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Fox's 2008 animated comedy "Space Chimps" is getting a sequel. The film (titled "Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back" has already been released in the UK, and will be coming to DVD in the U.S. October 5th.
Sometimes direct-to-DVD sequels of animated movies do not have the same voice actors as in the original. The good news is, Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton, and Stanley Tucci are all back for this one.
The plot involves Comet (the younger chimp from the original that really wanted to go into space) finally getting his chance. However, he meets up with the main villian from the first fim, Zartog, and that can't be good. Comet, Ham, Luna, and Titan, along with the tiny Kilowatt, have to save the day.
October 5th will be a very busy DVD day. Not only is this being released, but also the "Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition" on Blu-ray, "The Karate Kid" and the Oscar nominated "The Secret of Kells". Holy Netflix!
You can check out the trailer for "Space Chimps 2" at the bottom of the page.
The first weekend of "Avatar: Special Edition" was a bomb. $4 million in three days on 800 screens is okay, but much less than what the studio and many movie insiders expected (I predicted it would do less that $5M). Not finishing in the top ten is a little embarrassing. Clearly fans realized they were being scammed by the 9 new minutes and are saving their money for the "Special Edition" Blu-ray/DVD release in November.
Even though "Avatar" holds the title as the biggest movie of all time, after this stumble, I'm not sure we can call it that anymore.
Meantime, "Toy Story 3" has just crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide. It's also became the 6th biggest movie of all-time, passing "The Dark Knight". The film needs to make just $55 million more in order to pass "Alice in Wonderland" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and become the biggest Disney movie of all time. I really hope it gets there.
The writers of "Kung Fu Panda", Cyrus Voris and Ethan Reiff, are set to write the screenplay for "The Karate Kid 2" (or as I'd rather call it, "The Karate Kid: Part II 2").
Maybe there will be a little more humor in the sequel, but why is there going to be a sequel anyway? The sad truth is that it's all about the money. "The Karate Kid" made over $300 million worldwide.
I hope it's going to be funnier, and have a decent story. I don't want to see another 2 hours and 20 minutes of just bullying and fighting. It'd be really weird if the writers of "The Karate Kid" wrote the upcoming "Kung Fu Panda 2", but that's not the case.
Variety reports that after nearly 30 years, Disney and Pixar will not submit nominations for their animated movies for the Annie Awards. People from those studios, including Pixar's Ed Catmull, believe that there's an issue with the way the Annie's are judged.
Organizers of the event still hope that "Toy Story 3" and "Tangled" can have a shot at being nominations this year. But if that's not the case, who will win?
Here's what I believe will be the nominees for: Best Picture (Non Disney & Pixar)
- "How to Train Your Dragon"
- "Shrek Forever After" ("Shrek" won in 2002, and "Shrek 2" was nominated in 2005)
- "Despicable Me"
- "Tales From Earthsea" ("Spirited Away" won in 2003, and "Howl's Moving Castle" was nominated in 2006. However, out of the six nominees last year, "Ponyo" was not one of them.)
- "MegaMind"
The other two possiilities are "Alpha and Omega" and "Legend of the Guardians", and if the Annie's have six noms again this year (instead of the normal 5), one of those could be a contender.
My pick for the winner: "Despicable Me"
I've just seen the new IMAX feature "Hubble 3D", and it's really something you should check out with the entire family. The film centers around the May 2009 trip by astronnauts into space to fix the Hubble Space Telescope. The movie also tells the history of the Hubble .
We also get a look at some interesting pictures that Hubble has taken over the last 20 years, which include places in space that are trillions of miles away. Leonardo DiCaprio does an excellent job narrating the 45 minute documentary.
If I were you, I'd go see "Hubble 3D" now, before "Avatar: Special Edition" takes over all the IMAX theaters.
According to Pixar Planet, there will be a teaser trailer for "Cars 2" on the "Toy Story 3" DVD, which is coming out November 2nd. Thankfully it's pre-Thanksgiving, but it's still a long time to wait - over two months! I wonder if something about it, or parts of the trailer itself, will leak out between now and then.
Other big news from Disney/Pixar: all of the "Mater's Tall Tales" will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray November 2nd. Not only will the disc include nearly an hour of bonus features, but two new Mater shorts ("Moon Mater" and "Mater Private Eye") that you won't see anywhere else. I cannot wait!
