Actualités

The world of Disney Television Animation is getting ready to celebrate its 40th anniversary with a lineup of brand new television shows and specials aimed at both younger children with Disney Junior and older children with Disney Channel and Disney Xd.

Ayo Davis, the President of Disney Branded Television, made the following statement in regard to their upcoming programming at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France:

“Disney Branded Television is proud of our four-decade legacy of creating magical and visually stunning animation beloved by young audiences around the world. It’s a momentous year at Annecy, as we celebrate our studio’s milestone anniversary and showcase some of our most exciting new projects and creative talent that are ushering us into a new era of storytelling.“

They spoke about upcoming programming for younger children at Disney Jr., including SuperKitties: Su-Purr Adventures, Disney Junior’s Ariel, Season 2 of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures,...

Disney Branded Television continues its long and fruitful relationship with the Annecy Animation Festival today with an annual presentation of project greenlights and series renewals. The company is also sharing first looks at exciting upcoming shows and specials from its preschool and kid-focused slate.

Detailed descriptions of the titles showcased in this year’s presentation are available below, but highlights from today’s panel include new shorts series announcements for “Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Moon Girl’s Lab” and “SuperKitties: Su-Purr Adventure,” a 22-minute “Prep & Landing” special, a fifth season order of “Big City Greens,” and the second season release date and first look images from “Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.”

First looks are also being provided for upcoming series including “Disney Jr.’s Ariel,” “Kindergarten: The Musical,” “StuGo” and “The Doomies,” the latter of which will host an Annecy Work in Progress session on Wednesday morning.

At the end of the 2001 movie “Monsters, Inc.,” the titular company decides to cut ties with tradition and do away with human children’s screams as a power source in favor of laughter. It was a fun tag that put a nice bow on Sulley’s character growth after meeting the human Boo. What the movie doesn’t show is whether the larger world of Monstropolis will be open to such a drastic change to their traditions and culture. That is at the heart of Disney+’s “Monsters at Work,” which, in its second season, brought workplace existentialism and the environmental revolution to the popular Pixar franchise — along with the surprise return of Steve Buscemi’s Randall Boggs. (More on that later.)

“The end of ‘Monsters, Inc.’ is great for the audience, but that doesn’t necessarily extend to the larger city and the larger world,” “Monsters at Work” showrunner Kevin Deters told IndieWire.

Quick Links Most Recent Monsters At Work Season 2 News Monsters At Work Is Renewed For Season 2 Monsters At Work Season 2 Release Date Monsters At Work Season 2 Cast Monsters At Work Season 2 Story

Monsters at Work season 2 is coming to Disney+ in 2024, with a star-studded cast that includes many returning names from Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. The Monsters Inc. spinoff follows Tylor Tuskman, an aspiring Mu scare graduate starting his career at Monsters Incorporated. Unfortunately for Tylor he joins the company just after the events of Monsters Inc. Scaring is out, laughter is in, and Tylor finds himself reassigned to Mift — the Monsters Inc. Facilities Team.

While this isn’t what Tylor had in mind he quickly finds companionship with the likes of Val, Fritz, and the various other employees of Monsters Inc. By the end of the first season Tylor finds his way to the Laughter floor, setting up...

Monsters at Work executive producer Kevin Deters revealed the second season guest cast today at New York Comic-Con, along with a sneak peek screening ahead of its debut in 2024.

Season two guest stars reprising their roles from the Monsters Inc. franchise include Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus) as Claire Wheeler, Nathan Fillion (ABC’s The Rookie) as Johnny Worthington III, and Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) as Chet Alexander.

Additional guest cast includes Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus), Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death), Janelle James (Abbott Elementary), Jenifer Lewis (ABC’s black-ish), Ali Wong (Beef), Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live), Paula Pell (Saturday Night Live), Danny Pudi (Community), Cody Rigsby (Peloton instructor, Author, TV personality), Jimmy Tatro (ABC’s Home Economics), Danny Trejo (Machete), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Alan Tudyk (Resident Alien).

The series stars Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski), John Goodman (James P Sullivan aka Sulley), Ben Feldman...

Disney Channel has greenlighted The Curse of Molly McGee, an animated buddy comedy series about a tween optimist and grumpy ghost from the Emmy-winning duo behind The Penguins of Madagascar.

