Sunday, 30 September 2012

Hotel Transylvania Takes a Vampire-Sized Bite out of the Weekend Box-Office


The critics may not be loving it, but US audiences clearly are; Sony Pictures Animation's Genndy Tartakovsky-directed Hotel Transylvania has done the studio proud on its tenth anniversary, opening to an astonishing (estimated) $43 million!

The studio's seventh film (including two Aardman releases, Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! in an Adventures with Scientists) sits at a lukewarm 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, but has raked in over a million dollars for every one of those percent at the US box office, placing it in the number 1 spot this weekend. Hotel T is the studio's strongest opener (far surpassing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' previous record of $30.3 million), and, if it proves to have reasonable legs, it could be the studio's highest grossing film yet! The film has also raked in $8.1 million from foreign territories.

Second place this weekend goes to another Sony pic, Rian Johnson's acclaimed sci-fi actioner, Looper, with $21.2 million (again, estimated). Looper boasts a cast including Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt, while Hotel T has the more youth-friendly line-up of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez.

In spite of the negative reviews, it seems audiences are really taking to Sony's monster-flick (of course, the timing isn't bad either, with Halloween just around the corner). Speaking from an outside perspective, having not seen the film yet (it doesn't open here until 12th October), I think what's resonating with audiences is exactly what's putting critics off: it doesn't take itself too seriously. Hotel T looks like fun for the sake of fun, with not too much focus on emotional twists - the 'Art of' book stated that they repeatedly chose to forego solemn moments in favour of comedy. Jerry Beck says it best, that Hotel T is a "full “cartoon” feature"; just look how perfectly poised and considered the animation is! Genndy Tartakovsky's stylised cartoon style is here in abundance!

Seen Hotel Transylvania? What did you think? Let us know below!

Stats via Box Office Mojo.

Saturday, 29 September 2012

Best of the Last Ten Years A113Animation Awards - Final Nominees


For the past month and a half, we've been running our very interactive "Best of the Last Ten Years (2001 - 2011)" A113Animation Awards. I'll be handing out the official A113Animation Award for that, but we've also been running polls to decide "The People's Favourite" too! Now, we've arrived at the final list of nominees for the two awards.

Check out the final lists after the jump break!

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Vibrant Poster for The Croods


Moments ago we shared the new Wreck-It Ralph poster with you, and now we've got another poster for you. Via ComingSoon.net, check out the bright, vibrant and stylised poster for DreamWorks' The Croods!

The Croods was originally in production at Aardman, during their deal with DreamWorks, as Crood Awakening, and directed by Kirk DeMicco (Space Chimps), but DreamWorks and Aardman's parting of ways ended that incarnation of the project. Now directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon), and featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone, The Croods will be the first picture in DreamWorks' 5-year distribution with 20th Century Fox when it hits cinemas on 22nd March, 2013 

New Wreck-It Ralph Poster and TV Spots


A couple of weeks ago we got a concoction of fantastic new posters for Disney's Wreck-It Ralph, showing the film's characters alongside classic video game icons. Today, via Disney Movies UK's Twitter feed, we get another wicked new poster for Disney's 52nd animated feature.

The poster combines the classic characters that we've seen previously, such as Sonic and Q*bert, and the film's leading original quartet of Ralph, Vanellope, Felix and Sergeant Calhoun. Another great poster in the great advertising campaign of the great looking Wreck-It Ralph. Why yes, I am looking forward to it!


To further whet our ever more insatiable appetites, we also get two great new TV spots for the film! The spots, while funny, highlight the film's emotional core surprisingly well. They show Sarah Silverman's character, Vanellope von Schweetz, as rather sweet and helpless, as opposed to how annoying she's came across as in the trailers - we also get the first proper look at Vanellope's car from "Sugar Rush"! Not forgetting our first real look at Jane Lynch's Sergeant Calhoun.

Check out the Jane Lynch introduced TV spot below, and head here to watch the "Game Changer" spot, which helpfully has embedding disabled.



