This Week on A113Animation (27th May - 2nd June 2013)

As you can tell from below, this week has been jam-packed with Monsters University clips, promos and even a new trailer; with about three weeks until the film hits the States, anticipation levels are rising quickly! We've also got Disney news out the wazoo, posters, stupid straight-to-DVD films, your weekly features and more! Check it all out after the jump.

News

New Monsters University promo: Pixar's Monsters, Inc. prequel continues to look better and better. This week, the studio rolled out a sweet new spot, highlighting the film's themes of belonging and acceptance, topped off with sparklingly good visuals. Check out the new promo for the Toy Story studio's fourteenth feature film here.

New Planes trailer: Disney may not like marketing Frozen, but they're doing a surpsingly good job of making Planes look appealing. This newest trailer comes complete with a fistful of Cars references and crossovers; it may be prudent to print "NOT A PIXAR FILM" in big letters on the posters... but that seems not to be the vibe Disney wants. Check out the newest trailer here.

New Turbo poster; Trolls director named: This week's DreamWorks news brought us a new Fast and Furious-looking poster for the studio's summer release, Turbo. We also learned who will be directing the studio's winter 2016 release, Trolls. Also announced was the film's screenwriter and producer. Found out who's doing what here.

WWE to make Flintstones straight-to-DVD movie: And the prize for 2013's most infuriatingly surreal news goes to this: WWE are teaming up with Warner Bros. to produce a straight-to-DVD animated Flintstones feature. The film will introduce Vince McMagma, John Cenastone and CM Punk Rock. Yes, really. Feel free to chip in to the argument on just how horrilbe the film will be here.

Disney and Pixar to release eight animated films between 2016 and 2018: Disney and Pixar have slotted in release dates for eight untitled feature films (4 apiece) to come out between 2016 and 2018. Pixar will release two films for the first time in 2017. Check out our full speculation on what these new films will consist of here.

Final Monsters U trailer and new clips: Following the promo (see top) released for Pixar's monstrous prequel earlier this week, Pixar then went on to release a final trailer for Monsters Universe! Beware some spoilers and expect hilarious jokes, great characters and stunning animation - and a bloody adorable little Mike. Check that, and some brand new clips, out here.

Pirates 5 directors named: After the general disappointment with the lacklustre fourth instalment, On Stranger Tides, Disney are hoping to repair the damage to their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The series is a multi-billion dollar cash cow for Disney, and they just announced the little-known, Oscar-nominated duo of Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg for the job. Check out Nadine's coverage of the news here.

Doctor Who and Albert Nobbs stars join Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: Doctor Who's Amy Williams (née Pond), best known as the twelfth (or is thirteenth now?) Doctor's companion - that is to say, actress Karen Gillan - has been cast in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, as the villain. Oscar-nominated Glenn Close is aboard the film too, in unspecified role. Check out all the news and speculation here.


Features

Classic Cartoons #13 - Three Little Pigs: After an extended gap, we redebuted our Classic Cartoons feature, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of one of Walt Disney's first great achievements, Three Little Pigs. The short, which was Disney's biggest earliest successes, alongside Mickey Mouse, still stands up today. Check the short, and our commentary on it, out here.

Munir's Disney Retrospectives: intro and Aristocats: As Munir's Disney Retrospective ticks over to its 20th week and the end of the Silver Age draws near, we're introduced to the third decade of the era (here) and Munir reviews the studio's first post-Walt film, 1970's The Aristocats. Check out that review here, and be sure to comment and let us know whether or not you agree with Munir's verdict.


Other

William chats Pixar with Pixar Corner: I'm very fortunate to say I'm the first interviewee for Al of Pixar Corner's new Pixar superfan column, The Luxo Limelight. Topics include my favourite Pixar film (you'll never guess what it is), how I became such a big fan of the studio, and much more. Check out my post on it here, and then head over to Pixar Corner.

Art of Epic competition winner: Finally: We've been running a competition for the last week, offering UK residents the chance to win a copy of The Art of Epic; after a lot of entries, we're pleased to announce the winner of the content, Scotland resident, Eline. Checck out the full announcement here.




This week Munir and I recorded the 2nd episode of the A113Animation Podcast; we were discussing recent animation news and talking Epic. Keep your eyes on Podomatic, Stitcher and iTunes for the show, hopefully, mid-next week. Our written reviews of the film will be up around the same time.