Noticias

Pierre Coffin voices the Minions in every Despicable Me movie, contributing to their iconic nonsensical speech. Despite his lack of experience in voice acting, Coffin's performance as the Minions has been extremely successful. The Minions' speech is a mix of various languages, showcasing a complex linguistic approach by Coffin for their communication.

Gru's diminutive yellow accomplices have probably been the biggest legacy of the Minions and Despicable Me saga, but just who voices the Minions isn't exactly clear. Unlike many other famous animated characters, Minions lack a distinctive vocal inflection, instead communicating in a series of nonsensical jabbering squeaks. As a result, it wouldn't necessarily make sense for an A-List performer to lend their considerable not to mention expensive talents to the role.

The babbling chatter of Kevin, Bob and the other Minions has played a key role in establishing the series' tone and universal slapstick humor across...

The ever popular Minions return alongside Gru and his growing family in Despicable Me 4. Trailers for the film promised to introduce viewers to a team of Mega Minions which, according to directors Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage, were inspired by The Fantastic Four.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Renaud said the idea was the result of wanting to place the Minions in a new comedic situation. "So, when we started, [the Minions] were more part of the story in Mayflower, the nice town, and they were sort of hanging out on yachts, and I think they were in Vegas for part of the time," he said. "They had this kind of well-to-do lifestyle that they were living, but there wasn't really enough comedy in it. So then we started talking about them working at the Avl and having the opportunity for them to go be agents for the Avl, which we thought was fun.

Exclusive: Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri will today unveil the world premiere of Minions: The Rise of Gru at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The latest chapter in the 3.7B+ Despicable Me franchise (the biggest-ever animated series globally) was originally scheduled for release in late June of 2020 before Covid forced a delay.

During his first trip to Europe since the beginning of the pandemic, Meledandri spoke with Deadline about the “determination that both Illumination and Universal had to hold this movie until audiences were back going to the cinema” and extolled the “pure joy” of the film which is his studio’s “most dynamic action movie” ever.

The animation guru, who believes “in the enduring power of the cinema,” further discussed ongoing change in the industry, saying, “Ultimately we can’t use old paradigms to judge future forms of the business.”

The Rise of Gru begins roll out...

Announcing the nominees for their 16th annual Ves Awards, the Visual Effects Society brought welcome news for Denis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049” and Matt Reeves’s “War for the Planet of the Apes,” each up for seven statuettes. “Despicable Me 3” is the most-nominated animated film of the year (5), while the most-honored title overall is “Game of Thrones” (11).

The 21-year-old organization consists of 3,400-plus members in 35 nations. Each year, it recognizes visual effects innovators in film, animation, television, commercials, and video games.

In 2017, Disney’s “The Jungle Book” remake claimed five Ves trophies, more than any other feature (nominations leader “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was shutout). It’s director-producer, Jon Favreau, will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award; Weta Digital director and four-time Oscar winner Joe Letteri will accept the Georges Méliès Award, named for the late French illusionist and filmmaker. Letteri is also a nominee...

Illumination and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment present Despicable Me 3 on Digital and Digital 3D November 21, 2017 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand December 5, 2017. The characters beloved by everyone – Gru, his wife Lucy, their three adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions provide hours of family fun in this heartwarmingly subversive comedy from Academy Award®-nominated producer Chris Meledandri (Despicable Me Franchise) and directors Pierre Coffin (Despicable Me Franchise) and Kyle Balda (Minions 1 & 2, The Lorax). Hailed as “the best Despicable Me movie yet,” by Ali Plumb of BBC Radio 1, with over $949 million in global ticket sales, Despicable Me 3 is the ultimate holiday gift, with almost an entire hour of exclusive bonus features including an all-new mini-movie, a never-before-released deleted scene, and much more!

Now you can own Despicable Me 3 on Blu-ray. We Are Movie Geeks has 4 copies to give away. All you have...

Illumination and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment present Despicable Me 3 on Digital and Digital 3D November 21, 2017 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand December 5, 2017. The characters beloved by everyone – Gru, his wife Lucy, their three adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions provide hours of family fun in this heartwarmingly subversive comedy from Academy Award®-nominated producer Chris Meledandri (Despicable Me Franchise) and directors Pierre Coffin (Despicable Me Franchise) and Kyle Balda (Minions 1 & 2, The Lorax). Hailed as “the best Despicable Me movie yet,” by Ali Plumb of BBC Radio 1, with over $949 million in global ticket sales, Despicable Me 3 is the ultimate holiday gift, with almost an entire hour of exclusive bonus features including an all-new mini-movie, a never-before-released deleted scene, and much more!