The series from Disney Television Animation follows the adventures of Molly, who lives to make the world a better place, and Scratch, whose joy comes from spreading misery. When one of Scratch’s spells backfires, he finds himself forever cursed in Molly’s presence.

The Curse of Molly McGee is executive produced by Bill Motz and Bob Roth, former EPs of Disney Xd’s Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, along with Emmy winner Steve Loter. No cast was announced.

Disney Channel also said today that it signed a number of toon creators and artists to overall development deals. Among them are Bruce Smith (The Proud Family), Jeff Howard (Planes), Kate Kondell (The Pirate Fairy...

The Disney Pixar short Olaf's Frozen Adventure makes its broadcast television debut as part of Disney|ABC Television Group's 25 Days of Christmas celebration on Thursday, December 14 (8:00-8:30 p.m. Est), on The ABC Television Network. The airing, first announced during production in early 2016, follows Olaf's Frozen Adventure's recently completed limited theatrical run in front of Disney&#183Pixar's hit feature Coco. The featurette includes four new original Frozen songs and welcomes back the beloved characters (and cast) who won over audiences worldwide in the 2013 Oscar(R)-winning feature, Frozen, the top-grossing animated film of all time. Disney Animation's Emmy Award-winning holiday special Prep & Landing airs 8:30-9:00 p.m. Est.

In Olaf's Frozen Adventure, Olaf (voice of Josh Gad) teams up with Sven on a merry mission. It's the first holiday season since the gates reopened and Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) and Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel...

The 21-minute featurette Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (playing in theaters with Coco) follows everyone’s favorite lovable snowman Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad), who is on a mission to discover the best possible holiday traditions for Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel). Directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton, and with four original songs by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, the charming and heartfelt holiday story will make audiences fall in love with Arendelle and its inhabitants, all over again, and hold them over until the planned sequel is released in theaters. Back …...

The 21-minute featurette Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (playing in theaters with Coco) follows everyone’s favorite lovable snowman Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad), who is on a mission to discover the best possible holiday traditions for Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel). Directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton, and with four original songs by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, the charming and heartfelt holiday story will make audiences fall in love with Arendelle and its inhabitants, all over again, and hold them over until the planned sequel is released in theaters. Back …...

There’s an interesting continuity going on in the Disney “Frozen” world. In the “Frozen Fever” short (2015), Elsa (Idina Menzel) catches cold and nearly ruins the birthday party for Anna (Kristen Bell). And, in “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” which opens in front of Pixar’s “Coco” (a first for Disney), there are no holiday traditions to embrace during their first Christmas together, also thanks to Elsa’s curse.

Clearly, there are emotional loose ends being tied up between the sibling princesses, which will presumably allow them to be better prepared to confront whatever threat awaits them in “Frozen 2” (November 27, 2009).

Meanwhile, Olaf (Josh Gad) continues to evolve as the child-like snowman in the 21-minute featurette (originally intended as an ABC holiday special). But with its eye-popping animation and emphasis on family and tradition, “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” makes the perfect opener for “Coco,” which embraces similar thematic territory during Día de los Muertos.

Don’t call Olaf’s Frozen Adventure a short film. “Technically, it’s a featurette,” according to producer Roy Conli. Whatever you’d like to call it, the 21-minute animated story is set to play in theaters before Pixar’s upcoming Coco. The “featurette,” which is directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton, centers on Olaf, the childish and joyous snowman from Frozen, as he learns about […]

The post ‘Olaf’s Frozen Adventure’ Producer Talks Delivering Memorable Music After “Let It Go” [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

The 21-minute featurette Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (playing in theaters with Coco, starting on November 22nd) follows everyone’s favorite lovable snowman Olaf (voiced by Josh Gad), who is on a mission to discover the best possible holiday traditions for Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell) and Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel). Directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton, and with four original songs by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel, the charming and heartfelt holiday story will make audiences fall in love with Arendelle and its inhabitants, all over again, and hold them over until the planned sequel is …...

Kristen Bell has had a busy morning. First, she saved Frozen co-star Josh Gad's parents from being displaced during Hurricane Irma. And now she and Gad have tweeted out a 'first listen' to three of the new songs in their latest animated short Olaf's Frozen Adventure, along with Idina Menzel. Menzel, who returns as Elsa, had the first teaser on her official Idina Menzel Twitter. The song is called 'When We're together'. She says this about the special sneak peek.

