Animation Magazine

Author: Mercedes Milligan

  • CEE Animation Workshop Picks 12 Projects for 2022

    CEE Animation Workshop Picks 12 Projects for 2022

    Organizers of the year-long CEE Animation Workshop have again received a record number of applications this year, as the training program continues to grow year by year. Applications came from 19 countries, as the call was open to all E.U. countries for the first time. Thirty-two participants from 12 countries will attend the 2022 edition, split between 12 teams with an animated project and four career-oriented participants.

    “The traditional pool of countries from the CEE region will be even more diverse this year with the addition of participants from Sweden, France and Poland. All indications show that we have another very strong year ahead with exciting projects to be mentored, developed and packaged to hit the funding market by November 2022,” explains Juraj Krasnohorsky, Head of Studies.

    The selection is balanced — the proportion of female participants reaching almost a half, — and diverse in terms of the animation project format, with three feature films, three TV series, one TV special and five short films. The topics addressed are also varied, ranging from children’s tales to adult issues.

    Participants will follow three online and one residential module throughout the year. The closest collaborators for them will be group leaders and script advisors. Through expert lectures, moderated discussions, group work and individual consultations, they will provide their own feedback and offer their expertise on participants’ projects, drawing from rich professional experience as leading European producers. Script advisors will work with the project teams individually and in group sessions, helping them formulate the voice of their story in the best possible way in terms of the dramatic structure, genre, and story arc. 

    The group leaders are Jean-François Le Corre (Vivement Lundi !, France) and Ole Wendorff-Østergaard (Danish Film Institute, Denmark), and script advisors are Rita Domonyi (Hungary) and Phil Parker (U.K.).

    In addition to following the complete Workshop program alongside the project teams, four career-oriented participants will also receive personalized mentoring on their career and company strategy development. The program tailored to the needs of animation creatives will see the selected projects from their early stages to the final developed production package, ready to access the market.

    CEE Animation Workshop Participants 2022
    CEE Animation Workshop Participants 2022

    Animated project selections:

    Feature Films

    Dreamworld director: Veljko Popović; producer: Milivoj Popović, Prime render d.o.o. (Croatia) — A group of “uncool” kids struggling to navigate the perilous world of social media use lucid dreaming to open the door to the Dreamworld, a place where they can be anything, and encounter its ruler, Morpheus. 

    New Rabbitland director: Ana Nedeljković, Nikola Majdak Jr.; producer: Jelena Mitrović, Film House Bas Celik (Serbia) — When the gray, city-state dictatorship of Rabbitland is slated to be replaced by a new utopia, a young civil service rabbit uncovers a destructive scam and escapes to the unexpected outside world. 

    OT15 scriptwriter: Filip Diviak; producer: Kristina Lenka Ruzickova, ARCHA production s.r.o. (Czech Republic) — An old fisherman returns one day to find his home destroyed, and the responsible party: an out of battery robot. As the two slowly form an unlikely friendship, the old man grows suspicious of OT15’s origins. 

    CEE Animation Workshop TV Projects
    CEE Animation Workshop TV Projects

    Television Series/Specials

    Garbage scriptwriter: Jaroslav Klimeš; producer: Jindřich Trčka, COFILM (Czech Republic) — Long after humanity kicks the bucket, leaving a completely trashed planet behind, a naive yoghurt cup teams up with an old beer can to traverse the treacherous trashland and reunite with his lost yoghurt cup love. 

    Puck producer and scriptwriter: Caroline Drab, BCD Film AB (Sweden) — Aimed at the youngest viewers, six short stories based on Anna-Karin Garhamn’s books follow the heartwarming and humorous adventures of preschool favorites  Puck and Bunny. 

    The Bones from NAAVA director and scriptwriter: Tereza Došková; art director: Mikuláš Podprocký; producer Tomáš Šimon (Czech Republic) — In 19th century Prague, on the eve of the industrial revolution, our young hero and his mentor, an amateur archeologist, uncover a web of supernatural intrigue as mysterious artifacts emerge from the earth and fall into the hands of those who would use their power for nefarious purpose.  

    Pets and Others (Special) director and scriptwriter: Justyna Osiecka; producer: Paulina Zacharek, Momakin Sproducer z o.o. (Poland) — Step into a colorful world inhabited by creatures personifying a unique human emotion which guides their life, as they solve problems in unconventional ways and live each day in the here and now.

