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Monday,
November 13, 2000
Animated/Anime
Movies Being Released to DVD Tomorrow
Here is a list of animated and anime movies and shows being released
to DVD tomorrow, including Fantasia 2000:
The
Fantasia Anthology (2000)
Fantasia
2000
Fantasia
(60th Anniversary Special Edition) (1940)
Pokemon
- The Movie 2000 (2000)
Frosty
the Snowman (1969)
The
Tenchi Universe Collection 4 - Tenchi on Earth
Cardcaptor
Sakura - The Clow Volume 1
Reboot
Vol 01 (1994)
Samurai
X - Betrayal (Rurouni Kenshin)
Pokemon
- Into the Arena (Vol. 24)
Pokemon
- Showtime (Vol. 23)
Tempest
3000 (DVD Game)
Freefall
3050 A.D. (DVD Game)
Merlin
Racing (DVD Game)
Superman:
Menace of Metallo
Lost
Universe Volume 3
Bubblegum
Crisis Mega-Series
* * *
Fifth
Irish Animation Festival
According to The Irish Times:
"It didn't take the inventors of film long to work out that
animated characters could be stars just as well as people. Now,
with the fifth Irish Animation Festival taking place in Dublin this
week, Irish animators are a force to be reckoned with...
After the second
of his two Disney stints, animator Don Bluth (reputedly a direct
descendant of Pocahontas) set up his own production company in the
early 1970s and, before long, was actually competing with his old
boss. After teaming up with the businessman and classical animation
buff, Morris Sullivan, he managed to consolidate with the help of
Steven Spielberg, who became executive producer on An American Tail
(1986), for which much work was done in Dublin. Keen to use Irish
talent again, the Sullivan Bluth company set up a studio in Dublin
which went on to produce (though not exclusively) a number of features,
including The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven. Ultimately,
the Dublin studio was bought out in 1996 by Rupert Murdoch, who
was in the process of setting up the Fox studios in the US..."
Click
here for the full report.
Tuesday,
November 14, 2000
Annie
Award Winners Announced
The 28th Annual Annie Awards were held Saturday night by ASIFA-Hollywood
and the big winners were Toy Story 2 and Fantasia 2000.
While the way the awards are decided have been brought into question
by certain oversights, particularly last year when Glen Keane was
not recognized for his work in Tarzan, the Annie Awards still
remain the only major ceremony that recognizes animation talent.
While this year's awards weren't being televised, that didn't stop
a night of recognition and achievement.
Here is the
list of major winners:
Outstanding
Achievement in An Animated Theatrical Feature
Toy Story 2
Outstanding
Achievement in An Animated Short Subject
For The Birds
Outstanding
Achievement in a Daytime Animated Television Program
Mickey Mouseworks
Outstanding
Achievement in a Primetime or Animated Television Program
The Simpsons
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Character Animation
Eric Goldberg - Fantasia 2000
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Effects Animation
Ted C. Kierscey - Fantasia 2000
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production
Brian Sheesley - Futurama - "Why Must I Be A Crustacean In Love"
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production
John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, & Ash Brannon - Toy Story 2
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production
Randy Newman (Composer, Songs and Music) - Toy Story 2
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Production Design In an Animated Television
Production
John R. Dilworth Courage The Cowardly Dog "A Night at the Katz Motel"
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Production Design In an Animated Feature
Production
Susan McKinsey Goldberg - Fantasia 2000
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Storyboarding In an Animated Television
Production.
Rossen Varbinov - Mickey Mouseworks - "Halloween"
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Storyboarding In an Animated Feature
Production
Dan Jeup & Joe Ranft - Toy Story 2
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Writing In an Animated Television Production
Steve Young - "Olive, The Other Reindeer"
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Writing In an Animated Feature Production
John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Ash Brannon Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao,
Doug Chamberlin & Chris Webb - Toy Story 2
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Female Performer in
an Animated Feature Production
Joan Cusack As the voice of Jessie - Toy Story 2
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Male Performer in an
Animated Feature Production
Tim Allen As the voice of Buzz Lightyear - Toy Story 2
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Female Performer in
an Animated Television Production
Christine Cavanaugh As the voice of Dexter - Dexter's Laboratory
- "Ego Trip"
Outstanding
Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Male Performer in an
Animated Television Production
Dan Castellaneta - voice of The Postman - "Olive, The Other Reindeer"
Outstanding
Achievement in An Animated Home Video Production
"An Extremely Goofy Movie" Walt Disney Television Animation
Outstanding
Achievement in An Animated Special Project
"The Scooby Doo Project" Cartoon Network
Outstanding
Achievement in An Animated Television Commercial
"Genie" Mirinda Will Vinton Studios
Oversights this
year include Disney's Dinosaur, which didn't win anything,
the Box Office hit Chicken Run, and the UKs highly acclaimed
"Walking with Dinosaurs" series, which was only recognized
by a preselected Technical Achievement Award.
