In an interview with Daily Variety, Pixar principal John Lasseter said that the studio is dedicated to creating more original short films, but would also like to release classic Disney cartoons as preludes to animated features shown in theaters. Lasseter hasn’t said which titles he’d like to see back up on the big screen, but the sentiment is in keeping with his reported desire to bring Disney back to it roots and thrust 2D back into the spotlight.

Disney has kept the hand-drawn fires burning to some degree with animated shorts. The most recent of these is Roger Allers’ The Little MatchGirl. Adapoted from a Hans Christian Andersen tale, the film is one of five nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Animated Short. Also up for the award is Pixar’s Lifted, director Gary Rydstrom’s 3D look at how an alien learns the art of abducting a human.

Lasseter told the trade that while there’s no real market for animated shorts, the medium serves as a great training ground for new talent and gives audiences more bang for their buck. ‘With every Pixar film, we want a short in front of it,’ he says. ‘We want to overdeliver.”

With every new movie, Pixar builds on techniques it first developed with the 1986 short film Luxo Jr. Like the Oscar-winning 1997 short Geri’s Game, which pushed the envelope with skin textures and cloth simulation, Pixar’s mini films continue to offer a venue for experimentation and advancement of techniques. Considering rumors about Lasseter’s intentions with Walt Disney Feature Animation, we could likewise see 2D shorts ushering in a new era of hand-drawn features at the Mouse House.

Director Tim Hill (Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, Muppets From Space) is in negotiations to direct the Fox 2000/Fox Animation feature film Alvin and the Chipmunks, according to Daily Variety. Based on the classic cartoon series, the film will feature a combination of live-action and CG character animation, much like the Garfield and Scooby-Doo features.

The script for Alvin and the Chipmunks is written by Jon Vitti, who has penned episodes of such animated shows as The Simpsons, King of the Hill and The Critic, and recently worked on The Simpsons Movie. Like the Saturday morning cartoons, the film will revolve around the mischief created by a trio of musical chipmunks named Alvin, Simon and Theodore, who are raised and managed by a guy named Dave.

The Chipmunks are the brainchild of the late Ross Bagdasarian, who also provided provided the characters’ voices. His son, Ross Bagdasarian Jr., is producing the movie through Bagdasarian Prods., along with Janice Karman.

In addition to directing films for Fox and Disney, Hill has also created shows for Nickelodeon and served as head writer on SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie.

Warner Bros.’ 300, the CG-laden adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, will be the first motion picture to open in IMAX theaters this year. The pic will make its large-format debut on March 9, the same day it hits conventional theaters. Like Sin City, another cinematic interpretation of Miller’s work, the movie was shot mostly against green screens with digital artists creating the environments and adding animated elements.

Directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead‘2004) 300 takes some poetic license in offering an account of the ancient battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas (Gerard Bulter) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspired all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy.

Snyder is also attached to direct an adaptation of Watchmen, the Hugo Award-winning graphic Novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Originally published by DC Comics in 1986, the story revolves around a group of superheroes who struggle with their own personal demons while trying to avert a nuclear war between the United States and Russia. Read an interview with the digital artists of 300 in the April issue of Animation Magazine which will be available the first week in March.

The 1953 animated Disney classic Peter Pan will make its big-screen digital debut at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre with a limited two-week engagement kicking off on Feb. 1. The special presentation of the newly restored digital version of the film is intended to help drum up excitement for the March 6th release of an all-new, 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD. Opening night festivities will include panel discussion led by veteran Disney producer Don Hahn (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast).

The panel discussion will take place at the 7 p.m. show on Thursday, Feb. 1. Reuniting on stage, voice actors Kathryn Beaumont-Levine (Wendy) and Paul Collins (John Darling) will be joined by Margaret Kerry, the live-action reference model for Tinker Bell, and legendary animation star June Foray, who voiced and posed for characters in the film. Attendees can also look forward to appearances by Tinker Bell and other surprises.

