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Animation is a genre with the unique opportunity to create fantastically terrifying villains because there are so few limitations on what the medium can visually achieve. The 1980s were a pivotal time for animated movies, as new technologies were broadening the horizons of what studios and creative teams were capable of. Some of the best animated fantasy films of the 20th century were made in the '80s, and a work of fiction is only as good as its villain. Balancing out the hero and often providing comic relief, the antagonists of these films often stole the show.

The mark of a good villain is one that's nuanced and complex.

Every evil Disney villain is fondly remembered by audiences who grew up watching animation movies from the iconic studio. However, it's not just Disney villains that stand apart within animation. The mark of a good villain is one that's nuanced and complex.

It’s no secret that visual effects artists are frequently overworked and poorly compensated, which seems unfair when their work drives so many of these billion-dollar blockbusters. If you need another reason to love Brendan Fraser, you’ve come to the right place. Brendan Fraser starred in Journey to the Center of the Earth 15 years ago, but when he found out the VFX artists behind the movie weren’t being paid, he went to bat for them.

Dave Rand was the VFX lead on Journey to the Center of the Earth and took to Twitter to explain how the “righteous” Brendan Fraser helped them out.

#BrendanFraser is a righteous dude.

In November 2007 our paychecks stopped. I was the FX lead on #JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth for Meteor Studios in Montreal and was asked to convince my crew to stay and finish the picture with a guarantee we'd all get paid with overtime. We had…...

The Animation Guild is gearing up for its contract negotiations next week, with animation writers looking to see a significant boost in pay as part of their new deal with studios.

Animation writers are organized under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and have long been paid much less than their live-action counterparts, who belong to the Writers Guild of America. They have begun campaigning on social media, using the hashtag #PayAnimationWriters, and are hoping to ride a wave of labor activism to make significant gains in talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

“We really deserve parity with the WGA,” said Mairghread Scott, who has written on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Transformers” animated series, and who chairs the union’s writers committee. “There’s no difference in quality and no difference in difficulty. We deserve to be paid commensurately with writers who do the same job.

Kirsten Howard Jan 16, 2018

Rumours suggest that Marvel is changing strategy and cancelling all of the Disney Xd series, including Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble...

Marvel's Disney Xd shows have a big fan base encompassing old and young viewers alike. Guardians Of The Galaxy, Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble are currently pulling in decent numbers, and above all, they're a joy to watch.

It's terrifically sad, then, to hear reports this week from the animation community that Marvel are about to announce the cancellation of all three shows.

Friends of the site working on the series had alluded to the news being in the wind earlier this week, but were unable to confirm the move for contractual reasons. Now, however, the reliable Totcms blog have stated that "some of Marvel Animation's shows are going on hiatus and (we're told) crews being laid off. Crew members say that much Ma work will be...

Exclusive: Steve Hulett is saying goodbye to Hollywood. The longest-serving union leader in the film and TV industry, he's retiring today after 27 years as the business rep of the Animation Guild, Iatse Local 839. "I plan to travel and do a lot of recreational sleeping," he laughed in an exit interview with Deadline. Jason MacLeod, a shop steward at the Walt Disney Animation Studios for the past eight years, was elected last month to succeed Hulett. Hulett leaves his post…...

Exclusive: Steve Hulett is saying goodbye to Hollywood. The longest-serving union leader in the film and TV industry, he's retiring today after 27 years as the business rep of the Animation Guild, Iatse Local 839. "I plan to travel and do a lot of recreational sleeping," he laughed in an exit interview with Deadline. Jason MacLeod, a shop steward at the Walt Disney Animation Studios for the past eight years, was elected last month to succeed Hulett. Hulett leaves his post…...

Jason MacLeod has been elected business rep of the Animation Guild, Iatse Local 839, succeeding Steve Hulett, who is retiring December 6 after 27 years at the helm of the union. Hulett, currently the longest serving union leader in Hollywood, spent a decade as an animation writer at Walt Disney Animation Studios in the 1970s and 1980s before taking the leadership role at the guild in 1989. This election marks only the second turnover in the office since 1978. "I'm very…...

Jason MacLeod has been elected business rep of the Animation Guild, Iatse Local 839, succeeding Steve Hulett, who is retiring December 6 after 27 years at the helm of the union. Hulett, currently the longest serving union leader in Hollywood, spent a decade as an animation writer at Walt Disney Animation Studios in the 1970s and 1980s before taking the leadership role at the guild in 1989. This election marks only the second turnover in the office since 1978. "I'm very…...

