Animation Magazine

Author: Mercedes Milligan

  • PBS KIDS Blooms with Spring Specials from ‘Cyberchase,’ ‘Nature Cat’ and More

    PBS KIDS Blooms with Spring Specials from ‘Cyberchase,’ ‘Nature Cat’ and More

    PBS KIDS is inviting families across the country to get into the spirit of Spring and find inspiration in nature with a special, outdoors-themed lineup of specials, new episodes and digital content. From this Saturday, April 1 through June 4, young viewers can grow their knowledge about the environment and find fun ideas for outdoor play.

    Highlights of the Spring fling include a week of brand-new Nature Cat episodes, kicking off April 17. Viewers can follow Nature Cat, Hal, Squeeks and Daisy as they continue to explore the natural world around them. A new online game, Pollinator Pathways, will also launch on the official Nature Cat website.

    April 21 marks the exciting new season premiere of Cyberchase! Audiences can catch an hour-long Earth Day special premiering on the PBS KIDS Video App, where fans will meet Jackie’s family for the first time and travel to Stellandia, a planet in need of the CyberSquad’s help, followed by two new Cyberchase episodes.

    Young viewers can also join Alma and her family for some big-city fun with a week of new Alma’s Way episodes, debuting April 24-26, and all-new animal adventures with Wild Kratts episode premieres May 22-25.

    In addition to the upcoming debuts, viewers can tune in to seasonal episodes from popular series, including Arthur, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dinosaur Train, Elinor Wonders Why and more.

    Cyberchase, Clean-Up on Isle 8
    Cyberchase “Clean-Up on Isle 8”

    PBS KIDS Spring Specials & Episode Premieres

    Nature Cat – New episodes 
    Tally ho! Nature Cat, Hal, Squeeks, and Daisy will embark on exciting outdoor adventures, helping all sorts of friends along the way! The gang will head to the desert in search of the perfect cactus for Quentin Bearantino’s latest Western movie (starring Nature Cat!), go head-to-head with a pack of wolves at Mystic Pinecone Park, look for the perfect energy source to pull floats in the Pet Parade, and observe wild animals to see if they have fun.

    • “The Legend of Cowboy Kitty/The Corn Conundrum” – Premieres April 17
    • “Window Worries/The Pinecone Genie” – Premieres April 18
    • “The Parade of Pets/Hal’s Pals” – Premieres April 19
    • “Living on the Edge/Wild World of Wild Play in the Wild” – Premieres April 20

     

    Cyberchase – New season and one-hour special premiere on April 21 on PBS KIDS Video App 
    In “Weather or Not,” an all-new Earth Day special, the CyberSquad is sent to Stellandia, where the weather is the opposite of life back on Earth — it’s extremely hot. With some help from a young beetle that lives on the planet, they discover a mysterious green cloud that’s causing Stellandia to overheat. The source? It’s Hacker! Families will join the crew as they put a stop to Hacker all while learning about weather and climate. And in even more science-themed fun, families will also learn about other topics such as earth & space science and ecosystems in two additional episodes.

    • “Clean-Up on Isle 8” – Premieres April 21  App
    • “Trees, Please” – Premieres April 21
    • Episodes to also air on the PBS KIDS 24/7 Channel in April and May.

     

    Alma’s Way – New episodes 
    New episodes of Alma’s Way will follow Alma and her friends on their outdoor fun in the city, which includes a neighborhood game of stickball and a trip to the beach!

    • “Alma’s Cat-tastrophe/Stickball!” – Premieres April 24
    • “Harper’s Quick Change/All Rapped Up” – Premieres April 25
    • “The Beach Blahs/The Last Sand Castle” – Premieres April 26

     

    Wild Kratts – New episodes 
    Chris and Martin’s newest creature adventures will have families learning about the science of smell, animal intelligence, habitat niche and scientific classification, all while getting to know some really cool animals!

    • “Outfoxed” – Premieres May 22
    • “Clever the Raven” – Premieres May 23
    • “Race to Goat Mountain” – Premieres May 24
    • “No Name Dream” – Premieres May 25

  • Aniplex & Crunchyroll Set April Premiere for ‘Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc’

    Aniplex & Crunchyroll Set April Premiere for ‘Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc’

    Hot off from the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour and theatrical experience, Aniplex of America and Crunchyroll will be officially premiering Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc starting Sunday, April 9. As part of its previously announced Spring season lineup, Crunchyroll will simulcast new episodes every week where the service is available, and exclusively in North America, South America and Europe.

    Together with the premiere announcement, a new trailer has been revealed. Watch it below!

    Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is based on the manga series by Koyoharu Gotoge, published under Shueisha’s Jump Comics, which consists of 23 volumes and over 150 million copies in publication. The animation production is by ufotable.

    The story begins when Tanjiro Kamado, a boy whose family is killed by a demon, joins the Demon Slayer Corps to turn his younger sister Nezuko back into a human after she is transformed into a demon. In April 2019, the TV anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba first premiered with the Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc, followed by the release of the feature film Mugen Train in October 2020, and the TV series Mugen Train Arc and Entertainment District Arc from 2021 through 2022.

    The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour kicked off in February with a worldwide theatrical screening in 95 countries and regions. In April, the TV adaptation of the Swordsmith Village Arc is confirmed to begin airing.

    Synopsis: And the story makes its way to a new location ─ Tanjiro’s journey leads him to the Swordsmith Village, where he reunites with two Hashira, members of the Demon Slayer Corps’ highest-ranking swordsmen: Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito and Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji. With the shadows of demons lurking near, a new battle begins for Tanjiro and his comrades.

    Japanese voice cast and characters:

    • Natsuki Hanae as Tanjiro Kamado
    • Akari Kito as Nezuko Kamado
    • Hiro Shimono as Zenitsu Agatsuma
    • Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Inosuke Hashibira
    • Kengo Kawanishi as Muichiro Tokito
    • Kana Hanazawa as Mitsuri Kanroji
    • Nobuhiko Okamoto as Genya
    • Toshio Furukawa as Hantengu
    • Kousuke Toriumi as Gyokko

    The first episode of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc premiered in movie theaters around the globe during the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour, which brought talent from Japan to fans for advance screenings in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Paris, Berlin, Seoul and Taipei. Special guests included Natsuki Hanae, the Japanese voice of main character Tanjiro Kamado, Aniplex producer Yuma Takahashi and more, along with a performance by Aimer in select cities.

    Dubs for English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German and Hindi will be produced and released in the future.

    The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba TV series and Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train are currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.

    demonslayer-anime.com

  • New Workflows Unveiled for Autodesk Media and Entertainment Portfolio

    New Workflows Unveiled for Autodesk Media and Entertainment Portfolio

    Keeping in step with the ever-rising bar for VFX and animation quality in entertainment content around the world, Autodesk has announced new, streamlined workflow features for post-production and games across its media and entertainment tech portfolio — including Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max, Bifrost and Arnold, further open standards and bolster artist-driven animation, modeling and simulation workflows.

    These tools have also gotten a performance boost with support for Apple Silicon. And, Autodesk is now collaborating with Adobe to build a material standard, and with Microsoft to unveil a beta version of AI-powered Maya Assist.

    “Whether they’re working on the next big blockbuster, streaming content or games, our customers use a lot of different tools to get productions out the door. It’s a top priority for us at Autodesk to help connect their workflows, so they can work nimbly and efficiently across teams and projects,” said Diana Colella, SVP, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “That’s why we’ve focused our development efforts on integrating open standards like USD, LookDevX and OCIO across our tools. We’re excited to continue on this path, building deeper connections between our solutions and third party tools, so that our customers have truly connected workflows for collaboration.”