The TV spots also finally give us Wreck-It Ralph's rating: PG, unsurprisingly. Directed by Futurama and The Simpsons veteran, Rich Moore, Wreck-It Ralph is due out in America on 2nd November, and the UK on 15th February, 2013.

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Review Round-Up - Frankenweenie and Hotel Transylvania


Following precious few releases in the first half of the year, it's been a strong summer for animation, with great films like Brave and ParaNorman - oh, and there was The Lorax too I guess. Coming up in winter we have DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians and Disney's Wreck-It Ralph - as well as Pixar's 3D re-release of Monsters, Inc. But right now, as we turn towards autumn, we've got two big releases (and, finally, the UK release of Madagascar 3): Hotel Transylvania and Frankenweenie.

Check out our recaps, reviews coverage, and thoughts after the jump break!

UPDATED - Selick in Talks to Take Shademaker to Laika (Or Not)

Director Henry Selick (left) and Laika CEO Travis Knigt (right)

IndieWire is reporting that The Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick is in talks to take his, previously tentatively titled, Shademaker, to Laika!

The project was being produced by Selick's Cinderbiter/ShadeMaker Productions, alongside Brain Trust members from Pixar, until news recently broke that Disney had pulled the plug. Claims were that the film's story wasn't where Disney wanted it to be and that production was lagging. The rumours emerging today though claims that Selick is shopping the idea to Laika, whom he previously worked with on 2009's Oscar nominated Coraline.

IndieWire also offers up some rumoured details about the film's plot and style:


I'm told that the once-titled "ShadeMaker" is the story of two brothers, and that it takes Selick's special brand of surrealism into a new direction. The sets are spectacular (especially Central Park) and they've been and they've been making use of a similar Rapid Prototype 3D printer for replacement heads that Laika introduced on "ParaNorman."

It's a shame that Selick's deal with Disney fell through - it might lead to awkwardness if/when he returns to make the planned adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book - but the film certainly seems a good fit for Laika and we know they work well together! Be sure also to check out our review of Laika's latest film, ParaNorman!

Via Craig Good and HitFix.

UPDATE: 27/09/2012 - 00:07 (GMT)

Times look dark Selick fans, and not good, Coraline, dark. /Film reports that whilst Henry Selick did meet with Laika, the talks "went nowhere and Laika will not fund its former director’s project." First Showing also reports that the film, apparently now titled The Shadow King, is not being taken on by Laika, and is seemingly done for.

Selick supposedly sent a memo to the team at Cinderbiter, saying that Laika chief Travis Knight couldn't figure out a financially sound way to continue production on the film. Selick could shop the film around some more, but following knock-backs from his two biggest options, it might be time, sadly, to move on.

Sad news for sure, especially so short after hearing that Digital Domain's closure meant the end of The Legend of Tembo. But here's hoping it gets picked up somewhere else in the near future, and we here at A113Animation wish the very talented Mr. Selick and all on the Cinderbiter crew all the best in whatever they go on to next!

Monday, 24 September 2012

Jake's Takes Interview with the Cast and Crew of Frankenweenie



The most original interviewer around, Jake Hamilton, the host of the self-titled Jake's Takes is back with more great interviews. Last month Jake interviewed the cast of Laika's ParaNorman, and today he brings us interviews with the cast and crew of the similarly spooky Frankenweenie.

Questions fielded to director Tim Burton included asking what the key differences between Frankenweenie now, and the original short film from 28 years ago that famously lost Burton his job at Disney, are, to which he responded:

"I love stop-motion animation, so the idea of doing it black and white, 3D, stop-motion, and adding the other kids, the other monsters, and teachers, things that I was thinking about, the kind of memories that are all sort of based on this thing: it felt like a whole new project for me."

Burton also spoke about the emotional heart of the film and the importance of friendships with pets - both for him and for Victor in the film. Jake also spoke to cast members Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Landau, Atticus Shaffer and Charlie Tahan who spoke very passionately about the project, touching on the importance of doing the film in stop-motion, and working with Tim Burton. And Martin Landau's Mr. Rzykruski promises to be powerful and hilarious!

