'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.

Sony Detail Third Smurfs Film, Hotel Transylvania 2 and New Original Genndy Tartakovsky Film

Sony Pictures Animation have announced some juicy new details about their upcoming slate. Across the next few years, the studio will release a third Smurfs film, a second Hotel Transylvania film, and a brand new, original film from Genndy Tartakovsky (Hotel Transylvania, Samurai Jack), says The Hollywood Reporter!

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.

70th Golden Globes Nominations Revealed

Yep, awards season is definitely upon us. A few days ago we posted a round-up of a collection of critics' choices for Best Animated Film of the year, but, today, we move closer to the "big" awards of the year; first on the agenda, the Golden Globes.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association have announced the picks for the 70th Annual Golden Globes - the nominees that is, the actual Globes will take place on 13th January, 2013. Leading the pack is Spielberg's Lincoln with 7 nominations, with Django Unchained and Argo clocking in at 5 each. In terms of animation though, they're... well, they're somewhat odd choices.

The nominees for the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature film are:

• Brave - Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Pictures
• Frankenweenie - Walt Disney Pictures
• Hotel Transylvania - Sony Pictures Animation; Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures
• Rise of the Guardians - DreamWorks Animation SKG; Paramount Pictures
• Wreck-It Ralph - Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Pictures

Firstly, that's three nominations for Disney-owned animated films, meaning the Mouse House stand a 60% chance of taking home the coveted award. Noteworthy, though, is that Hotel Transylvania is nominated, and ParaNorman is not. I liked Hotel T, it was fun, but ParaNorman is clearly the better film (and an awards favourite for that matter). It's too bad to see that Aardman's The Pirates! isn't get much love either, as it's definitely one of the year's finest animated films.

Check out this interesting article from Cartoon Brew, making the case as to why Tim Burton's Frankenweenie will probably win. Congrats to everyone nominated, and commiserations to Laika, Aardman and everyone who didn't quite make the cut - there's always the Oscars!

Awards Bits: 40th Annual Annie Nominations, and New For Your Consideration Ads

Awards season is soon to be upon us, as such, ASIFA-Hollywood have unveiled the nominations for the 40th Annual Annie Awards. After the Pixar shut-out a couple of years ago, it seems things are back to normal this year, with Pixar/Pixarians getting a total of 10 nominations this year. That said, this year seems to be a very evenly distributed year, with DreamWorks getting a colossal 26 nominations (bear in mind they did release two features and a few TV specials this year).

Watch: Roundtable Discussion with Animation Directors

The L.A. Times have posted an absolutely enthralling roundtable discussion with five animated film directors, in anticipation of the very tight Best Animated Feature competition at awards season this year. Hosted by L.A. Times reporter Rebecca Keegan, the roundtable includes Mark Andrew (Brave), Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians), Chris Butler (ParaNorman), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Genndy Tartakovsky (Hotel Transylvania).

It's not all too equal a discussion, Rich Moore and Mark Andrews tend to dominate it, and it would've been nice to see Brenda Chapman and Peter Lord in the mix, but it really is brilliant! The start's your general stuff: talk about your film, your studio, your team, etc..., but it really takes off in the last fifteen minutes or so, when the conversation turns towards animation as a medium, the problem with American animation, and the directors' shared interests in seeing more 2D animated films, more adult animated films, and the versatility of animation as a medium.

Check it out!

Via Cartoon Brew.

Hotel Transylvania 2 Officially in the Works - Due 2015

In a move that won't please the critics, but will satisfy kids and other fans alike - and probably already has Sony execs drooling - The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Sony Pictures Animation are officially working on Hotel Transylvania 2.

The project, which is very early on in development, is tentatively scheduled for a 25th September, 2015 release. Considering that the first film took seven years to make, three is a significant improvement! That said, it took Hotel Transylvania a long time to find Genndy Tartakovsky as its director, and 2's going to be without the Dexter's Lab creator. Tartakovsky is working on Popeye (now due on 26th September, 2014) for Sony at the moment, so Hotel T 2 will have to find a new director.

Hotel Transylvania's been a big hit for the studio (its highest grossing fully-animated film in fact - although it bows to CG/live-action mash-up The Smurfs' $563.7 million gross), having taken about $253.6 million worldwide, so, a sequel makes sense. The first film was good enough, I'm not overly-eager to see a second, but so long as it replicates the original's formula of light-hearted gags and unpretentiousness, it should be fun.