    CEE Animation Workshop Short Films
    CEE Animation Workshop Short Films

    Short Films

    Chemodan director and scriptwriter: Marek Naprstek; producer: Zuzana Kučerová, Frame Films (Czech Republic) — A documentary combining filmed footage, 2D and 3D animation with the contents of a decades-old locked suitcase holding the personal possessions left behind by the director’s great-grandfather, a linens salesman and WWI soldier.

    Doghouse director: Réka Anna Szakály; producer: Daniel Deak, Daazo Film and Media (Hungary) — Emma travels back to her hometown for the weekend to take care of the aging family dog while her parents are away. These surreal final days together and goodbye to the beloved pet help Emma to come of age and be herself. 

    Hide and Seek director: Ana Aleksovska; scriptwriter: Vladimir Dimoski (Serbia, North Macedonia); producer: Ivan Popovic, Sineast (North Macedonia) — A fairytale(ish) childhood is shattered when a young boy learns that the family’s baby brother was not taken from them in the way they thought. 

    No One Ever Looked at Elephants as You Do director and scriptwriter: Sandra Jovanovska (North Macedonia); producer: Miha Černec, Staragara (Slovenia) — An extremely intimate insight into early motherhood reveals a bizarre connection to Mother Nature, rendered in stop-motion animation. 

    The Splinter director: Bara Halirova (Czech Republic); scriptwriter: Vykintas Labanauskas (Lithuania); producer: Karolina Davidova 13ka (Czech Republic) — When a reclusive young woman moves into an old apartment, she becomes infatuated with a human-shaped stain on the floor. A chance splinter becomes an escape tool for a tiny, naked version of herself who crawls out and runs away to enjoy the social life that intimidates her.  

    Career Participants

    Edwina Liard, producer, Ikki Films (France) 

    Miloš Ljubomirović, producer, Servia Film (Serbia) 

    Justė Michailinaitė, producer, Broom Films (Lithuania) 

    Miljan Vučelić, producer, DOK Produkcija (Montenegro)

    Find more information on the selected projects and participants at ceeanimation.eu/news/cee-animation-workshop-announces-its-selection. 

  • Producers Guild and ACE Announce 2022 Nominees

    Producers Guild and ACE Announce 2022 Nominees

    Awards season rolls on! Today, both the PGA and ACE award nominees were announced, perfectly mirroring the animated feature category picks for the Art Directors Guild and Motion Picture Sound Editors honors posted earlier this week.

    The 33rd Annual Producers Guild Awards (producersguild.org) revealed the motion picture and television category nominees, joining special honorees Rita Moreno (Stanley Kramer Award), George Lucas & Kathleen Kennedy (Milestone Award). In addition to the animation nominees below, Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee (Final Cut for Real/NEON) is up in the documentary category, announced in December. The PGA Awards will be held Saturday, March 19 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

    Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures 

    • Encanto.(Disney) Producers: Yvett Merino, p.g.a., Clark Spencer, p.g.a. 
    • Luca.(Pixar/Disney) Producers: Andrea Warren, p.g.a. 
    • Mitchells vs. the Machines.(Sony Pictures Animation/Netflix) Producers: Phil Lord, p.g.a. & Christopher Miller, p.g.a., Kurt Albrecht, p.g.a. 
    • Raya and the Last Dragon.(Disney) Producers: Osnat Shurer, p.g.a., Peter Del Vecho, p.g.a. 
    • Sing 2.(Illumination/Universal) Producers: Chris Meledandri, p.g.a., Janet Healy, p.g.a.

    Recognizing outstanding editing in film, TV and documentary, the American Cinema Editors (ACE; americancinemaeditors.org) announced nominees in 14 categories for the 72nd Annual ACE Eddie Awards. Perfectly on trend, the organization is in agreement both on the best animated features of the year, as well as on the genre-surpassing merit of documentary feature Flee. This year’s distinguished honorees so far include Lillian E. Benson and Richard Chew (Career Achievement Awards) and the Sundance Institute (Filmmaker of the Year Award). The ceremony will be held live at the Ace Hotel Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 5. 