* * *
Box Office
Results for Animated Films
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:
CyberWorld
3D
$263,569 ($7,987 per screen average - 15% decrease)
19th at the Box Office (up from #24 last weekend)
Total to Date: $2.2 Million
Digimon
$148,293 ($452 per screen average - 27% decrease)
30th at the Box Office (down from #26 last weekend)
Total to Date: $9.4 Million
Dinosaur
$74,268 ($550 per screen average - 10% decrease)
42nd at the Box Office (up from #44 last weekend)
Total to Date: $137.5 Million
Tim
Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
$2,089 ($348 per screen average - massive 97% decrease)
105th at the Box Office (massive drop from #43 last weekend)
Total to Date (includes original release): $50.35 Million
Rerelease total: only $245,028
* * *
CyberWorld
3D Legal Dispute in Canada
There is a major legal dispute over the IMAX movie CyberWorld
3D underway in Canada. The owner of IMAX's Brossard, Quebec
theater shut the theater down because Imax didn't provide the theater
with a French-language version of CyberWorld 3D.
According to
a November 8 article in Canada's Financial Post, "An independent
Imax 3D theatre in Brossard, Que., has been forced to close -- the
result of an ongoing dispute with troubled Imax Corp. that left
it with no films to show customers."
The theater
seats 450 people and is located at Montreal's South Shore shopping
center. 42 staff were laid off as a result of the closure.
According to
a November 11 article in the Financial Post, "The lack of a
film to show is just part of a longstanding battle between the two
parties. Last spring, TheMax filed a litany of complaints against
Imax in a lawsuit launched in Quebec Superior Court in Longueil
on behalf of a group of 12 Quebec investors. The suit alleged Imax
misled investors throughout its dealings with them, and focused
on the firm's failure to come up with a promised stream of new products
and its inability to tailor films or marketing to the cinema's French-speaking
audience."
Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Disney's
House of Mouse
"Disney's House of Mouse," a new series from Walt Disney Television
Animation featuring Mickey Mouse and Disney's entire stable of animated
feature film and television characters will premiere in early 2001
as part of the "Disney's One Saturday Morning" lineup on the ABC
Television Network.
"Disney's
House of Mouse" is the Toontown-style "nightclub" where animated
characters are entertained each Saturday with Mickey Mouse acting
as Master of Ceremonies, telling jokes, introducing musical guests
and prefacing the cartoon shorts "shown" on the club's oversized
screen.
"House
of Mouse" provides a comic balance between on-stage performances,
entertaining cartoon shorts and backstage chaos, the latter resulting
from the ongoing rivalry between club co-owners Mickey Mouse and
Donald Duck, and the pressures of successfully executing a "live"
weekly show. The series breaks new ground in that it offers combinations
of animated characters from Disney's feature films, television series
and cartoon shorts in treatments that are both irreverent and respectful
of the Disney heritage.
"This
series extends the groundwork initiated by 'Mickey MouseWorks' into
new realms in terms of creative content, music and style that will
have an even broader appeal to all generations," says Barry Blumberg,
an executive vice president of Walt Disney Television Animation.
Roberts
Gannaway and Tony Craig are executive producers of "House of Mouse."
The writer-animator team was responsible for returning Mickey Mouse
to his cartoon short roots with the 1999 premiere of "Disney's Mickey
MouseWorks." Gannaway and Craig have established a track record
with Walt Disney Television Animation, including work on "The Lion
King's Timon & Pumbaa," and "101 Dalmatians: The Series" for ABC
and syndication.
* * *
Chuck Jones
Fan Letter Tribute
During the Golden Age of Animation, Chuck Jones helped to bring
some of the world's most adored and enduring characters to life,
including such Warner Bros. "Looney Tunes" classics as Bugs Bunny,
Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig.