Illumination, the studio that brought you Sing, The Secret Life of Pets and the Despicable Me franchise, continues the adventures of...

Despicable Me 3 (2017) Video Movie Review, an Illumination Entertainment movie directed by Eric Guillon, Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin and starring Steve Carrell as Gru and Dru, Kristen Wiig as Lucy, Trey Parker as Balthazar Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove as Margo and Pierre Coffin as the Minions In this video review, I delve into Eric Guillon, [...]

Continue reading: Video Movie Review: Despicable Me 3 (2017): Third Time’s The Charm...

Chicago – This is it. The point where Gru and his Minions went from mildly irritating to excruciating. The series will undoubtedly entertain the children it’s intended for, my twins probably would have liked it if they had been able to come. But pity the poor parents who have to sit through another film full of Minion fart noises… which seems to last for roughly three whole days.

Rating: 1.5/5.0

The movie starts off with Gru (voice of Steve Carrell) and his now wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig) being drummed out of the anti-villains league after letting a super villain named Evil Bratt (Trey Parker) slip through their fingers. Bratt was the child star of an 1980s sitcom who let his mischievous TV alter-ego go to his head after he hit puberty.

Now I happen to love the 80’s, but every joke here is of the worn out seen it a thousand...

The continuing challenge for Illumination’s popular “Despicable Me” franchise is what to do with Steve Carell’s Gru now that he’s no longer a supervillain. The solution in “Despicable Me 3”: Gru experiences a mid-life crisis and flirts with being bad when he meets his long-lost twin brother, Dru (also voiced by Steve Carell), a flamboyant opposite in every way.

For Illumination, it was an opportunity to draw more out of Gru through Dru in a yin-and-yang way. This allows Gru to get his mojo back by teaming up with Dru to steal back the world’s most expensive diamond from the young supervillain who cost him his job: Balthazar Bratt, a failed child star from the ’80s who never got over the cancellation of his show (voiced by “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker).

Finding the Right Dru for Gru

Designer Eric Guillon made a drawing early on of the long-haired,...

Illumination and Universal Pictures’ Despicable Me 3 opens in theaters nationwide on June 30, 2017.

Illumination, who brought moviegoers Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, continues the story of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions in Despicable Me 3. After he is fired from the Anti-Villain League for failing to take down the latest bad guy to threaten humanity, Gru finds himself in the midst of a major identity crisis. But when a mysterious stranger shows up to inform Gru that he has a long-lost twin brother—a brother who desperately wishes to follow in his twin’s despicable footsteps—one former super-villain will rediscover just how good it feels to be bad.

Steve Carell (The Big Short, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) not only reprises his role as Gru, but also takes on a second part—that of Dru,...

Observed every year on May 24, Brother’s Day honors the brothers in our lives. Of course, they’ve been known to put toads on your head or gum in your hair. They may have been too cool for you once, too. Whether we have one or many, our brothers hold a special place in our hearts.

What better way to celebrate the day than with a new trailer for Despicable Me 3.

The Minions, Gru, along with his long-lost twin brother, Dru, are back in this delightfully funny new preview for the upcoming film.

Illumination, who brought audiences Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, continues the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions in Despicable Me 3. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio,...

Gru remembers that it's good to be bad again in the third trailer for Universal and Illumination's highly-anticipated sequel Despicable Me 3. This trailer comes just days after we got our first look at the brand new Minion named Mutiny Mel, who leads a revolt among the Minions, which we can see in this new trailer has landed them all in jail. One particularly interesting scene in the trailer shows all of these minions making a run for it and trying to escape from (or break into) what looks like the Universal Studios lot, since we can see a poster for Sing in the background and the security guards' hats have logos that look quite similar to the Universal Studios log.

Regardless of what the Minions are doing at this studio, their mutiny leads to them being locked in the state prison, where they've seemed to take over the joint,...

Illumination, who brought audiences Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, continues the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters —Margo, Edith and Agnes— and the Minions in Despicable Me 3. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the animated film is produced by Illumination’s Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and executive produced by Chris Renaud.

Joining Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig in Despicable Me 3 is Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner Trey Parker, co-creator of Comedy Central’s global phenomenon South Park and the Broadway smash The Book of Mormon. Parker voices the role of villain Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who’s grown up to become obsessed with the character he played in the ‘80s, and proves to be Gru’s most formidable nemesis to date.