    Best Edited Animated Feature Film

    • Encanto. Jeremy Milton, ACE 
    • Luca. Catherine Apple, ACE, Jason Hudak 
    • The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Greg Levitan 
    • Raya and the Last Dragon. Fabienne Rawley, ACE, Shannon Stein 
    • Sing 2. Gregory Perler, ACE

    Best Edited Animation (Non-Theatrical)

    • Bob’s Burgers “Vampire Disco Death Dance”. (Fox) Jeremy Reuben 
    • Rick and Morty “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion”. (Adult Swim) Lee Harting, ACE 
    • What If? “What If… Ultron Won?”. (Disney+) Graham Fisher, Joel Fisher
  • Emile Cohl Atelier Shakes Up Arts Education with New Prep School

    Emile Cohl Atelier Shakes Up Arts Education with New Prep School

    Emile Cohl Atelier is launching its Preparatory School Program in Los Angeles as an extension of the institute’s Career Accelerator Program, led by devoted staff and talented faculty who successfully placed its first class of graduates into the highly competitive creative workforce in 2021.

    Combining two elite and rigorously structured art programs under one roof allows ECA to begin educating and nurturing high school students to concentrate on their long-term creative career goals inside a disciplined and immersive environment.

    ECA helps high school students expand and perfect their essential drawing skills, artistic fundamentals, and portfolio design capabilities to take the next step into post-secondary education at next level institutions, like ECA’s Career Accelerator Program, that further mold talented artists into driven studio professionals.

    Both ECA programs are designed to solidify students’ positions as elite artists who use the skills and resources provided by their highly accomplished advisors that translate into real-world proficiencies in careers that demand top-notch candidates.

    The program is built on the principle that creative disciplines do not require a six-figure art school degree; they require substantial talent that aspiring artists can attain through ECA’s combined Prep School and Career Accelerator programs to envision their long-term employment goals and fast-track their paths to success.

    By expanding their commitment to disrupt art education in the United States, ECA’s exclusive curriculums are now available to aspiring artists through paid programs and scholarships for talented and deserving candidates preparing to enter the creative workforce.

    Spring 2022 will welcome deserving and exceptionally talented high school students to join Emile Cohl Atelier Preparatory School for its inaugural semester, and merit-based enrollees in the Career Accelerator Program driven to forge their career paths and open limitless doors in creative industries.

    The Preparatory School program aligns with Emile Cohl Atelier’s belief in providing inclusive art school educational opportunities for those who may not have the prospects afforded to others. Because at ECA, “talent knows no bounds.”

    Learn more at www.cohl.art/prep-school-programs.

     

  • Watch: Reel FX Gets Real-Time with ‘Super Giant Robot Brothers’

    Watch: Reel FX Gets Real-Time with ‘Super Giant Robot Brothers’

    As part of its Virtual Production Week event, Epic Games revealed behind-the-scenes footage from the new animated Netflix series, Super Giant Robot Brothers!, which is produced by Reel FX (The Book of Life, Free Birds, Rumble) and created using the studio’s innovative and proprietary virtual production animation pipeline, where all aspects of the show were visualized and rendered in Epic’s Unreal Game Engine.

    Capped with a first-look clip of the finished product, the video demonstrates Reel FX’s leadership in creating high-quality animation using a real-time workflow that brings live-action techniques to the world of animated filmmaking through a combination of cutting-edge technology and traditional animation tools.

    Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Mark Andrews (Brave), Super Giant Robot Brothers! is a 3D animated action-comedy about giant robots that must save the world from invading kaiju — while overcoming their own sibling rivalry! The Netflix show developed and produced by Reel FX is created by executive producers Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, and executive produced by showrunner Tommy Blancha as well as Jared Mass and Steve O’Brien from Reel FX Originals. Netflix will debut the 10-episode series in 2022.

    The behind-the-scenes video shows how Reel FX’s virtual production pipeline allowed showrunners to shoot motion capture actors on stage, with stylized 3D animated characters and environments having already been built and living inside the Unreal Engine. With these assets at his disposal on-set, the director was able to block and shoot actors (whose performances will later be used as references for the animators) using a virtual camera and see animated character performances come to life simultaneously on nearby screens, allowing for more story flexibility and improvisation than a traditional process. The Unreal Engine brings real-time lighting and rendering into play, which allows for final creative decisions to be more fully visualized while on set.

    The video also mentions how this workflow is a game changer for the editorial process. After shoot days, the editor was handed “tons of coverage” which is not typical in animation. This was the result of being able to shoot recorded performances from different camera angles using the virtual camera on stage after the actors had wrapped for the day. With lots of footage to choose from, a 3D cut of the show is prepared and handed off to Reel FX’s experienced animation team. Animators were able to make typical creative choices for keyframe animation but had more information to reference than ever before. With Super Giant Robot Brothers!, Reel FX transformed the animation process by building its techniques around the mindset of a live-action production.