Jake's great at asking curve-ball questions and really coaxing his interviewees into expressing their passion for the project - nice touch having the video in black and white too! And jeez, from watching The Middle, who would've guessed Atticus Shaffer was so smart?

Frankenweenie promises to be a great addition to a great year for animation when it opens on 5th October in the US and 17th October in the UK. Check out the 21-minute video interview compilation above!

Saturday, 22 September 2012

Chuck Jones' 100th Birthday!


We're a day late, but the sentiment remains just as strong.

Yesterday would've marked the 100th birthday of the animation legend, Chuck Jones. The revered Looney Tunes director, though, tragically passed away just over a decade ago at the ripe old age of 89. The world lost an animation legend that day; Chuck Jones was, and still is, one of the most respected men in animation.

Friday, 21 September 2012

6 Brand New Hotel Transylvania Clips



Moments ago we posted six brand spanking new clips from Disney and Tim Burton's black and white stop-motion film, Frankenweenie. Now, at the other end of the spectrum, the hilarious, lively and colourful end, we have six equally new clips from Sony Picture Animation's Hotel Transylvania!

Collider has our back again and brings us the six, almost continuous, clips as one video, which you can check out above! The clips focus on the comedy, and while it's hard to glean much emotional resonance or depth from these clips, it sure looks like fun! The voice acting and chemistry is top-notch, and the comic timing is strong. However, the highlight of all of the clips for me is the animation.


When I say animation, I mean it in the literal sense - as opposed to when it's often used interchangeably to describe graphics. When reviewing The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania, I said how much thought had clearly gone into poise and movement, and it definitely shows here. Look at Dracula, look at his fluid movements and how the cape is almost an extension of him: it's spectacular! Director Genndy Tartakovsky's stylised traditional-animation experience has clearly translated well!

Hotel T is released a week today, on 28th, in the US, and on 12th October in the UK, and stars the voices of Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Selena Gomez.

Check out the clips above, and let us know what you think! What do you make of Hotel Transylvania so far?

Frankenweenie IMAX Poster and 6 New Clips!


As Tim Burton and Disney's Frankenweenie's October release date draws ever closer, we're getting more and more wonderful new videos, images and information! Today, we get six brand new clips from the film, a few featurettes, interviews with the film-makers and a great new IMAX poster!

The "12:01 IMAX Poster" features an original Tim Burton sketch of Sparky, and these awesome rare posters will be given to people who attend a midinght IMAX screening of the film. Check out the clips and other videos after the jump break!

ParaNorman Review - A Tale of the Dead, Full of Life


*This review is largely spoiler free, but read cautiously if you haven’t seen the film yet*

ParaNorman is the latest from Laika, the swiftly-rising stop-motion house who arrived on the scene with 2009's Coraline. Coraline was fantastic, a dark, refreshingly tensely paced, nuanced and stylish film that not only cemented its director Henry Selick's reputation as a fine-filmmaker, but that of Laika as an artistically inventive and narratively bold studio. ParaNorman continues that success, as it is an inspiringly original and thoughtfully ghoulish film, that's also surprising fun!

Tuesday, 18 September 2012

4 New Wreck-It Ralph Posters (and a Partysaurus Rex Poster!)


Off the back of an awesome new trailer and a game-character packed poster, Disney have rolled out four new posters for Wreck-It Ralph today, courtesy of IGN. The posters mix the film's main quartet with the famous cameos that populate the film, including Sonic, Zangief, Q*bert and Clyde the Pacman ghost.


They're great posters that showcase one of the film's main attractions (and undoubtedly cooler points), the various cameos, but, for me, the poster that shows only the original characters is the best - hopefully indicative of how the film will turn out!


I hate to make predictions this early on, but Wreck-It Ralph looks absolutely phenomenal - it's easily my most anticipated animated film - and it sure would be nice to see a Disney film win the Best Animated Feature Oscar for the first time...