Nervous animators still are waiting to hear whether they’ll be among the 250 or so DreamWorks Animation staffers to be pink-slipped at the company’s Glendale campus. Studio officials say it’s their intent to have “all employees informed of their individual statuses within a few weeks.”

The layoffs were announced January 22; the next day, Steve Hulett, the longtime business rep of the Animation Guild, headed over to gauge the mood of the workers there. “There were groups of subdued artists talking quietly,” Hulett wrote on his blog. “Most everyone I encountered was waiting to hear whether they would be kept on. Demeanors were subdued, but attitudes were remarkably good. Maybe it’s simply stressed people showing a stiff upper lip, but I was impressed.”

The studio, he wrote, “started talking to individuals who were getting laid off a week and a half ago – at least, that’s when the Guild started hearing about it.

The Animation Guild’s 2014 wage survey is in (read it here), and it shows salaries for animators holding fairly steady this year compared with last year. But the reported median weekly pay for some jobs — most notably staff TV writers, feature storyboard artists, and staff story editors — is down from salaries reported five years ago. The median weekly pay reported by feature animation directors is up compared with 2013 and 24% higher than in 2010. Meanwhile, overall employment at the guild, Iatse Local 839, is at an all-time high. About a third of the guild’s 3,200 members took part in this year’s survey, up from 26% last year.

Related: DisneyToon Studios Hit By More Layoffs

The sample size in some categories is significantly lower than in others and might skew the median weekly pay rates, which are based on a 40-hour week. So it’s hard to tell whether staff TV writers took a...

Things are getting leaner at the House of Mouse once again. This time it’s DisneyToon Studios that is handing out pink slips. About 17 of the 60 full-time employees at the primarily direct-to-video animation group have been laid off, with some occurring last week and the rest to leave during the next month. A unit of Walt Disney Animation Studios, the John Lasseter- and Ed Catmull-run DisneyToon called a meeting August 6 to make the layoffs announcement to staff. The quickly called gathering came a day after big Disney released its ahead-of-expectations Q3 results. “There is not a lot left to cut here now, the next round of cuts could be closing us down,” one DTS employee told me.

No reason was given at the brisk meeting last week for the latest cuts at DTS, but I’m told the suspicion is threefold. First, with DTS’ Tinkerbell franchise effectively discontinued earlier this year,...

Animation work in Southern California is booming, hitting an all-time high last year and showing no signs of slowing down. Jobs data collected by the Animation Guild shows that more than 3,350 people were working in its jurisdiction last year, more than ever before. “We’re in an upward jobs spiral,” said Steve Hulett, business rep of Iatse Animation Guild Local 839. “As more animation product is created that makes money and profits, more producers want to get into the act, and producers already in are increasing the amount of work they’re doing, so you have more work created and more employment.” Steve Kaplan, the guild’s organizer, said about half the work was on animated features, which saw their biggest box office ever in 2013, with four of them – Frozen, Despicable Me 2, Monsters University and The Croods — combined to pull in about $3.5 billion worldwide. Jobs in TV animation are also on the rise.

Walt Disney Animation Studios is the king of the animated film world, and has been for quite a while. From the classic era of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Bambi, to the modern renaissance of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and more recently, Tangled, they have been the leaders in animated entertainment for the better part of the last century. The biggest kid on the block also tends to have the most detractors though, and in the case of Steve Hulett . the business representative of the Local 839 Animation Guild . that detraction is a claim of "morally bankrupt" behavior involving the distribution of monetary bonuses. The behavior in question, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, is that of a bonus amounting to ten week's salary given to the entire the animation division this past week. This was unfortunate for those who were laid off from Disney Animation...

Animators who were laid off by Walt Disney Animation Studios following the completion of its Oscar winner Frozen were left in the cold after the studio handed out some big bonuses, according to a leader at the Animation Guild. Steve Hulett, business representative at Iatse Local 839, told The Hollywood Reporter that he has received complaints from animators who reported that Disney handed out bonuses to those currently working in the division -- whether or not they had worked on Frozen. A Disney Animation employee told THR that the bonuses arrived on Thursday, amounting to 10 weeks pay.  The complaints arrive at a

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The Black Cauldron

Written by David Jonas, Vance Gerry, Ted Berman, Richard Rich, Al Wilson, Roy Morita, Peter Young, Art Stevens, Joe Hale, Rosemary Anne Sisson, Roy Edward Disney, Tony Marino, Steve Hulett, Melvin Shaw, Burny Mattinson, John Musker, Ron Clements, and Doug Lefler

Directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich

USA, 1985

If there is one movie, Disney would like to delete from its animation library, it’s The Black Cauldron. What began as another feather in their animation cap became a perfect storm of misfortune that lead to a box office bomb that put Disney on the edge of disaster. They waited 13 years before releasing the film on VHS, and only because enough fans requested the film be made available. Although The Black Cauldron isn’t considered a Disney classic, it has established itself as a cult classic.