Despicable Me 3...

Illumination, who brought audiences Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, continues the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions in Despicable Me 3. Check out the brand new trailer now.

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the animated film is produced by Illumination’s Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and executive produced by Chris Renaud.

Joining Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig in Despicable Me 3 is Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner Trey Parker, co-creator of Comedy Central’s global phenomenon South Park and the Broadway smash The Book of Mormon.

Parker voices the role of villain Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who’s grown up to become obsessed with the character he played in the ‘80s, and proves to be Gru...

This summer, villainy runs in the family. Steve Carell is Gru and Dru. Watch the new trailer for Despicable Me 3, in theaters June 30. It arrives along with the all-new poster & photos which you can check out below.

Illumination, who brought audiences Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, continues the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters, Margo, Edith and Agnes, and the Minions in Despicable Me 3. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the animated film is produced by Illumination's Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and executive produced by Chris Renaud.

Joining Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig in Despicable Me 3 is Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner Trey Parker, co-creator of Comedy Central's global phenomenon South Park and the Broadway smash The Book of Mormon. Parker voices the role of villain Balthazar Bratt,...

Illumination Entertainment seems to be knocking it out of the park as of late. While their films are by no means as beloved as your average Disney/Pixar/DreamsWorks fare, it certainly seems to be scratching a very specific itch for audiences in terms of its comedy style. Last year, we saw the studio release two films: The Secret Life of Pets and Sing, both of which did very well at the box office, more than making up for their budgets.

The year before that, they released Minions, the spinoff of the Despicable Me franchise. While the movie made huge money — over $1.1 billion worldwide — it was a creative step down for the franchise, and proof that not every side character needs their own movie, no matter how entertaining they are.

This year, Illumination will be heading back to Gru (Steve Carell) and the girls with Despicable Me 3. This flick...

Since its humble debut seven years ago, Universal’s Despicable Me franchise has gone from strength to strength, pulling in extraordinary numbers at the box office and even seeding the creation of a Minions-centric spinoff series – expect those lovable little critters to return via Minions 2 in 2020.

Closer to home though, Universal and Illumination Entertainment is on the verge of launching Despicable Me 3 into theaters this summer, and a new trailer released today spells double trouble for Steve Carell and his merry band of misfits. Opening at a time when Gru (Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) have carved out a life of their own, replete with a white picket fence and three adorable daughters – namely Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Nev Scharrel) – Despicable Me 3 throws a spanner in the works by introducing Dru, the long-lost brother who is essentially the sprightly ying to Gru’s yang.

When the first Despicable Me 3 teaser debuted in December, it gave us our first look at the new villain Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker), whom Gru (Steve Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) have to face off against. Today, we have a preview for the full-length trailer, which features quite the surprising revelation. That Gru actually has a twin brother named Dru. This brief scene features Gru flying to an island, where he discovers that Dru has done quite well for himself, living in a massive mansion.

This trailer preview surfaced on YouTube earlier today, revealing that the second trailer debuts online tomorrow, Tuesday, March 14. It seems likely that we'll get our first full look at Dru in the sneak preview. This new character will also be voiced by Steve Carell. It still isn't clear how Dru fits into the story at this point, or how Dru managed to track down...

Hitting theaters on June 30, 2017 is Despicable Me 3. Check out the brand new trailer and poster below.

The team who brought you Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, returns to continue the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions. Despicable Me 3, directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon, and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, will be released in theaters on June 30, 2017.

The animated film is produced by Illumination’s Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and executive produced by Chris Renaud.

Joining Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig in Despicable Me 3 is Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner Trey Parker, co-creator of Comedy Central’s global phenomenon South Park and the Broadway smash The Book of Mormon. Parker voices the role of villain Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who...

Simon Brew May 25, 2017

A final trailer for Despicable Me 3 is with us. You can see it right here...

With Minions having grossed north of $1.1bn at the global box office, making it one of the biggest grossing animated movies of all time, it’s little surprise that Illumination Entertainment is bringing the little critters to the screen again. This time, though, they’re bringing Gru – voiced by Steve Carell – back with them.

The film in question, as you’ve probably twigged by now, is Despicable Me 3, with also sees added to the voice case Trey Parker as villainous Balthazar Bratt, and Kristen Wiig too. The movie lands in UK cinemas on June 30th, and a final trailer has been released. Right here, in fact...

Here's the second trailer from March...

Here's the original teaser trailer from last December...