    Maya 2024 - LookDevX
    Maya 2024 – LookDevX

    Growing an open standards ecosystem  

    Across tools, Autodesk continus to integrate open standards that accelerate and streamline the flow of data between people, teams and software at studios.

    • LookDevX, a new agnostic material editor in Maya, standardizes material workflows, allowing artists to create complex shading networks that can be shared freely and accurately throughout studio pipelines. With a modern, node-based environment, this enables artists to author a variety of materials like USDShade, Material X and Arnold that can then be used by other artists across multiple projects.
    • Continued integration of powerful USD workflows across M&E portfolio, making it easier to move data through the post-production pipeline
    3ds Max 2024 - Array Modifier
    3ds Max 2024 – Array Modifier

    Powerful modeling and color management capabilities come to 3ds Max 

    Autodesk is expanding the robust modeling toolset in 3ds Max with ‘fast, fluid and fun’ workflows for artists.

    • A new Boolean modifier offers a modern and intuitive way to produce clean geometry, and updates to the Array modifier help create beautiful, nature-like scenes, procedurally.
    • With effective color management tools built around the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) and OpenColorIO (OCIO), a must for most modern post-production pipelines, this update gives artists complete control over colors with Color Management. From Viewport to final render, colors are predictable and consistent, so artists know that colors match and align at every phase of production.
    Maya 2024 - Bifrost Nano VTT
    Maya 2024 – Bifrost Nano VTT

    Elevated animation, modeling and simulation workflows now in Maya

    On top of LookDevX and Hydra for Maya, Maya gains new tools and workflows across its animation, modeling, and simulation toolsets. 

    • Updates to Retopologize and the Boolean toolset give artists more creative control while modeling.
    • Streamlined animation tools, including a redesigned Time Slider, make navigating and editing animations more fluid and intuitive.
    • Bifrost, Maya’s visual programming environment, offers visual effects artists a complete overhaul of viewport volume rendering, using new, state-of-the-art NanoVTT technology, as well as MPM Gel, a cool new capability that simulates substances such as soft-serve ice cream.
    • Maya — including Bifrost and Arnold for Maya — now runs natively on Apple Silicon, enabling artists to achieve new levels of performance while rendering.

    AI-assisted workflows come to Maya 

    Autodesk unveiled the AI-powered private beta of Maya Assist, which provides a new way of interacting with Maya scene data using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service. This allows artists to automatically manipulate scenes using natural language text prompts directly in Maya. For example, you can ask to copy an object, increase its size by 25%, or add a camera and aim it anywhere. The private beta launches on April 5 (apply here). 

     

    Joining forces with Adobe on an open source material model

    With the goal of standardizing material workflows and enabling smoother interoperability across the tools artists use, Autodesk is also working to bring Autodesk Standard Surface and Adobe Standard Material into one new material model that can be used across product portfolios and adopted by the wider industry. Having a common material model will help artists and studios work more efficiently by facilitating the seamless exchange of 3D assets. The company is actively engaging with the MaterialX governance group to ensure that the new model can be integrated and fully encoded within a MaterialX node graph.

     

    To learn more, visit the “what’s new” pages for Maya, 3ds Max, and Arnold. These products are available as standalone subscriptions or with the Autodesk Media & Entertainment Collection.

  • Quebec’s ‘Katak the Brave Beluga’ Surpasses $1.5M Box Office Across Canada

    Quebec’s ‘Katak the Brave Beluga’ Surpasses $1.5M Box Office Across Canada

    Starting its fifth week of release on more than 65 screens across Canada — of which 43 carry the French-language version and 22 carry the English-language version — Katak the Brave Beluga is swimming along as the most popular Quebec=produced film since the beginning of 2023, with box office receipts surpassing $1.5 million.

    10th Ave Productions’ fifth animated feature, Katak the Brave Beluga is an original family story about universal values brought to life by Quebec creatives and performers, delivering both international quality and special charm for locals. The studio previously launched the first 100% Canadian 3D feature film, The Legend of Sarila (2013), as well as Rooster Doodle-Doo, Mission Kathmandu and Felix and the Hidden Treasure.

    “What an extraordinary month it’s been! What an outpouring of love, dear audiences, dear kids, dear parents, dear animation fans. Thank you for diving into this adventure, for having come and for continuing to come to movie theatres to see the film. Thank you to Canada’s cinema owners from coast to coast, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, for offering 10th Ave’s fifth feature film to your customers!” Nancy Florence Savard, Producer at 10th Ave, beamed in a statement.

    Savard offered congratulations to the film’s French and English voice casts, as well as the screenwriter Andrée Lambert, directors Christine Dallaire-Dupont and Nicola Lemay, art director Philippe Arseneau Bussières, animation director Yann Tremblay, editor René Caron, music composer Uberko and sound designer Jérôme Boiteau. The producer also gave shout-outs to partner studios N’Genious, Studio Élément, Studio Expression and La Belle Équipe and the 200-strong production team that brought Katak to screens, as well as the various funding partners across Quebec and Canada who made it possible and the film’s distribution team.

    “It’s a real delight to see the public coming out in large numbers across Canada to discover this 100% Quebec-made story,” added Chantale Pagé, Distributor for Maison 4:3. “Congratulations to the entire creative team, and to Nancy Florence Savard for her vision in offering children stories with which they can identify, in which they can see themselves and grow, while having fun. Bravo!”

    Synopsis: Katak the Brave Beluga tells the story of a young Beluga whale who is still grey, though at his age he should have turned white. Because of his late development, he must live among the females, who make things worse by overprotecting him.

    When his ailing grandmother confides that she wishes she could see her old true love — whom Katak has never met — one last time, Katak decides to make her wish come true and sets out on a secret journey along the shore of the St. Lawrence toward the Arctic, intent on finding his legendary grandfather.

    Over the course of this dangerous journey, Katak teams up with Cyrano, a neurotic sturgeon. Tracked by the river’s most fearsome predator, the notorious killer whale Jack-Knife, Katak forms an unlikely friendship with Jack-Knife’s daughter, Jack-Lynn, who is a vegetarian.

    Featuring the vocal talents of Alexandre Bacon, Yves Jacques, Emilie Josset, Ginette Reno, Ludivine Reding, Mario Saint-Amand, Jeff Boudreault, Jérémie Desbiens, Maxime Le Flaguais, Guylaine Tremblay, Marie-Thérèse Fortin, Martin Drainville, Benoit Brière, Justine Major, Carolanne Foucher and many others, Katak the Brave Beluga was originally recorded in the French language.

    The English version features performances from Robert Naylor, Terrence Scammel, Richard M. Dumont, Arthur Holden, Skyler Clark, Mark Camacho, Angela Galuppo, Eleanor Noble, Wyatt Bowen, Ilana Zackon, Pauline Little, Jennifer Seguin and Ginette Reno.

    Katak the Brave Beluga opened in Quebec on Friday, February 24 and is now playing in theaters across Canada.

  • Watch: Missy Elliott Plays a Double Dutch Dynamo in ‘Craig of the Creek’

    Watch: Missy Elliott Plays a Double Dutch Dynamo in ‘Craig of the Creek’

    Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee Missy Elliott is jumping into a guest star role on Cartoon Network’s critically-acclaimed hit series, Craig of the Creek.

