Academy Award Nominations for Best Animated Feature Film of 2008

Bolt becomes the first 3D Disney nomination (not counting Pixar films) since the Best Animated Feature Film Award appeared in 2001.

BOLT
Chris Williams and Byron Howard



ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
These are the first Academy Award nominations for Chris Williams and Byron Howard.

FILM SYNOPSIS
When Bolt, the canine star of a popular television series, finds himself outside the confines of the studio in which he has spent his life, he is baffled to discover that the super powers he has on his show no longer seem to function. Convinced, however, that his beloved owner, Penny, is in danger, Bolt teams up with a worldly-wise cat and a frenetic hamster and sets off on an adventure that will change his life.


KUNG FU PANDA
John Stevenson and Mark Osborne



ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the first Academy Award nomination for John Stevenson.

This is the second Academy Award nomination for Mark Osborne. He was previously nominated for:

MORE (1998) -- Nominee, Short Film (Animated)

"More" was a claymation short about a factory worker.

FILM SYNOPSIS
Po the panda spends his days working in his father's noodle shop and dreaming of becoming an expert in the art of kung fu fighting. When a dangerous snow leopard threatens the region in which he lives, Po is singled out by a wise monk as the Chosen One, the Dragon Warrior--a choice that comes as a surprise to Shifu, the martial arts master who must train him.



WALL-E
Andrew Stanton



ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
Including his nomination this year for Original Screenplay for WALL-E, this is the fifth Academy Award nomination for Andrew Stanton. He was previously nominated for:

FINDING NEMO (2003) -- Winner, Animated Feature Film
FINDING NEMO (2003) -- Nominee, Writing (Original)
TOY STORY (1995) -- Nominee, Writing (Original)

FILM SYNOPSIS
Several centuries in the future, when human beings have abandoned the earth for a series of orbiting spaceships, the lone remaining being on the planet is a solar-powered robot named WALL-E. As he continues to carry out his trash compacting duties, he gathers up unexpected treasures...including a tiny green plant that has somehow reappeared on the earth's heavily polluted landscape.


==================================

So that's it! No independent films made it this year! Bolt is Disney's first 3D film to get a nomination. They previously made Dinosaur (before this award), Chicken Little, and Meet the Robinsons. They also distributed Valiant and The Wild.

Of course, Wall-E is the obvious winner. The other two don't match the range of emotion and don't break as much "ground." If there were independents involved, they would be wildcards. But with three corporate films from Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks like this, Wall-E is obviously the winner. That will be Andrew Stanton's second Oscar, tieing him up with Pixar giants, John Lasseter and Brad Bird.


Enjoy!

- TAE

Disneyland intros roving animatronic Muppets; Mickey and friends fear pink slips

The happiest place on Earth (Disneyland, not Las Vegas during CES) just got a little happier this week, thanks to a new exhibit called the Muppet Mobile Laboratory that roams the park and delights visitors with inane banter and sprays of water. Probably having nothing to do with the fact that the human costumed characters like to videotape themselves in suggestive poses while still in uniform, Disney decided to eschew flesh and bone for metal and silicon when it tasked the Imagineering studio with whipping up California Adventure's newest residents, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his always chipper, possibly speed-addicted friend Beaker. The two wacky companions approach groups of visitors in their remotely-controlled, cartoonish rocket ship, and thanks to operators monitoring embedded cameras, microphones, and speakers, are able to to carry on eerily-realistic conversations that incorporate actual traits of the audience members.

The L.A. Times reminds us that the MML is only the latest in a long line of animatronic entertainers, from the Enchanted Tiki Room and Mr. Lincoln in the 60's to Lucky the Dinosaur and Crush the Turtle in the new millennium -- but Honeydew and Tweaker Beaker are the first that can be modified to entertain in almost any environment. Disney expects the new tech -- which enables remote operation from as far away as Glendale -- to eventually expand its stable of characters to include some of the Muppets who are too small to be played by actors (as opposed to mice, dogs, and ducks, which are just the right size), so next time the kids finally wear you down and win another trip to the Magic Kingdom, at least you'll be able to pass the time by chasing around little Chip 'n Dales or wirelessly hacking Kermit to tell the kiddies what he really thinks of that flaky pig.

From:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/02/disneyland-intros-roving-animatronic-muppets-mickey-and-friends/



The good Dr. stumbles his words and uses flat jokes. Great idea though.

I think his sound cut out at 3:20. Whoops.

They also aren't roving very much. Good idea, but it's not all that entertaining. They should try again with something else.

For those who don't know, Disney now owns Muppets. Disney also owns Pixar. In the Pixar short, Presto, you can find the Muppet old men in the balcony. It's a nod to Disney's other properties.

Enjoy!

- TAE

Disney says it will submit Shanghai park plans to Beijing

SHANGHAI (AFP) — The Walt Disney Co. entertainment giant said Monday it is preparing to submit plans to the Chinese government to build a theme park in Shanghai, but stressed no deal had been agreed with Beijing.

After months of denying Chinese media reports that a deal was imminent, Disney acknowledged it had worked on a joint application report with the Shanghai municipal government, but said it was still in the proposal stages.

"No deal has been agreed to, no project has been approved," Disney spokeswoman Leslie Goodman said in an e-mailed statement.

Disney has been in talks with Chinese officials for a decade about building a theme park in China's economic hub and largest city.

"As part of this lengthy process, we worked on a joint application report with the Shanghai government which will be submitted to the central government for review," Goodman said.

Disney declined to say whether the application had been completed or when it might be submitted to the central government.

Previous Chinese media reports had said the proposed park could be built on a 10-square-kilometre (3.9-square-mile) site near Shanghai's Pudong airport.

Beijing would provide the land in exchange for a stake in the park, but Disney would manage the facility, according to previous media reports.

The reports said Disney's Shanghai theme park could be eight times the size of its park in Hong Kong, which is 57-percent government owned.

Disney's Hong Kong park has been struggling to meet visitor targets since it opened in 2005.


From:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jltc__biU1z4nPavTNPKr6KjHvlA


Now why is the China park going to do better than Hong Kong?


Enjoy!

- TAE

Pixar Academy Award Winners

If Wall-E takes the Academy Award for best animated feature, that will be the second Academy Award for Andrew Stanton. He currently has one win (directing Finding Nemo) and three nominations total (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004056/awards).




John Lasseter:

2 wins, 6 total nominations
Won: Best Short Film, Animated for: Tin Toy (1988)
Won: Special Achievement Award for: Toy Story (1995)
Nominated: Best Short Film, Animated for: Luxo Jr. (1986)
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Toy Story (1995)
Nominated: Best Animated Feature for: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Nominated: Best Animated Feature for: Cars (2006)




Brad Bird:

2 wins, 4 total nominations
Won: Best Animated Feature for: The Incredibles (2004)
Won: Best Animated Feature for: Ratatouille (2007)
Nominated: Best Writing, Original Screenplay for: The Incredibles (2004)
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Ratatouille (2007)



Andrew Stanton:

1 win, 3 total nominations
Won: Best Animated Feature for: Finding Nemo (2003)
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Toy Story (1995)
Nominated: Best Writing, Original Screenplay for: Finding Nemo (2003)



Jan Pinkava:

1 win, 2 total nominations
Won: Best Short Film, Animated for: Geri's Game (1997)
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Ratatouille (2007)



Ralph Eggleston:

1 win, 1 total nomination
Won: Best Short Film, Animated for: For the Birds (2000)



Pete Doctor:

0 wins, 3 total nominations
Nominated: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Toy Story (1995)
Nominated: Best Animated Feature for: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Nominated: Best Short Film, Animated for: Mike's New Car (2002) (V)



Gary Rydstrom:

0 wins, 3 total nominations
Nominated: Best Sound Editing for: Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Nominated: Best Sound Editing for: Finding Nemo (2003)
Nominated: Best Short Film, Animated for: Lifted (2006)



Bud Luckey:

0 wins, 1 total nomination
Nominated: Best Short Film, Animated for: Boundin' (2003)



Roger Gould:

0 wins, 1 total nomination
Nominated: Best Short Film, Animated for: Mike's New Car (2002) (V)



Mark Andrews:

0 wins, 1 total nomination
Nominated: Best Short Film, Animated for: One Man Band (2005)



Andrew Jiminez:

0 wins, 1 total nomination
Nominated: Best Short Film, Animated for: One Man Band (2005)

Enjoy!

- TAE

What film will win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film of 2008?

