Frozen, The Wind Rises, Monsters U and 16 More Submitted for Oscar Consideration

AMPAS have announced the 19 animated film that are in contention for a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the upcoming 86th Academy Awards. Among the contenders are the likely big-name frontrunners: Disney's upcoming Frozen, Miyazaki's final film, The Wind Rises, and Pixar's latest, Monsters University; there are also smaller scale films, like French animated pic, Ernest & Celestine (which won the Best Animated Film gong at the César Awards, the French equivalent to the Oscars, back in February). Check out the full list of films submitted for consideration below, complete with their Rotten Tomatoes score (current at the time of writing), where there is one.

The A113Animation Podcast Episode 2 - Epic

Damien's absent this week, so Munir and I discuss Epic alone. There's some varied opinion on the film as I quite liked it and Munir... well, he didn't. We've also got a far more stacked news schedule than we had last time round, so, alongside a range of topics including Disney, Pixar, Brad Bird, Star Wars and WWE, we review Blue Sky Studios' Epic! Fans of Arrested Development won't be disappointed either, as we discuss season 4 of the show. Listen to the podcast for rants galore and to hear me utter the phrase "yolo and so forth".

Apologies for the background noise, we had some recording issues and sadly our limited recording equipment is showing, but we've done our best to edit most of it out. Hence the long wait. The episode is available on Podomatic now, and will be appearing in our iTunes feed and Stitcher playlist soon. Full show notes for the episode are below.

Editorial: "Kiddie-Fare": Why Animated Films Need to Be More Than Just 'Fun'

With the recent releases of The Croods and Epic, I think it's time to reflect on a nagging question that keeps bothering animation enthusiasts around the world: Why isn't animation taken more seriously? After all, animated films are almost guaranteed moneymakers for studios. One animated film can expand into sequels and endless merchandise that turn into billions in profits. Gone are the days when we had one animated films every three years or when we just have one or two animation studios in the world. No, now almost every major studio has an animation division and they're not releasing one animated film per year but two or even three. We are saturated with animated films and yet, when awards season comes, animation almost never receives the recognition it deserves. I mean sure, we have a Best Animated Feature Category and a Best Animated Short category; we also have the Annies and other awards, but animated films get shut out in other categories like Best Director and, until recently, Best Picture.

This Week on A113Animation (10th - 16th June 2013)

Here we are, another week, another batch of animation news. Apologies for forgetting about last week's, but we've got a lot more this week to tide you over. We've got your usual fix of inexorable hordes of Monsters University clips, as well as the first reviews for the film, some heroes and Muppets thrown in, and a little bit about a budding animation war. Check out that, and more, here!

Munir's Epic Review: Not So 'Epic' After All

*This review contains mild spoilers*

Blue Sky Studios have been making films for over a decade now, but they've never have truly created a truly great great film. I mean, sure the first Ice Age is funny, has heart and some great characters but after their promising start they they've been going downhill ever since. Robots is as cold as the metal that the characters wear, the Ice Age sequels are derivative and less and less funny which each passing, Horton has its moments and a valuable lesson but the main character is obnoxious (among other problems), and Rio is colourful and has some catchy songs but it feels overly long and the plot is a tad familiar.

This Week on A113Animation (20th - 26th May, 2013)

This week hasn't been quite as hectic as the one before it, but there's still been a lot of animation news breaking over the past 7 days. Trailers, rumours, reviews and more were posted on A113Animation this week; check out a breakdown of everything you may have missed below.

The Art of Epic Review - Fifty Shades of Green

The latest film from the studio who previously brought you Ice Age and Robots is out in cinemas now; as such, Titan have released an accompanying Art of book for the Chris Wedge film. We've actually had a copy of the book for a month or so, but schedules being what they are, we've not had the chance to review it until now. If you're in the UK, you can win yourself a free copy too, by entering our competition here. Before that though, check out our review below.