Those looking beyond mainstream animation will find a hidden gem within...

There’s change and there’s more of the same at the Animation Guild after the Executive elections last night. Like the WGA West and WGA East’s recent elections, it was a largely uncontested vote at the Animation Guild Tuesday. DreamWorks Animation Tech Director Nathan Loofbourrow takes over as the Guild Local Iatse 839’s new President. The former Guild VP and first tech director to be President replaces Bob Foster in the position. Also in an uncontested election, DreamWorks Animation writer and Guild Executive Board member Jack Thomas takes over as the new VP. Without opposition, Steve Hulett was re-elected as Business Representative, a position he has held since 1989. Executive Board member and retake animation editor Karen Carnegie Johnson won the Sergeant-At-Arms job unopposed. No one sought the nomination for the Recording Secretary job and the position will be filled by appointment. The new officers will be sworn in...

The Animation Guild and Nickelodeon Animation Studios had a deal and now they have a contract. Today a vote was held at the studio in Burbank and the final result had 90.1% of the 61 recently unionized CG Artists of Local 839 Iatse voting Yes for the contract. The Guild has had a contract covering traditional animation artists at the Viacom-owned cable network since 2004. Since 2008, Local 839 has been trying to organize CG artists under its protection. In the case of the 70 Nickelodeon employees, negotiations started in March and were “stringent” at the beginning, I hear. However, sources tell me but with a bit of give on both sides, they reached a deal on July 10. “Nick negotiators Bill Cole and Kevin Ellman were tough but flexible, and had a lot to do with the parties reaching agreement,” said the Guild’s Business Representative Steve Hulett in a statement today about the crew on the other side of the table.

Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective re-imagined the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed Sherlock Holmes series as a playful adventure of sleuthing rodents. When a young mouse’s father is kidnapped, Basil of Baker Street, the great mouse detective, is called in to solve the case. Who could the villain be but none other than Professor Ratigan, Professor Moriarty’s pint sized, rat-faced doppleganger.

The Great Mouse Detective may not have the following of more popular Disney movies like Cinderella or Snow White, but it’s delightful adventure doesn’t skip a beat on the Disney magic. What the movie lacks in musical numbers, it more than makes up for with top-notch voice acting. Horror master Vincent Price voices Ratigan. Also, Alan Young, who voiced Scrooge McDuck on Duck Tales, appears as kidnapped father, Hiram Flaversham. You can’t beat that.

The closing scene where Professor Ratigan...

The Animation Guild representING 2,600 artists, writers and technicians employed in the animation industry today announced its Local 839 Iatse membership has ratified the collective bargaining agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The Guild walked out of talks in April, returning in June after a heavily-attended special membership meeting and guild survey of contract priorities. About 24% of those ballots sent out were returned. The vote was 86.7% in favor, with 13.3% against. The contract calls for 2% annual compounded wage increases in line with what other Hollywood guilds received. Health, pension and Iap benefits are to be provided under the terms of the Iatse Basic Agreement reached in April. Other provisions of the new agreement include a new storyboard revisionist classification, changes to the talent development program, and DreamWorks Animation wage minimums. The contract will be in effect from August 1st through July 31, 2015. “We’re gratified with the level of support this contract received,...

The Animation Guild representING 2,600 artists, writers and technicians employed in the animation industry today announced its Local 839 Iatse membership has ratified the collective bargaining agreement reached with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The Guild walked out of talks in April, returning in June after a heavily-attended special membership meeting and guild survey of contract priorities. About 24% of those ballots sent out were returned. The vote was 86.7% in favor, with 13.3% against. The contract calls for 2% annual compounded wage increases in line with what other Hollywood guilds received. Health, pension and Iap benefits are to be provided under the terms of the Iatse Basic Agreement reached in April. Other provisions of the new agreement include a new storyboard revisionist classification, changes to the talent development program, and DreamWorks Animation wage minimums. The contract will be in effect from August 1st through July 31, 2015. “We’re gratified with the level of support this contract received,...

The Animation Guild has ratified its latest collective bargaining agreement with Hollywood producers, the local union announced on Friday. The deal, which runs from Aug. 1 to July 31, 2015, calls for a two percent wage increase, as well as a series of benefits, such as health and pension. The Animation Guild is local union 139 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and represents 2,600 artists, writers and technicians employed in the animation industry. "We're gratified with the level of support this contract received," business representative Steve Hulett said in a...

