Animated Films
- Bruno Campos in Princess and Frog
- Who are the Nine Old Men
- WALL-E Versus Headphones
- WALL-E Versus A Hula Hoop
- Jurassic Bunnies
- WALL-E Versus A Magnet Clip
- Thump, thump
- Kermit Returns?
- Grindhouse Bunnies
- Ratatouille Wins Oscar
Bruno Campos in Princess and Frog
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
Bruno Campos (Night Life) has been cast in the upcoming Disney animated movie The Princess and the Frog. He joins Anika Noni Rose and Keith David in the movie.
(Writer's Note: I occasionally use this blog space to post news items that don't have enough material to warrant a full article)
Television actor Bruno Campos will join Anika Noni Rose and Keith David in the upcoming Disney film The Princess and the Frog, voicing the other leading role. This is Campos' first leading role in a major feature film.
Variety confirmed that the actor, best known for recurring roles in TV shows like Night Life, Nip/Tuck and the short-lived Christina Applegate vehicle Jesse, will voice the amphibian part in the flick, which will be Disney's first traditionally animated film since 2004.
The Princess and the Frog also marks the return of Ron Clements and John Musker, the directing team behind such Disney animated hits like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules. Randy Newman (Toy Story) is composing the score, and writing the songs for the musical.
There's not a lot known about the plot of this film. Back when the movie was called The Frog Princess, many believed that Disney was taking the ancient Russian folk tale and moving it to 1920's New Orleans. After protests from the black community, Disney quickly changed the names of several characters and revamped the script.
Rose will play Princess Tiana and David will voice the villain, Dr. Facilier. John Goodman joins the cast as a Southern gentleman, and Jennifer Cody plays his spoiled daughter. Jenifer Lewis plays Mama Odie, a voodoo priestess, while Ritchie Montgomery voices Reggie, a musical alligator.
The Princess and the Frog has been scheduled for theatrical release on December 25, 2009.
Television actor Bruno Campos will join Anika Noni Rose and Keith David in the upcoming Disney film The Princess and the Frog, voicing the other leading role. This is Campos' first leading role in a major feature film.
Variety confirmed that the actor, best known for recurring roles in TV shows like Night Life, Nip/Tuck and the short-lived Christina Applegate vehicle Jesse, will voice the amphibian part in the flick, which will be Disney's first traditionally animated film since 2004.
The Princess and the Frog also marks the return of Ron Clements and John Musker, the directing team behind such Disney animated hits like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Hercules. Randy Newman (Toy Story) is composing the score, and writing the songs for the musical.
There's not a lot known about the plot of this film. Back when the movie was called The Frog Princess, many believed that Disney was taking the ancient Russian folk tale and moving it to 1920's New Orleans. After protests from the black community, Disney quickly changed the names of several characters and revamped the script.
Rose will play Princess Tiana and David will voice the villain, Dr. Facilier. John Goodman joins the cast as a Southern gentleman, and Jennifer Cody plays his spoiled daughter. Jenifer Lewis plays Mama Odie, a voodoo priestess, while Ritchie Montgomery voices Reggie, a musical alligator.
The Princess and the Frog has been scheduled for theatrical release on December 25, 2009.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
What are the Nine Old Men and why are they important? Here's why I'm doing an ongoing series on the legendary Disney animators.
I was away on vacation when the news broke about the death of Ollie Johnston, the last remaining member of Walt Disney's Nine Old Men, on April 14th of this year.
Given that I only found out about it 8 days later, I didn't want to do just another memorial, given that many other websites had done great obituaries for the legendary animator and teacher. However, I did notice that there was a lot of information about the Nine Old Men scattered about the InterWeb, and many sources that directly contradicted each other.
For instance, Wikipedia claimed that Wolfgang Reitherman joined Disney in 1935 along with Milt Kahl, but Disney's website claimed that Reitherman joined in 1933.
