Los Angeles - Universal Music/Interscope Records on Tuesday said on Tuesday that it will launch an animated series featuring platinum-selling hip-hop artist Soulja Boy. The label tapped Buddy System Studios ("Robot Chicken") to produce the series, which will combine live action and animation and is set to debut in late January.

Los Angeles - DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) plans to give out some 150 million pairs of 3D glasses for a 3D Super Bowl telecast ad promoting its upcoming animated feature, "Monsters vs. Aliens," the Associated Press reported. The free glasses will be distributed at Pepsi/SoBe Life Water displays in 28,000 retail locations, in a marketing stunt that "involves tens of millions of dollars," DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told AP.

Los Angeles - Image Metrics, a provider of facial animation technology for the entertainment industry, announced on Tuesday that it has closed a $6.5 million second round of funding, led by Saffron Hill Ventures.

Burbank, Calif. - The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced on Monday that it will acquire the outstanding shares of pan-European kids entertainment company Jetix Europe that it does not already own, for about $14 per share.

Los Angeles - Intel has provided an undisclosed amount of funding to back a community animation project, Mass Animation, which will produce a five-minute film by outsourcing over 100 animation shots to volunteer animators found online, VentureBeat reported.

Los Angeles - Big Stage Entertainment on Wednesday announced the official launch of its service that lets users create animated 3D avatars of themselves for posting on social network sites and other locations. The "@ctor" is created by uploading a digital photo, which is then digitally mapped, and a 3D model is then created. The model can then be customized with hair, glasses, hats and clothing, and inserted into movie scenes, TV clips, music videos, virtual worlds, social networks, video games and other media.

Tewksbury, Mass. - Avid Technology (NASD: AVID), a maker of software and hardware products for the production, management, and distribution of digital media content, has agreed to sell its Softimage business for about $35 million to Autodesk.

Hong Kong - Imagi, a developer and producer of computer-animated movies ("TMNT"), said on Tuesday that it has raised $30 million in new financing, through placements of its shares with Shui On Holdings Limited and Mehta-Imagi.

San Francisco - DreamWorks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA) has announced plans to produce all of its forthcoming films in digital 3D, starting with "Monsters vs. Aliens" in March 2009, and has partnered with chipmaker Intel (NASD: INTC) on the technology, Reuters reported. The companies are collaborating on a new 3D movie image brand called InTru 3D, which will combine Intel's new standalone graphics chip with 3D technology the company acquired from start-ups.

Los Angeles - Intel Corp. is launching The Mass Animation project in which it will combine computer animation and social networking to produce an original animated short film. According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), it will be produced and directed by Yair Landau, former vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and president of Sony Pictures Digital.

Los Angeles - Disney (NYSE: DIS) announced on Tuesday that it will establish collaborative research and development labs with Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

Los Angeles - MyToons.com, an online animation community featuring contributions from pro and amateur creators, announced on Tuesday that it has raised an undisclosed sum in its second round of funding, led by Syncom Venture Partners and Barshop Ventures.

Santa Clara, Calif. - Intel (NASD: INTC) announced on Tuesday that it has formed a strategic alliance with film studio DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA), aimed at "revolutionizing 3D filmmaking technology," the companies said. Under the agreement, Intel will provide DreamWorks Animation with advanced chips, as well as software engineers to optimize DreamWorks' applications for these advanced processors, which Intel said will allow DreamWorks to "render higher quality images more quickly and to modify them with greater ease." The first film to be produced under the partnership will be "Monsters vs. Aliens," set for release next March.

San Francisco - Independent animation network aniBoom announced on Friday that it has closed a $10 million second round of venture capital financing.

Los Angeles - Online animation community MyToons.com announced on Monday the launch of HD Animation, which it says makes it the first animation website to showcase members' animation in HD online. The service also allows users to embed and share HD animations at full resolution on pages outside MyToons.com.