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For this month’s installment of “TV Terrors” we revisit the small screen adaptation of 1980s movie “Weird Science,” which aired from 1994 – 1998 on the USA Network.

I probably sound like an old fogy when I say this, but the USA Network of the cable television heyday was drastically different than the USA Network we have today. Back in the early nineties, USA Network was a free for all of weird, fun entertainment. There were adult cartoons, erotic thrillers, “Up All Night,” sports events, a large Saturday morning cartoon line up, classic horror movies, Troma double bills, and there were even kung fu movies every weekday morning.

USA Network also aired the primetime TV series adaptation of “Weird Science.”

The classic John Hughes sci-fi comedy from 1985 was adapted in 1994 into a mostly faithful TV version that took everything scandalous about the original film and amped up the ridiculousness by about fifty percent.

L-r, backrow, Bebop, Leatherhead, Scumbug, Rocksteady, Ray Fillet, next row l-r, Wingnut, Ghengis Frog, Donnie, Splinter, Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Mondo Gecko, center, talking to Superfly. in Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies Present A Point Grey Production “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”

Asifa-Hollywood announced nominations today for its 51st Annie Awards recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. For a complete list of nominations, please visit www.annieawards.org/nominations.

The 51st Annie Awards will return to UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, February 17, 2024. Pre-reception and Red Carpet will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony at 7 p.m., and after party immediately following the ceremony.

This year’s Best Animated Feature nominations include: Nimona – Annapurna Animation for Netflix; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Sony Pictures Animation; Suzume – CoMix Wave Films Inc. and Story inc.; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – Paramount Pictures and...

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of imagination but of cinematic imperfections. It is the middle ground between reality and illusion, between what is intended and what is captured on film. This is the dimension of mistakes and oversights. It is an area which we call "The Production Zone." In it, mirrors reflect mistakes, film equipment appears at the periphery of vision, continuity wavers, editing stumbles, and stock footage mismatches.

As you journey through this realm, you'll uncover imperfections often overlooked in the iconic series "The Twilight Zone." Known for thought-provoking tales, the series wasn't immune to production hiccups, gaffes, and glitches.

Question the facade of the extraordinary as we explore elusive mistakes -- 14 in total -- across beloved episodes in this "land of shadow and substance." Will you emerge unscathed from this journey into cinematic blunders? Or, like its characters, be forever changed by what you see?...

Jackie Gleason never won an Emmy. Neither did Ed Sullivan. Or Andy Griffith. Or Fred Rogers. Or “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry. Or “Rocky & Bullwinkle” genius Jay Ward. Bob Newhart’s sole Emmy win was as a guest actor on “The Big Bang Theory” in 2013.

Yes, the 74 years of Emmy history are chock full of surprises spanning both winners and non-winners. That extends to the Emmy’s Governors Award as well. The TV academy describes that Governors Award – bestowed generally but not always annually since 1978 – as follows: “The Board of Governors of the Television Academy may, when warranted, recognize an individual, company or organization that has made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television by presenting them with the Governors Award.”

SEE2023 Emmy Predictions: Gold Derby Predicts the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards

The first Governors Award in ’78 went to CBS founder William Paley.

There are times when something that’s almost human is more terrifying than an actual monster. After all, uneasiness often stems from things that come eerily close to resembling humanity. Roboticist Masahiro Mori explained why people feel this way with his 1970 essay about the “uncanny valley” effect, and ever since, society has better understood why they feel uncomfortable around things such as lifelike dolls.

The living doll shows up infrequently in the horror genre, but when it does, people take notice. They’re ultimately torn between curiosity and repulsion as these puppets gain sentience and carry out their sinister missions. Chucky and others have all skittered across the big screen, but these stories, from five different anthology series, are a reminder of how toy terror also lives on television.

The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

Living Doll

Even on its last legs, Twilight Zone — by then, the series had already dropped the...

The new animated anthology miniseries "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi" is now streaming on Disney+, and brings us a new perspective on Count Dooku: a view of him in his earlier years before the corruption of the Sith took him and twisted him into Darth Tyranus. 

