Imagine the pressure of tackling yet another new incarnation of a property that has been rebooted and reimagined at least three times over the past 20 years. When it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that was a challenge director Jeff Rowe was more than down for. In fact, his creative vision, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” is the most critically acclaimed film or TV series in the franchise’s almost 40-year history.

Continue reading Jeff Rowe On The “Living Comic” & Wong Kar-wai Aesthetic Of ‘TMNT: Mutant Mayhem’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

We’ve seen the Best Picture race slowly come into view thanks to a pandemic delayed deadline, but other categories are also coming into play. Best Animated Feature film already has a number of contenders that found audiences on PVOD with “Onward,” “Trolls World Tour” and “The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run” while “Over the Moon,” “The Willoughbys” and “Soul” still loom on the horizon. One film that can’t be discounted, however, is “Wolfwalkers” which will be theatrically released by GKids but hit Apple TV+ before the holidays.

Continue reading ‘Wolfwalkers’ Trailer: Is The ‘Secrets Of Kells’ Followup Another Animated Oscar Player? at The Playlist.

The Academy’s Board of Governors held its first formal meeting following the 91st Oscars and the much ballyhooed “Netflix vs. Speilberg” showdown did not come to pass.  Not only was the influential filmmaker never expected to be at the function, but there was also a conveniently timed New York Times story published on the same day that effectively spun that his concerns over streaming services’ films and their Oscar qualifications were grossly exaggerated.  

Continue reading Oscars Goes Status Quo With New ‘Netflix Rule’ But Makes Other Changes at The Playlist.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 26 films submitted this year for consideration for the Animated Feature Film Oscar this morning and there were few surprises on this list.

Notably absent, however, was “Leap!” a animated film produced in France where it was known as “Ballerina” but released in the U.S. this August with vocal performances by Elle Fanning, Carly Rae Jepsen and Dane DeHaan, among others.

Continue reading ‘Coco,’ ‘Loving Vincent’ Lead 26 Films Submitted for 2018 Animated Feature Film Oscar at The Playlist.

The industry’s animators have spoken and their endorsement on the theatrical side of the business is clearly for Walt Disney Animated Studios‘ “Zootopia.” The critically acclaimed Oscar frontrunner took six Annie Awards Saturday night, inducing Best Animated Feature, Directing Animated Feature and Voice Acting in a Feature Animation (Jason Bateman). The former was a tie with “Moana,” and other notable animated films such as “The Little Prince,” “Kubo And The Two Strings” and “The Red Turtle” took home major honors.

Continue reading ‘Zootopia’ Takes Six Annie Awards Honors Including Best Animated Feature at The Playlist.

Once you meet Garth Jennings its easy to understand how the creative mind behind the big screen version of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and “Son of Ranbow” found himself making an animated movie. He simply has an enthusiastic and upbeat nature that’s quite infectious. The British filmmaker didn’t plan on give three years of his life up to make Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s “Sing,” but the potential of directing an expected worldwide blockbuster, two Golden Globe nominations and the adoration of his family (more on that later) are certainly nice benefits.

Continue reading Garth Jennings Was As Stunned By Taron Egerton’s ‘Sing’-ing Voice As You’ll Be [Interview] at The Playlist.

The International Animated Film Society announced the nominations for the 44th Annie Awards this morning and there some unexpected surprises among the nominees.

DreamWorks Animations’ “Kung Fu Panda 3″ was a surprise Best Animated Feature nominee over “The Little Prince,” “Sing,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” “Sausage Party” or even DWA’s own “Trolls.” Similarly, Walt Disney Animation’s “Inner Workings” didn’t make the Best Animated Short Subject cut and “Sausage Party” didn’t earn a writing nomination.

Continue reading ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Surprises As ‘Zootopia’ Dominates 44th Annie Awards Nominations at The Playlist.

John Musker and Ron Clements know something about animated musicals, and if an Animated Feature Film Oscar had been handed out before 2002 they would have won at least two of them. Remember “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin”? You can thank both distinguished gentlemen for bringing both classic animated tales to life. And, as you can guess, with those films on their resume they have a good eye for recognizing talent.

Continue reading How The Directors Of ‘Moana’ Unexpectedly Had The Creator Of ‘Hamilton’ Writing Their Songs at The Playlist.