And here’s the synopsis…

The team who brought you...

His fashion sense is dated, his devious villain tactics may be a bit unconventional, but you can’t deny he’s got style. Who is he? He’s Balthazar Bratt, the latest criminal that will wreck havoc in “Despicable Me 3.”

Illumination Entertainment released the trailer for the latest film in the animated franchise, which sees the return of Steve Carell as super villain Gru, Kristen Wiig as his wife Lucy and the adorable and wild Minions.

This time around “Grucy” (Lucy’s couple name for them that Gru hates) will go up against the nefarious villain Balthazar, voiced by “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker. Balthazar is a former child star who’s turned to a life of international crime and is still obsessed with the character he portrayed in the ‘80s. The formidable nemesis uses a Rubik’s Cube as a weapon, has a powerful keytar, moonwalks and dresses like a rockstar.

Gru and the minions are back in the third installment of 'Despicable Me,' directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, and co-directed by Eric Guillon. The film features the voice talents of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Coogan.

Gru faces off against Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who grows up to become obsessed with the character he played in the '80s; and gets into some sibling rivalry when he meets his long lost twin brother, Dru. Meanwhile, the Minions are captured by Mel, a minion that works for Dru, to be experimented with so he can make an army of evil rock star Minions.

The film has a Summer 2017 release date!

Despicable Me 3 finds Gru facing off against a completely new villain who is still very much living in the '80s. The character's name is Balthazar Bratt, and we get our first real introduction to him in this first trailer for the film. Bratt is a former child star who’s grown up to become obsessed with the character he played in the ’80s. He is being perfectly being voiced by South Park's Trey Parker. The trailer offers a great and fun introduction to the new villain.

Despicable Me 3 actually looks like it could be a hilarious sequel. It definitely looks like it will be better than the last Despicable Me movie that was released. The villain is going to be a big part of what makes this sequel so good. He's got all kinds of amusing '80s style weapons, and his theme song in the...

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment have released the first trailer and poster for Despicable Me 3, bringing our first look at the sequel's new villain, Balthazar Bratt, played by South Park creator Trey Parker. This footage shows Balthazar Bratt, stuck in the 80s, using a high-tech Rubix Cube and challenging Gru to a dance-off to Michael Jackson's hit song "Bad." We also get our first look at "Grucy," with Gru (Steve Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) teaming up to take on this despicable new villain.

The team who brought you Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, returns to continue the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters-Margo, Edith and Agnes-and the Minions. Despicable Me 3, directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon, and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, will be released in theaters on June 30, 2017. The...

Gru has a new villain.

And he’s a resentful former child star.

At CinemaCon 2016 this week, it was announced Trey Parker (South Park, Baseketball) will voice the new villain named Balthazar Bratt.

The character has an extreme obsession with the 80s, especially with the clothing and music. At the convention, Illumination Entertainment played an animation test video of the character dancing to various 80s songs. And he definitely has all the dance moves.

For Parker, it will be his first voicing project that he does not direct.

Additionally, the animation studio introduced Dru, Gru’s identical twin brother. Dru is described as the complete polar opposite of Gru being nice and caring. Not to mention that Dru likes to wear white and has blonde hair.

Steve Carrell will be voicing both brothers for the third installment.

Despicable Me 3 will be directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda with co-directing credits for Eric Guillon.

Credit: Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures

During a presentation showcasing the future projects of Illumination Entertainment at CinemaCon today in Las Vegas, the company’s founder and CEO, Chris Meledandri, announced that Mowerminions – a never-before-seen short film starring the Minions – will debut with Illumination and Universal’s new film, The Secret Life Of Pets, when it arrives in theaters domestically on July 8, 2016, and also all around the world.

Correlating to the format in which The Secret Life Of Pets is showing in specific theaters, Mower Minions will be available in both 3D and 2D.

The short film stars the iconic Minions, who first appeared in the blockbuster Despicable Me series and who most recently starred in 2015’s massive hit Minions, which grossed more than $1.15 billion at the global box office and became the second-biggest animated title of all time. Continuing the unpredictable adventures of Gru’s curious and subversively sweet band of yellow brothers,...

The International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood, has announced the nominations for the 43rd Annual Annie Awards and "Inside Out" and "The Good Dinosaur," both Pixar movies, led the pack! "Inside Out" received fourteen nominations while "The Good Dinosaur" got nine.

My pick of the year for best animated feature is "Inside Out" but I love Charlie Kaufman's "Anomalisa" as well which picked five noms.