"I am So Excited to share a sneak peek of "When We're Together" from #OlafsFrozenAdventure!"

Kristen Bell, who is stranded at a hotel in Orlando during Hurricane Irma, found time to tweet out her own song, while also helping her hotel staff secure extra supplies for the upcoming storm. Her song is called "Ring in the Season', with the actress returning to voice Anna. She says this.

"Happy to...

Filmmakers from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios convened at D23 Expo 2017 today, revealing new details about their upcoming movie slates and introducing key voice talent, including Benjamin Bratt, Anthony Gonzalez, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson, Huck Milner and Sarah Silverman. And in an unforgettable moment, Auli‘i Cravalho, Kristen Bell, Mandy Moore, Kelly MacDonald, Anika Noni Rose, Irene Bedard, Linda Larkin, Paige O’Hara and Jodi Benson came together on stage in a celebration fit for a princess.

John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, teamed up with the stars and filmmakers from both studios to present new details, footage, behind-the-scenes looks and images from a host of upcoming films. “I’m so excited about our upcoming movies; they are all hilarious, emotional, beautiful and make you think,” said Lasseter, who serves as executive producer on all animated titles.

Stars of Walt Disney and Pixar assemble at D23 Expo.

Taraji P. Henson will voice an algorithm called Yesss in Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2, Rich Moore and Phil Johnston’s follow-up to the 2012 hit.

Attendees at Disney’s annual D23 Expo in Anaheim, southern California, saw first footage of a scene that pays homage to the Disney princesses.

Next, Disney orchestrated an unprecedented gathering of princesses as Auli‘i Cravalho from Moana, Kristen Bell from Frozen, Kelly MacDonald from Brave, Mandy Moore from Tangled, Anika Noni Rose from The Princess And The Frog, Irene Bedard from Pocahontas, Linda Larkin from Aladdin, Paige O’Hara from Beauty And The Beast, and Jodi Benson from The Little Mermaid took to the stage.

Sarah Silverman returns as Vanellope von Schweetz, and Clark Spencer, who most recently collaborated with Moore on the global smash Zootopia, produced Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (see first-look image), which is scheduled...

The Walt Disney Studios presents an exclusive look at its unparalleled film slate at D23 Expo 2017 in Anaheim, California, taking place July 14-16. At two marquee Hall D23 presentations, the Studio will give fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse at its upcoming releases, with animated films from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios showcased on Friday, July 14, and live-action projects from Disney, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm taking the stage on Saturday, July 15.

Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm are responsible for some of the world's biggest movie hits, including recent blockbusters such as Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and The Jungle Book; Walt Disney Animation Studios' Zootopia and Moana, Pixar Animation Studios' Inside Out, Finding Dory, and Cars 3; Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Doctor Strange, and Captain America: Civil War; and Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Force Awakens...

David Crow Jun 14, 2017

Meet Olaf's Frozen Adventure, a short film heading to cinemas in about six months...

Frozen 2 is still a long way off for fans and families wanting to see a full-fledged adventure starring Elsa and Anna. The two princesses will of course be returning for the 2019 sequel, but in the meantime Disney is making sure not to let it go too far away from young ones’ minds.

Thus enter Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, a yuletide animation short that brings back the characters for an adventure that is set around Christmas.

In the new 21-minute short that will play before Pixar’s Coco - released in November in the Us, and, er, January in the UK - Olaf (Josh Gad) goes on a noble quest to discover worthwhile seasonal traditions for the sisters Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel) for their first Christmas together as non-estranged sisters.

Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios are teaming up this holiday season when Wdas' new featurette Olaf's Frozen Adventure opens in front of Disney Pixar's original feature film Coco on Nov. 22, 2017. The new trailer for the featurette will run in front of Disney Pixar's Cars 3, beginning this Friday, June 16, when Lightning McQueen's new big-screen adventure opens in theaters nationwide. Said John Lasseter, chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

"I'm thrilled that Disney Animation's featurette 'Olaf's Frozen Adventure' will be coming to theaters in November with Pixar's Coco. It's a perfect pairing, they're both beautiful, heartfelt films about families and how people carry traditions forward. I can't wait for audiences to get to see both of these terrific projects together on the big screen."