Related posts:

• Hotel Transylvania Review - Frightfully Frivolous But Fairly Fun
• Sony to Release Hotel Transylvania Short Goodnight, Mr. Foot
• Interview: Pete Oswald, Vis. Dev. Artist on Hotel Transylvania and ParaNorman

Interview: Pete Oswald, Vis. Dev. Artist on Hotel Transylvania and ParaNorman

This latest A113Animation interview seems particularly relevant given our recent competition to give away a copy of an Art of book. The companion books to most animated films are a great portal behind the screen, giving you a look at the colossal glut of fantastic visual development artwork that goes into a production and that we might otherwise never get to see. When reviewing The Art and Making of ParaNorman and The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania, one artist consistently stood out to me, Pete Oswald.

Pete's work was colourful, lively, caricatured, playful and full of cartoony energy! So, I sought Pete out, I found his website and sent him an email saying how much I enjoyed his work and asking if he'd mind doing an interview. Thankfully, he said yes - and expressed a great deal of enthusiasm about it too! Pete's a great guy; modest, helpful and very talented, and I'm grateful he took the time to speak to me.

In our interview - which we did via email - Pete and I discuss his role on the two aforementioned films, what working on them was like, his other work (including The Ricky Gervais Show!), working on Cloudy 2 for Sony right now, and broader animation. Check it out after the jump break!

Sony to Release Hotel Transylvania Short Goodnight, Mr. Foot

Genndy Tartakovsky had some downtime between wrapping on Hotel Transylvania and starting on Popeye, and he used it to return (briefly) to hand-drawn animation. Because Sony are releasing a traditionally animated, Hotel Transylvania-based, short film, called Goodnight, Mr. Foot.

The short is showing in front of Hotel Transylvania right now - but only in Regal Entertainment Group Cinemas. The short film is directed by the 13-time Emmy nominee Tartakovsky, who also animated every single key-frame in the short. Check out a snippet from Sony's press release about the film, and some stills from it, below:

Entitled “Goodnight, Mr. Foot,” the short stars none other than the legendary monster Bigfoot, and follows his adventure as he, too, checks in to Dracula’s five-stake resort in search of a little R-and-R, only to find himself faced with an enthusiastic witch-maid, eager to make Mr. Foot’s stay a memorable one.

Genndy Tartakovsky commented, “After we finished HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA I got an itch to animate! Taking inspiration from my favorite directors Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones I animated a short cartoon in the traditional 2D style. It was difficult and exhilarating all at once and I hope people will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.”

Head on over to Collider to check out the full press release, which also touts "a specially-created promo video popping up some time around October 31". Exciting news - I assume the short will then find its way onto the Hotel T DVD and Blu-ray release, and we're very eager to see it!

And be sure to check out our review of Hotel Transylvania here!

Via Cartoon Brew.

UPDATED - 22:45 (GMT)

Head over to Entertainment Weekly to check out a great little clip from the short, which segues into the image you see directly above. The visual style is great, and I really like the music used too.

Hotel Transylvania Review - Frightfully Frivolous But Fairly Fun

Hotel Transylvania, the latest animated feature film from Sony Pictures Animation (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Smurfs), has received a lukewarm response from critics, but a very enthusiastic one from fans; so I walked into the cinema on Wednesday not quite knowing what to expect. I walked out none the wiser: simultaneously, impressed and underwhelmed. But the main vibe I got from Hotel Transylvania was fun, and it's a film that's not ashamed to wear its relative one-dimensionality on its vampiric sleeve.

Cloudy 2 Gets a New Release Date

A few days ago, Disney dated their upcoming slate, announcing several new projects, and new dates for existing ones - including Saving Mr. Banks - and, yesterday, Sony dated one of their highly anticipated projects too.

Cloudy 2: Revenger of the Leftovers, Sony Pictures Animation's sequel to 2009's successful Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, is now due on 27th September, 2013, says Box Office Mojo. This is up several months from its previously planned 7th February, 2014 release date - and this new date puts it at almost exactly the same date that Hotel Transylvania opened at so successfully this year. UPDATE: 22:33 (GMT) - Kyle (Ostrumation92) commented that the subtitle has been dropped, and that the film is now just called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, which does fit with the Box Office Mojo listing.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was a hell of a let of fun, and its quirky comedy and lively charm made it one of 2009's best animated films, so Cloudy 2 is hotly anticipated here at A113Animation! Check out some plot details for the film over at Entertainment Weekly.