We'll find out the winners of the Annie Awards on February 6th!

Here is the full list of nominees in all categories of the 43rd Annie Awards:

Best Animated Feature

Anomalisa

Paramount Pictures

Inside Out

Pixar Animation Studios

Shaun the Sheep The Movie

Aardman Animations

The Good Dinosaur

Pixar Animation Studios

The Peanuts Movie

Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation

Best Animated Special Production

Elf: Buddy.s Musical Christmas

Warner Bros. Animation

He Named Me Malala

Parkes-MacDonald / Little Door

I Am A Witness

Moonbot...

When I reviewed Minions here ate We Are Movie Geeks back in July, I wrote: “Those goggle-eyed scene-stealers from Despicable Me (and its sequel) get their own showcase in Minions, a colorful, fast-paced prequel that kids will have fun with ……There’s a lot of fun to be had with the period music and references to Nixon, the moon landing, and the Swinging London of that time period. I’m not sure small children will laugh when the Minions pop out of a sewer lid on Abbey Road just as the Beatles are making their famous crossing, but I did. Voiced by the film’s directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda jabbering in a helium-fueled garble, the Minions are pure slapstick gold….” (read all of my review Here)

Minions will be released by Universal on DVD, Blu-ray and DVD/3D/Blu-ray Combo Pack on December 8th and We...

The Minions are everywhere! There's no getting away from them, the cute little yellow critters from Despicable Me have invaded pop culture over the last few years and now they've got a film all to themselves.

Minions, set in the years before Gru, follows Stuart, Kevin and Bob as they cross paths with villainess Scarlett Overkill (voiced by Sandra Bullock) and get swept up in her plot for world domination. To mark the release of Minions, we've rounded up some fun facts, figures and trivia on the characters and their movie outings below...

1. Who voices Kevin, Bob , Stu and the Minions? It's none other than Pierre Coffin, the French animator who co-directed both Despicable Me films and Minions. For the latter he reportedly voices 899 different Minion characters.

2. French art director Eric Guillon is creator of the Minions. He came up with the concept for the scene-stealers on the first Despicable Me,...

Nominations for the 41st Annual Annie Awards were announced and "Frozen" and "Monsters University" led the pack with 10 nominations each. "Despicable Me 2" and "The Croods" followed closely with 9 noms each.

I am rooting for "Frozen" to win! It's a return to form to what Disney does best -- affecting fairy tale with memorable musical numbers. "Monsters University," on the other hand, was bland. The film bored me on second viewing.

Steven Spielberg will receive the Winsor McCay Award for career achievement at the awards ceremony happening on Saturday, Feb. 1, at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. Patrick Warburton will serve as host.

2013 Annie Award Nominations

Production Categories

1 . Best Animated Feature

A Letter to Momo . Gkids

Despicable Me 2 . Universal Pictures

Ernest & Celestine . Gkids

Frozen . Walt Disney Animation Studios

Monsters University . Pixar Animation Studios

The Croods . DreamWorks Animation

The Wind Rises . The Walt Disney Studios

2 . Annie Award for Best Animated...

Christmas is rapidly approaching and what better way to enjoy the holidays than with a fun movie that the whole family can enjoy. Despicable Me 2 featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Kristin Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand and more will be available on Digital HD on November 26th and on Blu-ray and DVD on December 10th.

Here’s the official press release, followed by a trailer which gives little snippets of the three bonus mini films that come with the Blu-ray:

Celebrate The Holidays Minion Style With The #1 Comedy Of The Year! Despicable Me 2 Be The First To Own It On Digital HD November 26, 2013 Bring Home The Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack December 10, 2013 Including Blu-Ray™, DVD & Digital HD With Ultraviolet™ Get Three All-new Minion Mini Movies Not Seen In Theaters When You Buy The Blu-Ray™

Universal City, California, October 7, 2013—The holiday season just got even...

Calling all Movie Geek Dads! As we head into the weekend, collect your minions for some great BBQ, a movie, a baseball game and have a Despicable Father’s Day!

Now that the ever-entrepreneurial Gru has left behind a life of super crime to raise Margo (Miranda Cosgrove of television’s iCarly), Edith (Dana Gaier of Bullied) and Agnes (Elsie Fisher of television’s Masha and the Bear), Gru, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand of Get Him to the Greek, Hop) and the Minions have some free time on their hands. But as he starts to adjust to his role as a suburban family man, an ultra-secret organization dedicated to fighting evil around the globe comes knocking.