Even Disney screwed up by placing the character of Madame Medusa in 1963's The Sword in the Stone, when in fact she only appeared in 1977's The Rescuers. In fact, it was the character design of Madame Min that Wolfgang Reitherman praised when he viewed Milt Kahl's work (you can click the link to read more about that story).
Given that there was so much contradictory information out there, I decided the best way was to collect everything I could find about these great animators, and put it all in one place. Obviously I could only tell each animator's story in under 800 words (due to space considerations), but I wanted to cut through the garbage and tell each animator's story in an interesting and informative way.
So I hope you enjoy this nine-part series on some of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. And if you have any comments, or stories you'd like to share, go ahead and say your piece.
Given that I only found out about it 8 days later, I didn't want to do just another memorial, given that many other websites had done great obituaries for the legendary animator and teacher. However, I did notice that there was a lot of information about the Nine Old Men scattered about the InterWeb, and many sources that directly contradicted each other.
For instance, Wikipedia claimed that Wolfgang Reitherman joined Disney in 1935 along with Milt Kahl, but Disney's website claimed that Reitherman joined in 1933.
Even Disney screwed up by placing the character of Madame Medusa in 1963's The Sword in the Stone, when in fact she only appeared in 1977's The Rescuers. In fact, it was the character design of Madame Min that Wolfgang Reitherman praised when he viewed Milt Kahl's work (you can click the link to read more about that story).
Given that there was so much contradictory information out there, I decided the best way was to collect everything I could find about these great animators, and put it all in one place. Obviously I could only tell each animator's story in under 800 words (due to space considerations), but I wanted to cut through the garbage and tell each animator's story in an interesting and informative way.
So I hope you enjoy this nine-part series on some of the greatest artists of the 20th Century. And if you have any comments, or stories you'd like to share, go ahead and say your piece.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
Yet another WALL-E clip, this time featuring our robot meeting a set of headphones, aired online. WALL-E comes to theatres June 27th.
Call it the summer of viral marketing. The big studios have been using the Interweb to promote their big summer films, and now that the live-action flick Iron Man pulled about $100 million in its first weekend, that's been seen as a sign that "Internet viral marketing" works.
Disney/Pixar has jumped on the viral bandwagon to promote their upcoming film WALL-E in a big, bad way but are going about it a little more differently than the other studios.
While everyone else is releasing trailers and clips at a furious rate (Sturdy at JoBlo.com recently complained that, thanks to constant viral marketing, "I felt like I'd already seen (Iron Man) a month before it was released."), Pixar's viral campaign doesn't use actual clips from the movie. Instead they're showing vignettes of WALL-E (the character, not the movie) interacting with common household items, like magnets, vacuum cleaners and hula-hoops.
Now the folks at Movieweb have scored a clip of WALL-E meeting up with a pair of wireless headphones. Like the previous clips, it shows the bumbling robot interacting with the 'phones in unusual ways. Definitely some laugh-out-loud moments, but there's a real been-there-done-that feel starting to creep into these clips
Yes, they're still funny, but Andrew Stanton and the Emeryville gang need to change things up for the next one, should they make another clip. There's a sense that the "WALL-E versus ____" scenario is wearing out its welcome.
You can check out the latest WALL-E clip by clicking here. The Disney/Pixar film opens June 27th.
Disney/Pixar has jumped on the viral bandwagon to promote their upcoming film WALL-E in a big, bad way but are going about it a little more differently than the other studios.
While everyone else is releasing trailers and clips at a furious rate (Sturdy at JoBlo.com recently complained that, thanks to constant viral marketing, "I felt like I'd already seen (Iron Man) a month before it was released."), Pixar's viral campaign doesn't use actual clips from the movie. Instead they're showing vignettes of WALL-E (the character, not the movie) interacting with common household items, like magnets, vacuum cleaners and hula-hoops.
