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Casting can be a frenzied game of musical chairs fueled by whims and cocaine right up until filming, at which point you’d better be certain because replacing an actor will probably mean extensive (and expensive) reshoots. The same isn’t necessarily true of a voice actor, however. You can let those guys record entire movies and then let someone else do it all again — and they have.

5 Her

Samantha Morton didn’t just record an entire performance as Joaquin Phoenix’s A.I. girlfriend in Her. They were actually on set together, acting in real time, albeit with Morton hidden away in a four-by-four plywood box so as not to ruin the illusion of being a computer. “It was only in post production,” director Spike Jonze later said, “that we realized that what the character/movie needed was different from what Samantha and I had created together.” He then...

Disney is a studio known for creating pure magic with their films, but not even the most acclaimed artists can have a hit on their hands 100% of the time. As Disney has gone through different eras with its animation and live-action releases, the studio has had its fair share of flops. More recently, with a shift in emphasis on live-action remakes of its classic animated tales, Disney has disappointed audiences as it shallowly attempts to cultivate nostalgia by translating beautifully animated musicals into CGI-inundated, bland, poorly-written content.

Though these frequent missteps are new, Disney isn't a stranger to less-than-desirable films. The studio has had similar issues with audience reception during their early 2000s period and even back in the 1980s after Disney's first PG-rated animated film, The Black Cauldron, severely tanked at the box office. Seeing such faulty storytelling and filmmaking from Disney can be hard to stomach, especially for their most loyal fans.

RankFilm (origin)DistributorFeb 7-9 grossTotalWeek 1 Dog Man (US) Universal £3.2m £3.2m 1 2 A Complete Unknown (US) Disney £831,546 £10m 4 3 Mufasa: The Lion King (US) Disney £700,071 £30.3m 8 4 Macbeth: David Tennant And Cush Jumbo (UK) Trafalgar £680,840 £1.5m 1 5 September 5 (Ger-us) Paramount £517,000 £639,000 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.24

Universal animation Dog Man topped the UK-Ireland box office with a £3.2m opening weekend.

The film, based on Dav Pilkey’s children’s graphic novel series of the same name, played in 610 locations, taking a strong £5,347 location average.

That putsDog Man ahead of animation comparisons The Smurfs 2 (a lesser £3.2m in 2013), Trolls Band Together (£3.1m in 2023) and...

Quick LinksDisney's Bolt Was a Successful But Almost Forgotten Disney FilmDisney's Bolt Helped Save Walt Disney Animation in the Early 2000sDisney's Bolt Has a Similar Premise to Disney • Pixar’s Toy Story

It's possible only Disney fans remember Bolt(2008). One of the first fully computer-generated movies Disney produced without the partnership of Pixar in the early 2000s. The studio was struggling to make the transition from hand-drawn animation to CGI at the time, and Bolt gave the studio the boost it needed. Starring John Travolta and a young Miley Cyrus, the movie follows a dog who believes he has the same superpowers as his TV persona. It premiered on November 17, 2008, at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, and ranked third at the box office in its opening weekend.

Critically and financially, it was a hit for Disney. However, over the years, a shadow has fallen over Bolt, and it's...

Quick Links Princess Eilonwy Appeared in Disney’s Box Office Bomb The Black Cauldron Princess Eilonwy Bucked Older Disney Princess Trends Not All of Disney’s Best Heroines Are Princesses

Disney has amassed a vast library of princesses since the debut of its first in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. These princesses range in popularity from well-known and highly promoted by Disney through merchandise and other avenues to highly obscure and forgotten. There's no clear metric directly from Disney for why it chooses to showcase some over the other. But it can be assumed it's based on the performance of the princess-in-question's movie. Indeed, some of the princesses included in the official Disney Princess brand aren't technically royalty.

One of these lesser-known princesses is Princess Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron (1985). Well-known as a major box office bomb for Disney, the film has become a cult classic among Disney...

Quick Links Ace Cluck Was Supposed to Be a Girl An Iconic Sitcom Actor Finally Secured the Role Despite Its Many Changes, the Film Was Panned by Critics

Disney's Chicken Little may not be the most iconic Disney movie of all time, but it was a big deal back when it was released in 2005. Fans appreciated the unique animation style as well as the compelling story, even if the film didn't manage to hit every nail on the head. The film also boasted an all-star cast, all of whom added their own sense of flair to this compelling film.

Audiences will recognize Zach Braff as the voice of Ace Cluck, but he wasn't the team's first choice at all. In fact, Chicken Little was set to be a very different film and even had a strikingly different cast. So, who was cast as Cluck before Zach Braff, and how did...

