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Digital
Media FX News Archives
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Monday
- October 22, 2001
- Good News and Bad News for
Monsters, Inc.
- A Look at Patrician
2
- Release Charts: Animated,
Anime, and FX DVDs
- News Link of the Day
- Trouble in Toon Town
Good News
and Bad News for Monsters, Inc.
(by digitalmediafx.com) There's good news and bad news for
Pixar's November 2 release of Monsters, Inc. The good news is
that early critic reviews are extremely positive as with past
Pixar movies and it is bound to make a boatload of money at the
box office. The bad news is that several companies will try to
derail a monster run for Monsters, Inc.
Disney/Pixar
were forced to move Monsters, Inc. away from its unofficial
mid-to-late November release when Warner Bros. decided to put
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone into wide release
on November 16.
After
Monsters, Inc. was moved to November 2 (which gives it
a strong two week run before facing serious competition from Harry
Potter), DreamWorks decided to add additional heat by releasing
the Shrek DVD on the same day - Friday, November 2. DVDs are always
released on Tuesday's as part of an industry standard. Six weeks
after Monsters, Inc. hits theaters, it will lose hundreds
of screens to Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and
face additional competition from Nickelodeon's newest animated
feature - Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
A
survey by movie ticket seller Fandago found that Monsters,
Inc. was the third most anticipated movie of the fall/winter
season. Second was Harry Potter and number one was easily
Lord of the Rings.
All the factors
brought together will likely slow Monsters, Inc. at the
box office after its first two weeks, but only slightly. Pixar
animated movies have shown an amazing ability to hold strong for
the long term while many other movies come and go. Financial analyst
company Prudential
believes that the box office results for Monsters,
Inc. will end up somewhere between A Bug's Life ($163
million domestically) and Toy Story 2 ($246 million domestically).
> Return to the top of page
 A
Look at Patrician 2
(by digitalmediafx.com) Strategy First has shipped Patrician
2, a medieval simulation trade adventure for the PC.
If you never heard of the first Patrician, it's likely because
there was never a mass release in the U.S. Now with the makers,
Ascaron Software teaming up with Strategy First, the sequel is
now on U.S. shores having shipped just over a week ago.
There are
some similarities between Patrician 2 and the Sim City series.
First, players must develop cities that can be self supporting.
Second, players must deal with natural disasters. Patrician 2
takes place around the 12th century (in Northern Europe), throwing
in additional elements like Pirates to keep players busy dealing
with several fronts. If you run out of money you may be faced
with seeing some of your ships become pirate ships - or mutiny
against those still faithful to your cause.
Here are some
images from Patrician 2:
> Return
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Release
Charts: Animated, Anime, and FX DVDs
(by digitalmediafx.com) Here are new animated, FX, and anime
DVDs hitting store shelves tomorrow, including Final Fantasy:
The Spirits Within, the 60th Anniversary Edition of Dumbo,
and an odd CGI one - Barbie in the Nutcracker.
Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001 - animated)
Walt
Disney's Dumbo (1941 - animated)
Dr.
Doolittle 2 (2001 - FX)
Barbie
in the Nutcracker (2001 - animated)
Jackie
Chan Adventures: Search for the Taliman (2000 - animation)
Princess
Nine - First Inning (2001 - anime)
Vampire
Princess Miya - Haunting (anime)
If you like
Thumb Wars you may enjoy another Star Wars type spoof (no fx or
animation) called George Lucas in Love. Click
here.
Amazon.com is now accepting pre-orders for the Shrek 2-Disc
DVD. Click
here.
Amazon.com is now accepting pre-orders for the Osmosis Jones DVD.
Click
here.
If you haven't
yet ordered the Snow White DVD (availability will be limited),
click
here.
>
Return to the top of page
News Link
of the Day - Trouble in Toon Town
According to INQ7:
"Local
articles on the animation industry are usually glowing reports
on the Philippines as a key destination for foreign producers
because of three major allurements: English-speaking staff, cheap
labor and artistic skills. But current developments for the past
few years now disagree with these claims. A new set of values
and programs are needed to boost the industry to be competitive
again.
English-speaking
staff. It is only a factor when you're dealing with a show that
requires the understanding of Western humor. Still, a comedy show
is just one genre among several animation genres..."
Click
here for the full story.
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