DreamWorks Animation gets a kick from 'Kung Fu Panda'

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. blew past analyst estimates in the second quarter on continued strength from its animated feature "Kung Fu Panda."

In the quarter, the company earned $25.6 million, or 30 cents per share, which includes a gain of 10 cents a share after an agreement with Activision Blizzard that allows the company to recognize revenues from video games earlier.

Excluding the estimate, the earnings per share still beat analyst estimates of 13 cents a share.

In the second quarter a year ago, the company earned $27.5 million, or 30 cents a share.

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Take Your Fill of Animated Movies

According to a Nasscom-Ernst & Young report, the Indian animation industry is slated to grow to $1.2 billion in 2012.

While the the numbers are small compared to the $80 billion global industry, the growth is encouraging for India.
It’s also well known that many countries are outsourcing their animation work to India mainly because of cheaper labour. Top companies such as UTV Software Communications, Toonz Animation, Pentamedia Graphics, Crest Communications, DQ Entertainment and JadooWorks have all inked in deals with global giants like Walt Disney, NBC Universal and Mattel to share copyrights and profits.

Hanuman, India’s biggest animated hit earned Rs 20 crore through theatrical and satellite releases, besides mopping up big bucks from home videos and merchandise. Inspired by its success, a slew of animation films were lined up and made ready for Indian audiences. Percept tied up with animation studio DQ Entertainment to make three films for the global market costing Rs 100 crore slated to be released in 2009-10. Reliance Entertainments has invested Rs 100 crore in animation. BR Films plans to invest Rs 50 crore in animation films over three years.

At a time like this, a few commercial duds seemed to have played spoilsport with Bollywood’s animated dreams. Trade sources confirm that Bollywood has had a bad run with Hanuman Returns, Krishna, Roadside Romeo, Dashavatar, Ghatothkach and My Friend Ganesha (1 and 2) with an estimated loss of up to Rs 70 crore. In fact, insiders say several animation films are ready, but have no takers. At least 25 animation films were announced by top corporations, and an estimated Rs 4,000 crore ($831 million) was to be kept aside for the animation studios that were being planned across India. Everything is on hold now. “Indian animation films have improved a lot when it comes to creativity and technology. If the script of an animated film is good, there will be an audience for it,” feels Prasad, owner of the Oscar winning animation company, Rhythm and Hues based in Hyderabad. Suryadevara Vinod who produced Ghatothkach doesn’t seem to be too worried either. “Ghatothkach was made in several languages. It was didn’t do well only in Indian theatres. But we topped the DVD list for a very long time.”

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Will the best animated movie of the year be ... 9?

Most animated films seem to be cut from the same cloth. This decade has seen an abundance of movies starring anthropomorphic animals and robots making cutesy pop culture references and singing songs. Pixar is the lone animation studio that strives to inject something original and fresh into their films, but even they end up making movies about talking cars and cute characters. And animated features like Waltz With Bashir are so unique that they are singular, only being made and released once every few years, and by dedicated people with a real passion for their work. Otherwise it's all a bunch of Hoodwinkeds, Delgos and Bee Movies (for the record, I like Bee Movie. But it's nothing special).

So when something like 9 comes around (not to be confused with the upcoming non-animated Daniel Day-Lewis starring musical film Nine), it might be worthwhile for you to check it out. That is, if you want studios to continue making interesting and unique movies.

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Movie review: Animated 'Waltz With Bashir'

Think of the most mind-boggling scene in a war film - say the one in "Apocalypse Now" where a shirtless Robert Duvall proclaims (as bombs fall and fires rage) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"; or the one in "Black Hawk Down" where a U.S. soldier is pinned down in a deserted Somali street against overwhelming firepower - and recall the ominous feeling that overcame you. Recall the stench of conflict that seemed to permeate your stomach. Recall the edginess that engulfed your brain even as the action segued into less dramatic footage.

Now, ratchet that up 10 times, and that's what to expect from this juggernaut of a film. The best movie of 2008? The most revealing war film ever made? The greatest animated feature to come out of Israel? All these descriptions could apply to "Waltz With Bashir," a confessional account of Ari Folman's experience as a young soldier during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

Less is more here. Violence permeates the movie, but Folman's feature is festooned with long stretches of introspection. In fact, it's the introspection - as much as the brilliant animation, and the unimaginable horrors of warfare - that pushes "Waltz With Bashir" into the category of unforgettable filmmaking. It's not just Folman (or, at least, the animated Folman) who tries to reconcile his time in Lebanon, it's his fellow ex-Israeli soldiers - all middle-aged, all out of the military - who look back and cringe or cry or laugh with nervousness.

"Waltz With Bashir" dramatizes sequences, but the basic facts reflect the hell that enveloped Folman, his fellow soldiers and Lebanon's civilian population, particularly the Palestinians who were massacred by Christian Phalangist forces in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. As a soldier, Folman was on the outskirts of that 1982 massacre - or was he? In the beginning of "Waltz With Bashir," Folman doesn't know what to think. When a friend - also a veteran - describes his nightmares about menacing dogs from Lebanon, Folman's repression comes undone, and he begins to remember faint outlines of the bloodletting that took place 20 years earlier. Interviews with other veterans - and flashbacks (some of them funny) to their time in Lebanon and their pre-war years - propel the film at a nonstop pace.

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Animator says "Urduja" claim as first Pinoy animated movie is false

World-class Filipino animator Gerry Garcia said he is really upset with reports and claims that the new film "Urduja" is the Philippines' first full-length animated movie.

The animator explained that it was his 'baby' "Adarna" which owns the title of being the first full-length Pinoy animated movie. "Adarna" was released in 1997.

"Adarna" was released under FLT Productions and Guiding Light Productions as part of the Metro Manila Film Festival. It featured the voices of singers Jolina Magdangal, Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez.

Garcia wrote and directed the animated film. He said "Adarna" was the first animated movie in Philippine Cinema, and that it received a Special Award from the Metro Manila Film Festival specifically for this distinction in December 27, 1997.

On his trophy it said 'ADARNA Kauna-unahang animated Movie sa Philippine Cinema.'

He received the same from FAMAS and other award giving bodies. In Japan, Adarna was honored during the 7th Hiroshima Animation Festival as "Asian collection" in 1998.

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