Tom Ellery, who has a story credit on Beauty and the Beast and more recently was a story artist on the upcoming Disney 2D feature The Princess and the Frog, is seeking completion funding for a 4:30 minute short. The Hunter and the Gatherer is a comedic, pantomimed film that follows the trials of a man at the mall, and below you can see the first-pass thumbnail animatic for the film (the actual animatic starts around 1:00). A shorter animatic follows for another concept titled Cheep Date.

A new clip from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming 2D feature The Princess and the Frog has emerged. This low-resolution, :40 second vignette gives us our first extended look at Charlotte, Tiana’s best friend (and eventual rival), who grows up to be a spoiled, southern debutante. Princess and the Frog will be in theaters December 11th.

Spotted at Animatie.

The gang at AWNtv just uploaded a new featurette for the upcoming 2D Disney animated feature The Princess and the Frog. We meet Mark Henn (Ariel and Belle), who was the supervising animator for Tiana, the lead character in the new Walt Disney Animation Studios film, which hits theaters on December 11th.

Disney Channel recently revealed The Princess and the Frog Top Secret Tour, a multi-part behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming feature-length animated project from Walt Disney Animation Studios. In these segments below, you’ll hear from directors Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), who walk us through the cast – Tiana, and unromantic waitress, Prince Naveen, who is turned into a frog, Louis, a jazz-playing aligator, Ray the cajun firefly and several others. The video at the bottom is an extended scene from the film, which hits theaters December 11th.

“We’re back!” That’s Bruce Smith, creator of The Proud Family and animator on The Princess and the Frog, talking about the return of hand-drawn, 2D animation to The Walt Disney Animation Studios. In this AWN exclusive featurette below, we also hear from directors Ron Clements and John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), animators Andreas Deja (Gaston – Beauty and the Beast) and Mike Surrey (Timon – Lion King), and the Chief Creative Oficer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios John Lasseter. AWN’s Dr. Toon was right all along.

The Princess and the Frog will mark Walt Disney Animation Studios’ return to traditional hand-drawn, after 5 years away (Home on the Range). The Disney Princess brands are worth billions to the company, so it’s no surprise this feature moved swiftly to the screen, plus they’ve got John Musker and Ron Clements (Aladdin, The Little Mermaid) at the helm. Below is the second official trailer to emerge. Animators will notice the little nod to “flipping” around 1:07. The Princess and the Frog hits theaters on December 11th.

Thanks to Andy Bauer for the tip.