Now the folks at Movieweb have scored a clip of WALL-E meeting up with a pair of wireless headphones. Like the previous clips, it shows the bumbling robot interacting with the 'phones in unusual ways. Definitely some laugh-out-loud moments, but there's a real been-there-done-that feel starting to creep into these clips
Yes, they're still funny, but Andrew Stanton and the Emeryville gang need to change things up for the next one, should they make another clip. There's a sense that the "WALL-E versus ____" scenario is wearing out its welcome.
You can check out the latest WALL-E clip by clicking here. The Disney/Pixar film opens June 27th.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
In this 21-second clip, WALL-E meets a Hula Hoop. The Disney/Pixar animated film, directed by Andrew Stanton, comes out June 27th.
First off, it was WALL-E versus a vacuum cleaner in a Superbowl spot. Then the robot star of the upcoming Disney/Pixar movie battled a magnet. Now Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo) directs the little guy as he takes on a Hula Hoop.
The fine folks at /film scored a clip of the titular robot getting to know the classic plastic hoop, and the clip's another winner from a company that hasn't made any serious mistakes yet. Pixar decided to take on the task of promoting WALL-E after they felt that Disney Marketing dropped the ball with last year's Ratatouille, and they're doing a great job of getting the word out about this movie. Some good online buzz is building for this film, and Disney Consumer Products is salivating for a cash bonanza when WALL-E associated merchandise hits store shelves.
The "WALL-E vs a ____" marketing concept could get seriously annoying in lesser hands, but Stanton is smart enough to keep the laughs coming without boredom setting in. This is an inspired ad campaign for a movie that, from most reports, appears to be another home run for Pixar.
You can check out the clip by clicking here. WALL-E comes to theatres on June 27th.
The fine folks at /film scored a clip of the titular robot getting to know the classic plastic hoop, and the clip's another winner from a company that hasn't made any serious mistakes yet. Pixar decided to take on the task of promoting WALL-E after they felt that Disney Marketing dropped the ball with last year's Ratatouille, and they're doing a great job of getting the word out about this movie. Some good online buzz is building for this film, and Disney Consumer Products is salivating for a cash bonanza when WALL-E associated merchandise hits store shelves.
The "WALL-E vs a ____" marketing concept could get seriously annoying in lesser hands, but Stanton is smart enough to keep the laughs coming without boredom setting in. This is an inspired ad campaign for a movie that, from most reports, appears to be another home run for Pixar.
You can check out the clip by clicking here. WALL-E comes to theatres on June 27th.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
Yes, Jennifer Shiman's back and this time she's brought along some Bunnysaurus Rex and Velocirabbits to play.
Take one classic Steven Spielberg blockbuster (1993's Jurassic Park), shrink it down to 30 seconds and re-enact it with bunnies. Yep, Jennifer Shiman and her distinctive Flash animated rodents are back, and they're spoofing one of the greatest popcorn flicks of all time.
Gotta love the little details and side-gags in these parodies, from the bunny falling over when it witnesses the brontosaurus, to the "Projected Income Sources" slide showing behind the Jeff Goldblum character. My analysis?
'Raptors' and 'T-Rex' fit well together, as do 'Jason' and 'Strippers' but all three together? Nah, that would never work.
You can check out Jennifer's latest bunny opus by clicking here.
Next up for Thirty Second Bunnies Theatre? The Judd Apatow comedy Superbad, followed by the classic mob movie Goodfellas and the vampire invasion flick 30 Days of Night.
Fun Fact: Thirty Seconds Bunnies Theatre is up for a Webby award, which honours the best in we-based animation. You can check out the other nominees over here. And yes, I'll be doing a follow-up story on this.
Gotta love the little details and side-gags in these parodies, from the bunny falling over when it witnesses the brontosaurus, to the "Projected Income Sources" slide showing behind the Jeff Goldblum character. My analysis?
'Raptors' and 'T-Rex' fit well together, as do 'Jason' and 'Strippers' but all three together? Nah, that would never work.
You can check out Jennifer's latest bunny opus by clicking here.
