Watch a 'Blink and You'll Miss it' Tease of Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs'

Wes Anderson with a Fantastic Mr. Fox puppet

Wes Anderson is currently working on his second stop-motion film (after the aptly named Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009). We know absolutely nothing about the story, except that it will feature dogs. The movie will be called Isle of Dogs and there is a very brief clip featuring one of the dogs (Rex, voiced by Edward Norton) in the video below.

Watch (or not): 'The Emoji Movie' Trailer is More Awkward than Funny

Sony Pictures animation is trying to sell us a movie based on emojis living inside a smartphone. The film is due next summer, and hopefully it will be less embarrassing than this first trailer. If you're still interested, the promotional video for The Emoji Movie can be seen below. You've been warned.

David Tennant is Scrooge McDuck in 'DuckTales'

The voice cast for the rebooted version of DuckTales has been announced via a video of the actors singing the theme song of the show. Disney fittingly went to a Scottish performer for Scrooge McDuck: David Tennant (perhaps best known for being the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who) will voice the super-wealthy duck. Watch the video of the whole cast singing below.

Watch: 'The Boss Baby' is Being Humiliated in a New Trailer

Alec Baldwin introduces a new trailer for The Boss Baby, the DreamWorks Animation film in which he voices the main (and titular) character. Watch the video after the break.

Watch: The First 'Despicable Me 3' Trailer

Gru is back: Despicable Me 3 (or Despicable M3) just got its first trailer. In it, a new villain going by the name of Balthazar Bratt and  (voiced by South Park's co-creator Trey Parker) is introduced. Watch the trailer after the break.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #56: Moana (2016)

Previous post: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #55: Zootopia (2016)

Walt Disney Animation Studios 55th film, Zootopia, was a complete success grossing (against all odds) over $1b and becoming the third highest grossing film of the year. Audiences were drawn to the fantastic animation, richly-developed characters and a poignant, relevant and timely story. Zootopia continued the winning streak of the studio but it was not their only offering of this year. Moana, their second film of the year, is a more conventional fairy tale that nonetheless provides high-quality entertainment for the whole family and it'll surely become a classic in the years to come.

Pixar Reveals Voice Cast, Plot Details and an Artwork for 'Coco'

Lee Unkrich's next film, Coco, will be out by this time next year, so maybe it was time for Pixar to announce (via Entertainment Weekly) some of the voice cast and a plot for the upcoming movie (which is taking place on the Day of the Dead in Mexico). Learn what's Coco will be about after the break.

'Zootopia' and 'Kubo and the Two Strings' Top Annie Awards Nominations

Awards season is upon us and the Annie Awards just revealed the nominees for the 2016 animated films and TV shows. Disney's Zootopia leads the pack with 11 nominations, but Laika's Kubo and the Two Strings isn't that far behind with 10 nods.

A New Trailer for 'Smurfs: The Lost Village' Has Landed

Sony has released a second trailer for the new Smurfs movie. This one is called Smurfs: The Lost Village and will be entirely CGI, unlike the two live-action hybrids we got in the last few years. Visually this one appears to be more in touch with the source material, but the writing seems very kid-friendly, to say the least. Here is the trailer:

The 'Cars 3' Teaser Trailer is Surprisingly Dark

Way to catch us off guard, Pixar! This first Cars 3 teaser is not exactly what we expected to get as a follow-up to the very silly Cars 2. This new entry in the Cars series seems to go back to its roots (the beginning of the teaser is a clear nod to the opening of the first film) and looks even bleaker and darker in tone. Watch the 50-second clip below.

Review: 'Moana' Knows the Way

For the first time since 2002, the Walt Disney Animation Studios are releasing two films within the same year. Funnily enough, the second Disney film in 2002 (Treasure Planet) was a Clements/Musker production just like the movie we'll be talking about today, Moana.
Read our spoiler-free review of the film below and see if we think Disney did it again.

'The Dam Keeper' is Getting the Feature Film Treatment

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the 2014 short film The Dam Keeper will become a feature film; 20th Century Fox Animation and Tonko House are partnering to produce a feature length version of the Academy Award nominated film.

