Thanks to Animation Magazine, we now have a more precise schedule of animated movies coming to theaters in 2011. Some of them we knew about, some of them (we’ll admit) we didn’t! So, in order: Rango (starring the voice of Johnny Depp) comes to us on March 4th, Rio (from Blue Sky) hits the air on April 8th, Kung Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom (whew!) kicks off May 27th, Cars 2 (from Pixar of course) takes off on June 24th, Winnie the Pooh (in 2D, based on never-before-adapted-stories) comes to us July 15th, Puss in Boots (the long-awaited Shrek prequel) slices up the fall on November 4th, and Happy Feet 2 (once again directed by George Miller) finishes things off on November 18th. Oh, and if you haven’t seen it: The first teaser trailer for Kung Fu Panda 2 is playing in front of Megamind, in theaters now.
Dreamworks
Disney and the Annie Awards split up!
Word is spreading like wildfire around the industry newspapers and blogs that Disney/Pixar have completely withdrawn their support from the annual Annie Awards, presented by ASIFA-Hollywood. The Annies are considered to be the Oscar Awards of the animation industry, and Disney has been a financial supporter of the awards since 1972. But now (according to reports) Disney fears that the awards process has been skewed towards Dreamworks Animation, as evidenced by the 2009 awards when Kung Fu Panda swept everything — and Wall-E was shut out entirely. Now (again, this is the word going around) Disney fears that a similar thing might happen, causing How to Train Your Dragon to beat out Toy Story 3 in one or more categories. As evidence, Disney/Pixar have pointed to the fact that Dreamworks offers a free ASIFA-Hollywood membership to its employees as part of their employment package, and previously voting on the Annie Awards was open to all members of ASIFA, regardless of where they worked in the animation industry — if at all. This story is still breaking, and it will be very interesting to see how it plays out. Interestingly, because of the way the Annie Award rules work, Disney/Pixar films can still be nominated for the awards, and win them, even if they’re not official entered by the creators.
New Hollywood Hopefuls…
Last week, Jim Hill’s daily blog presented his review of the recent Licensing International Expo, held at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. This is the annual show where t-shirt, candy, toy and a zillion other manufacturers look for “the next big thing” to put on their products before they get sold to the rest of us. And of course Hollywood studios are there in force, promoting their new upcoming movies and TV series to all the makers of tie-in merchandise. Among the interesting new items being presented: Dreamworks Animation was there advertising their new 3D Shrek spin-off movie that tells the origin of Puss in Boots; as well as Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, the new sequel which features (along with the original voice cast) newcomer Gary Oldman as “a peacock who is far more than he seems”. 20th Century Fox was there advertising the 4th film in the Ice Age series, Continental Drift; as well as the upcoming “three-quel” for Alvin and the Chipmunks called Chip-Wrecked. Before that new Ice Age film though comes Rio, Blue Sky’s next 3D project coming out next April. (If you haven’t heard of it, the film is about a nerdy macaw who can’t fly — but who gets a chance to escape when he visits his species’ native Brazil. It stars the voices of Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Tracy Morgan, Jamie Foxx, and Will-I-Am. Check out the trailer on YouTube.) Illumination Entertainment (the same house that animated this year’s film Despicable Me for Universal) is hard at work on an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ environmental fable The Lorax, scheduled for release in March of 2012 (also from Universal). And of course (as we’ve reported before) this December Fox will be releasing Walden Media’s long-awaited third entry in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And then, there’s the live-action Smurfs movie coming from Sony in 2011… but let’s not go there, shall we?
Now It Can Be Told!
The 2010 Ursa Major Awards, celebrating the best in anthropomorphic art, writing, and other media were presented at FurAffinity United on Sunday, May 30th. 2 the Ranting Gryphon hosted the show and presented the awards. From the Ursa Major Awards web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Award, the Ursa Major Award is presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. It is intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Award ® presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Award, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Award, and so forth.” This year more than 1,100 fans from more than a dozen countries world wide took part in nominating and voting for the Ursa Major Awards. The most yet!
And here, now, are the nominees and winners in each of 10 categories.