The man behind Count Dooku's voice, Corey Burton, has been a voice actor for decades, providing voices you hear almost every day. From the tram operator at Disneyland and "Star Wars" characters like Count Dooku and Cad Bane, all the way to Captain Hook, Spike Witwicky and Shockwave from "Transformers," and even James Bond, Jr., Burton has shaped the audio landscape of Saturday morning cartoons and theme parks for decades. We were able to have a wide-ranging conversation with him about the beginnings of his career, his work as Count Dooku, and the legacy of "Star Wars."

'Who Is That?'

I'm a...

The Mitchells Vs. The MacHines – (L-r) Danny McBride as “Rick Mitchell”, Abbi Jacobson as “Katie Mitchell”, Mike Rianda as “Aaron Mitchell”, and Maya Rudolph as “Linda Mitchell”. Cr: ©2021 Spai. All Rights Reserved.

Netflix was the big winner at the 49th Annual Annie Awards Saturday evening garnering top honors in 20 categories with the brilliant The Mitchells vs. The Machines taking home the top prize for Best Animated Feature. Produced by Oscar winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), the delightful film tells the story of a quirky, dysfunctional family’s road trip that’s upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity’s unlikeliest last hope. The Mitchells vs. The Machine features the voices of Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Beck Bennett, Fred Armisen, Eric Andre, and Oscar winner Olivia Colman

The film’s eight Annie Awards include Best...

For the second year in a row, the 49th Annie Awards will be virtual after Asifa-Hollywood, the organization behind the event, decided to pivot amid the omicron-driven surge in Covid-19 cases.

The show was originally going to be an in-person affair Feb. 26 at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA. Now it will be streamed on the Annie Awards website, on Saturday, March 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Pt.

According to Asifa-Hollywood executive director Frank Gladstone, the board made the decision to pivot in mid-January. Members considered three options. “One was to just stay the course and do the live show,” Gladstone says. Option two was to go virtual. “And the third option was doing a live show but postponing it even further,” he says. “At the end of the day, going virtual was what the board decided to do.”

The decision meant the team behind the show had to scramble...

Iconic director, performer and choreographer Debbie Allen has been selected to receive the Television Academy’s 2021 Governors Award, “in recognition of her numerous contributions to the television medium through multiple creative forms and her philanthropic endeavors around the world.”

Allen, a staple in TV and film for decades, was chosen by the Television Academy’s Board of Governors “for her unprecedented achievements in television and her commitment to inspire and engage marginalized youth through dance, theater arts and mentorship,” the org said. She’ll receive the award during CBS’ telecast of the 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 19.

Last year, Tyler Perry and The Perry Foundation were honored with the award. Other recent recipients include “Star Trek,” Itvs, “American Idol,” A+E Networks, Marian Dougherty, June Foray, John Walsh and the It Gets Better Project, co-founded by Dan Savage and Terry Miller.

The Governors Award is handed out to...

Babs and Buster Bunny, Plucky Duck, Hamton J. Pig, and their crazy friends are returning. The animated stars of the 1990s Tiny Toon Adventures series are returning in a new show called Tiny Toons Looniversity. HBO Max and Cartoon Network Series have ordered the new series from Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation.

There's no word yet if the original Tiny Toon Adventures series' voice actors will return for the new incarnation. They include Charlie Adler, Tress MacNeille, Kath Soucie, Maurice Lamarche, Frank Welker, Rob Paulsen, Danny Cooksey, Cree Summer, Jeff Bergman, Candi Milo, Noel Blanc, Jim Cummings, John Kassir, Bob Bergen, and Greg Burson. Legends Joe Alaskey, Don Messick, June Foray, and Stan Freberg also worked on the original 1990-95 series but have since passed away.

Two seasons have been ordered but there's no word on when the show will launch. A...

Chicago – Who are the voices in our lives that really matter? If you were a cartoon fan in the 1980s and ‘90s then it was Rob Paulsen, the source for Pinky (“Pinky & the Brain”), Yakko (“Animaniacs”) and a myriad of others. Recently Paulsen beat cancer, which threatened his career, and he tells the story in the new book … “Voice Lessons.”

The subtitle of “Voice Lessons” is “How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky and an Animaniac Saved My Life” (written with Michael Fleeman) and to know Rob Paulsen is to realize his deep appreciation and love behind his creations. But beyond that passion, he also is endeared to the admirers of his work, the millions of children and now grown-ups who continue to embrace his characters and the voice behind them. Beating his cancer gave Paulsen a new purpose in his life, to use his gifts “…on the biggest scale I can.

