It was over two years ago that we got the first installment of Hoodwinked! It did well enough in its first weekend, making $17 million dollars ($3 mil short of its cost), that #2 was put into the works. Now writer and voice Cory Edwards has been blogging about the second installment, and has listed the cast that Weinstein Co. has put together. Some voices remain, like Glenn Close, David Ogden Stiers, and Andy Dick. Oh, and we can't forget Patrick Warburton -- but it's not like anyone, ever, could replace him.

But there are also some new names to the mix. Red, who was voiced by Anne Hathaway, will now get the invincible hero Hayden Panettiere -- which Edwards says is a good fit because Red becomes "more of a 'caped crusader'" in the film. Meanwhile, James Belushi's The Woodsman will now be voiced by the unstoppable Jack Putter -- Martin Short. You can't really complain about a Short replacement, unless well, he was taking over for a rippling, glistening superhero -- then it would be weird.

But there's also some tasty new vocal talent coming along for the ride. Edwards says Joan Cusack will play a "villainous witch," Brad Garrett is The Giant (of the beanstalk variety), Wayne Newton of all people will be Jimmy Ten Strings -- the Giant's singing harp, David Alan Grier will play a troll, and to top it all off, Amy Poehler and Bill Hader will voice Hansel & Gretel. How's that for an all-star cast?

[via Ace Showbiz]

Filmed in the summer of 2004, The Amateurs has been in the can for over three years. The movie's title has gone through several changes, and imdb still lists it as The Moguls. The film has had a whopping six release dates going back to 2005, but it finally sputters into theaters today -- in Los Angeles and Dallas, anyway. Movies often have distribution trouble (you can read more about the problems this one faced in the Los Angeles Times), but the struggle of The Amateurs surprised me because it had all the makings of a sleeper hit. It's got a killer premise (think The Full Monty with porno) and an amazing cast. The film's struggle surprised me...until I saw it.

A queasy mixture of Boogie Nights sleaze and Patch Adams sentimentality, The Amateurs takes place in the small town of Butterface Fields (ho-HO!). That's where you'll find Andy Sargentee (Jeff Bridges, in shaggy dog Lebowski mode), a divorced dad who is down on his luck. His son (Alex D. Linz) is now living with a wealthy stepfather (the typically solid Steven Weber), and this makes Sargentee insecure. He's got to make some money, and fast. So, naturally, he decides to enlist the help of his friends and make an amateur porno flick.

After fidgeting through "family films" that rely heavily on poop jokes and pop-culture references but not at all on character development or clever dialogue, Ratatouille proved to be a delight, an oasis in the middle of summer-movie mediocrity. It's not a sequel or a remake, it's got a polysyllabic title ... and it's a Pixar film written and directed by Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles). The only real drawback to Ratatouille as family fare is that it might actually entertain adults better than children, although the kids at the screening I attended generally seemed quiet and interested.

The plot itself offers few twists, other than the surprise of containing a number of irresistible characters. Remy (Patton Oswalt) the rat -- yeah, I thought the main character's name would be the title, too -- doesn't want to live the life his family advocates, stealing garbage and stuffing themselves with anything remotely resembling nourishment. He wants to be a creator rather than a thief, and cook delicious meals to share. He's inspired by Chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett), whose book Anyone Can Cook encourages everyone to learn to create and try new things. Remy ends up separated from the rat pack and lost in the sewers of Paris, where he discovers Gusteau's old restaurant, now under the management of the nasty Chef Skinner (Ian Holm), and becomes entangled with the ambitious but clumsy new kitchen boy Linguini (Lou Romano). Remy and Linguini's friendship is the real heart of the movie, although Linguini's attempts at romance with hard-boiled cook Colette (Janeane Garofalo) also keep us interested.

After months of rumors (the best of which involved Ray Romano and, I believe, Brad Pitt, which appeared briefly on the movie's wikipedia page), Coming Soon has managed to track down the official cast for Pixar's next film, Ratatouille. For those of you who missed the wonderful teaser, the movie is about Remy, a Parisian rat who, quite reasonably, dreams of being a great chef. What with him being a rat and everything, his foodie impulses are not welcomed by his family, particularly when he uproots the lot of them and moves them to Paris, where they take up residence in "a Parisian restaurant made famous by an eccentric French chef."

It has now been confirmed that Remy will be voiced by Patton Oswalt, and the chef by Brad Garrett (look, it's a fiesta of actors from sitcoms built around comedians!). Also appearing in as-yet unrevealed roles will be Brian Dennehy, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Pixar good luck charm, John Ratzenberger.

The film, which is being directed by Brad Bird and will inevitably be perfect, is due out in June of 2007.

[via Upcoming Pixar]

Renegade Animation, known to observant cartoon-watchers everywhere as the production company behind the slightly insane Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, are moving into movies with a feature called Who Stole Santa's Sack? (which will hopefully be renamed, because right now it sounds sort of gross). The movie will be flash animated, and will be independently produced with a budget of under $10 million. Despite the low cost, however, the vocal cast is packed with big(ish) names, including Ed Asner, Norm MacDonald, Brad Garrett, Shirley Jones, and Kathy Bates.

The project will be helmed by writer Robert Zappia, who based his screenplay on a story his dad told him when he was a kid. Aw. If I made that movie, it would feature a giant mole named Moberly and his friend Ezekiel, the enormous praying mantis. Any takers? Zappia's experience - which is totally free of animated or child-focused projects - is mostly on TV, though he did write, um, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.