2025 will mark the 20th anniversary of some old animated favorites, and it's hard to believe certain movies have been around for so long. Looking back at the best animated movies from 20 years ago is also a good way to rediscover some forgotten classics. The 2000s saw plenty of straight-to-dvd movies, or movies based on popular children's TV shows that were huge at the time but don't get talked about much these days.

2005 was an interesting year for feature-length animated movies. After releasing Finding Nemo and The Incredibles in back-to-back years, Pixar took a year off before releasing Cars in 2006. Other studios battled it out to claim the throne, with DreamWorks and Aardman Animations both producing classics. Disney also produced its first fully computer-generated movie, finally catching up to the competition and ushering in a new era.

Pokémon: Lucario & The Mystery Of Mew The Eighth Pokémon Movie Is A Highlight...

As we prepare for our national day of gratitude, take a moment to give thanks for one last funny performance from sitcom icon Don Knotts. Appropriately for the season, Knott’s final movie role was providing the voice of anxious cartoon bird Mayor Turkey Lurkey in Disney’s 2005 Chicken Little.

There’s more than a little Barney Fife in Mayor Turkey Lurkey, a trembling public official full of false bravado. That’s no coincidence — the character was 100 percent based on Knotts’ comedy performances of the 1960s. Supervising animator Dick Zondag says the film’s director, Mark Dindal, wanted some big Don Knotts energy for the character.

“I’m a huge Don Knotts fan, actually,” Zondag told The Province in 2005, via MeTV. He knew that Dindal wanted more than straight-up Knotts — “he wants Don Knotts from The Ghost and Mr. Chicken or the Barney Fife Don Knotts.”

With Knotts on board to provide voicework,...

When Disney’s highly anticipated “Moana 2” is released in around 4,000 theaters later this week, roughly 2,000 of the screens allocated to the movie will be 3D. This might come as something of a surprise – the 3D exhibition isn’t promoted on the movie’s poster or included as a talking point in any of the pre-release marketing materials, but in 2023 3D ticket sales amassed $1.7 billion, a record for the post-pandemic era. And the number of 3D screens for “Moana 2” speaks to Walt Disney Animation Studios’ continued commitment to the format.

As TheWrap learned on a recent visit to the Burbank, California-based studio, a small band of committed artists and technicians are dedicated to making sure that, if you see “Moana 2” in 3D, you are fully immersed in the oceanic adventure.

The process for making animated films in 3D at Disney differs from other studios — Disney’s 10-person team...

Generally, there are two types of films, with most genres featuring both live-action and animated options. The distinction is obvious, as live-action movies feature real people, objects, and settings, while animated movies rely on handmade or computer-generated images and utilize humans primarily offscreen. Disney features an extraordinarily wide variety of both types.

Walt Disney essentially pioneered animation, with his first notable animated feature, the short film Steamboat Willie, coming out in 1928 and introducing the world to the internationally beloved Mickey Mouse. Around a decade after Steamboat Willie's release, Disney officially entered the movie game with the first feature-length animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The world of animated movies hasn't stopped spinning a century later and probably will never stop. Walt Disney Animation Studios has over 50 movies under its belt, with Disney-owned Pixar and rival studio DreamWorks producing even more films to make some of the most underrated Disney features blur into obscurity.

The Wild Robot has passed a major domestic milestone on its way up the all-time chart. The new DreamWorks animated movie is based on the children's book of the same name and follows Roz (Lupita Nyong'o), a robot who becomes stranded on a desert island and slowly reprograms herself as she forges a maternal bond with orphaned gosling Brightbill (Kit Connor). The Wild Robot release opened with a middling $35.8 million against its $78 million budget, but slowly and steadily rose to become one of the biggest animated hits of the year and of all time.

Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, The Wild Robot is projected to close out its seventh weekend in theaters with a 3-day domestic box office total of $6 million. This will push its cumulative domestic total to $130.2 million. In addition to becoming the 13th movie of the year to pass the $130 million milestone, it has climbed up...

The numbers are in — domestic revenue for the 2024 summer box office hit an estimated $3.67 billion, down 10.3 percent over 2023, according to final numbers issued Tuesday by Comscore. As counterintuitive as it may seem, Hollywood studio executives and theater owners aren’t panicking.

They were experiencing far different emotions at the end of May, the official start of the summer box office. Revenue for the month was down a terrifying 29 percent from the prior year, prompting renewed concern that the theatrical experience might not survive the lasting impact of the pandemic, Hollywood’s historic labor strikes and competition from streaming.

