Watch: Tom Hanks Talks About Being Walt Disney for Saving Mr. Banks

Mary Poppins is inarguably one of Walt Disney's crowning achievements - up there with Steamboat Willie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Disneyland. Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of that story, and how Walt Disney acquired the rights to author P.L. Travers's original book. Emma Thompson plays Travers, and Tom Hanks is the first person to play Walt Disney; Hanks talked about the pressure and importance of taking on such a high profile role in a new featurette for the film, below.

Live-Action News From D23 Expo

We all got pretty excited about the news from the D23 Expo on Day 1, so you can imagine how thrilled we were with more, live-action-y, updates from Day 2 yesterday.

[UPDATE] Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious News: Mary Poppins Coming to Blu-ray on 10th December!

In some great and unexpected news (I predicted this one to be released early next year), Disney is planning to released its beloved 1964 classic, Mary Poppins, on BD on 10th December. This release will coincide with the theatrical release of Saving Mr. Banks, which stars Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, and tells the tumultuous story of how Walt Disney convinced P.L. Travers to let him do a cinematic adaptation of her beloved nanny.

Saving Mr. Banks Official Poster

It's a bit late, but still a big, new arrival for Disney's film Saving Mr. Banks has been released- a very charming poster.

This Week on A113Animation (8th - 14th July, 2013)

This was a pretty mammoth week for animation news. Disney managed to both enrage and delight us, with some irritating release dates and remake news vs. exciting trailers and intriguing plot details; there were a few magnificent trailers, some intense posters, a crackpot theory and more! We've also got your latest Disney Retrospective and Futurama, A Swan Song columns, and a review of Pixar's Monsters University! Check out links to the past seven days of A113Animation shakings and happenings below.

Watch: First Trailer for Saving Mr. Banks

Not long after the first look at Saving Mr Banks - Disney's retelling of the true story of Walt Disney's quest to adapt Mary Poppins from book to film - was revealed yesterday, the trailer has appeared online.

First Look: Saving Mr. Banks; Tom Hanks is Walt Disney

The first image for Disney's Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, has been revealed. Read below to find out more about the film and check out the exciting first look!

UPDATED - Disney at CinemaCon: Inside Out, The Good Dinosaur, Star Wars, Tomorrowland and More!

CinemaCon has been going on today in Las Vegas, and the biggest film studios around have a presence there - included, obviously, is Disney and their many exciting subsidiaries. Here's some of the cool news stories to come out of the event:

It's only mildly intriguing, because we'd already heard strong speculation from several sources, but Disney and Pixar have confirmed that Pete Docter's inside-the-mind film is called Inside Out and scheduled for a US release date of 19th June, 2015 (which they released at CinemaCon last year) - the UK release date is currently 7th August, 2015. Now, is this the upcoming Pixar film that Michael Giacchino's scoring?

A Trifecta of Non-Animation Disney News: The Muppets 2, Hanks as Disney and #Bird2015

Yes, this is A113Animation. But, hell, we're all nerds aren't we? And this is all Disney-linked at least...

Saving Mr. Banks: Tom Hanks on Walt Disney

Production is now underway on one of the most anticipated films of 2013, Saving Mr. Banks. The film focuses on the almost decade-and-a-half long struggle by Walt Disney to acquire the film rights to P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins book series.

Academy Award winner Tom Hanks, who already has a link to Disney, providing the voice of Woody in the Toy Story franchise, has the unenviable task of portraying the immortal Walt Disney on screen for the first time ever. Fellow Academy Award winner Emma Thompson will play Travers, with supporting roles being played by Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, with Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak as the musical Sherman brothers. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) is directing from a script by Kelly Marcel.

Hanks spoke briefly to The Hollywood Reporter about Walt Disney and his preparation for the role. Asked whether it would be a "warts and all" portrayal, the Forrest Gump star said:

“He wasn’t a warty guy. There was the labor issues that were in the forties and stuff like that. But by and large, no.” With THR adding 'A three-pack-a-day smoker, Disney died of lung cancer in 1966 and Hanks said he would chain smoke his way through the movie, but that’s about as close as the production will get to any controversy or conjecture surrounding the iconic animator.'

This is fast becoming one of my most anticipated films of 2013. Saving Mr. Banks arrives in cinemas on 20th December, 2013.

Upcoming Disney Line-Up Dates Untitled Disney and Pixar Films; Phineas and Ferb and More!

Disney have revealed, through Box Office Mojo, their upcoming release date schedule, shedding light on when we can expect some of the company's most hotly anticipated films!

Starting from the start, Disney's highly anticipated chronicle of the acquisition of the film rights to Mary Poppins, Saving Mr. Banks is due on 20th December, 2013. The film, which will see Tom Hanks become the first man to ever portray the larger-than-life icon, Walt Disney, on-screen, and stars Emma Thompson as author P.L. Travers, is directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and looks set to be one of the biggest films of next year!