News

After nearly four years of waiting, Azusa and friends are back for a brand-new season of I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level ! The English dub also returns with new episodes streaming on Crunchyroll from Saturday, April 19 , thanks to the below cast and crew. I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level Season 2 English Dub Episode 1 Cast Azusa voiced by Skyler Davenport Halkara voiced by Xanthe Huynh Laika voiced by Rachelle Heger Falfa voiced by Lizzie Freeman Shalsha voiced by Suzie Yeung Mega-Mega voiced by Abigail Blythe Rosalie voiced by Anne Yatco Natalie voiced by Ryan Bartley Flatorte voiced by Amber Lee Connors I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level Season 2 English Dub Episode 1 Crew Voice Director: Jerry Jewell Producer: Susie Nixon Adaptation: Jessica Sluys Mixer: James Baker Engineer: Derric Benavides (Joe Sandoval for series) Related: I've Been...

The English dub of Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World officially comes to Crunchyroll as a simultaneous release, which means the below cast and crew will have us under their spell from Wednesday, January 8 ! Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World English Dub Cast Shion voiced by Rowan Gilvie Marie voiced by Hannah Alyea Rose voiced by Amanda Gael Gawain voiced by Nick Huber Emma voiced by Kirsty Johnson Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World English Dub Crew Voice Director: Jeremy Inman Producer: Samantha Herek Adaptation: Macy Anne Johnson Mixer: James Baker Engineer: Zachary Davis Related: Crunchyroll Winter 2025 Anime Season Lineup Announced! Key Art Related: Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World Anime Releases Cole Character Trailer Based on the light novels by Kazuki Kaburagi and Kururi, Kazuomi Koga ( Rent-a-Girlfriend ) directs Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World at Studio Deen,...

On the night of the 2000 presidential election, as the counting began in a tight race between Texas Gov. George W. Bush and incumbent Vice President Al Gore, it all came down to Florida. And then, all hell broke loose.

Director Jay Roach and writer Danny Strong captured the stakes and the personalities that drove that strange moment in “Recount,” the Emmy-winning 2008 HBO movie starring Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey, Bob Balaban and Laura Dern. Instead of “Stop the Steal,” the rally cry in 2000 for Bush supporters was “Stop the Recount.”

“The events in ‘Recount’ were in some way a rehearsal for January 6,” Roach says. “It proved that there was potential to physically disrupt an election.”

As the nation braces for what will surely be a long night of waiting for election returns, it’s eye-opening to revisit the chaos and political theater that ensued for five weeks while Bush and Gore...

Ready for another lap? The English dub of racing anime Mf Ghost returns for a second season from Sunday, October 20 on Crunchyroll with the below cast and crew behind the wheel! Mf Ghost Season 2 English Dub Cast Kanata voiced by Kieran Flitton Ren voiced by Trisha Mellon Aiba voiced by Corey Phillips Ogata voiced by Larry Brantley Sana voiced by Meg McClain Sawatari voiced by Brandon Acosta Takumi Fujiwara voiced by Joel McDonald Tanaka Yoji voiced by Chris Gardner Ren's Dad voiced by Phil Parsons Okuyama voiced by David Matranga Mayuko voiced by Kate Oxley Michael voiced by Bryson Baugus Ishigami voiced by Chris Ryan Joyu voiced by Chris Cason Mf Ghost Season 2 English Dub Crew Voice Director: Helena Walstrom Producer: Samantha Herek Adaptation: Clayton Browning Mixer: James Baker Engineer: Derric Benavides Related: Mf Ghost Season 2 Anime Shares New Key Visual, Battle Digest Key Art Related: Crunchyroll Fall 2024 Dubs Include...

Japan’s Nippon TV and UK indie Anyway Content are taking a comedy series about a young British woman following her dream of becoming a manga artist to MIPCOM Cannes.

The pair have struck a scripted co-development partnership for How to be a Sensei, which is being penned by Itaru Mizuno, the multiple Asian Academy Creative Award-winning director behind 2023’s breakout hit Rebooting, alongside award-wining British comedy writer Zoë Tomalin, who writes for the likes of Have I Got News For You and Hypothetical.