It was because of the strikes that Marvel Studios and Disney weren’t able to open Deadpool & Wolverine at the beginning of May — the threequel was delayed to late July — marking the first time in years that a Marvel superhero pic hasn’t kicked off summer. This year, that job went...

If you need more proof that we're living in some sort of bizarre, ad-sponsored version of The Sims, have we got a news bite for you. According to Deadline, Chick-fil-a is leaving the sandwiches in the coop and enlisting the streaming wars. The trade reports that the fast-food chain "has...

Disney struggled to adapt to the shift towards computer animation in the 2000s, leading to some box office disappointments. Movies like Chicken Little and Brother Bear fell short of Disney's usual standards in the 2000s, lacking originality and magic. Despite some missteps in the 2000s, Disney did produce a few timeless classics, and a few underappreciated gems which have gained cult followings.

The 2000s were an odd decade for Disney animated movies, but the studio still produced a few stone-cold classics. After the success of the 1990s Disney renaissance, the studio had to reckon with changing trends in the animation industry. Audiences were more interested in computer animation at the time, with studios like Pixar and DreamWorks toppling Disney's historial dominance.

Disney took longer to adjust to the changing times than some other studios, and this is reflected in their box office totals throughout the 2000s. While other studios raked...

Official profile photo via Aoni Productions The official website for voice talent agency Aoni Production announced today that voice actor Keiko Yamamoto passed away on April 18 at the age of 83 due to sepsis. The agency apologized for the delay in reporting the news, stating it was the “wishes of the bereaved family.” A funeral has been held with close friends and family. Keiko Yamamoto was born on August 7, 1940, in Osaka Prefecture. Yamamoto made her debut in 1963 with the role of Wally Wolf Boy Ken . Her break-out mainstream role as a voice actor came in 1965 where she voiced Osper in Tatakae! Osper . From there, she joined Aoni Production as a founding member in 1969. In 1972, Yamamoto started her role as Hanako Hanazawa in the Sazae-san anime. She also voiced Shouta Yamada in the Chibi Maruko-chan anime. In late 2023, Yamamoto retired from her long-running roles in Sazae-san and Chibi Maruko-chan , both of which spanned 30 and 50 years respectively.

Quick Links What is Atlantis: The Lost Empire About? Atlantis: Milo's Return Was First a TV Series Atlantis: Milo's Return Has Merit Atlantis: The Lost Empire was an experimental Disney film with action-packed scenes and complex characters. A canceled sequel series became Atlantis: Milo's Return when the original did not earn as much as expected. Despite its flaws, Milo's Return is a must-see for loyal fans of Atlantis, showcasing the unique characters of the film.

The era between the Disney Renaissance of the '90s (full of new hit musicals and Disney princesses) and the Disney Revival of the 2010s (with 3D animated princess films) was full of experimental and unconventional Disney movies. Films like The Emperor's New Groove, Treasure Planet, and Atlantis: The Lost Empire were not musicals, and often featured heavier action sequences and more offbeat comedy than other major Disney movies. Disney executives initially expected Atlantis: The Lost Empire...

Your browser does not support the video tag. Screen Rant presents a gag reel clip celebrating the home release of The Garfield Movie. The clip features stars Chris Pratt, Hannah Waddingham, Harvey Guillen, and more. You can rent or purchase The Garfield Movie today.

The Garfield Movie brought Jim Davis iconic temperamental housecat to the big screen once again. Written by David Reynolds (Finding Nemo), Mark Torgrove (Raising Hope), and Paul A. Kaplan (George Lopez), the movie was helmed by The Emperors New Groove and Chicken Little director Mark Dindal. The movie sees its titular tabby reunited with his estranged father, only to be swept into a heist scheme by his fathers partner-turned-nemesis, Jinx.

Screen Rant is happy to present a behind-the-scenes clip from the home release of Garfield: The Movie. In it, audiences can see Garfield: The Movie cast members including Chris Pratt, Harvey Guillen, and Hannah Waddingham in action,...

The Garfield Movie continues to surpass expectations at the box office, despite its mixed reviews. The 2024 animated movie by Columbia Pictures outlived heavy hitters like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in theaters while staying competitive in the top 10.

According to the Exhibitor Relations account on X (formerly Twitter), The Garfield Movie has earned over $245 million worldwide on a budget estimated at $60 million. Internationally, The Garfield Movie has performed the best in China ($25 million), Mexico ($20 million) and the United Kingdom ($11 million). Currently, The Garfield Movie has an estimated domestic gross of over $91 million.

Related Pixars Inside Out Series Sets Disney+ Release Window, First Details Revealed

Pixar boss Pete Docter shares the first details for one of the studios upcoming Disney+ series, based on the Inside Out franchise.

