Disney is continuing to explore its classic characters with new live-action takes on its animated films, as this has been a lucrative business for the studio for some time. We recently learned that Paul King ("Paddington") is now set to direct a "Prince Charming" movie for the Mouse House which, on the surface, seems like a purely money-driven idea. Today, however, we also learned that none other than Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, is in talks to star in the lead role, which changes the game.

According to Deadline, Hemsworth is being eyed to place the titular character in the "Prince Charming" movie. Hemsworth is coming off of "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" and the animated "Transformers One." He is, however, best known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Thor, having most recently appeared in the relatively disappointing "Thor: Love and Thunder" in 2022 (his "cameo" in "Deadpool & Wolverine...

Justin Marks is staying in business with FX, with the “Shogun” co-creator signing a new TV overall deal with FX Productions.

Under the deal, Marks will develop new projects for FX, including the potential new seasons of “Shogun” reported to be in the works back in May. Marks is developing those new seasons with his fellow co-creator and wife, Rachel Kondo.

“It is an honor to have Justin as part of the FX family,” said Gina Balian, president of FX Entertainment. “He is a gifted storyteller who is tireless in his commitment to doing the best possible work. His dedication is in every frame of ‘Shōgun’ and we are delighted to be continuing our relationship with him as we forge new stories to share with the world.”

“Shogun” is based on the novel of the same name by James Clavell. The series proved to be a hit with audiences and...

Justin Marks has struck a new overall deal with FX that will see the “Shōgun” creator develop new content for the network, as well as two additional seasons of the Emmy Award-winning drama with co-creator and wife Rachel Kondo.

The series broke the record for most Emmy wins in a single season with a total of 18, including Outstanding Drama. It was also the first foreign language series – and FX’s first – to win for best drama series. Other wins for the show included lead actors Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai — the first Japanese actor and actress of Asian descent to win in their respective categories.

“It is an honor to have Justin as part of the FX family,” FX Entertainment president Gina Balian said in a statement. “He is a gifted storyteller who is tireless in his commitment to doing the best possible work. His dedication is in every frame...

Fresh off of Shogun‘s phenomenal sweep at the Emmys, Co-Creator Justin Marks has signed a new overall deal with FX Productions.

Under the agreement, Marks will develop new content for FX as well as a potential two additional seasons of Shogun with co-creator Rachel Kondo.

“It is an honor to have Justin as part of the FX family,” said FX Entertainment President Gina Balia in a statement. “He is a gifted storyteller who is tireless in his commitment to doing the best possible work. His dedication is in every frame of Shogun and we are delighted to be continuing our relationship with him as we forge new stories to share with the world.”

“It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to spend the last five years at FX,” added Marks in a statement. “From the production team to the brilliant marketing and publicity apparatus, I...

As denizens of Blockbuster Video will be able to attest, the mid-1990s to early 2000s saw a massive glut of animated straight-to-video sequels and prequels to many of Disney's known animated features. There were sequels to "The Fox and the Hound," "Bambi," "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," "The Lion King," "Lady and the Tramp," "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," "The Emperor's New Groove," "Mulan," "Pocahontas," "Tarzan," "The Jungle Book," and even "Brother Bear." The sequels all came when there was a change of leadership at Disney, and the studio tripled-down on the mandate to make as much money as possible. 

The only people who watched these movies were nostalgic Disney-obsessed adults who viewed them as a scientific curiosity, and sought to use them as talking points in long-form online articles. Very occasionally, the films were rented from Blockbuster by anyone who happened to be seven years old when the sequel in question was released.

The Oscar for Best Visual Effects is particularly tough to predict because of the complicated system by which the nominees are determined in three stages. The members of the executive committee of the branch cast preferential ballots to determine 20 films for further consideration. These are then winnowed down to 10 semi-finalists, which will be announced on December 17, 2024. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Visual Effects.)

All members of the branch are invited to a virtual screening of excerpts from these 10 films in January at which potential nominees may discuss their work. Ballots are counted using a system of re-weighted range voting to determine the five nominees, which will be revealed on January 17. The entire voting membership of the academy will then vote for the winners, which will be revealed during the 97th Academy Awards ceremony on March 2.

When it comes to picking the winner of Best Visual Effects,...

Over the years, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr all tried their hand at film acting. They all appeared in movies together, and each went on to act outside of the band. At the height of the band’s fame, Disney approached them about appearing in an animated film. Lennon reportedly didn’t mince words in his refusal.