Tickets for all performances can be purchased at the El Capitan box office, online at www.elcapitantickets.com, or by calling 1-800-DISNEY6. Special group rates for parties of 20 or more are available by calling 1-818-845-3110. Daily showtimes are 10:00 am, 12:15 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:45 pm, 7:00 pm, and 9:15 pm.

Directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, and Wilfred Jackson, Peter Pan is an adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale of a magical boy who refuses to grow up and pulls three young children into the enchanted and perilous world of Never Land. The pic was a big box office hit and remains a favorite among Disney classics.

Walt Disney Home Entertainment’s 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD will feature a never-before-seen alternate opening set in Never Land rather than the Darlings’ home, and the featurettes In Walt’s Words – Why I Made Peter Pan! and You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan. Other extras will include three multi-level games and a sneak peek at the upcoming Tinker Bell movie.

As many of the media watchers had predicted, the three nomination spots in the Best Animation Oscar race were filled by Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Warner Bros. Happy Feet and Sony Pictures Animation’s Monster House. The nomination announcements were made this morning at 5:30 a.m. by actress Salma Hayek and Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis.

Although John Lasseter’s Cars and George Miller’s Happy Feet had emerged as frontrunners in the Best Animated Feature category in the past two months, there was still an element of surprise surrounding first-time director Gil Kenan’s Monster House filling the third spot on the list. Among the toons shut out of the race were DreamWorks/Aardman’s well-reviewed Flushed Away and summer hit Over the Hedge, Fox/Blue Sky’s blockbuster sequel Ice Age: The Meltdown and Sony Pictures Animation’s Open Season. 2006 will also go down as the year where all the Best Animated Oscar nominees were computer-generated and no traditional features made the cut.

Competing in the Best Animated Shorts category this year will be Gary Rydstrom’s Lifted (Pixar), Roger Allers’ The Little MatchGirl (Disney) Torill Kove’s The Danish Poet (National Film Board of Canada) Geza M. Toth’s Maestro and Chris Renaud and Mike Thermeier’s No Time for Nuts (Blue Sky). Despite popular support and winning numerous festival honors, Joanna Quinn’s Dreams and Desires’Family Ties and Alex Weil’s One Rat Short didn’t receive nods from the voters. Other no-shows were Don Hertzfeldt’s Everything Will Be OK, Bill Plympton’s Guide Dog and Regina Pessoa’s Tragic Story with Happy Ending.

The three features which landed a Visual Effects Oscar race were Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Warner Bros.’ Poseidon and Warner Bros. Superman Returns. Surprising omissions were X-Men:The Last Stand and Picturehouse’s Pan’s Labyrinth.

The 79th edition of the Academy Awards will be broadcast Sunday, February 25th, at 5 p.m. on ABC. For a complete list of nominees, visit www.oscars.com.

As Marvel continues to assemble an Oscar-caliber cast for its live-action feature based on the comic-book property Iron Man, Lionsgate’s home entertainment division today released The Invincible Iron Man, the latest in a series of fantastic made-for-video animated movies featuring characters from the Marvel Universe. Just as Marvel appears to be taking the upcoming movie seriously by hiring Robert Downey Jr., Gwneth Paltrow and Terrance Howard to play the leads, the studio is dedicated to making thoughtful, cinematic and action-packed animated pics that don’t play like kids’ cartoons.

Marvel and Lionsgate first joined forces last year to give comic book fans Ultimate Avengers: The Movie, an animated movie that brought together a number of superheroes, including Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Giant Man, Wasp and Iron Man. The successful effort was followed by Ultimate Avengers II: Rise of the Panther, which added a new member to the team. The Invincible Iron Man is the third entry in the series of PG-13 films, and while it may lack the spectacle of a crime-fighter conglomerate, it should appease fans and make new admirers of the iron-clad crusader.

Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby, Iron Man made his first appearance in comics in 1963 and has remained a Marvel staple, though he has be marginalized by the popularity of other characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men and the aforementioned Hulk. He’s more akin to DC Comics’ Batman in the sense that he derives his powers for technology rather than superhuman gifts/curses. The fact that he is human and vulnerable has no doubt contributed to his popularity over the years, and readers have watched him deal with a number of human failings, including alcoholism.