The Garfield Movie is still purring$245M worldwide on a $60M budget.Top INTl Markets:1. China ($25M)2. Mexico ($20M)3. UK ($11M) Exhibitor Relations Co.

Jen Rudin has reopened her company, Jen Rudin Casting, after four years as a talent agent heading voice over and animation at ICM Partners and, most recently Iag.

Jen Rudin Casting first launched in 2009 and operated through 2020 before she joined ICM. Her plan now is to focus on casting film, TV, theater and voiceover/animation for the Los Angeles, New York, and Albuquerque markets.

With her expertise in animation, Rudin will also consult for animation projects, including casting and voice directing, and will offer full U.S. production services for international productions.

“I am thrilled to return to my casting roots,” said Rudin. “Rebirth and resilience keep me moving forward during this exciting and challenging moment in our industry.”

Rudin began her career as a professional child actor in New York City. She spent seven years as casting director/executive at The Walt Disney Company and earned Artios Awards for...

While studio execs devise strategies to push Pixar toward the relative safety of mass appeal, one of the linchpins of the company seems to have whooshed in to save the day, at least for Toy Story 5.

Toy Story 4 (2019) (Credit: Disney+)

The fifth installment in the comedy-adventure film series is currently in the budding stage of development with both Tom Hanks and Tim Allen expected to reprise the iconic duo of Woody and Buzz Lightyear. And Pixar Cco has reportedly confirmed that a widely celebrated director will be taking the reins for the upcoming film.

Longtime Pixar Director to Helm Toy Story 5

According to The MontyVerse, Pixar’s Pete Docter – during a screening of Inside Out 2 – confirmed that filmmaker and voice actor Andrew Stanton will be directing the much-anticipated Toy Story 5, albeit, no official announcements have been made yet.

Stanton, 58, has been an indispensable part of...

Another day, another former Disney creative leaves the studio to join another. This time, it is Don Hall, perhaps best known for his directorial work on films such as Big Hero 6, Moana, and Raya and the Last Dragon.

When he joined the studio his first major project was 1999’s Tarzan. He would go on to work on films such as The Emperor’s New Groove, Brother Bear, and Chicken Little.

He eventually climbed the ladder and wrote the screenplay for 2007’s Meet the Robinsons. His directorial debut finally came with 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. He would make back-to-back hits with Big Hero 6 in 2014 and Moana in 2016. His later films, such as Raya and the Last Dragon and Strange World, however, left much to be desired.

In addition to writing and directing, Hall would also be part of the creative leadership team on films such as Zootipia, Ralph Breaks the Internet,...

Skydance Animation is getting into business with Oscar-winning filmmaker Don Hall.

Hall, known for such Disney movies as Big Hero 6 and the original Moana, has closed a deal with the company. The pact will see him create, develop and produce an original animated feature for Skydance, although project details are not currently available.

The filmmaker launched his career with Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he worked on such features as Tarzan (1999), The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) and Chicken Little (2005). Later, he was credited as head of story on Meet the Robinsons (2007) and The Princess and the Frog (2009) before directing the animated musical movie Winnie the Pooh (2011).

Hall directed the 2014 Disney film Big Hero 6, in addition to serving as executive producer for its Disney+ spinoff series Baymax! He earned an Oscar alongside fellow director Chris Williams and producer Roy Conli when the title prevailed for best animated feature at the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony.

The Garfield Movie Image: Dneg Animation In this increasingly cynical age of recycled intellectual property, it’s probably not surprising that we would get a new cinematic adaptation of Garfield, especially given the original comic’s perpetual status as meme fodder for every online generation to rediscover. However, what’s...

The Garfield MovieImage: Dneg Animation

In this increasingly cynical age of recycled intellectual property, it’s probably not surprising that we would get a new cinematic adaptation of Garfield, especially given the original comic’s perpetual status as meme fodder for every online generation to rediscover. However, what’s most...

It says a lot about the human condition that we all love “Garfield.” Jim Davis’s nearly 50-year-old comic strip tells the ongoing story of Jon Arbuckle, a lovelorn sad-sack loser, and his snide, pompous, hedonistic cat Garfield. Neither of them are conventional heroes. They rarely even leave their house. Jon symbolizes the misery that stems from seeking external acceptance, while Garfield symbolizes the inner peace that stems from accepting yourself, vices and all. Or maybe it’s just about kicking helpless dogs and eating lasagna. Your mileage might vary.

The point is there’s something about “Garfield” that endures. So they keep cranking him out in every way imaginable and we keep buying it. That comic strip is somehow still running, even though the funny pages are harder and harder to find. The cat’s iconic face has been slapped on clothing, toys, video games, telephones, typing tutorials and...