Also, Fandango bring us the above poster for Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex, which director Mark Walsh has showed us glimpses of on Twitter. Be sure to check out our review of the short, and interview with Mark - and head to see it in cinemas with Finding Nemo 3D if you can, it's great!

And remember to vote in our "A113 Ten Years" Round Two polls for Groups 3 and 4. 3 is on Facebook and being led by The Incredibles, and 4 is here on the blog, on the right sidebar, and How to Train Your Dragon looks like it'll be the only non-Pixar film to make it into the final round. Have your say now!

Monday, 17 September 2012

Partysaurus Rex Review - What Up, Fishes?!


A couple of days ago, I had the chance to interview the very talented and very kind Pixar veteran, Mark Walsh, the director of the latest Toy Story Toon, Partysaurus Rex. Following Hawaiian Vacatian and Small Fry, Partysaurus Rex is the third Toy Story Toon, and is currently playing in US cinemas before Finding Nemo 3D. However, Nemo 3D doesn't hit the UK until March of next year, so in preparation for the interview, I was able to watch Partysaurus Rex online, via a secure server, and, as I have been with both of the preceding Toy Story Toons, and in fact with all Toy Story films, short or feature, and in fact with everything Pixar have released, I was very impressed! So, check out a brief review of Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex, after the jump break.

Sunday, 16 September 2012

The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania Review - Who Knew Monsters Were This Fun?


The latest 'Art of' book that I've had the chance to review is Titan Books' The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania, showcasing the wonderful artwork of the latest film from Sony Pictures Animation, Hotel Transylvania - directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.

Saturday, 15 September 2012

Interview: Mark Walsh, Pixarian and Partysaurus Rex Director


Today, I had the opportunity to interview Pixar's Mark Walsh, the director of the latest Toy Story Toon, Partysaurus Rex! Partysaurus Rex is showing now in America, alongside Finding Nemo 3D - although they don't arrive here until March (unless you can attend the VIEW Conference that is). However, I was able to watch the short online, via a secure link, just prior to our interview, and it's great (I'll post a quick review later)! I've loved all of the Toy Story Toons, but this is definitely the most original one yet.

Thanks of the highest magnitude, again, should also go to Pixar's PR king, Chris Wiggum, for setting the interview up!

Mark is a lovely, down-to-Earth guy, who went out of his way to ask me about my own life; and his enthusiasm and zeal for the characters and the short was abundant. In our conversation, visible after the jump break, Mark and I discuss his inspirations for the short, basing it around Rex, his other work for Pixar, working with Pixar Canada, Finding Nemo 3D, the future and more!

Friday, 14 September 2012

Best of the Last Ten Years A113Animation Awards - Shortlist Update


To celebrate the best of the best of animation, A113Animation is running a special "Best of the Last Ten Years (2001 - 2011)" A113Animation Awards. We ran an initial poll, to generate a longlist, and the two highest scoring films from that poll automatically advanced to the final shortlist, those films being WALL-E and Toy Story 3. We're now running four polls to narrow down the remaining contenders, the winning film from each poll group joins WALL-E and Toy Story 3 in the final. Now we know two of those films.

The polls for Groups 1 and 2 concluded today. Group 1, our Facebook poll, was won by Pixar's Up, only recently pulling away from Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away. Group 2, which was on the blog, on the right sidebar, was won by Finding Nemo, in what was essentially a two-horse race with Monsters, Inc. - Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit was the only other film to get a vote in Group 2!

So, the currently all-Pixar shortlist of nominees in the final stands like this, in order of votes received:

  • WALL-E
  • Toy Story 3
  • Finding Nemo
  • Up
  • TBD - Group 3
  • TBD - Group 4
As you can see, we've still got two polls left to go! The polls for Groups 3 and 4 will be put up (3 on Facebook, 4 here on the blog) later today, and will run for two weeks, until 28th, when the final poll will be put up!

Keep your eyes glued to A113Animation for more updates!