Now, it’s up to Gru and his new partner, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig of Bridesmaids, TV’s Saturday Night Live), to discover who is responsible for a spectacular crime and bring him to justice.

I really don't put much stock in the International Animated Film Society's 2013 Annie Awards, which is why I didn't rush to report on their results on Saturday. One year Disney and Pixar boycott the event, feeling there was an unfair advantage paid to larger contributing sponsors, DreamWorks being the primary example. So with such a nasty stench over the event what good does it do to pay it much mind? That said, I'll be brief in mentioning Wreck-It Ralph topped Saturday night's winners with five awards, including Best Animated Picture. The awards have something like a 75% streak when it comes to helping predict the eventual Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature and as the days have gone on, it's looking more and more like Ralph will be this year's winner (see my predictions here). Pixar's Brave, Laika's ParaNorman and DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians each took home two awards in lesser,...

Disney's "Wreck-It-Ralph" was the big winner at the 40th Annie Awards held Saturday taking home the Best Animated Feature award. It is now officially the Oscar frontrunner in the Best Animated Film category.

Here's the complete list of winners/nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies this season, click here:

Animated Feature

"Brave" . Pixar Animation Studios

"Frankenweenie" . Walt Disney Studios

"Hotel Transylvania" . Sony Pictures Animation

"ParaNorman" . Focus Features

"Rise of the Guardians" . DreamWorks Animation

"The Pirates! Band of Misfits" . Aardman Animations

"The Rabbi.s Cat ". Gkids

Winner "Wreck-It Ralph" . Walt Disney Animation Studios

Animated Special Production

"Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1" . Warner Bros. Animation

"Before Orel" . Trust . Starburns Industries, Inc.

Winner "Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem" . Illumination Entertainment

"Disney Tron: Uprising . Beck.s Beginning" . Disney TV Animation

"Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury" . DreamWorks Animation

"Justice League: Doom" . Warner Bros. Animation

Animated Short Subject

"Brad and Gary" . Illumination...

I love the art of animation, and it's amazing to see how far things have come and advanced over the years. The industry is changing in terms of technology, but what it all really comes down to is telling good stories. There's been a lot of great animated movies this year, and many of them are up for several awards at the 40th Annual Annie Awards.

Some of the movies nomainated include Brave, Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, and Wreck-It Ralph. Out of those films my favorite is a toss up between Wreck-It Ralph and ParaNorman, those were two pretty incredible films. I think ParaNorman has the edge though.

Some of the other animated properties nominated are Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, Disney Tron: Uprising, Justice League: Doom, Robot Chicken ‘DC Comics Special', South Park ‘Raising the Bar’, and several others.

The International Animated Film Society (Asifa-Hollywood) has announced the nominees for the 40th Annie Awards also known as Animation's Highest Honor. Disney/Pixar led the nominees with "Brave," "Frankenweenie," and "Wreck-It-Ralph" getting Best Picture nods. The 40th Annual Annie Awards will take place on February 2, 2013 at UCLA.s Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, California.

And the nominees for the 40th Annual Annie Awards are:

Best Picture nominees:

Brave - Disney/Pixar)

Frankenweenie -The Walt Disney Studios

Hotel Transylvania - Sony Pictures Animation

ParaNorman - Focus Features

Rise of the Guardians - DreamWorks Animation

The Pirates! Band of Misfits - Aardman Animations

The Rabbi.s Cat - Gkids

Wreck-It Ralph - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 . Warner Bros. Animation

Best General Audience Animated Television Production

Archer .Space Race, Part 1. . Weissman Markovitz Communications for FX

Bob.S Burgers .Earsy Rider...

Disney withdrew from the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood back in 2010 and even before then it was hard to put much stock in the Annie Awards. Now it's just sort of a blip on the overall award season radar that manages headlines twice a year, once for their nominees and again for their winners, which this year will be announced on Saturday, February 2, 2013. That said, the org announced their 2013 nominees this morning and their Best Feature Film list was made up of eight nominees (a large list considering the lack of quality animated films I've seen this year) including Brave, Frankenweenie, Hotel Transylvania, ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, The Rabbi's Cat and Wreck-It Ralph. It is nice not to see something like The Lorax among that list, but I still think this was a year in which the field could have easily been limited to five nominees.