John Lennon responded negatively to the idea of appearing in a Disney film

In 1965, Disney approached Beatles manager Brian Epstein to ask if the band would voice vultures in their adaptation of The Jungle Book. They would also sing the song “That’s What Friends Are For (The Vulture Song).” Lennon reportedly refused vehemently, tossing in a shot at his former hero, Elvis Presley, when he did so.

“There’s no way The Beatles are gonna sing for Mickey f***ing Mouse,” he reportedly said, per IndieWire. “You can...

Another year, another money-making Marvel movie in the running to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. This time around it’s “Deadpool and Wolverine,” the third film in Ryan Reynolds‘ R-rated series and the first featuring Hugh Jackman‘s popular “X-Men” character. If “Deadpool and Wolverine” goes on to reap a visual effects bid, it would be the 18th Marvel entry overall to do so, when including those that contended before the Marvel Cinematic Universe officially kicked off in 2008. See them all below.

The most recent addition to the list was “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023), with its tech whizzes losing to the “Godzilla Minus One” team at last year’s Academy Awards. That was actually the third “Guardians” film to earn a Best Visual Effects nom after “Vol. 2” (it lost to “Blade Runner 2049” in 2017) and “Vol. 1” (it lost to “Interstellar” in 2014).

Both of the...

German kids and animation outfit Studio 100 International and Gaumont Animation are joining forces on a new animated series inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book. The series, tentatively titled Jungle Book: Cub Club Adventures, is currently in early development and will explore Mowgli’s life before the age of 11.

Gaumont Animation, behind series such as Stillwater (Apple TV+), Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles (Netflix) and Do, Re & Mi (Amazon), and Studio 100, a subsidiary of Belgian entertainment company Studio 100 Group, and home to Maya the Bee, Vic the Viking, Heidi and Mia & Me, will be bringing the show to Cannes and the international television market MIPCOM later this month, seeking production and financing partners.

Created by Josh Fisher, Jungle Book: Cub Club Adventures is being planned as a series of 52 episodes, each 11 minutes, targeting preschool kids and their families. The storylines will focus on Mowgli’s adventures with...

Freeform is giving big Disney energy all November long with so much goodness one can’t afford to miss a night. 30 Days of Disney returns with themed weeks that make it easy to kick back and enjoy the magic of Disney with friends and family.

The programming event features a lineup of beloved films from the entire Walt Disney catalog, including Disney Animated classics like Lilo & Stitch, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast and Disney-Pixar titles, including a Toy Story movie marathon, Wall-e, Inside Out, and modern fan favorites Soul and Turning Red.

Disney’s most beloved musicals will have viewers singing along to favorite songs this Nov. 4-8, with films like Aladdin, Moana, Encanto, and Frozen/Frozen 2. Favorite Disney villains will take evil to new heights, and they are beloved for it. From Nov. 11-15, watch out for Ursula from The Little Mermaid, Scar from The Lion King, and...

As everyone knows, Disney has been having a blast while turning its cherished animated classics into live-action movies. And while some of these, like The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, ended up being tremendous hits, others were labeled failures that nobody, not even Disney, wants to mention. I

n spite of the opinions of the fans, the company is continuing with its live-action remakes of the same storylines that we have already seen.

One of the more controversial of these adaptations is the planned adaptation of Snow White which is going to star Rachel Zegler. The movie has already been criticized for several aspects, such as the casting of the lead actor, the visual effects, and how the Dwarves are portrayed in the film. Others, as usual, took issue with the movie being accused of being woke.

While we don’t know how this movie is going to turn out,...

Roz (Lupita N’yongo) in DreamWorks Animation’s Wild Robot, directed by Chris Sanders. Photo Credit: Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Animation Copyright © 2024 DreamWorks Animation. All Rights Reserved. The Wild Robot is written and directed by Chris Sanders, whose credits include three films that were all nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards: Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Croods. That reputation was one of the reasons why Lupita Nyong’o signed on to voice the title character in The Wild Robot, but it also gave her a little bit of anxiety. Since she’s done voice work in the past (for three Star Wars movies and The Jungle Book), she approached the recording process with some questions and ideas of her own, and she wasn’t sure how a veteran animation director like Sanders would respond. As Nyong’o spoke though, she needn’t have worried,...

Idris Elba is set to appear in an upcoming Netflix movie. While much of the film is being kept under wraps, some of the cast and crew have already been announced. In fact, fans of the Yellowstone franchise might recognize one of his co-stars in the project.