Featuring four new original songs, the 21-minute featurette welcomes the original cast and characters back to the big screen,...

©2017 Disney. All Rights Reserved. EW

Walt Disney Animation Studios (Wdas) and Pixar Animation Studios are teaming up this holiday season when Wdas’ new featurette “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” opens in front of Disney•Pixar’s original feature film “Coco” on Nov. 22, 2017.

The new trailer for the featurette will run in front of Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 3,” beginning this Friday, June 16, when Lightning McQueen’s new big-screen adventure opens in theaters nationwide.

“I’m thrilled that Disney Animation’s featurette ‘Olaf’s Frozen Adventure’ will be coming to theaters in November with Pixar’s ‘Coco,’” said John Lasseter, chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. “It’s a perfect pairing – they’re both beautiful, heartfelt films about families and how people carry traditions forward. I can’t wait for audiences to get to see both of these terrific projects together on the big screen.”

Featuring four new original songs,...

Disney has no intention of letting its "Frozen" cash cow die with plans for both a new ABC Holiday special and an upcoming Broadway show announced.

First up, ABC has revealed that an all-new holiday special starring the whole "Frozen" cast of characters is in the works from "Prep & Landing" helmers Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton. "The Frozen Holiday Special" will air Holidays 2017 and involves the original voice cast including Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad.

At the same time, Disney Theatrical Productions chief Thomas Schumacher has made it official that a "Frozen" live stage musical is in the works with plans for a Spring 2018 premiere.

The show will feature music and lyrics by the film's score creators Kristen Anderson‑Lopez and Robert Lopez with a book by Jennifer Lee. Alex Timbers ("Mozart In The Jungle") will direct and Tony‑winner Peter Darling ("Matilda") will choreograph.

Source: Deadline...

Do you wanna build a snowman? ABC proudly announces the next chapter in the Frozen story, an all-new, all-original holiday special starring the whole Frozen cast of characters, including Olaf, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Sven. The Frozen Holiday Special is directed by two-time Emmy Award-winning directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton (ABC's Prep & Landing and Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa), produced by Oscar-winning producer Roy Conli (Big Hero 6) and features the original voice cast including Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad. The currently untitled Frozen Holiday Special will air Holidays 2017 (date tba) on the ABC Television Network.

Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated feature Frozen launched a worldwide phenomenon in 2013, becoming the highest-grossing animated feature ever released with more than $1.27 billion in global box office. Frozen has received multiple honors, including two Academy Awards, the Golden Globe, BAFTA Award, PGA Award, five Annie Awards and two Grammy Awards. The...

For the first time in forever, Elsa, Anna and the gang are coming to the small screen.

ABC announced Tuesday that it will air an original animated Frozen special, serving as a follow-up to the insanely popular 2013 film.

RelatedFrozen‘s Olaf to Visit Sofia the First

The currently untitled project will once again feature the voices of Idina Menzel as Elsa, Kristen Bell as Anna, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, Josh Gad as Olaf and Frank Welker as Sven.

This next chapter in the Frozen story will be directed by Emmy winners Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton (Brother Bear) and...

The Movie Pool checks the list twice for the Prep & Landing: Totally Tinsel Collection on Blu-ray!

The Set-up

Prep and Landing and Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice follow the misadventures of two elves responsible for preparing a house for Santa's Christmas Eve visit. Featuring the voices of Dave Foley, Derek Richardson, and Sarah Chalke.

Directed by: Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers

The Delivery

The hit ABC holiday specials make their Blu-ray debut in a packed set that will appeal to young and old. Yes, I know that sounds like a pitch straight out of the Disney promotions department, but Prep and Landing is truly a standout animated Christmas special. Its' release on Blu-ray is supported by a number of extras and bonus shorts that provide some entertaining content and serious replay value.

Both Prep and Landing and the sequel, Naughty or Nice, each run about a half-hour, with the original providing a manic,...

"The Adventures of Tintin" dominated the nominations but it was "Rango" that received the most trophies at the 10th Visual Effects Society (Ves) awards. Stan Lee received the the Lifetime Achievement Award and visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull received the George Melies Award. Patton Oswalt hosted the event held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Antonion Banderas, Lou Ferrigno, director Chris Miller, Marc Webb, and Jennifer Yuh Nelson presented awards. But the surprise appearance by Martin Scorsese was the highlight of the evening.

