May 1 - 7, 2000 News

Monday, May 1, 2000

New York Times Tackles Chicken Run!
According to the New York Times:

"The camera tilts down from a glowing full moon to sharp barbed-wire fencing. Ominous music chills the soundtrack as a bulky man with a flashlight, accompanied by surly guard dogs, inspects the locks. Suddenly one dog stops and snarls. Inside the fence, a small figure darts behind a shed, followed by the flashlight's beam. It is a tense moment; then, slowly, man and dogs move on. The small figure signals silently and several others rush toward a concealed opening.

So far, this looks and sounds like a classic Hollywood prisoner-of-war escape movie, but in this case the escapees trying to squeeze under the chain-link fence are a bunch of chickens. Literally.

In Chicken Run, scheduled to open on June 23, an animated flock of barnyard poultry is determined to escape evil farmers and the fate of being turned into chicken pot pies. Think "The Great Escape" with feathers or an absurdist fowl version of 'Stalag 17.'

This genre parody -- which features the voices of Mel Gibson as a rooster named Rocky, Julia Sawalha as a visionary hen and Miranda Richardson as a greedy human -- was hatched four years ago by Nick Park and Peter Lord, directors at Aardman Animations in Bristol, England. The studio is an industry leader in clay model animation, a laborious technique that requires small figures made of clay to be incrementally moved and photographed frame by frame on miniature sets..."

Click here for the full story. (may require free registration)

El Dorado Falls Out of Top 10
Facing its first family competition since coming out four weeks ago, The Road to El Dorado fell out of first place and is estimated to have a huge 50%+ drop from its results last weekend. Final numbers will be posted tomorrow. Some analyst estimates of how much the movie will make domestically have also been moved from $60 million to $50 million. 

Arabian Nights Beats Competition in May Sweeps
It was Arabian Nights versus The 70's versus Touched by an Angel in the first Sunday of May Sweeps for the top three TV networks. The special-effects filled Arabian Nights easily won the battle with a 11.2/17 rating, which is nearly double what ABC got last weekend with the Miracle Maker claymation.

Tuesday, May 2, 2000

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

Fantasia 2000
$2.1 Million ($40,414 per screen average)
12th at the Box Office (up from #14 last weekend)
Total to Date: $49.5 Million

The Road to El Dorado
$2 Million ($893 per screen average - huge 62% drop)
13th at the Box Office (down from #7 last weekend)
Total to Date: $46.4 Million

Toy Story 2
$256,826 ($592 per screen average)
24th at the Box Office (down from #21 last weekend)
Total to Date: $244.3 Million

The Tigger Movie
Out of Theaters
Final Total: $44.5 Million

New VP of Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Lolee Aries has been appointed Vice President of Production, Nickelodeon Animation Studios. The announcement was made today by Mark Taylor, Vice President & General Manager, Nickelodeon Animation Studios.

Aries joins Nickelodeon from Film Roman, where she served as Vice President of Production. In her new position at Nickelodeon, she will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day production on all of Nickelodeon Animation Studios' in-house projects including current series SpongeBob SquarePants, Hey Arnold!, Catdog, Angry Beavers, Oh Yeah! Cartoons! and the upcoming series ChalkZone, The Fairly Oddparents, and Invader Zim.

Aries will also concentrate on the digital production process and increasing utilization of in-house talent.

"Lolee's extensive knowledge of animation production makes her an invaluable asset to Nickelodeon Animation Studios. She will be an integral part of our team in our endeavor to maintain the quality of Nicktoon's productions," says Taylor.

Aries comes to Nickelodeon from Film Roman, where she held various positions over the past twelve years. While at Film Roman, she garnered two Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Animated Series in 1998 as a producer on The Simpsons, and for Best Animated Series in 1999 as an Executive Producer for King of the Hill.

Prior to Film Roman, Aries worked for Hannah-Barbera from 1986 to 1988 as a track reader on Yogi Bear. She began her career in 1979 at Wang Film Productions, a production company in Taidei, Taiwan, where she worked as a film editor, camera operator and animation checker on many projects including Hanna-Barbera's The Smurfs and The Jetsons. Originally from Taipei, Taiwan, Aries is a graduate of Tamkang University in Taiwan, where she earned a B.A. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Wednesday, May 3, 2000

Dinosaur Site to be Updated Daily
The Animation Artist Dinosaur Movie Site at www.dinosaurmovie.com is now being updated daily between now and May 31, 2000. The movie Dinosaur opens in theaters across the US on May 19, 2000. The News section and FAQ were both updated today, including an answer to the question, "is this movie appropriate for kids?"

