The story and visuals of Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland have long been such an important part of my imagination’s development, I couldn’t help but be mightily intrigued by the idea of a brand new version being directed by Tim Burton. 

 

The Princess and the Frog has been endlessly reviewed and dissected by the media. But I haven’t read a damned thing that really said anything.So, if you care to to read what I really think about this film, read on….I’m being purposely critical, which is against my nature for the most part. But hell, somebody’s got to do it, so I’ll bite the bullet and play the part of hardened critic.

 

 

 

 

It’s been close to 2 decades since I last saw the original Beauty and the Beast, sitting mesmerized right alongside my then 3 year old daughter Becky as we watched the enchanted love story unfold before us.  The fact Belle’s face soon adorned sheets, towels, plastic dinnerware and a closet full of other toddler accoutrements throughout my house didn’t obscure the fact that the film was cinematic and animation excellence and worthy of all the acclaim, honors and cash it garnered.

20 years later, sitting mesmerized right alongside my now 23 year old daughter as we watched this beautiful new version of the film, I can safely say the ends justify the means and the tremendous amount of work to bring this film to 3D has produced a visually stunning experience.

 

 

Ryan Woodward's film "Thought of you" offers a great look at what hand animation has to offer, and what an animator and his audience can expect from the medium.

Special Guests:  RISD Senior Animation Students 2011

Live, from the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating senior animation students take over the show and grill the very Alan Foreman and Joel Frenzer on their animation information.  Topics: jobs in animation immediately after school, maintaining your own art practice while working in the studio, secrets of FFAF podcast production, beatboxing, general fears, and the rapture.  Refereed by RISD Animation Professor All-Stars, Amy Kravitz and Bryan Papciak.

Rise of the Guardians is a major box office disaster for DreamWorks Animation.  How on earth could something with so many “right” elements go so “wrong”?  Ed Hooks does a post-mortem.

 

 

“How to Train Your Dragons” is an epic tale packed with adventure, action, humor, stunning 3D visuals and beautiful music.  I give it 4.5 starfish, it is as good as Up!  It is a film that I think every child and parent will love to experience.  The movie is about friendship, connection, redemption, and the hidden power of “being different.”

THQ has just announced that WWE legend and Hall of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart will be headlining their forth coming WWE game, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011. However, there is a slight catch to be able to use The Hitman in this game. Hit the jump to get the details and see the trailer!

Gearbox and 2K have announced the forth expansion pack to Borderlands in the form of Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution... and I couldn't be happier. Seriously, this was my absolute favorite game of last year. I put more hours into Borderlands than any other game. Hit the jump to see what this new expansion is all about.