'The Croods 2' is Cancelled

Variety reports that DreamWorks Animation and Universal Studios have decided to cancel the planned sequel to the 2013 film The Croods. The Croods 2 was originally supposed to hit theaters in 2017, but was pushed back to 2018 earlier this year.

Watch: A new 'Moana' Clip and a Featurette

Disney is going all in on the Moana marketing as the release date is nearing; not one, but two Moana videos premiered on YouTube today: a clip of the song 'We Know the Way' and a featurette about the research and inspiration behind the film called The Way to Moana. You can watch both below.

Watch: The New Trailer for 'The LEGO Batman Movie' Gives More Joker

The immensely entertaining version of the Batman character that appeared on The LEGO Movie in 2014 is back in a new trailer. This is the 4th one, but the first with lines from the caped crusader's arch-enemy, the Joker (voiced by Zach Galifianakis).

Watch: Illumination Entertainment's 'Sing' Gets a Third and Final (?) Trailer

After The Secret Life of Pets, the second movie released by from Illumination Entertainment this year will be Sing, a musical comedy written and directed by Garth Jennings, for which it'll be the first foray into animation as a director (he voiced a character in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox). Here's a new trailer for the movie.

'The Incredibles 2' and 'Toy Story 4' Swap Release Dates

This is a good news / bad news situation: Pixar has announced that the planned release dates for Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2 have been swapped. The sequel to The Incredibles will now be released on 15 June, 2018 in the US, and the fourth installment in the Toy Story franchise will be released on 21 June, 2019.

'Shaun the Sheep Movie 2' is a Go

Aardman has announced via its official website that a sequel to the great Shaun the Sheep Movie is on its way. Richard Starzak, which was one of the directors of the first film with Mark Burton, will be back at the helm.

Watch: Dwayne Jonhson Sings 'You're Welcome' in a New 'Moana' Clip

This isn't the full song yet, but at least we get to hear a part of You're Welcome, a song written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed by Dwayne - The Rock - Jonhson for the upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios film Moana. See the clip below.

Review: DreamWork's 'Trolls' is a Flawed But Charming Movie

Trolls is DreamWorks Animation's CGI take on the troll dolls (aka good luck trolls), a toy brand created in 1959. Trolls made brief appearances in the Toy Story movies, but here they are given their own musical, with Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake starring, and Mike Mitchell (Shrek Forever After) and Walt Dohrn directing. Read our spoiler-free review to find out how well the film works.

Watch: Moana Meets Maui in a Clip from the Upcoming Disney Film

Moana is only about a month away, and Disney is giving us a first clip from the 7th Ron Clements/John Musker feature film. It's called 'Moana Meets Maui', it's about a minute long and you can watch it below.

Watch: The First Trailer for DreamWork's 'The Boss Baby' is Here

After Trolls (in the upcoming weeks), DreamWorks Animation will be releasing The Boss Baby, a comedy film loosely based on a book of the same name. The films stars Alec Baldwin, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel and is directed by Tom McGrath (Madagascar, Megamind). Get a look at the first trailer for The Boss Baby after the break.

Watch: Terrific Short Film 'Borrowed Time' Debuts on Vimeo

Multiple Award-winning short film Borrowed Time was made available for free on Vimeo yesterday, and it'll only be watchable for a limited time. It was directed by Pixar artists Lou Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats. Watch it below.

Watch: Three New TV Show Trailers

These three TV Shows recently got their first trailer. One of them is coming to Disney Channel next year - that's Tangled: Before Ever After; and the two other are premiering on Netflix soon - they are Trollhunters and Skylanders Academy. Watch the trailers and learn a bit more about these shows below.

Aardman's 'Early Man' Is Now in Production

Aardman as announced via a very short teaser that their next film, Early Man, is in production. We've caught a few pictures of the project before but this is the first time we're seeing Dug and Hognob move. Watch the 16 seconds clip below.

Meg LeFauve Joins 'Gigantic' as Co-Director

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Meg LeFauve (who was a writer on Pixar's Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur) has become a co-director on the upcoming Walt Disney Animation Studios' Gigantic.

Jon Favreau's Next Project is a CGI Remake of 'The Lion King'

We thought Jon Favreau was actively working on the sequel to his Jungle Book movie (or maybe on Magic Kingdom), but it turns out his next film will probably be a CGI remake of the 1994 Disney classic The Lion King.