Dinosaur Soundtrack Released
The soundtrack for Disney's Dinosaur is now in stores. It features 16 background scores by James Newton Howard. This soundtrack departs from past Disney animated soundtracks in that there are no songs - only scores. Some of the scores were also used in the Dinosaur movie trailers, like the one playing before Toy Story 2. Click here to order the soundtrack.

Newsletter Tonight
The next Animation Artist Newsletter is being emailed tonight. If you are not already signed up to receive it, click here .

Thursday, May 4, 2000

DreamWorks Story Gets Picked Up
On April 29, Animation Artist ran a story on an LA Times article titled "Animation Features Aren't Studios Dream Come True." The article outlined the reported failure of DreamWorks animated films based on expectations. That article hit the LA Times newswire and has now been picked up an ran by numerous other publications, like the San Jose Mercury News (click here for article). Near the beginning of the article it states, "Without the cavernous pockets of DreamWorks' billionaire backer Paul Allen, the studio's animation business might well be on the ropes."

The article was published after DreamWorks The Road to El Dorado had been in theaters for a month without any competition from other family films. To date, the movie has only managed to make $46.5 million and by the time its domestic run is complete, it may have made less that Disney's Fantasia 2000 ($49.5 million) which only played in IMAX theaters.

The PG rating of The Road to El Dorado potentially scared off many parents when some reviewers, like the LA Daily News, claimed the PG rating was due to "violence and nudity," not normally recognized as regular family film elements.

DreamWorks could reverse its animated film success when Chicken Run (rating expected any day) hits theaters, courtesy of Aardman Studios. Unlike The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run will have competition from both Fox Animation (Titan A.E.) and Disney (Fantasia 2000 theatrical release).

--

CINAR: Rumors of Our Death Exaggerated
According to CBC:

"Troubled film company Cinar is continuing to churn out episodes of its popular children's TV series, but an analyst warns that it cannot continue for long.

'The rumours of our death are greatly exaggerated,' quipped Peter Moss, president of Cinar Entertainment, in an interview Wednesday.

Moss was hired from YTV in mid-March along with others to replace four top people at Cinar who quit or were fired amid accusations of fraud.

'The events of March certainly took a lot of headlines, (but) . . . they happened at a level which doesn't really touch the entertainment division directly,' said Moss.

He said 300 half-hours of programs slated for completion during the next 18 months will be delivered on time, and new contracts are being negotiated... Cinar is the object of several investigations over alleged fraud..."

Click here for the full story.

Friday, May 5, 2000

Brad Bird Joins Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios announced today that Brad Bird, the critically-acclaimed director and writer of animated feature films, has joined the company as a director.

Mr. Bird, 35, joins a growing team of creative talent at Pixar and will begin development on his first Pixar animated feature this month.

"Brad is about the best director in animation," said John Lasseter, executive vice president, creative. "Everything he has touched has been entertaining, inventive and full of heart. He's taken audiences to places they've never been before. We are dancing on our desks to have him join us at Pixar."

Bird's career began at age 11 when he created his first animated motion picture which caught the attention of animation legend Milt Kahl. Mr. Kahl later became Bird's mentor at The Walt Disney Company. Most recently, Bird worked at Warner Bros. as the director and screenwriter of the critically-acclaimed animated feature The Iron Giant . His other credits include serving as an executive consultant on "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill" and "The Critic" animated television series; creating the "Family Dog" episode of Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories;" and co-writing the screenplay for the live-action feature Batteries Not Included.

"I'm tremendously excited about joining Pixar whose work I've admired for years," said Mr. Bird. "Though they have received much attention for being on the cutting edge technically, they are at heart, like John Lasseter himself, great story-tellers. Their focus is on creating original stories and new characters. That's rare. I can't wait to be a part of it."

About Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios combines creative and technical artistry to create original characters and stories in the medium of computer animation. Pixar created and produced the first computer-animated feature film, the Academy Award winning Toy Story , released in 1995. Pixar has since released two more animated features: A Bug's Life, the highest grossing animated film released in 1998; and Toy Story 2, the highest grossing animated film released in 1999. The studio is currently in production on its fourth animated feature, Monsters, Inc., targeted for release in 2001.

Pixar Takes Huge Profits from Toy Story 2
Pixar Animation Studios today announced financial results for its fiscal first quarter ending April 1, 2000. For the quarter, Pixar posted profits of $26.4 million, or $0.53 per diluted share. These results compare to profits of $900,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, achieved in the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the quarter were $61.0 million, compared with $3.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Pixar is targeting diluted earnings per share of at least $1.25 for fiscal year 2000.