Many Of Elba’s Co-Stars Have Been Announced

Actress Aminah Nieves will join Idris Elba for the upcoming film. Nieves is known for her breakout role as Teonna Rainwater in the Yellowstone prequel series, 1923. In 1923, Nieves plays a young woman of the Crow people who is put into a government-funded, Indian residential girls’ school.

At this time, not much is known about Nieves’ role in the story. However, Nieves will get to work with a lot of prominent talent both behind and in front of the cameras.

Aminah Nieves – YouTube

Elba himself has had quite a prolific career. He first arguably came to...

Few filmmakers have had a profound impact on the world of movies as the legendary co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki. His films have captivated global audiences with their imaginative stories, beautiful animation, and complex themes. Among Miyazaki’s films, the 1997 classic Mononoke Hime Aka Princess Mononoke, stands out for its rich exploration of the theme of environmentalism.

Not only did it redefine anime storytelling in Japan, but it also inspired one of the highest-grossing films of all time: James Cameron’s Avatar. With a franchise valued at over $5.2 billion, Avatar owes much of its thematic and narrative inspiration to Princess Mononoke.

San from Princess Mononoke | Credit: Studio Ghibli

However, Princess Mononoke‘s journey to international acclaim wasn’t without challenges. Harvey Weinstein nearly butchered Miyazaki’s vision in an attempt to make it more suitable for Western audiences. Thanks to a firm stance by Studio Ghibli, Weinstein’s attempts were ruined,...

Tim Burton is one of our most distinctive filmmakers. Whether you love him, hate him, or land somewhere in the middle, there is no denying that Burton has a voice and that voice has become rather valuable. From proving that "Batman" could be an A-tier superhero franchise to producing undeniable classics like "Beetlejuice," he's been making his mark on cinema for decades. Burton's biggest moment came in 2010 when his live-action take on "Alice in Wonderland" hit theaters. Divisive though the movie may be, it made box office history at the time -- and what's more, it laid the groundwork for the next decade of blockbuster filmmaking in Hollywood, particularly at Disney.

In the modern era, a big blockbuster film making $1 billion or more at the box office is not all that uncommon. To date, 55 movies have made at least that much money worldwide. Rather crucially, though, the vast majority of...

While the “Nine Old Men” are well-documented and justly praised as the legendary animators of the Disney classics overseen by Walt — “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937) through “The Jungle Book” (1967) — it’s gone unnoticed how the directors made their mark on these movies. That changes with the release of “Directing at Disney: The Original Directors of Walt’s Animated Films” by Disney historian Don Peri and Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer and Oscar-winning director of “Soul,” “Inside Out,” and “Up.”

Peri and Docter, who spent more than a decade on the book, reveal for the first time the organizational structure for directing at Disney and how the role of the director progressed. Peri, who had a fundamental understanding of how films were made at Disney, spent years at the Walt Disney Animation Research Library, combining interviews, documentation, and a diary into a methodology of the directors’ roles...

Grammy®-nominated music video director Cooper Roberts makes his feature directorial debut with horror-comedy All You Need Is Blood, and we’ve got the trailer for you today.

All You Need Is Blood debuts exclusively on the Kino Studio app on October 12. The film will be available across VOD outlets following the Kino premiere. Watch the trailer below.

Logan Riley Bruner (Stranger Things), Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book) and newcomer Emma Chasse star alongside Mena Suvari (American Pie) and comedian Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) in the “blood-soaked, heartfelt” zombie-comedy.

The film follows Bucky, a 16-year-old aspiring director who dreams of becoming the next arthouse auteur sensation. After a strange meteor crash lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, Bucky and his friends seize the opportunity to create the ultimate horror flick, starring his undead dad.

They’ll soon realize that making a movie with...

After having its world premiere at the 2023 Sitges Film Festival, the new zombie horror-comedy flick All You Need Is Blood has been acquired by Level 33 Entertainment. The distribution company has set the movie's streaming release for October 2024.

According to Variety, the zombie movie will be released on the Kino Studio app on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. If you weren't aware, Kino is an interactive streaming service that consists of an extensive list of feature films, documentaries, etc. Then, following its Kino debut, the film will be available across all Video on Demand outlets.

Yale Entertainment is the production company behind All You Need Is Blood. Grammy-nominated music video director Cooper Roberts wrote and directed the zombie movie, marking it as his feature directorial debut.

In addition, Yale Entertainment's Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman, and Jesse Korman signed on as producers, along with Russell Posternak. Michael J. Rothstein, Jason Kringstein, Scott Levenson,...