Watch: The Teaser Trailer for 'Smurfs: The Lost Village' is Smurf

The new Smurf movie - called Smurfs: The Lost Village has at least one thing going for it: it's not a sequel to the two live-actions atrocities that came out in the recent years. This one should be fully animated, and hopefully it will be closer in spirit to the characters Peyo created. Here is a first taste of the Smurf reboot:

'Kubo and the Two Strings' Review: Don't Blink

It's been out for a while in the United States, but that's the chaotic worldwide release schedule for you: Kubo and the Two Strings is only being released in some European countries now, and as a result our review is pretty late, and everything (or close) has already been said on the film. Still, because we think Kubo is a terrific film we'll consider it's not too late, shall we? If you must blink, do it now; then consider reading our spoiler-free review below.

Watch: The New 'Moana' Trailer Takes You on an Epic Adventure

The new Moana trailer is here. Fast-paced, beautiful to look at (the effects, the animation) and to listen to (the score by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina), it is equally funny and epic. Watch it after the break.

Watch: A new Trailer/Featurette for DreamWorks' 'Trolls'

Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, who are respectively voicing Poppy and Branch in DreamWorks' Trolls, are introducing a new featurette/trailer for the upcoming film. Watch it below.

Disney's 'Moana' Gets a Glorious Poster Ahead of its New Trailer

The Walt Disney Animation Studios have debuted a new poster for Moana, the new film from John Musker & Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Princess and the Frog…). It has also been announced that a new trailer will arrive this Thursday, during ABC's Good Morning America. See the whole poster after the break.

A Lost 'Doctor Who' Story Will Return as an Animated Series

The BBC anounces that it will release an animated version of The Power of the Daleks, a serial of the Doctor Who TV show, which is one of the numerous stories that got lost after they were erased from the BBC's archive.

Animated Films and TV Series that need a Blu-ray Release ASAP, part 2

Today is a glorious day, dear readers. A grave injustice has been corrected. Today is the day that The Iron Giant is finally getting a Blu-ray release and you can finally own this masterpiece in stunning HD and watch hours upon hours of wonderful bonus material. Warner Bros. has finally seen the error of their ways and the fact that they gave The Iron Giant such a splendid release, it's cause for celebration. However, as we can scratch one film from the list, this day is also a reminder that there are still many films and TV series that are awaiting a proper Blu-ray release and it's time for the studios to deliver. 

As with my previous list, from two years ago, this list applies to US releases.

The Boy and the Beast Review

In a busy Tokyo street, a boy called Ren stands alone. He looks at his surroundings with hate and fury. He steals some food and goes to an abandoned corner to eat it. Two hooded figures approach him. One of the figures lifts his head and Ren looks, in horror, that the figure is a beast. The beast, Kumatetsu, asks Ren if he wants to become his apprentice. Ren doesn't say anything and Kumatetsu leaves. After the shock wears off, Ren follows Kumatetsu and enters the Beast Kingdom where beasts live. After a while, Ren becomes Kumatetsu's apprentice and helps his master perfect his technique so he can become Grandmaster and in the process, learn to let go of his anger and discover the meaning of family.

Watch: The Trailer for 'Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders' Takes You Back to 1966

Adam West and Burt Ward revealed last year that they were going to reprise their iconic roles as Batman and Robin in an feature-length animated film; they starred, of course, in the incredibly campy Batman TV show that ran from 1966 to 1969. Well, Entertainment Weekly got their hands on a trailer for the upcoming movie. Watch it below.

Watch: A New 'Moana' TV Spot

A brand new Moana TV spot has been revealed during a broadcast of the Rio Olympic Games. It's also available online, and it's nice and all, but it's also not a trailer. Clocking in at just 1 minute, this video offers just a tease of the epic things to come in Moana, including a huge lava villain. See the TV spot after the break.

'The Secret Life of Pets' Review: To Déjà Vu, and Beyond!

The new film from Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, The Minions) is here. Actually, it's been here for a while in the UK (a month) and US (almost three weeks), but it's just arrived in this reviewer's country. So, how good is The Secret Life of Pets? It has to be amazing, judging by those trailers. Well, nope. Read what we think of this movie in our spoiler-free review after the break.