UPDATE: 23:23 (GMT)

The polls for Group 3 (here) and Group 4 (check our right sidebar here on the blog) are now up. Have your say and make sure your favourite isn't left out of the final!

New Wreck-It Ralph Poster


Following the fantastic new trailer that we saw a couple of days ago for Disney's Wreck-It Ralph, we now get a great new poster too!

The poster showcases the film's heroic villain, Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly), as well as some of the film's famous gaming cameos, including Sonic, Dr. Eggman, Clyde the Pacman Ghost, Q*bert and more! It comes via iTunes Movie Trailers, or you can check out a slightly darker, but higher-res version, via ComingSoon.net.

Wreck-It Ralph arrives in cinemas on 2nd November in the US, and 15th February, 2013 in the UK, preceded by John Kahrs' acclaim-winning short, Paperman.

Also, be sure to vote in our "A113 Ten Years" Round Two polls for Groups 1 and 2 while you still can! Group 1 is led by Up and you can vote on Facebook, and Group 2 is on the right sidebar of the blog, and is led by Finding Nemo.

Thursday, 13 September 2012

Mark Walsh (And More!) To Appear At View Conference


Tomorrow (as well as the last day of voting in Groups 1 - vote here - and 2 - vote on the right-hand sidebar of this site - of our Round Two "A113 Ten Years" polls; and the day after my birthday!) is the US re-release of Pixar's Finding Nemo, in 3D! Accompanying Nemo 3D is a brand new Toy Story Toon, directed by Finding Nemo's directing animator Mark Walsh, Partysaurus Rex.

However, those of us in Europe don't get Finding Nemo 3D until mid-March - so no Partysaurus Rex until then either! However, a select few won't have to wait that long! Mark Walsh will be appearing at the VIEW Conference, a huge computer graphics and animation expo that runs in Turin, Italy from 16th to 19th October. In addition to appearing at the event, Mark will bring with him Partysaurus Rex, for its European premiere!

In addition to Walsh, Genndy Tartakovsky will be on hand to present exclusive footage of Sony's Hotel Transylvania, as well as DreamWorks' Madagascar 3 co-director Eric Darnell; the VFX supervisor of The Dark Knight Rises Double Negative's Paul J. Franklin; the former director of Pixar's newt, Skywalker Sound's Gary Rydstrom; and even Halo creative director, Josh Holmes, who'll premiere Halo 4 at the event! Check out the website for fuller listings - it certainly looks to be a must-attend event if you can afford the flights!

Check out the full press release which the VIEW PR team sent me, after the jump break - with details on how and when to get tickets.

Wednesday, 12 September 2012

Fantastic New Wreck-It Ralph Trailer!



The second trailer for Disney's upcoming animated feature, Wreck-It Ralph, was released online today, via Yahoo! Movie Trailers, and it's great! Ralph looks to be a departure from the typical Disney style, but that's what makes it so great, it looks refreshingly original, funny and timeless, whilst still being current; Disney's 52nd animated release is easily my most anticipated animated film right now!


The trailer remixes a lot of the footage we saw in the first trailer a couple of months back, bringing us a greater look at the various game worlds and the relationship between Ralph (John C. Reilly) and young Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman). We even get our first look at Sonic's cameo in the film!

The trailer isn't quite as good as the first one, and Vanellope comes across as a bit irritating; but the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope, which seems set to be the emotional backbone of the film, is touching, and it's still a mighty fine trailer that puts across the film's humour, visuals and great message about loving you for you.

Wreck-It Ralph is released on 2nd November in the US, and in the UK on 15th February, 2013.

Monday, 10 September 2012

DreamWorks' Full Upcoming Slate Through to Mid-2016


As their distribution deal with Paramount comes to an end (and Paramount set up shop for themselves) and they prepare to enter into their new 5-year deal with Fox, DreamWorks Animation have announced the unprecedented 12 film slate that will run from 2013 to mid-2016.

The Paramount deal concludes with November's Rise of the Guardians, and the Fox deal starts with Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon co-director Chris Sanders' next film, The Croods, (also, I somehow missed this, but the first still from The Croods, above, appeared online last week, along with character descriptions, via EW - very striking visuals!) early next year.

