This Week on A113Animation (19th - 25th August, 2013)

Again a rather a quiet week, but with some really interesting gems of animation news tucked in there. We've heard a lot of exciting details about two upcoming Disney films that the studio hasn't even announced yet; one of Hayao Miyazaki's earliest films might be about to get a sequel; we've got yet more Marvel rumours (as well as a channel for the UK broadcast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.); posters, subtitles and your latest features! Check out below all that you may have missed this week on A113Animation.

News

Six new posters for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2: Sony's pun-packed Cloudy sequel is out Stateside next month, so this week the studio released six brand new character posters for the film, showing off the film's main characters, it's zany sense of humour and some really rather funny taglines. Cloudy 2 features the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan and Terry Crews. Check out the posters and pick your favourite here.

New details on Disney's Giants: We heard a bit of talk about it last month, and this week Bleeding Cool provided us some exciting new details about the plot and characters of Tangled co-director Nathan Greno's Giants. The film is an adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk, in a similar vein to Tangled and Frozen and features five "Storm Giants." For more on that project, what it entails and when we might see it, head on over here.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to air on Channel 4 in the UK: Joss Whedon has created some of the best television shows of all time (Buffy and Firefly to name the two most prominent) and did a fantastic job helming Marvel's super-ensemble, The Avengers, last year. Now he's bridging the two with the new Agent Coulson-reviving TV series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the show airs on ABC this Autumn, and now UK fans have a channel too... Now let's just hope the premiere date isn't much further ahead. More here.

Has Rocket Raccoon found his voice? Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy is quickly becoming everyone's most anticipated film from the studio, and yet, we still don't know much about it. Last week the rumour was that Vin Diesel would be voicing Groot, a tree. This week we heard rumblings that Oscar-nominated Silver Linings and Hangover star, Bradley Cooper, is in talks to lend his voice to the team's coolest member, Rocket Raccoon. More on that rumour here.

Hayao Miyazaki says a Nausicaä sequel could happen: Legendary anime director and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki says that, while he's not interested in doing one, he has given his blessing for Hideaki Anno to move ahead with a sequel to his 1984 classic, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Surprising news, yes, but rather exciting too. To find out more about this, and to let us know your opinion on whether the film needs a sequel, click here.

Pirates of the Caribbean 5 gets an official title: Despite our best hopes, Disney are moving ahead with a fifth instalment of their über-lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. This week, the fivequel (it's not a word for a reason, Disney) got a proper title: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - it's a bit length, yes. Kon-Tiki directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg are helming Dead Men Tell No Tales, which is out summer 2015. Check out the full story here.

Clements and Musker's next film will be a musical: Little Mermaid and Aladdin co-director Ron Clements spoke to the Sioux City Journal a few days ago about his history at Disney, the importance of The Little Mermaid, and his and John Musker's next film, which the article says is a musical. The film, which we've previously heard is called Moana, will be the duo's seventh feature film; more details on all Clements said in the interview here.


Features

Disney Retrospective, The Lion King: If you've been following Munir's ongoing look back at the extensive filmography of Walt Disney Animation Studios from the start, then this is likely the period you've been waiting for - the Disney Renaissance. This was arguably the most exciting time in the studio's decades long existence, and, this week, Munir offered up a review of perhaps the greatest Disney film of all time, 1994's undisputed classic, The Lion King. "No single Disney feature before or after has repeated the success and relevancy of The Lion King," he says; check out the full review here.

Futurama, A Swan Song - Week 10: On a team-building retreat, the Planet Express crew run into some trouble when "a monster gets aboard Bessie (the Planet Express ship's new nickname, if you didn't know), and starts eating people." Damien reviews the latest (and third final) episode of Futurama, an episode which he says "is the funniest Futurama has given us in quite some time. Which makes me even sadder this is almost over." Check out the mini-review of Murder on the Planet Express here.

French Animation, The Secret of Kells: Damien this week revives his French Animation column for a review of the beautiful 2009 Irish-French-Belgian film, The Secret of Kells. The sixth French animated film he's looked at, Damien says "The Secret of Kells deserves to be seen for its beautiful design, music, and simple yet meaningful message." Check out the full review here.



Episode 4 of our podcast - a D23/Despicable Me 2 special - has been recorded and should hopefully be released online sometime this coming week.