Ming-Na Wen, the actress who voiced the title character in Disney’s animated classic “Mulan,” rang in the New Year by calling out Netflix on social media for omitting her name from the credits list featured on the streaming giant’s “Mulan” page. Neither of the movie’s Asian-American lead voice actors (Ming-Na Wen and Bd Wong) were included on Netflix’s “Mulan” homepage. Wen called her and Wong’s omission screwed up and encouraged “Mulan” fans to tweet at Netflix about the “major oversight.”

The Netflix credits bar on a film’s streaming homepage rarely features the entire cast, and in most cases it contains the names of only three or four cast members. Ming-Na Wen’s omission was first spotted by radio producer Dave Sanchez, who watched “Mulan” for the first time on New Year’s Eve and couldn’t believe the streaming giant made no mention of...

Memorabilia from the private collection of late voice actress June Foray will be up for auction beginning at 1 p.m. at Heritage Auctions.

Foray is best known as the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel in the various “Rocky and Bullwinkle” series, Cindy Lou Who in “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and Granny in the “Sylvester & Tweety” cartoons. But she voiced hundreds of other roles beyond those, working late into her life. She died on July 26, 2017, just a few weeks shy of her 100th birthday.

In addition to her prolific voice acting career, Foray was also a key figure in the animation industry as a whole.

“June was not only the preeminent voice actress for decades during her astounding 80-plus-year career, she was also a founding member of Asifa-Hollywood and the creative force behind the Annie Awards,” says Asifa-Hollywood executive director Frank Gladstone. “A fearless and influential advocate for animation,...

Don Pitts, longtime voice-talent agent and radio personality, died on April 7. He was 90.

Pitts represented a who’s-who of classic voice talent, including Orson Welles, Casey Kasem, June Foray, Wolfman Jack, Mel Blanc, Paul Winchell, Janet Waldo, Gary Owens, and many more. He was well-known for his kind and friendly personality, and was much loved by his clients.

“His clients treasured him and he treasured his clients,” says Cindy Kazarian, CEO of Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin & Associates, who worked with Pitts when it was the Jhr Agency in the early 1980s. Kazarian, Pammela Spencer, and Pitts purchased Jhr in 1988 and renamed it Kazarian/Spencer and Associates. It later became Kmr.

“He was an incredible man, very special. They don’t make them like him anymore,” says Kazarian. “He never had a mean word or negative thing to say about anybody. He was not who you would expect to be in this business.

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “While Bill Clinton pays the sax…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “We have pay for play contracts…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “There’s baloney in our slacks…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as the voice of Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,...

The upcoming 90th Academy Awards will mark the 25th consecutive year that the Oscars will feature an “In Memoriam” segment. While it had been done on occasion before, the annual tribute to Academy members and other film legends started a regular tradition at the 1994 ceremony hosted by Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg.

SEE2018 Oscars: Best Song performers include Mary J. Blige, Common, Andra Day, Keala Settle, Sufjan Stevens

We’ve assembled a list below of people who have died in the past 12 months who might be featured during the “In Memoriam” for the ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on March 4. Producers have not yet revealed who might be performing during the tribute. Sure to have prominent placements are previous Oscar champ Martin Landau (“Ed Wood,” 1994), honorary Oscar recipient Jerry Lewis and respected actor Bill Paxton (“Titanic,” “Apollo 13”). Paxton actually died on the weekend of last year’s ceremony and was mentioned on the broadcast,...

Sunday’s telecast of the Screen Actors Guild will feature a special In Memoriam segment devoted to many of the actors and actresses who have died since last year’s ceremony in late January. Sure to be among those saluted include Oscar winner Martin Landau, comedy legend Jerry Lewis, and beloved film and TV star Bill Paxton. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for this past year of 2017 and the newly-started gallery for 2018.

Over 100 people in SAG/AFTRA have passed away in the past 12 months. Which of the following 60 names will also be featured in the televised tribute?