The lasagna-obsessed feline with a near-pathological aversion to Mondays, who first came into popular consciousness in the late ‘70s as a comic strip, is a diluted version of himself in “The Garfield Movie.” Not only is his suave apathy mostly replaced by an excessive excitedness with only sporadic glimpses of his endearingly negative qualities, but this Garfield jumps off trains, stages a heist, and is subjected to trite physical comedy by way of numerous predictable action sequences. The ordeal mimics a rehashed plot from the dull “The Secret Life of Pets” franchise with Garfield forcefully plugged in.

All of these choices amount to a production that fundamentally misunderstands Garfield’s appeal as a lovingly indifferent, self-centered glutton whose greatest aspiration is to do nothing and have all his needs catered to him. It’s a Garfield movie for audiences who have never heard of Garfield, which reads as an attempt...

As anyone familiar with cartoonist Jim Davis’ iconic feline character knows, Garfield doesn’t like to move around very much. He likes to eat, particularly pepperoni pizza and lasagna, and he likes to lie around and make sarcastic comments. In other words, he’s not a cat of action. And yet for some reason, the creators of the new animated film revolving around him think that what the audience really wants is to watch Garfield engage in Mission: Impossible-style, stunt-laden violent mayhem. It’s as if Charlie Brown was starring in the new James Bond movie.

And in case you think I’m stretching things to make a point, The Garfield Movie employs the Mi theme during one scene and features that film series’ Ving Rhames as the voice of a bull who orchestrates the derring-do. After one particularly harrowing sequence, Garfield, voiced by Chris Pratt, comments, “In case you’re wondering,...

Abby Mallard is a beloved Disney character, standing out for her warmth, humor, and wisdom in Chicken Little. Voiced by Joan Cusack, Abby was almost played by other notable actresses, such as Jodie Foster, Laura Dern, and Madonna. Despite being originally conceived as a male character, Abby's speech impediment and resilience make her an inspiration.

Despite not fitting the mold of a conventional Disney heroine, the Abby duck in Chicken Little remains a beloved figure in Disney's animated pantheon. The story of Chicken Little, Walt Disney Animation's first fully computer-animated venture, revolves around a pint-sized rooster high-schooler and his motley crew of animal misfits who must save their town from an alien invasion. The quirky 2005 movie marked a significant departure from Disney's traditional hand-drawn animation style and introduced audiences to a new era of storytelling. One of the standout characters is Abby Mallard, Chicken Littles reliable confidante and eventual love interest.

Summertime is the best time to transport yourself into a nostalgic world, as Freeform celebrates 30 Days of Disney with legendary Disney films starting June 1. Viewers can relive their childhood with films from the full Disney catalog, including Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out, National Treasure, Avatar, Spider-Man (2002), and many more.

The programming event will also feature the world television premiere of Disney-Pixar’s animated film Lightyear. Other Freeform premieres include Disney-Pixar’s Soul and Disney Animation’s Fantasia (1940 and 2000).

Throughout each week in June, fans can reminisce with special summer marathons that will stir up fond memories and reconnect them with the films they cherish.

During the first weekend of June, you can check out your Disney “faves” with classic films like Disney Animation’s Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid (1989). During the second weekend, check out your Pixar faves with movies like Inside Out, Coco, and Cars.

Celebrate...

Disney has created so many timeless classics that there were always going to be a few films that simply slipped through the cracks. While each one has a cult following, it's fair to say that many of the entries listed below have been largely forgotten by mainstream audiences despite their incredible potential.

Each of these movies contains a gem of an idea, a specific concept, or an animation style that surely should have meant that it would stick around for the ages. Most of these pictures deserve a second look and a chance to shine once more in a new era. Indeed, The Walt Disney Company's storied history wouldn't be quite the same without these projects.

Chicken Little Boasted a Brilliant Premise The Film Arrived at the Wrong Time

Chicken Little GAdventureComedy

After ruining his reputation with the town, a courageous chicken must come to the rescue of his...

"I let it roll, I let it ride, I let it go, I let it slide right by." Sony Pictures has debuted an amusing music video for The Garfield Movie, and since it kind of counts as another trailer (it's all footage from the movie) we're posting it below. The Garfield Movie is made by Sony Animation and Mark Dindal, the filmmaker who also directed The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. The plot features Garfield reuniting with his long-lost father, a scruffy street cat, then ending up involved in a high-stakes heist with him (and Odie). Chris Pratt stars as the voice of the sarcastic, lasagna-loving tabby, alongside the voices of Samuel L. Jackson as his father Vic, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Ving Rhames. The cute teaser trailer debuted last year, and the official trailer arrived a month ago. This track features...