    Premiering Monday, April 3 at 5 p.m. ET/PT,  in the episode “The Jump Off,” Craig, Cannonball, Sparkle Cadet and Diane find themselves wrapped up in a Double Dutch tournament. Looking for some pointers, the group turns to Craig’s mom, Nicole, who inspires them with a story about her own Double Dutch rivalry with a girl named Carla Frazier (voiced by Missy Elliott) at regionals. 

    Check out the sneak-peek clip featuring Elliott as Carla and Kimberly Hébert Gregory as Nicole.

    Created and executive produced by Matt Burnett and Ben Levin, Craig of the Creek follows the precocious Craig and his best friends Kelsey and J.P., as they transform everyday afternoons into extraordinary adventures through imaginative play at the neighborhood creek. Heading into its fifth season, the show will delve deeper into the endless world of the Creek as Craig embarks on more journeys with friends new and old, finding adventure, mystery and fun around every bend.

    A preschool spin-off series, Jessica’s Big Little World, as well as Craig of the Creek: The Movie are due for release this year.

  • Annecy Announces TV, Commissioned & Graduation Film Selections

    Annecy Announces TV, Commissioned & Graduation Film Selections

    Following the announcement of the 2023 Official Selection for its Short Films competitions, organizers of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival have published this year’s picks for the Graduation Films (47), TV (29) and Commissioned Films (27) programs. The festival received 1,665 submissions from 77 countries across these categories.

    The TV Films competition features many international broadcast and streaming favorites as well as hot new releases, such as Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, ONI: Thunder God’s Tale, Chainsaw Man, Big Nate, Edmond and Lucy, Lloyd of the Flies, Karate Sheep, Shape Island and Agent Elvis. See the full list below and find all the Annecy Official Selections (so far) at annecyfestival.com.

    Submissions for the VR Works competition selection are open until April 6, 2023.

    Registration for the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival is now open. The festival will take place June 11-17, with the Mifa market running June 13-16.

     

    TV Films

    • Agent Elvis “Episode 101: Full Tilt” | Director: Gary Ye | United States
    • Artur y Dropsik “¿Me lo puedo quedar?” | Directors: María Rosario Carlino, Matias Ferreyra | Argentina
    • Astronome Gastronome “Au début était la crème fouettée” | Director: Geneviève Anhoury | France
    • Baby Bot “Episode 9: Baby Bot Knows Bees” | Director: Guillermo García-Carsí | Spain, United States
    • Big Nate “Episode 101: The Legend of the Gunting” | Director: Jim Mortensen, Kimberly Jo Mills | United States
    • Boys Boys Boys “Tristan” | Directors: Valentine Vendroux, Clawdia Prolongeau | Belgium, France
    • Chainsaw Man “Episode 01” | Director: Ryu Nakayama | Japan
    • Chiquifantástica “Episodio 3” | Director: Ana Sofia Franco Zafra | Colombia
    • Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared “Episode 03” | Directors: Becky Sloan, Joe Pelling, Baker Terry | United Kingdom
    • Edmond and Lucy “L’Adieu à Perlimpinpin” | Director: François Narboux | France
    • El Show del Dr. Gecko “Sex Gender” | Director: Marcos Almada Rivero | Mexico
    • Gegone, in the Museum “Eufyros” | Director: Joan Zhonga | Greece
    • Hideous Henk “Episode 03” | Director: Junaid Chundrigar | Netherlands
    • Karate Sheep “Super croquette” | Directors:  Cédric Dietsch, Renaud Martin | France
    • La Colline aux cailloux | Director: Marjolaine Perreten | Belgium, France, Switzerland
    • Liv&Bell “Hearty Soup of Fruitful Forest?” | Director:  Natsuki Kida | Japan
    • Lloyd of the Flies “The Wasp Sting” | Directors: Matthew Walker, Jane Davies | United Kingdom
    • Mech Cadets “Underdogs” | Directors: Patrick Toru Awa, Kazuma Shimizu, Hiroyuki Hayashi | United States, Japan
    • ONI: Thunder God’s Tale “Episode 104: The Demon Moon Rises” | Director: Dice Tsutsumi | United States
    • Red Iron Road “In the Heat” | Director: Samuel Chou | Canada, Moldova
    • Samuel “Episode 01” | Director: Emilie Tronche | France
    • Scavengers Reign “The Wall” | Director: Vincent Tsui | United States
    • Shape Island “Episode 01” | Director: Drew Hodges | United States
    • Sr. Passageiro “Episode 01” | Director: José “Zepe” Cavalheiro | Portugal
    • Szmatkowe krolestwo “Zabi Królewicz” | Director: Bartosz Zarzycki | Poland
    • The Sandman “Dream of a Thousand Cats” | Director: Hisko Hulsing | United States
    • The Sound Collector “Panning for Sound” | Directors: Chris Tichborne, Barry J. C. Purves | Italy, United Kingdom
    • Tufo | Director: Victoria Musci | France, Italy
    • Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell “The Cartoon” | Directors: Dave Willis, Chris Kelly | United States

     

  • Watch: New English Dub Trailer for ‘Suzume’ Drops

    Watch: New English Dub Trailer for ‘Suzume’ Drops

    Crunchyroll today debuted a new trailer for acclaimed auteur filmmaker Makoto Shinkai’s (Weathering With You, Your Name.) highly-anticipated new animated feature, Suzume, featuring the recently announced English-language voice cast led by Nichole Sakura (Ghosts, Superstore, Star Wars: Visions) starring as titular character Suzume Iwato.

    Coming to theaters beginning on April 14 in North America, Suzume will be available in English dub, as well as available in Japanese with English subtitles. Tickets are now on sale at suzume-movie.com.

    Additional English dub casting for the film includes: Josh Keaton as Souta, Jennifer Sun Bell as Tamaki, Joe Zieja as Serizawa, Rosalie Chiang as Chika, Amanda C. Miller as Rumi, Mela Lee as Miki and Cam Clarke as Munakata.

  • ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cast Reunites in New Netflix Anime from Science SARU

    ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cast Reunites in New Netflix Anime from Science SARU

    Today, Netflix and UCP (a division of Universal Studios Group) confirmed an all-new anime series based on Scott Pilgrim (official title to be announced), coming soon to Netflix. TUDUM revealed that the stars of live-action film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World will return to voice the project, which was announced in development in January 2022.

    Bryan Lee O’Malley, the author and artist of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, and BenDavid Grabinski (Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Happily) serve as executive producers/writers/showrunners. The 2010 film’s director, co-writer and producer Edgar Wright serves as executive producer.

    “We’re getting the band back together! Cera and Winstead, Bhabha, Culkin, Evans, Kendrick, Larson, Pill, Plaza, Routh, Schwartzman, Simmons, Webber, Whitman and Wong. A stellar cast, perfectly assembled by Edgar Wright. And, with Science SARU leading the phenomenal animation, we couldn’t ask for a better team for this adventure,” said O’Malley and Grabinski. “We can’t wait for fans and newcomers alike to see what we and our partners at Science SARU have been cooking up. It’s going to be a wild ride.”

    Wright added, “One of the proudest and most enjoyable achievements of my career was assembling and working with the dynamite cast of Scott Pilgrim. Since the film’s release in 2010 we’ve done Q&As, remembrances and charity read throughs, but there was never the occasion to reunite the whole gang on an actual project. Until now. .. Original creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, along with writer BenDavid Grabinski have conjured up an anime series of Scott Pilgrim that doesn’t just expand the universe, but also … well, just watch it. I’m more than happy to announce that I have helped coax the entire original cast back to voice their characters on this epic new adventure. You are in for a treat.”

