Watch: The 'Captain Underpants' Trailer is Finally Here

Just about two months before its US release date, we're finally getting a look at DreamWorks Animation's upcoming feature film: Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. The movie is directed by David Soren (Turbo) and written by Nicholas Stoller, based on a series of books by Dav Pilkey. Now here is the trailer, introduced by Kevin Hart and Ed Helms:

Watch: The First Full 'Storks' Trailer Delivers New Characters and Plot

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Storks, which comes out this September in the US. We learn much more about the plot of the movie in it than we did with the teaser trailer back in December; we meet a lot of new characters as well. See the trailer below.

Watch: A Teaser for Warner Bros Animation's 'Storks'

Warner Bros Animation just delivered the first teaser for Storks, a film written/directed by Nicholas Stoller (Neighbors) and co-directed by Doug Sweetland (Presto) and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind The LEGO Movie. See the teaser below.

Warner Bros. Has Some 'Storks' Updates

Nicholas Stoller                                      Doug Sweetland

The Wrap reports that Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland will co-direct Storks for Warner Bros. We talked about the project before, but at the time Doug Sweetland seemed to be the solo director. A release date was also announced: Storks is scheduled for a 23rd September, 2016 opening.

New Trailer(s) for Muppets Most Wanted! It's Not Easy Being Mean...

We're all getting rather excited for the sequel to 2011's musical hit The Muppets here at A113 Animation. To keep up the excitement, we have a brand new trailer two brand new trailers for Muppets Most Wanted!

Monsters vs. Aliens Director and Muppets Screenwriter to Adapt Captain Underpants for DreamWorks

We heard a couple of years ago that DreamWorks had acquired the rights to adapt Dav Pilkey's bestselling (and really fun) Captain Underpants books. Now the studio has detailed the crew that will be bringing the bald, occasionally bipolar, scantily-clad superhero to the big screen!

Plot Synopsis and First Promotional Images from The Muppets... Again!

Sorry for the blog-silence over the last couple of days - I've been severely under the weather. But we're back with some exciting news today: first of all, an official press release, plot synopsis and the first images from Disney's The Muppets sequel, now officially going by The Muppets... Again!

The sequel, whose human stars include Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and Modern Family's Ty Burrell, began filming in London last week and is due for release on 21st March, 2014. Disney emailed us out the press release for the film, which includes the exciting synopsis - which reveals the roles of Gervais, Fey and Burrell - and you can check them, along with another image, out below.

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.

More Details on The Next Muppet Movie

Despite the fact that the last Muppets film is only just out of cinemas (particularly here in the UK), it's certainly a great sign of Disney's confidence in Jim Henson's beloved creations that we are being bombarded by all manner of news and details regarding their next planned outing on the big screen.

Last week Nicholas Stoller, co-writer of The Muppets, treated us to some interesting details about the new Muppets film, and just a couple of days ago, we received some more.

After announcing that he won't be starring in the upcoming film, Jason Segel has now quashed the rumours that he would cameo as well. In an interview with The Playlist, the How I Met Your Mother star said:

"No, no cameo. It was a very distinct choice on my part. Of course I was asked to do it. I did exactly what I set out to do, if that makes any sense. My goal was never to take over the helm of ‘The Muppets.’ They have people who are better equipped for that. My only goal was to bring back the Muppets that I loved. And I did that. I kinda don’t know what I have left to do in that regard."

Also, appearing on a press tour for his current film Five Year Engagement, Nicholas Stoller confirmed (via The Muppet Mindset) that Walter will return in 'Muppets 2', and spilled some more details on what we can expect in terms of story:

"Walter will play a role in the next movie. It will be a complete story separate from the first movie, but there will be some "connective tissue." And having successfully reintroduced the characters, they're planning to concentrate on the comedy this time around."

It certainly sounds promising and, after last time, I have the utmost faith in the Muppets team at Disney.

Nicholas Stoller Drops Some Details on The Muppets Sequel

Just a few months after we got official confirmation that Disney has green(pun intended)lit a sequel to The Muppets, the smash-hit return to the silver screen for Jim Henson's beloved creations, we now get several exciting details about the film!

Nicholas Stoller, the co-writer of The Muppets, who is working on the sequel with the director of The Muppets, James Bobnin, speaking to Collider about his new film, Five-Year Engagement, splashed some exciting new details about the nature of this sequel, what we can expect and when we can expect it.

The salient points from the interview are these:

• The Muppet Sequel is going to be a comedy caper.
• Disney really wants the sequel and they want it as soon as possible. Stoller says Disney wants to release it summer 2013 but he doesn’t think that’s realistic.
• Jason Segel might cameo.
• The sequel will introduce new Muppets.
• Bobin and Stoller started writing the script yesterday. They wrote 13 pages after outlining the entire movie over the past few weeks.

So, there you have it, not only is Disney pushing like crazy for the film (fantastic gratification for all Muppets fans), but we can expect is as soon as 2013 - although probably later. And though he shan't be starring prominently or involved creatively, we may see Jason Segel's Gary crop up; although the film sounds more likely to follow in the footsteps of The Great Muppet Caper, rather than act as a direct sequel.

Very exciting!

Read the full interview over at Collider.

Via The Muppet Mindset's Twitter.

Muppets Sequel Greenlit

Given the enormous popularity of Disney's newest film starring Jim Henson's famed creations, The Muppets, this should come as no, great surprise, but should nonetheless be a huge thrill to die-hard fans and passers-by alike: a sequel to the recent revival of The Muppets is currently being worked on.

Original co-writer Nicholas Stroller and director James Bobin have been announced as the co-writers for the hotly anticipated sequel. Although nothing has been announced yet, it seems likely that Bobin will return to the director's chair as well. Auspicious by his absence however, is the other co-writer, and one of the stars of The Muppets, Jason Segel. The actor who co-starred as Gary in The Muppets has prior engagements to How I Met Your Mother and several film roles, so will unfortunately likely be unavailable to write or co-write the sequel; although there's always the chance we'll see him return in an acting role.

Now, I think it's fairly evident how much I loved The Muppets, so it shouldn't surprise you to hear that I'm ecstatic at this announcement, and I know that an awful lot of people will be too.

Via Empire.