Next up for Thirty Second Bunnies Theatre? The Judd Apatow comedy Superbad, followed by the classic mob movie Goodfellas and the vampire invasion flick 30 Days of Night.
Fun Fact: Thirty Seconds Bunnies Theatre is up for a Webby award, which honours the best in we-based animation. You can check out the other nominees over here. And yes, I'll be doing a follow-up story on this.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
See WALL-E battle with a pesky magnet. The Disney/Pixar film, directed by Andrew Stanton, comes to theatres June 27th.
The best comedy comes from focusing on the simplest things. In this case, it involves WALL-E, the titular robot from the upcoming Disney/Pixar movie, as he interacts with a magnet.
Without any dialogue, the little robot expresses wonder as he sees the magnet for the first time, terror when it chases him around the room, frustration (he can't get rid of the darned thing!), and relief (Whew! It's gone). Needless to say, there's a little twist at the end that had me laughing out loud. The sequence is so simple, and yet so brilliant. It's state of the art animation with a Buster Keaton/Charlie Chaplin soul.
If the rest of WALL-E lives up to the promise generated by this so-far flawless marketing campaign, then this Andrew Stanton film will surely end up on many critics' year end "best of" lists. It's hard to predict how the flick will do at the box office (so many wonderful films end up tanking with audiences), but WALL-E has generated fearsome online buzz, and Disney Consumer Products is already salivating for some serious merchandising profits after the flick opens.
You can check out the WALL-E clip on JoBlo or on YouTube.
WALL-E comes to mondoplexes on June 27th.
Without any dialogue, the little robot expresses wonder as he sees the magnet for the first time, terror when it chases him around the room, frustration (he can't get rid of the darned thing!), and relief (Whew! It's gone). Needless to say, there's a little twist at the end that had me laughing out loud. The sequence is so simple, and yet so brilliant. It's state of the art animation with a Buster Keaton/Charlie Chaplin soul.
If the rest of WALL-E lives up to the promise generated by this so-far flawless marketing campaign, then this Andrew Stanton film will surely end up on many critics' year end "best of" lists. It's hard to predict how the flick will do at the box office (so many wonderful films end up tanking with audiences), but WALL-E has generated fearsome online buzz, and Disney Consumer Products is already salivating for some serious merchandising profits after the flick opens.
You can check out the WALL-E clip on JoBlo or on YouTube.
WALL-E comes to mondoplexes on June 27th.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
I'll be away from this site for 10 days in order to go to Victor Wooten's Bass/Nature Camp in Tennessee.
I won't be updating my site for the next 10 days, as I am heading off to Victor Wooten's Bass/Nature Camp in the back woods of Tennessee (road trip!).
What's Bass/Nature camp? It's just a chance to play music and learn from some of the premiere players on the planet, including Victor himself (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), Steve Bailey (Dizzy Gillespie), and studio legend Chuck Rainey (Aretha Franklin, Steeley Dan, and countless others). I'll also be learning about the wild blue (or green) yonder, and making fire. Should be fun times.
For some idea of what I'm talking about, check out my review of Wooten's novel The Music Lesson, which is now available through Berkley Books, a division of Penguin. Oh, and Wooten's new disc from Heads Up Records, Palmystery, is in stores now. Check it out.
I'll be back on April 22nd to talk more about animated films. Hope to see you then.
Cheers,
Dominic
What's Bass/Nature camp? It's just a chance to play music and learn from some of the premiere players on the planet, including Victor himself (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), Steve Bailey (Dizzy Gillespie), and studio legend Chuck Rainey (Aretha Franklin, Steeley Dan, and countless others). I'll also be learning about the wild blue (or green) yonder, and making fire. Should be fun times.
For some idea of what I'm talking about, check out my review of Wooten's novel The Music Lesson, which is now available through Berkley Books, a division of Penguin. Oh, and Wooten's new disc from Heads Up Records, Palmystery, is in stores now. Check it out.
I'll be back on April 22nd to talk more about animated films. Hope to see you then.