    Reel FX’s live-action approach to animation filmmaking condenses several steps in the animation process and creates lots of room for workflow efficiencies. These innovations make animation production more accessible to the live-action filmmaker, allowing them to use their existing toolset and vocabulary to readily direct animated film and television content, and even hire a live-action crew for production and editing. This also has appeal for animation film directors and TV showrunners who want to be more hands-on in the storytelling process, as they get the opportunity to interact with actors in person and work together with animators early in defining and refining their vision.

    You can watch the full recording of the Epic Games’ Virtual Production Week Q&A Featuring Reel FX, with director Marc Andrews, producer Adam Maier, cinematographer Enrico Targetti and Unreal Operator Rey Jarrell here (panel content begins after the 12 minute mark).

     

  • Collodi’s Puppet Hits the Big Top in ‘Pinocchio: A True Story’ from Lionsgate

    Collodi’s Puppet Hits the Big Top in ‘Pinocchio: A True Story’ from Lionsgate

    A new animated take on a classic tale is coming soon to disc with Pinocchio: A True Story, available on Digital, On Demand and DVD from Lionsgate on March 22. This energetic CG retelling of the Carlo Collodi story stars Pauly Shore (Bio-Dome, Encino Man), Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite, Blades of Glory) and prolific voice over actor Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventure Time).

    Synopsis: Think you know the story of Pinocchio? Think again! In this thrilling, humorous take on the classic tale, the wooden hero is a skilled acrobat who performs stunts with his beloved horse, the wisecracking Tybalt. He runs off to join a circus, where he falls for the ringmaster’s daughter, Bella. But when Pinocchio learns the circus is a cover-up for robberies, he must stop the crime spree in order to save Bella – and, hopefully, become human. It’s a magical adventure the whole family will love!

    The 94-minute family flick is produced by Moscow’s Licensing Brands and helmed by Vasiliy Rovenskiy (The Big Trip 1 & 2, Two Tails), who also wrote the pic with Maxim Sveshnikov and Vadim Sveshnikov, and produced alongside Roman Borisevich and Maxim Rogalskiy. Executive producers are Barry Brooker and Stan Wertlieb.

    Pinocchio: A True Story
    Pinocchio: A True Story

     

     

  • Charlie Brown Voice Actor Peter Robbins Dies at 65

    If you or someone you know are experiencing thoughts of suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or chat online through suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

    Peter Robbins, the American child actor who achieved fame as the original voice of Charlie Brown in the 1960s Peanuts specials, died of suicide last week at age 65. The news was shared with Southern California news channel Fox 5 by Robbins’ family.

    Born Louis Nanasi on August 10, 1956, Robbins began his acting career at seven years old, notably guest starring on popular 1960s shows like The Munsters, Rawhide, The Donna Reed Show and Get Smart. He was nine years old when he first portrayed his “childhood hero” in A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1963), directed by Lee Mendelson. The Carlsbad, Calif. native graduated from UC San Diego in 1979.

    Robbins reprised the Charles Schulz character’s voice for A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), Charlie Brown’s All Stars!, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966), You’re in Love, Charlie Brown (1967), He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968), It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown and A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969). Later, he participated in the 20th anniversary documentary in 1985, the You Don’t Look 40, Charlie Brown special in 1990 and in 2001’s The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

    Peter Robbins at age 14, still the voice of Charlie Brown after six years. (Photo by Mary Frampton for the Los Angeles Times, 1971)
    Peter Robbins at age 14, still the voice of Charlie Brown after six years. (Photo by Mary Frampton for the Los Angeles Times, 1971)

    He retired from acting in 1972, later working in real estate and occasionally radio. However, Robbins lived with the challenges of bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia. He was arrested several times in the 2010s for making threats against multiple people, including his former girlfriend and a police sergeant, as well as incidents of stalking and probation violations. He was sentenced to prison in 2015 before being transferred to a psychiatric hospital.

    After his release on parole in late 2019, Robbins was able to get back on track with the right medication, and by 2020 he was traveling the country to make appearances and sign autographs for Charlie Brown fans at comics conventions across the U.S. He held onto a lifelong love for Schulz’s creation, even getting a tattoo of Charlie Brown and Snoopy on his arm. Robbins had been working on his autobiography, to be titled Confessions of a Blockhead, at the time of his death.