The announcement, via THR, also introduces B.O.O: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations to the table, which will be directed by Tony Leondis (Igor), produced by Maryann Garger (Flushed Away) and written by Tom Wheeler (Puss in Boots), from an original story by Leondis. And How to Train Your Dragon 3, due 18th June, 2016, will return Stitch and Dragon 1 co-director Dean DeBlois to the helm. The importance of this announcement is that DreamWorks will be producing three films a year going forward - four in 2015! Fox and DreamWorks reps offered up comments:

"Everyone of the movies in our lineup – whether it is an original film or a sequel to one of our beloved franchises – comes from the unique and special vision of our filmmakers, and we look forward to joining together with Fox to make them available to family audiences starting next year," says DreamWorks CCO, Bill Damaschke.

"We have had the privilege not only to view many of these films in their various stages but also to meet the incredible leadership teams behind each one, and we are very confident about DreamWorks Animation’s robust future slate" adds Fox Filmed Entertainment head, Tom Rothman

Check out the full, year-by-year, breakdown after the jump break!

Guest Editorial: How Spielberg is Saving Tintin


By Damien

Let's begin with a little history.

It all started in 1981. Raiders of the Lost Ark had just been released in France and Steven Spielberg wanted to know how well his movie was doing among French critics.
Amazingly well would be my guess. But something in a number of reviews captured his eye. A word kept coming back. Tintin. What is Tintin? wondered the filmmaker. He soon learned what it was, and became a fan.

Saturday, 8 September 2012

Andrew Stanton Confirms Finding Nemo 2; Talks John Carter


Rumour have been swirling over the past month or so, concerning the directorial future of Andrew Stanton. The two-time Oscar winner most recently directed Disney's famed mega-flop, John Carter. For one reason or another, the WALL-E director's passion project didn't find an audience and resulted in a $200 million write-down and executive shifts for the Mouse House. News broke last month though, that Stanton was returning to more familiar waters (pun intended) with a sequel to his 2003 mega-hit, Finding Nemo.

Since then, we've heard that Lindsey Collins was set to produce, Victoria Strouse had been penned to write the script, and Ellen DeGeneres was in talks to return as Dory, with a view to a 2016 release date. No word, though, had been heard from Pixar's camp, and nothing from Stanton himself, save a Tweet that seemed to deny the rumours. Until now.

Speaking to the LA Times, Stanton spoke candidly about the production of, and response to, the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' 100 year old novel, and Nemo 2. Check it all out after the jump break:

Python Fans Get Ready: First Trailer for A Liar's Autobiography



Fans of Monty Python are in for a treat in the near future,  A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman, a Python-based animated film, is almost here! The film is being produced by London-based Bill and Ben Productions, and was animated in 17 different styles by 14 different companies (including A for Animation).

The film is based on late-great Python Graham Chapman's (untrue) memoirs, A Liar's Autobiography (Volume VI), and features Chapman's reading of the book, recorded before his death in 1989. Though not a Monty Python film, A Liar's Autobiography does feature the voices John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam (but not Eric Idle).

A cacophony of randomness, quirkiness and not appropriate for children-ness, the first trailer (above) for the film looks great! Funny, striking and moving in places, A Liar's Autobiography looks to be a whole lot of fun.

A Liar's Autobiography will premiere at TIFF this weekend and will air in the US, on EPIX, later this year, before a limited 3D theatrical release, starting 2nd November. The film, made by a British studio about a British comedian, will then be released in the UK early next year, by Trinity.

You can check out the film's synopsis after the jump break!

Friday, 7 September 2012

Digital Domain's Tradition Studios Shuts Down


News broke today that VFX house Digital Domain's recently founded animation department, Tradition Studios, has closed its doors. Citing DDMG's (Digital Domain Media Group, Inc.) growing financial troubles, the closure of Tradition Studios means 300+ staff will be laid off and production on, what was to be their first animated film, The Legend of Tembo has been halted.