In How to be a Sensei, the protagonist takes her manga quest to Tokyo, where she heads to several iconic and underground locations. The series of hour-long episodes are in advanced development following a writing room that was recently held in the Japanese capital.

Nippon has worked with Mizuno on and off for more than a decade and the pair most recently combined on Japanese hit Rebooting.

Exclusive: Abramorama and Zeitgeist Media are unspooling David Smick’s documentary America’s Burning with a set of special screenings at Regal Cinemas on Monday, Oct. 7 and Oct. 14.

This comes following a special return engagement at the Angelika Film Center in NY, and ahead of the documentary’s debut on AppleTV, Amazon and Google Play on Oct. 22.

The Michael Douglas narrated docu is a deconstruction of how the American Dream has waned for many due to a compromised economic system which is increasingly controlled by a corporate elite. At the same time, the docu celebrates America’s history of social and economic resilience. America’s Burning features interviews with James Baker, Derek Black, Ian Bremmer, Arthur Brooks, James Carville, Amy Chua, Stan Druckenmiller, Katherine Gehl, Hawk Newsome, Leon Panetta, and Larry Summers.

Says the pic’s EP Barry Levinson “Our nation is experiencing historic challenges. It is more important than ever to...

Hundreds of members of the Animation Guild, along with fellow IATSE members joining in solidarity, gathered at the IATSE 80 headquarters in Burbank on Saturday ahead of Monday’s start of contract negotiations.

The crowd was over twice that of the Guild’s previous rally in 2022. Animation writer and negotiating committee member Joey Clift told TheWrap that the union had over 2,000 RSVPs as of Friday, doubling the number of the 2022 event. He estimated that nearly 2,500 people attended in the near 90-degree heat.

Mike Rianda, animator known for his work on “Gravity Falls,” emceed the festivities Saturday afternoon. Rianda kicked off the rally by bringing up six “animation avengers” to the stage to rally the crowd, including “Steven Universe” creator Rebecca Sugar, “Hotel Transylvania” and “Samurai Jack” creator Genndy Tartakovsky and legendary Disney and DreamWorks animator James Baxter.

Stand With Animation Rally on Aug. 11, 2024 (Credit: Tess Patton for TheWrap)

Attendees also heard from guild leaders,...

Animation workers and supporters argued that recent technological and business shifts have left their craft hanging in the balance during a packed union rally in Burbank on Saturday, with one speaker positing that “the American animation industry is at stake.”

The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) organized the event before it heads into bargaining over a new three-year contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that will tackle hot-button issues like AI and outsourcing. Gathering at the parking lot of IATSE Local 80 in sweltering, mid-80-degree heat, attendees heard from guild leaders, local politicians, rank-and-file workers and a few boldfaced names (director Guillermo del Toro sent a rallying cry, telling the workers to “fight like hell”), who emphasized the urgency and stakes of this year’s talks.

The overall message was summed up by union president Jeanette Moreno King (Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe): “We...

The BBC has confirmed that hit school drama Waterloo Road will return to BBC One and iPlayer from 2nd January 2024.

The BBC has confirmed that school drama Waterloo Road will return for its next series, the third since its relaunch, on Tuesday 2nd January. Eight new episodes will be available as a full boxset on BBC iPlayer from 6am, though it will also air weekly on BBC One from 8pm that night.

Set and filmed in Greater Manchester, Waterloo Road returned to BBC One earlier this year and was hugely successful.

The synopsis for the new series reads as follows:

With a group of long-term school refusers arriving at Waterloo Road, the balance of peace and harmony once again rests on thin ice. Will Headteacher Kim Campbell (Angela Griffin) and her team have what it takes to stop the school from sinking?

Libby, who makes a surprise return to Manchester to stay with her dad,...

It took a village of creatives at Disney Animation to pull off “Once Upon a Studio,” the animated short that celebrates 100 years of stories and magic. Iconic characters like Snow White and Peter Pan feature alongside Robin Williams’ Genie in a cast of 543 characters from more than 85 feature-length and short films. And it all came together without any artificial intelligence involved.