    In a 2019 interview with Fox 5’s Phil Blauer, a personal friend, the newly released Robbins shared an important message: “I would recommend to anybody that has bipolar disorder to take it seriousl, because your life can turn around in the span of a month, like it did to me.”

    (Source: Fox 5)

  • People on the Move: Exec Appointments at Xilam, Superprod, Look Mom! & More

    Independent French animation producer/distributor Xilam Animation announced a new organizational structure for its production division, effective as of January 1, to prepare for market growth in the coming years — both in terms of volume and in value, and in particular on platforms.

    Dorothée Lanchier
    Dorothée Lanchier
    • Dorothée Lanchier, formerly Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed Deputy Managing Director and is now responsible for Development & Production for the Xilam Group. In this role, she will develop and manage the implementation of the group’s entire creative and production strategy, reporting to CEO Marc du Pontavice. Lanchier has worked in animation production since 2002 for studios including MoonScoop (production manager) and Ellipsanime (exec producer) before joining Xilam in 2017 as a series exec producer for Oggy and the Cockroaches S5. As operations manager for Xilam Group, she led production on Oggy Oggy and Lupin’s Tales, steered the studios in Lyon, Angoulême and Ho Chi Minh City (Armada) and supervised the technical and R&D aspects.
    Jean Cayrol
    Jean Cayrol
    • Jean Cayrol, one of the most prolific creators/directors at Xilam Studio, is now Creative Director of the group, and will report directly to du Pontavice. He will be responsible for managing all artistic matters (development & production) for kids’ series. Du Pontavice retains direct responsibility for special formats and feature films. Cayrol started his career as an animator at Praxinos. He then moved to Korea where, for nearly four years, he supervised the layout and animation of various animation projects. Back in France, he joined Xilam as a layout supervisor on the feature film Go West, then on the series Oggy and the Cockroaches and The Daltons. Since 2011, he has co-directed two seasons of Floopaloo, where are you?, directed the studio’s first pre-k series Paprika (78 x 7′) and in 2018 was entrusted with creating the graphic bible for Oggy Oggy. Cayrol also directed Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life for Disney+.
    • Cécile Hergaux-Essame, formerly Head of Cube Creative, a subsidiary of Xilam, has been appointed Executive Vice President to oversee all Xilam Group’s studios and to lead the supervising and coordinating of all the group’s production resources. She will report to Lanchier. A graduate of Gobelins, Hergaux-Essame got her start on internationally recognized programs like Totally Spies! before joining Cube Creative in 2014 as production manager and then studio manager. She has overseen in-house productions Kaeloo, Athleticus, Tangranimals and Pfffirates as well as services for Mush-Mush and the Mushables (La Cabane) and Brawl Stars (Supercell).
    • Valentin Moriceau, formerly Head of R&D of Cube Creative, has been appointed R&D Executive Vice President of the Xilam Group and will head up the research and technical development department. He will roll out the group’s visual innovation strategy by coordinating all the studios’ technical teams. He will also report to Lanchier. Moriceau, a graduate of Supinfocom Arles, joined Cube in 2014 as a pipeline engineer. He brought improvements to the Tube in-house solution, utilized for Kaeloo, Stella (Rovio) and Bad Piggies (Rovio), among others. After spending almost a year at Unit Image as Pipeline Supervisor, he joined Cube again in 2017 as R&D Manager. In 2018, a new pipeline was developed for Blender, the studio’s main software since, used for Mush-Mush, Tangranimals, Pfffirates, etc.
    Virginie Créance
    Virginie Créance

    As Superprod Group continues its rapid growth, it announced today the appointment of Virginie Créance as Senior Vice President for Animation to centralize the organization and ensure the coordination of its numerous divisions in France and abroad. The studio currently employs nearly 600 people and recently began construction on a new, 1,600 sq. m. studio in Angoulême (Sept. 2022). Créance will manage operations, studios and manufacturing centers in France, supervise the operations of the Group’s foreign subsidiaries in the animation field, and pursue business opportunities in France and abroad. She is also determined to expand the presence of human resources within the group.

    After commencing her professional journey with musical and digital project management, first in New York then later in London at Microsoft, Créance advanced her career in animation by supervising series productions at Blue Spirit studio. She then moved on to become the Operations and Production Manager of Superprod and its studios, overseeing the production of all animation projects. Most recently, as Deputy General Manager, she orchestrated operations for the entire Superprod Animation business network.