Cheers,
Dominic
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
Disney has signed a deal with Forgetting Sarah Marshall writer/actor Jason Segel and director Nick Stoller to make a Muppet movie.
A plot twist in the upcoming live action comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall has led to Disney reviving the Muppets.
Variety reports that the Mouse House has asked the film's writer/leading actor Jason Segel and director Nick Stoller to develop a new Muppets movie.
In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was produced by comedy mogul Judd (Knocked Up) Apatow, Segel plays a TV composer who is working on a Dracula musical featuring puppets. The Muppet group made the custom creations for the movie, and Segel was so emboldened by the experience that he pitched a Muppets movie concept to Disney executive Kristin Burr during a general meeting. Burr liked what she heard, and she and Segel inked a deal on the spot.
Segel then enlisted Stoller to co-write the script and direct the film. It's unclear how the duo plans to revive the Muppets franchise, but there is no shortage of interest in Jim Henson's cloth creations. The Muppet Show Seasons One and Two DVD's have been hot sellers for Disney Home Video, with Season 3 coming to DVD shelves on May 20th.
Segel and Stoller also have the live action flick The Five Year Engagement in the works for Universal. The comedy is about a man (Segel) who keeps on putting off his wedding.
Variety reports that the Mouse House has asked the film's writer/leading actor Jason Segel and director Nick Stoller to develop a new Muppets movie.
In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was produced by comedy mogul Judd (Knocked Up) Apatow, Segel plays a TV composer who is working on a Dracula musical featuring puppets. The Muppet group made the custom creations for the movie, and Segel was so emboldened by the experience that he pitched a Muppets movie concept to Disney executive Kristin Burr during a general meeting. Burr liked what she heard, and she and Segel inked a deal on the spot.
Segel then enlisted Stoller to co-write the script and direct the film. It's unclear how the duo plans to revive the Muppets franchise, but there is no shortage of interest in Jim Henson's cloth creations. The Muppet Show Seasons One and Two DVD's have been hot sellers for Disney Home Video, with Season 3 coming to DVD shelves on May 20th.
Segel and Stoller also have the live action flick The Five Year Engagement in the works for Universal. The comedy is about a man (Segel) who keeps on putting off his wedding.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
Jennifer Shiman's Thirty Seconds Bunnies Theatre parodies the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino collaboration Grindhouse.
Pity poor Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.
After 16 profitable years of repackaging B-movie trash as auteur irony, a fickle audience suddenly ignored their latest homage to cars, guns and gorgeous dames with inexplicable interest in Tarantino's film collection called Grindhouse. The two-movies-within-a-movie sucked wind at the box office and left The Weinstein Company with a big, fat bill that's not about to be paid anytime soon.
But our boys aren't down for the count, yet. Robert Rodriguez has at least two Sin City sequels to unleash on adoring audiences, that don't care about the fact that Jessica Alba plays a stripper who never ever takes off her clothes. And the QT has Inglorious Bastards on his plate, as well as a zillion other projects that he would love to take on as soon . . . ooh, look! Shiny!
Not only that, Jennifer Shiman's Thirty Seconds Bunnies Theatre has now immortalized Rodriguez and Tarantino's failed experiment in B-movie ripoff – I mean, homage.
To properly give this flick the respect it's due, Shiman doubled the running time so that each film would get 30 seconds each. That allowed the bunnies to show every gunshot, kick, exotic dance and tire tread to the head in loving detail. Pure bliss.
To check out Grindhouse as performed by bunnies, click over here. Look for bunnies versions of Spielberg's dinosaurs-run-amuck movie Jurassic Park, followed by 1980's teen comedy Sixteen Candles, last year's teen comedy SuperBad, classic mob flick Goodfellas, and vampires-run-amuck movie 30 Days of Night.