Directors Dan Abraham and Trent Correy were seeking a way to honor the studio’s legacy. “Once Upon a Studio” takes place at the end of a work day at Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank. The studio becomes a magical place once Disney Legend Burny Mattinson, who worked there for 70 years on films such as “Lady and the Tramp” (1955) and “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961), leaves. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse step out of a photo and call for their friends to gather for an official 100th Anniversary Studio portrait.

The BFI London Film Festival will present five feature films and documentaries by UK-based filmmakers at its fourth annual Works-in-Progress showcase. Scroll down for the lineup.

The showcase, which forms part of the festival’s industry program, will be an in-person event at Picturehouse Central where filmmakers will screen extracts from their projects for an invited audience of international buyers and festival programmers.

The projects are either in production or post-production. An online package with the projects will also be available online for one week from October 7 through a secure platform to a wider pool of invited international industry professionals.

Last year, two projects from the 2021 in-progress lineup were screened during the Lff. The pics were Pretty Red Dress, written and directed by Dionne Edwards, and Medusa Deluxe, written and directed by Thomas Hardiman. This year, Girl written and directed by Adura Onashile, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and will screen at Lff,...

The in-person event takes place on October 7 at London’s Picturehouse Central.

Campbell X’s Low Rider and Alex Helfrecht’s A Winter’s Journey are among the five features taking part in the third edition of the BFI London Film Festival Works-in-Progress showcase.

The in-person event takes place on October 7 as part of the festival’s UK Talent Days focus, in partnership with the British Council, at London’s Picturehouse Central.

The event will screen extracts from each project, with an introduction from its filmmaker, to an invited audience of international buyers as well as UK sales agents and festival programmers,...

There is an intricate balance when it comes to animated performances, with animators and voice actors working together to create memorable characters. Remove one of the two elements, and you get a completely different character. Look at Mark Hamill as Joker in "Batman: The Animated Series," Dante Basco as Zuko in "Avatar: The Last Airbender," or Robin Williams as Genie in "Aladdin": These characters work because of the team of animators infusing the characters with life, and because of the unique personality the actors bring to the roles (even if Williams' casting ended up causing a whole lot of problems).

This is to say that fans of "Adventure Time" were disappointed when the spin-off show "Fionna and Cake" released late last month with most of the cast returning to their roles, except one.

Kumail Nanjiani, who voiced a Wish Master named Prismo in "Adventure Time," did not return to voice the character,...

Netflix has revealed more artwork and clips from four of its kids and family animation titles, which are set drop this summer and fall.

During the streamer’s online Annecy session, introduced by Netflix director of character animation James Baxter, it was revealed that three of the titles – “Karma’s World,” “Vivo” and “Centaurworld” – are animated musicals, while all of them, including the Australian feature “Back to the Outback,” address themes of diversity, inclusion and both fitting in and celebrating differences.

First up was rapper and “Fast and Furious” actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges 40-part series “Karma’s World” –a passion project that has been over a decade in the making, set to premiere this fall

The series, aimed at children from six to nine, is inspired by Bridges’ eldest daughter Karma’s experiences as a 10-year-old navigating her way through life and finding her voice.

Each 11-minute episode will feature...

Most people are expecting Kraven the Hunter to be revealed as the villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man 3, especially since it’s been announced that Triple Frontier director J.C. Chandor is in talks to helm a solo movie for the big game hunter as part of Sony’s SPUoMC. And while it still seems likely that he could first debut in the aforementioned threequel, he certainly won’t be the only antagonist involved.

As you’ve surely heard by now, news broke yesterday that Jamie Foxx will be playing Electro in the upcoming superhero blockbuster. Of course, the Academy Award winner previously played Max Dillon in Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and was poised to become an integral part of the planned Sinister Six spinoff that had Drew Goddard attached to write and direct.

No further details have been released as of yet in regards to Foxx’s role,...

