Animated Movies

Teen Titans Go! on Cartoon Network Brings Back the Famed TV Series

See also: *ThunderCats to Appear at San Diego Comic-Con Before Cartoon Network Premiere Teen Titans are heading back to Cartoon Network beginning tonight. This time around, though, the young DC superheroes are up for a different kind of adventure. Teen Titans Go! is an animated comedy centered aro ... More >>

Cheech and Chong Tell Us About Their New Animated Movie, the Duo's First Feature in 29 Years

Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2013: From a Simpsons Segment to a Woman Who Lives on the Ceiling

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Turns 10 This Year. Here's Why the Sci-Fi Anime Series Is Still Important

It's 2030. War has left its mark on the world, with newly powerful nations rising in the place of the old guard, but terrorism is still a threat and governments can still be corrupt. In the midst of this is Public Security Section 9, Japan's elite group of crime solvers now set with the task of trac ... More >>

Top 10 Geek Heroes of 2012

In 2012, Stan Lee got his own comic book convention, Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo came to town, web sensations like the comic Homestuck and series Dick Figures had wild success on Kickstarter and Lloyd Kaufman put a whole ton of Troma films on YouTube. Sure, there's plenty more that happened in 2 ... More >>

Monsters, Inc. 3D

Rise of the Guardians Review: With Alec Baldwin as the Voice of Santa Claus, What's Not to Like?

Why Akira Creator Katsuhiro Otomo Is the God of Animation

Nearly every seat was filled inside REDCAT's small theater on Saturday night when Katsuhiro Otomo took to the stage. The anime auteur was on hand to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for this year's Platform International Animation Festival. The crowd cheered for a screening of his latest short ... More >>

Death, Anime and More Death: Your Weekly Movie To-Do List

This week's list is especially for horror lovers. Friday, Oct. 26 Feeling the autumn blues (by L.A. standards, anyway)? Soak up some inspiration from Seeds of Resiliency, an indie flick that spotlights an assorted mix of people, from the Guinness World Record holder for performing flips in his whe ... More >>

How Chinese Animation Reveals the Country's Turbulent History

Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend In Me": Why This Song Sucks (Movie Theme Song Edition)

[Editor's note: Why This Song Sucks determines why particular tracks blow using science. It appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday.] Song: Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend In Me" History: "You've Got A Friend In Me" is the theme song from Toy Story. It came out in 1995. Teenagers pretended ... More >>

A Work of Shrek

Study: Vodka Makes Men Smarter

The next time you're dealing with serious writer's block, try a shot of vodka. According to a new study from the University of Illinois, getting a buzz from booze can actually make you smarter. This isn't the first time the association between creativity and intoxication has been made. According to ... More >>

Sean Lennon Brings Akira and Other Favorites to Los Angeles Animation Festival

Sean Lennon is best known in music circles. The 36-year-old son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono has released three solo albums, as well as two full-lengths with girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl under the name The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (GOASTT). He played with Cibo Matto, collaborated extensively wi ... More >>

Academy Awards: How to Game Your Office Pool

Why Disney Characters Make Us Horny While Disney Movies Do Not

Women clearly have an ambivalent relationship with Disney characters. In question 12 of our sex survey, UCLA vs. USC: Who's Sluttier?, we asked about the worst date movies, and Disney films were named again and again by our female respondents: The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog and "anyth ... More >>

Animé Los Angeles 2012: The Changing Face of the Anime Convention Community

See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's slideshow, "Anime Los Angeles 2012." I've been to Animé Los Angeles five times now. For my first three years, I visited ALA as a regular attendee (unlike many other conventions, they don't offer press passes). But, for the past two years, I've attended as a pa ... More >>

Best of the Cons, Part 2: The Top Southern California Conventions of 2011

Shannon CottrellHatsune Miku in concert at Anime Expo​ Read more in "Best of the Cons Part 1: 8 Standout TV Shows, Cosplays, Games and More from 2011." Is Southern California the land of the superfan? Maybe. At the very least, it's the land of the fan conventions. Trying to hit up ever con in ... More >>

Best of the Cons Part 1: 8 Standout TV Shows, Cosplays, Games and More from 2011

There are still a few more conventions left for 2011, but it's not too early to begin the countdown of the best of the superfan scene. This week, I'm counting down a few of the most popular trends spotted at conventions this year. This list avoids perennial favorites (i.e. Star Wars, Star Trek and D ... More >>

Art of Akira's Joe Peacock on What Might Go Wrong with Hollywood's Stab at the Anime Classic

Akira production art courtesy of Joe Peacock/Art of Akira​Though talk of a Hollywood-made version of Akira has been around for years, it's been all the buzz amongst fans of the classic manga and anime since the project was greenlit last month. Unfortunately, that buzz hasn't been good. Many ha ... More >>

Happy Feet Two Review

Pacific Media Expo Introduces Asian Ball-Jointed Doll Programming to the Convention

Shannon CottrellEven ball-jointed dolls need their laptops at Pacific Media Expo​See more photos in Shannon Cottrell's gallery, "Pacific Media Expo 2011." Sunday afternoon at Pacific Media Expo, a small room on the second floor of the LAX Hilton was filled with a handful of people armed with t ... More >>

