July 1-9, 2000 News

Saturday, July 1, 2000

Voice of Rocky the Squirrel Returns
According to the Associated Press:

"June Foray can be the voice of reason as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, the cartoon companion to lovably dopey Bullwinkle Moose.

Foray can be the voice of childlike bewilderment as Cindy Lou Who asking the Grinch why he is taking away the family Christmas tree.

And Foray can be the voice of menace. Seated in her home surrounded by souvenirs of the dozens of cartoon voices she has done over the decades, Foray launches into the memorably chilling dialogue she once recorded for a 'Twilight Zone' episode about a maniacal talking doll.

'I'm Talky Tina,' Foray utters in a girlish but threatening tone, 'and I'm going to kill you.'

The last survivor of the voice talents who originated ``Rocky and Bullwinkle'' on television in the late 1950s, Foray reprises her role as the can-do squirrel in the big-screen adaptation The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle ... Foray is 74 years old..."

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Sunday, July 2, 2000

More Information on Toy Story 2 Release
The toys are back in town and they're wound up and ready to play in Toy Story 2.

This exciting all-new sequel to the landmark 1995 blockbuster Toy Story makes its highly anticipated video and DVD debut Oct. 17 from Walt Disney Home Video and Pixar Animation Studios.

Bringing back two of the world's greatest stars, Toy Story 2 reunites the voice talents of Academy Award(R)-winning actor Tom Hanks (a) (The Green Mile) as Woody and comedian Tim Allen ( Galaxy Quest, TV's "Home Improvement") as Buzz Lightyear.

Toy Story 2 also marks the return of the original voice cast of Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, Laurie Metcalf and the late Jim Varney. Joining the original cast is a stellar line-up of new voice talent including Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Wayne Knight, Estelle Harris and Jodi Benson.

The video release of Toy Story 2 includes exciting bonus materials featuring outrageously funny outtakes; Pixar's Academy Award(R)-nominated animated short "Luxo Jr." (1986, Best Animated Short Film); and a sneak peek at Disney/Pixar's upcoming holiday 2001 theatrical release, Monsters, Inc. The VHS is priced at a collectible $26.99 (S.R.P.).

As a celebration for Toy Story fans everywhere, Toy Story 2 and the original Toy Story will make their simultaneous DVD debut with the Toy Story 2 VHS release on Oct. 17. These highly anticipated DVDs will premiere in two special boxed sets, each featuring pristine, THX-Certified presentations of both films, created directly from the digital source.

A specially priced Toy Story and Toy Story 2 DVD double pack (S.R.P. $39.99) will feature both movies and exciting bonus materials. The Toy Story 2 DVD will contain two versions of the film: Full Frame (1.33:1 aspect ratio) and Widescreen (1.77:1 enhanced for 16x9 televisions). The original Toy Story DVD will be presented in 1.77:1 aspect ratio enhanced for 16x9 televisions and will include Pixar's Academy Award(R)-winning animated short "Tin Toy" (1988, Best Animated Short Film) (b).

Also debuting Oct. 17 is a special Collector's Edition DVD 3 Disc box set (S.R.P. $69.99), featuring all the materials from the double DVD pack plus an "ultimate toy box" worth of supplemental materials including extensive audio commentaries from the film's creators; movie-making secrets; on-set interviews; never-before-seen animation; 360 degree rotational tours of 11 different film sets and 15 characters and more (b).

Toy Story 2 picks up as Andy heads off to Cowboy Camp, leaving his toys to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector named Al McWhiggin (owner of Al's Toy Barn) kidnaps Woody. At Al's apartment, Woody discovers that he is a highly valued collectible from a 1950's TV show called "Woody's Roundup," and he meets the other prized toys from that show -- Jessie the cowgirl, Bullseye the horse and Stinky Pete the prospector.

Back at the scene of the crime, Buzz Lightyear and the other toys from Andy's room -- Mr. Potato Head(R), Slinky(R) Dog, Rex and Hamm -- spring into action to rescue their pal from winding up as a museum piece. The toys get into one predicament after another in their daring race to get Woody home before Andy returns.

Toy Story 2 marks the return of the 12-time Academy Award(R)-nominated songwriter/composer Randy Newman (1998 A Bug's Life, Best Original Comedy Score nominee) who wrote the colorful score and two original songs.

