As a dog lover, the tale of Laika always fills me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, she represents a great step forward in space exploration. On the other, she was sent into space with no plans for how she might return. In Avgousta Zourelidi short animated film, however, Laika is a dog who ultimately understands …

Even before Laika set paw in Sputnik 2, Soviet researchers sent dogs into higher altitudes than any canine creature had traveled before. To help keep those dogs safe—and to test the equipment that would allow humans to eventually reach orbit—these scientists created high pressure suits, complete with helmets fitted to…

ParaNorman, opening today, is one of the most thematically tight movies I've ever seen. Pretty much everything in the movie relates back, one way or another, to the central theme of being a misfit in a judgmental, self-involved world. The story of a boy who can see and hear ghosts, ParaNorman has a huge heart and an…

Laika might get the lion dog's share of the historical glory, but the Soviet Union sent dozens of intrepid canine explorers on orbital and suborbital missions. This poster by Jess Bradley honors those early cosmonauts as adorable, waggly dogs.

Coraline animators Laika are returning to the world of stop-motion horror with ParaNorman, a film that blends cartoon zombies with '80s-style coming of age comedy. The creators and actors held a panel today at San Diego Comic-Con to talk about the movie's influences, and why this movie will look like no other…

Laika, makers of Coraline and the upcoming ParaNorman, gives us a peek inside their stop-motion animation process with this fun little "making-of" featurette. Here, we get to see how one of those stop-motion figurines is made, starting from the jointed skeleton, through the molded body and the sewn-on clothes.

Looking back on all of humanity's successes in space, it can be easy to forget that many of our accomplishments have been built on the sacrifices of other creatures. Here are ten animals who played an indispensable role in paving the inter-planetary way to space.

Check out the latest trailer for ParaNorman, a new stop-motion film from the brilliant minds at Laika (the folks behind Coraline). We kind of love the idea of a little kid who can see dead people whose mental psyche hasn't been horrible scarred.

We're exceptionally giddy over the release of the trailer for ParaNorman. It's from the makers of Coraline, which elevated the children's genre with stunning art and solid, real scares. ParaNorman is all about a special boy with the ability to talk to the dead. Check out the first ever trailer, and get into the…

Back in 2007, Nick Abadzis wrote a graphic novel called Laika, about the eponymous Soviet dog who went bravely into space, proved that living creatures could survive there, and never came home. He says that the story was so sad that over the years, people have written to him over and over asking for another ending to…