The colorful and captivating world of Dr. Seuss bursts onto the screen as never before on August 7, 2012 in the hilarious and captivating adventure, Dr. Seuss. The Lorax from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Available on Blu-ray. 3D Combo Pack and Blu-ray. Combo Pack — both featuring DVD, Digital Copy and UltraViolet. so you can watch it anytime, anywhere — Dr. Seuss. The Lorax is non-stop family fun that includes three delightfully entertaining mini movies not shown in theaters, available only on the Blu-ray. Combo Packs. The film will also be available on DVD and Digital Download.

Dr. Seuss. The Lorax transports viewers into a fantastical landscape imagined by Dr. Seuss and vividly brought to life by Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team at Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me). Directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me) from a screenplay adapted by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (Despicable Me, Hop, Horton Hears a Who) from the 1971 children.s classic,...

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment founder Chris Meledandri announced today the principal talent for the 3D-cgi feature Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope.  The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams.  To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is the third feature created by Illumination and Universal and will be released March 2, 2012. Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of the Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler.  Also bringing their talents to the film are global superstars Zac Efron as Ted, the...

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment founder Chris Meledandri announced today the principal talent for the 3D-cgi feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is the third feature created by Illumination and Universal and will be released March 2, 2012.

Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of the Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler. Also bringing their talents to the film are global superstars Zac Efron as Ted, the idealistic young boy who searches for the Lorax,...

Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment founder Christopher Meledandri announced today the principal talent for the 3D-cgi feature Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss' classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope. The animated adventure follows the journey of a boy as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of The Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is the third feature created by Illumination and Universal and will be released March 2, 2012.

Danny DeVito will lend his vocal talents to the iconic title character of The Lorax, while Ed Helms will voice the enigmatic Once-ler. Also bringing their talents to the film are global superstars Zac Efron as Ted, the...

Taylor Swift's voice has been cast in the CG animated film adaption of Dr. Suess' The Lorax. She will play the character Audrey.

Ed Helms (The Office) will play The Once-ler, "a shortsighted, greedy creature who chops down every tree he can find to make his Thneeds, which are 'a thing everyone needs,'" and Rob Riggle (The Hangover) will be a new character called O'Hare, "another industrialist who sells cans of fresh air to the polluted world the Once-ler creates and wants to keep it that way." Zac Efron voice a boy named Ted, "who goes in search of the Once-ler to find out how the world became so ugly." Betty White will play Ted's grandmother, "who tells him of the colorful world that used to be." Audrey is the girl Ted is in love with.

The movie will be released by Universal Pictures on March 2nd 2012.

Here's...

The Annie Awards, Animation's Highest Honor, went all the way for DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon!" The fun, animated film, originally received 15 nominations and won 10 trophies including Best Animated Feature.

Given by the International Animated Film Society, the 38th annual Annie Awards was not without controversy. Apparently, Disney and Pixar announced they would no longer participate in the annual awards because of their concerns over how the event is judged.

The studios claimed the Annie Awards have always been slighted towards DreamWorks Animation. And this year, both DreamWorks film ("How to Train Your Dragon") and TV ("Kung Fu Panda Holiday") topped the Annie Awards.

"Dragon," featuring the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrara, Jonah Hill, and Craig Ferguson, beat Annie contenders such as Universal's "Despicable Me," Disney's "Tangled," Sony Pictures Classics' "The Illusionist," and Pixar's "Toy Story 3" for best animated feature. (Check out...

With awards season is underway comes the 38th Annual Annie Award nominations, which recognize the year’s best work in animation. Since the creation of the animation-specific Oscar category in 2001, the Annies have predicted the Academy Award winner every year except 2006 and 2008.

Unfortunately, the award has been tainted by controversy after CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly bought each DreamWorks Animation employee a membership in the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood, skewing the voting in the studio’s favor. This likely resulted in a surprise sweep by DreamWorks Animations’ Kung Fu Panda at the Annies in 2008-2009 over Pixar’s eventual Oscar winner, Wall-e.

Disney Studios has since pulled its official support of the event and submissions for the awards, though individual animators are able to submit their films themselves. As a result, the rules were changed for individual achievement categories, but Disney sought a neutral committee of animators from every studio to propose and approve guidelines.

Earlier this year, Disney and Pixar caused a bit of a stir when they decided to withdraw from the Annie Awards [1], in protest over the membership criteria. They had been consistently losing out to DreamWorks films over the past few years, and hinted that it might be related to the fact that DreamWorks gives every single one of their employees a membership card, allowing them to vote. Well, this year's Annie Awards nominees have just been announced, and although both Toy Story 3 and Tangled did get nominated for Best Animated Feature, they have been largely ignored in other categories. So what was the film with the most nominations? Why, How to Train Your Dragon, of course! I don't think many people would disagree that How to Train Your Dragon deserves plenty of recognition, but the fact that it picked up 15 nods while Toy Story 3 had just 3 seems pretty ludicrous.