Also adding her musical talent to the film is multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winning recording artist Sarah McLachlan who sings "When She Loved Me," (music and lyrics by Randy Newman) which was nominated in 1999 for an Academy Award(R) for Best Original Song. The hit western group Riders in the Sky sings the theme song from the "Woody's Roundup" TV show, and legendary singer Robert Goulet lends his vocal style to a lively big band rendition of "You've Got a Friend in Me."

Toy Story 2 has an approximate running time of 94 minutes, is rated "G" by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired. It is available in English and Spanish.

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LA Times Addresses Animation Closure
According to the LA Times:

"20th Century Fox has shuttered its animation studio in Phoenix after a disastrous and costly six-year run that produced only two theatrical features.

Fox's decision to close the unit had been under consideration for several months since layoffs of two-thirds of the operation's 320 employees in February. The remaining 60 staffers were let go Monday.

Recently ousted Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairman Bill Mechanic had come under increased pressure from his bosses, News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and President Peter Chernin, when it became clear that the studio's huge investment wasn't paying off. It was Mechanic who aggressively championed Fox's move six years ago into the animation business.

Fox opened its Phoenix facility in 1994 with a $100-million financial commitment. The director-producer team of Don Bluth and Gary Goldman were recruited to run the operation, which was expected to turn out a full-length feature every 18 months..."

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Monday, July 3, 2000

From Dinosaurs to Rings
The UKs 3D World Magazine is reporting that the lead animator of the successful documentary "Walking with Dinosaurs," Carlos Rosas, is headed to WETA Ltd in order to work on the much anticipated Lord of the Rings trilogy. Rosas, who previously worked for Framestore, will be doing 3D animation and digital special effects.

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UK Celebrates Chicken Run Opening
According to the BBC News:

"After four long years - and a seemingly endless supply of plasticine - Chicken Run from the award-winning Aardman Animations is finally here.

No-one is more relieved to see it released than its creators and directors, Nick Park and Peter Lord, who wondered at times if their first full-length feature would ever be hatched.

'To get this film made was so difficult,' Park admits. 'To keep the momentum going and the project on schedule we had to stick to a very tight regime'..."

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Tuesday, July 4, 2000

Chicken Run Has Huge UK Opening
Chicken Run opened big in the UK over the weekend, making £4m in UK's Box Office, becoming the 14th biggest opening ever in the UK. In addition, Chicken Run continues to perform strong in the U.S. Box Office, bringing in $12.8 million from Friday-Sunday. The U.S. Box Office is being calculated this week on a five day holiday schedule, so look for final numbers (which will include Monday and Tuesday results) on Thursday's Animation Artist Update. Chicken Run has made $41.1 million in only 10 days.

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Documentary on Ub Iwerks Completed
According to the Kansas City Star:

"A documentary about Ub Iwerks, the Kansas City native who designed Mickey Mouse and became a low-profile giant of the entertainment industry, will be screened July 21 at Union Station's Iwerks Extreme Screen Theatre (a facility designed by Iwerks' son, Don Iwerks).

The screening of "The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story" is a benefit to raise funds for Thank You, Walt Disney, the nonprofit group seeking to create a Walt Disney museum here and to restore the crumbling building at Forest Avenue and 31st Street where Iwerks worked at Disney's Laugh-O-Gram Studio..."

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Titan A.E. Devours Fox Profit
According to the Sydney Morning News:

"News Corp's earnings outlook has been savaged by Wall Street analysts after its latest movie extravaganza about the destruction of Earth proved a flop that would destroy profits instead.

Merrill Lynch, generally the US broker most effusive about Mr Rupert Murdoch's global media giant, is predicting News Corp will be forced to take a writedown of as much as $US120 million ($200 million) in its fourth quarter on Titan AE, on which it is thought to have spent $US85 million, excluding marketing expenses.

As a result, Merrill analyst Ms Jessica Reif Cohen has cut her operating income and earnings per share estimates for News Corp..."

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Wednesday, July 5, 2000

The Tigger Movie Headed to Video
On August 22, Disney will release The Tigger Movie to both VHS and DVD . The DVD version will include many additional extras, including the music video "Your Heart Will Lead You Home," a DVD storybook, a matching game, sing-a-long, and the ability to create a "family tree."

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Animation Techniques Bring Cartoon Characters to Real World
According to Fox News:

"When Jay Ward, creator of the beloved 1960s animated TV characters Rocky and Bullwinkle, died in 1989, his daughter decided she had to keep his moose and flying squirrel alive.

'It was a tribute to my father after he died: Maybe I should take these characters into a realm he hadn't taken them and my primary thing was new production in the motion picture arena,' said his daughter, Tiffany Ward, executive producer of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, which opened this weekend after an eight-year journey to the big screen..."