It's official, "Toy Story 3" is the highest grossing animated movie of all-time! Now, although it still needs to beat "Shrek 2" in the domestic box office (which it very likely won't do because it needs another $40M), the film has beaten "Shrek 2" worldwide, with over $940 million. Overall, "Toy Story 3" is the 9th biggest movie of all-time, and it could climb higher on that list over the next few days.
Sure glad, back in early may, that I picked "TS3" to win the summer '10 box office competition. Don't think too many other critics picked it. It's fun being right.
Meantime, here's something I've been wondering for awhile: When will the "Cars 2" trailer come out? I don't get why Disney has been waiting so long to release a trailer for a this highly-anticipated sequel. My guess now is that we won;t see it until before "Tangled" hits theaters, but I don't wait until Thanksgiving.
Tuesday was a big day in my career as a film critic and media personality. It's the day I got blasted by Howard Stern.
For some reason Stern decided to talk about me on his national satellite radio show on Tuesday morning, and the show was repeated throughout the day. I still haven't heard the segment (they don't provide podcasts of his show on his website), but a lot of people I know have, and I'm told he did what he always does - he made fun of me. He played my "Inception" review from "The Early Show", and then his sidekick Robin apparently wanted to hear more, so they played some other reviews from the show as well.
How great is that! As one person on Twitter wrote: LCJ, you know you've made it when you've been attacked by Howard Stern. I'm told they also said some nice things, mentioned The Early Show several times (I like that) and also talked about my Emmy win and some other things about my career.
They also posted my website address on their website, and I've picked-up a ton of new visitors and followers on Twitter.
I've got a little surprise heading to Howard, Robin and Gary, the show's producer. And Howard and I may get together the next time I'm in NYC. He and Regis are pals (they live in the same building). Maybe all three of us will do lunch.
Speaking of NYC, it's one of the most popular of the modern Christmas movies and one of Will Ferrell's best roles (see results of poll). Now "Elf" is heading to Broadway!
The brand new musical version of the hit film will debut on Broadway this November and run till Jan. 2. If it's a hit it could become an annual holiday tradition on stage as well. They have not named who will be playing the Ferrell role (Buddy), but George Wendt (of "Cheers" fame) has signed to play Santa.
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Reply #1 on : Fri August 13, 2010, 08:54:06
Why are studios revealing storylines now for animated films coming out in the next few years? Here are some examples:
"Open Season 3" (on DVD in January) - Everyone except Boog wants to go on an annual hunting trip. The rest want to do stuff with their families. Boog decides to join the circus, and falls for a Russian troupe member. The full plot and teaser trailer can be found on the Sony Pictures Animation website.
"Kung Fu Panda 2" (May 26, 2011) - Po is now living his dream as the Dragon Warrior. But a new villian (voiced by Gary Oldman) plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy Kung Fu. It's up to Po and the Furious Five to save the day. This is on the official Kung Fu Panda website.
"Cars 2: World Grand Prix" (June 24, 2011) - Lightning McQueen teams-up with Mater, on a race around the world. I'm revved up! (The Movie Insider)
"Puss in Boots" (November 4, 2011) - Puss tells of his adventures with Humpty Dumpty and a cat named Kitty, as they try to steal the goose that lays the golden eggs. This comes from the film's new website. I don't get why there's a site already.
"Madagascar 3" (May 18, 2012) - The gang still wants to get back to the Big Apple, but their journey takes them to Europe, and they become part of a traveling circus. Another circus plot? Can't studios come up with different ideas. (TMI)
"Ice Age: Continental Drift" (July 13, 2012) - Everyone, including Scrat, is frozen solid, and then is accidently defrosted in a museum in present-day. This seems like it could be the final movie, but you never know. (TMI)
Some sad news out of Hollywood, and it's not because of the death of a famous celebrity. Disney has announced that "Beauty and the Beast 3-D" will not be released in theatres next year.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney is waiting for more people to buy 3-D TVs. Wait a minute. That's your reason?
If you're so crazy about people buying new 3-D TVs over the next few years, then why is "Toy Story 3" being released on Blu-ray 3-D November 9th, and "A Christmas Carol" on Blu-ray 3-D November 16th?
Not many people have 3-D TVs now! Why aren't you holding those two movies until more people have 3-D TVs, like you're doing with "Beauty", instead of releasing them this year.
Thankfully, "Beauty and the Beast" will be still released on a special edition DVD, and Blu-ray, October 5th.
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