Here's the full list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 10th Annual Ves Awards, to visit our Awards Avenue coverage of other award-giving bodies, winners and nominees, click here:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture

Captain America: The First Avenger

Charlie Noble

Mark Soper

Christopher Townsend

Edson Williams

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Tim Burke

Emma Norton

John Richardson

David Vickery...

Jennifer Yuh Nelson's "Kung Fu Panda 2" dominated the Annie Awards nominations, but the International Animated Film Society decided to give its highest honor -- the Best Animated Feature award -- to Gore Verbinski's "Rango." Both films are from DreamWorks Animation and they still have to duke it out at the upcoming Oscars in the Best Animated Feature Film category.

Besides the Best Animated trophy, "Rango" also collected awards for Best Editing and Writing. But Nelson, the first woman to direct a feature film animation from a major Hollywood production company, won the Directing in a Feature Production award! Yay! (Check out my interview with Jennifer Yuh Nelson for "Kung Fu Panda 2" right here)

The Annie Awards winners were announced yesterday at the UCLA Royce Hall in Los Angeles.

Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 39th Annual Annie Awards (to see winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies,...

Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture Captain America: The First Avenger Charlie Noble Mark Soper Christopher Townsend Edson Williams Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 Tim Burke Emma Norton John Richardson David Vickery Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Gary Brozenich David Conley Charlie Gibson Ben Snow Rise of the Planet of the Apes Dan Lemmon Joe Letteri Cyndi Ochs Kurt Williams Transformers: Dark of the Moon Scott Benza Wayne Billheimer Matthew Butler Scott Farrar Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture Anonymous Andre Cantarel Volker Engel Rony Soussan Marc Weigert Hugo Ben Grossmann Alex Henning Rob Legato Karen Murphy Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Laya Armian Chas Jarrett Seth Maury Sirio Quintavalle Source Code Annie Godin Louis Morin War Horse Duncan Burbidge Ben Morris Mike Mulholland Chris Zeh Outstanding Visual...

The visual effects that we are seeing in movies these days are absolutely mind blowing. At this point it doesn't seem like there's any excuse for a film to have bad visual effects unless the people hired lack talent, or the studio is keeping the cash in their pockets.

There's a lot of good nomination this year such as Captain America, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Out of all of these I think that Planet of the Apes might take home the top prize, those apes were incredibly freaky looking. Weta did an amazing job with this movie, and out of all the other nominations this was the movie I was most impressed by. What are your thoughts? What movie did you think have the best visual effect in 2011?

Here's the full press release with all of the nominations:

Los Angeles,...

The Visual Effects Society (Ves) today announced the nominees for its 10th Annual Ves Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry in 23 categories of film, animation, television, commercials, special venues and video games. Nominees were chosen Saturday, January 7 by distinguished panels of Ves members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank and New York, FotoKem's Spy in San Francisco, and other facilities in London, Sydney, Vancouver and Wellington, Nz.

"The standard of the creative work that is being considered this year is unbelievably high across all categories," said Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Society. "The judges faced a huge challenge because all of the work was so far above the norm. We're honored to have the opportunity to focus the spotlight on the outstanding work that has contributed to some of the highest grossing films and broadcast projects of all time."

As previously announced,...

By Sean O’Connell

hollywoodnews.com: Over the weekend, the Visual Effects Society announced the nominees for its 10th Annual Ves Awards ceremony, recognizing summer tentpoles (“Harry Potter,” “Captain America”) and surprise hits (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Hugo”) for their outstanding visual effects artistry in 23 categories of film, animation, television, commercials, special venues and video games.

“The standard of the creative work that is being considered this year is unbelievably high across all categories,” said Jeffrey A. Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Society. “The judges faced a huge challenge because all of the work was so far above the norm. We’re honored to have the opportunity to focus the spotlight on the outstanding work that has contributed to some of the highest grossing films and broadcast projects of all time.”

As previously announced, Stan Lee will be honored with the Ves 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award and...