He also created
a host of beloved characters himself such as Road Runner & Wile
E. Coyote, Marvin Martian, Pepe Le Pew, Michigan J. Frog and Gossamer,
along with producing, directing and writing the screenplay for the
original TV special, "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
Over the decades,
thousands of fans from around the world have told Jones' family
how much his work has meant to them. As he enters his 89th year,
the family has decided to pay tribute to Jones by asking these fans
to write letters communicating the feelings they've expressed in
person.
Thus, they are
embarking upon "Letters From the Heart," a campaign to collect letters
to Jones from fans everywhere. It is their goal to collect 1 million
letters by Valentine's Day, 2001, and to publish a book of as many
letters as possible.
"Chuck learned
to read at the age of 3 and from that point on he has read voraciously,"
said his grandson, Craig Kausen. "Because of that, there is something
very meaningful to Chuck about the written word. That is why we
are asking that fans submit their thanks or memories in the form
of a letter. We think he will be touched to see how much impact
he has had on people's lives and hope to present this tribute to
him in published form next year."
Jones, who is
also being honored with a special Columbia Artists Management Inc.
(CAMI) documentary presentation, "Chuck Jones: Extremes & In Betweens"
airing at 8 p.m., Nov. 22 on PBS, has already received letters from
celebrities such as conductor Andre Previn who wrote to say:
"Last week,
when I was conducting an Opera with the Vienna Philharmonic, I was
suddenly overwhelmed by a flash memory of your 'What's Opera, Doc?'
and ... it caused me to smile so broadly that the Tenor on stage
thought I was pleased with him, which I wasn't. You must be aware
that you have permanently marked all conductors, as well as singers,
frog trainers and astronauts ... I am in short, an admirer and a
believer, and I wanted to tell you so."
And everyday
folks like a fan from Morgan Hill, Calif., who wrote: "My father
passed away a few years ago. But one of my fondest memories of him
is of those rare occasions when he watched Saturday morning cartoons
with us kids ... I have a vivid memory of a cartoon of yours featuring
a puppy and a cat (that would have) my father in stitches! ... My
main reason for writing is to THANK YOU for this fond memory I have
of my dad laughing ... Not only did you bring joy to us kids, you
touched my father's life as well."
Letters can
be submitted electronically at chuckjones.com/lettersfromtheheart
or by mail at Chuck Jones, Letters From the Heart, P.O. Box 2319,
Costa Mesa, Calif., 92628-2319. To be included in the book, letters
should include a disclaimer such as, "I give my permission for this
letter to be included in the Chuck Jones Letters from the Heart
publication."
Thursday,
November 16, 2000
Another
Animated Series Made Into Video Game
Fox Interactive has announced the availability of a new game
for fans of "King of the Hill," the Emmy Award-winning Fox animated
television series. Featuring dozens of activities and games, "King
of the Hill" also includes an original storyline, 15 different characters
from the show and the exclusive bonus game -- "Texas Huntin'." The
"King of the Hill" game can be played on both PC and Mac computers
and is available nationwide for $19.99 (SRP).
The
story takes place at the seventh annual block party during the Fourth
of July weekend in the Hill's Texas neighborhood. Players assume
the role of the newest addition to the block and must rely on their
social graces and hand-eye coordination to gain the friendship and
acceptance of their fellow neighbors.
Throughout
the day's festivities, residents compete in events including "Scavenger
Hunt," "Mosquito Attack" and the "Lawnmower Race." New neighbors
also chip in and complete party chores such as "Ice the Beer" and
"Sunscreen Bill." At the end of the party, Hank Hill and the rest
of his crew decide whether or not to accept the new tenant. Players
control their own fate and each ending based on how well they handle
each activity and challenge.
Keeping
with the tradition of the TV series and preserving the simplicity
of its animation style, the scenes in the game are a composition
of 2D illustrations. "King of the Hill" is a fully explorable representation
of the Hill's neighborhood with most of the action centered in Hank's
yard. Throughout the course of the day, players also enter into
other neighbors' yards as well as special Hill hangouts.
* * *
CINAR Avoids
Fraud Charges
According to the CBC:
"No fraud
charges will be laid against Cinar Corp., its founders or directors
despite a significant amount of evidence, unnamed sources have told
Radio-Canada.
A lengthy RCMP
investigation into the Montreal animation house's activities is
almost complete. A year ago, Cinar house was accused of claiming
illegal tax credits for Canadian written scripts, which were actually
created by Americans. A growing financial tangle and rancorous boardroom
upheaval followed the scandal..."
Click
here for the full story.
