30.06.02
"Ice Age" News
Some exciting news from BlueSky Studios:
"Ice Age 2" is in production, and there's also a five-minute CGI short staring Scrat on the VHS and double-disc DVD versions of "Ice Age".
More BlueSky news here

13.06.02
Pixar / Disney News Roundup
Here's a roundup of some Pixar/Disney related news:
"Toy Story 3" is being considered by the studios.
"Finding Nemo" synopsis and images are available.
"Chicken Little" is being done in 3D by Disney retrained traditional animators.

13.06.02
Aardman and Dreamworks to Produce "Flushed Away"
Following the success of "Chicken Run", the two animation giants are developing "Flushed Away" - a story of a British rat who is accidentally flushed into the London sewers. There, he encounters a cast of characters he never expected to meet and learns a lot about life under the city streets.
Article on animationmagazine.net

12.06.02
3D Contest: Domestic Robot
3DStation launches its new 3D contest.
1st Prize: Digimation's 3dsmax plugin Illustrate 5 worth $395.00.
Deadline: July 08.
Topic: "Tomorrow's Domestic Robot"
More details here

12.06.02
Warner Bros. Shorts Back on the Big Screen
Warner Bros. will be beginning production on the first of many Looney Tunes theatrical shorts. The plan is to air the shorts in front of movies like "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". As many loyal fans know, Looney Tunes first premiered in theaters, before shifting to television in the 1960s.
Read article here (English) or here (Hebrew)

12.06.02
"My Beautiful Girl, Mari" - Korean Feature Wins at Annecy
"Mari Iyagi" tells the adventures of a young boy named Nam-woo who slips into a fantasy world, where he meets a girl named Mari. The project blends together 2D and 3D animation techniques to create its dreamlike images.
Read article here (English) or here (Hebrew)

12.06.02
"Man in Red, Man in Green" - New Article on FishEye
Raz Grienberg has a new article on fisheye.co.il about two upcoming comics-based movies: "The Hulk" and "Daredevil".

Read article here (Hebrew)

"Where The Wild Things Are"

29.05.02
Tom Hanks to Produce 4 Animated Features
"Playtone Entertainment", Tom Hanks' production company, plans to produce 4 animated features: "Where The Wild Things Are", "Curious George" and "Ant Bully" are all based on children books, and will be 3D-animated. "Polar Express" is a live-action / animation mix. Hanks will also star on most of these films.

29.05.02
"Lil' Pimp"- Flash Animated Feature Film !
Get ready for the first feature film created entirely with Macromedia Flash (on a budget of just $1 million), coming out this year from Columbia Pictures. It's based on an Internet comedy series, staring a freckled-face 9-year-old boy, who just happens to be a pimp.
Read about it here or view the "Lil' Pimp" internet series

29.05.02
First Animated Feature from Africa
Sunrise Productions, based in Zimbabwe, Africa, will be releasing later this year, a full-length feature film called "The Legend of The Sky Kingdom". This 90-minute animated feature is a first for Africa.
More details here and here

24.05.02
"Animatrix"- an Anime-Style Matrix Series
"Animatrix" is a series of animated shorts that will show us how the world got from what it is today to the world of the Matrix. Rumored to work on the project are "Final Fantasy" creators "Square USA".
More Details and hires images here

24.05.02
"Valiant" - a CG Animated Pigeon
Shrek Producer John Williams, British Producer Barnaby Thompson and Odyssey Entertainment have teamed to make "Valiant", a $40 million CG animation feature. Valiant is a pigeon who dreams of being a messenger homing pigeon for the Royal Air Force during World War II. CG production will be handled by Menace FX.
Read about it on animationmagazine.net

24.05.02
"Hamtaro": Could this be the Next Pokemon ?
Prepare for the next Japanese invasion: "Hamtaro", featuring a little hamster and all his "ham-ham" friends. The series will debut on Cartoon Network on June 3.
Read about it on animationmagazine.net

15.05.02
Spider-Man Animated Series to Air on MTV
Production has started on a Spider-Man animated series, set to air on MTV in winter 2002. The series will have a unique computer-animation style, combining CGI processed in classic feature style, with bright abstract colors. The series will have a new look for our superhero.
Read about it on animationmagazine.net

12.05.02
New Feature Animation Division at Sony Pictures
Sandra Rabins and Penney Finkelman Cox, the executive producers of Shrek, will head the new feature animation unit created within Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. The unit will be responsible for development and production of CG animated features.
Read about it on animationmagazine.net

02.05.02
Adam Sandler's "8 Crazy Nights"
The first animated feature from "Meatball Animation", Adam Sandler's new production company, is scheduled for release around Thanksgiving, November 2002. It's described as a "Hanukkah musical", with Adam Sandler himself doing the voices for the 3 lead characters.
Read about it here or visit the official site.