I'm a huge fan of animation, animated films are getting better and better. Not only is the look and animation getting ridiculously awesome, but I find that many of these animated films actually have incredibly good stories. Not all of them are good though, for example, Cars 2 and Rio sucked. It will be interesting to see who ends up taking home the awards this year. Out of the movies on the list that I've seen and liked we have Puss in Boots, Rango and Kung Fu Panda 2. I guess it's no surprises that Kung Fu Panda 2 is leading the nominations with 9. Check out the list and let us know what your favorite animated movies of the year are!

Production Categories

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris – Folimage Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L. Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations Cars 2 – Pixar Animation...

"Kung Fu Panda 2" dominated the nominations for the 39th Annual Annie Awards. Given by the International Animated Film Society, the DreamWorks Animation sequel received 12 nods including Best Animated Feature. "Puss in Boots" and "Rango" each took nine noms. Pixar's "Cars 2" received seven nominations, while Disney's "Winnie the Pooh" took eight nods but was oddly missing in the Best Animated Feature category.

Winners of the 2011 Annie Awards will be announced on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Here's the complete list of nominees of the 39th Annual Annie Awards:

Production Categories

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris . Folimage

Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L.

Arthur Christmas . Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations

Cars 2 . Pixar Animation Studios

Chico & Rita . Chico & Rita Distribution Limited

Kung Fu Panda 2 . DreamWorks Animation

Puss In Boots . DreamWorks Animation

Rango . Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/Gk Films Production

Rio . Blue Sky Studios

Tintin . Amblin Entertainment,...

Last year I previewed all 33 of the Oscar qualifying animated shorts that were up for consideration for the Academy Awards and this year I have 12 additional shorts to consider and I have found either the full short, a clip, a trailer or an image from all but two of the contending shorts and put them together in this one article. These shorts have all been screened for members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who will soon vote on the ultimate short list that will be in contention for an Oscar nomination. Last year ten films made the list. Take a look over the next eight pages and see which ones stand out to you. There are a few instances where you may have to click a link to watch a clip and, in one instance, to watch the entire film.

This is the list of 45 animated shorts that the Academy is considering in the Best Animated Shorts category (with links to official sites when I could find them). The Animated, Docs, and Shorts Oscar page is going to be updated piecemeal this week as I work on beating all this information into some form of pundited submission.

Until then, the list. Do you ever try to see the nominees in this category?

A Shadow Of Blue (Carlos Lascano)

A Morning Stroll by Grant Orchard (Studio Aka) A Shadow of Blue by Carlos Lascano Birdboy by Alberto Vasquez (Abrikim Studio) Chopin’s Drawings by Dorota Kobiela (BreakThru Films) Poland Correspondence by Zach Hyer (Pratt) Daisy Cutter by Enrique Garcia and Rubin Salazar (Silverspace) Dimanche / Sunday by Patrick Doyon (Nfb) El Salon Mexico by Paul Glickman and Tamarind King Enrique Wrecks the World by David Chai *Annie Nominee Last Year* Ente Tod...

HollywoodNews.com: Be among the first to watch ABC’s most anticipated new fall series and animated holiday special and have a chance to learn the secrets behind how they were made. Fans will have those opportunities at the D23 Expo, where the entire world of Disney comes together, August 19 and 20, at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Get a jump on the holiday season on Friday, August 19 at 12:45 p.m. in Stage 23, as the D23 exposition unwraps Walt Disney Animation Studios’ festive new special, “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice,” with an exclusive premiere screening of the latest, nicest and naughtiest adventure in this multiple Emmy Award®-winning program. Santa’s dauntless elves, Wayne and Lanny, find themselves up to their pointy ears in trouble, as they race to recover classified North Pole technology, which has fallen into the hands of a computer-hacking Naughty Kid. Their mission to prevent Christmas from...

Walt Disney Pictures has released two photos and four concept art illustrations from The Ballad of Nessie, which will arrive in theaters nationwide on July 15. Click on any of these new photos below to access our growing galleries.

Set in the "bonny blue highlands" of Scotland, The Ballad of Nessie is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness Monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decided to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie's home.

Directed by the Emmy Award-winning team of Stevie Wermers and Kevin Deters, The Ballad of Nessie is animated in classic Disney hand-drawn style.

The Ballad of Nessie comes to theaters July 15th, 2011 and stars Billy Connolly. The film is directed by Stevie Wermers,...

