animation

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Iconic Stop-Motion Studio Pooh-Poohs Ominous Report

Aardman Animations says it has 'high levels' of clay

(Newser) - Aardman Animations says it's "touched" by concerns that it might be running out of clay for its stop-motion animation creations—but fans have "absolutely no need to worry." In a post on X on Monday, the British maker of the Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run...

Man Who Worked for Disney Longer Than Anyone Has Died

Burny Mattinson was set to receive company's first 70-year service award

(Newser) - Disney's longest-serving employee—an animator, writer, and director who worked on films ranging from 1955's Lady and the Tramp to 2022's Strange World—has died. Burny Mattinson, described by CEO Bob Iger as a "legend" and "a true icon" of Disney Animation, died Monday at...

Disney Revives Character After Nearly a Century

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who preceded Mickey Mouse, stars in new animated short

(Newser) - Mickey Mouse's rabbit forefather just came back from the Disney dead. Considered Walt Disney's "first breakout animated star," Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was first introduced to audiences in the 1927 short Trolley Troubles, per Variety . Disney went on to create 26 shorts starring the plucky rabbit...

Co-Creator of Beloved Holiday Specials Dies at 87
Co-Creator of Beloved
Holiday Specials Dies at 87
OBITUARY

Co-Creator of Beloved Holiday Specials Dies at 87

Jules Bass brought 'Frosty' to life

(Newser) - Jules Bass, co-creator of some of the most beloved Christmas specials in history, has died at age 87. Bass, described by Variety as an "animator, producer, director, and composer," worked with Arthur Rankin Jr. on holiday specials including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus ...

Popular '90s Sitcom Is About to Get Animated

Cartoon version of 'Married With Children,' with original cast, is in the works

(Newser) - The dream team of Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, Christina Applegate, and David Faustino are getting together again for a revival of their popular Fox sitcom, Married With Children—this time in cartoon format. Sources tell Deadline the animated reboot "is being pitched to networks and streamers and is...

It Was Like TV for the Stone Age
It Was Like TV
for the Stone Age
new study

It Was Like TV for the Stone Age

Study suggests cave artists used firelight to animate their work around the hearth

(Newser) - A museumgoer who checks out a prehistoric drawing etched on a rock sees only the static image, safely housed under a glass case under controlled light. A new study suggests the people who first looked at the same rock saw something else entirely—a dynamic image that appeared to be...

19 Bodies Found Piled on Top of Each Other at Anime Studio

Only 6 of 74 people escaped Kyoto building uninjured

(Newser) - The man accused of setting fire to an anime studio in Japan, killing at least 33 people in one of the country's deadliest postwar mass murders, has been identified as Shinji Aoba. The 41-year-old man is being treated for burns in a hospital and police have so far been...

Alleged Japan Arsonist: 'They Ripped Me Off'
Alleged Japan Arsonist:
'They Ripped Me Off'
the rundown

Alleged Japan Arsonist: 'They Ripped Me Off'

Witness overhears his complaint to police as death toll rises to 33

(Newser) - It's "too appalling even for words," says Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He was referring to the alleged arson at an anime studio in Kyoto that has taken the lives of at least 33 people so far. More than 30 others were injured, some critically. Here is...

20 Feared Dead in Suspected Arson at Animation Studio
Dozens Killed in Arson
at Animation Studio
UPDATED

Dozens Killed in Arson at Animation Studio

Kyoto suspect shouted 'Drop dead!'

(Newser) - At least 26 people were killed and dozens more injured in a suspected arson attack at one of Japan's most famous anime studios Thursday morning. Police say a man "threw a liquid and set fire to it" in the attack at the Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building,...

Studio Ghibli Co-Founder Dies
Anime Legend 
Isao Takahata Dies
OBITUARY

Anime Legend Isao Takahata Dies

Producer co-founded Studio Ghibli

(Newser) - Isao Takahata, co-founder of the prestigious Japanese animator Studio Ghibli, which stuck to a hand-drawn "manga" look in the face of digital filmmaking, has died. He was 82. Takahata, who directed Grave of the Fireflies, a tragic tale about wartime childhood, died Thursday of lung cancer at a Tokyo...

