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Newswire (...continued)
November 11th 2008
14 cartoons seek 3 Oscar berths
By Carolyn Giardina
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fourteen films have been submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in hopes of securing one of the three nominations available in the best animated feature category.
The contenders are "Bolt," "Delgo," "Dragon Hunters," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Igor," "Kung Fu Panda," "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," "$9.99," "The Sky Crawlers," "Sword of the Stranger," "The Tale of Despereaux," "Waltz With Bashir" "WALL-E" and "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!"
Because there are at least eight but fewer than 16 submissions, a maximum of three movies can share the spotlight when Oscar nominations in all categories are announced January 22. |  |
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Disney/Pixar's "WALL-E" is widely considered the frontrunner to win the Oscar. Competition for the other two nominee slots will include such box office hits as Blue Sky Studio's "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" and DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" and "Madagascar" sequel, which is currently No. 1 at the North American box office.
The submissions also include Israel's award-winning animated documentary "Waltz With Bashir," which has emerged as this year's "Persepolis."
"Waltz," Disney's 3-D "Bolt," CG fantasy films "Delgo" and "Dragon Hunters," Australian stop-motion title "$9.99," Japanese anime titles "The Sky Crawlers" and "Sword of the Stranger" and London-based Framestore Feature Animation's first title "The Tale of Despereaux" from Universal still await their qualifying runs.
"Bolt" and "Fly Me to the Moon" are stereoscopic 3-D titles.
By next year, the majority of the leading competitors could be 3-D titles, as stereoscopic animated fare scheduled to open in 2009 includes Focus' stop-motion "Coraline," DreamWorks' Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," Disney's "Up," Blue Sky's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" and Sony Pictures Animation's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."
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November 4th 2008
Disney looks to popular brands for holiday toys
By Gina Keating
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co is betting that toys inspired by hit franchises like "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical" or linked to the Internet will drive cash-strapped parents to its brands during the crucial holiday season.
Disney is going to market this year with a crop of holiday toys based on its popular brands at a wide range of prices and with an emphasis on toys that offer online and offline play.
"Toys that ... are part toy, part new technology, part interactive hookup -- those are the things I think that are going to be desirable," Andy Mooney, chairman of Disney's Consumer Products division, told Reuters in an interview.
Despite gloomy holiday sales predictions, Mooney is "pretty optimistic about the holiday season," believing the toy-buying public will gravitate toward brands they associate with value.
Disney Consumer Products runs a $30 billion global licensing business as well as 334 retail stores, and has partnerships with mass-channel toy retailers worldwide.
Toy analyst Anita Frazier said consumers "will be looking for more value -- not necessarily a lower price but something that can deliver a big 'wow' factor."
Parents are more likely to work off a child's "wish list" and to make fewer impulse purchases this season, making early-season marketing more important than ever, Frazier said.
For instance, Disney has sold "huge" volumes of its singing Hannah Montana holiday collectible doll, and singing "High School Musical" dolls with karaoke microphones are doing well, said Len Mazzocco, Disney Consumer Products' creative director for toys.
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