SEE2018 SAG Awards TV predictions: Complete racetrack odds in all 9 categories

Richard Anderson (actor)

Chuck Barris (host/executive)

Shelley Berman (actor)

Chuck Berry (singer/actor)

Joseph Bologna (actor)

Powers Boothe (actor)

Brent Briscoe (actor)

Glen Campbell (singer/actor)

Bernie Casey (actor)

David Cassidy (actor/singer)

Mike Connors (actor)

Danielle Darrieux (actor...

Pixar’s Día de los Muertos saga, “Coco,” the Oscar frontrunner, led the pack with 13 nominations for the 45th Annie Awards, followed by GKid’s powerful indie fave, “The Breadwinner,” with 10. Both are expected to win the top categories for feature and indie feature at the February 3rd Asifa-Hollywood ceremony at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

“Coco” also picked up nominations for directing (Lee Unkrich and co-director Adrian Molina), character design, two each for character animation and storyboarding, writing (Molina and Matthew Aldrich), Michael Giacchino’s music, production design, effects, editing, and voice acting for newcomer Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel.

“The Breadwinner,” about a young girl forced to become a boy in Afghanistan, also collected nominations for directing (Cartoon Saloon’s Nora Twomey), Mychael and Jeff Danna’s music, two voice acting bids for Saara Chaudry and Laara Sadiq, character design, production design, storyboarding, writing (Anita Doron), and editing.

Overall, GKids grabbed 16 nominations — for “The Breadwinner,...

Would you like to know how to make a baby boomer fanboy’s head explode?

O.K. That was a trick question. There are plenty of ways to make a baby boomer fanboy’s head explode. It’s our fault, really. Many of us had children. But I digress.

One way to make a baby boomer fanboy’s head explode is to ask him (well, I said fanboy) which Neal Adams’ project is his favorite. My knee-jerk response would be Green Lantern / Green Arrow #80 for personal reasons, and The Spectre #3 (the one from 1968) to prove I’m still a fanboy at heart.

That is, until last week. Now I’ve got a clear favorite. And it’s not a comic book… although it is about a comic book. And a damn good one at that.

Last week, our pal and mystical production overlord Glenn Hauman, who occasionally writes something or...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Tuesday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best show currently on TV?” can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: Who is your favorite voice actor for animated characters on TV? Why?

Dave Trumbore (@DrClawMD), Collider

My knee-jerk reaction was either Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill for their roles as Batman/Bruce Wayne and The Joker, respectively, because “Batman: The Animated Series” is always on my mind. But thinking a moment more, my favorite voice actor (and arguably the best in the biz) is Frank Welker.

Read More:‘Big Mouth’ Season 1 Voice Cast: A Visual Guide To The Adult Voices Behind The Tweens

His name might not be a household one, but with over 800 credits and nearly 50 years in the industry, Welker’s voice definitely is.

After the delightful “DuckTales” movie pressed reset on the adventures of the familiar feathered characters from the ‘90s, the actual series debuts in earnest on Saturday morning with a pair of episodes that give a little more time to the supporting characters. Only the first was given to critics for review, and although “Daytrip of Doom!” is a little bit more domestic and mundane in scope — a trip to Atlantis every week would be a bit much — the spirit of adventure is still strongly present and intact.

The series premiere spotlights a trio of strong female characters: Webby Vanderquack (Kate Micucci), Mrs. Beakley (Toks Olagundoye), and Ma Beagle (guest star Margo Martindale). Even though the episode runs a mere 22 minutes, it manages to actually reveal surprising depths to each character.

Read More:‘DuckTales’ Review: Nostalgic, Adventure-Filled Reboot Is All It’s Quacked Up to Be

In particular, Webby in the original series was timid,...

Sam Shepard, actor, playwright and director, has died at the age of 73. He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Als), and died with family by his side on July 27. Read More: June Foray, Voice Actor Of Tweety Bird’s Owner And More, Dies At 99 A family spokesperson said Monday that Shepard died Thursday at his home […]...

Movie News Weekly July 23-29, 2017 Movie News Weekly is a weekly videocast on the previous week’s film industry frivolities. Movie News Weekly is hosted by FilmBook, created and narrated by FilmBook author Mathieu Brunet. In this edition, Movie News Weekly covers: Dunkirk shot down The Emoji Movie and Atomic Blonde to stay in first place [...]

Continue reading: Movie News Weekly: July 23-29, 2017: Barbie, It, June Foray...

On Friday I learned that one of my childhood heroes died. June Foray passed on at the age of 99.