In mid-March we showed you three new stills that Disney sent us from Walt Disney Animation Studios. .The Ballad Of Nessie,. an animated short appearing exclusively with the upcoming Winnie The Pooh. Today we have some new photos, along with some concept art, visual development paintings and character designs sketched for the film.

The Ballad Of Nessie and Winnie The Pooh will open in theaters in select international markets in Spring 2011; the U.S. release date is July 15, 2011. Be sure to check out Winnie The Pooh.s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/WinniethePooh

About The Short

Set in the .bonny blue highlands. of Scotland, .The Ballad of Nessie. is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is...

Here are some new photos and concept art from the upcoming hand-drawn short film The Ballad of Nessie from Walt Disney Animation. The short was directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (the team behind How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and Prep and Landing). The score is from Ratatouille's Michael Giacchino and Scottish comedian Billy Connolly did the narration. The animation ws supervised by Andreas Deja, Mark Henn, Randy Haycock, Dale Baer and Ruben A. Aquino.The short will be attached to Winnie the Pooh beginning July 15th 2011. Click on the images below to check them out in hi-res:

Official Plot synopsis:

Set in the ‘bonny blue highlands’ of Scotland, The Ballad of Nessie is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she (and her best friend, the rubber duck MacQuack) came to live in the moor they now call home.

[1] Walt Disney Animation has released new photos and concept art from their new hand-drawn short film The Ballad of Nessie, which will be attached to Winnie the Pooh beginning July 15th 2011. Hit the jump to see the new art and remember to click on the images to see them in high resolution. [gallery order="Desc" columns="2" orderby="ID"] The short was directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (the team behind How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and Prep and Landing). Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille) provided the score, while Scottish comedian Billy Connolly did the narration. Andreas Deja, Mark Henn, Randy Haycock, Dale Baer and Ruben A. Aquino supervised the animation. Official Plot synopsis: Set in the ‘bonny blue highlands’ of Scotland, The Ballad of Nessie is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she (and her best friend, the rubber duck MacQuack) came to live in the moor they now call home.

Photo: Walt Disney Pictures Playing in front of Winnie the Pooh when it hits theaters on July 15 will be a brand new 2D, hand-drawn animated short titled The Ballad of Nessie directed by Prep and Landing duo Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters with Billy Connolly narrating and a score from Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up).

The short is set in the "bonny blue highlands" of Scotland and centers on Nessie, the friendly Loch Ness Monster, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie's home.

Today Disney sent over a whole batch of images and concept art for the short giving you a peek at what to expect. Have a look below and for more...

ComingSoon have debuted some lovely new images and artwork for the short which will play in front of their Winnie the Pooh film, The Ballad of Nessie.

We posted the first images to be released a few weeks ago and what you’ll see below compliments that selection nicely, all we need now are the dulcet tones of Billy Connolly to narrate us into a merry torpor. Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters are directing the short which looks braw. Head below to immerse yourselves.

Brace yourselves for a synopsis hit,

Set in the “bonny blue highlands” of Scotland, “The Ballad of Nessie” is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who...

Walt Disney Pictures has unveiled the first images from there upcoming animated short film The Ballad of Nessie. The images include some concept art and well as two official stills from the film, which is set to show before Winnie The Pooh on July 15th. 

Here's the full story breakdown and synopsis:

Set in the "bonny blue highlands" of Scotland, The Ballad of Nessie is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie's home. 

Directed by the Emmy® Award-winning team of Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (Prep & Landing, and the 2007 Goofy short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater), The Ballad of Nessie...

ComingSoon.net has your exclusive first look at four visual development art images and two official stills from The Ballad of Nessie , Walt Disney Animation Studio's new short that hits the big screen with Winnie the Pooh , opening in select international markets in spring 2011 and in the U.S. on July 15. Set in the "bonny blue highlands" of Scotland, The Ballad of Nessie is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie's home. Directed by the Emmy® Award-winning team of Stevie Wermers-Skelton and...

When Disney releases its new Winnie the Pooh animated movie this summer, playing in front of it will be a short cartoon. The studio has just announced to the public that we can expect to see The Ballad of Nessie playing ahead of the longer film.

Directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (who also made the Prep & Landing 'toon short) and narrated by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, The Ballad of Nessie will show us how the young Loch Ness monster and her best friend MacQuack found their way to the Scottish lake that they now live in. The short will be presented in the same traditional cel animation style as the Winnie the Pooh feature. Michael Giacchino (Oscar-winning composer for Up) is writing the score for the short film; Dorothy McKim and Tamara Boutcher (Dinosaur) are producing; and animation on Nessie is being supervised by five of Disney's top talents,...