    Award-winning animation house Science SARU serves as animation studio with executive producer Eunyoung Choi and director Abel Gongora. The series will feature original songs by Anamanaguchi (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game), also providing the score with Joseph Trapanese (Straight Outta Compton).

    “It’s official: we’ve been obsessed with Scott Pilgrim! This series has been a wild ride, full of fresh and thrilling experiences for everyone at Science SARU. Working with such amazing artists and animators under the visionary leadership of director Abel Gongora has been an absolute dream come true,” said Choi. “Our team is over the moon about bringing the Scott Pilgrim world to life. We can hardly contain our excitement — this is going to be epic!”

    Founded by Choi and Masaaki Yuasa, Science SARU is a groundbreaking Japanese animation studio known for popular titles such as DEVILMAN crybaby (2018) and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (2020). Their recent fusions of Japanese tradition and cutting-edge direction, 2022’s The Heike Story and Annie Awards nominee Inu-Oh, were met with international critical acclaim.

    SCOTT PILGRIM ANIME CAST

    Cast Scott Pilgrim vs. The World reprising roles include:

    • Michael Cera is SCOTT PILGRIM
    • Mary Elizabeth Winstead is RAMONA FLOWERS
    • Satya Bhabha is MATTHEW PATEL
    • Kieran Culkin is WALLACE WELLS
    • Chris Evans is LUCAS LEE
    • Anna Kendrick is STACEY PILGRIM
    • Brie Larson is ENVY ADAMS
    • Alison Pill is KIM PINE
    • Aubrey Plaza is JULIE POWERS
    • Brandon Routh is TODD INGRAM
    • Jason Schwartzman is GIDEON GRAVES
    • Johnny Simmons is YOUNG NEIL
    • Mark Webber is STEPHEN STILLS
    • Mae Whitman is ROXIE
    • Ellen Wong is KNIVES CHAU

    Additional voices to be announced.

    Executive producers are Marc Platt, Jared LeBoff and Adam Siegel for Marc Platt Productions; Michael Bacall; Edgar Wright and Nira Park for Complete Fiction; and Eunyoung Choi for Science SARU.

  • ‘Ernest & Celestine 2’, ‘Home of the Heart’, ‘Architect A’ Win NYICFF Animation Prizes

    ‘Ernest & Celestine 2’, ‘Home of the Heart’, ‘Architect A’ Win NYICFF Animation Prizes

    Following the conclusion of its 26th annual NYC event, New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF) announced its 2023 award winners. NYICFF is an Oscar qualifying film festival, and winners of NYICFF’s jury awards are eligible for consideration at the Academy Awards.

    The 2023 jury included Kim Díaz (VP Creative Development, Sesame Workshop), Kyle McLachlan (Emmy nominated actor, Twin Peaks), Hsiang Chin Moe (Chair of BFA Animation, School of Visual Arts), Huda Razzak (NYICFF 2022 Jury Award-winning filmmaker, The Ocean Duck), Ira Sachs (director, Passages), Uma Thurman (Oscar-nominated actor, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2), Nora Twomey (Oscar-nominated filmmaker, My Father’s Dragon) and Christine Vachon (CEO Killer Films & award-winning producer, Boys Don’t Cry).

    “What an incredibly strong year!” Twomey enthused. “So many beautiful, heartwarming films. The fact they all carry such emotional weight and are produced to such a high artistic standard is so encouraging to see.”

    The Grand Prizes for animation went to the feature film sequel Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, which was selected as the festival’s opening night film, and Korean animator Johnhoon Lee’s colorful Architect A, about an industrious builder who constructs houses to match each occupant’s life, built on their memories.

    Sarah Saidan’s Home of the Heart won the Oscar-qualifying Jury Prize for animation. The piece is about an Iranian immigrant who is attacked on the street in France but survives because he has no physical heart — perhaps it was left behind in his home country?

    The winners are….

    Audience Awards

    Audience Award, ages 3+ — The Smeds and the Smoos (United Kingdom); Daniel Snaddon & Samantha Cutler, Shorts for Tots

    Audience Award, ages 6+ — Gugu naGogo (Australia); Taku Mbudzi, Celebrating Black Stories

    Audience Award, ages 8+ — Architect A (Korea); Jonghoon Lee, Short Films Two

    Audience Award, ages 12+ — The Originals (United States); Cristina Costantini & Alfie Koetter, Short Films Three

    Grown Ups Award, ages 18+ — More Than Hair (Canada); Fitch Jean, Celebrating Black Stories

    Grand Prize, Animated Feature — Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia (France, Luxembourg); Julien Chheng & Jean-Christophe Roger

    Grand Prize, Live Action Feature — Totem (Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands); Sander Burger

    Jury Awards

    Jury Award, Animated Short — Home of the Heart (France); Sarah Saidan, Short Films Three

    Jury Award, Live Action Short — Eid Mubarak (United States); Mahnoor Euceph, Short Films Two

  • People on the Move: Santomero Exits 9 Story, Sow You Grows Dev Team, A+C Adds Roster & More

    People on the Move: Santomero Exits 9 Story, Sow You Grows Dev Team, A+C Adds Roster & More

    Angela C. Santomero
    Angela C. Santomero

    9 Story Media Group announced Tuesday that Angela C. Santomero is exiting as Chief Creative Officer after five years with the company. As the creator and executive producer of the Emmy-winning preschool series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Blue’s Clues & You!, she will continue to work with 9 Story and its animation studio Brown Bag Films, and has been retained in an ongoing consulting capacity.

    Santomero joined 9 Story in 2018, following the company’s acquisition of Out of the Blue Enterprises, the children’s media company she co-founded in 2005. “I am grateful to 9 Story Media Group for acquiring Out of the Blue and for the opportunity to create and develop IP with kids at the center,” said Santomero. “I cannot wait for the newest series that I created to premiere next year!”

    Wendy Harris
    Wendy Harris

    Wendy Harris will lead the Creative Affairs group across all locations moving forward as SVP/Head of Creative Affairs and report to President & CEO Vince Commisso. Harris is a seasoned executive behind many franchise series, including Blue’s Clues, and has served as Co-Creator and Executive Producer on several series.

    The VPs of Development in New York, Toronto and Dublin will continue to report to Harris, as will the senior management team across production, research and interactive in New York.

     

    Mark Kingston
    Mark Kingston

    In response to accelerated global growth over the past two years for flagship brand Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir and Ghostforce, which has been earning top ratings across Europe, ZAG has appointed Mark Kingston to the newly-created role of Senior Vice President, Global Consumer Products. The announcement was made today by Founder & CEO Jeremy Zag.

    Kingston will report to Julian Jacob Zag, EVP, Global Operations and Head of Consumer Products, under whose leadership ZAG’s consumer products business has grown exponentially. New offices have been established around the world in Paris, Frankfurt, London, Montreal, Los Angeles, Miami, Mexico City, Frankfurt, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Shenzhen, collectively delivering over US$1 billion in retail sales (as of December 2021) for Miraculous.

    Kingston, based in London, will spearhead the ongoing growth of ZAG’s consumer products business that includes L&M, promotions, gaming and LBE for all IPs, including the animated feature Melody, starring Katy Perry (in production). He joins ZAG following an 11-year, where he served most recently as SVP, International Consumer Products, overseeing team members across multiple disciplines and in 18 countries. Prior, he held senior commercial and retail sales and marketing roles at both The Walt Disney Company and BBC Worldwide.