Ms. Foray was a voice actress working in animated features all her long career, as well as in comedy shorts and appearances on Johnny Carson and with Stan Freberg, Daws Butler, and Frank Nelson. She was the voice of Grandmother in Mulan, of Betty Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and, most important to me, she was the voice of Natasha Fatale and Rocky the Flying Squirrel on the various Rocky and Bullwinkle shows created by the legendary Jay Ward.

Rocky and Bullwinkle had a huge impact on me as a kid. All of Jay Ward’s stuff had a combination of sophisticated and low-brow humor. There were elements of satire combined with a lot of really bad puns.

Originally, the dimwitted Bullwinkle was the sidekick to the plucky hero Rocket J.

The Animation Podcast Ep. 94 The Animation Podcast is a weekly podcast news show that looks into the latest news in the animation industry, hosted by FilmBook, created and narrated by FilmBook author Mathieu Brunet a.k.a. AniMat from the ElectricDragon505 YouTube channel. Music provided by Chris Holland. In this episode, The Animation Podcast examines (the [...]

Continue reading: The Animation Podcast Ep. 94: Disenchantment, The Star, June Foray...

Av Club Rip voice acting legend June Foray

Variety Amazon is moving into being their own distributor now after partnering with other distributors before. They'll try it out with Woody Allen's Wonder Wheel which they seem to have high hopes for.

Screen Crush It's official - Emoji Movie is worst reviewed wide release of the year

/Film a photo tour of the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image

Deadline Anne Hathaway circling the Barbie movie that Amy Schumer abandoned

Coming Soon Warner Bros considering "formidable" Oscar campaign for Wonder Woman

off cinema

Variety Jack O'Connell talks about his nude scene in the new revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and why he hasn't watched Paul Newman in the film version

Playbill Ellen Greene shares a scrapbook from the original run of Little Shop of Horrors

Chicago Tribune recommended theater shows on a budget...

While you may not know the name June Foray, you undoubtedly know the voice that belongs to the legendary cartoon actress. Unfortunately, the woman behind iconic cartoon characters such as Rocky the Flying Squirrel from Rocky & Bullwinkle and little Cindy Lou Who in the Chuck Jones adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, has […]

The post Cartoon Voice Legend June Foray Has Died at 99 appeared first on /Film.

June Foray, called "the first lady of voice acting" for her talent and ubiquity, died Wednesday at

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Read More >...

June Foray, called "the first lady of voice acting" for her talent and ubiquity, died Wednesday at her home in California, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 99.

In her long career, which started in the 1940s and lasted until the last few years of her life -- she won a Daytime Emmy in 2012

...

Read More >...

2017-07-27T06:39:47-07:00June Foray, Voice of Rocky the Squirrel, Dies at 99

June Foray, the famed “first lady of voice actors” whose repertoire of characters include Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Pottsylvanian spy Natasha Fatale, Tweety Bird’s owner Granny and a sinister talking doll, has died. She was 99.

Foray, who worked alongside such animated legends as Mel Blanc, Chuck Jones, Stan Freberg and Jay Ward during her unseen yet spectacular eight-decade career, died Wednesday according to close friend Dave Nimitz who posted a notice of her passing on Facebook.

Versatile in her intonations and cadence, Foray provided voices for an incredible range of characters, including the killer Talky Tina doll in the 1963 “Living Doll” installment of The Twilight Zone, an episode said to be inspired by Mattel’s enormously popular pull-string Chatty Cathy doll (she provided the voice for that, too).

Read the rest of this article at The Hollywood Reporter.

Moose and Squirrel very sad ... June Foray, the voice of Rocky, and also Natasha Fatale, died Wednesday. A close friend of June's confirmed her death with a post on Facebook, saying ... "With a heavy heart again I want to let you all know that we lost our little June today at 99 years old." June was a legendary voice actress, working in Hollywood for more than a decade before she landed "The Bullwinkle Show" roles in the late 1950s.

June Foray, the Emmy-winning voiceover actress who brought Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Natasha Fatale to life in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, has died. She was 99.

Per our sister site Variety, Foray’s death was confirmed via Facebook by close friend Dave Nimitz, who wrote, “With a heavy heart… I want to let you all know that we lost our little June today at 99 years old.” A cause of death has not been disclosed.

