This Week on A113Animation (14th - 20th October, 2013)

Apologies for the infrequency of this feature as of late (and indeed that this week's is a day and a half late!), alas the non-animation world gets in the way occasionally. All the same, there were a few really exciting bits of news this week: casting rumours for another Marvel film (it's rarely a week we don't have some of that); are Pixar working on Cars 3?; cool new stills from DreamWorks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman; a fantastic new trailer for Frozen; we've also got features, reviews, and a Disney anniversary post; and we've launched an exciting Art of Turbo competition! For details on all that, and what you may have missed during last week, check out our (kinda) weekly recap below.

News

Two frontrunners rumoured for Marvel's Ant-Man: One opf Marvel's most exciting upcoming projects is Edgar Wright's Ant-Man, which'll be the first film of phase 3, after Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Shaun of the Dead director's take on the genius scientist/ant enthusiast now has two rumoured leads in contention: Joseph Gordon-Levitt ((500) Days of Summer, Looper) and Paul Rudd (Friends, Anchorman). More on the story, and one of the actors' reaction to it, here.

Voice of Sheriff starts up Cars 3 speculation: It's the sequel that no one older than 12 is clamouring for; speculation has started again that Pixar are moving ahead with a third film in the Cars franchise. Michael Wallis, the voice of Sheriff in the automobile films, recently said in an interview with Route 66 news, with some confidence, that Cars 3 is in production - and offered up some plot details! While I reckon the project being referred to might be a TV special, it's possible it is a Cars threequel, and we break down why that might not be bad here.

Great new stills from Mr. Peabody & Sherman: DreamWorks released a bunch of snazzy, cartoony new stills for their CG remake of the Rocky and Bullwinkle characters, showing the super smart dog and his pet boy travelling through time. Cleopatra, da Vinci, scooter sidecars and more populate the new stills from Rob Minkoff's Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which hits cinemas in March of next year. Have a gander for yourself here.

Phenomenal new musical trailer for Frozen: The advertising for Frozen has been a rocky journey: it's been good, it's been bad, it's been non-existent; this week, Disney reached fantastic heights with a phenomenal new trailer for the film, promising "the greatest Disney animated event since The Lion King." Featuring great music, stunning animation, and a focus on story, if you don't get goosebumps from this latest trailer, there must be something a little wrong with you. Check it out here.

Cast for The Book of Life: Reel FX's first film, Free Birds, hasn't done much to grab my attention, but their sophomore flick, the Day of the Dead-based The Book of Life, has been sounding really interesting. And the film just got an impressive cast to go alongside its interesting premise and "unique visual style;" Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Ron Perlman and Cheech Marin are a few of the many stars that will be lending their voices to the Mexico-set film. Check out more about the cast and crew of The Book of Life here.

Features

Disney Retrospective, The Emperor's New Groove: Munir's Disney Retrospective is still moving on, into a rather dark period in the studio's history, yet he's really rather smitten with this week's film. The Emperor's New Groove, released in 2000, is often pretty well thought of, but Munir seems extremely fond of it, calling it "one of the best comedies the Disney studio has ever produced," adding that it "represents one of the brightest spots in this mostly obscure era." Check out Munir's full review of the film here.

Other

Win one of five copies of The Art of Turbo: To celebrate the release of DreamWorks Animation's Turbo here in the UK, we're giving away a whopping 5 copies of the film's art and making of book to UK residents! All you have to do is answer one simple question before next Sunday to be in with a chance of winning. For full details on the competition, and for terms and conditions, see here.

Disney celebrates 90th anniversary: Disney reached a massive landmark this Wednesday, as the studio that revolutionised animation became nine centuries old. From Steamboat Willie to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, through Pixar and Toy Story, all the way up to Frozen, we took a look back at the importance and influence of the studio that now owns Marvel and Star Wars. 90 years, an infinite legacy, read our salute to the studio that's the reason we're here talking about animation at all, here.

Toy Story of Terror! review: Pixar's first TV special aired this week, and it was really rather great! Toy Story of Terror!, the studio's Jessie-centric Halloween special, reintroduced Combat Carl (voiced by Carl Weathers), and featured everyone's favourite sentient toys; Munir weighed in on it, offering up his thoughts in the form of a review. "[Pixar] showed us, once again," Munir says, "that they care deeply for these characters and the production values of the special are just superb." Check out the full (and rather positive) review of the special here.

Apologies for the huge delay in our Disney Renaissance podcast episodes; William's very busy at the moment, and editing time is rather sparse. We'll keep you informed as to when it'll be available.