     

    Amy Stephenson
    Amy Stephenson

    Sow You Entertainment, a recently sprouted new arrival on the Irish animation scene, has hired on the creative team of Amy Stephenson and Shane Langan as development producers. This is in response to the growth of the company’s development slate across a range of genres, with active discussions already ongoing regarding production financing with potential broadcast partners for its initial offerings.

    Shane Langan
    Shane Langan

    Stephenson and Langan have been writing together since they co-founded the comedy group Diet of Worms in 2006, creating sketch shows, plays, web series and a BBC sitcom. Since 2015, they’ve worked in animation, writing, head-writing and story developing shows for Amazon, Nickelodeon, BBC and Warner Bros. Discovery among many others. In 2019, they won Best Preschool Writer at the Irish Animation Awards.

    Based in Dublin, the duo will report to co-founder Lena Byrne. In light of the growing development slate, the company has taken additional office space in the Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin. Additionally, company has just secured funding from Screen Ireland to fuel its potential.

     

    A+C Studios Directors
    A+C Studios Directors

    U.K. animation indie A+C Studios has launched its directors’ roster with eight signings of award-winning and emerging talent from around the globe. Founded in 2007, A+C has grown from its launch in founder Dan Richards’ garage to a custom-fitted space that holds three animation production studios, a model-making workshop, a motion design studio, an edit suite and a production office. You can read more about the directors here.

    • Mai Vu (Say Hi to Pencil, Spring Roll Dream)
    • Ida Melum (Poles Apart, Night of the Living Dread)
    • Vida Vega (BAA, Kinsale & London International Award winner, Cannes Lions nominee)
    • Jess Deacon (Revolution)
    • Antonin Niclass (Do Not Feed the Pigeons)
    • Luiz Stockler (RTS, Adobe Design and Vimeo Staff Pick recognized work)
    • Zarina Tucker (Esquire, Naturya, Happy Socks stop-motion)
    • Lina Kalcheva (Other Half)

     

    People on the Move 2
    Top left: Lucas Pozzey; bottom left: Thomas James; right: Peter Busch

    More Moves:

    • Moonraker VFX adds Lucas Pozzey (Lion King 2019, Prometheus, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) to leadership team as Head of 3D.
    • Generative AI entertainment technology company Flawless announced the appointment of industry vet Peter Busch as Chief Strategic Officer. Busch has worked for Warner Bros. Animation, Paramount, Image Metrics and co-founded Faceware Technologies.
    • Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) welcomes FX artist Thomas James (Avengers: Infinity Wars, News of the World) to Adelaide from London as the newest member of its training staff.

     

  • Sinners Face Off with Demons in ‘Hell’s Paradise,’ New on Crunchyroll Saturday

    Sinners Face Off with Demons in ‘Hell’s Paradise,’ New on Crunchyroll Saturday

    Crunchyroll is ready to kick off its Spring 2023 anime season with the debut of new series Hell’s Paradise this weekend. Produced by MAPPA, the show follows a doomed criminal whose only escape from his punishment can be found on a strange and extremely dangerous island.

    Series premieres Saturday, April 1 at 8:30 a.m. PDT, exclusively streaming on Crunchyroll.

     

     

    Synopsis: Gabimaru reigns as the strongest and most ruthless assassin in his village. But now finds himself on death row — with only one way out: retrieve the Elixir of Life from a sinister island. Longing for freedom, he accepts the challenge. But with fellow convicts vying for the same prize and demonic beasts lurking, how will Gabimaru and his handler, the executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, survive this harrowing quest?

     

    Hell’s Paradise is directed by Kaori Makita from an original story by Yuji Kaku and series composition by Akira Kindaichi. The show features character designs by Kouji Hisaki and music by Yoshiaki Dewa.

    Japanese Voice Cast:

      • Chiaki Kobayashi as Gabimaru
      • Yumiri Hanamori as Yamada Asaemon Sagiri
      • Ryohei Kimura as Aza Chobe
      • Kensho Ono as Yamada Asaemon Toma
      • Rie Takahashi as Yuzuriha
      • Chikahiro Kobayashi as Yamada Asaemon Shion
      • Yusuke Kobayashi as Yamada Asaemon Tenza
      • Makoto Koichi as Nurugai
      • Tetsu Inada as Tamiya Gantetsusai
      • Aoi Ichikawa as Yamada Asaemon Fuchi
      • Daiki Yamashita as Yamada Asaemon Senta
      • Makoto Furukawa as Yamada Asaemon Eizen
      • Shunichi Toki as Yamada Asaemon Kisho
      • Volcano Ota as Yamada Asaemon Genji

     

    Crunchyroll Hime

    Crunchyroll Spring 2023 Highlights:

    April 1

    • Hell’s Paradise (MAPPA)
    • MIX Season 2 (OLM)

     

    April 2

    • My Home Hero (Tezuka Prod.) – Official Trailer
      • Dubs include: English, LatAm Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese
    • My Clueless First Friend (Studio Signpost) – Official Trailer
      • English
    • The Aristocrat’s Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go too Far (EMT Squared / Magic Bus) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, Brazilian Portuguese

     

    April 3

     

    April 4

    • Skip and Loafer (P.A. Works) – Official Trailer
      • LatAm Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese

     

    April 5

    • KONOSUBA – An Explosion on This Wonderful World! (Drive) – Official Trailer
      • English, French, LatAm Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese
    • KamiKatsu: Working for God in a Godless World (Studio Palette) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, Italian, Hindi

     

    April 6

    • Dr. STONE New World (TMS Entertainment) – Official Trailer
      • English (April 20), German, French, LatAm Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Italian
    • The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 (Studio Kafka) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, French, LatAm Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi
    • I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too (Millepensee) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, French, LatAm Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian
    • The Legendary Hero Is Dead (Liden Films) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, French, Italian
    • Yuri Is My Job! (Passione / Studio Lings) – Official Trailer
      • LatAm Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese

     

    April 7

    • MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES (A-1 Pictures) – Official Trailer
      • German, French, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Italian, Hindi
    • TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You Season 2 (Seven Arcs) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, French, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese
    • BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls’ Story- Season 2 (Bandai Namco Pictures) – Official Trailer
    • The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses (Tezuka Productions) – Official Trailer
      • German, Latin American Spanish, Hindi
    • Magical Destroyers (Bibury Animation Studio) – Official Trailer
    • Rokudo’s Bad Girls (Satelight) – Official Trailer

     

    April 8

    • A Galaxy Next Door (Asahi Production) – Official Trailer
      • English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese
    • My One-Hit Kill Sister (Gekko) – Official Trailer
      • German, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi
    • Summoned to Another World for a Second Time (Studio Elle) – Official Trailer

     

    April 9

    • Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2 (Sunrise) – Official Trailer
      • English, Hindi

     

    April 10

    • Dead Mount Death Play (Geek Toys) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, French, Hindi
    • The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion (Typhoon Graphics) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, French, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Hindi

     

    April 12

     

    April 13

    • Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage (WIT Studio) – Official Trailer
      • English, German, French, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, Italian, Hindi, Russian

     

    April 19

    • Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts (J.C. Staff) – Official Trailer
      • English, German

     

    Coming Soon

    • VINLAND SAGA Season 2 (MAPPA)
    • One Piece (Toei Animation)
    • Case Closed (Detective Conan) (TMS Entertainment)
    • Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure (Toei Animation)
    • Cardfight!! Vanguard will+Dress Season 2 (Kinema citrus / Gift-o’-Animation / STUDIO JEMI)
    • Sorcerous Stabber Orphen -Doom of Dragon’s Sanctuary- (Studio DEEN)
  • Sony Pictures Animation & Imageworks Launch Empowering Shorts Program

    Sony Pictures Animation & Imageworks Launch Empowering Shorts Program

    Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks have partnered to develop a new leadership training program intended to provide high-potential candidates from underrepresented groups with an opportunity to gain valuable leadership experience. Leading up to the nine-month program, dubbed Leading and Empowering New Storytellers (LENS), the studios identify four candidates from both inside and outside of their existing crews who will dive headfirst into creative leadership positions and work together to make an animated short film.