Competition: Win a Copy of The Art of Epic [NOW CLOSED]

A113Animation are teaming up with the new animated film EPIC to offer you the chance to win a free copy of The Art of Epic, the accompanying Art of book for Blue Sky Studios' latest - directed by Ice Age's Chris Wedge. Alas, this competition is only open to UK residents; check out the full details and terms and conditions below.

Cool New One-Sheet for Blue Sky's Epic

Seconds ago we shared three new international posters for Pixar's Monsters U, now check out this cool, simplistic one-sheet for Blue Sky Studios' Epic, due in cinemas on the 24th of this month. Simple, effective, cool: this is the best-handled advertising we've seen for the film (directed by Ice Age's Chris Wegde) yet!

Source: IMP Awards (via Animated Views).

Exclusive: Concept Art from The Art of Epic

Next month, Blue Sky Studios will release their eighth feature film, the Chris Wedge-directed Epic. To prelude that release, Titan Books will release The Art of Epic, featuring a collection of gorgeous (and very green) concept art from the production of the film, on 3rd May. The kind PR folks over at Titan were nice enough to send us some over to share with you all.

Fox at CinemaCon: Dragon 2, Peabody, Epic, Peanuts and More!

Disney had a very packed showing at CinemaCon this week, splashing details and footage from their Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar properties (although very little from their own animated films), but 20th Century Fox weren't slouching with the promotion for their own powerful animation stable either.

Another New Trailer for Blue Sky's Epic Showcases Stars and Comedy

We only got the previous Epic trailer earlier this month, but Blue Sky and Fox have just released another new look at their May release. The trailer, which again comes from iTunes Movie Trailers, follows the releases of new trailers for Despicable Me 2 and Turbo over the last few days.

As a big Blue Sky fan and an even bigger Bill Joyce one, I'm really excited for Epic (I mean, just look at those visuals), but I've really not been wowed by Fox's advertising for the film. This newest trailer focuses entirely too much on humour - while some of the jokes work, a lot fall flat, and it really isn't in keeping with the more, well, epic tone the studio tried to establish with the teaser. Something else that this new trailer focuses on too much is its cast; clearly Blue Sky are thrilled with the film's star wattage, but spending half the trailer saying who's in it is overkill, especially when a lot of the cast isn't that impressive (fair enough if it was focusing solely on Christoph Waltz).

Epic is directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age) and stars the voices of... hell, we've heard enough about who's in it. It's released on 24th May.

Watch: New Trailer For Blue Sky's Epic

Fox and Blue Sky Studios have released the first full-length trailer for their forthcoming release, Epic. Based on the book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by Moonbot Studios' William Joyce (director of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore; author of the source material for Meet the Robinsons and Rise of the Guardians), Epic will be Blue Sky's eighth feature film. We got a teaser for the film back in June of last year.

William On The Scotty Jo Podcast

A few days ago I had the chance to speak to Scotty Jo Nicholson of the self-titled Scotty Jo Podcast via video chat, to record a little segment for his show (which this week is Conan O'Brien themed). The show's up on Scotty's website now and you can check it out embedded above.

I'm one of a few special guests (his words, not mine) on the episode and Scotty and I discuss A113Animation, our favourite Pixar memories, my thoughts on Brave, 2013 in animation and, yes, I even have a little rant about UK release dates. Please excuse the tinny quality on my end - my Wi-Fi sucks.You can check out my segment from 4:35 to around the 13:10 mark, although I encourage you to give the whole thing a listen - it's a fun show.

Yes, animation podcasters, I am available for bookings... Y'know, if you like.

DISCUSS: What's Your Most Anticipated Animated Film of 2013?

2012 has passed and Awards season is upon us, so we'll soon know what the critical successes of 2012 were (in terms of box-office successes, I'll refer you to someone much more knowledgeable about that than I - though what I can easily judge, is that 2012 was not a good year for stop-motion). So, now we look to the future - or, more accurately, the present - and our inner film-savant surfaces as we offer our predictions on what will be big in 2013.