In addition to her work on Rocky and Bullwinkle, Foray voiced Cindy Lou Who in Chuck Jones’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and demonic doll...

June Foray, the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Natasha Fatale from The Bullwinkle Show, died Thursday. She was 99.

Foray, known as the first lady of acting, played various characters on the screen from the Looney Tunes‘ Witch Hazel, Nell from Dudley Do-Right, Granny in Tweety and Sylvester, and Cindy Lou Who in Chuck Jones’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

A close friend of Foray’s, Dave Nimitz, confirmed her death on Facebook, writing, “With a heavy heart again I want to let you all know that we lost our little June today at 99 years old.”

Foray won a...

June Foray, the voice of Rocky The Flying Squirrel, Granny from Looney Tunes, and literally hundreds of other beloved animated characters, has died. Heralded as “the first lady” and the “queen” of voice acting, Foray’s career in film and TV stretched for 71 years and more than 300 credits, embodying everyone from Magica De Spell to Dorothy from The Wizard Of Oz. As reported by Variety, Foray was 99.

Originally working in radio—and on comedy albums with Stan Freberg—Foray broke into film in 1950, when she voiced Lucifer the cat in Disney’s Cinderella. From there, it would probably be easier to list the beloved animated series she didn’t appear on: Her versatile voice showed up in The Flintstones, Peter Pan, Mister Magoo, dozens of Looney Tunes shorts—with director Chuck Jones supposedly once noting that “June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc, Mel Blanc ...

June Foray, a voice actress best known for playing Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Natasha Fatale on “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show,” has died. She was 99. Her death was confirmed on Facebook late Wednesday night by her friend Dave Nimitz, who said she is “resting peacefully now.” Among her accolades during a lengthy career, Foray also voiced animated characters such as Looney Tunes’ Witch Hazel, Nell from “Dudley Do-Right,” Granny in the “Tweety and Sylvester,” Lucifer from Disney’s “Cinderella,” Cindy Lou Who and Jokey Smurf. Also Read: Barbara Sinatra, Wife of Frank Sinatra, Dies at 90 She went on to...

June Foray, the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel from the iconic animated series The Bullwinkle Show, has died, two months shy of her centenary. Dave Nimitz, a close friend of Foray, confirmed her death on Facebook, writing, “With a heavy heart again I want to let you all know that we lost our little June today at 99 years old.” The cause of death has yet to be announced. Foray was born September 18, 1917 in Springfield, Massachusetts. At 12 years old, her vocal talents…...

“Zootopia,” Disney’s zeitgeist-grabbing, Oscar frontrunner, took best animated feature honors Saturday at Asifa-Hollywood’s 44th Annie Awards, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The Studio Ghibli co-production, “The Red Turtle,” meanwhile, won best indie feature.

Overall, “Zootopia” grabbed six Annies, which also included directing (Byron Howard & Rich Moore), writing (Jared Bush & Phil Johnston), storyboarding, character design, and voice acting (Jason Bateman).

Laika’s stop-motion “Kubo and the Two Strings” earned three awards (character animation, production design, and editorial), along with Guillermo del Toro’s “Trollhunters,” the DreamWorks/Netflix series (character design, character animation, and storyboarding), and the “Pearl” Vr short from Google Spotlight. Within TV/Broadcasting, the Oscar contender took direction (Oscar winner Patrick Osborne), production design, and music.

Disney’s “Moana” was the other big feature winner, collecting two Annies for animated effects and voice acting (Auli’i Cravalho, who tied with Bateman).

Other honors went to Pixar’s lovely,...

Disney’s zeitgeist-grabbing Oscar-frontrunner, “Zootopia,” racked up 11 nominations in Asifa-Hollywood’s 44th Annie Awards race (including best feature and every other category except music), while Laika’s Japanese stop-motion fantasy, “Kubo and the Two Strings,” boasted 10 (including best feature and direction for president/CEO Travis Knight).

The Annie Awards will be held February 4th at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Overall, Disney/Pixar dominated with 21 movie noms, with “Moana” nabbing six and “Finding Dory” getting three (including best feature for both) and Pixar’s lovely “Piper” leading the shorts category.

