The 2012 Annie Awards were held last night, and critical favorite Rango ended up deservedly taking home the Best Animated Feature award. Gore Verbinski’s quirky western also took home the award for Best Writing in a Feature Production, Best Editing, and the Members Favorite Award, but lost Best Directing to Kung Fu Panda 2’s Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Bill Nighy won Best Voice Acting for Arthur Christmas, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes took home the Character Animation in a Live Action Feature Production award.

On the television side of things, The Simpsons was awarded the top prize as well as Best Directing and Best Writing. Heading into the Academy Awards, Rango is our clear frontrunner. The Adventures of Tintin was pegged as the film’s biggest competition at the Oscar ceremony, but the Steven Spielberg film was ultimately left out of the nominations. Hit the jump to see the full list of Annie Awards Winners.

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced today that 39 eligible songs will contend for the Best Original Song Oscar this year. Important to note is that a relatively recent rule change states that songs must be judged in the capacity that they appear in each film. In early January the voting body will get together and watch clips from each eligible movie in which the 39 songs are featured, after which they will determine the nominees. The list of eligible songs include three tracks from The Muppets, Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi’s song “Gathering Stories” (which director Cameron Crowe co-wrote) from We Bought a Zoo, and composer/songwriter/eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken’s “Star Spangled Man” from Captain America: The First Avenger. I’m partial to Jonsi’s work or “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, but we’ll see how the Academy’s taste stacks up towards the end of January.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of eligible songs. The 84th Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 24th.

Under consideration for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature will be 18 contenders, some of which have yet to have their qualifying runs on screen. Major features include The Adventures of Tintin, Rango and Cars 2. Disney/Pixar has won 6 out of 10 years, while winning the last four in a row, but with DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots in the running, it could very well be their turn. Though there are some dark horses in the mix.

Submitted films must satisfy the category’s qualifying rules, including their theatrical release, in order to continue the submission process. In order to activate the award category at all, no fewer than 8 animated features must be released in theaters in Los Angeles County within the calendar year. If these films meet requirements for other categories, including Best Picture, they may be eligible for those awards as well. Hit the jump to see the full list.

In its magical debut, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has claimed another record: the all-time domestic weekend opening.  With an estimated $168.5 million from its 4,375 locations, Harry Potter’s final installment topped the former record of $158.7 million that The Dark Knight set in July 2008.

No one doubted that the final Harry Potter film would be huge.  Just how huge, however, is taking even box office watchers by surprise.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 already crushed the domestic midnight record with its $43.5 million launch.  Today, estimates for its first full day give the film the single day record as well.  With $92.1 million from its 4,375 locations, Deathly Hallows 2 easily topped the $72.7 million earned by Twilight Saga: New Moon in 2009.  It is now all but certain that Harry Potter will also snatch the all-time weekend record away from The Dark Knight as most projections put the film at $180 million for its first three days. Internationally, Deathly Hallows 2 took in $82.5 million on Wednesday and Thursday for a worldwide total of $173 million and counting.  Other records now lining up to be broken include the fastest film to break $100 and $200 million domestically, biggest worldwide opening of all-time and so many, many more.  Meanwhile, the one film that dared to compete with Potter this weekend was Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. From 2,405 locations Pooh took in an estimated $2.9 million. Full details and analysis tomorrow.

Perennial family favorite Winnie the Pooh returns to theaters this Friday in Disney’s new traditionally animated film of the same name. Pooh Bear is back with all of his friends in the 100 Acre Wood, getting into mischief and looking for honey. It’s a very sweet family film that will make a great first theater experience for many children and manage to keep parents engaged without indulging in any double entendre.

Last weekend I sat down with the film’s directors Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall to discuss their new cartoon. During the interview we talked about keeping it fun but innocent, the work dynamic with two directors, the less wistful tone of this film, Pooh Bear’s honey addiction and get an update on Bebe’s Kids. Hit the jump to watch.

It’s refreshing to see a family film that is completely without cynicism or even awareness of pop culture.  Winnie the Pooh opens with a live-action shot of the bedroom of stuffed animals and the narrator (John Cleese) tells us, without the slightest hint of irony, that the bedroom could belong to any young boy.  The room has no video games, posters, or other mass-produced merchandise.  It’s a bedroom for a young boy in 1920s England which is when and where Winnie the Pooh was created.  The new Disney film based on A.A. Milne’s popular characters firmly holds to that time period and that innocence and comes away with an absolutely charming and lovable movie that is clever, funny, and adorable.

Perennial family favorite Winnie the Pooh returns to theaters this Friday in Disney’s new traditionally animated film of the same name. Pooh Bear is back with all of his friends in the 100 Acre Wood, getting into mischief and looking for honey. It’s a very sweet family film that will make a great first theater experience for many children and manage to keep parents engaged without indulging in any double entendre.