    Selected LENS candidates are brought into the roles of Director, Writer, VFX Supervisor and Animation Supervisor, and are charged with developing an animated short under the guidance of program creators and producers Michelle Raimo Kouyate (Puss In Boots, Silver Linings Playbook) and David Schulenburg (Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham), while receiving unprecedented access to and mentorship by leaders at the two studios via workshops and talks with directors, animators, visual effects artists and other seasoned crew members. The final deliverable is an all-original short film, set in the existing world of an upcoming feature produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks.

    The LENS program is backed by Sony Pictures’ global, multi-pronged racial equity and inclusion strategy, Sony Pictures Action. The program’s goal is to provide creatives who have traditionally lacked access to leadership roles with a first-hand opportunity to deepen their understanding of every element of the animated filmmaking process including production design, animation, visual effects, lighting, sound, and various post-production processes. Through the program, participants will strengthen their ability to effectively articulate their film’s creative vision and collaborate across a variety of disciplines.

    The LENS program officially rolled out internally at the studios in 2022, with an incredibly talented core filmmaking team who set out to create an original short film set in the world of the highly-anticipated upcoming release, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

    “We feel honored and privileged to have been given the opportunity to give shape to the inaugural launch of the LENS program,” commented Raimo Kouyate and Schulenburg. “We are incredibly proud of how the hard work of all four filmmakers — Jarelle Dampier, Khaila Amazan, Clara Chan and Joe Darko — has paid off. They far exceeded all expectations as they stepped into their leadership roles and created a remarkable short. We are very grateful to be part of a studio that is doing meaningful work to give voice to varied groups and to the studio leadership — Kristine Belson, Michelle Grady, Pam Marsden and Paul Martin — who gave rise to this program and supported us every step along the way.”

    The first short from the LENS program is titled The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story and it is a genre-bending thriller, focusing on a theme that is meaningful to the filmmaking team.

    In The Spider Within, Miles Morales struggles to balance his responsibilities as a teenager, friend, and student while acting as Brooklyn’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. After a particularly challenging day living with these pressures, Miles experiences a panic attack that forces him to confront the manifestations of his anxiety and learn that reaching out for help can be just as brave an act as protecting his city from evil.

    The short will debut exclusively at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this June, presented by the team:

     

    Jarelle Dampier
    Jarelle Dampier

    Jarelle Dampier, director.

    Jarelle Dampier is a director and story artist at Sony Pictures Animation. Dampier started his entertainment career in television as a story artist on various Justice League animated shows, Skybound’s Invincible, Marvel’s What If…? and Marvel’s Spider-Man before moving on to feature animation boards. After teaming up with Sony to direct for the LENS program, Dampier went on to serve as a story artist for the highly-anticipated sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and is currently working on an unannounced feature at Sony Pictures Animation.

     

    Khaila Amazan
    Khaila Amazan

    Khaila Amazan, writer.

    Khaila Amazan is a writer at Sony Pictures Animation. Prior to starting in the LENS program, Amazan began her entertainment career as a story trainee in the creative development department at Columbia Pictures, followed by executive assistant positions at the development departments of Walt Disney Studios and Netflix’s Original Independent Films group. Amazan’s TV writing credits include Netflix’s Freeridge and Blumhouse x Amazon Studios’ upcoming series The Horror of Dolores Roach. On the film side, Amazan wrote ACE Entertainment’s A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea & Tomorrow and co-wrote Stampede Ventures’ K-POPS! with Anderson .Paak.

     

    Clara Chan
    Clara Chan

    Clara Chan, VFX supervisor.

    Clara Chan is a visual effects Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks with over two decades of industry experience. In 2001, Chan joined Imageworks as a technical director in the lighting department. Her credits include the upcoming animated feature Spider-Man: Across the Spider- Verse, the Academy Award-nominated Over the Moon, first three Hotel Transylvania films, Storks, The Emoji Movie, The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, Oz the Great and Powerful, Cats & Dogs 2, G-Force, Beowulf, the Academy Award-nominated Monster House, The Polar Express and Stuart Little 2. Earlier in her career, Chan worked as a software engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. Chan earned a B.S. in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in visualization sciences from Texas A&M University. In her spare time, Chan is also directing and producing an animated short film, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

     

    Joe Darko
    Joe Darko

    Joe Darko, animation supervisor.

    Joe Darko was a senior animator at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently completing work on the highly anticipated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Darko joined Imageworks in 2017 and his credits include the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; the Academy Award-nominated The Sea Beast, for which he served as animation lead; The Mitchells vs. The Machines; Smallfoot; The Angry Birds Movie 2 and Vivo. Darko’s earlier credits include Thor: Ragnarok, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and The Son of Bigfoot. Darko attended Bournemouth University in the south of England and graduated with a degree in Computer Animation.

     

    The team shared a joint statement on the program’s announcement:

    “The LENS Program was life-changing for all of us — it allowed us to achieve a goal that we felt was very far away. Seeing diverse representation in leadership roles really makes a difference because it shows the next generation of filmmakers that the barriers are being broken down. Animation is the most collaborative art form there is, and it takes a special place to open its doors and foster creatives who have the potential to tell great stories, but haven’t been given their chance to shine. We are so grateful for this experience and the opportunity to create something meaningful, and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”

    Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks will soon be gearing up for the program’s second round, in which participants will collaborate to create a short within the world of the studio’s upcoming animated feature, K-Pop: Demon Hunters.

  • MBC Group & Tokyopop Launch MENA Anime Initiative

    MBC Group & Tokyopop Launch MENA Anime Initiative

    At Anime Japan in Tokyo, MBC Group — the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) — announced the formation of MBC Anime, a brand-new hub dedicated to the licensing, promotion and production of anime content in the region. The venture is led by anime and manga expert Stu Levy, founder & CEO of international anime/manga distributor, licensor and publisher Tokyopop.

    Through this venture, MBC Group plans to heavily invest in anime  commission, production and investment over the next several years, with an ambition to expand further after this time frame. During the first investment period, MBC Anime aims to forge substantive relationships with key anime studios in Japan, supporting and investing in multiple projects.

    “Anime and manga are incredibly popular in the Middle East and North Africa, with Saudi Arabia being the leader in terms of viewership in the region. In recent years, there has been a huge increase in events and activities related to this art form,” noted Sam Barnett, CEO of MBC Group. “We are thrilled to announce that Stu Levy has joined us to head up MBC Anime. Stu is a renowned figure in the anime industry, known for his expertise in distribution, licensing and publishing. We’re very excited about the prospects for this cooperation.”

    Levy added, “Having worked with the talented team at MBC Group over the past couple of years, I’ve been impressed by their licensing approach and dedication to the space. Their commitment to not only anime, but building long-term relationships in Japan, made me confident of the real potential for exciting growth opportunities working together.”