Animation Titbits: Croods Motion Poster, 'Art of' Books, Partysaurus Rex and Frankenweenie Short

DreamWorks have rolled out a cool new motion poster (in the vein of fellow Fox stablemate, The Wolverine) for their first release of 2013, The Croods. Based on the existing poster we'd already seen, this cool new motion one shows some of the gorgeous sceneries and animals we can expect to encounter come March next year. It's embedded above, but follow this link if that doesn't work - be sure to toggle the definition up to 1080p. Also, try downloading the DreamWorks Animation Augmented Reality app and scanning the poster with your smart phone or iPod Touch - it's pretty cool.

Watch: Brilliant New Trailer for Epic

Blue Sky Studios are great. They get a lot of flack sometimes for their more goofy, comic approach to animation - versus the more sophisticated stories of Pixar or, now, DreamWorks - but their films have heart, have depth, are gorgeous, and, yes, have lots of, sometimes asinine, comedy. I loved the first two Ice Age films (3, not so much; I still haven't seen 4), I loved Robots as a kid, Horton Hears a Who! was fun, and Rio was a great film! That said, the Fox-owned studio's next film, Epic, looks like a departure from their pre-existing mould, and I'm all for that.

New Images From Blue Sky's Epic

It certainly looks like, at least somewhat of, a departure from their funny Ice Age-norm, but Blue Sky Studios' Epic looks just that: epic. Directed by Blue Sky co-founder and head-honcho, Chris Wedge (Ice Age, Robots), and based on the 1996 book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs, by William Joyce, Epic looks set to wow - particularly in terms of visuals.

Interview: William Joyce, Moonbot Studios Co-Founder and Co-Director of Morris Lessmore

On Friday I had the pleasure of speaking to the very kind, very friendly and very funny William Joyce, on the phone from Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. Joyce, a co-founder of Moonbot, co-directed their debut short film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, with Brandon Oldenburg last year. The short was nominated against, among others, Pixar's La Luna (my interview with La Luna director Enrico Casarosa, here), and actually won the prestigious award - one won several times by the incomparable Walt Disney!

William was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule - he's also working on DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians and Blue Sky Studios' Epic; both based on books of his - to talk to me about several topics. In our extensive 40 minute interview, William talks passionately about Morris Lessmore and its solemn origins, the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and its effects on him, touches enthusiastically on the Oscar experience, Moonbot as a studio and its next steps, as well as working with other studios and how Rise of the Guardians and Epic are turning out.

As per, I'm indebted to - as well as William, for taking the time out of his schedule to speak to me, and for being so friendly - the brilliant people who helped organise it. Specifically, I want to thank Trish Farnsworth-Smith for being so brilliant in setting this interview up.

Check out the interview after the jump break!

Trailers: Blue Sky Studios' Epic and Tim Burton's Frankenweenie

Today brought two fantastic new trailers for two highly anticipated upcoming animated films. Firstly, and thanks to Tyler Carter for sharing this with us via Twitter, Good Morning America brings us the first teaser trailer for Blue Sky Studios' 2013 release, Epic. The premise is magical and draws from nature, based on the book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce, and the trailer reflects this. Set to a fantastically calm, atmospheric score, the teaser is almost reminiscent of Avatar, and Epic looks set to be Blue Sky's most beautiful and delicate film to date.

Two weeks ago we got the first piece of concept art from the film, that seemed to capture this calm yet (pardon the pun) epic scale and many crowed that this could be Blue Sky's best film yet. But there were also the naysayers, who said that, given the voice cast, including Beyoncé, it would fall down a daft comic route. This should allay that. Aside from a few jokes towards the end of the trailer, the teaser is almost entirely speechless, which is exactly how it left me.

Look forward to seeing more from Epic over the next several months now that Ice Age: Continental Drift is almost out in theatres.

Secondly, the second fantastic trailer for Tim Burton's black-and-white, stop-motion return to animation direction, Frankenweenie, is up over at iTunes Movie Trailers. Showcasing the wicked comedy and attuned  sense of character that has made Burton's films such huge hits in the past, Frankenweenie look set to be a huge hit for Disney.

Epic is due for release on 24th May, 2013, with Frankenweenie hitting later this year, on 5th October (US) and 17th October (UK).