The International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood, announced nominations today for the 38th Annual Annie Awards™ recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation including best animated feature, television production, commercials, short subjects, video games and outstanding individual achievements.

Two years ago, Kung-Fu Panda swept the awards over Wall-e pushing Disney and Pixar to withdraw from the organization and making everyone else wonder if there is any point in caring anymore about the ceremony. Toy Story 3 and Tangled did get Best Picture nominations, but DreamWorks (who pretty much run the show) lead the nominees.

According to /film, Disney’s reason for withdrawing was rooted in the organization’s very loose membership requirements and the fact that DreamWorks seemed actively working to stack the deck in the studio’s favour. Disney-Pixar president Ed Catmull said earlier this year,

“After more than a year of discussions with the Asifa board,...

The full list of nominations for the 38th Annie Awards were announced today with Dreamworks’s How to Train your Dragon gathering up the majority of nominations including Best Feature, Animation, Character Design and Voice Work for Gerard Butler and Jay Baruchel, as well as Directing nominations for Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois.

Pixar’s Up took home the Best Animated Feature earlier this year at the 2009 awards and when the awards are announced next February Lee Unkrich and his team are up from a number of awards, along with Disney’s Tangled, but the recent decision of Disney to withdraw support for the awards may go some way to explaining the relatively few number of nods.

It has been a great year for animation as the films on the list below attest, and it’s nice to see Sylvain Chomet’s enchanting film The Illusionist scoring a point against the domination of CG here.

DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" flew high above competition by nabbing 15 nominations for the 38th annual Annie Awards given by the International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood. ("How to Train Your Dragon" movie review)

"Dragon," featuring the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrara, Jonah Hill, and Craig Ferguson, will duke it out with Universal's "Despicable Me," Disney's "Tangled," Sony Pictures Classics' "The Illusionist," and Pixar's "Toy Story 3" for best animated feature. ("How to Train Your Dragon" interviews)

But there's controversy in the Annie Awards world. The Hollywood Reporter is saying that "Disney and Pixar announced they would no longer participate in the annual awards because of their concerns over how the event is judged."

Apparently, Disney was complaining that the Annie Awards has favored DreamWorks in recent years such as when "Kung Fu Panda" won 10 trophies and beat Pixar's "Wall-e" in 2008.

This year, DreamWorks Animation...

The month of December, January, and February pretty much means near-daily updates of award nominations and selections. The latest is for the 38th Annual Annie Awards, awarding excellence in the animation area. Leading the pack is How To Train Your Dragon, a film I recently re-watched and loved just as much as in the theater. Also getting big nods are Despicable Me, Tangled, The Illusionist, and Toy Story 3. Check out the full list below.

Production Categories

Best Animated Feature

* Despicable Me – Illumination Entertainment

* How to Train Your Dragon – DreamWorks Animation

* Tangled – Disney

* The Illusionist – Django Films

* Toy Story 3 – Disney/Pixar

Best Animated Short Subject

* Coyote Falls – Warner Bros. Animation

* Day & Night – Pixar

* Enrique Wrecks the World – House of Chai

* The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger – Plymptoons Studio

* The Renter – Jason Carpenter

Best Animated Television Commercial

* Children’s Medical Center – Duck Studios

* Frito Lay Dips “And Then...

Disney has tough competition in the form of itself this year, as “Tangled” and “Toy Story 3″ will compete against one another, along with a host of other fantastic animated films, at the 38th Annual Annie Awards.

The Annie Awards will be a battleground for the upcoming Oscar animation awards. This year, only three animated films will be nominated. Why? Because the rules that govern the Oscars are laughably outmoded. But that’s beside the point.

Fact is, the Annie Awards deserve attention amongst the many other awards shows because so many great animated films were released in 2010, arguably more than traditional films. “Tangled,” “Toy Story 3,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Despicable Me” and “The Illusionist” will jostle for the Best Animated Feature award.

Here’s a list of all the nominees.

Best Animated Feature

“Despicable Me” (Illumination Entertainment)

“How to Train Your Dragon” (DreamWorks)

“Tangled” (Disney)

“The Illusionist...