This weekend saw a quartet of important precursors hand out awards that could very well be clues as to what Academy members will be doing in about three weeks. Yes, Friday night saw the American Cinema Editors give out their annual Ace Eddie prizes, while Saturday evening had both the Directors Guild of America and the Annie Awards reveal their winners, as well as the Art Directors Guild (which solidified Black Panther and The Favourite as the frontrunners in Best Production Design). All told, it was a 24 hour period or so that is of definite interest to anyone trying to figure out a handful of Oscar races. In some cases, the Academy Award winner now seems all but set in stone, too. We’ve spoken about the first two already, so now let us discuss the Annies. Leading the way was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which Here now are the...

Sony’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” continued its march toward the Oscar, topping Asifa-Hollywood’s 46th Annie Awards at UCLA Saturday night with seven wins, including animated feature.

GKids snagged indie feature honors for the lovely Japanese “Mirai,” and Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns” earned awards for special production and live-action character animation.

Read More: 2019 Oscars: Best Animated Feature Predictions.

And Pixar story artist Trevor Jimenez won for his solo short, “Weekends,” about growing up with divorced parents in Toronto. He goes up against Pixar’s official entry, “Bao,” for the Oscar, the Chinese-themed baby dumpling dramedy from Domee Shi (the studio’s first female shorts director).

The innovative “Spider-Verse,” which swept all of its categories, also took direction, writing, production design (Justin K. Thompson), character animation (David Han), character design (Shiyoon Kim), and feature editing.

Pixar’s “Incredibles 2,” also vying for the Oscar, only scored two wins...

Simon Brew Dec 18, 2017

With new exclusive behind the scenes pictures, director Kevin Lima takes us through Enchanted, as it hits its 10th birthday.

It’s been ten years since the terrific Enchanted arrived in UK cinemas, just under two months after it premiered at the London Film Festival. The film made a star of Amy Adams, brought back 2D animation from Disney to the big screen, and has a songbook that sits happily alongside the top end of Disney work. Plus, the film remains a flat out family treat.

“It has been a long time” Lima chuckled, apologising in advance if he couldn’t recall all the answers I was after. Turns out he didn’t do too badly. He spared me some time to look back over the film, the challenges of making it, and what happened next…

I’ve only just discovered that Enchanted actually had its premiere in the UK!

Pixar’s Día de los Muertos saga, “Coco,” the Oscar frontrunner, led the pack with 13 nominations for the 45th Annie Awards, followed by GKid’s powerful indie fave, “The Breadwinner,” with 10. Both are expected to win the top categories for feature and indie feature at the February 3rd Asifa-Hollywood ceremony at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

“Coco” also picked up nominations for directing (Lee Unkrich and co-director Adrian Molina), character design, two each for character animation and storyboarding, writing (Molina and Matthew Aldrich), Michael Giacchino’s music, production design, effects, editing, and voice acting for newcomer Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel.

“The Breadwinner,” about a young girl forced to become a boy in Afghanistan, also collected nominations for directing (Cartoon Saloon’s Nora Twomey), Mychael and Jeff Danna’s music, two voice acting bids for Saara Chaudry and Laara Sadiq, character design, production design, storyboarding, writing (Anita Doron), and editing.

Overall, GKids grabbed 16 nominations — for “The Breadwinner,...

Movie News Weekly November 19-25, 2017 Movie News Weekly is a weekly videocast on the previous week’s film industry frivolities. Movie News Weekly is hosted by FilmBook, created and narrated by FilmBook author Mathieu Brunet. In this edition, Movie News Weekly covers: Coco delivers a strong opening during the 5-day Thanksgiving weekend Stephen Hillenberg, James Baxter, TVPaint, [...]

Continue reading: Movie News Weekly: November 19-25, 2017: Coco, John Lasseter, Captain Marvel...

Organizers of the 45th annual Annie Awards have unveiled their annual jury awards, recognizing career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation. Those include the Winsor McCay Award for career contributions to the art of animation, which will be presented to British character animator James Baxter, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg, and Canadian animation duo Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis. Asifa-Hollywood also said today it will bestow the Ub…...

