One can only speculate on the amount of ego-massage and constant reassurance that was required for Rich Moore, director of Disney's upcoming Wreck-It Ralph, to convince a host of game companies to lend their classic characters to the animated flick; but convince them he did.
Laika are the animation studio responsible for Henry Selick's sublime stop-motion animation, Coraline, a beautifully strange and at times delightfully dangerous movie that dipped into the supernatural and was unafraid to get a little scary. It harked back to the family entertainment of the 1980s, where filmmakers trusted a scare or two would not permanently damage any young minds. It was, in short, a breath of fresh air.
My enthusiasm for this movie just Level'd-Up!
There was a time when Dreamworks were the red-headed stepchild of the CG animated world, trailing in the wake of the mighty Pixar with pop culture reliant, frequently smug offerings like Antz and Shrek.
Then, somewhere along the way, Dreamworks figured things out. We received exciting, colourful genre movies like Kung Fu Panda movies and the exceptional How To Train Your Dragon (which, for my money, was every bit the better film than rival Pixar movie, Toy Story 3).
Things have not been smooth sailing. Between these benchmark moments, we have seen the likes of pop culture reliant nonsense like Monsters Vs Aliens and the Madagascar movies. Dreamworks intends to keep improving, it seems, especially in light of a new partnership with 20th Century Fox (Rise of the Guardians will be their last collaboration with Paramount) and two consecutive years of Pixar disappointments. Dreamworks have a plan. One that extends from 2013 to 2016.
Ahead of the premier of his film, Hotel Transylvania, at the Toronto International Film Festival, director Genndy Tartakovsky has been speaking with The LA Times, explaining how he maintained his visual and creative identity by pushing computer animation in new directions.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is one of the great animated films of recent times; a funny, heartfelt, gleefully silly but fiendishly smart and imaginative. It was a film that functioned perfectly as a standalone but the characters and the unique sense of humour were so well-defined, no fan could begrudge a return visit.
Those of you that had been looking forward to an original story by Henry Selick, director of Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, should be disappointed, perhaps angered, by the news that it has now been axed by Disney.
Guillermo del Toro, the visionary director of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, is certainly a busy man.
DreamWorks Animation has acquired the company Classic Media in a deal worth $155m this week, picking up the rights to many properties including Casper, The Lone Ranger, Lassie and Where's Waldo.
Andrew Stanton, recovering from the dramatic flop that was John Carter (Not Of Mars), is set to direct a sequel to Finding Nemo: one of the greatest animated films of all-time.