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Thursday, July 6, 2000

Box Office Results
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:

Chicken Run $13.2 Million ($4,627 per screen average - 25% drop)
4th at the Box Office (down from #2 last weekend)
Total to Date: $49.7 Million

Dinosaur $1.4 Million ($1,011 per screen average - big 57% decrease)
11th at the Box Office (down from #9 last weekend)
Total to Date: $130.8 Million

Titan A.E. $1.2 Million ($639 per screen average - huge 67% drop)
13th at the Box Office (down from #8 last weekend)
Total to Date: $20.7 Million

Fantasia 2000 $692,841 ($528 per screen average - big 53% drop)
16th at the Box Office (down from #13 last weekend)
Total to Date: $57.7 Million

The Tigger Movie $45,988 ($338 per screen average - 38% drop)
52nd at the Box Office (down from number #42 last weekend)
Total to Date: $45.4 Million

Toy Story 2 $31,736 ($467 per screen average - 11% decrease)
61st at the Box Office (down from #58 last weekend)
Total to Date: $245.7 Million

The Road to El Dorado
No longer in theaters Final
Total: $50.8 Million

Friday, July 7, 2000

The Mummy Returns
Principal photography has begun on Universal Pictures' and Alphaville Productions' The Mummy Returns, the sequel to special effects filled box office hit, The Mummy. The Mummy Returns, which will be released in theaters on May 11, 2000 will also rely heavily on animation and special effects to wow the audience while telling its story. Industrial Light and Magic, which did the effects for The Mummy, will also be doing the effects for The Mummy Returns.

The Mummy Returns is set in 1935, 10 years after the events of the first film. Rick O'Connell is now married to Evelyn, and the couple have settled in London, where they are raising their 9-year-old son Alex (played by screen newcomer Freddie Boath). When a chain of events finds the corpse of Imhotep resurrected in the British Museum, the mummy Imhotep walks the earth once more, determined to fulfill his quest for immortality. But another force has also been set loose in the world ... one born of the darkest rituals of ancient Egyptian mysticism, and even more powerful than Imhotep. When these two forces clash, the fate of the world will hang in the balance, sending the O'Connells on a desperate race to save the world from unspeakable evil, and rescue their son before it is too late.

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Chicken Run Passes $50 Million Mark
Chicken Run passed the $50 million mark for U.S. Box Office receipts on Wednesday, July 5. It reached $50 million in only 13 days. Weekday viewings remain strong. On Wednesday, Chicken Run brought in $1.94 million. Today Chicken Run faces new competition for family audiences from Disney's The Kid.

Saturday, July 8, 2000

Animated Lord of the Rings Devestated Director
According to Fox News:

Ralph Bakshi knows it's not easy to translate Lord of the Rings to the big screen. He tried.

Now, 22 years after the release of his ill-received animated version, the director recalls the movie-making experience as filled with 'terror.'

'The pressure doing the Rings for me was enormous. It nearly killed me,' Bakshi told FOXNews.com. 'At the time I did it, I thought I failed.'

Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick and John Boorman reportedly all had visions of bringing the long and winding trilogy to the screen. But it was Bakshi, best known for 1972's X-rated Fritz the Cat, who took the plunge..."

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Disney Tries Animation Formula on Live Action Films
According to the Kansas City Star:

"Walt Disney Co. is betting that Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington can do what Dean Jones never could: lure a broad audience to live-action films released under the Disney banner... new Walt Disney Studios Chairman Peter Schneider has made expanding the Disney label's appeal a big part of his strategy for the studio. Schneider, the former head of Disney's animation unit, took over leadership of the entire studio in January after the departure of Joe Roth...

Coming from the world of animation, Schneider is largely an unknown in Hollywood, as are the kinds of movies he will choose to reverse the studio's fortunes. He now says the answer is simple: Regardless of whether the genre is family, action or dumb comedy, he wants the "emotional, thematic stories" that were the backbone of his 15-year tenure in animation..."

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Sunday, July 9, 2000

Disney Heirs Save Walt's Early Animation Studio
According to the Kansas City Star:

"Walt Disney's heirs have pledged $450,000 to stabilize the long-vacant Kansas City building in which the entertainment giant operated his first animation studio.

The gift from the Walt and Lily Disney Foundation is contingent upon the raising of an equal amount by the organizers of Thank You, Walt Disney, a nonprofit group that has been working for most of a decade to create a Disney museum here..."

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