Bolt Co-Director Chris Williams Joins Don Hall at Helm of Big Hero 6

Perhaps mirroring the production of their current mega-hit Frozen, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Disney have added Chris Williams, who co-directed 2008's Bolt with Tangled's Byron Howard, as a director of their upcoming Marvel-adaptation Big Hero 6, alongside existing director Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh).

Awards Predictions 2014: Golden Globes Edition

We're starting the Awards season and while the Oscar nominations won't be announced until a few weeks, other major awards have already announced their nominees, including the Golden Globes and the Annie Awards. I'll post my predictions for the Annie Awards at a later date but, for now, let's begin with the Golden Globes.

I must say, I'm very disappointed with this year's nominees for Best Animated Feature. First, I thought there would be five nominees instead of three, and that one of those nominees was going to be Pixar's Monsters University. The fact that Pixar got shut out for the first time with a film that's superior to both of its predecessors (both of which were nominated) is befuddling considering the fact that the film is better than two of the three actual nominees. Well, now that I got that out of my system let's begin with the predictions.

Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #48: Bolt (2008)

Last Week’s: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #47: Meet the Robinsons (2007).

John Lasseter didn't have it easy when he arrived at the Disney Studio. First, Meet the Robinsons needed a complete overhaul before it could be released in theatres, and then the following film was even more troubled. Bolt was first titled American Dog and it was to be the next project by director Chris Sanders, who co-directed the highly acclaimed Lilo & Stitch (one of the few popular films from the previous era). However, problems in the production led to the removal of Sanders from the director's chair (after which he left Disney and went to DreamWorks) and the team of Chris Williams and Byron Howard taking over. The film was completed in 18 months and, against all odds, it was warmly received and represented another step in the right direction for the studio.

Christmas Recommendations: What Animated Things You Should Be Watching This Christmas

It's that time of year again (notice our festive banner and logo, once again designed by the fantastic Damien Chevrier), and we hope you're all having a restful, relaxing and enjoyable Holiday season so far! So, for those of you here in the UK, here are our ho-ho-hot picks for animated stuff (and generally-linked-to-animation stuff) that's on tele over the next couple of weeks.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #47: Meet the Robinsons (2007).

Make Sure You’ve Read: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - The Revival Era (2007 - present) Introduction.

I'm very fond of Meet the Robinsons. It's not a perfect film but it did something remarkable for the studio and for me: it gave us both hope. Hope that a better studio was coming and hope that their future output would return it to its former glory.