Disney Reveals 'Moana' Characters and Voice Actors

We've known for a while who the two main characters in Moana were going to be and who would voice them (Moana by Auli'i Cravalho and Maui by Dwayne Johnson). Well, USA Today revealed more characters, along with the actors voicing them, a picture and some informations. Get that below.

The New 'LEGO Batman Movie' Trailer DOESN'T GIVE YOU SEATBELTS

This is the latest one in the ever-growing list of Comic Con trailers. The LEGO Batman Movie gets a new trailer, revealing Robin (voiced by Michael Cera). The film, directed by Chris McKay, is out in February 2017; and judging by this trailer (and the previous ones) it should be hilarious. Check out the new trailer below.

Watch: 'Justice League Action' Gets a Trailer

Justice League Action will debut on Cartoon Network this fall, but a trailer has already been made available by Warner Bros. - the highlight reel was first for Comic Con attendees, but we still get to see it now.

Watch: DreamWorks Unveils a 'Trolls' Clip for Comic-Con

The San Diego Comic-Con just debuted, and DreamWorks kicked off the big panels with a Trolls presentation. And while we can't see the whole thing, DreamWorks was kind enough to release a clip from the upcoming movie online. Watch it below.

Disney Shares a New 'DuckTales' (Woo Ooh!) Teaser Art

The DuckTales reboot is starting to show more and more of its feathers, and hopefully we'll get a teaser trailer soon. But for now, let's admire this new teaser art, that was shared by Disney XD - where the show will premiere in 2017. See the whole thing after the break.

Meet Baby Moana in this New International Trailer

This new Moana trailer comes from Japan, and (full disclosure) is more a short clip than it is a real trailer. It's probably coming from the beginning of the new Disney movie, as we see a very young Moana interacting with the Ocean. Watch the clip after the break.

Review: 'The Red Turtle' Delivers A Beautiful and Multi-Layered Tale

The Red Turtle is the first feature film from Michaël Dudok de Wit, and what a good effort it is! The movie is a French-Belgian-Japanese (Studio Ghibli - and more precisely Hayao Miyazaki - was impressed with Dudok de Wit's Oscar-winning short Father and Daughter, and reached out to him) co-production. Here is our spoiler-free review for it.

He's Gonna Wreck It (Again): 'Wreck-It Ralph' Sequel Confirmed

Yesterday, Disney teased that they would reveal something new today. That something new was in fact something that's been rumoured before, but never officially announced: the Wreck-It Ralph sequel.

Watch: The First 'Trolls' Trailer Looks Better Than the Teaser

We know it's not saying much, given how poorly the first teaser for DreamWorks's Trolls was received, but this new trailer definitely looks more interesting. Not everything seems perfect, but there appears to be some inventiveness in the environments and characters. Get a look at the trailer below.

The 'Minecraft' Movie Will Arrive in May 2019

Warner Bros. announced that their upcoming Minecraft movie will be released on 25 May, 2019. The release will coincide with the 10 year anniversary of the video game franchise. A risky birthday, as the film will have to compete with Avengers : Infinity War Part II and Star Wars: Episode IX.

'Finding Dory' Review: On Why it's a Worthy 'Nemo' Sequel

Rarely is a sequel worthy of its predecessor. Sequels often disappoint us, because we enter them with big expectations and a pre-conceived idea of what this universe should be; of what the tone should be. The filmmakers are then faced with a dilemma:
- either stick to what has been done with the first film; that means keeping the same structure, tone, and facing the risk of repeating yourself; we'll call that the Home Alone 2 syndrome.
- or they do something completely different, unexpected, with the consequence of losing the fans of the first film. That's the Cars 2 syndrome.

Fortunately, there's also a third option. The one for the worthy sequel which finds the right balance between looking back and saying something new. On this spoiler-free review, I'll explain why I think Dory is a rare example of that kind of sequel.

'Hotel Transylvania': A New TV Show and Tartakovsky is Back

Sony Pictures Animation and Nelvana announced that they will work together on a TV based on the Hotel Transylvania brand. The series will debut on Disney Channel in 2017.