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Game, the nominees were:
- Earth Eternal (created by Sparkplay Media)
- G-Force – The Video Game (Developed by Keen Studios, published by Disney Interactive)
- Predation, the Board Game (created by Quentin Long)
- Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Developed by Insomniac Games, published by Sony Computer Entertainment)
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration, the nominees were:
- Blotch: Cover for Out of Position by Kyell Gold
- Patrick Farley: “Gaia’s Strange Seedlike Brood” from Thoughtcrime Experiment
- Jailbird: “It’s Beautiful” from “Trading Wishes” by Kevin Frane
- Kenket: Illustration for New Coyote from Anthrozine.com
- Sara Palmer: Cover for Jasmyn by Bernard Doove
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Blotch, for the Out of Position cover.
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Magazine, the nominees were:
- Anthro
- Heat
- New Fables
- South Fur Lands
- Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Heat
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip, the nominees were:
- Dan and Mab’s Furry Adventures by Amber M. Williams
- Doc Rat by Jenner
- Freefall by Mark Stanley
- Housepets! by Rick Griffin
- Kevin and Kell by Bill Holbrook
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Housepets!
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story (with continuous story arcs) the nominees were:
- Concession by Immelman
- Furthia High by QuetzaDrake
- Lackadaisy by Tracy J. Butler
- TwoKinds by Tom Fischbach
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Concession
In the Category of Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work, the nominees were:
- Bloom County – The Complete Collection, Volume 1, by Berke Breathed, published by Idea & Design Works
- Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals, by Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges, published by Impact
- The First Book of Lapism, by Phil Geusz, published by Anthro Press
- Who Are The Furries? by Denise Winterman, from BBC News
- X, edited by Kyell Gold, published by Sofawolf Press
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals
In the Category of Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction, the nominees were:
- “Drifting”, by By Kyell Gold, from FurAffinity.net
- “Moonthief”, by Not Tube, from X by Sofawolf Press
- “Stop the World”, by Kyell Gold, from Anthrozine.com
- “Thou Shalt Not Make Wrongful Use of the Name of Thy Lord”, by Whyte Yote, from X by Sofawolf Press
- “Trading Wishes”, by Kevin Frane, from FurAffinity.net
And the Ursa Major Award went to: “Drifting”
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Novel, the nominees were:
- Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs, published by Ace Books
- Cheetah’s Win, by Phil Geusz, published by Anthrozine.com
- Jazmyn, by Bernard Doove, published by CreateSpace
- Out of Position, by Kyell Gold, published by Sofawolf Press
- Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, by David Benidictus, published by Dutton Juvenile
- The Unscratchables, by Cornelius Kane, published by Scribner
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Out of Position
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Short Subject or Series, the nominees were:
- The Cat Piano (from the People’s Republic of Animation, directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson)
- Partly Cloudy (from Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation, directed by Peter Sohn)
- The Penguins of Madagascar (produced by Dreamworks Animation for Nickelodeon)
- Prep and Landing (from Walt Disney Pictures Animation, directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers)
- The Secret Saturdays (produced by Cartoon Network)
And the Ursa Major Award went to: The Penguins of Madagascar
In the Category of Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture, the nominees were:
- Avatar (from 20th Century Fox, directed by James Cameron)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (from 20th Century Fox, directed by Wes Anderson)
- The Princess and the Frog (from Walt Disney Pictures Animation, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker)
- Up (from Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation, directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
- Where the Wild Things Are (from Warner Brothers, Directed by Spike Jonze)
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Avatar
The staff of InFurNation.com wish to extend our congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and winners — as well as all of the fans who took the time to participate in the nominations and voting! Remember to visit the Ursa Major Awards web site to find out more about how to nominate the best in anthropomorphics from 2010 for the 2011 awards.
Upcoming Dreamworks Sequels and Spin-offs
DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg spoke with The Hollywood Reporter recently about current and future film projects. According to him, How to Train Your Dragon has reached that magical turning point where it will definitely have a sequel — currently scheduled for release in the summer of 2013. There is also a TV series, a virtual game environment, and a live stadium show similar to Walking with Dinosaurs (!) in the works. In addition there’s Scared Shrekless, a Halloween special coming this fall, to be followed by a Kung Fu Panda TV special sometime after Thanksgiving — but don’t, says Mr. Katzenberg, call it a Christmas special.
