Category Archives: Animation

PEEPS are Getting their Own Movie!

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The classic marshmallow holiday treat Peeps are getting a big screen feature film adaptation! These cavity creating candies are always a big hit during Easter, and filmmaker Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City, Underdog) must have got a lot of them in his Easter basket last weekend, because he’s the guy pushing it into development. I’m sure he looked at them and said to himself… “How have these not been made into a movie yet!?” So he went out, optioned the rights, and has started the long process of bringing them to a movie theater near you.

According to Deadline the film will be animated, and it is described as a “Lego Movie-esque family epic set the night before a Peeps diorama contest, when a wayward Peep gets misplaced and must adventure through the fantasy lands of different-themed dioramas before the contest’s judging begins.”

That sounds like it could work. However the movie turns out, the kids are going to love it, and there’s a lot of fun marketing ideas that a studio can play with for a franchise like this. This whole thing may sound like a silly idea, but they could make a lot of freakin’ money off of it if they play their cards right.

The report also explains that Rifkin got the idea from watching his niece and nephew make their own Peeps diorama for a school project. “That led him to discover the elaborate annual contests hosted by the likes of the Washington Post, whose winning entry this year was a black and white diorama of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s iconic ‘I Have A Dream’ speech – fashioned, of course, entirely out of the sugar-dusted marshmallows.”

I had no idea this world of Peeps existed until now! I think that’s fascinating though. He will eventually partner with a studio to make this movie happen. Rifkin will write the script, and this wouldn’t be his first time writing a family adventure film either. He previously wrote the films Mouse Hunt and Small Soldiers. He’s currently set to direct a thriller called Director’s Cut that was written by Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller fame.

What are your thoughts on this!  I think its nuts!

David Lowery in Talks to Direct PETE’S DRAGON Remake

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Ain’t Them Bodies Saints director David Lowery already co-wrote the screenplay for Disney’s remake of Pete’s Dragon, and now he is in talks to direct the film as well. The 1977 original was a musical that followed an orphan on the run from his abusive adoptive family accompanied by his best friend, an invisible dragon named Elliot. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and it is nearly unwatchable as an adult, mostly because of the terrible animation and effects. That’s a shame, because it has some really great songs.

The new version, co-written by Tony Halbrooks, is expected to take a different tone and will not be a musical, which is a shame, because (again) the original had some really great songs. Lowery’s most recent feature, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, is maybe tonally a bit different than what you’d expect from a Disney movie, but it also features a man on the run. And his 2009 feature, St. Nick, is also a story of kids who’ve run away from away from home. So it seems like a theme he’s drawn to, which makes me really intrigued to see what he’ll bring to the table.

On the whole, I’m a little ambivalent about the project. Like I said, Pete’s Dragon is unwatchable now, and I’ve kind of been wishing for a remake, but the songs, and particularly Helen Reddy’s performance of them, are a thing I don’t want to lose. So here’s the deal, David Lowery, make your probably more realistic movie, but let Reddy sing “Candle on the Water” over the credits, and we can call it good.

Pixar Developing THE INCREDIBLES 2 and CARS 3

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I’m happy to report that Disney head Bob Iger has announced that Brad Bird is currently working on a story for The Incredibles 2! He also said that Pixar is developing a Cars 3, which isn’t surprising. That franchise has made so much money for the studio that of course they’re going to keep milking it.

The big surprise here is The Incredibles 2 and that Bird is involved with it, because I wasn’t sure if that would ever happen. There are no other details on these projects or how far along they are, but back in 2007 Bird had this to say about it.

“But I think at Pixar, the bottom line is the story that you’re telling. And Pixar does not look at sequels as a financial plan. We feel we have a relation ship with the audience and that they believe in each movie we put out. We believe completely in every movie we put out. If I can come up with a story that is as good or better than that first film, then I’d love to return to that world, but it would have to be story first.”

I do have to say, though, that I think making a Cars 3 is part of a financial plan. Those aren’t the best movies that Pixar has made, but they do pull in the cash. In another past interview with Bird, he talked about his interest in returning the world of The Incredibles saying,

I really love those characters and if I can figure out a whole story to do I would do it. But one of the advantages that we had in the original Incredibles was that several of the characters had never really got to flex their muscles before. They were repressed, and it was about them discovering their own abilities. Any sequel to it, that particular thing — which is really a wonderful thing to be able to explore in a movie — that’s sort of gone. And so you have to find something that is equally interesting to do in a sequel.

I would not say no to [The Incredibles 2], because I really love that world and I love those characters. If I can figure out a complete thing — you know, I have a lot of ideas that I love — but the whole story, I haven’t got it yet…. if I can do that and make something that was to Incredibles what Toy Story 2 was to Toy Story, I would love to do it.

Fantastic Trailer for THE BOXTROLLS

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We’ve got A Trailer for Laika Studios’ new fantasy adventure The Boxtrolls for you to check out. This is the third feature-length stop-motion film from the studio, and it looks like it’s going to be just as awesome as their first two movies – ParaNorman and Coraline. I love the amount of detail and care that goes into their film work, and the right amount of dark humor they include in their stories.

The movie is based on Alan Snow’s novel Here Be Monsters, which follows a group of sewer-dwelling Boxtrolls that have raised an orphan boy. The film has a great cast of actors that includes Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, Toni Collette, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, Tracy Morgan, and Simon Pegg.

A family event movie from the creators of “Coraline” and “ParaNorman” that introduces audiences to a new breed of family – The Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they’ve built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnifred (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs’ family.

The Boxtrolls opens in theaters on September 26th, 2014.

