IMAX Corporation has announced that Steve Oedekerk's original animated film, SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN, will be reformatted into IMAX 3D and anchor a special IMAX holiday film program launching in November 2002. Produced by Oedekerk's O Entertainment, animated by DNA productions with additional footage being animated by Omation, a division of O Entertainment, the film features the voices of Oedekerk, Emmy Award-winning comic Jonathan Winters, Ben Stein and Victoria Jackson. SANTA VS.

On May 8, 2001 Argus International Film Studio signed an agreement with Germany’s MC-One to produce THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING, a 70-minute animated film based on the well-known fairy tale by Hoffmann and ballet by Tchaikovsky. Directed by Tatiana Ilyina, the Russian version of the animated feature will be available at the end of 2002. The 3-minute pilot copy for THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING was awarded the World Gold Medal for best animation at the 1999 New York festivals and was in official selection at Annecy 2000.

Exploding into the top spot at the box office this Memorial Day weekend was Buena Vista’s PEARL HARBOR, which made a triumphant nationwide debut, grossing $75.1 million. The 3-hour, action-packed movie is set during the time of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, where two friends (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) are caught up in the events that draw the United States into World War II. DreamWorks' CG-animated film SHREK more than withstood the heavy bombardment, slipping down one notch from first to second with $54.2 million during its second weekend.

The Walt Disney Company is moving up its large-format release of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to January 1, 2002, following on the success of last year's January 1 release of FANTASIA/2000: The Imax Experience. Produced by Don Hahn and directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has been digitally remastered and reformatted specifically for release to 15/70 and 8/70 theaters. The new version includes a never-before-seen musical sequence featuring “Human Again,” a song that had been written and storyboarded for the original release, but never animated.

DreamWorks' new CG-animated film SHREK rocketed to #1 at the box office in its North American debut, taking in $42.1 million. It is the second-biggest opening for an animated film and the biggest-ever for the distributor. Buena Vista's TOY STORY 2, which debuted during the Thanksgiving holiday in 1999, holds the record for animated openings with $57.4 million, while the previous biggest opening for DreamWorks was GLADIATOR with $34.8 million in May 2000. Universal's THE MUMMY RETURNS tallied $20.5 million during its third weekend to hold second place.

DreamWorks Pictures' new CG animated feature "Shrek" will be projected digitally in eleven theatres in the U.S. and Canada. This marks the first time a DreamWorks film will be shown in the digital format. In making the announcement, DreamWorks head of distribution Jim Tharp stated, “SHREK represents the state-of-the-art in computer animation, so it is only fitting that it be the first DreamWorks film to be seen in this state-of-the-art format.

The English-language version of the anime thriller JIN-ROH: THE WOLF BRIGADE will have its theatrical release at New York's Cinema Village on June 22, 2001, at the Varsity Theater in Seattle on June 29, 2001 and nationally throughout the summer. A collaboration between two generations of filmmakers, JIN-ROH marries a hard-hearted script by Momoru Oshii, the internationally acclaimed maker of GHOST IN THE SHELL with the vérité direction of Hiroyuki Okiura, assistant to Oshii on GHOST. JIN-ROH's setting is Tokyo - not the Tokyo of the future, but of an alternate past.

Leslie Carlson’s new short, SHRIMP AND CRAB COCKTAIL, made its debut on Ifilm May 4, 2001. This 2-minute animated short explores the shifting tides of emotion between a shrimp and crab as they flirt in an undersea cocktail lounge, with a dark twist to the old line "there are other fish in the sea." For more information, visit: www.ifilm.com/ifilm/skeletons/film_detail/0,1263,1236475,00.html. WHITE BREAD BLUES, a new animated Web series from the San Francisco office of interactive design and production company Deepend, debuts this week.

TriStar Pictures will release THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN, an animated musical film based on the novel by E.B. White, in Los Angeles, California and New York, New York on Friday, May 11, 2001. Universally hailed as a classic of children's literature, THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN follows the wonderful and witty adventures of Louie, a mute trumpeter swan who takes extraordinary steps to compensate for his lack of voice.

Premiering on the IFILM Network this week is DAMNED, a new film by Alex Crouch. Most consider a game of chess to be a fun, harmless way to pass the time, but nobody said it was fun for the pieces on the board! Witness the horrible fate of one group of chess pieces as they're thrown into the jaws of death. These guys know the true meaning of the word "Damned!" Find this short at: www.ifilm.com/ifilm/skeletons/film_detail/0,1263,1104743,00.html. .