    Mia Di Pasquale
    Mia Di Pasquale

    Just ahead of the launch of its adult comedy Doomlands as a Roku Original, Look Mom! Productions, a Blue Ant Media company, has tapped development executive and producer Mia Di Pasquale to serve as Vice President of Development as part of the animation studio’s ongoing expansion in North America. Reporting to Managing Director Josh Bowen, Di Pasquale will be based in Los Angeles and will lead efforts to expand Look Mom!’s development slate and studio presence in the U.S. market. She will identify emerging talent and creators and develop original adult animation content out of the U.S., working closely with Bowen and the Toronto-based team to produce new projects for buyers in North America and around the world.

    Di Pasquale joins Look Mom! from Superplastic, where she was Head of Entertainment & Media Development and led creative development for the studio’s animated feature films, TV series and webcomics. In her work as a producer, her recent credits include animated and live-action projects in development with Peacock and Bandera Entertainment, Adult Swim and Abso Lutely Productions, Comedy Bang! Bang!, and Blink Industries. She served as executive producer on Super Punch, Twitch’s first original series, and provided casting and locations for Nathan for You. Previously, Di Pasquale was VP of Original Series at Super Deluxe, where she developed Ghost Story Club for TruTV and the award-winning pilot The Passage, which screened at Sundance. She has also produced content for JASH/BUH and CBS Interactive.

    Tippett Studio, founded by two-time Academy Award-winning artist, animator and filmmaker Phil Tippett, has announced two major promotions. With recent projects including The Mandalorian S2 (Disney+), Lock and Key S2 (Netflix) and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the studio has recently moved into content production for themed entertainment in addition to its work as a leading post-production house.

    Mike Root
    Mike Root
    • Michael Root, currently Director of Technology, has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer. Root began at Tippett Studio in 2007 as a Compositor/Pipeline Engineer/Graphics Software Engineer before being promoted to Head of Research and Development in 2010, and then DT in 2015. He has used his experience as both an artist and a programmer to modernize Tippett’s infrastructure and pipeline at every level while ensuring that multiple concurrent productions all finish on schedule. Previously, Root helped start Tweak Films/Tweak Software in 2001 (sold to Autodesk in 2015) and worked at Weta Digital on The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003) and King Kong (2005) as a Compositor and Lead Lighting Technical Director, respectively.
    Dale Taylor
    Dale Taylor
    • Dale Taylor has been promoted to Head of Production, having previously worked as VFX producer at Tippett Studio. Prior to Tippett, Taylor worked for ILM and Atomic Fiction on projects including Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars: Episodes 2 & 3, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and War of the Worlds.
    Dale Taylor
    Dale Taylor

    [Simon Devereux]

    Award-winning VFX studio Framestore has named Simon Devereux as its new Director of Global Talent Development. Joining from Sony PlayStation, Devereux’s 20-year career spans VFX, games and TV, as well as founding and leading ACCESS:VFX — the transatlantic industry body seeking to build a more inclusive and representative VFX industry. This new role will see Devereux spearhead Framestore’s training offer, ensuring the company’s talented global workforce remains front and centre when it comes to technology, creativity and innovation.

    At Playstation, Devereux was responsible for the company’s pan-Europe learning and development program, as well as driving the company’s diversity and mental health learning agenda. Previous roles included overseeing the global training curriculum for The Mill, and time with U.K. broadcaster Channel 4.

    Top L-R: Katrina Hitz-Tough, Kerry Phelan, Annie Luo. Middle: Candice Chambers, Sally Carnota, Jean-François Bachand. Bottom: Nygia Hearn, Tricia Hagoriles, Cheryl Taylor.
    Top L-R: Katrina Hitz-Tough, Kerry Phelan, Annie Luo. Middle: Candice Chambers, Sally Carnota, Jean-François Bachand. Bottom: Nygia Hearn, Tricia Hagoriles, Cheryl Taylor.