In the meantime, SPA's latest, Hotel Transylvania, is in cinemas; check out our interview with production designer Marcelo Vignali here!

Interview: Marcelo Vignali, Production Designer on Hotel Transylvania

Marcelo with Hotel Transylvania's vocal lead, Adam Sandler.

Last Friday, I had the chance to speak to Marcelo Vignali, the production designer on Hotel Transylvania, the latest film from Sony Pictures Animation. The Genndy Tartakovsky directed film is getting a lukewarm critical response, but is going down a treat with audiences everywhere, who are very receptive to its fun, cartoony style. Hotel T is playing now in the US and Canada, and opened here in the UK today!

I'd like to thank Lauren Woosey at Titan Books for putting me in contact with Sony in the first place and her constant kindness; I'd also like to extend huge thanks to Olivier Mouroux and Kyle Rapone at the Sony Pictures Animation PR team for setting the whole thing up and being so accommodating and friendly.

Of course, I also want to thank Marcelo. One thing I've been astounded at when doing these interviews is how kind and down-to-earth everyone is. Marcelo made a point of asking me about my own life, and acted very modestly, while displaying huge enthusiasm for the film and his work. Not to mention he's a really talented guy! Topics covered in our exclusive interview include his role on Hotel T and thoughts on the film, working around the many directorial changes, working with Genndy Tartakovsky, the film's visual and animation styles, animation at Sony and the future.

Genndy Tartakovsky Reddit Recap: Samurai Jack Movie, Hotel Transylvania and New Powerpuff Girls Series!

Genndy Tartakovsky is a busy man. He's just wrapped on Hotel Transylvania for Sony, which he's now hard at work promoting, he's also working on a CG Popeye film for them, trying to get his planned Samurai Jack film off the ground, and much more that we don't even know about yet! But he still found time to answer questions from rabid fans on Reddit on 27th September.

Questions answered by the very talented Mr. Tartakovsky encompassed everything from working on Hotel T, to his planned Samurai Jack movie, to, excitingly, even a new series of The Powerpuff Girls on the way! Check out our belated coverage of the event which happened the day before Hotel T came out, after the jump break.

Poster for Sony's Popeye

With Hotel Transylvania now in cinemas in the US, and arriving in UK cinemas on the 12th, both director Genndy Tartakovsky and Sony Pictures Animation begin to look to the future, and that's this. Sony and the Dexter's Lab creator are working on a CG adaptation of Popeye!

The most well known version of the character being the Fleischers' shorts, Genndy and Sony are going to have an uphill battle adapting it for the big screen. But, given how wonderfully cartoony Hotel T looks, it might well be just the right pairing to make it happen.

Check out a poster that Cartoon Brew's Jerry Beck snapped at SPA's HQ last week. It's a good start! No release date as of yet.

Hotel Transylvania Takes a Vampire-Sized Bite out of the Weekend Box-Office

The critics may not be loving it, but US audiences clearly are; Sony Pictures Animation's Genndy Tartakovsky-directed Hotel Transylvania has done the studio proud on its tenth anniversary, opening to an astonishing (estimated) $43 million!

The studio's seventh film (including two Aardman releases, Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! in an Adventures with Scientists) sits at a lukewarm 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, but has raked in over a million dollars for every one of those percent at the US box office, placing it in the number 1 spot this weekend. Hotel T is the studio's strongest opener (far surpassing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs' previous record of $30.3 million), and, if it proves to have reasonable legs, it could be the studio's highest grossing film yet! The film has also raked in $8.1 million from foreign territories.

Second place this weekend goes to another Sony pic, Rian Johnson's acclaimed sci-fi actioner, Looper, with $21.2 million (again, estimated). Looper boasts a cast including Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt, while Hotel T has the more youth-friendly line-up of Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez.

In spite of the negative reviews, it seems audiences are really taking to Sony's monster-flick (of course, the timing isn't bad either, with Halloween just around the corner). Speaking from an outside perspective, having not seen the film yet (it doesn't open here until 12th October), I think what's resonating with audiences is exactly what's putting critics off: it doesn't take itself too seriously. Hotel T looks like fun for the sake of fun, with not too much focus on emotional twists - the 'Art of' book stated that they repeatedly chose to forego solemn moments in favour of comedy. Jerry Beck says it best, that Hotel T is a "full “cartoon” feature"; just look how perfectly poised and considered the animation is! Genndy Tartakovsky's stylised cartoon style is here in abundance!