02.05.02
Warner Bros' "The Incredible Mr. Limpet"
Following Pixar and Dreamworks, this is yet another animated film staring a fish (or rather a man who becomes one...). Featuring 2D animation and live-action, it's a remake of a 1964 family film. Jim Carrey will supposedly star, and Mike Judge ("Beavis & Butt-Head") will direct.
Read about it here and here.

02.05.02
Big Ideas' "Jonah - a VeggieTales Movie"
More fish please!
This eye-popping 3D animated film, about "fresh fish and mixed vegetables" will be in theaters this fall. "Big Ideas" are the creators of the CGI video series, "VeggieTales".
Read about it here or visit the official site.

01.05.02
I Want My Holographic 3D-Display!
A new kind of monitor from Actuality Systems:
For approximately $50000, you too can put your hands on a real, functioning, non-science-fiction, color-enabled, holographic, 3D Display! WOW!!!
More details here.

01.05.02
"Missing Persons" - 3D Feature Premieres Today
"Missing Persons", an independent 3D animated feature, will have its New York premiere at the Brooklyn International Film Festival today, May 1st, at 21:00.
Short article on awn.com
The official movie site

01.05.02
"Dragon's Lair" - The Movie
Remember "Dragon's Lair" the game? Well, get ready for the movie! Don Bluth, the creator of the original game, and producer of the animated films "Anastasia" and "Titan A.E." is working on a prequel to the original tale.
More details here.

01.05.02
The Producer of "Shrek" to Produce "Chet Gecko"
John H. Williams, the producer of Shrek, is at it again with a new CGI feature. This time it's the children’s mystery book series, "Chet Gecko", by Bruce Hale. "Chet Gecko" is a parody of the gumshoe detective genre, transporting classic film noir scenarios into new comedy contexts.
Article on animationmagazine.net.

01.05.02
"Toy Story" Voted Top Disney Film
In a recent BBC poll, 4000 Disney fans selected "Toy Story" as the top Disney film of all time, and its star Buzz Lightyear as the favorite Disney hero, with his arch rival Woody second. Cruella De Vil was voted favorite villain, closely followed by Peter Pan's Captain Hook.
Article on ananova.com

29.04.02
Hayao Miyazaki to Produce 3 More Anime Films
Contrary to his statement that "Princess Mononoke" was his last film ever, Anime legend Hayao Miyazaki revealed that he is planning to direct 3 more feature-length films.
The first is "Kemushi no Boro" (Boro the Caterpillar), about a caterpillar that goes from one tree to another and the trials he faces while on the journey.
Read about it here or here. Hebrew discussion here.

29.04.02
Next from Dreamworks: "Sinbad"
Dreamworks SKG's next "tradigital" film (traditional animation made digitally), following "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" is "Sinbad", staring Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joe Fiennes and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Read about it here, here or here. Hebrew discussion here.

29.04.02
Aardman's Upcoming Films
The next two clay-animation films by Aardman (to be distributed by Dreamworks), following the excellent "Chicken Run" are "Tortoise Vs. Hare" (based on Aesop's fable) and "Wallace & Gromit: The Great Vegetable Plot".
Read about it here, here, here and here.

28.04.02
Disney/Pixar Announce Their Next Three Films
Following the tremendous success of "Monsters, Inc.", Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios announced their next three films: "Finding Nemo" (2003), "The Incredibles" (2004), and "Cars" (2005).
Article on insidecg.com

28.04.02
Brad Bird to Direct Pixar's "The Incredibles"
The creator of "Iron Giant" will direct Disney/Pixar's upcoming 3D-animated film, about a dysfunctional family of high-profile superheroes.
More details here and here.

28.04.02
John Lasseter to Direct Pixar's "Cars"
John Lasseter, the director of "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters inc." will also direct "Cars", a high-octane adventure about a collection of classic automobiles-turned-'toons revving things up on historic Route 66.
More details here and here.