To date, Toy Story 2 has earned box office receipts of $244 million in the U.S. and $479 million worldwide, making it the second highest grossing animated film of all time in the U.S. and the third highest grossing animated film of all time worldwide. Toy Story 2 will be released on video worldwide this October in both VHS and DVD formats.

Pixar also announced that animated feature film director Brad Bird has joined the studio and will begin development on his first Pixar feature this month. Bird most recently directed the critically acclaimed animated feature film The Iron Giant from Warner Bros.

In addition, Pixar announced that Joe Roth, former Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, will be joining the company's Board of Directors.

"Our strong first quarter results reflect Toy Story 2's incredible box office success around the world," said Steve Jobs, Pixar's CEO. "This momentum will continue throughout the year, with the release of the `Buzz Lightyear of Star Command' video this August, the fall launch of the Buzz Lightyear TV series, and the release of Toy Story 2 on video this holiday season. Beyond this year, we currently have four films in production and development, beginning with Monsters, Inc., which is on schedule for a holiday 2001 release."

Saturday, May 6, 2000

Animation Call for Entries
The Ottawa International Animation Festival, an annual animation event held in North America, is placing a call for animation entries. The deadline is July 1, 2000. The Festival takes place from September 19-24.

This year entries are being allowed via Websites where the entrant can submit a URL instead of sending in a tape. The festival will be accepting SWF files (Flash Animation). During pre-selection our committee will visit each of the sites, view the films, and select the films for competition. For competition, we will have two prizes: a Grand Prize for Best Internet Animation (selected by the International Jury) and a Public Prize for Best Internet Animation. Computers will be set up during the festival to afford attendees the opportunity to view the films and vote for their choices. The International Jury will watch the internet works on their own. Finally, voting will not be limited to attendees. People will be able to log on from home and vote for their favourite films via the Ottawa Festival Website.

Call 1-613-232-8769 for an entry form. Entries are free.

Joe Roth Joins Pixar's Board of Directors
Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (Nasdaq: PIXR) today announced that Joe Roth, former chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, will be joining the company's Board of Directors, bringing the number of directors to eight.

 Mr. Roth ran The Walt Disney Studios from August 1994 to January 2000, during which time Disney become the top grossing movie studio in the world, and the only studio to achieve box office grosses of more than $1 billion annually for the last five years. Mr. Roth has recently formed an independent entertainment company.

"We are thrilled that Joe will be bringing his incredible talent and entertainment experience to our Board," said Steve Jobs, Pixar CEO. "Joe has contributed to each of our three blockbuster films to date, and we look forward to his wisdom and guidance as we move forward as a major feature animation studio."

Roth was chairman of 20th Century Fox from 1989-1992, when the studio released such successful movies as Home Alone, My Cousin Vinny, Mrs. Doubtfire, White Men Can't Jump and Edward Scissorhands. A New York City native, Roth is a 1970 graduate of Boston University.

"Pixar is creating some of the best family entertainment ever," said Joe Roth. "I am delighted to continue my relationship with Steve, John Lasseter and the entire Pixar team to help build Pixar into a major force in the entertainment industry."

Sunday, May 7, 2000

Sailor Moon S - The Movie Coming to Video this Month
Sailor Moon S - The Movie is coming to video in the U.S. on May 23 in an English-dubbed version. The movie is about "A wicked ice princess wants to freeze and capture Earth for her planetary collection. But Sailor Moon and her tight-knit group of gal pals will have nothing of the sort." For more information on the video, click here.

New Animated Ad Campaign for Coke
netGuru, Inc. announced today that it has just completed the first in a series of four 10-second digitally animated Coca-Cola TV spots for India-based Chaitra Leo Burnett.

According to The Times of India, Coca- Cola appears to be stressing animation as a prime engine for its package of brand promos. The TV slots selected to air the latest ads are designed to embrace both children and adults, maximizing brand leverage.

"The digital animation project for Chaitra Leo Burnett is being produced at the company's India based digital media studios using a customized version of the company's leading cell animation software," commented netGuru Chairman and CEO Amrit K. Das. "Being selected by the prestigious Leo Burnett Advertising Agency to provide the animation for one of the top branded companies in the world, Coca Cola, is a tremendous accolade for our streaming digital technology group."

Das noted that according to the Roncarelli Report on the computer animation industry issued August 1999, worldwide commercial computer animation production totaled $20.3 billion in 1998 and is forecasted at $35 billion by 2001."

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