After 16 profitable years of repackaging B-movie trash as auteur irony, a fickle audience suddenly ignored their latest homage to cars, guns and gorgeous dames with inexplicable interest in Tarantino's film collection called Grindhouse. The two-movies-within-a-movie sucked wind at the box office and left The Weinstein Company with a big, fat bill that's not about to be paid anytime soon.
But our boys aren't down for the count, yet. Robert Rodriguez has at least two Sin City sequels to unleash on adoring audiences, that don't care about the fact that Jessica Alba plays a stripper who never ever takes off her clothes. And the QT has Inglorious Bastards on his plate, as well as a zillion other projects that he would love to take on as soon . . . ooh, look! Shiny!
Not only that, Jennifer Shiman's Thirty Seconds Bunnies Theatre has now immortalized Rodriguez and Tarantino's failed experiment in B-movie ripoff – I mean, homage.
To properly give this flick the respect it's due, Shiman doubled the running time so that each film would get 30 seconds each. That allowed the bunnies to show every gunshot, kick, exotic dance and tire tread to the head in loving detail. Pure bliss.
To check out Grindhouse as performed by bunnies, click over here. Look for bunnies versions of Spielberg's dinosaurs-run-amuck movie Jurassic Park, followed by 1980's teen comedy Sixteen Candles, last year's teen comedy SuperBad, classic mob flick Goodfellas, and vampires-run-amuck movie 30 Days of Night.
Posted by
Dominic von Riedemann
Dominic von Riedemann
Yes, I am officially two-for-two this year. Ratatouille captured the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar, while Peter and the Wolf snagged Best Animated Short.
My winning streak has extended for another year.
Way back in August of 2007, I proclaimed that Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille would capture the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film and, lo and behold, I was right. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided that Brad Bird and the rest of the Pixar gang had cranked out the best animated film of 2007.
Even though many animation professionals wanted to see Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis win the Oscar for its more interesting storyline, surreal animation and real-world origins, not enough Academy voters had actually seen the fraggin' thing to make it count.
Sony's other animated offering, Surf's Up, was a cute little film but (a) it lacked Ratatouille's stellar reviews and (b) it bombed at the box office.
Those were the only films that actually got nominated. Despite Coming Soon's Edward Douglas praising The Simpsons Movie as Ratatouille's biggest competition, the Twentieth Century Fox flick never made it to the finals.
However, AMPAS didn't tacitly acknowledge the fact that Ratatouille had received the best reviews of any film released last year (including the Best Picture, No Country for Old Men) by giving it the Best Original Screenplay Award. That honour went to Diablo Cody and her script for Juno.
As Oscar ceremony host Jon Stewart put it, "Diablo Cody used to be an exotic dancer, but now she's a screenwriter. Congratulations for taking the pay cut."
So who's up for the 2009 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film? Stay tuned and meet your contestants in upcoming articles.
Way back in August of 2007, I proclaimed that Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille would capture the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film and, lo and behold, I was right. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided that Brad Bird and the rest of the Pixar gang had cranked out the best animated film of 2007.
Even though many animation professionals wanted to see Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis win the Oscar for its more interesting storyline, surreal animation and real-world origins, not enough Academy voters had actually seen the fraggin' thing to make it count.
Sony's other animated offering, Surf's Up, was a cute little film but (a) it lacked Ratatouille's stellar reviews and (b) it bombed at the box office.
Those were the only films that actually got nominated. Despite Coming Soon's Edward Douglas praising The Simpsons Movie as Ratatouille's biggest competition, the Twentieth Century Fox flick never made it to the finals.
However, AMPAS didn't tacitly acknowledge the fact that Ratatouille had received the best reviews of any film released last year (including the Best Picture, No Country for Old Men) by giving it the Best Original Screenplay Award. That honour went to Diablo Cody and her script for Juno.
As Oscar ceremony host Jon Stewart put it, "Diablo Cody used to be an exotic dancer, but now she's a screenwriter. Congratulations for taking the pay cut."
So who's up for the 2009 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film? Stay tuned and meet your contestants in upcoming articles.
Pages 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9