Pixar to Re-release RATATOUILLE and THE INCREDIBLES in 3D

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It was only a matter of time before we started seeing older Pixar films re-released in 3D. Thanks to Screen Daily we’ve learned that Ratatouille and The Incredibles are currently being prepped for a 3D release. These are my two favorite Pixar films, but I still don’t think I am going to pay the money to see them in 3D. Pixar’s director of 3D production Josh Hollander had this to say in a statement about The Incredibles:

“Right now we’re working on The Incredibles, which is a lot of fun in 3D. I’m not sure what the release strategy for it will be. It’s been an interesting challenge to work on technology because – while the film was released 10 years ago – the technology is even older as it took four years to make.”

He then goes on to talk about Ratatouille, saying,

“We have a version of Ratatouille, which works really well in 3D and we’re trying to figure out exactly what the release strategy for that will be.”

These films will be released after the 3D reissues of Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. Hollander then shares his general thoughts on 3D and the audience’s attitude on it, saying,

“I think that we as an industry may have lost some of our audience for 3D with releases that didn’t beg for the medium or didn’t warrant the medium or didn’t use the median in a nuanced and sophisticated and comfortable way. I think it’s possible that we drove some folks away from 3D with the higher ticket price or whatever else. But I also think that as the industry settles on a more nuanced approach, I really hope and believe that the audiences will return.”

SMURFS Gets a Reboot and Genndy Tartakovsky Is Back for HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2

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Those Smurf movies didn’t do so hot. The good news is Sony Pictures Animation has decided not to make a Smurfs 3. The bad news is they plan on rebooting the whole franchise and starting fresh.

The studio has hired Shrek 2 and Gnomeo & Juliet director Kelly Asbury to helm the animated film that is said to include all new designs and environments. Deadline also reports that it “will focus on the origins of the little blue creatures,” and that new film will “be closer to creator  Peyo’s original artwork.”

A Smurfs 3 would probably do just as well as a Smurfs reboot at the box office. I guess maybe they think taking out the live-action aspect of the film will make it more appealing to audiences. The first two films brought in a combined $910 million worldwide, so it makes sense that they would want to stay on the money train and make another one. I just won’t be seeing it.

The studio will release the reboot on the August 2015 date they had planned to release Smurfs 3.

It was also announced that Sony Pictures’ animation is bringing back Genndy Tartakovsky to direct Hotel Transylvania 2, which will be released in September 2015. Adam Sandler will be back to star, and he is co-writing the script with Robert Smigel. Tartakovsky is also developing Sony’s CG Popeye pic and his own original idea, which is described as a “fantastic journey through one boy’s imagination.”

Batman vs terminator fan made animated short

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30 years have passed since Bruce Wayne survived Skynet’s nuclear blasts in August of ’97. Iron demons now roam the planet, and without the requirement to defend the innocent against crime and injustice, Wayne has seeked refuge in the bomb shelter that saved his life; the Batcave.

Having scavenged the wasteland for resources, he discovers the radio of a dead soldier. There is static over a frequency. Flesh and blood is rising up to the west. With The Stinger; a riot control vehicular unit built before the apocalypse along with a refitted bomb blast vest, Batman makes his way across what remains of the United States to join forces with the man determined to neutralize the electronic menace – John Conner.

LeBron James to Star in SPACE JAM 2

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After 18 years Space Jam is actually going to get a sequel. This time around it will star NBA superstar LaBron James. Space Jam was released in 1996 and it starred Michael Jordan and a few other NBA players such as Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Danny Ainge, Tyron “Muggsy” Bogues, Vlade Divac, Cedric Ceballos, Larry Johnson, Shawn Bradley and Paul West acting along side Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang.

The first Space Jam movie made over $230 million, and I’m surprised they didn’t make a sequel sooner. Space Jam was kind of a terrible film, but I can’t deny that it was a ton of fun to watch. Like several others, I was a huge fan of basketball and the Looney Tunes growing up so of course it was exciting to see these two worlds collide.

The movie is being developed by Charlie Ebersol, and his brother Willie Ebersol who is writing the script. This will be the first script that he’s written, so maybe we shouldn’t expect much from him. But the script for the first film wasn’t all that great either.

Regardless of the script the movie is sure to be a big success for Warner Bros. The sport of basketball is bigger than ever, and there’s still a huge fan base for those classic lovable cartoon characters.

Pixar to Develop Animated STAR WARS Film?

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Ever since Disney got their four fingered hands on the Star Wars franchise people have wondered if Pixar would get to work on an animated Star Wars film. Well, it looks like the answer is yes! According to our friends at Latino-Review, the talented animation studio has been given their own Star Wars movie to work on! How freakin’ cool is that?! I guess it was bound to happen. John Lasseter must be very happy.

As of right now there’s no information on what the story will be, or what characters will be involved, but I have no doubt that whatever they do, it’s going to be freakin’ amazing! There’s also no word on when the film will be released, but I’m sure it’s going to be a few long years.

This team-up between Pixar and Lucasfilm has incredible potential to be insanely awesome, and I am seriously excited to see what they give the fans! It could be anything from a movie about Jawas to Droids to a movie about a young Han Solo and Chewbacca. Whatever they do, I’m already on board.

DESPICABLE ME 3 and HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS Set for 2017

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Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment have announced the release dates for three of their upcoming projects that include Despicable Me 3, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and an untitled comedy from writer-director Garth Jennings (Son of Rambow, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy).

Despicable Me 3 will be released in theaters on June 30th, 2017. It’s coming from the same team who brought us Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2. There’s no details about what the third film would entail, but it will continue the adventures of Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, Agnes, and of course, the Minions.

Then we have a new animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The movie is set for release on November 17th, 2017, and it will be directed by Pete Candeland from a script written by Michael LeSieur. You all know the story for this, it’s just another reimagining.

As for the original animated untitled comedy, it’s about courage, competition, and carrying a tune. It will hit theaters December 21st, 2016.