Walt Disney Pictures has unveiled the first images from "The Ballad of Nessie" short film, which is animated in the traditional style and will premiere before "Winnie the Pooh," which hits theaters on July 15th. Check out the images below. Plot: Set in Scotland, "The Ballad of Nessie" is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie's home. The new short is directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters, the team behind "Prep and Landing" and the 2007 Goofy short "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater." Images: (click to enlarge)...

Check out the first images from The Ballad of Nessie short, which airs with Disney's Winnie the Pooh on July 15th. The animated short is narrated by Billy Connolly and is set in the “bonny blue highlands” of Scotland. The Ballad of Nessie is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie’s home. Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters direct the pic which is produced by Dorothy McKim and Tamara Boutcher...

Check out the first images from The Ballad of Nessie short, which airs with Disney's Winnie the Pooh on July 15th. The animated short is narrated by Billy Connolly and is set in the “bonny blue highlands” of Scotland. The Ballad of Nessie is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie’s home. Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters direct the pic which is produced by Dorothy McKim and Tamara Boutcher...

Walt Disney Pictures has presented us with three new images for the animated short The Ballad of Nessie. The traditionally hand-drawn animated short will make its theatrical debut before this summer’s Winnie the Pooh on July 15th. As some of you may know, I am just a sucker for Disney animated films, especially the traditionally hand drawn ones, so this little opening film has made me quite excited.

The screenplay, written by Stevie Wemers=Skelton and Regina Conroy, is based on the origin of the Loch Ness Monster, named Nessie, and is directed by Wemers-Skelton and Kevin Deters.

The Ballad of Nessie has already premiered at Anima the International Animation Film Festival of Brussels, on March 5. At according to one screener the film is nothing short of spectacular (please forgive the shoddy grammar as this was translated from Dutch to English on Google translator),

The movie is not spectacular,...

Here is our first look at images from Disney's short film, The Ballad of Nessie. This traditionally animated short film is set to premiere before Winnie the Pooh, which arrives in theaters on July 15.

Official synopsis:

Set in the “bonny blue highlands” of Scotland, “The Ballad of Nessie” is a whimsical and colorful tall tale about the friendly Loch Ness monster, Nessie, and how she and her best friend MacQuack the rubber duck came to live in the moor they now call home. Setting the adventure into motion is a greedy land developer named MacFroogle, who decides to build a mini-golf empire on top of Nessie’s home.

Directed by the Emmy® Award-winning team of Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (“Prep & Landing,” and the 2007 Goofy short “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater”), “The Ballad of Nessie” is animated in classic Disney hand-drawn style. Written by Wermers-Skelton, Deters and Regina Conroy,...

We don’t see many hand-drawn films anymore now that computers can do all of our work for us. Heck, computers can even make an entire movie look as though it was hand-drawn. Disney has been slowly bringing back these films, and has now released a few stills from their newest venture The Ballad of Nessie. This short was directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters and follows the story of the infamous Loch Ness Monster and MacQuack, his rubber duck friend, as they try to stop greedy land developer MacFroogle from building a mini-mini golf empire on their land.

The new short will play before Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, which is set for theaters July 15, 2011. Check out the images for The Ballad of Nessie after the jump.

Check out the synopsis for the film below.

Set in the “bonny blue highlands” of Scotland, “The Ballad of Nessie” is...

[1] Most of us won't be seeing Disney's new short, The Ballad of Nessie, until it comes attached to Winnie the Pooh this summer. But the film actually had its world premiere earlier this month at Anima, the animation festival in Brussels, and early word is that it's a charming tale in the classic Disney style. Read more and see three hi-res images after the jump. The Ballad of Nessie tells the origin story of the legendary Loch Ness monster, who turns out to be a rather sweet and gentle creature. When a land developer named MacFroogle makes plans to build a golf course over Nessie's home, it's up to Nessie and her best friend, a rubber duck named MacQuack, to stop him. The short was directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (the team behind How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and Prep and Landing). Michael Giacchino (Ratatouille) provided the score,...