but Baxter now works for DreamWorks, so it’ll be interesting to see who they go with this time around…

No comments

Coming Soon: Live-Action ‘Attack On Titan’

  By Ju-osh M. • June 25, 2014 ,

0A live-action adaptation of Attack on Titan is film currently in production in Japan, with a release scheduled for 2015. It is being directed by Shinji Higuchi, the special effects supervisor on the 90s Gamera reboot and a writer.storyboard artist on The End of Evangelion. The film was written by Yusuke Watanabe and Tomohiro Machiyama, with Hajime Isayama — the creator of Attack On Titan — acting as supervisor. For casting and shooting info, click here.

Related: WTF - Attack On Titan Merch

No comments

Pixar Is Making A Musical Short

  By Ju-osh M. • June 20, 2014 ,

0Disney and Pixar have announced their newest animated short, Lava. Directed by longtime Pixar animator James Ford Murphy, Lava is “a musical love story taking place over millions of years that is inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes.” Lava premiers June 19, 2015 in front of Pete Docter’s Inside Out. Click through for the full poster. Continue reading

No comments

First Look: Genndy Tartakovsky’s Popeye

  By Ju-osh M. • June 18, 2014 ,

popeye-image-600x362And…that’s it. For now. The above image is a concept painting by Richard Daskas. Tartakovsky’s CG take on E.C. Segar’s classic character is slated for release sometime in the vaguely worded future. In addition to pre-production on Popeye, Tartakovsky is currently directing Hotel Transylvania 2 and developing a brand new passion project, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Can You Imagine?

Kinda makes you feel lazy, don’t it?

No comments

My Little Medusa

  By Ju-osh M. • June 5, 2014 ,

Sony Pictures Animation has announced their intentions to make Medusa, an original animated comedy that will tell the secret story behind Greek mythology’s sinister, snake-headed seductress. Lauren Faust, the effervescent Emmy-winner responsible for the brilliant My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is attached to direct.

For more info, click here.

(For the adorable inspiration behind this post’s title, click here.)

No comments

Dean DeBlois Discusses DreamWorks’ Newest Dragon, Cloudjumper

  By Ju-osh M. • May 16, 2014 ,

100“Cloudjumper was designed to be surprising. We knew that we would have scenes in which Toothless and he would fly together, so we were looking for a bold statement to help differentiate them, even at a distance. I liked the idea of two sets of wings that form an X in the sky. They could be stowed into one another so as to create a surprise reveal.

Continue reading

No comments

The Triumphant Return of Disney’s Pop’s Pop

  By Ju-osh M. • May 7, 2014 ,

0O-Zell Soda, a company co-founded by Walt Disney’s dad in 1912, is back in business. The re-launch is the work of Dina Benadon and Brent Young, owners of the 1893 house that Walt was born in. The best part? All proceeds go to restoring Walt’s childhood home!

O-Zell currently offers two flavors — Vanilla Dream and Blue Ribbon Root Beer. Both flavors are made with Hawaiian cane sugar and 100% all natural ingredients. Click here to visit the O-Zell website.

Thanks to Cartoon Research for the heads-up!

No comments

Catmull’s Writing Vs. Pixar’s Reality

  By Ju-osh M. • May 2, 2014 ,

0In his recently released book Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull writes:

In a fear-based, failure-averse culture, people will consciously or unconsciously avoid risk. They will seek instead to repeat something safe that’s been good enough in the past. Their work will be derivative, not innovative. But if you can foster a positive understanding of failure, the opposite will happen.

Inspiring words. But do they truly reflect the current climate at Pixar? Continue reading