Asia-Vu

Hatsune Miku: Her Best Fan-Generated Videos

Shannon CottrellHatsune Miku on stage in Los Angeles​See also: *Live review of Hatsune Miku in Los Angeles *More photos of Hatsune Miku live in L.A. *Hatsune Miku/Hello Kitty collaboration, Miku-Kitty, appears at Anime Expo. *Local musicians Stephanie Yanez and Polo collaborate with Hatsune Mi ... More >>

Taste Awards Nominees Announced: Anthony Bourdain, Alton Brown Steve Jobs

Taste Awards​What do Steve Jobs, Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Chew have in common? They'll each be recognized during the next annual Taste Awards. Contrary to the name, the award ceremony, held January's 3rd in Hollywood, honors not just food but style and home lifestyle programming in television, ... More >>

Skrillex: L.A. DJ, Producer Is Boy King of Electronic Dance Music

Leads the mashed-up, remixed generation

Ejen Chuang Brings Cosplay in America to Anime Expo

Shannon CottrellEjen Chuang at the book release party for Cosplay in America, May, 2010​Check out Ejen Chuang's photography in "Cosplay in America: Ejen Chuang's Portraits from Anime and Comic Book Conventions." In 2010, Ejen Chuang self-published Cosplay in America, a photography book filled ... More >>

Hammer Conversation

We Heart Japan Brings Together Anime Industry and Fans for Earthquake Relief at Meltdown Comics

See more photos in Dianne Garcia's gallery "Voice Actors, Artists and Anime Fans Say 'We Heart Japan' at Meltdown Comics." "I always wanted to be an actor and anime was the first job, career thing, that let me be an actor," said Stephanie Sheh at Thursday night's We Heart Japan fundraiser at Meltdo ... More >>

Jean Maxime Perramon -- Big-Time Hollywood Animator, 'Bionic Six' Artist -- Killed on Shoulder of 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks

Pepper Films Inc​Updated after the jump: Jean's friends and neighbors provide more details about his life and death. Jean Perramon pulled over to the side of the 101 North at about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, stepping out of his Ferrari momentarily to check its tire for a piece of metal he though ... More >>

Artist Camilla d'Errico Talks Femina & Fauna, San Diego Comic-Con and Her Anime Fan Secret

Camilla d'Errico is part of a generation of artists whose work is as recognizable in art galleries as it is at fan conventions. Equally known as a painter and comic book creator (Tanpopo), d'Errico frequently depicts female characters that appear both hauntingly beautiful and fearless. Her new book ... More >>

Taliesin Jaffe Talks Working in Anime and Tales of the Extraordinary

Every Monday night this month, in the back room of Meltdown Comics, the team behind radio drama-styled podcast Tales of the Extraordinary has been recording it's latest chapter. Created by actor/writer Michael Coleman (who you might recognize from the interactive theater performance Dungeon Master), ... More >>

Best of the Cons 2010

From internationally known events like San Diego Comic-Con and Anime Expo to smaller, single-franchise conventions like Power Morphicon and MacrossWorld to non-con events like the L.A. screening of The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, there was no shortage of fan gatherings in Southern California t ... More >>

The Social Network Named Best Movie of 2010

The film critics' poll

THE DREAMS OF JINSHA

X Japan in the U.S.: From Anime Conventions to Lollapalooza to a North American Tour

Saturday night, X Japan will play live at The Wiltern. It will be the band's first full concert in Los Angeles ever. This is despite the fact that the band initially formed in the early 1980s and went on to become one of Japan's greatest rock acts, launching the visual kei movement in the process. S ... More >>

Satoshi Kon and 'Paranoia Agent': Remembering an Anime Master

Early this morning, rumors spread quickly on Twitter that Satoshi Kon, director of the acclaimed anime films Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress and Perfect Blue, had died. Soon, these reports were confirmed by Studio Madhouse's Masao Maruyama, through Jim Vowels of Baltimore anime convent ... More >>

Ever Get the Feeling You've Been Conned?

The search for authenticity at Comic-Con 2010

Top 10 Memorable Cosplays of Anime Expo

Check out more photos in "Anime Expo 2010: Thursday, Day One," "Anime Expo 2010: Friday, Day Two," and "Anime Expo 2010: Saturday, Day Three." For Fourth of July weekend, tens of thousands of anime fans headed downtown to the Los Angeles Convention Center for Anime Expo. Many of them were in cospla ... More >>

'Trigun: Badlands Rumble' to Screen Saturday at Anime Expo

Check out photos from Anime Expo in Shannon Cottrell's slideshows "Anime Expo 2010: Thursday, Day One" and "Anime Expo 2010: Friday, Day Two." Trigun: Badlands Rumble will make its English subtitled premiere Saturday at Anime Expo, Funimation representatives announced Friday at the convention. The ... More >>

New 'Hellsing,' 'Fate/Stay Night' and 'Highschool of the Dead' to Hit U.S.

Representatives of Geneon Universal, formerly Geneon Entertainment, made an appearance at Anime Expo Friday morning to announce some of its latest titles, include a new season of Hellsing and the movie Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works and zombie series Highschool of the Dead. Shannon Cottrell ... More >>

Graffiti Art

Kids Flick

Planet Hulk

Deadline Hollywood: Shameful Oscar Overspending

Mo' money, more Hugh, less Jerry

Sustained Vowell

Sustained Vowell

Credit Crunch Hits Hollywood Studios

Paramount Is First to Feel Financing Woes

Short Attention Span Theater