Seen Hotel Transylvania? What did you think? Let us know below!

Stats via Box Office Mojo.

Review Round-Up - Frankenweenie and Hotel Transylvania

Following precious few releases in the first half of the year, it's been a strong summer for animation, with great films like Brave and ParaNorman - oh, and there was The Lorax too I guess. Coming up in winter we have DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians and Disney's Wreck-It Ralph - as well as Pixar's 3D re-release of Monsters, Inc. But right now, as we turn towards autumn, we've got two big releases (and, finally, the UK release of Madagascar 3): Hotel Transylvania and Frankenweenie.

Check out our recaps, reviews coverage, and thoughts after the jump break!

6 Brand New Hotel Transylvania Clips

Moments ago we posted six brand spanking new clips from Disney and Tim Burton's black and white stop-motion film, Frankenweenie. Now, at the other end of the spectrum, the hilarious, lively and colourful end, we have six equally new clips from Sony Picture Animation's Hotel Transylvania!

Collider has our back again and brings us the six, almost continuous, clips as one video, which you can check out above! The clips focus on the comedy, and while it's hard to glean much emotional resonance or depth from these clips, it sure looks like fun! The voice acting and chemistry is top-notch, and the comic timing is strong. However, the highlight of all of the clips for me is the animation.

When I say animation, I mean it in the literal sense - as opposed to when it's often used interchangeably to describe graphics. When reviewing The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania, I said how much thought had clearly gone into poise and movement, and it definitely shows here. Look at Dracula, look at his fluid movements and how the cape is almost an extension of him: it's spectacular! Director Genndy Tartakovsky's stylised traditional-animation experience has clearly translated well!

Hotel T is released a week today, on 28th, in the US, and on 12th October in the UK, and stars the voices of Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Selena Gomez.

Check out the clips above, and let us know what you think! What do you make of Hotel Transylvania so far?

The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania Review - Who Knew Monsters Were This Fun?

The latest 'Art of' book that I've had the chance to review is Titan Books' The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania, showcasing the wonderful artwork of the latest film from Sony Pictures Animation, Hotel Transylvania - directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.

Mark Walsh (And More!) To Appear At View Conference

Tomorrow (as well as the last day of voting in Groups 1 - vote here - and 2 - vote on the right-hand sidebar of this site - of our Round Two "A113 Ten Years" polls; and the day after my birthday!) is the US re-release of Pixar's Finding Nemo, in 3D! Accompanying Nemo 3D is a brand new Toy Story Toon, directed by Finding Nemo's directing animator Mark Walsh, Partysaurus Rex.

However, those of us in Europe don't get Finding Nemo 3D until mid-March - so no Partysaurus Rex until then either! However, a select few won't have to wait that long! Mark Walsh will be appearing at the VIEW Conference, a huge computer graphics and animation expo that runs in Turin, Italy from 16th to 19th October. In addition to appearing at the event, Mark will bring with him Partysaurus Rex, for its European premiere!

In addition to Walsh, Genndy Tartakovsky will be on hand to present exclusive footage of Sony's Hotel Transylvania, as well as DreamWorks' Madagascar 3 co-director Eric Darnell; the VFX supervisor of The Dark Knight Rises Double Negative's Paul J. Franklin; the former director of Pixar's newt, Skywalker Sound's Gary Rydstrom; and even Halo creative director, Josh Holmes, who'll premiere Halo 4 at the event! Check out the website for fuller listings - it certainly looks to be a must-attend event if you can afford the flights!

Check out the full press release which the VIEW PR team sent me, after the jump break - with details on how and when to get tickets.

Genndy Tartakovsky Talks About Coming Aboard Hotel Transylvania

Sony Pictures Animation's latest film, Hotel Transylvania, directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, is almost upon us. But it wasn't always directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. If you've followed the production of Sony's latest, you'll know it's been a troubled one; Tartakovsky is actually the sixth director to try his hand on the troubled film, one that thankfully seems to have got the job done. The Samurai Jack creator spoke to the LA Times about coming onto production this late on, the hostilities he faced, and the film in general.

Check out some interesting points, courtesy of the LA Times, after the jump break.