17 Movies That Mixed Live-Action and 2D Animation
Hollywood has a storied history of combining live-action elements with animation dating back to, well... to before Hollywood even existed, really. The past decade hasn't seen many movies combine live-action and traditional, two-dimensional (or "hand drawn") animation as CG animation has come to dominate, but classics like Mary Poppins, the original Pete's Dragon, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit stand out as exemplars of a genre that's ripe for revival.
So let's take a look at some of our favorites from this hybrid genre. Here are 17 movies that combined 2D animation and live-action...
Can you think of any live-action/2D-animated movies we missed? Animate those comments!
Would you like to know more? Follow @FireballMcPhan on Twitter. Service guarantees citizenship.
Space Jam 2: Justin Lin Offers Sequel Update
Though word first broke of Space Jam 2 back in 2014, Director Justin Lin isn't looking to rush Space Jam 2 into theaters.
Instead, the director explained to IGN at the Television Critics Association Press Tour while promoting his upcoming CBS series S.W.A.T., that he asked Warner Bros. "for a playground and the time to really explore
, and that's what we've been doing so far."
Having gone through several different versions of the film in planning, Lin, who reports said was attached to the film back in May of 2016, says there are a few challenges inherent in the production that he has been working through as part of that exploration process.
Ant-Man and the Wasp Begins Filming
Production on Ant-Man and the Wasp is officially underway.
Marvel announced filming for the Ant-Man sequel began today, nearly 11 months out from its scheduled July 6, 2018, release date. Shooting on the MCU film will stretch across two US cities, Atlanta and San Francisco.
Here's a synopsis of the anticipated sequel, courtesy of Marvel:
"In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a Super Hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside The Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from their past."
Two New Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite Characters Revealed
Capcom has revealed two new fighters for Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite.
Capcom announced the two characters on Facebook, the first of which is Marvel's Dormammu, who first appeared in comics in Strange Tales #126 in 1964. Most recently, he appeared in the live-action Doctor Strange film after having been previously available to play in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Dormammu and Firebrand Marvel Comics variant cover.
The Flash: Speed Read These Flashpoint Comics
With news that Warner Bros.'s upcoming speedster movie will be titled The Flash: Flashpoint, we’re digging into the comics to get a better idea of what to expect.
Flashpoint is the name of writer Geoff Johns and artist Andy Kubert’s 2011 DC Comics crossover that put the Flash at the dead center of a DC Universe-shaking cataclysm that took comic fans on the ride of their lives and left a legacy that continues to impact the company’s characters today. It’s a pivotal event and, given its importance, it’s no surprise that it’s getting the movie treatment.
If you want to get yourself up to speed(!) on Flashpoint before the movie hits, here’s how to do it.
Stardew Valley Multiplayer Coming in Early 2018
A blog post on the official Stardew Valley site has announced details about its upcoming multiplayer mode, while also revealing that the feature won’t be coming until early 2018.
The post reveals that multiplayer will be played through players' ability to build up to three cabins on their farms for “farmhands,” which will controlled by other players.
“Farmhands can do almost anything the main player can do,” the post explains. “They can farm, mine, fight, fish, forage, marry NPCs and take part in festivals.” However, certain decisions like when to sleep and when to start or end a festival can only be made by the main player.
How Young Sheldon Is Different from The Big Bang Theory
Even though it serves as a prequel to The Big Bang Theory, CBS' Young Sheldon is a different kind of show for executive producer Chuck Lorre. The new comedy focuses on a 9-year-old Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) who's not quite yet the hardened, cynical adult established in the original series. This Sheldon isn't even into comic books yet. He has idiosyncrasies at that age, but Lorre said at the Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour the show presents a more innocent and hopeful version of Sheldon.
This marks the first time Lorre has done a comedy without a studio audience, and the first time he's done a show with a narration -- Jim Parsons is narrating his character's past. Lorre said, "I've never worked with narration before and narration changes the way we write. We looked for inspiration in shows that used it beautifully and no one does it better than Wonder Years."
How Marvel’s Runaways is The O.C. of the MCU
Marvel's Runaways takes a deep dive into teen angst this fall, premiering November 21st on Hulu.
Centered around six Los Angeles teenagers, all former friends, who discover that their parents are secretly part of a supervillain cult, The Pride, Runaways is part Breakfast Club, part coming-of-age thriller. In fact, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb referred to Runways, which he'd had his eye on developing for years, as "The O.C. of the Marvel Universe" even before he hired the actual creators of The O.C. to run it.
IGN spoke to executive producers Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Chuck) and Stephanie Savage (The O.C., Gossip Girl) recently, at the Television Critics Association press tour, about how the show fits into the greater MCU and what it's like to tackle this famous high school conspiracy story from Brian K. Vaughan. But, most importantly, I wanted to know what they themselves thought Loeb meant when he made that O.C. comparison.
SNES Classic Preorders Will Begin This Month
Despite an accidental preorder retail listing last month, Nintendo has announced that the Super NES Classic Edition will officially be available for preorder later in August.
In a Facebook post, Nintendo said the company "can confirm that it will be made available for pre-order by various retailers late this month." While declining to mention a specific number, Nintendo said "A significant amount of additional systems will be shipped to stores for launch day, and throughout the balance of the calendar year." Nintendo told IGN it intends to produce "significantly more" SNES Classic than NES Classics, which Nintendo had shipped 2.3 million units of worldwide before its cancellation this year.
New Star Wars Alien Spotted in Han Solo Movie Set Photo
A new photo from the set of Lucasfilm's Han Solo movie has been revealed, and it seemingly contains a brand new alien not seen before in the Star Wars universe.
Director Ron Howard posted the photo on Twitter, saying he's "working out a shot w/cinematographer Bradford Young for #UntitledHanSoloMovie." You can see plenty of crew members in the photo. Check it out below.
On-set photo featuring the new alien.
However, in the top left corner there's an alien in strange-looking clothing who seems to be playing some sort of a board game. Whether this alien will be a major figure in the film remains to be seen.