The anime classic AKIRA, fresh from a $1 million restoration, has been released on the big screen in a few select theatres in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. With digital projection, this is the cleanest, crispest print ever seen to date. AWN was invited to a special pre-release screening and was very impressed by the quality of the print and restoration. First released theatrically in Japan in 1988, AKIRA has garnered legions of fans around the world and is still considered a masterpiece of cel animation.

The Gnomon Workshop has released six new Alias|Wavefront Maya training videos on polygon modeling, cameras and dynamics. This series of six marks the third round of releases and brings the total number of titles available from The Gnomon Workshop up to 18. The new videos are currently shipping and can be ordered in NTSC or PAL from the company's Website. The videos were produced by Alex Alvarez, director of The Gnomon Workshop and Gnomon School of Visual Effects, and Darrin Krumweide, associate director of Gnomon School of Visual Effects.

Sharon Katz, creator of HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH (Audience Choice Award, Chicks 'n Flicks Film Festival), has finished her newest animated short, THE ANGEL'S FOOT CAKE / DER FUS TORT. In the film, Drinkeleh Fresserkeh decides to make a cake in the shape of an Angel's foot. The Angels take umbrage and the fun begins in this delightfully raucous modern Yiddish animated tale. The film premiers April 29, 2001 at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival.

Richard Linklater's latest film, the animated feature WAKING LIFE, has been acquired by Fox Searchlight and will hit theaters later this year. Fox Searchlight acquired the worldwide distribution rights in a deal negotiated by the company’s executive VP Joseph de Marco and John Sloss of the indie financing company Cinetic. The movie debuted to critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

For the first time in 48 years, an animated film has been selected to compete at the Cannes Film Festival. DreamWorks SKG’s SHREK, directed by Andrew Adamson and Victoria Jenson, was one of 22 films selected for official competition. The film, slated for a May 18, 2001 U.S. release, stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow, and was produced at PDI/DreamWorks, the company’s Palo Alto CGI and effects unit.

Warner Home Video
has released three new POWERPUFF GIRL collections on VHS and DVD,
which include never-before-seen episodes. The new BOOGIE FRIGHTS VHS
collection contains five episodes, including the never-before-seen
"Helter Shelter," the Powerpuff Girls' music video featuring Shonen
Knife, a bonus episode of COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG, and a sneak peek
at the upcoming Cartoon Network SAMURAI JACK series, which is set to
air in Summer 2001. The new TWISTED SISTER VHS collection contains

FUNimation Productions Ltd. has announced a slate of upcoming DRAGON BALL Z home video releases. On
April 17, 2001, edited and uncut versions of DRAGON BALL Z PERFECT
CELL - TEMPTATION and DRAGON BALL Z PERFECT CELL - PERFECTION are
scheduled for release. Scheduled for release on May 15, 2001, are
DRAGON BALL Z GREAT SAIYAMAN - CRASH COURSE and DRAGON BALL Z WORLD
TOURNAMENT - JUNIOR DIVISION, also in both edited and uncut versions.
The videos will retail for $14.95 edited and $19.95 uncut. DRAGON

Walt Disney
Home Video will be releasing THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE on VHS and DVD
on May 1, 2001. The VHS release, retailing for $26.99, will include
Sting's "Making the Music" music video featuring "My Funny Friend and
Me" from the film's soundtrack. Two different DVD versions will be
released. The DISNEY DVD version, to retail for $29.99, includes an
additional music video "Walk the Llama Llama," as well as bonus
commentary, an interactive game and a deleted scene from the movie.

Bandai Entertainment has announced a series of June, 2001 VHS
and DVD releases for their ANGEL LINKS, SABER MARIONETTE J and
ESCAFLOWNE series. On June 5, the company will release an ANGEL
LINKS - FALLEN ANGEL DVD, which will include both English and
Japanese language tracks, English subtitles, trailers and bonus
clips, retailing for $29.98. Also scheduled for a June 5 release is
ESCAFLOWNE - LIGHT AND SHADOW and FOREVER AND EVER on VHS and DVD,
which marks the final installment of the ESCAFLOWNE television

Emmy-nominated director Chris Prynoski, best known for his work on BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA and the animated series MTV DOWNTOWN, has completed animation work on Tom Green's upcoming feature film FREDDY GOT FINGERED. In the film, Green plays a bizarre animator who desperately tries to win his father's approval. Prynoski, known for his edgy, underground style, provides animation that launches Green's skewed creations onto the big screen.