Check out the story after the jump break!

Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Monsters, Inc. 3D Trailer



Finding Nemo 3D hits theatres (in the US) in 9 days, so advertising has begun to slowly turn towards Pixar's next 3D re-release: Monsters, Inc. 3D! The stereoscopic re-release of Pixar's 2001, Oscar-nominated classic arrives in theatres (again, in the US) on 19th December, and today iTunes Movie Trailers brings us the first trailer for it!

You can check out the trailer, highlighting the hilarious comedy of the Pete Docter-directed hit, embedded above, courtesy of Walt Disney Studios UK's YouTube channel.

With Nemo and this in 3D, and Brave recently out, this is going to be a very lucrative year for Pixar!

Monsters, Inc. 3D is due for a UK release on 18th January, 2013 - oddly before Nemo's due.

Also, if you're a big Monsters, Inc.fan, why not vote for it in our "Best of the Last Ten Years A113Animation Awards": Round Two, Group 2 poll to the right? Please also vote in our Group 1 poll on Facebook. Every vote matters!

Monday, 3 September 2012

101 Dalmatians is out on Blu-ray!


Walt Disney's 17th animated feature film, and one of my absolute favourites, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, is out of the Disney Vault! Not only is there no longer moratorium on it, but 101 is also now in glorious high-definition. The classic tale of Pongo, Perdita and their century-and-one of pups is out on Blu-ray for the first time today - and also re-released, with a whole host of special features, on DVD.

While it is a UK release, the good news for US and other worldwide fans is that it's listed on Amazon as being region free! I assume this isn't a mistake, and, while there'll be some hefty postage and packaging costs, it's a great addition to anyone's Disney collection.

With Cinderella and The Aristocats also recently released (and listed as region free too!), and the Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2 due out in just over a month here in the UK, it's certainly a good time to be a Disney fan. Now if they'd only get round to releasing Jungle Book on Blu-ray...

You can buy 101 Dalmatians on Blu Ray and DVD from HMV, or, slightly cheaper, from Amazon.

Sunday, 2 September 2012

Pixar Short Films Volume 2 Due on 15th October in the UK


Well this kind of makes up for the huge delay for getting Brave in cinemas over here...

UK retail sites, including Sainsbury's, HMV and Amazon.co.uk, are listing the Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 2 for release on 15th October - almost a month before its US release date. The follow up to the original Short Films Collection, which will include short films from 2007's Your Friend the Rat to 2011's La Luna, as well as student films from John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter, is due for release on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on 13th November.

Related news: Curious: Pixar Shorts Mini Collection and Cinderella's Out on Blu-ray - A Sneak Peak at Special Features

And be sure to vote in our polls, to the right, and on Facebook, for the second round of our "A113 Ten Years" voting!

Saturday, 1 September 2012

Cinderella's Out on Blu-ray - A Sneak Peak at Special Features


Cinderella's been released from the Disney vault, in high-definition, on Blu-ray, as well as on DVD, and is accompanied by an assortment of exciting new special features. Walt Disney Studios UK's YouTube channel has released some clips from some of these special features.

   

Included amongst the special features are a recently discovered alternate opening (above, left), an intro by Dianne Disney Miller (above, right), a look at the film's iconic castle and a few very interesting mini-videos, called "The Real Fairy Godmother".



These videos tell the story of Disney artist, Ken O'Connor, and his kind-hearted wife, Mary Alice O'Connor, who served as the inspiration for the Fairy Godmother. You can check out one part of the featurette above, and the rest ("Opposites Attract", "Creating The Coach" and "Drawing From Her Spirit") on YouTube.

The wealth of engrossing, never-before-seen special features, the gorgeous visuals and timeless stories make these Blu-ray Disney classics a great buy! Cinderella will be released on Blu-ray in the US on 2nd October, and those of us in the UK can get it right now!

And be sure to vote in our polls, to the right, and on Facebook, for the second round of our "A113 Ten Years" voting!