The Lego Movie 2 Officially Set for May 2017

The first film's not been out long (but it's already made more than $200 million, all the same), but The Lego Movie has done such wonders for Warner Bros.' newly-resurged animation division that the studio have not only already greenlit a sequel, but given it a release date! The Lego Movie 2 will open on 26th May, 2017, says Variety.

Animation at the Box-Office: Frozen Now Over $900 Million; Big Opening for The Lego Movie

It's been a good few months for animation at the box-office, and that looks to continue as we move further into the second month of 2014. With Disney's mammoth hit musical Frozen still going strong, and Warner Bros.' The Lego Movie doing expectedly big business, mainstream American animation is doing immensely well right now.

The Lego Movie Review - Everything is Awesome!

I must confess, when The Lego Movie was announced, I was not particularly excited. Lego was a big part of my childhood and even if I don't buy any sets or build anything anymore, I've always been fond of the company and their products. However, I couldn't really see how Warner Bros. could adapt this huge world into a successful movie. It gave me the impression that it was going to be a blatant product placement piece rather than a genuine work of art. Thankfully, I was completely wrong about the whole thing, and not only does The Lego Movie celebrate the company's legacy, but it also provides an utterly original and beautiful story filled with great characters.

New Super-Spoof Trailer for The Lego Movie: "Man of Plastic"

Warner Bros.' block-busting return to animation, The Lego Movie, hits cinemas on Friday, so the studio have been rolling out loads of - in the words of their own advertising - "awesome" clips, trailers and TV spots for the film! With DC's super-roster at their fingertips, WB have free rein to Legoify big-name superheroes - hence why we've got this really funny new trailer, spoofing Man of Steel. Plus, hey, a bit of Hans Zimmer's marvellous score makes anything better. Check out that, and more, below.

Super New TV Spot and Posters for The Lego Movie

Likely the best big-screen Justice League film we're going to get in the foreseeable future is assembling! Block by block. Warner Bros. have rolled out two super new posters and an awesome TV spot for The Lego Movie (directed by Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street's Phil Lord and Chris Miller), featuring the Lego versions of the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel!

Packed New Poster for The Lego Movie

Warner Bros.' re-emergence on the animation scene is next year's The Lego Movie, directed by Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street's Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and today we got an action-packed new poster for it!

Watch: Bat-tastic New Trailer for The Lego Movie

Although quite a few of the films originally slated to open in it have migrated (Pixar pushed The Good Dinosaur back to November 2015, Universal also pushed Minions back to July that year), 2014 still has a pretty exciting line-up of animated films - this is one such film. Warner Bros. have rolled out a hilarious new trailer for The Lego Movie, featuring a healthy dose of Will Arnett's Lego Batman!

Out of Comic-Con: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Cobie Smulders Join The Lego Movie

Warner Bros.' Lego Movie just gets more exciting and fun-sounding by the day! Morgan Freeman is voicing Lego Gandalf; other great names like Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell and Liam Neeson are in there. One of the most interesting and fun notes, though, was that Arrested Development's Will Arnett is voicing Lego Batman; news out of Comic-Con is that some other big name stars are going to be helping him assemble a Lego Justice League in the film.

Watch: "Block"-buster Trailer for The Lego Movie

Warner Bros. unveiled the teaser trailer for the first film in its rejuvenated animation plan today. Directed by Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs's Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The LEGO Movie focuses on an average-joe Lego by the name of Emmet (voice of Park and Recreation's Chris Pratt) fighting to save the world from bad guys Will Ferrell and Liam Neeson.

Terry Crews Brings Us An Excited Peek at Cloudy 2

The always entertaining Terry Crews will have the unenviable task of filling Mr. T's shoes when he replaces him in voicing Officer Earl in Sony Pictures Animation's September release, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. So, the White Chicks and Expendables star today brings us a nature documentary-meets-Jurassic Park style clip, as he narrates a sighting of the elusive 'sasquash'. The clip features gorgeous animation, a healthy dose of quirky humour and a whole lot of food puns - check it out above.

Directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, and executive produced by the directors of the original (who are currently directing The Lego Movie for Warner Bros.), Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 hits cinemas on 27th September (US)/25th October (UK).

Warner Bros. Release New Logo for The Lego Movie

Warner Bros. are looking to reclaim their stake in the animation industry, first on the agenda The Lego Movie, due early next year (7th February, 2014 in the US/14th in the UK). As part of a competition aiming to get people invested in the film (/Film has the details), the studio have revealed a cool new logo for the film and the teensiest bit of plot details.

First Look: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Last year, Sony Pictures Animation had a hit with monster mash-up film Hotel Transylvania, starring the voices of Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Lab), which made over $300 million worldwide. The critics didn't all love it though (check out our review here) and indeed SPA's best film to date still remains 2009's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. As such, I'm very excited to check out the sequel when it hits cinemas in September!

UPDATED: Warner Bros. Looks to Rejuvenate its Animation House

It seems Warner Bros. aren't content with just being a studio with a strong animation history, as Variety reports the studio has put in place a "creative consortium" (á la Pixar's Brain Trust I imagine) to spearhead its new animation initiative.

In recent years, Warner Bros. has output live-action mega-blockbusters, like Harry Potter and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, however, its animation front hasn't really been firing on all cylinders since the golden days of Looney Tunes. The studio looks to try and fix that with this new set-up, aiming to release one "high-end" film a year, starting in 2014 with Lego.

The newly formed consortium consists of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (Crazy, Stupid, Love., Cats & Dogs), Nicholas Stoller (The Muppets), Phil Lord and Chris Miller - not DreamWorks' Chris Miller - (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and Jared Stern (Mr. Popper's Penguins). A pretty strong gathering, it seems, with a firm grounding in animation. As mentioned, the group's first project is next year's The Lego Movie (released 7th February, 2014), which is directed by Lord and Miller and stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman and others.

Presto director Doug Sweetland will direct Warner Bros.' Storks.

Following that, the studio will release Storks in 2015, written by Stoller and directed by Pixar alum Doug Sweetland (Presto). What's interesting though is that Sweetland was previously associated with directing The Familiars for Sony, which a Sony Pictures Animation representative recently told me "is one of the many projects still in development at Sony Pictures Animation." It will be interesting to see if this announcement changes that at all; maybe the project will advance with a new director. I've emailed Sony, so I'll update this post if and when I get a response. Either way, I'm very excited to see anything he does! UPDATE - 08/01/2013, 20:46 (GMT): SPA's reps replied "The only information I can give out at this moment is that the The Familiars is still in development.", which to me sounds noncommittal - as if Doug perhaps is no longer directing - but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

2016 will then see the release of Smallfoot, written by Requa and Ficarra, from an idea by director Sergio Pablos (originator of the story for Despicable Me).

"Warner Bros. has an extraordinary legacy in the world of animation, including some of the most enduring characters in cinema history. Looking to the future, we have now gathered some of the best and brightest talents in the industry to help us grow and broaden that legacy. Drawing upon their imaginations and inspiration, the Studio will produce a slate of new and original animated films that are sure to delight audiences of all ages." said Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov.

With this announcement coming mere month after Paramount's similar one (also toting high-profile names) it's clear to see that big studios see the potential, creatively and financially, of animation.