Last weekend I sat down with the songwriters to discuss how they kept the lyrics G-rated after working on Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon, how they break up the songwriting duties, the cable news inspiration for some of the songs and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Perennial family favorite Winnie the Pooh returns to theaters this Friday in Disney’s new traditionally animated film of the same name. Pooh Bear is back with all of his friends in the 100 Acre Wood, getting into mischief and looking for honey. It’s a very sweet family film that will make a great first theater experience for many children and manage to keep parents engaged without indulging in any double entendre.

Last weekend I sat down with Jim Cummings (Pooh Bear, Tigger) and Tom Kenny (Rabbit) to discuss their roles in the movie. During our interview they told me about Pooh Bear’s honey issues, how one stays in character for 20 years, Rabbit’s closeness to Bill O’Reilly, and Cummings gives us a quick update on Spongebob Squarepants 2 at the end of the interview.  Hit the jump to watch.

Winnie the Pooh might describe himself as a “bear of very little brain,” but that sure hasn’t hurt his popularity any, making him second to only Mickey Mouse. In the full-length movie Winnie the Pooh, the whole gang – Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga and Roo – teams up after they misinterpret a note left by Christopher Robin, mistakenly believing him to have been captured by a creature. While they are on a quest to save Christopher Robin, they are also on the hunt to find Eeyore a new tail, as his has mysteriously gone missing.

For the Hundred Acre Wood gang’s first big-screen feature in 35 years, voice actor Jim Cummings not only got to take on the voice of Pooh, the bear who’s always willing to lend a helping paw and a jar of honey, but also of the exuberant Tigger, with the famously springy tail. During this exclusive interview with Collider, done at the film’s press day at Walt Disney Animation, Jim Cummings talked about how he never could have imagined that he’d be voicing these classic characters, how Pooh is more delicate to voice than Tigger, how he equally enjoys bringing known characters to life as he does creating entirely new ones, and that he would love to revisit Ray, the firefly from The Princess and the Frog, for some possible shorts, in the future. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Inspired by the stories from A.A. Milne’s books, and in Disney’s classic, hand-drawn art style, the beloved characters in the world of Winnie the Pooh are back on the big screen after 35 years. As lovable and charming as ever, Pooh wakes up hungry and out of honey, setting him out on a journey to stop the rumbling in his tummy. Along the way, he learns that Eeyore has lost his tail and, after misinterpreting a note, believes Christopher Robin to have been captured by a creature in the Hundred Acre Wood. Over the course of one very busy day, Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo, all work together to save Christopher Robin from the imaginary culprit, and find something for the always gloomy Eeyore to use as a tail.

At the film’s press day, co-directors Don Hall and Stephen Anderson talked about bringing such well-loved characters back to life on the big screen, how much they enjoyed working in 2D hand-drawn animation, what Zooey Deschanel’s musical contribution adds to the film, and bringing humor to these classic characters. Check out what they had to say after the jump

With Walt Disney’s Winnie the Pooh opening July 15, we’ve been provided with six clips from the film. Narrated by John Cleese, the 2D “hand-drawn style” animated film follows Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo on an all-new adventure to help Christopher Robin.   It’s directed by Stephen Anderson and Don Hall and features the voices of Jim Cummings, Craig Ferguson, Tom Kenny, Travis Oates, and Bud Luckey.  Hit the jump to check out the clips.

Disney has released the first images from its upcoming animated short film The Ballad of Nessie.  The short was directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters (Prep & Landing) and centers on the Lochness Monster contending with greedy land developer MacFroogle who wants to build a golf course on top of Nessie’s home.  To be fair, a Loch Ness monster would be a killer obstacle.

I like that they’ve gone with a hand-drawn look for the short and I’m even happier that Up composer Michael Giacchino will be providing the music.  The Ballad of Nessie will open this Spring in theaters in select international markets and will play in front of Winnie the Pooh, which opens July 15th.  Hit the jump to check out the images along with a synopsis.

New posters have been released for two upcoming films: Super and Winnie the Pooh. Directed by James Gunn (Slither), Super tells the story of an average guy who takes on the persona of “The Crimson Bolt” upon learning that his wife is having an affair. The film stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon. IFC is set to release the film on April 1^st.

The “bear of little brain” returns to the big screen in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh. Narrated by John Cleese, the 2D “hand-drawn style” animated film follows Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Piglet, Owl, Kanga and Roo on an all-new adventure to help Christopher Robin. Winnie the Pooh is slated for a July 15^th release. Hit the jump to check out both posters.