    More exec moves:

    • 9 Story Media Group bolsters its Franchise Management team with the appointments of Katrina Hitz-Tough as SVP, Franchise Strategy & Marketing; promotion of Candice Chambers to VP, Franchise Management; and last year’s hire of Nygia Hearn as Director, Franchise Management. The division will drive the growth of 9 Story’s IPs beyond the screen, including animated series Karma’s World (Netflix).
    • Genius Brands International promotes Kerry Phelan to the newly-created position of Chief Brand Officer; the 30-year consumer products vet has previously held roles at Lucasfilm, DreamWorks Animation and Pixar.
    • Hasbro promotes Sally Carnota to Senior Director of U.K. Licensed Consumer Products.
    • Nice Shoes (Toronto) adds award-winning filmmaker and colorist Tricia Hagoriles to its roster as Senior Colorist, for global representation.
    • Peacock names former Hulu business & ops SVP Annie Luo as Executive Vice President, Global Partnerships & Strategic Development, based in LA and reporting to Kelly Campbell, President.
    • Rodeo FX appoints VFX artist Jean-François Bachand as its new Vice President, Advertising & Experience.
    • Zodiak Kids & Family Studio U.K. (Banijay Kids & Family) brings on Cheryl Taylor as Creative Director. The live-action children’s & comedy TV vet takes over for Steven Andrew, who is retiring from the industry.

     

  • Oscar Shortlisted ‘Namoo’ Debuts on HBO Max Thursday

    Oscar Shortlisted ‘Namoo’ Debuts on HBO Max Thursday

    Namoo (Baobab Studios)
    Namoo (Baobab Studios)WarnerMedia OneFifty

    WarnerMedia OneFifty has acquired the 94th Academy Awards shortlisted animated short Namoo, to be released on the HBO Max streaming platform on this Thursday, January 27. The “narrative poem come to life” is written and directed by Erick Oh, who was nominated for the Best Animated Short Film category at last year’s Oscars.

    Inspired by the passing of the director’s grandfather, Namoo – which translates to “tree” in Korean – follows the beautiful and heartbreaking moments of a man’s life, from beginning to end. Oh’s most personal and ambitious work to date, the film was produced by nine-time Emmy Award-winning Baobab Studios, executive produced by John Cho and produced by Larry Cutler, Eric Darnell, Maureen Fan and Kane Lee. Namoo most recently added the Best Animated Short prize from the 2022 Gold List Awards to its list of accolades.

    “I’ve been making short films for 10 years, and it’s extremely rare for independent filmmakers to find a way to share them with a wide audience. I can’t tell you what a huge honor and pleasure it is to have HBO Max launch Namoo; their reach together with the quality caliber of their content is amazing,” said Oh.

    Baobab CEO/Co-Founder Fan added, “We are excited to work with HBO Max, a brand which is synonymous with quality. It has also been a delight to work with the WarnerMedia OneFifty team who are so indie-artist friendly and passionate about Namoo.”

    WarnerMedia OneFifty simultaneously announced the acquisition of live-action shortlisted short When the Sun Sets, from South African filmmaker Phumi Morarer and inspired by her mother’s true story. The award-wining film about a young, Black nurse’s struggle to protect her family during apartheid will launch on HBO Max on February 8.

    WarnerMedia OnFifty’s fast-growing catalog of critically acclaimed Oscar contenders also include the short White Eye (2022) and feature films This Is Not a War Story and Son of Monarchs.

    “WarnerMedia’s ‘artist studio where innovation happens,’ OneFifty has built a track record of identifying incredible artists whose vision we believe in, and acquiring their extraordinary, groundbreaking content. We are excited to continue working with these filmmakers for many years to come,” said Axel Caballero, Vice President of Arts & Cultural Innovations and Head of WarnerMedia OneFifty.

    Leslie Cohen, Senior Vice President of Film Acquisitions for HBO/HBO Max, negotiated the deals for both titles. The nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be formally announced on February 8.

    Read more about the 15 films shortlisted for that animated shorts Oscar race here.

     

  • Debut Skydance Animation Feature ‘Luck’ Premiering on Apple TV+ in August

    Debut Skydance Animation Feature ‘Luck’ Premiering on Apple TV+ in August

    Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation revealed today that the toon outfit’s first star-studded animated adventure film Luck will debut globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 5.

    Alongside the release reveal, it was announced that Eva Noblezada (Hadestown, Miss Saigon), Simon Pegg (Ice Age, Star Trek Beyond), Flula Borg (Suicide Squad 2, Trolls World Tour), Lil Rel Howery (Free Guy, Judas and the Black Messiah), Colin O’Donoghue (Once Upon a Time, The Right Stuff), John Ratzenberger (Cheers, The Empire Strikes Back) and Adelynn Spoon (Watchmen, Tell Me Your Secrets) have also joined the cast, starring alongside Jane Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg.