What happens in Vegas… fuels a year’s worth of hope for theatrical exhibitors.

From April 8-11, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Universal, Paramount, and Disney — not to mention the faith-friendly Angel Studios and anime distributor Crunchyroll — have four days at CinemaCon to wow theater owners (and the press) with their plans for the summer blockbuster season and beyond. However, there are only so many times that NATO, the MPA, and the studios can say “movie theaters are back!” without sounding like Chicken Little.

The reality is 2024 will be lucky to match the levels of last year, and 2025 has its own challenges if the industry faces another round of strikes. Even so, Adam Aron’s hundreds of soldier-owners from his AMC army will be looking to him for reassurance at the world’s biggest exhibition pep rally.

Beyond the potential shock and awe of movie previews, messaging that could carry firepower as...

The Garfield Movie star Harvey Guillén recently opened up about how difficult it was to voice a predominately silent character like Odie.

In an interview with MovieWeb, Guillén recalled initially being confused when approached to voice Odie in the upcoming animated movie, saying, "I was like, 'Wait, doesn't Odie not speak?' and they went, 'We like for you to convey all these different emotions as the movie progresses, but you can't use words.'" He added that it was "such a challenge" to give Odie a personality "because it's just sound effects. You're just using your vocal chords with sound effects and character and grounded the whole time. And so that was kind of a challenge but so fun to do."

Related Garfield Fans React to Chris Pratt's New Voice for the Iconic Cat Chris Pratt's Garfield voice is dividing fans on social media. Close

The Garfield Movie...

"If I don't make it back, tell my story..." Ha ha ha. Sony Pictures has revealed the second official trailer for the funny Garfield movie, currently set to arrive in theaters at the end of May this summer movie season. The Garfield Movie, as it is officially called, is directed by Mark Dindal, the animation filmmaker who also directed The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. The amusing plot features Garfield reuniting with his long-lost father, a scruffy street cat, then ending up involved in a high-stakes heist. The film stars Chris Pratt as the voice of the sarcastic, lasagna-loving tabby, alongside the voices of Samuel L. Jackson as his father Vic, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Ving Rhames. The first teaser trailer debuted back in November last year, this one has much more footage showing where the plot is going - with Garfield,...

Musings about life, existence, and learned resilience vie for attention alongside themes of loneliness and desperation in director/writer Henry Nelson’s fascinating new indie film Asleep in My Palm. Like 2020’s equally compelling Nomadland, most of the film’s characters live purposely off-grid and have found innovative ways to adapt in an unstable modern world filled with pretentiousness and moral decay.

In this case, our protagonist Tom, played by Tim Blake Nelson—the director’s father/producer, currently starring in Dune: Part Two—lives with his teenage daughter Beth Anne (Chloë Kerwin of Test Screening) in a decked-out storage unit in rural Ohio near a small liberal arts college. The father/daughter relationship is key to the story, leaping off the duo’s tight bond. But their personal challenges are mounting. Tom is trying to leave his violent and unsettling past behind, and Beth Anne is slowly coming into her own,...

The original sequel to Jumanji would have been set in The White House and involved mayhem and CGI animals, but the idea was disliked by the original book writer. Instead, the writer wrote a different sequel called Zathura which failed to make the same impact as Jumanji. Zathura, currently streaming on Netflix and Prime Video, tells the story of two brothers who play a board game and get transported to space.

The Jumanji franchise found a new lease of life more than 20 years after Robin Williams played the dangerous board game, with Dwayne Johnson leading the charge in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle in 2017. However, The Rock may not have had the chance to dip into the fantasy universe if an original sequel plan had been put in action many years earlier.

In a recent interview with SyFy Wire, original Jumanji book writer Chris Van Allsburg revealed that following the...

Disney draws inspiration from so many places when it tells its stories. Its animation department is iconic for taking cues from classic fairy tales, while somehow also balancing creative and original concepts that are both emotionally compelling and deeply engaging. Its live-action department has moved from theme park adaptations to remakes and experimental projects, trialing new narrative structures as they go.

While Disney has plenty of other studios to oversee, like Pixar, LucasFilm, 20th Century Studios, and Marvel Studios, these specific narratives are from the teams at Walt Disney Animation and, indeed, the live-action studio. Disney might be bold and take plenty of risks, but that has led to a variety of bizarre and strange arcs which consequently impacted the performance of a film. These storylines are both infamous and classic, and although sometimes they might genuinely work, their very foundations are always extremely weird upon further analysis.

The Chicken...