The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers and the Animation Guild will resume contract talks next Tuesday. This two-day session comes almost two months after contract discussions broke down April 17 between AMPTP and Iatse Local 839. Deadline has learned that AMPTP president Carol Lombardini called the Animation Guild’s Business Representative Steve Hulett this morning to offer specific dates that the two sides could meet. This call came after a series of calls and correspondence last week from both sides regarding scheduling. Both sides agreed that early next week was the soonest they could get everyone who needed to be there ready. All studios that are signatories to the contract — basically anyone who does animation for film and/or TV — will be represented. The meetings will take place at AMPTP’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks. The current three-year deal between the Animation Guild and AMPTP expires July 31. The Animation Guild represents more than 2,000 animators.

Chicago – As far as kiddie tearjerkers go, “The Fox and the Hound” is one of Disney’s finest. It’s not a great film, and certainly not in the same league as the watershed game-changers that came before or the renaissance masterworks that followed. But it is a tender and bittersweet fable with a message of refreshing complexity. At its heart is a friendship that society has deemed unsustainable, and the film doesn’t shy away from its troubling repercussions.

Based on the novel by Daniel Mannix, this 1981 effort functioned as a crucial turning point in the history of Disney studios, when veteran animators like Wolfgang Reitherman were replaced by a slate of new talent including Ron Clements and John Musker (future co-directors of “The Little Mermaid”). Creative differences intensified between the old guard and the rookies, many of whom found the project to be distressingly bland. This caused the...

Business representative Steve Hulett and most incumbents re-elected. Details in my Hollywood Reporter piece.

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Steve Hulett has been elected to his eighth term as Business Representative of the Animation Guild, which is Local 839 of Iatse. He defeated challenger Karen Nugent, a member of the guild’s executive board.

Ballots for contested positions were counted Saturday. Previously, at the guild’s membership meeting Sept. 28, executive board member Bob Foster was elected without opposition as the guild’s president, replacing Kevin Koch, who stepped down after three terms. Also elected without opposition were vp Earl Kress, recording secretary Jeff Massie and sergeant-at-arms Jan Browning, all incumbents.

For the guild’s executive board, six incumbents were re-elected: Bronwen Barry, John Cataldi, Nicole Dubuc, John Cataldi, Karen Carnegie Johnson and Cathy Jones. Also elected was Nathan Loofbourrow, who served on the board in the 2004-07 term, and four newcomers: Gordon Kent, Mike Roth, Chris Simmons and Jack Thomas.

The Animation Guild represents about 2,800 animation artists, writers and technicians...

Back in February last year, "Astro Boy," the movie, was going full speed ahead. Freddie Highmore was supposed to voice the animated young robot.

But word is in -- according to Steve Hulett (Business Representative) and Kevin Koch (President), both from The Animation Guild, the production on Imagi's "Astro Boy" appears to have shut down!

Slashfilm is saying:

Koch reported, .We.ve heard from one of Imagi.s Los Angeles animators that he was called at home on Saturday, Jan. 24, and told that the studio was out of cash, and that he should not report to work on Monday. Since this is all happening over the weekend, we.ve been unable to get any confirmation from official studio sources..

Will this be a temporary or permanent shut down? We'll let you know, stay tuned!

Steve Hulett is the Business Rep. and Kevin Koch the president of The Animation Guild (Tag), Local 839 Iatse. They also keep a very interesting blog about the ups, downs, ins and outs of living and working as a professional animator.

Sadly, they’re now reporting that production on Imagi’s Astroboy movie appears to have shut down. This comes just days after I last reported on the film, on how it appears to have just scraped through it’s troubles with the recession. They have no official word on the matter, just information from those that have been working on the film.

Koch reported, “We’ve heard from one of Imagi’s Los Angeles animators that he was called at home on Saturday, Jan. 24, and told that the studio was out of cash, and that he should not report to work on Monday. Since this is all happening over the weekend,...

IATSE Local 839, Hollywood's Animation Guild, has re-elected several incumbents including president Kevin Koch and business representative Steve Hulett. Also re-elected to three-year terms at the Tuesday membership meeting were recording secretary Jeff Massic and sergeant-at-arms Jan Browning. There was no contest in any of the races so the membership unanimously voted to skip the secret ballot election process. In addition to several newly elected or re-elected board members, executive board member Earl Kress was tapped to replace retiring vp Kathleen O'Mara-Svetlik. The union represents about 1,800 animators in Southern California.