The Power of the Viewing Public…
We can’t put this any better, so we’re lifting this verbatim from Box Office Guru:
“The big story this weekend came in third place [behind Date Night and Clash of the Titans — ye ed-otter] where the 3D animated film How To Train Your Dragon witnessed a remarkably low 13% decline in its third round for an estimated $25.4M gross boosting the 17-day total to a terrific $133.9M. Short-sighted film industry watchers and impatient Wall Street investors prematurely dismissed Dragon and DreamWorks Animation after its less-than-stellar opening weekend two weeks ago. The company’s stock dropped 8% on the first trading day after the debut with analysts lowering their estimates for the final domestic take to just $152M. Dragon will now crush that mark next weekend and looks on course to break the $200M barrier too becoming the second biggest 3D toon of all-time behind just the $293M of Up. Beating Pixar’s Oscar winner may not be possible, but outgrossing other competitors like Monsters vs. Aliens, Ice Age 3, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs makes Dragon a powerful performer. The PG-rated film was indeed slow out of the gate, but amazing word-of-mouth coupled with school holidays for spring have made Dragon the must-see film for kids and parents. Competition for families and 3D screens remains extremely light for the next five weeks so the Viking pic’s strong run should continue. Reaching $250M cannot be ruled out at this point given the road ahead since Dragon will be able to earn at least five times its opening figure, if not more.”
In other words, keep spreading that amazing word-of-mouth, people!
Training Dragons
Anticipations are running high for Dreamworks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon, which hits movie screens this Friday, March 26th. As of this writing the film has a 100% “fresh” / 0% “rotten” rating at Rotten Tomatoes.com — likely to go down as more reviews come in, of course, but still one heck of a high to be starting from. Many critics have noted the flying sequences in this 3D CGI film to be especially exciting. If you’ve not heard, the story follows the adventures of Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), a young viking in a land constantly at war with various species of fire-breathing dragon. When Hiccup’s new invention — a sort of bolo-catapult — injures a young dragon, the human is surprised to find himself befriending the beast (he names it “Toothless”). In the process, Hiccup finds out far more about dragons and his own people than he ever expected. Of course, getting humans together with unusual non-human friends is nothing new for directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders: They’re the team that gave us Disney’s Lilo and Stitch.
New Comics for Kids from Ape
Ape Entertainment is presenting Kizoic, a new line of full-color young reader comic book titles coming this year. And, luckily, several of those titles have notably furry themes. Two of those titles come direct from Dreamworks Animation: Shrek Forever After — The Prequel, coming this April, and The Penguins of Madagascar, shipping in June. Shrek, of course, is based on the upcoming fourth Shrek feature film. In this new comic by Scott Shaw and Drew Rausch, the villainous Rumpelstiltskin tries time and again to get the best of Shrek, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots, and their friends. Meanwhile, keep your eyes out for Scratch 9, featuring the adventures of a little who can access all 8 of his past and future lives — including the one where he was a saber-toothed tiger!
“Up” takes it, but…
The International Animated Film Society (ASIFA) presented the 37th annual Annie Awards on Saturday, February 6th. The presentation was held at UCLA’s Royce Hall, and none other than William Shatner was the host.
As many had been expecting, Disney/Pixar’s Up took the honors for Best Animated Feature Film, as well as a Best Director win for co-director Pete Docter. But what was notable about the evening was that, unlike last year’s Kung Fu Panda sweep, no one film or TV show ran away with a multitude of awards. By sheer numbers, three items emerged victorious for winning three awards each: Coraline (Best Feature Character Design, Best Feature Production Design, Best Feature Music), Prep & Landing (Best TV Character Design, Best TV Production Design, Best TV Production), and The Princess and the Frog (Best Effects Animation, Best Feature Character Animation (Eric Goldberg for Lou the Alligator), and Best Feature Voice Acting (Jen Cody for Charlotte). The Penguins of Madagscar won two awards, Best TV Directing and Best TV Production for Children. Another 10 items won a single award each, including one for Fantastic Mr. Fox (for Best Writing in a Feature). In other words, the awards were spread around quite a bit!
Besides the regular awards, the evening also included several special awards and honors. Bruce Timm, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Tim Burton each received the Winsor McCay Award for Lifetime Achievement in Animation. The June Foray Award for “Benevolent Impact” on Animation went to long-time animator and union activist Tom Sito. William T. Reeves of Pixar won the Ub Iwerks Award for Technical Achievement (he practically invented particle systems animation), while Martin Meunier and Brian McLean were given Special Achievement Awards for creating a new fabrication process used in making the film Coraline. Also, moving tributes were held for the late Roy E. Disney and Wayne Allwine (the voice of Mickey Mouse). A complete listing of the Awards and pictures from the ceremony will be up soon at the Annie Awards web site.