15.04.02
Oh My GOD, They Killed Kenny !
This time it's final ! The creators of "South Park" have killed off the mild-mannered character for good. As of Dec. 5, Kenny was permanently laid to rest after suffering from a terminal muscular disease. May he rest in peace...
Article on animationmagazine.net

15.04.02
John Davis, Tom Hanks to Produce "Ant Bully"
"Ant Bully" is yet another CG film about an ant colony, with a twist: The leading roll is that of a kid (the ant bully) who becomes an ant. John Davis, creator of the Oscar nominated "Jimmy Neutron" will write and direct. Tom Hanks will produce in cooperation with Universal Studios.
Article on animationmagazine.net
The original book (by John Nickle) on amazon.com

13.04.02
Students: LightWave 3D for Only $395 !
Newtek is offering animation students the full version of its LightWave 3D animation package for only $395. Also available is a limited "Discovery Edition" for free!
More info on www.newtek.com

13.04.02
Disney Acquires Miyazaki's "Spirited Away"
Disney has acquired all rights to Hayao Miyazaki’s latest animated blockbuster, Spirited Away, Japan’s all-time top grossing film ($234 million). Pixar’s John Lasseter will act as creative consultant for the newly dubbed version.
Read article on animationmagazine.net

11.04.02
Red Fish to Star on Disney/Pixar's "Finding Nemo"
After "Monsters inc.", the next Disney/Pixar 3D movie is an underwater adventure between a father and son.
More on pixar.com and on upcomingmovies.com
And here's a page with 2 actual images from the movie

11.04.02
Long John is a Cyborg in Disney's "Treasure Planet"
Here's some info about Disney's next 2D/3D animated feature film. Created by Disney France, this is a space version of the classic "Treasure Island" book.
Article on keyframeonline.com

11.04.02
Dreamworks SKG's Upcoming "Sharkslayer"
The creators of "Shrek" are working on their next 3D animated film. Voiced by Will Smith, Martin Scorsese, Angelina Jolie, Renee Zellweger and James Gandolfini, it's described as an underwater mob film.
More on animationmagazine.net

29.03.02
Price Drops on Major Animation Packages
The CG industry is going through some massive changes, as the prices of major animation packages go down to more affordable realms. In a matter of weeks, the following announcements were made:
Maya Complete for only $1999! Unlimited for $6999!
LightWave 3D for only $1595!
Houdini Select for only $1999!
LightWave Express bundled with Sony VAIO for free!
Maya Personal Learning Edition for free!
SoftImage XSI Experience for free!

29.03.02
TV Review: "Tiny Planets"
"Tiny Planets" is a new 3D-animated TV series for children, Consisting of 65 five minute episodes.
It can also be seen on Israel's Channel 6.
Read the review on awn.com

29.03.02
New TV Series: "Mr. Bean - The Animated Series"
Mr. Bean, star of film and television, is back, but this time he's a cartoon hero, appearing in a new series of hilarious animated adventures.
Visit the official site

27.03.02
Blue Sky and Fox to Produce "Robots"
Following the success of "Ice Age", the studios responsible for the animated hit are working on a new 3D animated feature called "Robots". Variety reports on that, and also mentions two other 3D animated features going into production: Sony's "Astro Boy" and ILM/Universal's "Curious George" / "Where the Wild Things Are".
Article on Variety.com (requires registration)
Article on SciFi.com

25.03.02
"Shrek", "For The Birds" Win Oscars
At the 74th annual academy awards in LA,
Dreamworks SKG's "Shrek" won best animated feature.
Disney/Pixar compensated with two of their own:
"For The Birds" won best animated short, and Randy Newman's "If I didn't Have You" (from "Monsters inc.") won best song. Congratulations!

20.03.02
Disney Moves to 3D - Lays off 2D Animators
Disney Animation Studios decided to abandon classic animation. In the past 2 years, about 500 employees were laid off. Two days ago 250 were fired. According to rumors, only 6 clean-up artists and 13 animators remain. However, Disney is expanding its digital business and will spend $1 million to retrain traditional artists on computers.
Article on NY Times
Article on Animation Magazine
Forum discussion on Animation Nation

18.03.02
Talk About "Ice Age" - Now in Israel
"Ice Age", the new 3D-animated feature film from FOX and Bluesky is now showing in Israel. "Ice Age" made $47.5 million on its first weekend abroad, which makes it the most successful film ever to debut on March. It also outgained "Shrek", which earned $40 million in its first week.
Talk about it on the Hebrew Animation Forum.