Iwájú is a wonderful and heartwarming coming-of-age story that blends the artistic talents of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pan-African comic book entertainment company Kugali with Afrofuturism ideals.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Iwájú’ Illuminates a Bright Future for Animation”
The new Paramount+ animated film, The Tiger’s Apprentice, is arriving just in time for the Lunar New Year (yet two years past the Year of the Tiger). Based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Laurence Yep, it follows 15-year-old Tom Lee who, in the aftermath of his grandmother’s death, becomes the apprentice to the tiger zodiac, Hu, and rise to the occasion of becoming the guardian of an ancient phoenix.
Continue reading “Despite Potential, ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’ is a Rushed Effort”
After seven years, fans are finally getting a fourth Despicable Me movie! That’s right, Gru, the world’s favorite supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, is back for a new era of Minions mayhem, which you can enjoy in theaters on July 3.
Continue reading “Watch the New Trailer for ‘Despicable Me 4’”
Zachary Levi voices the character of Rocky in Sam Fell’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. The movie will begin streaming on Netflix December 15 and serves as the sequel to Chicken Run, which is the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time.
Continue reading “Director Sam Fell and Zachary Levi Discuss ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’”
New episodes of Marvel’s What If…? are just around the corner. Season 2 of the animated series premieres December 22 on Disney+, throwing viewers back into the multiverse at the hands of The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright). As part of Phase Five, the series “questions, revisits, and twists” classic Marvel Cinematic Universe moments.
Continue reading “Exploring the Multiverse at Marvel’s ‘What If…?’ Season 2 Premiere”
Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai is not based on a manga or book. It doesn’t have any ties to any previous story that has been told. Instead, writers and co-creators Amber Noizumi and Michael Green were inspired by their own child, who was born with blue eyes. They thought about possible stories that could come from a mixed child with blue eyes, which many in society would consider beautiful. But for Noizumi, she immediately thought about Japan’s Edo period in the 17th century which frowned upon mixed children.
Continue reading “Creators Amber Noizumi and Michael Green on Authenticity in ‘Blue Eye Samurai’”
Disney is certainly showing its confidence in their upcoming release of Wish. Their 62nd animated musical feature serves as a celebration of the studio’s centennial anniversary. So Disney is paying it forward by giving fans early access to screen the film in 750 theaters nationwide.
Continue reading “Disney Announces Limited Early Screenings of ‘Wish’”
Making a short that covers 100 years of the legacy of Walt Disney Animation Studios is an incredibly daunting task, and yet, directors Dan Abraham and Trent Correy were able to pen a love letter to the visual storytelling medium while also honoring the studio that brought us some of our favorite and unforgettable stories that helped shape our childhoods and future generations in their new short, Once Upon A Studio. And in our interview with Abraham and Correy, along with producers Yvett Merino and Bradford Simonsen, we get into finding out how they fit a centuries worth of our favorite characters and films into one eight-minute short, which characters almost didn’t make the cut and more.
Continue reading “‘Once Upon a Studio’ Creators Reflect on a 100 Years of Disney Animation Magic”
Welp, the flood gates are open. With Marvel Studios embracing AI art, it’s only a matter of time before we see just a flood of this stuff in all sorts of production. What’s really baffling to me is why they decided to go this direction since AI art is not protected by copyright.
Continue reading “The Problem with ‘Secret Invasion’ Using an A.I.-Generated Title Sequence”
Chloe Bennet can be heard lending her voice in Rally Road Racers as well as be seen portraying Robyn in FX’s Dave, which you can stream on Hulu. I spoke with the actress about why she enjoys voice acting, the importance of choosing projects that promote diversity, what she hopes her character in Dave represents for women, and more.
Continue reading “Chloe Bennet Talks the Importance of ‘Rally Road Racers’ and Working on ‘Dave’”
Elemental made a big splash over the weekend with its international debut at the Cannes Film Festival. There, the main voice cast of Leah Lewis (Ember) and Mamoudou Athie (Wade), plus members of the French-language voice cast Adèle Exarchopoulos (Ember) and Vincent Lacoste (Wade) tonight on the beach joined director Peter Sohn, producer Denise Ream, and EP and CCO of Pixar Pete Docter. And now, the studio has released a brand-new clip showing what a meet cute looks like between fire and water.