Disney has shifted from traditional hand-drawn animation to CGI, but their latest film, Wish, suggests a return to 2D animation. Combining older and newer animation styles can open the door for future projects and other studios to follow suit. Disney's focus on sequels and existing franchises has led to box-office disappointments, and returning to 2D animation could help revitalize their performance.

Disney's animated movies have gone through changes thanks to technology, but one promising new direction can help fix a 13-year-old industry shift. Animation at Disney has evolved exponentially since the days of black-and-white hand-drawn art that utilized techniques like multi-plane cameras. To keep up with competitors' advancements, Disney shifted to a digital 2D and 3D animation process in the 1990s. In 2005, Disney released its first fully CGI film, Chicken Little, after having incorporated the technique in small sections of other films prior.

However, Disney only really cemented its own...

Having teamed up for a new Christmas song, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and pop star Meghan Trainor performed their holiday duet live on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Monday night. In the catchy tune Fallon tries to guess what Trainor got him for Christmas, with the singer revealing that she is the gift.

“It’s Christmas time, my dear/And we said no gifts this year/I got one question, if you’d let me/What did you get me?” sings Fallon to Trainor. “Is it a tie? An ugly sweater?...

With this year being the 100 year anniversary of The Walt Disney Company and the release of their latest animated title, Wish, we wanted to know what animated Disney film has been your favorite over the years? We stuck to films specifically released by Disney, so no Pixar titles are included. What struck me while compiling the list is the progression of their films. From the innocence of their early work to what many consider their heyday in the early 90’s to the emergence of the CGI era. For many of us, Disney films defined our youth, but which is the one that has remained with you all these years? As always, if you don’t see your favorite listed, please click “Other” and let us know what it is in the comments section as well as any fond memories you have of these timeless classics.

What is your favorite Disney Animated Film?...

Disney's earliest animated projects paved the way for the medium and showcased the studio's commitment to pushing the boundaries of animation. The Disney Renaissance of the 1990s proved that heartfelt stories could revive the studio's success, but recent financial struggles may necessitate another creative resurgence. Disney's focus on established franchises and CGI animation has overshadowed the potential for original stories and traditional hand-drawn animation, which were once the studio's greatest successes.

It's almost impossible to find a more iconic animated movie studio than the House of Mouse. For 100 years now, Disney has been producing some of the greatest and most influential animated films of all time. Their earliest animated projects date back to the dawn of the medium itself. For three-quarters of a century, traditional hand-drawn animation was the norm. However, as technology evolved, Disney did as well.

In 2005, they released Chicken Little, their first fully CGI-animated feature. They continued...

In the first round of this year’s Thanksgiving box office battle, the victor was not the Walt Disney Animation film “Wish,” but rather Sony’s R-rated “Napoleon.” However, both films opened with promising pre-release preview earnings, offering hope that both films will achieve measured victories no matter which one “wins” the Wednesday-Sunday weekend crown.

Sony’s “Napoleon” began with a boom, earning $3 million in Tuesday preview screenings. That’s higher than the $2 million earned by Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” in 2019 and the $1.4 million earned by Ryan Coogler’s “Creed” in 2015. Both of which went on to top $40 million in their respective Wed-Sun Thanksgiving weekend launches.

That certainly is good news for Ridley Scott’s Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby-starring war epic, even if Sony was merely projecting a $45 million worldwide launch. Like Martin Scorsese’s “Flowers of the Killer Moon,” “Napoleon” is a big-budget epic produced by...

Critics aren't thrilled with Wish, the latest animated feature coming to theaters from Disney.

Set for its wide release on Nov. 22, Wish is currently sitting on a rotten score of 58% at Rotten Tomatoes with its early reviews from critics. It's not great news for the House of Mouse, as this marks the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score for an animated Disney movie since Chicken Little, which was released 18 years ago in 2005. That film has a score of 37%, so for what it's worth, Wish is still comfortably ahead of that film with its critics' score. Movies are also considered to be "fresh" if they're rated 60% or higher, so if more positive reviews come in, Wish could also soon find its way out of its rotten status if it can bump up a few percentage points.

Disney's Wish Is A Big Test For The House Of Mouse

"Amusing, but underwhelming and undercooked while low on laughs,...

Wish, Disney's 62nd animated feature, has received the company's worst Rotten Tomatoes score in nearly two decades. The movie centers on a teenage girl who makes a wish to save her kingdom from doom, with the company's iconic wishing star as a key character. As of now, Wish has a Rotten score of 58%, the first time a Walt Disney Animation Studios movie has received such a low rating since 2005's Chicken Little.

