Some people at DreamWorks were sent home today because of a bomb threat at the studio. They later discovered it was just the trailer to the next installment of Shrek.

Seriously though, studio employees are writing about the bomb threat on Twitter.

UPDATE: According to Arthurk192, “Authorities have determined that the package was not a bomb. It was, in fact, a gift from overseas, officials said.”

UPDATE 2: The Glendale News Press has an article about the suspicious package at DreamWorks.

(Thanks, Scott)

Each year the National Film Preservation Board of The Library of Congress names 25 “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant films to the National Film Registry, a collection of movies selected to be preserved for all time. In previous years, Chuck Jones’ What’s Opera Doc?, Bob Clampett’s Porky In Wackyland, Fleischer’s Snow White (1933), Pixar’s Toy Story and several Disney titles including Steamboat Willie and Three Little Pigs have made the grade.

The 2009 selections were just announced this morning and animation was represented by Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo (1911), Sally Cruikshank’s Quasi at the Quackadero (1975), Janie Geiser’s art film, The Red Book (1994) and Helen Hill’s Cal Arts short, Scratch and Crow (1995).

Animation is also ultilized in two other shorts selected — Sidney Peterson’s avant-garde The Lead Shoes (1949), and Chuck Workman’s DGA montage, Precious Images (1986) which contains fleeting seconds of Fritz The Cat, Roger Rabbit, Song of the South, King Kong and others.

Though not animation, it should be noted that Jim Henson’s The Muppet Movie (1979; directed by James Frawley) also made this year’s selection. Check the complete list here. For your enjoyment, McCay’s pioneering Little Nemo is embedded below:

If you ever happen to find yourself in Hinsdale, Illinois, as I have myself, be sure to check out Zingelman’s (13 W. 1st St.). The deli is filled with charmingly incompetent murals of cartoon characters, including odd pairings like Superman and SpongeBob. Here are a few more images from the establishment:

Something nobody thought they’d see in 2009: Warner Bros.’ first animated star Bosko appearing on a book cover eighty years after his debut.

(Thanks to Twitter reader SquidyUK)

Within the last few days, many of the Hollywood award associations and motion picture critics have selected their best-of picks for 2009. It’s been an incredible year for animated features and that’s being reflected in their selections. The most amazing of all was Time Magazine’s Richard Corliss selecting animated features as the top three of his Top Ten: 1. The Princess and The Frog 2. Up and 3. The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

The Golden Globe nominees were announced yesterday. They nominated Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog and Up For Best Animated Feature. They also nominated Michael Giacchino for Best Score (UP).

NY Film Critics selected George Clooney as Best Actor for his performances in both Up in the Air and Fantastic Mr. Fox. They also handed the award for Best Animated Feature to Fantastic Mr. Fox.

The American Film Institute announced its official selection for the 10th annual AFI Awards. Their list included Coraline and Up.

Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. gave its Best Animated Feature award to Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, and its runner-up prize to Disney/Pixar’s Up

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle gave its first ever award for animated feature. It went to Henry Selick’s Coraline. Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach won best adapted screenplay for Fantastic Mr. Fox.

The African-American Film Critics Assn. granted their screenplay award to two winners: the live action Precious, adapted by Geoffrey Fletcher and The Princess and the Frog, scripted by Ron Clements, Rob Edwards and John Musker.

The Southeastern Film Critics Assn. and the Boston Society of Film Critics both voted UP as Best Animated Feature.

December 8th is the 105th birthday of Elzie Segar, creator of the Thimble Theatre comic strip and Popeye the Sailor. Google is commemorating the day with this graphic on its main page.

UPDATE: The Popeye drawing was done by Stephen DeStefano.

(Thanks Joseph Game and Bill Andres)

The Simpsons have been on everything, from fruit snacks to Playboy magazine. So why not stained glass? Just in time for the holidays, artist Joseph Cavalieri (not to be confused with comics writer/editor Joey Cavalieri) is offering several panels of Simpson art on glass - for all those who worship at the altar of Homer. You can examine these one-of-a-kind pieces on Cavalieri’s website.

Russell Wiseman, the mayor of Arlington, Tennessee, is fuming because he believes that Obama deliberately timed his speech about the war in Afghanistan to interfere with the airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas. According to Time magazine, this is what Wiseman posted on his Facebook page:

Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch ‘The Charlie Brown Christmas Special’ and our muslim president is there, what a load…..try to convince me that wasn’t done on purpose. Ask the man if he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he will give you a 10 minute disertation (sic) about it….w…hen the answer should simply be ‘yes’….you obama people need to move to a muslim country…oh wait, that’s America….pitiful.

Sounds like Wiseman holds two positions in Arlington: mayor and village idiot.