  • Official Trailer for ‘Unicorn: Warriors Eternal’ Unveils Tartakovsky’s Epic Tale for Adult Swim’s Expanded Block

    Official Trailer for ‘Unicorn: Warriors Eternal’ Unveils Tartakovsky’s Epic Tale for Adult Swim’s Expanded Block

    The wait is almost over for five-time Emmy Award winner Genndy Tartakovsky’s next animated series, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal.” Fans were treated today to a newly released trailer of the steampunk fantasy tale produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The first two episodes will premiere Thursday, May 4 at midnight on Adult Swim and next day on HBO Max.

    Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a supernatural animated-action series that follows a team of heroes who reawaken to fight an ominous force throughout eternity. When the reawakening of our heroes manifests in the bodies of new unsuspecting hosts, they must find a way to protect the world against the prevailing darkness.

    “This show is truly a wonder. It shows that in the hands of a creative visionary and an insanely talented team, there’s no limit to the kinds of stories animation can tell,” said Michael Ouweleen, President, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang and Discovery Kids. “By programming this during peak hours and re-airing across multiple dayparts, we are ensuring that all generations of animation fans can see this event-level series.”

    Tartakovsky noted, “This show was created in my early days at Cartoon Network Studios more than 20 years ago. All the projects we worked on — Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack and Sym-Bionic Titan — were like a training ground getting us ready for this series. It took all of that time to finally be able to tackle a show like Unicorn: Warriors Eternal.”

    Synopsis: In Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, an evil force is looming across the dark, thick-aired streets of industrial revolution London when a group of heroes dubbed Unicorn are accidentally reawakened in the bodies of teenagers instead of adult hosts they’ve embodied in the past. Melinda (voiced by Hazel Doupe), a powerful sorceress; Seng (Demari Hunte), a cosmic monk; and Edred (Tom Milligan), a warrior elf.

    With distorted memories and their magical abilities weakened and fragmented, the trio must work together with help from their steam-powered robot, Copernicus, to unravel the mysteries of their pasts and present that will reveal their path to defeating a timeless threat.

    Following the Unicorn: Warriors Eternal program rollout, My Adventures with Superman will also shift its series debut to Adult Swim. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the DC animated series will debut later this year during Adult Swim’s late-night primetime hours with encores on Toonami and on the streamer.

    Adult Swim is expanding its hours to meet animation fans where they are by offering best-in-class animation for a multigenerational audience. Adult Swim will begin at 7 p.m. ET/PT Monday through Saturday starting May 1.

    Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is created and directed by Tartakovsky (Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack), with character designs from Stephen DeStefano (Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal), music by Tyler Bates (Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Guardians of the Galaxy, Samurai Jack) and Joanne Higginbottom (Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Samurai Jack), and sound effects design by Joel Valentine (Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Samurai Jack).

    New episodes of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal will debut weekly with encores on Adult Swim and Toonami. The series will roll out globally beginning in LatAm and EMEA on May 5.

  • Ali Wong Gets Animated in Echo Wu’s ‘Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld’ for Netflix

    Ali Wong Gets Animated in Echo Wu’s ‘Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld’ for Netflix

    Netflix today announced the new animated series Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld, from first-time showrunner Echo Wu and executive producers Ali Wong (Beef) and Aron Eli Coleite (Locke & Key). Titmouse is handling the animation for this 2D series.

     

    Jentry Exec Producers
    Ali Wong [ph: Clayton Hawkins] | Echo Wu | Aron Eli Coleite

     

    The series follows Jentry Chau, a Chinese-American teen living in a small Texas town, who finds out a demon king is hunting her for the supernatural powers she’s been working her whole life to repress. With the help of her weapons expert great-aunt and a millennia-old jiangshi (Chinese hopping vampire), Jentry must now fight an entire underworld’s worth of monsters while balancing the horrors of high school.

    Ali Wong, who voiced Bertie in Netflix/Adult Swim series Tuca & Bertie, will also star as Jentry in this supernatural action series, alongside Bowen Yang (SNL, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai), Lori Tan Chinn (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, Turning Red), Lucy Liu (Elementary, Kung Fu Panda franchise), Jimmy O. Yang (Space Force, We Bare Bears: The Movie), comedian Sheng Wang and U.S.-born K-pop star Woosung Kim (The Rose).

     

    Jentry cast
    L-R (top) Lucy Liu [ph: Sophy Holland], Lori Tan Chinn, Bowen Yang, (bottom) Sheng Wang, Woosung Kim, Jimmy O. Yang

     

    Wu attained international recognition for her Ringling College of Art & Design Computer Animation graduate film, The Wishgranter (2016, watch on Vimeo), which won the Student Academy Award Silver Medal for Animation as well as Best Animation honors from the Emmy Student Awards and BAFTA Student Awards and other prizes.

     

    Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld (teaser art)
    Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld (teaser art)

     

    All images and photos courtesy of Netflix.

  • Amuse Animation Tapped for eOne’s First Original, Digital-Led Pre-K Series

    Amuse Animation Tapped for eOne’s First Original, Digital-Led Pre-K Series

    Amuse Animation in London, a boutique digital-centric animation studio, has entered an agreement with Hasbro’s entertainment studio, eOne to produce a digital-led animated series. The deal marks the toy company’s first collaboration with Amuse Animation, and their first ever original, direct-to-digital preschool project. Details of the project are to be announced.

    “We are thrilled to be working with Hasbro eOne on their first foray into digital-led original animation content for preschool children, said Jiella Esma, Chief Revenue Officer of Amuse. “We hope our expertise in producing digital-led kids’ entertainment will contribute to Hasbro’s success.”

    Arthur Lener
    Arthur Lener

    Arthur Lener, founder and CEO, added, “As the kids’ audiovisual industry evolves, synergies between content and toy companies are growing stronger. As experts in the creation of audience-centric, high quality digital-first, we are looking forward to partnering with Hasbro and eOne to build the licenses of tomorrow; it is a huge milestone for us.”

    A maverick in the online content field, Amuse Animation has produced over 30 self-funded original digital series aimed at entertaining kids, sparking curiosity and promoting positive values, generating over 30 billion views in the process. The company is now developing three premium spin-offs based on top performing properties.

    “In an ever-changing media landscape, it is clear that digital-born properties are winning the hearts of children and families around the world now more than ever before. Hasbro has long been at the forefront of innovation in play and entertainment, and this move into digital-first IP generation will allow us to build fandom by reaching our audience directly via YouTube and learning from their viewing behavior in real time,” commented Tom Hartley, VP of Digital Content at eOne / Hasbro. “With its strong positioning as a digital-first preschool animation studio and its rapid-response production, Amuse Animation is the perfect partner for this new endeavor.”

    Building on its digital content success, Amuse Animation has diversified to include a gaming studio that has generated 20+ million downloads and an audiobook studio. In addition to its production expertise, Amuse’s 2D and 3D servicing studio provides its partners with a 54% tax rebate from the Canaries’ government. The company has previously participated in the production of several global hits such as Molang, Louie and Nordic sensation Tulipop.

  • ‘Rick and Morty’ Gets Manga Treatment from Oni Press

    ‘Rick and Morty’ Gets Manga Treatment from Oni Press

    Oni Press — in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products and Adult Swim — announces a new Rick and Morty graphic novel, Rick and Morty: The Manga Vol. 1 – Get in the Robot, Morty!, arriving in stores on November 1.