Ren & Stimpy Creator Accused of Grooming Teens

He 'ruined a good bit of my childhood,' woman says

(Newser) - Ren & Stimpy creator Jon Kricfalusi is seen as something of an elder statesman of animation—but to two former employees, he seems more like a dirty old man. Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice say they were in their early teens and Kricfalusi was nearly 40 when he contacted and...

One of the World's Most Beloved Animators Is Unretiring

Hayao Miyazaki working on another full-length feature

(Newser) - Turns out, one of the world's most acclaimed animators isn't done making movies yet. In what is big news in certain camps, Japan's Hayao Miyazaki , 75, is working on a full-length feature despite announcing his retirement from such ventures in 2013, reports Anime News Network . Back then,...

Comcast Just Bought DreamWorks for $3.8B

That's right—Shrek is marrying the Minions in possible bid to rival Disney

(Newser) - In animating news for DreamWorks, Comcast's NBCUniversal will scoop up the studio, behind such films as Kung Fu Panda and Shrek, in a deal worth $3.8 billion, the AP reports. The acquisition, which the Los Angeles Times says came together with "breathtaking speed," will result in...

'Holy Grail' Disney Cartoon Rediscovered 87 Years Later

Oswald short has not been viewed since 1928

(Newser) - Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the original famous Disney character before Mickey Mouse came along, appears in a long-lost six-minute cartoon recently found in the British Film Institute's archives, the Telegraph reports. "Sleigh Bells" was broadcast in 1928, but all copies were thought to have been lost and it...

The Wind Rises Is a Beautiful, Difficult Finale for Miyazaki

Film is typically lyrical, atypically realistic, and a little controversial

(Newser) - What might be Hayao Miyazaki's last film makes its US debut this weekend, and naturally critics are in love with it. The beloved filmmaker announced his retirement after The Wind Rises debuted at the Venice Film Festival last year. Since then the movie—a biopic of Jiro Horikoshi, who...

Family Guy Pulls Off a Resurrection


 Family Guy 
 Pulls Off a 
 Resurrection 
Spoiler alert

Family Guy Pulls Off a Resurrection

Seth MacFarlane was offering fans a 'lesson'

(Newser) - After a few weeks in the afterlife , Brian the dog is back on Family Guy. ABC News explains the resurrection: With help from a Christmas wish to save his best friend, baby Stewie travels back in time and pushes Brian out of the way of an oncoming car. Briefly, the...

Critics Warm to Disney's Frozen
 Critics Warm to Disney's Frozen 
movie review

Critics Warm to Disney's Frozen

Disney's latest fairy tale is Broadway-ready

(Newser) - Disney looks poised for another fairy-tale success with Frozen, a tale of two sisters based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen." In the first Disney animated feature co-directed by a woman, Jennifer Lee, filmmakers appear to have their sights set on Broadway, reviewers note.
  • The movie'
...

Tragedy Strikes on Family Guy

See below for surprising spoiler

(Newser) - Major spoiler alert: A member of the Family Guy family died in last night's episode, and apparently it wasn't a joke. Brian the dog was hit by a car during a street hockey game with baby Stewie, the Huffington Post reports. His last, not-so-funny words: "You’ve...

Transylvania Terrifies With Record Debut
 Transylvania 
 Scares Up 
 Record Debut 
box office

Transylvania Scares Up Record Debut

'Looper' takes second while 'Won't Back Down' tanks

(Newser) - Hotel Transylvania scared off the competition this weekend with the strongest debut since The Dark Knight Rises and the best September bow ever, says the Hollywood Reporter. The animation film's $43 million opening ousted Sweet Home Alabama, which banked $35.6 million on its first weekend, albeit without premium...

Russia Restricts South Park Over Kenny's Deaths

'Simpsons' takes hit over 'Itchy & Scratchy'

(Newser) - Excessive violence—read: Kenny's deaths and the Itchy & Scratchy Show—have South Park and the Simpsons facing censorship in Russia. Because of Kenny's recurring demise, South Park will have to air after 11pm on a national channel aimed at young adults, AFP reports via Raw Story . The...

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