I think we’re going to have quite a showdown for best animated film of this year: Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, Bolt, Tale of Despereaux, and Horton Hears a Who.
Wildcards “$9.99” and “Waltz with Bashir” join the fray.

Here are some of this year’s Annie Award nominations…

Directing in an Animated Feature Production

Nominees:

· $9.99 (2008) - Tatia Rosenthal
· Kung Fu Panda (2008) - Mark Osborne; John Stevenson
· Tale of Despereaux, The (2008) - Robert Stevenhagen; Sam Fell
· Vals Im Bashir (2008) - Ari Folman
· WALL·E (2008) - Andrew Stanton


Best Animated Feature

Nominees:

· $9.99 (2008) - Sherman Pictures/Lama Films
· Bolt (2008) - Walt Disney Animation Studios
· Kung Fu Panda (2008) - DreamWorks Animation
· Vals Im Bashir (2008) - Sony Pictures Classics; Bridgit Folman; Les Films d'Ici; Razor Films
· WALL·E (2008) - Pixar Animation Studios



Apparently, Bolt was really good, but it had poor direction? Hmm. =^)


Which movie do you think will take it?

I think it will go to Wall-E, with Kung Fu Panda giving it a solid run.

The two wildcards also look promising, so we could have an upset. Although $9.99 is really artsy and amazing, you just can’t get emotion from stop motion. It looks too fake. The attempts just make me laugh. =^)




If Wall-E takes it, that will be the second Academy Award for Andrew Stanton. He currently has one win (directing Finding Nemo) and three nominations total (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004056/awards). That would tie Stanton with Brad Bird and John Lasseter for most Pixar Academy Award wins (2 each).




The other possibilities are: Madagascar 2, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Space Chimps, Igor, Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, Delgo, Roadside Romeo, and Fly Me to the Moon.


I think $9.99 and Vals Im Bashir are the “wild cards.”

“Waltz with Bashir” is mostly Israeli and looks like they took live-action video, filtered the backgrounds to look “cartoony,” and rotoscoped over the humans (similar to Scanner Darkly) and added some original animation as well: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2591555609/

$9.99 is an artsy, Australian, stop-motion: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3236430617/



Enjoy!

- TAE

Disney Slays Narnia Franchise, Andy Samberg Weeps

Right, so Disney didn't slay it. They actually just pulled out. Walden is still looking for a new finance partner, and the director, actors, and crew are all still attached.

The article:



While it's nothing new to see film franchises die because they never quite get off the ground (see: The Golden Compass) or because they've run their course (see: The Matrix), it's quite another matter entirely when a studio turns its back on a billion-dollar baby that is still showing legs. Such is the case with Disney, who just euthanized their Chronicles of Narnia franchise when they decided not to finance the third film of what was intended to be a trilogy, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. So what happened?

As you'll no doubt recall, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe grossed nearly $750 million worldwide back in 2005 (and also inspired Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg to get baked and hit the Magnolia Bakery). But the performance of Prince Caspian, which grossed a very respectable if sorta underwhelming $419 million at the box office worldwide, apparently gave Disney cold feet. This is especially surprising when you consider that the film cost Disney $200 million to produce, which by our (admittedly rudimentary) math means they basically doubled their investment (less marketing costs, natch). Disney officially cited "budgetary and logistical reasons" as their reason for killing the franchise, but really that's just shorthand for the Mouse House's saying that they don't want to overextend themselves during these increasingly sketchy economic times. Merry Christmas!

From:
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/12/narnia_franchise_kaput.html

Enjoy!

- TAE

Santa's Shakeup - From WillemWorks & TheAnimationEmpire

Happy New Year everyone!

Santa Claus and Rudolph are featured in this Christmas cartoon, "Santa's Shakeup!"



Written and Animated by Willem Serne in Paint, Photoshop, and MovieMaker.

Check out WillemWorks channel:

http://youtube.com/WillemWorks

My favorite part of this animation is where Rudolph covers his hot chocolate cup, knowing what is about to happen.

This is our fourth animation with the great WillemWorks!

1. Zelda - Save the Princess:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3XiocmBafIM

2. Ant Jokes:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XlaoACxK9wc

3. Redneck Hunting Season:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3XiocmBafIM

Enjoy!

- TAE