Continue reading “‘Elemental’ Clip Paints the Ground Below and the Sky Above”
In 2023, Nickelodeon will take viewers on a multidimensional adventure throughout Bikini Bottom with the first-ever SpongeBob Universe crossover special, SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone. The one-hour special encompasses SpongeBob SquarePants, The Patrick Star Show, and Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years. At New York Comic Con, I had the opportunity to speak with Bill Fagerbakke, Jill Talley, and Dana Snyder about the beloved show and spin-offs.
Continue reading “Bill Fagerbakke, Jill Talley, and Dana Snyder Talk the SpongeBob Universe”
Disney continues its animated adaptation run of Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series with an all new sequel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Based on the second book of the same name, Greg Heffley continues to navigate his adolescent life while also having to deal with the complications of growing up, including dealing with his rock-out-loud older brother Rodrick.
Continue reading “Jeff Kinney Talks ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules’”
Well, that settles it. Warner Bros. Discovery has found their own K.E.V.I.N robot to lead the DC Universe in film, television, and animation. Actually, make that robots, plural, as Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that James Gunn and producer Peter Safran will be co-CEOs of the newly created DC Studios.
Continue reading “James Gunn and Peter Safran to Lead Newly Formed DC Studios”
Rodger Bumpass and Carolyn Lawrence voice the beloved characters of Squidward and Sandy in Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, which is the first original spinoff of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. The series was recently picked up for a second season. New episodes are now streaming on Paramount+.
Continue reading “Rodger Bumpass and Carolyn Lawrence Talk ‘Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years’”
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan voices Zipp in My Little Pony: Make Your Mark. The series builds on the television special, which debuted in the “Top 10” for Children’s programming on Netflix. New episodes are now streaming!
Continue reading “Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Talks Bringing Zipp to Life in ‘My Little Pony: Make Your Mark’”
Okay, it’s been a pretty crazy news cycle recently. The monarchy has shifted, the Emmys happened, and we’ve been hooked on the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding Don’t Worry, Darling more than the movie itself. So it’s understandable that a few newsworthy moments have kind of slipped beneath the radar amidst the chaos. But… nah, I’m sorry guys, it’s absolutely ridiculous how much we aren’t discussing Wendell & Wild right now.
Continue reading “We Aren’t Talking About the ‘Wendell & Wild’ Trailer Enough”
Disney is a household name. From the moment we learn to walk or talk, we are exposed to the most legendary stories and cinematic classics that the company has produced over the past 100 years; from Snow White to Encanto.
Continue reading “D23Expo: The Future Classics of Disney Animation”
While superhero movies have proven to be immensely popular with a global audience, sometimes it’s nice to take a break from the shared universes and world-ending stakes with a few laughs. Luckily, director Jared Stern puts a playful twist on our comic-book heroes by taking them out of the picture and focusing on the pets in DC League of Super-Pets.
Continue reading “‘DC League of Super-Pets’ Director Jared Stern on Balancing Humor and Heart”
It’s a personal point of joy for me to be posting this given that Guillermo Del Toro is officially one of my heroes. As a director, his sense of style, imagination, and heart coupled with brutal honesty has paved the way for films like Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, The Devil’s Backbone, and countless others to become cinematic classics. But as a human being, there’s no celebrity out there with a bigger heart and a more magical soul. And this holiday season, he will be injecting both into one of the most timeless characters of all time: Pinocchio!
Continue reading “The Official Trailer and Poster for ‘Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio’ Finally Comes to Life”
Toho and Comix Wave have finally released the reveal trailer for Makoto Shinkai’s upcoming film, Suzume. The anticipation of the next film from the acclaimed Your Name and Weathering With You director has been building since the first key visual was released back in April.
Continue reading “A Door to a New Adventure Opens in the trailer for Makoto Shinkai’s ‘Suzume’”
A movie score is one of the emotional hooks that draws audiences into that world. Whether the film is a sci-fi thriller or romantic comedy, it’s the kind of music that connects you with what’s going on within the frame. But for Lightyear composter Michael Giacchino, the score is much more than an assembly of notes that makes a movie sound good. It’s also something that tells a story.
Continue reading “‘Lightyear’ Composer Michael Giacchino on Storytelling Through Music”
Netflix kicked off their second day of Geeked Week with revealing the trailer and poster for their anticipated animated monster adventure The Sea Beast.
Continue reading “Netflix’s Animated Adventure ‘The Sea Beast’ Trailer & Poster Reveal”