The cast for DreamWorks’ sequel Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom continues to grow as three new actors have joined film. This past weekend we learned that Gary Oldman signed on to play Lord Shen (a peacock), and today it’s been announced that Michelle Yeoh, Victor Garber, and Jean Claude-Van Damme will join him!
Animated films targeted at children fall into two categories. The first is where the story is king and the film doesn’t talk down to the audience (Spirited Away or most of the Pixar films). The second category is for films with lots of pop culture jokes and dialogue aimed at adults to keep them entertained because the story itself won’t (Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda or straight to DVD movies like Open Season and Space Chimps). The Tale of Despereaux clearly falls into the first category, but unfortunately does not succeed in reaching classic status.
The Annie Awards are coming! What are those you say? The Animated Film Society’s Awards. Who looks to be the big contender? Dreamworks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda” which led the field with 17 nominations, including best animated feature, character animation, character design, directing, music, production design, storyboarding, voice work and writing.
Funnily enough, “Wall-E” appeared on the list. I wonder if this will cause any problems for it to be considered for Best Film, not Best Animated Film as the Oscars.
Also in the running are Disney’s “Bolt, Sony Pictures Classic/Bridgit Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” and Sherman Pictures/Lama Films’ “$9.99″ round out the field for best feature.
Check out the list of nominees below…
Is it ever too early to start thinking Oscar season? The Academy has listed the 14 eligible animated films that will be whittled down to 3 for the official nomination. It all seems a bit silly, since everyone knows the winner will be Wall-E. In fact, there is even talk of nominating it for best picture. However, you have some interesting films in there with some stop motion, some cgi and even an animated documentary from Israel.
NEW FEATURE FILMS
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin and Dwayne Johnson
One of the better comedies of the summer hits DVD today in all its action and joke-packed glory. This edition boasts “62% More Jokes”, a number so arbitrary it’s probably true. These come in the form of deleted scenes and improvised line alterations from second city alums Arkin and Carrell.
This film also contains the somewhat creepy relationship between Carell and Hathaway, a growing trend in film these days, finding middle-aged men pairing up with 20-something females. One can only assume this was the fantastical plan of several Hollywood execs trying to start a reverse cougar trend. Whatever the case, it casts a pall over any romance using this odd technique. Hathaway is great in the movie, but couldn’t they have found a single comedienne over the age of thirty or are they no longer allowed to appear in films?
