The Playlist

Disney Dominates At 40th Annual Annie Awards, Winning Big With ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ And ‘Paperman’

By Drew Taylor
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February 3, 2013 11:39 AM
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1 Comment

News

While it’s certainly far from the sexiest show in awards season, the Annie Awards, which honors the very best in television and feature animation, was held last night in Hollywood, and it could offer a glimpse at who could take home the Best Animated Feature Oscar in a couple of weeks. And if we’re going by what the Annies have to say – it’s going to be Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph." It positively wrecked the awards last night, winning Best Feature, Directing, Music, Voice Acting, and Writing. What’s more – the animated short that was attached to “Wreck-It Ralph” theatrically, the cutting-edge “Paperman,” won for Best Short. Right now, in some dark part of Hollywood, Jeffrey Katzenberg is fuming.

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Is The Oscar Best Picture Next? Ben Affleck's 'Argo' Takes Top Prize At Producers' Guild Awards

By Oliver Lyttelton
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January 27, 2013 8:05 AM
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Awards

After a bit of a breather from awards season due to the Sundance Film Festival (in recent years, Oscar noms are announced during the festival, but the Academy moved it up this year), barely minutes elapsed between the Sundance awards ceremony and the first of a coming wave of precursors awards ceremonies.

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'Zero Dark Thirty' Wins Best Picture, Director & Actress From National Board Of Review, Leonardo DiCaprio Takes Supporting Actor

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 5, 2012 2:34 PM
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8 Comments

Awards

Awards season continues on apace, and if things keep on the way things have been going this week, Kathryn Bigelow may need to enlarge her trophy cabinet. Her follow-up to the awards-laden "The Hurt Locker," Bin Laden-hunt picture "Zero Dark Thirty" hasn't even opened in theaters yet, but it already won the Best Film (along with Director and Cinematography) prize from the New York Film Critics' Circle on Monday, and now the National Board of Review (the somewhat nebulous organization who traditionally kicked off awards season, before the NYFCC moved their dates up last year) have followed suit.

'Brave,' 'Rise Of The Guardians,' 'Wreck-It Ralph' Lead Annie Awards Nominations

By Drew Taylor
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December 4, 2012 2:16 PM
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News

While not as hotly contested as many of the major awards this holiday season, the International Animation Film Society announced the nominees for its 40th Annual Annie Awards yesterday, and offer, at the very least, a peak at what the Best Animated Feature Oscar race will look like in the next couple of months. Pixar's Scottish fairy tale "Brave," Disney's retro video game adventure "Wreck-It Ralph" and DreamWorks Animation's mythological team-up film "Rise of the Guardians" led the nominations with ten nominations a piece.

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Weekend Box Office: 'Skyfall' Scores Best James Bond Opening Ever; 'Lincoln' Smashes In Limited Release

By Gabe Toro
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November 11, 2012 12:24 PM
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9 Comments

Box Office

“Casino Royale” proved to be the highest grossing Bond film of all time with $594 million in receipts worldwide six years ago. And “Skyfall” will beat that record within three week of its domestic bow? After wrecking international crowds with $320 million as of last Wednesday (becoming the biggest Bond in U.K. history), this massive first weekend American gross of $87.8 million bumped “Skyfall” numbers over $500 million today. That's $518 million in 17 days. Not too shabby.

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Weekend Box Office: 'Wreck-It Ralph' Levels Up To First Place With Biggest Disney Animation Opening Ever

By Gabe Toro
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November 4, 2012 11:57 AM
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8 Comments

Box Office

A week after theaters on the East Coast faced Hurricane Sandy, business was back to normal in Hollywood, with Disney debuting “Wreck-It Ralph” to a nearly $50 million gross. This is the biggest stateside Disney Animation Studios opening ever, which, coming off the acquisition of Lucasfilms, suggests the studio has had a very good week. U mad, Hollywood?

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What Are You Seeing This Weekend? 'Flight' & 'Wreck-It Ralph' Touch Down In Theaters

By Emma Bernstein
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November 2, 2012 3:01 PM
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2 Comments

News

This weekend belongs to the acting community, as many of the new films feature a big name star (or six). Alright, thespians – you headline those films! And there’s no shortage of variety in tone or style: Denzel is serious, Alicia makes you giggle, Philip scowls, and Russell dextrously throws knives. Let us know in the comments who you decide to spend your time with at the Cineplex!

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Oscars: Could 'Wreck-It Ralph' Lead A Disney Sweep Of The Animated Feature Category?

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 2, 2012 12:02 PM
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8 Comments

Awards

It's a big week for animated feature films. Not only does today see the release of "Wreck-It Ralph," the highly-acclaimed new feature from Walt Disney Studios, but it's also the deadline for new films to register for the Best Animated Feature Oscar race. Barring a shock, we're looking at a list of about 17 films, which means that, as with 2009 and 2011, there are enough films for the category to hold five nominees (more than 16 are required). It won't necessarily happen, but it probably will.

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Game Over! 5 Videogame-Inspired Movies To Watch Before Putting A Quarter In 'Wreck-It Ralph'

By Drew Taylor
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November 1, 2012 12:04 PM
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2 Comments

Features

This Friday "Wreck-It Ralph," Disney's 52nd feature-length animated film, is released nationwide. A loving, zippy homage to classic arcade games and the world of gaming, it feels more like a tried-and-true video game adaptation than actual video game adaptations (like the odious "Silent Hill: Retribution," which is also currently in theaters). In honor of "Wreck-It Ralph," we've compiled a list of five movies that play like video games even though they have nothing to do with real-life video games. Hope you have some extra quarters handy.

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Review: 'Wreck-It-Ralph' Has A Great Concept But Fails To Level Up Into Something Unique

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 26, 2012 10:57 AM
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9 Comments

Reviews

Certainly, in some quarters, anticipation for Disney's "Wreck-It-Ralph" was high. With Pixar stuck in sequel mode, and with their original story "Brave" underwhelming this summer, many wondered if the Mouse House would step it up where their colleagues dropped the ball. With a seemingly fresh premise, new tunes by Skrillex and Owl City pimped on the soundtrack, nostalgia for the adults and a glossy adventure for the kids, the ingredients all seemed to be in place. Which makes it that much more frustrating that once you pop the quarter into the machine of "Wreck-It-Ralph," it reveals itself to be nothing more than a familiar formula dressed up in 21st century clothes.

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