Other CINAR
Stories:
CINAR
Signs Deal to Recover Money (scroll down to fourth story after
clicking)
CINAR
Fires It's Founders! (scroll down to second story after clicking)
Fired
CINAR Founders Fight Back
CINAR
Trading Suspended (scroll down to second story after clicking)
CINAR
May Be Target of Acquisition Attempt
CINAR
Discusses Investigation
Friday,
November 17, 2000
Rugrats
Versus The Grinch!
This weekend will be huge as both Rugrats in Paris and
The Grinch open in theaters nationwide. Both movies are receiving
mostly positive reviews from critics. Aimed at younger kid audiences
Rugrats is an animated adventure where the baby characters
undergo an adventure in Paris. Competing against it is the live
action family adventure The Grinch, starring Jim Carey.
The
original Rugrats: The Movie was a huge success, becoming
the first non-Disney animated movie to reach $100 million. It made
$27 million in its opening two years ago. While The Grinch
is expected to easily secure the #1 spot this weekend, Rugrats
in Paris is expected to give it a run for its money. Nickelodeon
ran a strong campaign for Rugrats in Paris that included
three special episodes of the TV series that tie into the movie,
making the movie part of the TV series.
In
a positive review of Rugrats in Paris, the Dallas Morning
News stated, "With its melange of poo poo humor and pop culture
in jokes, Nickelodeon's Rugrats packs appeal for both kids and parents.
Adult friendly content was largely lost in the peewees' first big
screen adventure, 1998's too frenetic The Rugrats Movie,
but it's been restored for the très superior sequel, Rugrats
in Paris: The Movie."
In
a negative review of Rugrats in Paris, the Chicago Tribune
stated, "Nose picking, bubbly tummies, vomit and a host of
other bodily functions are the humorous stock-in-trade of the Rugrats,
a low-brow Peanuts gang, or Beavis-and-Buttheads-in-training...
Rugrats in Paris is predictable and not terribly clever, but
given the slim pickings among movies geared to the preschool and
grade-school set, it could be much worse."
* * *
The Latest
From Nick Park
According to the The Mirror:
"Meet the
new family from Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park. The animated
trio are Lisa Weaver, her boyfriend Darren and her mum Karen.
But instead
of the clay used to model Wallace and Gromit, these three and everything
around them were painstakingly handcrafted from fabric..."
Click
here for the full story.
Saturday,
November 18, 2000
A
Look at the Chicken Run DVD
by Joe Tracy
This
Tuesday DreamWorks/Aardman will release its most successful animated
movie to date, Chicken Run to video
and DVD.
Although Chicken Run was overlooked by the recent Annie
Awards, it garnished near 100% positive reviews from critics
and became the highest grossing non-Disney movie ever, bringing
in $106 million in the U.S. Combined with its overseas take, the
film made $163 million.
Animation
Artist Magazine has obtained an advanced copy of Chicken Run and
we are pleased to report that DreamWorks/Aardman have put a lot
of hard work into it.
Essentially
there are two different main menus on the Chicken Run DVD. One main
menu comes up when you play the DVD in a regular DVD Player. The
other comes up when you put it in a PC, enabling several additional
PC Options (see PC Special Features menu directly below).
The
special features enabled when you use Chicken Run on a PC DVD drive
includes a rather simplistic Screensaver, a Desktop Cluck (which
is a Chicken Run clock), theatrical poster set that you can print,
a Maculator, Desktop Theme set for your PC, Whack Game, Coloring
Book (print and color), Escape Game (like Frogger), Ginger Pet,
and second poster set.
 The
two games, Whack Game and Escape Game, are simplistic, but challenging.
The Whack Game is like the game in Chuck E Cheese where you have
to whack the gopher heads as they pop up. In this case you have
to whack Mr. Tweedy, Mrs. Tweedy, and their dog. To add complication
to the game, a couple of chicken characters are thrown in. Whack
them and points are deducted. The game starts slow and you think,
"this is way to easy". But with each whack it speeds up
and their are Tweedy characters and chickens everywhere. My Mouse
couldn't keep up. See my Final Score screen (and terrible ranking)
below.
The
Escape Game is like "Frogger" in a pie machine. You have
to move your chicken horizontally across the screen, avoiding several
obstacles. Unlike Frogger, your chicken has a health meter so you
can get hit by pies and such a couple of times before your chicken
"becomes a pie." It's been awhile since I've played Frogger,
which is probably why I never got the chicken to the other side!
Ginger
Pet is appears that it is suppose to be imitate to those "raise
a pet" games.
