BuzzSugar

Buzz In: Which Animated Movie Is Most Oscar-Worthy?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:30:37 -0800

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a press release today, announcing that 20 films have been submitted for Best Animated Film consideration at this year's Oscars. This means there could be five movies competing at the awards show in March. (In the history of the category, there have typically been only three.) So who is up for the honor?

Some are obvious choices. Up, for example, comes as no surprise thanks to its huge accolades. I also think Coraline stands a chance, as well as Fantastic Mr. Fox (look for my review on Friday!). But Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel seems like a long shot - even though it hasn't hit theaters yet, so I'm just making an early prediction. (Sorry, Alvin.)

With 10 movies in the Best Picture category, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these films end up with more than one nomination. Check out the full list of animated film contenders, and tell me which you think is most deserving of an Oscar when you read more.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Astro Boy
Battle For Terra
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Disney's A Christmas Carol
The Dolphin – Story of a Dreamer
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
The Missing Lynx
Monsters vs. Aliens
9
Planet 51
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
A Town Called Panic
Up

Buzz's Picks For Fall Movies: Romances

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:29:39 -0700

Fall movies are upon us, and I'm making it easier for you to sift through all the theatrical releases by giving you my Fall flick picks. I told you which comedies I'll be in the audience for, and now I'm tackling those movies with a bit more heart: the romances.
Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures, Apparition, The Weinstein Company, and IMDB

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The Princess and the Frog Looks Funny, Happy and Sweet

BuzzSugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:30:41 -0700

It was cool to get a glimpse of The Princess and the Frog back in May, but half of that video was simply about how great Disney is in general. Now there's a full-length trailer for the animated movie and it looks like Disney really is returning to the kinds of hand-drawn musical movies I so cherished when I was a kid. We have yet another Disney princess, Princess Tiana, but the similarities between this story and any of the others before it stop there. Set in New Orleans' French Quarter during the Jazz Age, the story is a spin on the old princess and the frog fairy tale.

The clean, vibrant animation and showstopping tunes make me feel a little nostalgic for my own childhood. So cute! The Princess and the Frog opens Dec. 11, and to check out the new trailer, read more.

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

12 Exciting Upcoming Animated Movies

BuzzSugar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:00:31 -0700

The release of Pixar's Up has really put me in an animated mood. Ha! Get it? So I gathered up some of the upcoming animated movies (a few as far out as 2012) from Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks - and Tim Burton. There are some exciting movies on their way to the silver screen so get ready to mark your calendars!

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Movie Preview: Disney's The Princess and the Frog

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:30:38 -0700

Opening Dec. 11, The Princess and the Frog is the tale of what happens after the princess has decided to actually kiss the frog in the classic tale. Another of Disney's princess stories, this one centers around Princess Tiana (voiced by Dreamgirls' Anika Noni Rose) who lives in New Orleans' French Quarter during the Jazz Age. One of the most exciting things about this project, however, is that it's a return to the hand-drawn animation that so many of us grew up watching in movies like Snow White, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. A few of you mentioned that some of the most inspiring characters to you as kids were found in these movies, like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. To check out the next beloved Disney princess in the new preview for The Princess and the Frog, read more.

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Movie News: Vampires, Legends, Oprah, Tonto, and More

BuzzSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:30:01 -0700

It's a busy time for Tinseltown:

Another 20-something city girl: Anne Hathaway will play the lead role in the film version of a book I really enjoyed: The Opposite of Love. The movie is about "a commitment-phobic attorney who finds her well-constructed life coming apart at the seams when she rebuffs her ready-for-marriage boyfriend."
Before I was legend: Well, it's official - Will Smith will reprise his role as Dr. Robert Neville in an I Am Legend prequel. This movie "will cover the final days of humanity in New York City before a man-made virus creates a plague that wipes out the population, leaving Neville alone with the mutated inhabitants."
What's the latest in vampire news, Buzz?: Funny you should ask! Cloverfield director Matt Reeves's next project is a "vampire tale" titled Let the Right One In, a remake of a Swedish film about "a young boy who befriends a female neighbor who moves to town." I bet she's not your ordinary neighbor.
More vampires, not so much movie related: Mostly I'm just excited about this news because it's about Guillermo del Toro (yay!!) who "is collaborating with crime author Chuck Hogan on a trilogy of vampire novels, starting next Summer with The Strain. I love that guy (del Toro, not Chuck Hogan).

Depp, Oprah, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers news if you read more.

Disney just loves Johnny Depp, but then again, who doesn't? Along with taking on the role of the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Disney announced that Johnny Depp will also star in a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and he will star as Tonto in The Lone Ranger.
O, that voice! In more Disney news, Oprah Winfrey will give voice to Eudora in the New Orleans-set animated princess movie, The Princess and the Frog.
Wondering what Jonathan Rhys Meyers is up to these days? Well, I'll tell ya. Meyers is teaming up with John Travolta in the thriller From Paris With Love. The story follows "a young embassy worker and an American secret agent who cross paths while working on a high-risk mission in Paris." Travolta, though? Really?

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First Look: Teaser for Disney's Princess and the Frog

BuzzSugar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:31:16 -0700

We've been hearing about Disney's first black princess for a while now, and today they've released a brief teaser trailer that introduces us to both princess and frog in the animated Princess and the Frog. The story is described as "a fairy tale centered on a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans' French Quarter during the Jazz Age." Tiana is voiced by Dreamgirls's Anika Noni Rose.

Tiana was dreamed up after several rewrites of the original concept for this princess, and the animators have quite a while to continue working on the movie; The Princess and the Frog will open December 25, 2009. For now, you can check out the teaser trailer (which is strange to watch - yet kinda refreshing - after so many Pixar-y movies) if you read more.

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Disney's New Orleans Princess

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 14:56:00 -0800

The Walt Disney Company's newest project The Frog Princess has the following awesome things going for it:

It will be set in New Orleans.
The protagonist will be what Pixar Vice President John Lasseter called "the very first African-American Disney princess."
It will be Disney's first hand-drawn animation project in years.
There will be a soulful singing alligator.
The title is Frog Princess.

I'm glad that Disney is finally featuring a black princess; they've only been in business for over 80 years. And while I enjoy digital animation, there is something so appealing about hand-drawn animation. Also, hello - a soulful singing alligator? Sign me up! Maybe Disney's golden years are back.

Update: I found an image of the new princess, as you can see!