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Disney

The Lion Roars — Again

Sep 19th, 2011
by rodney.
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It’s all over the news, and now it’s here too:  Not only did the 3D re-release of Disney’s The Lion King top the box office this weekend; not only did it double movie industry expectations… it also did more business than the three new big-studio releases for the weekend did combined. This new infusion of box-office cash raises the biggest hand-drawn animated film of all time from #25 to #17 on the list of all-time biggest domestic box office. Of course, the film is only going to be in theaters for two weeks, all in anticipation of the new Blu-Ray release of The Lion King on October 4th — and yes, that will include the 3D version for your home. “It means more furries… for the rest of our days…”  Well, we can only hope.

image c. 2011 Walt Disney Pictures

Classic Comic Strips Collected

Sep 9th, 2011
by rodney.
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Fantagraphics Books has two new collected editions of famous and historically significant comic strips available. Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse brings together the 1930’s comic strips created by Floyd Gottfredson, newly edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth. Besides nearly 600 pages of black & white Mickey Mouse adventures, each hardcover volume also features more than 50 pages of supplemental material including behind-the-scenes art, vintage publicity material, and commentary by Disney historians. Volume 1, Race to Death Valley, was released last June, and Volume 2, Trapped on Treasure Island, is coming this October. Then in December, be on the lookout for Pogo: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips, Volume 1, “Through the Wild Blue Yonder” (whew!) by the inimitable Walt Kelly, of course. This hardcover edition goes back as far as the 1940’s Pogo strips, and also features a biographical introduction, an extensive glossary by comics historian R. C. Harvey, and a forward by the legendary columnist Jimmy Breslin.

Epic Mickey’s Epic Graphic Novel

Sep 3rd, 2011
by rodney.
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Who knew that the Ursa Major Award-winning video game Epic Mickey was also a comic book? My, it’s everywhere! Well, for those of us who wound up surprised as we are, Disney Press will be releasing the Disney: Epic Mickey graphic novel this October, in both hardcover and softcover editions. It collects all of the full-color Epic Mickey comic adventures, written by the famous comic book author Peter David and illustrated by Fabio Celoni and Paolo Mottura. In it you’ll be introduced to the magical realm of Wasteland and its inhabitants, including Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Gus the Gremlin, and the animatronic Donald, Daisy, and Goofy.

image c. 2011 Disney Press

The Legend of Tembo

Aug 18th, 2011
by rodney.
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The well-known special effects house Digitial Domain is trying (once again) to start up its own animation house, this time in Florida. It’s dubbed the new studio Tradition — which is perhaps odd, as it will be working on CGI films, rather than the “traditional” hand-painted sort. Anyway, it’s been announced that Tradition’s first film will be called The Legend of Tembo, slated for release in 2014. Directed by Disney veterans Aaron Blaise (Brother Bear) and Chuck Williams (Glago’s Guest), Tembo tells the story of an African elephant calf who is captured and taken to India — where he is trained to battle in a deadly war.

image c. 2011 Tradition Studio

Muppets from Marvel

Jul 28th, 2011
by rodney.
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With the upcoming Muppets movie on the horizon, Disney has been exerting closer control once again over the Jim Henson properties… which means, among other things, that the various Muppet comic book series (many of them published by Boom! Studios) are now gone. So what did Disney do? Have new Muppet titles published by Marvel Comics of course — since they also own that! The Muppets Present: Family Reunion is a new full-color graphic novel, written and pencilled by Roger Langridge (creator of Get Snarked, which we also reviewed before). Once again it’s time for The Muppet Show, but this time there’s a new complication: Everyone has members of their family showing up for a visit, and every single one of them is trouble! Check it out this September.

The Art of Epic Mickey

Jul 25th, 2011
by rodney.
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Epic Mickey is a a popular video adventure game, developed by Junction Point Studios in Texas last year. It’s popular with furry fans too, having won the 2010 Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Game. Now the developers are putting out a new book dedicated to the art and artists that went into creating this well-known game. Here’s the blurb from Amazon.com: “The Art of Epic Mickey will be a 160-page hardcover landscape coffee table book. It will be written by Epic Mickey co-writer Austin Grossman and will feature a forward by Game Director and New York Times contributor, Warren Spector. The book will journey through the beautifully dark and twisted world known as Cartoon Wasteland touching on the creative process behind developing this once-in-a-lifetime vision. It will include, sketches, concept art, final frames, and stills from the actual game, plus, never-before-used art with quotes from the team that envisioned this epic tale. The physical world of the game is born directly from Disneyland, and accordingly, the book will spotlight the artistic influence that Disneyland, with its iconic qualities and rides, had on the creators of Epic Mickey.” The book is scheduled for release by Disney Editions on September 6th.

 

image c. 2011 Disney Editions

Big Movie News for the Fall

May 27th, 2011
by rodney.
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A pair of big announcements from our friends at Cartoon Brew: Warner Brothers has just released the first teaser trailer for Happy Feet 2, set to premiere this November. No word yet on the sequel’s plot, but it has been confirmed that Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, and Magda Szubanski will reprise their roles from the first film, along with new voices Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Hank Azaria, and Pink. Also from Cartoon Brew recently: “Simba, Mufasa, Nala, Timon and Pumbaa are back and better than ever this fall when Disney’s The Lion King roars into theaters and homes in breathtaking 3D. A special two-week theatrical extravaganza kicks off Sept. 16, 2011, showcasing the Oscar®- and Golden Globe®-winning film on the big screen in Disney Digital 3D™ for the first time ever, and its highly anticipated home entertainment debut kicks off October 4, celebrating the Diamond Edition release of the epic movie The Lion King in high-definition Blu-ray™ and Blu-ray 3D™.”

Ducks from Long Ago

May 23rd, 2011
by rodney.
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We’ll let the folks at BOOM! Studios explain what’s cool about their new trade paperback coming out this August: “In Disney’s Four-Color Adventures, BOOM Kids! cracks the Disney vault to find some of the rarest Disney comics ever created. This volume features classic Disney comics and gag strips — some of them over 70 years old — from such creators as Al Taliaferro (creator of fan-favorite characters Huey, Dewey and Louie), “Disney Legend” Jack Hannah, Irving Tripp, and many more, reprinted for the first time in decades”. Also on their way from BOOM! are the Walt Disney Treasury: Donald Duck Volumes 1 and 2, collecting the work of the great Don Rosa.

New Japanese CGI

May 6th, 2011
by rodney.
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Recently Cartoon Brew posted a new trailer for an upcoming Japanese animated film called Friends — Mononoke-jima no Naki (or Friends — Naki from Mononoke Island). According to various comments that follow the trailer, “the film is based on the Japanese fairytale “Naita Aka-oni,  or The Red Ogre who Cried”, where two ogres (or demons) – red ogre Naki and blue ogre Gunjo – find a human child, which starts off their adventure.” Various other creatures of Japanese myth and legend find their way into the adventure, including a kitsune. Though comparisons to Disney/Pixar’s film Monsters Inc. are obvious, according to reports the film is actually closer to Shrek — with a good amount of Duncan & Mallory and Dragonheart thrown in. The film was directed by Takashi Yamazaki, and it’s set to be released by Toho Studios this December.

 

image c. 2011 Toho Studios

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