DreamWorks, meanwhile, scored eight noms: four each for “Kung Fu Panda 3” (including best feature) and “Trolls” (including character and production design).

In the new indie category for best feature, Michael Dudok de Witt’s “The Red Turtle” (co-produced by Studio Ghibli) was joined by Gkids’ “Miss Hokusai” and the stop-motion “My Life as a Zucchini,” “Long Way North” (from Shout Factory) and the Japanese blockbuster,...

[caption id="attachment_51168" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Smurfs: The Lost Village image via Sony Pictures Animation./caption]

Tickled pink to be working blue, Sony Pictures Animation has announced the next Smurfs feature film, Smurfs: The Lost Village will hit theaters April 7, 2017. Watch a promo, below. The feature film is part of the Belgian Smurfs comics franchise. The Smurfs TV show ran on NBC from 1981 until it was cancelled in 1989. Smurfs: The Lost Village stars Demi Lovato as Smurfette; Mandy Patinkin as Papa Smurf; Rainn Wilson as Gargamel; Jack McBrayer as Clumsy; Danny Pudi as Brainy; and Joe Manganiello as Hefty.

After its NBC cancellation, Smurfs reruns aired on USA Network until 1993. Cartoon Network then ran them until 2003. In the Us, Cartoon Network's Boomerang still reruns The Smurfs TV series. The original series cast includes: Don Messick, Danny Goldman, Lucille Bliss, Frank Welker, Michael Bell, June Foray, Hamilton...

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Pixar Animation Studios was the big winner at the 43rd Annual Annie Awards, Saturday evening at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Inside Out won Best Animated Feature along with 11 other categories, including Outstanding Music – Michael Giacchino; Outstanding Editing – Kevin Nolting; Outstanding Production Design – Ralph Eggleston; Outstanding Voice Acting – Phyllis Smith as ‘Sadness’; Outstanding Writing – Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley; and Best Directing – Pete Docter.

Watch the 2016 Annie Awards here.

This year was the first for the new category Best Animated Feature, Independent with Filme de Papel’s ‘Boy and the World’ taking this top honor.

The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to ‘He Named Me Malala’ (Parkes-MacDonald/Little Door); Best Animated Short Subject ‘World of Tomorrow’ (Don Hertzfeldt); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial ‘Man and Dog’ (Psyop); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children ‘Tumble Leaf’ – Mirror (Amazon Studios and...

Emmy-winning voice actor also played Richard Nixon in Forrest Gump, and various cartoon stars since the late 1980s including Tweety and Sylvester the Cat

Joe Alaskey, the voice behind notable cartoon characters including Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, died of cancer on Wednesday. He was 63.

The voice actor, who was born in upstate New York, started out as a standup impressionist. He worked with voice actor June Foray on a Boston radio morning show called Effective Radio with Bill.

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Chicago – Voiceover artist Alex Borstein is familiar to TV audiences as the legendary Lois Griffin of “Family Guy,” but she also is a stellar character actress, recently in a role on the HBO series “Getting On.” She is back in the animation saddle with a couple of voiceover parts in the new Fox Network show ‘Bordertown.’

“Bordertown” is created by Mark Hentemann and is produced by Seth MacFarlane, the creator of “Family Guy.” It involves the Buckwald and Gonzalez families in a Southwest desert town on the Mexico-u.S. border, and Alex Borstein voices both the Buckwald mother Janice and her hapless daughter Becky. The show is sharp and funny, with the satire that is familiar to Seth MacFarlane animation fans. “Bordertown” premiered on the Fox Network on January 3rd, 2016, and is now on Sunday nights.

Alex Borstein (left), Voice of Becky and Janice Buckwald in ‘Bordertown,’ and Lois Griffin...

The International Animated Film Society, Asifa-Hollywood, announced nominations today for its 43rd Annual Annie Awards recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation.

The Annie Awards cover 36 categories and include Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Feature-Independent (new this year), Special Productions, Commercials, Short Subjects, Student Films and Outstanding Individual Achievements, as well as the honorary Juried Awards.

This year’s Best Animated Feature nominations include: Anomalisa (Paramount Pictures), Inside Out (Pixar Animation Studios), Shaun the Sheep The Movie (Aardman Animations), The Good Dinosaur (Pixar Animation Studios), and The Peanuts Movie (Blue Sky Studios, Twentieth Century Fox Animation).