However, it is very simplistic. Here's the entire directions: "Double-Click
on Ginger and watch her come alive on your desktop. If you can catch
her, click on her to make her speak. You may also choose to let
her rest by right-clicking and selecting 'exit'." When you
start, Ginger walks across your desktop screen. However, whenever
I clicked on her she simply fell to the ground, frantically flapping
her wings. When I did a right-click on her my only two options were
"Play Sound" and "Exit".
Now
let's move our focus away from the PC options and back to the regular
DVD options. Those options include Play Movie, Special Features,
Scene Index, Subtitles, Audio, and Panic Button. Clicking on the
Panic Button will show one of the Chicken Panic scenes from the
movie. Unfortunately the clip cuts off sooner than it should (in
the middle of the panic). But it is still a fun option.
 Clicking
Special Features starts playing the scene where the chickens are
in one of the hen houses hatching their plan, one of the chicken
pulls down a map which reveals the Special Feature options (very
creative). Those options include, in order, the following:
1)
Audio Commentary (Peter Lord, Nick Park).
2) Poultry in Motion: Making of Chicken Run.
3) The Hatching of Chicken Run.
4) Read Along (great for those who want the TV to read to
their child).
5) DVD-Rom.
6) Trailers and TV Spot.
7) Production Notes.
8) Cast and Crew.
9) Egg Hunt.
With
Egg Hunt, you're suppose to find hidden eggs on some of the DVD
screens (hint: one is right above the Main Menu option - press up
from Main Menu to find it) and click them. Clicking one reveals
a secret about the movie, like: "900 pairs of eyes were made
for the characters and each character's eye color is unique."
The
DVD version we were sent had only English audio and no subtitles
even though there was a Subtitle option. Apparently the final version
will contain English subtitles.
Overall
the DVD is excellent and I commend DreamWorks for the effort it
put into making the DVD. At a price of only $19 (Amazon.com
price) purchasing this family fun movie is a no-brainer.
* * *
3D Studio
MAX 4 Coming in Early 2001
Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., has announced details on
3D Studio MAX 4, the fourth major release of its 3D modeling, animation,
and rendering software. The newest version is expected to be available
in early 2001.
3D Studio MAX
4 will be a significant release building upon a new and extensible
Inverse Kinematics (IK) architecture for intuitive character animation,
state-of-the-art interactive graphics capable of matching the rendering
quality of next-generation games, an extensive modeling platform
with new subdivision surface and polygon geometries, and a new standard
in rendering productivity with ActiveShade and Render Elements.
"In 1997, REZN8
converted to 3D Studio MAX from another 3D package. One reason behind
the switch was the advanced network rendering capabilities that
3D Studio MAX offered us. We were able to distribute our rendering
across the network without buying licenses for every machine. This
created better value for our clients and the quality of the work
has kept them coming back ever since," said David Humpherys, Technical
Director, REZN8.
The suggested
retail price for 3D Studio MAX 4 will be US$3,495. Upgrade price
from 3D Studio MAX 3 will be US$795. For upgrade information from
all previous versions of 3D Studio MAX, consult Discreet's regional
or international offices for information.
Sunday,
November 19, 2000
The
Grinch Tops Rugrats in Paris
It was a busy weekend at the Box Office. Estimates have The
Grinch taking the weekend with a huge $55.1 million followed
by Rugrats in Paris, which made an estimated $23 million.
The Rugrats sequel made $4 million less than the debut of
the original movie two years ago. If The Grinch numbers hold
up, it will be the second highest non-summer opening ever. Toy
Story 2 still hold the claim to the best non-summer opening
with a $57 million take.
* * *
That's Not
All Folks
According to the LA Times:
"During
the heyday of the short cartoon, so an old story goes, a young animation
artist who had landed a job at 'Termite Terrace,' the ramshackle
Hollywood cartoon studio of producer Leon Schlesinger, wrote to
his family explaining that he had been hired to write jokes for
Bugs Bunny. The fellow's grandmother reportedly wrote back: 'Bugs
Bunny is funny enough on his own; why does he need you?'
For much of
the history of American animation, the artists behind the cartoon
laughter were no better known or appreciated than the young man
in the story. While things have improved in the last two decades,
it is still rare fort cartoon creators to be hailed as true filmmakers
and fine artists. For that reason alone, 'Chuck Jones: Extremes
and In-Betweens, A Life in Animation,' which airs Wednesday under
PBS' 'Great Performances' umbrella, is a unique video document..."
Click
here for the full story.
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