Wish has received Disney's worst Rotten Tomatoes score in nearly two decades. The upcoming movie is the 62nd feature released by Walt Disney Animation Studios and the only one to be released during the company's centennial celebration in 2023. The company's iconic wishing star is a character in the movie, descending to the kingdom of Rosas when teenager Asha (Ariana DeBose) makes a wish to save the land from impending doom.

Rotten Tomatoes has now aggregated an official score...

A lasagna-loving feline is returning to the big screen next year. Sony Pictures released The Garfield Movie trailer Monday, giving fans their first look at Chris Pratt’s version of the beloved orange feline. The trailer begins with a hungry, wide-eyed young Garfield stumbling across a man sitting by himself in a pizza parlor. When the man invites him in, they end up sharing a bite of pizza — and if you know Garfield, you know it didn’t end there. The one bite leads to a montage of Garfield devouring the rest of the pie,...

The trailer for The Garfield Movie has now made its online debut. Sony Pictures Animation is bringing to life one of the most famous lazy felines in the world. The last time Garfield had graced the silver screen was in 2006’s Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties, the sequel to 2004’s Garfield, which featured Bill Murray as the titular voice that originated with Lorenzo Music, who poetically also voiced the Bill Murray role in The Real Ghostbusters. Famously, Murray had admitted to taking the role under the mistaken assumption that he was working with one of the Coen brothers (the movie was written by Joel Cohen – unrelated to the beloved duo).

This new incarnation brings us an origin story of sorts courtesy of the new trailer. We get a look at how Garfield had ended up with his owner, Jon Arbuckle. In the intro to the trailer, kitten Garfield works...

Ah, Mondays: the scourge of the workforce and of unemployed lasagna enthusiasts alike. Well, whichever category you fall into, this should help get your week off to a better start -- depending on your tolerance for Chris Pratt voicing animated roles that sound exactly like Chris Pratt, of course.

We can almost feel the marketing executives over at Sony rubbing their hands together at the irony of releasing the new trailer for "The Garfield Movie" on a Monday, by far the orange tabby cat's undisputed least favorite day of the week. The latest footage doesn't play up this Monday-hating aspect of his personality, however, as much as it does the origins of how he and Jon Arbuckle ended up crossing each other's paths (spoiler: it involves food), his love of lasagna, and, most surprisingly of all, the appearance of his long-lost father Vic ... voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, no less.

"Color me: intrigued" Sony Pictures has unveiled the first look teaser trailer for the next upcoming Garfield movie, currently set to arrive in theaters in May of 2024 next summer. "Monday just got a whole lot better." The Garfield Movie, as it is officially called, is directed by Mark Dindal, the animation filmmaker who also directed The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. The funky plot features Garfield reuniting with his long-lost father, a scruffy street cat, then ending up involved in a high-stakes heist. The film stars Chris Pratt as the voice of the sarcastic, lasagna-loving tabby, alongside the voices of Samuel L. Jackson as his father Vic, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Ving Rhames. This is a fun intro, similar to the recent Scooby Doo movie where they show Scoob as a pup, this time starting with Garfield as a kitten living...

Sony Pictures Animation just dropped a trailer for their upcoming film, ‘The Garfield Movie,’ and it’s catching everyone’s attention. Chris Pratt, known for his role in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ brings life to the iconic, lasagna-loving cat. The trailer hints at a unique story, showing how Garfield and his owner Jon Arbuckle meet, wrapped in a theme reminiscent of ‘The Peanuts Movie.’

What’s really exciting is the twist in the story. The movie promises a high-stakes heist, which is a departure from the usual Garfield antics. According to the studio’s synopsis, Garfield, after reuniting with his long-lost father Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), gets dragged into a thrilling adventure. He’s not alone, though; his pal Odie joins in on the action too.

The casting for this movie is impressive. Along with Pratt and Jackson, the film features talents like Hannah Waddingham, Nicholas Hoult, Ving Rhames,...

Chris Pratt embodies the world’s most sarcastic yet endearing orange feline in the trailer for “The Garfield Movie,” premiering in theaters on May 24, 2024.

The new animated feature introduces new characters to comic creator Jim Davis’ universe, including Samuel L. Jackson as Vic, Garfield’s father. Both Pratt and Jackson have been honing their voice acting chops, with Jackson playing another animated cat in “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” and Pratt portraying Mario in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

In the trailer for “The Garfield Movie,” Pratt’s lovable fat cat explains how he adopted his owner, John. Before he dives into a tray of lasagna, he warns the audience, “I apologize in advance. The eating you’re about to see will not be pretty. And if you have young children, this would be a good time for them to leave the room.”

Pratt’s “Garfield” film is...