Grammy®-nominated music video director Cooper Roberts makes his feature directorial debut with horror-comedy All You Need Is Blood, and Variety reports today that the zom-com has been picked up for October release by Level 33 Entertainment.

All You Need Is Blood debuts exclusively on the Kino Studio app on October 19. The film will be available across VOD outlets following the Kino premiere.

Logan Riley Bruner (Stranger Things), Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book) and newcomer Emma Chasse star alongside Mena Suvari (American Pie) and comedian Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) in the “blood-soaked, heartfelt” zombie-comedy.

The film from writer-director Cooper Roberts follows “Bucky, a 16-year-old aspiring director who dreams of becoming the next arthouse auteur sensation. After a strange meteor crash lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, Bucky and his friends seize the opportunity to create the ultimate horror flick, starring his undead dad.

In the opening scenes of The Wild Robot, a robot washes onto the shore of a remote island, bearing marks and labels of its human manufacturers. Rozzum unit 7134, voiced by Lupita Nyong’o in an inspired performance, is a machine built to serve. One of her first phrases after being activated by a colony of beavers is an expression of this fealty: She always completes her task, just ask. Naturally, the animals in this secluded locale fear this towering metal assemblage. When presented with her eager gestures of assistance, they scramble.

Premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, The Wild Robot is the story of how Rozzum 7134 becomes Roz and finds her place and purpose within an obscure island’s vibrant ecosystem. Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) adapted this poignant DreamWorks feature from Peter Brown’s affecting trilogy of the same name. When it hits theaters on September...

In recent years, Neil Gaiman has seen many of his beloved works become outstanding TV shows, from The Sandman and Dead Boy Detectives to Good Omens and American Gods. His name is ubiquitous in the fantasy space, but amid numerous sexual assault allegations, adaptations of his works are starting to be affected. Notably, Disney has paused its live-action adaptation of The Graveyard Book.

The Graveyard Book follows Nobody "Bod," a young boy who seeks refuge in a graveyard after his parents are murdered. He meets ghosts who become his new family and he grows up in the graveyard. The book shares a striking resemblance to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book...except with ghosts instead of jungle animals.

Disney's adaptation of The Graveyard Book was announced in 2022. Marc Forster was on board to direct the movie, with David Magee penning the script. Neil Gaiman himself was never directly involved. When the project was announced,...

Watch the funny first trailer for A Minecraft Movie starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black. Directed by Jared Hess, the movie is the first-ever big screen, live-action adaptation of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time.

The film also stars Emma Myers (“Wednesday”), Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Sebastian Eugene Hansen, with Jennifer Coolidge.

Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits—Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers) and Dawn (Brooks)—find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Black).

Together, their adventure will challenge all five...

Backed by The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour,” Warner Bros Pictures’ A Minecraft Movie teaser trailer provides a first look at what’s coming with the first live-action feature film based on the biggest-selling video game in history.

The April 4, 2025 release stars Jason Momoa (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), Jack Black (the Kung Fu Panda films), Emma Myers (Wednesday), Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Sebastian Eugene Hansen (Just Mercy), and Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus). Nacho Libre‘s Jared Hess directs.

Poster for Warner Bros Pictures’ ‘A Minecraft Poster’

“Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits—Garrett ‘The Garbage Man’ Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers), and Dawn (Brooks)—find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination,...

Video game movies with a prominent storyline don’t often transfer to the big screen in a way that can live up to its source material. The movie Borderlands is a recent example. However, with a game like Minecraft, in which the whole thing is a sandbox of which the player can make anything they want, the possibilities can be endless for how a movie adapts the property. Get a peek at how things unfold in the new trailer for A Minecraft Movie.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures and starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, A Minecraft Movie, directed by Jared Hess, is the first-ever big-screen, live-action adaptation of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time. The film also stars Emma Myers (Wednesday), Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Sebastian Eugene Hansen, with Jennifer Coolidge.

Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft,...

Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures unveiled the first teaser trailer for the “Minecraft” movie on Wednesday, offering a peek at the highly anticipated video game adaptation. The live-action cast includes Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen and Emma Myers, but it’s likely the animated “Minecraft” figures that fans of the game are most excited to see in action.

The story follows four misfits — Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers) and Dawn (Brooks) — who find themselves pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. Per the official synopsis, “To get back home, they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative...

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have revealed the official teaser trailer and poster for the Minecraft movie, directed by Jared Hess and based on the best-selling video game of all time.

The first-ever live-action adaptation stars Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers (Wednesday), Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge.

Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity doesn’t just help you craft; it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits—Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers), and Dawn (Brooks)—find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination.

To get back home, they’ll have to master this world while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Black).

Together, their adventure will challenge all five...

As everyone knows, Disney has been having a great time turning its cherished animated classics into live-action pictures. And while some of these—like Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, and The Lion King—turned out to be enormous hits, others were regarded as flops that no one—not even Disney—wants to talk about. In spite of the opinions of the fans, the company is continuing with its live-action remakes of the same storylines that we have already seen.

One of the more controversial adaptations is the one that is planned and stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White. It has received criticism for a number of things, such as the casting of the lead actress, the CGI issues, and how the Dwarves are portrayed in the film. Others, as usual, took issue with the movie being accused of being woke.

Be that as it may, we have reported...

Disney has been having a ton of fun adapting its beloved animated films into live-action films, as everyone is well aware. And while some of these, like The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, ended up being huge hits, others were deemed failures that nobody, not even Disney, wants to discuss. Simultaneously, the corporation is moving forward with its live-action remakes of the same stories that we have previously seen, regardless of what the fans think.

The planned Snow White film, starring Rachel Zegler, is one of the more contentious versions. It has drawn criticism for a lot of things, including the main star’s casting, the spectacular effects, and the movie’s depiction of the Dwarves. As usual, there were also others who criticized the film for being purportedly woke.

Now, a new controversy appeared as Rachel Zegler caused a stir among the fans due...

When Disney first got into the live-action adaptation game, remaking their classic animated IP with the use of ever-advancing visual effects, first with “The Jungle Book” in 1994, then officially with Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010, it felt odd they would not kick off the endeavor with their first animated film, made in 1937, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

For the most part, many of these remakes, from Guy Ritchie’s Will Smith-led “Aladdin” to Jon Favreau’s photo-realistic “The Lion King,” failed to meet the magic of their source material. But they did rake in big bucks at the box office, and that’s all Disney needs to keep the factory churning them out. But after unveiling the first teaser for “Snow White” at D23 on Friday, August 9, the Mouse House may be whistling all the way to the bank.

In development since 2016, interest was piqued when...

As everyone knows by now, Disney has been having a blast with remaking its animated classics into live-action movies. And while some of these were successful – like The Jungle Book, The Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King – others were flops that no one wants to talk about, not even Disney. At the same time, the company is continuing with its live-action remakes of the same stories we’ve already seen, and whatever you might think about it, it’s going to happen.

Among the more controversial adaptations is the upcoming Snow White movie starring Rachel Zegler, which has been criticized for… well, almost everything: from the casting of the main star, via the special effects, to the issue of the Dwarves from the movie. We also had those who attacked the movie because it was supposedly going to be woke, as usual.

Now, at this year’s D...

Exclusive: VFX Firm Mpc has hired Amy Jupiter as Executive Vice President of Creative, Innovation & Strategy.

Jupiter previously worked at Walt Disney Imagineering, Illumination Entertainment, Blue Sky Studios, and Universal Studios. During her time at Disney, she won Ves Awards for theme park rides Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle of the Sunken Treasure and Avatar: Flight of Passage. In 2021, she founded By Jove: A Collective of Perspective, focusing on immersive narrative experiences, and served as the creative producer for Virgin Galactic’s New Mexico Experience. She serves on the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards investigation and nominating committee.

The company said Jupiter will work across the company’s creative, technology, and production management leadership teams.

“I am thrilled to join Mpc. I have always been amazed by the breadth of films and television projects they have contributed to over the last two decades” Jupiter said. “But more than that,...

Studio Ghibli films aren’t famous because of their beautiful backgrounds and innocent characters. They are renowned worldwide because of how they tackle serious issues while simultaneously portraying the beauty of a slow life. No other animation studio has been able to capture the same essence except one Disney movie.

Lilo and Stitch, a 2002 Walt Disney Pictures production, is about a little Hawaiian girl who encounters a tiny blue alien and finds companionship in him. From the surface, it looks like a cartoon that promotes family values, but fans have been able to find its themes, storytelling, and backgrounds very similar to Ghibli films.

Lilo and Stitch Tackles Some Sensitive Topics Just Like Ghibli Movies Lilo and Stitch | Disney

In order to find similarities between Lilo and Stitch and Ghibli productions, you first need to understand the core motifs that are portrayed in both. Different Ghibli movies tackle different societal...

