All animation is essentially dubbed when you get right down to it, but there’s still something valuable about seeing animated pictures with their original voice track intact — the timing and tone of that original dialogue is important. But Studio Ghibli’s films have earned a spot as some of the few animated pictures where I’ve been surprised to enjoy the English-language cast, to the point where I actually anticipate news about the talent used to make the new dubs.
So here’s your first notice about the localized voice cast for Studio Ghibli’s new Arrietty the Borrower: the young Brigit Mendler is voicing Arrietty for the North American release. Read More »
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In Hollywood, it’s never about what you’ve done, it’s about what you’ve done lately. Before this summer, Harald Zwart directed One Night at McCool’s, Agent Cody Banks and The Pink Panther 2. Not exactly box office or critical bonanzas. Still, he found himself in China directing the remake of The Karate Kid for Sony. From a $40 million budget, that film made almost $400 million worldwide and now Universal is entrusting Zwart with one of their precious possible franchises. He’s been tapped to direct Bakugan, based on the popular game and anime show Bakugan Battle Brawlers. Read More »
Kung-Fu Panda was silly fluff, but likeable enough as a child’s introduction to kung-fu movies. (Assuming someone wouldn’t just show their kids the safer Jackie Chan movies at some point — maybe those come after Panda.) Taken against the Shrek and Madagascar sequels (and before How to Train Your Dragon) it made DreamWorks Animation look better than usual. But would I want to see six Kung-Fu Panda movies? Probably not.
Six films is what DreamWorks is planning, according to Jeffrey Katzenberg. And speaking of How to Train Your Dragon — for which we knew at least one sequel is in development — expect to see at least three films in the series. Oh, and at least four Madagascar movies. Read More »
I’ve been anxiously awaiting confirmation that Zac Efron will in fact not star in Albert Hughes’ upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular anime/Katsuhiro Otomo‘s six-volume manga Akira, but instead all we’ve gotten are more rumors. At least this bit of potential casting is much more appealing: it seems Morgan Freeman is circling the role of the Colonel, aka Colonel Shikishima.
(After the break, more on Akira, and an unfortunate realization dawns: Hollywood might make a Rubik’s Cube movie.) Read More »
Another rumor which is making the tracking board rounds today is that Zac Efron has apparently been offered the lead role in Albert Hughes’ upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular anime/Katsuhiro Otomo‘s six-volume manga Akira. I’m not able to confirm the offer, but one source tells me Efron is in talks, while another says that it is “far from a done deal.”
So while it’s out there, I thought I’d ask what you guys think of the choice of Efron as the film’s title character?
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Astro Boy didn’t get the most glamorous film debut when Imagi put out its kiddy CGI adaptation last year, but now the boy robot is getting another chance to fly. No, not in another Astro Boy movie, but in a live-action/CGI hybrid adaptation of Pluto, a reinterpretation of the Astro Boy series that finds the characters engaged in a murder mystery featuring a string of robot and human deaths. Read More »
Two years ago we reported that Marvel had tapped the famous animation studio Madhouse to create four anime series for release in 2010, the first two of which would be based on Wolverine and Iron Man. The anime projects are being written by renowned writer Warren Ellis (who most recently wrote the highly acclaimed G.I. Joe: Resolute web shorts). The one-minute opening title sequence for the Iron Man anime series has now appeared on YouTube, and you can watch it now embedded after the jump.
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Satoshi Kon, the Japanese director of animated films such as Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress and the Inception-influencing Paprika, has died at the young age of 47. The director reportedly lost a battle with cancer. Read More »
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