American Dog

The top 10 Summer Movies for 2008

As it looks, the summer of 2007 might be the most profitable summer season ever. Already we have two movies breaking records, with another following today, and there are plenty more movies that could be making $ 200 million or more before August ends. But what about next summer? Will it be another threequel feast? Or are we actually going to be treated to a summer that has some more originality? (What do you expect?)

Continue reading "The top 10 Summer Movies for 2008" »

As it looks, the summer of 2007 might be the most profitable summer season ever. Already we have two movies breaking records, with another following today, and there are plenty more movies that could be making $ 200 million or more before August ends. But what about next summer? Will it be another threequel feast? Or are we actually going to be treated to a summer that has some more originality? (What do you expect?)

Chris Sanders released from American Dog...

If it's up to John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, heads of Disney animation, Disney is going back to traditional 2D animation. The duo think that it's not a good thing if both Disney's own animation division and Pixar are releasing 3D movies, basically competing with each other. Instead, Disney should go back to making features the way they did for all those years since Walt Disney came up with the idea of making a feature length Snow White movie. I think it's a great idea, which should be effective right after the release of Meet the Robinsons, since there is so much more to do with 2D animation and I was sad to hear the news that Disney would stop making hand drawn movies. Still, this news isn't all roses, since it has a very unpleasant side-effect: Chris Sanders has been released from directing duties of his new movie, American Dog. Apparently, American Dog has to be retooled to 2D animation, and Sanders, already well under way with production, did not feel like doing that. Besides that, Lasseter was a bit worried about the quirkiness of American Dog, and thought it would be a good idea to have a long, hard look at the movie before continuing.
Okay, that stinks. As it looks, the movie will continue to be made, with a new team, in 2D, and if they stick more or less to what Sanders has done so far it will probably still be something to look out for, but the fact that the man was released from his own movie is not good news. No matter how cool it is that handdrawn movies are making a return at Disney.
Now we will have to wait and see what will happen to Glenn Keane's Rapunzel, and also what Disney head Bob Iger is going to say about the duo's plans.

Why American Dog might become the best animated movie in years

With all those different animated movies coming out nowadays, it's getting to be increasingly difficult keeping them apart. Most of them are either of the 'cute animals fight human evil' type, or try to spoof fairy tales for the umpteenth time, so you'd almost say it shouldn't be too difficult to come up with a movie that stands out. Disney will unleash a movie like that in 2008. Yes, it features animals, but they're not singing with high pitched voices or trying to get rid of hunters. No, this is American Dog, created and directed by Chris Sanders, the man behind the most original animated movie of the last ten years, Lilo and Stitch, and here you will read why it's going to be the animated movie to watch.

The Animated Movies for 2007

2006 was a very succesful year for animated movies. A dozen of them debuted in theaters worldwide, and even though not all of them were breakout hits (think Ant Bully, Everyone's Hero), most of them were at least able to pack theaters for several weeks, with some of them (Cars, Ice Age 2, Happy Feet) found their way into territory marked 'box office smash'. So, now we've seen the debut of 2006's last animated movie Happy Feet, it is time to look forward to 2007, which looks to be another banner year for (digital) animation (Story includes the trailers).

Continue reading "The Animated Movies for 2007" over at The Animation Blog»

2006 was a very succesful year for animated movies. A dozen of them debuted in theaters worldwide, and even though not all of them were breakout hits (think Ant Bully, Everyone's Hero), most of them were at least able to pack theaters for several weeks, with some of them (Cars, Ice Age 2, Happy Feet) found their way into territory marked 'box office smash'. So, now we've seen the debut of 2006's last animated movie Happy Feet, it is time to look forward to 2007, which looks to be another banner year for (digital) animation (Story includes the trailers).

John Travolta in American Dog?

Animated News reports that voice cast members have been added to the Wikipedia page of Disney's American Dog. American Dog is the animated movie that is number one on my most anticipated list, the new project from Lilo and Stich's Chris Sanders. At the Wikipedia page it says that John Travolta and Thomas Haden Church will be involved with the movie, and if this is true, it might be some perfect casting. Of course you can never know if this news is legit or not, but Animated News mentions that it is rumoured that Roy Disney Jr. himself has confirmed the casting. Fingers crossed...