“This year we introduced an important new category – Best Feature-Independent,” says Asifa-Hollywood President, Jerry Beck. “We will now recognize not only features in wide release, but also the independent animators, international studios, anime and special productions that might not otherwise get the attention they deserve. Adds Frank Gladstone, Asifa-Hollywood’s Executive Director,...

June Foray, the famed “first lady of voice actors” whose repertoire of characters include Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Pottsylvanian spy Natasha Fatale, Tweety Bird’s owner Granny and a sinister talking doll, has died. She was 99.

Foray, who worked alongside such animated legends as Mel Blanc, Chuck Jones, Stan Freberg and Jay Ward during her unseen yet spectacular eight-decade career, died Wednesday according to close friend Dave Nimitz who posted a notice of her passing on Facebook.

Versatile in her intonations and cadence, Foray provided voices for an incredible range of characters, including the killer Talky Tina doll...

We never get tired of the story of Cinderella, and whether we know it or not, the version we never get tired of is the one put forth by Walt Disney 65 years ago. The 1950 animated feature, released 65 years ago this week (on February 15, 1950) was an instant classic, and its this version we think of when we imagine all the visual details of the story -- the slipper, the pumpkin, the fairy godmother, the mice, and Cinderella and Prince Charming dancing all over the palace grounds.

Still, as many times as we've heard the story or seen the cartoon, there's still more to be mined from the 17th-century fairy tale. (Indeed, Disney is releasing a new live-action retelling next month.) As many times as you've seen the 1950 classic, there's plenty you may not know about it -- how the actress who played Cinderella landed the part without even knowing she'd auditioned,...

DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 took Best Animated Feature top honors at the 42nd Annual Annie Awards held Saturday, January 31 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

The film, produced by Bonnie Arnold, also won Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Feature Production – Fabio Lignini, Outstanding Achievement, Directing – Dean DeBlois, Outstanding Achievement, Music in an Animated Feature – John Powell, Jónsi, Outstanding Achievement, Storyboarding – Truong “Tron” Son Mai, Outstanding Achievement, Editorial in an Animated Feature Film – John K. Carr.

Read my interview with John Powell Here.

The Best Animated Special Production was awarded to ‘Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey’ (Voyager Pictures LLC); Best Animated Short Subject Feast (Walt Disney Animation Studios); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial ‘Flight of the Stories’ (Aardman Animations); Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Preschool Children ‘Tumble Leaf’ (Amazon Studios); Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production for Children’s Audience ‘Gravity Falls’ (Disney Television Animation...

The 42nd Annual Annie Awards were handed out on a busy Saturday night in the awards world and "How To Train Your Dragon 2" was the big winner. The DreamWorks Animation blockbuster (it's true) took home six Annies including Best Animated Feature and Directing (Dean DeBlois). While the entire Academy votes on the Best Animated Feature category, this endorsement from the animation community can't hurt in a very competitive year. Other big winners included "The Simpsons," Amazon's "Tumble Leaf" and Oscar frontrunner "Feast" for the Best Animated Short Subject honor. "The Boxtrolls'" Sir Ben Kingsley took home the award for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production and Phil Lord and Christoper Miller won for Writing in an Animated Feature for "The Lego Movie." A complete list of this year's honorees is as follows: Best Animated Feature "How to Train Your Dragon 2," DreamWorks Animation Directing in an Animated Feature Production Dean DeBlois,...

Yay! One of my favorite animated films of 2014 topped the recently announced 2014 Annie Awards honoring excellence in the field of animation. Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi's "The Boxtrolls" received 12 nominations including Best Animated Feature. The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at UCLA.s Royce Hall. For more information on the Annie Awards, click here.

Here's the full list of nominees for the 2015 Annie Awards

Production Categories

Best Animated Feature

Big Hero 6 - Walt Disney Animation Studios

Cheatin' - Plymptoons Studio

How to Train Your Dragon 2 - DreamWorks Animation

Song of the Sea - Gkids/Cartoon Saloon

The Book of Life - Reel FX

The Boxtrolls - Focus Features/Laika

The Lego Movie -Warner Bros. Pictures

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya - Gkids/Studio Ghibli

Best Animated Special Production

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Voyager Pictures LLC

Dawn of the...