Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be is a delightful new animated film about the characters from the iconic French children’s book series Le Petit Nicolas, and their creators, author Rene Goscinny and illustrator Jean-Jacques Sempe. Little Nicholas won Best Feature at this year’s Annecy Film Festival, and it recently had its awards-qualifying theatrical run in […]
Archive for December, 2022
INTERVIEW: “Little Nicholas” Directors Happy With Charming New Movie
December 30th, 2022 
Jackson Murphy 
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REVIEW: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
December 29th, 2022 Martin Goodman I have not seen every film based on Carlos Collodi’s 1883 Italian novel Pinnochio; the essential story has spawned countless variations and thematic similarities. In truth, I have seen six or seven, none especially notable other than the 1940 Disney animated classic, which remains the ne plus ultra of the bunch. That said, the 2022 […]
INTERVIEW: “Passenger” Director Takes Us On Life-Changing Train Ride
December 29th, 2022 Jackson Murphy On the Oscar shortlist for the upcoming Best Animated Short Film category is Passenger (“Pasajero”), from director Juan Pablo Zaramella. A man boards a train and discovers a lot more about himself and society. This is a short about behavior, rewards, consequences and much more, as Zaramella explains. (This Animation Scoop interview was conducted as […]
INTERVIEW: “Sierra” Director On Oscar Shortlist For Auto Racing Short
December 28th, 2022 Jackson Murphy Start Your Engines! The Oscar shortlist has been unveiled — 15 animated short films vying for five spots on the Academy Awards ballot. Voting takes place in mid-January, with the nominations announcement coming Jan. 24. One of the shorts in contention is Sierra, from director Sander Joon, who’s based in Estonia. It’s the story of […]
An Eye for A Classic: The 60th Anniversary of “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol”
December 22nd, 2022 Michael Lyons He may be near-sighted, but it was Mr. Magoo who could see the way and blaze a trail for all future animated television Christmas specials. Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol debuted on December 18, 1962, on NBC, making it the very first animated Christmas special to be produced for television. It aired two years before Rudolph […]
95th Oscars Shortlists – Animation
December 21st, 2022 Jerry Beck The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 95th Academy Awards: Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound and Visual Effects. Here are the ones of interest to […]
A Very Merry Mickey: The 70th Anniversary of “Pluto’s Christmas Tree”
December 19th, 2022 Michael Lyons The fall and winter of 1952 saw many at the Disney Studio in a holiday mood. In October that year, Disney released the Donald Duck short that would become a Halloween classic, Trick or Treat. And, just a month later, the Disney artists would get into the Christmas spirit with a short that has become […]
INTERVIEW: “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse” From Page To Screen
December 16th, 2022 Jackson Murphy On Christmas Day, you can experience the new short film version of author Charlie Mackesy’s beloved book The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse on AppleTV+. Mackesy and Peter Baynton are the co-directors. Cara Speller serves as producer. They share what makes the deep story and gorgeous animation so special and how this […]
INTERVIEW: Director Joel Crawford discusses “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish”
December 15th, 2022 Jackson Murphy It’s been 11 years since DreamWorks released the Oscar-nominated, hit Shrek prequel Puss in Boots. Now Antonio Banderas returns as the beloved cinematic cat in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (which takes place after the events of 2010’s Shrek Forever After). Universal screened The Last Wish in theaters nationwide over Thanksgiving weekend ahead of […]
FIRST TRAILER: “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse”
December 13th, 2022 Jerry Beck Miles Morales returns for the next chapter of the Oscar-winning Spider-Verse saga, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. After reuniting with Gwen Stacy, Brooklyn’s full-time, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is catapulted across the Multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. But when the heroes clash on how to handle a new […]
TRAILER: “SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone”
December 13th, 2022 Jerry Beck Nickelodeon viewers will soon observe a tale of both comedy and caution, of satire and stupidity, where minds may switch, bodies may shrink, and robots may rise in SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone, premiering Friday, Jan. 13 at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The first-ever SpongeBob Universe crossover special will encore on Saturday, Jan. 14 and […]
INTERVIEW: A Fun Time Talking “Sonic Prime”
December 12th, 2022 Jackson Murphy Sonic the Hedgehog zooms onto Netflix with the new CG animated series Sonic Prime. It premieres this Thursday December 15th. Deven Mack, the new voice of Sonic, and executive producer Logan McPherson are excited to share this cool, dramatic, action-packed and energetic entry in the SEGA saga. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length […]
A Fine French Feline Film: The 60th Anniversary of “Gay Pur-ee”
December 12th, 2022 Michael Lyons Gay Purr-ee is an example of two distinct animation styles coming together perfectly. The feature film was produced by United Productions of America (UPA) studios, revolutionizing animation with their distinctive graphic style. Also, Gay Purr-ee was written by animation legend Chuck Jones and his wife Dorothy Webster Jones. The recognizable “UPA look” is on full […]
Academy To Present “The Only Woman Animator” Dec. 19th
December 9th, 2022 Jerry Beck In the earliest days of the animation industry, one woman animated and directed alongside the men who later became titans of the artform, yet her name and work have been lost – until now. The discovery of this pioneer changes everything. Hosted by Academy Film Scholar Mindy Johnson (“Ink and Paint”) this premiere event at […]
Charles Solomon’s Animation Year End Review 2022
Although he wrote them in 1859, Charles Dickens might have been thinking of animation in 2022 when he penned the celebrated lines, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the […]