Illustrators and matte artists within the Art Directors Guild Local 800 have issued an open letter recommending guild members vote against IATSE’s tentative deal with the studio in the ongoing ratification vote. The group is specifically opposed to the language in the deal surrounding “AI Systems.”

The letter follows another issued by members of another craft discipline within Local 800, the Set Designers Council, on Friday, that was also opposed specifically to the artificial intelligence terms in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees’ tentative deal.

“We believe the language as proposed to be both detrimental in the short term, and sets a damaging precedent for our future negotiations, as well as for our sibling locals who are about to negotiate for themselves,” the letter reads. “Contract language is nearly impossible to change once ratified. The studios have starved us into this position. We are trapped between a rock and a hard place.

The ‘autobiography’ of female brindle Cairn Terrier Terry was titled I, Toto and told the story of her role in which classic 1939 movie?The Wizard of OzGone With the WindMr. Smith Goes to WashingtonStagecoachDowngraded in 2006 to a dwarf planet, what is the name of the animated Disney dog owned by Mickey Mouse?PlutoCeresMakemakeErisEddie from US sitcom Frasier was a wire-haired Jack Russell Terrier who shared his real name with which species, also the state mammal of Maine, USA?MooseBeaverBuffaloCoyoteWhich of these members of the family Canidae was the only non-dog to have been nominated for the Palm Dog award at Cannes Film Festival?The Talking Fox from Antichrist (2009)The Dingo from A Cry in the Dark (1988) Akela the wolf in The Jungle Book live-action remake (2016)Fantastic Mr Fox in Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)Also featured in a 50th anniversary UK ad campaign for Dulux paints in 2011, what was the title of...

One of Walt Disney World’s oldest attractions is about to get a brand new facelift after five decades. The Country Bear Jamboree has been operating at the Main Kingdom since opening day on October 1st, 1971. The musical animatronic show was based on the Disneyland attraction of the same name (which closed in 2001). However, with the show becoming less popular over time, Disney is seeking to rejuvenate interest with a new theme.

The Country Bear Musical Jamboree will see the colorful cast of characters go from singing their own playlist to covers of various Disney film songs. Each song is sung by a specific set of characters, and each is given a country twist.

Full Song List:

– “Country Bear Musical Jamboree” (Five Bear Rugs)

– “Try Everything” from Zootopia

– “Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid (Romeo McGrowl)

– “A Whole New World” from Aladdin (Wendell & Teddi Barra)

– “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins...

The Country Bears have had a makeover. The long-running Country Bear Jamboree attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida is reopening this month after being dark for six months, with a familiar look but a new name, a new script and a new score made up mostly of classic Disney songs sung by Americana musicians including Mac McAnally, Allison Russell, Chris Thile and Emily Ann Roberts.

The newly renamed “Country Bear Musical Jamboree” now has McAnally, a country singer-songwriter who is most widely known for being a decades-long mainstay of Jimmy Buffett’s band, serving as the producer and arranger of all the musical material for the revamped attraction. He also sings country-fied versions of “Bare Necessities” (from “The Jungle Book”) and “Fixer-Upper” (from “Frozen”) as a member of the voice cast.

Recent Americana Grammy winner Russell is the voice of Teddi Barra, joined by Thile — the Nickel Creek/Punch...

Disney’s new version of the Country Bear Jamboree, the “Country Bear Musical Jamboree,” debuted today for some people ahead of its official opening on July 17. With recent Disney “refreshes,” I expect the worst but hope for the best. But this one isn’t terrible.

I am a Disney purist, so take that as you will, but even I could see that the “Country Bear Jamboree” needed a major refresh, and I didn’t want to see it leave Frontierland or be replaced with “Toy Story.” Since Disney CEO Bob Iger is on a quest to see how much IP he can shove into every park, I was concerned about using newer Disney songs.

The good!

The animatronics look fantastic! They looked pretty dingy and old before the refresh and now they look great.

All our old favorites were back!

Henry, the Five Bear Rugs, Trixie, Bunny, Bubbles, Beulah, Teddi,...

Can you picture the iconic Central Perk couch without the master of sarcasm, Matthew Perry, cracking a witty repartee as Chandler Bing? It’s like imagining a ship without its compass or a sky devoid of stars—unfathomable to those who spent most of their 90s watching the quirky tales of Friends.

And for those who were engrossed in the hilarious misadventures of Rachel, Ross, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, and Joey, the tragic death of Perry last year was a devastating blow. It was through Chandler that Friends journeyed beyond laughter, delving into the bittersweet symphony of finding one’s footing in the restless dance of adulthood.

Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing in Friends | NBC

On that note, an intriguing tidbit emerged: Jon Favreau, the illustrious creator of The Mandalorian, once aspired to play Chandler Bing before serendipitously portraying the lovelorn millionaire Pete Becker. But, as fate would have it, Perry...

Black Panther Star Had Some Unusual On-Set Advice for MCU Newcomer Joseph Quinn - Main Image

The much-awaited comeback to the big screens of Marvel’s First Family is getting closer, and Joseph Quinn, the breakthrough actor who will take on the mantle of Johnny Storm/Human Torch, is getting ready by enlisting the help of his MCU connection.

In an interview, Quinn reveals that he reached out to his A Quiet Place: Day One co-star Lupita Nyong’o for “little words of wisdom from somebody already in that world.”

Nyong’o, who played T’Challa’s lover and War Dogs member Nakia in two instalments of Black Panther, admits that her memory is not good, but apparently, she encouraged Quinn back then to take the role. She adds an odd piece of advice for the MCU rookie, just in time for when the production of The Fantastic Four starts:

“I would say,...

When asked about his experience working with Lupita Nyong’o on A Quiet Place: Day One, Joseph Quinn’s admiration for the Oscar-winning actress is evident. “Conviction, compassion, fearlessness, decisiveness, Lupita embodies all these qualities.”

Nyong’o has been a prominent figure in the film industry since her remarkable debut in 2013 with Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave, for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Since then, she has demonstrated her versatility across multiple genres, including sci-fi as Maz Kanata in the recent Star Wars trilogy, family classics like Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, horror in Jordan Peele’s Us, and the superhero genre in the groundbreaking Black Panther series.

In A Quiet Place: Day One, Nyong’o revisits the horror genre, bringing with her the skills she honed on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for some of the movie’s most physically demanding scenes. “I was fortunate...

Since the success of 2016’s The Jungle Book, Disney has been leaning hard towards live-action remakes of their beloved animated classics. While this has been frustrating for some fans, as many argued it’s creatively bankrupt, it doesn’t seem the House of Mouse is stopping anytime soon. However, unlike its parent company, Pixar has no intentions of translating its stories into live-action.

Pete Docter, who has been serving as Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer since 2018, set the record straight about the acclaimed studio’s stance on remaking classics for live-action.

Pixar Stories Won’t Translate Well into Live-Action Pixar Animation Studios

One thing Pixar has excelled over the years is its engrossing world buildings through stories, which could only work in the form of animation. So it’s reasonable to see why the studio heads have no interest in remaking them for the live-action format, as the magic of...

For twenty-five years, the Disney classic Tarzan has entertained audiences both young and old. The film, based on the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs novel series, is considered to be the last film of the Disney Renaissance, a period of films that helped rejuvenate the company and reestablish it as an animation juggernaut.

The story of a man raised by apes in the late nineteenth century lent itself well to an animated feature with wild and imaginative settings and action sequences. The last real animated “jungle movie” that Disney was the 1967 film The Jungle Book. Now a new generation of creatives would have a go at the unique settings of the which African jungles and the exotic wildlife.

The film was co-directed by Kevin Klima and Chris Buck, with Tab Murphy, fresh off of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, brought on to write the initial treatment. Other writers, such as Bob Tzudiker and None White,...

From Pinocchio’s Revenge to Silent Night, Deadly Night, taking beloved cultural icons and turning them into cold-blooded killers is nothing new in horror. I mean, corrupting traditionally innocent iconography is pretty much the genre’s specialty, but I still find it fascinating how modern filmmakers are fighting back against franchise monopolies by re-imagining popular figures like Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse as murderous monsters as soon as they enter the public domain.

And with the announcement that the Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey team’s “Twisted Childhood Universe” is expanding to include evil versions of characters like Bambi and Peter Pan, I think it’s time that filmmakers start looking at some less obvious source material when coming up with their public domain scares. With that in mind, we’ve decided to highlight six public domain characters that also deserve their own horror movies. After all, if these...

Disney has been riding that magic carpet of live-action remakes for quite some time now, truly kicking off the trend with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. From there, we’ve had so-called “updates” of Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, and on and on – none of which really capture the magic of the original animated films. And we highly doubt a real-life Forky wouldn’t be nightmare fuel…

Pete Doctor has been with Pixar since the earliest features, developing the story for and working on the animation of Toy Story. He has since gone on to direct four features for the studio, three of which won the Best Animated Feature Oscar – and that’s just the realm he’d like to stay in, saying live-action remakes just don’t work for what they do. “So much of what we create only works because of the rules of the [animated] world.