Organizers of the 45th annual Annie Awards have unveiled their annual jury awards, recognizing career achievement and exceptional contributions to animation. Those include the Winsor McCay Award for career contributions to the art of animation, which will be presented to British character animator James Baxter, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg, and Canadian animation duo Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis. Asifa-Hollywood also said today it will bestow the Ub…...

Glen Keane made me want to make movies. As a head animator at Disney from the 1970s until just a few years ago, when he left to create his own company, Keane created iconic characters like Ariel, Aladdin, and Tarzan, plus gorgeously drawn animals like the bear in The Fox and the Hound and the eagle Marahute in The Rescuers Down Under. But what held me spellbound was the moment when the Beast — his character — and James Baxter’s Belle walked into the computer-animated ballroom during the title song of Beauty and the Beast: I’d never seen anything like that before, and I […]...

Glen Keane made me want to make movies. As a head animator at Disney from the 1970s until just a few years ago, when he left to create his own company, Keane created iconic characters like Ariel, Aladdin, and Tarzan, plus gorgeously drawn animals like the bear in The Fox and the Hound and the eagle Marahute in The Rescuers Down Under. But what held me spellbound was the moment when the Beast — his character — and James Baxter’s Belle walked into the computer-animated ballroom during the title song of Beauty and the Beast: I’d never seen anything like that before, and I […]...

My Mad Fat Diary star Ciara Baxendale (represented by Cole Kitchenn) leads the cast as Harriet in a new 3-part drama for Cbbc, Harriet's Army.

She is joined by 18 year old Sophie Wright (who played Tix in the first series of My Mad Fat Diary) as Violet Croft, with Harriet's brothers being played by Ben Ryan-Davies as Edward, and Max True as Sam. The ensemble cast also includes James Baxter as Stephen Croft, Matthew McGreevy as Jimmy, and Adam Thomas Wright as Lewis Brown.

Harriet's Army is a gripping new three-part Cbbc drama series, set during World War One and following a group of children in a small English town as they hold the Home Front and discover the true enemy within.

Fourteen-year-old Hattie is a girl who doesn’t fit in, and when she’s kicked out of the Girl Guides for getting involved in a fight, her...

God rest ye merry schedulers - your work is done for another year and now us lucky lot have a plethora of fantastic telly to enjoy over the Christmas and New Year period.

But if you're looking at your TV listings mags and finding it all a bit overwhelming, then don't panic... Digital Spy presents The 12 Picks of Christmas - a duodecuple of December (and early January) shows!

1. The Muppets and Lady Gaga at Christmas - Sunday, December 22 at 5.25pm on Channel 5

The festive telly season kicks off with Channel 5's flagship show for the holidays. Originally aired on ABC in the Us in November, this 75-minute special sees Gaga perform songs from her latest album Artpop and also features Elton John, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kristen Bell, RuPaul and - of course - Kermit, Miss Piggy and co. Sounds utterly bonkers - so a perfect vehicle for Gaga then.

2. Call the Midwife - Christmas Day (Wednesday,...

BBC One has released new images from its festive offering Still Open All Hours.

The revival of classic sitcom Open All Hours - which aired on BBC Two between 1973 and 1985 - will see David Jason reprising his role of Granville.

In the new one-off special, viewers will meet an older Granville, who has inherited the grocer's shop from his late Uncle Arkwright, played by Ronnie Barker in the original show.

He now runs the business with his son Leroy (James Baxter), a cheerful and good-looking lad who attracts many female admirers.

Still Open All Hours - which will also star Lynda Barron and Stephanie Cole - has been written by original series creator Roy Clarke.

The comedy is scheduled for Boxing Day (Thursday, December 26) at 7.45pm on BBC One.

Sir David Jason to star in Open All Hours Christmas special

Catch up on all the latest TV and Movies releases...

BBC One has released a first-look image of David Jason reprising his Open All Hours role.

The 73-year-old will return to the role of Granville for Still Open All Hours, a revival of the classic sitcom which first aired on BBC Two between 1973 and 1985.

