Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #41: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #40: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000).

Looking back, Atlantis seemed like a sure winner. From the directors of the magnificent Beauty and the Beast (which in my opinion is the finest Disney animated film, a sentiment not shared by my A113 colleagues, but one that seems pretty popular within the Twitter community) and the also very good Hunchback of Notre Dame, the film offered an adventure like no other. Staying away from the "Broadway style" that they employed for their previous two films, directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise - and producer Don Hahn - created a superb looking film that unfortunately suffers from a lack of heart and too many characters, which only serves to make the already contrived plot even more confusing.

Frankenweenie IMAX Poster and 6 New Clips!

As Tim Burton and Disney's Frankenweenie's October release date draws ever closer, we're getting more and more wonderful new videos, images and information! Today, we get six brand new clips from the film, a few featurettes, interviews with the film-makers and a great new IMAX poster!

The "12:01 IMAX Poster" features an original Tim Burton sketch of Sparky, and these awesome rare posters will be given to people who attend a midinght IMAX screening of the film. Check out the clips and other videos after the jump break!

Frankenweenie to Open London Film Festival

Tim Burton's Frankenweenie is easily one of my most anticipated animated films of the summer. The black and white, stop-motion homage to classic monster movies looks set to be one of the best animated films of the year, and it seems others agree with me.

It was announced today that Frankenweenie will open the 56th annual BFI London Film Festival on 10th October! The film opens in the US on 5th October, but this will be the European premiere for the film (which opens nationwide on 17th). The premiere, at the Odeon Leicester Square, will be attended by Burton, producer Allison Abbate and executive producer Don Hahn, as well as several voice cast members. It will also screen simultaneously in 30 cinemas across the UK - so keep your eyes peeled for the listings!

An "Art of Frankenweenie" show will also run (for free!) from 17th - 21st, and you can check out information on tickets here from 5th September.



London Film Festival director, Clare Stweart, offered up her thoughts on having Frankenweenie opening the festival. Check her comments out below, as well as the video embedded above:

“Funny, dark and whimsical, this gloriously crafted stop-motion 3D animation from Tim Burton – the reigning prince of outsiders – playfully turns the Frankenstein story on its bolted-on head. Frankenweenie is a perfect choice of opener – it’s a film that revels in the magic of movies from one of cinema’s great visionaries."

With this and Laika's ParaNorman, spooky stop-motion flicks seem to be a big winner this year!

A113Animation featured on The Pixar Podcast

I completely forgot to post this until now, but I recorded an intro for The Pixar Podcast that was aired in front of the latest news episode. Thanks to Derrick Clements (who runs the podcast) for featuring it on the podcast and I encourage you all to listen to The Pixar Podcast every week, it really is brilliant. Derrick has had interviews with real Pixar animators Chris Chua, Austin Madison and Craig Good, as well as with Disney director Don Hahn, so I feel honoured to be featured (even in a small way) on the podcast.

Thanks, once again, to The Pixar Podcast and Derrick.