Pixar boss Pete Docter is firm that the studio won’t follow Disney’s route with live action remakes in the style of The Jungle Book or The Lion King.

For a couple of decades now, one of Disney’s ongoing creative strategies has been to raid its back catalogue of animated features and remake those classics in live action. The strategy paid off handsomely for a long time; remember early successes like 2010’s Alice In Wonderland or 2016’s The Jungle Book? The former grossed over a billion dollars at the global box office, the latter wasn’t far behind either.

In recent years, though, the approach hasn’t been as lucrative as it used to be. You could chalk that up to the declining fortunes of the global box office in general, but the numbers are slowly dwindling and the strategy has come under increasing criticism for being creatively bankrupt.

Amid a difficult year for cinemas, is it the increasing cost of tickets that’s putting wider audiences off?

It’s a common refrain in positive reviews: ‘go and see this movie on the biggest screen you can find.’ Another variation: ‘It deserves to be seen with an audience.’

There’s truth to these sentiments – movies do have more impact on a big screen with proper surround sound. There’s also the anticipation and sense of occasion. Going to the cinema to watch a movie you’ve been desperate to see for months is an event. It’s exciting.

That excitement might be tempered somewhat, however, by the sheer cost. At a cinema near me, the price of a ticket to see a movie on a regular screen is £12.99. This is at Cineworld, where cardholders get a slight discount, making a ticket £11.69.

Here’s an odd thing, though: if I...

We finally have the reopening date of the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree show at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Guests will be welcomed back to Grizzly Hall on July 17, 2024.

The new show will be very IP-heavy, featuring popular Disney songs instead of the quirky originals that it used to have.

So far, we know that songs like “Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book, “Try Everything” from Zootopia, and “A Whole New World” from Aladdin will be performed in the new show by country singers Mac Anally, Emily Ann Roberts, Allison Russel, and Chris Thile.

While the songs and costumes are new, the classic bears will remain.

Stop by Grizzy Hall on July 17 to catch the newest show. I’m sure the theater will be the fullest it’s been in a while.

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

Source: Disney Parks Blog

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The transition from good to evil has fascinated writers for centuries. Forcing characters to dance on the line of morality has always intrigued audiences more than two-dimensional characters with simple moral compasses. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is well-known for administering such dilemmas to their viewers through the characters they make.

A still from The Avengers | Marvel Studios

Be it Kilmonger in Black Panther, Thanos’ noble motivations to wipe out half the universe, or the execution of the Punisher’s justice, it is difficult for fans to condemn some villains when their motivations are so complex. Despite this, there are a few characters that have stayed consistent over the years, even though the law would disagree.

Five of the main six Avengers have managed to always have a strong moral compass, ever since the 2011 film, and these traits have stayed consistent. However, it would seem that their actors have played parts that juxtapose their iconic roles.

Exclusive: SpongeBob SquarePants voice actor Mr. Lawrence is writing and directing a comedy-horror toon billed as “The Office meets Frankenstein.”

Mr. Lawrence (real name Douglas Osowski) is working with Canadian Copernicus Studios on Death Castle, which is currently being developed as a six-minute short that will act as the pilot for a full adult animation series. The actor is best known for his work on Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob, having written scripts, animated scenes and voiced several characters including Plankton, Potty the Parrot and Larry the Lobster.

He will be writer and director on Death Castle, which is being positioned as “a satire of scary monster movies paired with a screwball relationship comedy.” Further plot details are under wraps for now.

The plan is for a “high-end traditional 2D animation style with distinctive visual appeal,” with several international animation industry experts attached. Emmy winner Craig Kellman, whose credits include Penguins of Madagascar...

Co-writer with his brother of some of the great film musical songs including classics for Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book

Richard Sherman, who has died aged 95, often said that he never realised his youthful ambition to write “the great American symphony”. However, with his brother, Robert Sherman, he co-wrote songs that provided the soundtrack for a generation’s childhood – upbeat numbers with a homespun philosophy typified by lines such as “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”.

Those words were written for the brothers’ greatest triumph, the Oscar-winning Mary Poppins (1964), for which they created a score of staggering brilliance: haunting ballads, lilting lullabies, roistering marches, energetic dance numbers and knockabout vaudeville tunes. Half of the songs instantly became standards – not just the Oscar-winning Chim Chim Cher-ee but also A Spoonful of Sugar, Feed the Birds, Jolly Holiday and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.