Tag "Rankin-Bass"

Warner Bros. Brings Superman and Batman to WonderCon

March 21, 2013 by Ramin Zahed No Comments divider image

It looks like DC Comics fans will have a blast next weekend (March 29-31) at the WonderCon confab in Anaheim. Warner Bros. Home Ent. plans to bookend the event with the world premiere of the animated feature Superman: Unbound as Friday night’s marquee event, then capping Sunday’s programming with a [...]

Stop Motion Casts a Spell on SpongeBob

November 21, 2012 by Ramin Zahed No Comments divider image

How the talented team at Screen Novelties brought a familiar 2D toon to 3D life in It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! special. You can call it the Rankin-Bass legacy—the reason we tend to enjoy our classic animated holiday programming spiced with a touch of stop-motion magic. It’s only natural that kids [...]

A High-Tech, Dysfunctional Santa’s Coming to Town

November 18, 2011 by Ramin Zahed 2 Comments divider image

How the wizards at Aardman joined forces with Sony Animation to deliver the poignant and funny CG-animated holiday adventure, Arthur Christmas. Santa Claus and animation have enjoyed a long, mutually rewarding relationship over the years. From classic Rankin-Bass specials like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to Chuck Jones’ How Grinch Stole [...]

Animated Bieber Helps Santa in Music Video

November 8, 2011 by Ramin Zahed 2 Comments divider image

Taking a break from his tabloid headaches, Canadian singer Justin Bieber is getting a little more animated this holiday season. The new Animagic video for his latest Christmas release “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” features an animated version of the young performer interacting with famous scenes from the Rankin-Bass’s [...]

Animated People: Writer Peter S. Beagle on ‘The Last Unicorn’

February 22, 2011 by Thomas J. McLean 6 Comments divider image

The 1980s are kind of hit and miss when it comes to animated features, especially independent productions. One of the hits is The Last Unicorn, a fantasy tale that adapted the popular novel by Peter S. Beagle. Produced by Rankin-Bass and featuring animation from the Japanese studio Topcraft that later [...]

First Look at Anime-Style ‘ThunderCats’ Revival

January 27, 2011 by Thomas J. McLean 2 Comments divider image

Cartoon Network unveiled the first official look at its new ThunderCats cartoon. The new, anime-style series revives the classic series, which was created by Tobin Wolf, developed by Leonard Starr and produced by Rankin-Bass and ran from 1985 to 1990. Here’s a look at the new series, which is executive [...]

Classic Brings ‘Rudolph,’ ‘Frosty’ to Radio Shack

December 9, 2010 by Thomas J. McLean No Comments divider image

Classic Media and Radio Shack have teamed up to offer the beloved holiday specials Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman on DVD through the retailer’s 4,600 stores this holiday season. Both animated specials were produced by Rankin Bass, with Rudolph first airing in 1964 and Frosty in 1969. [...]

‘Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town’ Celebrates 40th Anniversary

November 16, 2010 by Thomas J. McLean No Comments divider image

Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town, the classic Rankin-Bass-produced stop-motion animated TV special, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a new live attraaction, a new DVD release, and the special’s first-ever release on Blu-ray. The classic tale, which explains the secret origin of not just Santa Claus but many Christmas [...]