In the Christmas special, viewers will meet an older Granville, who has inherited the grocer's shop from his late Uncle Arkwright, originally played by Ronnie Barker.

He now runs the business with his son Leroy (James Baxter), a cheerful and good-looking lad who attracts many female admirers.

Still Open All Hours - which will also star Lynda Barron and Stephanie Cole - has been written by original series creator Roy Clarke.

"This has been fun - a great opportunity to work with David Jason again and to suggest how things at that corner shop might look today," said Clarke.

Other comedy highlights on BBC One this...

Comic-Con has released the full schedule of all the events that will take place over the course of its four days, which you can see for yourself here. For your convention convenience, we’ve collected all of best movie-related panels, programs, Q&As, screenings, and dog-and-pony shows below, including ones involving anticipated upcoming releases like Ender's Game, Divergent, Gravity, and The World’s End. Check them out and mark your calendars. San Diego Comic-Con runs July 17-21. For the full list of TV highlights, check out our list on Inside TV.

Thursday, July 18

Thurs., 10:30am-11:30am, Room 6A,...

Friday’s Comic-Con schedule has landed! And it’s totally packed with action, from Simon Pegg’s latest The World’s End panel to a special Veronica Mars presentation.

In case you missed it, click here to see Thursday’s schedule and below you’ll see Friday’s TV and movie highlights. For more info and the complete schedule head over to the official Comic-Con site.

10:00am-11:00am, Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Cartoon Network: Regular Show: Care to join the not so regular cast and crew for an eventful hour of over the top regular?...

We're about six months out from the release of DreamWorks Animation's The Croods, the studio's tale about a prehistoric family unit trying to adapt to a changing world. We brought you coverage on The Croods earlier this year from Comic-Con 2012 where DreamWorks Animation chief creative officer Bill Damashke and supervising animator James Baxter talked about the backstory and progress of the film. Now we have some new polished images of the family members as well as more meat to fill out each character. The Croods, written and directed by Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps) and Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch) and featuring the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Nicolas Cage, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman and Clark Duke, opens March 22nd, 2013. Hit the jump to check out the new images and character descriptions. Check out the new images and character descriptions for The Croods, courtesy of EW (via The Playlist) followed by the official synopsis.

The DreamWorks Animation panel at Comic-Con 2012 featured chief creative officer Bill Damashke, James Baxter (supervising animator on The Croods), Tom McGrath (director of the Madagascar series), and Patrick Hanenberger (production designer on Rise of the Guardians). The panel started with a clip reel of highlights from the DreamWorks filmography, from Shrek to Kung Fu Panda to How to Train Your Dragon. Given the panel members, the reel and the discussion shifted mainly to Madagascar 3 (currently in theaters), Rise of the Guardians (in theaters November 21), and The Croods (coming March 2013). The Rise of the Guardians section was nothing you haven’t already seen in this trailer, but the Croods footage was brand new, and it looks very interesting. Hit the jump for more. The Croods Damaschke says The Croods came about when they realized that DreamWorks had “never told a story about a family unit.” So they decided to make...

The Projects: Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted; Rise of the Guardians; and The Croods

The Panel: Bill Damaschke, chief creative officer of DreamWorks Animation; James Baxter, supervising animator for The Croods; Tom McGrath, director of Madagascar 3; and Patrick Hanenberger, production designer for Rise of the Guardians. EW’s Anthony Breznican moderated the panel.

The Big Revelations: At the very end of the panel, Madagascar 3 director McGrath (who also voices Skipper the penguin) confirmed that the penguins of Madagascar will be getting their own feature film, out in 2015. It will be titled, appropriately enough, The Penguins of Madagascar...

Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers, the directors of The Lion King, discuss the classic Disney film.

The Movie Pool recently sat in on a Q&A session with Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers, the directors of Disney's The Lion King, as they reflect on the film, the 3D re-release, and the upcoming Blu-ray release. Following is a transcript of the entire Q&A.

Q - What is your opinion about Broadway Musical The Lion King directed by Julie Taymor?