The Invincible Iron Man is an origin story that takes place years before our hero teams up with SHIELD and the Avengers. Like Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark is a young, wealthy playboy who is air to a major technology corporation. He also happens to be a brilliant inventor who is disillusioned when his creations are hijacked by the company and sold to the military. He retreats to China where he puts his mechanical prowess to work raising the ruins of an ancient temple. In doing so, he unwittingly fulfills an age-old prophecy that fortells the resurrection of the Mandarin, the emperor of China’s darkest and most violent dynasty. The path of the Mandarin is paved by five nasty, supernatural figures know as Elementals, which must collect a set of gold rings to bring the prophecy to fruition. In devising a way to stop them, Stark dons a series of mechanical suits of armor and becomes his greatest invention yet, Iron Man.

Since the sleek, form-fitting yellow and red version of the armor hasn’t yet been invented, fans are treated to the sight of some earlier models, including the original gray suit and the gold follow-up. Since the producers wanted to create a more high-tech look and feel with this one, toon-shaded CG is used to portray a number of things, including Stark in Iron man form and the Elementals. The effect works well enough, though the rigid models don’t allow for some of the subtle nuances present in all the 2D character animation.

Parents should be warned that there is some violent content in these productions, and I’m not just talking about the typical superhero beat-em-up stuff. People get stabbed and shot in the head at point-blank-range from time-to-time, though we’re spared some the gore that one would expect from an anime movie made for more mature audiences. In any case, these films are not made for young kids.

Retailing for $19.98, The DVD includes an alternate opening sequence, a featurette on the origin of Iron Man, a ‘Hall of Iron Man Armor’ gallery and a sneak peek at the next Marvel animated feature, Dr. Strange, which is scheduled to come out this August. Also available is the Marvel Animated Features Collector’s Gift Set, a three-disc set containing Ultimate Avengers: The Movie, Ultimate Avengers 2 and The Invincible Iron Man. It lists for $59.98 and comes with an Iron Man “Marvel Icons” bust.

The Invincible Iron Man is a worthy addition to the series of animated features from Marvel and Lionsgate, and I hope we see many more come down the pipeline. I’m looking forward to seeing how Dr. Strange plays out and would love to see the Avengers assembled once again, or at least a Captain America solo outing. Given that the first two Avengers titles have sold more than 1.5 million copies combined, chances are Marvel and Lionsgate will keep them coming.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has made its short list known, but how did this year’s animated features stand up to your online voting? We’ve tallied the results so far and found that our readers favor Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Warner Bros. Happy Feet and DreamWorks Over the Hedge. Be sure and vote again to determine which of these three pics goes on to victory in this year’s Animation Magazine Oscar Poll!

Out of the 16 features originally listed for eligibility by the Academy, Cars has received the most nods in our poll to date, taking 23% of the vote compared to Happy Feet‘s 14% and Over the Hedge‘s 12%. Fox’s Ice Age: The Meltdown was the only other film to hit double digits with 11% of the vote. MGM’s and the Weinstein Co.’s release of Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Invisibles was pulled out of Oscar contention in the 11th hour, but it was pretty inconsequential to our voting since only 1% of voters made it their top pick.

While the Academy put Sony Animation’s Monster House in the running for Best Animated Feature, readers only ranked it sixth behind DreamWorks’ Flushed Away. Monster House fared well with critics but wasn’t one of the most profitable animated films of the year and many voters probably haven’t even see it yet. An Oscar nomination is just what Sony needed to get audiences to consider giving it a look on DVD.

Last year, Animation Magazine readers were on the same page with Oscar voters, putting DreamWorks Animation’s and Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit at the top of their list. Other past Ocar Poll winners include Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles, Sony Pictures Classics’s The Triplets of Belleville and DreamWork’s Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Pick this year’s winner by voting at our Oscar Showcase at www.animationmagazine.net/oscar_index_06.html.