    Continuing Oni’s long-running series of comic-book adventures for pop culture’s beloved dimension-hopping duo, this manga-inspired gauntlet of action and absurdity will see Morty take control of a full-blown battle mech to battle the most dangerous foe of all: a horde of 60-foot-tall (and curiously naked) Jerrys, hellbent on laying waste to the surrounding metropolis.

    “Rick and Morty has always skewered and elevated pop culture tropes through an irreverent lens, and Get in the Robot, Morty! takes on the beloved genre of mech-fighting manga with that characteristic sardonic flair. Fans of adult animation who’ve followed from Toonami’s Midnight Run to Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty are going to find characters, humor, heart and of course bloody, outrageous battles they know and love in these pages. If anyone could make Gendo Ikari look like a reasonable parent, it’s Rick Sanchez,” says Senior Editor Bess Pallares.

    “Creating this book was a pop culture dream come true, and we plan to further sully the good name of manga with future volumes of Rick and Morty: The Manga, exploring more genres and storylines ready for a shakeup.”

    Spawned from the ‘anime-addled minds’ of writer Alissa M. Sallah (Weaboo) and artist JeyOdin (Hammer, Miles Away), Get in the Robot, Morty! is the first in a new series of manga-styled Rick and Morty adventures and essential reading for longtime readers and manga mega-fans alike … if they can handle the multiversal thrill ride.

    Rick and Morty: The Manga Vol. 1 – Get in the Robot, Morty! will be available in paperback (ISBN: 9781637152416) at comic-book shops and booksellers everywhere on November 1.

  • Pixar Fires Up Official ‘Elemental’ Trailer, Additional Cast Announced

    Pixar Fires Up Official ‘Elemental’ Trailer, Additional Cast Announced

    Disney and Pixar today unveiled the official trailer for upcoming original animated feature Elemental, introducing more of the distinct Air, Earth, Fire and Water denizens of Element City. The studio also announced more voice stars for the pic, which is due in theaters with a 3D screening option on June 16.

    The new spot is narrated and anchored by Ember, voiced by Leah Lewis as previously announced, a quick-witted and fiery woman who’s always stayed close to home in Firetown. In Elemental, she finally ventures out of her comfort zone to explore this spectacular world. Element City is inspired by big cities around the globe and embraces theorized contributions from each elemental community — from giant pine-tree-like buildings and waterfall skyscrapers to a tornado-shaped arena called Cyclone Stadium.

    Joining Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow water guy Wade are Ronnie del Carmen as Ember’s soon-to-be retired dad, Bernie; Shila Ommi as Ember’s love-seeking mom, Cinder; Wendi McLendon-Covey as Wade’s stormy and Air-Ball-loving boss, Gale; Catherine O’Hara as Wade’s welcoming mom, Brook; Mason Wertheimer as Ember’s admiring earth neighbor, Clod; and Joe Pera as an overgrown city bureaucrat, Fern.

    Directed by Peter Sohn, produced by Denise Ream, p.g.a., and executive produced by Pete Docter, Elemental has a screenplay by John Hoberg & Kat Likkel and Brenda Hsueh with story by Sohn, Hoberg & Likkel and Hsueh. The film’s original score was composed and conducted by Thomas Newman.

  • Sixteen South & Nelvana Saddle ‘A Horse Named Steve’ for Series

    Sixteen South & Nelvana Saddle ‘A Horse Named Steve’ for Series

    BAFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated Belfast-based studio Sixteen South announced today that, together with Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, they have optioned and are co-developing and co-producing A Horse Named Steve, a new 2D-animated series (52 x 11’) based on the acclaimed debut picture book by Toronto author-illustrator Kelly Collier. The adaptation will combine comic storylines with lessons in friendship, teamwork and appreciating one’s true self.

    “It’s amazing to see how far Steve has come,” said author-illustrator Collier, “Particularly because he started out as a little doodle I made to fill an empty picture frame! I can’t wait to see Steve strutting around on TV screens, having found the perfect home with Sixteen South and Nelvana.”

    Centering on an endearingly self-absorbed horse, A Horse Named Steve topped “best book of the year” lists when it was released in 2017 by Canadian independent children’s publisher Kids Can Press, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Illustrated in lively black-and-white artwork interwoven with humorous commentary, the book and its follow-up, Team Steve, follow the exploits of Steve, a good-natured, rather obtuse horse who thinks he’s ordinary but wants to be exceptional.

    “We knew as soon as we saw the cover of A Horse Named Steve that Steve was a perfect addition to Sixteen South’s stable,” said Sixteen South’s Creative Director, Colin Williams. “Kelly’s offbeat humor and quirky illustration style sealed the deal, aligning so well with the kind of stories we like to bring to life, so we moved quickly to option the rights from Kids Can Press.”

    Athena Georgaklis, VP of Nelvana Studios, adds, “Steve’s larger-than-life antics and slapstick comedy have delighted both children and adults alike. We’re excited to not only develop yet another revered Kids Can Press book franchise into an animated series but are also eager to collaborate with Colin and the Sixteen South team to co-develop and co-produce a series that successfully captures Kelly’s unique tone and illustration style on screen.”

    Recently the Vooks animated digital ebook of A Horse Named Steve, narrated by Emmy-nominated actor Rainn Wilson, helped earn U.S.-based Kids Can Press a 2023 Bologna Ragazzi Crossmedia Award nomination in the inaugural Digital Library category. The awards are part of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the premier global children’s publishing event held annually in Bologna, Italy.

    “As we celebrate our 50th Anniversary, we’ve been reminded of how important the wide range of partnerships we’ve fostered over the years are to the success of our business,” said Lisa Lyons Johnston, President and Publisher of Kids Can Press. “Developing these kinds of partnerships — with Sixteen South and of course with our colleagues at Nelvana — helps to expand the reach of our creators’ books and puts their characters and stories in front of children and families wherever they may be. We’re always on the lookout for stories that will appeal to creators of other children’s entertainment media, as Kelly’s work clearly has.”

  • ‘The Venture Bros.’ Complete Series Makes DVD Debut in June

    ‘The Venture Bros.’ Complete Series Makes DVD Debut in June

    The Venture Bros Complete Series DVD Box Art1

    Prepare for thrilling adventure, bizarre baddies and dynamite familial dysfunction! For the first time ever, all episodes from Adult Swim’s award-winning original adult animated series are brought together in one set with The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series.

    Collecting all 82 episodes from the show’s seven season run along with all the previously released special features, the set will be available to purchase Digitally (SRP $79.99) and on DVD (SRP $134.99 U.S./$129.99 Canada) from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment on June 20.

    The Venture Bros. features the voice talents of James Urbaniak as Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture, Christopher McCulloch as Hank, Michael Sinterniklaas as Dean Venture, Patrick Warburton as Brock Samson and Paul Boocock as Dr. Venture’s deceased father, Dr. Jonas. Created by McCulloch and Doc Hammer for Adult Swim’s late night programming block, the series originally premiered on August 7, 2004 and ran for seven seasons, winning numerous awards including Best Animated TV Series Award at CineMe 2003, the Chicago International Animated Film Festival.

    Synopsis: For the first time in the history of the world, every single episode of The Venture Bros. ever created! Stuffed full of your favorite evil nemeses, and larger-than-life heroes, plus a few smaller-than-life ones. It’s never not a great time to watch your favorite episode from any season, followed by any other episode from any other season. From “Dia de los Dangerous” to “The Saphrax Protocol” it’s all in one place!

    It’s the Complete Series Venture Bros. Box Set, 20 years in the making. Including all the bonus materials that have been lovingly created over the years, and carefully curated for you now.