A - Rob Minkoff: When I first heard that a musical was being contemplated for The Lion King I was concerned it would attempt to be too literal. Beauty & The Beast had already made the leap to the stage and it was very much a replica of the animated movie. I didn't think that kind of approach would work for The Lion King. When Julie Taymor was brought on board...

"Kung Fu Panda" won big at the 2009 Annie Awards!

The Kung Fu-fighting cuddly Panda won 15 out of the 24 Annie Awards categories!

Take that "Wall-e" and "Bolt!"

The Disney properties, including the critically-acclaimed "Wall-e" didn't feel the love.

Heck, even "Kung Fu Panda's" DVD-extra, "Secrets of the Furious Five" won. So yeah, the animators really, really love the Dreamworks Animations flick! And who can blame them?

Everybody wants Kung Fu fighting indeed! Congratulations to Dreamworks and all the winners!

Click Read More to see the complete list of winners.

Winners Of The 36Th Annual Annie Awards

Production

Animated Feature

.Kung Fu Panda,. DreamWorks Animation

Animated Home Entertainment Production

.Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs,. The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Animated Short Subject

.Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death,. Aardman Animations Ltd.

Animated Television Commercial

United Airlines .Heart,...

Kung Fu Panda shut out its competition in every major feature film category at the 36th annual Annie Awards celebrating 2008’s best animated movies. The DreamWorks Animation pic bested critic favorite Wall-e and other nominee Bolt for “Best Feature.”

The surprise win is the first time DreamWorks has beaten a Pixar film for the top prize since 2001’s Shrek over Pixar’s Monster’s Inc. Panda took home fifteen statues Friday night and tied for the most wins ever. The Annie Award has matched the “Best Animated Feature” category at the Academy Awards every single year but one.

I thoroughly enjoyed Kfp, but I was under the impression that Wall-e was a better film all around. While DreamWorks Animation has stepped up its game in recent years, Pixar’s animation was exceptional. This is a major upset, especially since Wall-e went home with nothing. The Oscar race just got even more interesting.

Photo: DreamWorks Animation Wall-e is the certain frontrunner to win the Oscar Best Animated Feature at the 2009 Oscars as it competes with DreamWorks's Kung Fu Panda and Disney's Bolt for the award, but on Friday night at the 36th annual Annie Awards Wall-e's name was nowhere to be found when looking at the winner's circle. Instead Kung Fu Panda took home eleven Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature and all the way down to Best Animated Video Game. Outside of that, it's DVD counterpart Secrets of the Furious Five won four more Annie's for DreamWorks Animation. I would love to tell you there is more to the story, but it was an absolute domination. I don't think this changes anything in terms of the Oscar race as Wall-e remains the likely winner, but it certainly adds a little more flavor to a rather weird award season. The winners are featured...

DreamWorks Animation was the big winner at this year's 36th Annual Annie Awards at UCLA's Royce Hall

in Los Angeles, CA. 

{sidebar id=1} Kung Fu Panda

received 13 Annies including the Best Animated Feature nod and nine Individual Achievement awards for Animated Effects ( Li-Ming Lawrence Lee

), Character Animation ( James Baxter

), Character Design ( Nico Marlet

), Directing ( John Stevenson

& Mark Osborne

), Music ( Hans Zimmer

& John Powell

), Production Design (Tang Heng), Storyboarding ( Jen Yuh Nelson

), Voice Acting ( Dustin Hoffman

), and Writing ( Jonathan Aibel

& Glenn Berger

). The balance of DreamWorks' wins went to its television production of Secrets of the Furious Five for Character Animation (Pierre Perifel), Character Design ( Nico Marlet

), and Production Design (Tang Heng). Kung Fu Panda

also received the Best Animated Video Game produced by Activision. A complete list of winners can be viewed at the Annie Award's official website Read more...

The Academy Awards are slowly creeping up, just three months away now with buzz seeming to only surround a handful of movies. But one piece of the puzzle and a solid indicator of the “Best Animated Feature” Oscar are the Annie Awards, now in their 36th year.

DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda earned 16 total nominations, a tie for the most in the history of the ceremonies. The other movies to pull that off were 2004’s The Incredibles and 2005’s Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Since the Annies started, the Annie Award for “Best Animated Feature” has predicted the Oscar winner every single time but once.

This is huge for DreamWorks, who makes successful animated movies like Shrek, but hasn’t seem to put out the quality of film that Pixar seems to churn out on a regular basis. Just for comparison, this year’s expert pick for...

DreamWorks' excellent "Kung Fu Panda" lead the 2008 Annie Award nominees with a total of seventeen nominations which included Best Feature, Best Feature Writing, Best Directing, Best Animated Effects, Best Character Animation as well as Best Animated Video Game. (See featured store items at the bottom of the page) Disney/Pixar's heart-warming "Wall-e" ended second best with a total of eight nominations. Also faring well was another Disney pic in the recent "Bolt" voiced by John Travolta and Miley Cyrus. The adventure comedy scored five nominations. DreamWorks, which also released "Kung Fu Panda" companion piece "Secrets of the Furious Five" and "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," landed a grand total of 27 nominations. As listed, here are the 2008 Annie Award Nominations by CategoryPRODUCTION CATEGORIESBest Animated Feature Bolt – Walt Disney Animation Studios Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation $9.99 – Sherman Pictures/Lama Films Wall•E – Pixar Animation Studios Waltz With Bashir – Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D’ici,...

On Monday, December 1, the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood, has come out with an announcement of 2008 Annie Awards' nominations. Dominating the list is "Kung Fu Panda" with 17 nods for the animated features category as well as for video games category.

In the feature film category itself, this DreamWorks Animation comedy has collected in total 16 nods. One comes from the production category, that is Best Animated Feature, whereas the rest from the individual nominations. For the Best Voice Acting title, "Panda" has managed to put three of its voice actors, Dustin Hoffman, James Hong and Ian McShane, to compete with voice actors from "Wall-e" and "Bolt". Additionally, it also gives directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne a shot for Best Animated Film Director.

Beside "Kung Fu Panda", other movies collecting multiple nominations for Annie are "Bolt" and "Wall-e". "Bolt" has earned 9 counts and "Wall-e" has landed on 8 nods. Both of which...

Photo: DreamWorks Animation The International Animated Film Society announced the nominees for the 2008 Annie Awards and Kung Fu Panda is leading the way with 17 nominations followed by Disney's Bolt with 9 and the Disney/Pixar feature Wall-e earning 8. Panda picked up a healthy amount of noms in categories such as Character Animation, Character Design, Music, Production Design, Storyboarding, Voice Acting and Writing. In each of those categories it was either nominated while Bolt and Wall-e were not or secured multiple nominations giving it the outright nomination lead by 8. Could this be a sign of a Panda-over-wall-e Oscar upset? The nominees are listed below and you can check out the official award site here. Best Animated Feature Bolt (Walt Disney Animation Studios) Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Animation) $9.99 (Sherman Pictures/Lama Films) Wall-e (Pixar Animation Studios) Waltz With Bashir (Sony Pictures Classics/Bridgit Folman, Les Films D'ici, Razor Films) Best Animated Home Entertainment...

DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" fought off stiff competition to earn 16 nominations -- the most for a feature -- for the International Animated Film Society's 36th Annual Annie Awards.

That includes a nomination for best-animated feature, a category that includes Pixar Animation Studios "Wall-e"-considered the frontrunner for the Oscar-which earned seven nominations. "Panda" and "Wall-e" also earned one additional nomination each in the best video game competition.

The top category is rounded out by nominations for Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Bolt," a 3-D release that earned five nominations; Sony Pictures Classics' "Waltz With Bashir," Israel's award-winning documentary, which took four nominations; and Sherman Pictures/Lama Films "$9.99," a stop-motion title that earned two nominations.

Blue Sky Studios' "Dr. Suess' Horton Hear as Who," a Fox release, also had a strong showing with five nominations.

All of these features are short listed by AMPAS for this season's animated feature competition.

Dwa earned a total of 27 nominations.