    Luck is the story of Sam Greenfield (voiced by Noblezada), the unluckiest person in the world. When she ages out of foster care, Sam discovers the Land of Luck, and embarks on a quest that could change her luck forever, with the help of the magical creatures of this never-before-seen world.

    Pegg will provide the voice for “Bob,” a lucky black cat from the Land of Luck, where “The Captain,” voiced by Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner Goldberg, stands guard as the Head of Security. Bob becomes Sam’s partner in the quest to find a lucky penny in hopes of preserving his lucky life.

    Borg will provide the voice for “Jeff the Unicorn,” a larger-than-life facilities engineer who maintains the magical machine that distributes good and bad luck to the human world and who dreams of one day being reunited with his one true love, The CEO of Good Luck, The Dragon, voiced by two-time Academy Award winner Fonda. Howery will play “Marv,” the owner of the Flowers & More store where Sam gets her first job, who is upbeat, sharply-dressed, and always ready with an encouraging word for unlucky Sam.

    O’Donoghue will voice “Gerry,” a loyal leprechaun who adores his job working with Bob at “Arrivals and Departures” in the Land of Good Luck and is the first to volunteer for any task, bringing good cheer wherever he goes. Ratzenberger is “Rootie,” a bad luck root and the self-appointed mayor of Bad Luck, who runs The Lucky Shot, the one and only Bad Luck watering hole, where he specializes in free advice. Spoon will provide the voice for “Hazel,” Sam’s roommate and best friend at the Summerland Home for Girls, who is five years old and believes that she’ll be adopted by her forever family just as soon as she finds a real lucky penny, which Sam is determined to find for her.

    The magical and adventurous animated film is helmed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Peggy Holmes (The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning), from an original screenplay written by Kiel Murray (Raya and the Last Dragon, Cars 3, Cars) and Jon Aibel and Glenn Berger (Kung Fu Panda 2, Trolls). John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and David Eisenmann are producing for Skydance Animation.

    Luck
    Luck

    Luck joins an expanding lineup of the Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation partnership, alongside upcoming feature Spellbound and series The Search for WondLa, with several more feature films and television series to be announced. Luck follows the recent Apple/Skydance NAACP nomination for Outstanding Animated Short-Form and Annie Awards nomination for Best Music for Blush, written and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Joe Mateo (Prep & Landing, Big Hero 6), composed by Hollywood Music in Media Awards winner Joy Ngiaw (Red, Fish Head), now streaming on Apple TV+.

    The movie was originally set for distribution through Paramount Pictures with a release date of February 18.

     

  • News Bytes: Takahata Retrospective, Cyber Group Pacts with A Prod., DNEG Goes Public, Dinklage vs. Disney & More

    News Bytes: Takahata Retrospective, Cyber Group Pacts with A Prod., DNEG Goes Public, Dinklage vs. Disney & More

    The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will continue its eclectic calendar of film screenings and public programs this winter with a series of retrospectives, including a spotlight on Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, presented in conjunction with the Academy Museum‘s Hayao Miyazaki exhibition. Everyday Life: The Films of Isao Takahata (Feb. 3-16) includes all of Takahata’s Studio Ghibli features as well as a selection of the theatrical films he made earlier in his career. Many of these earlier works also feature collaboration from a young Miyazaki, whom Takahata met when both were working at the famous Toei Animation studio. The full lineup features:

    • Grave of the Fireflies – Thurs., Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
    • The Great Adventures of Horus, Prince of the Sun with Chie the Brat – Fri., Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
    • Only Yesterday – Sat., Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
    • Panda! Go Panda! with Panda! Go Panda! The Rainy Day Circus and Gauche the Cellist – Sun., Feb. 6 at 2 p.m.
    • Pom Poko – Thurs., Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
    • The Story of Yanagawa Waterways – Sat., Feb. 12 at 2 p.m.
    • My Neighbors the Yamadas – Sat., Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
    • The Tale of the Princess Kaguya – Wed., Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
    Mark Taylor & Katherine McQueen of A Productions
    Mark Taylor & Katherine McQueen of A Productions

    Award-winning French animated series producer/distributor Cyber Group Studios (Gigantosaurus) announced today that it has acquired a majority ownership stake in U.K. prodco A Productions. The Bristol outfit is a creative-led, multi-discipline studio with a reputation for award-winning animated children’s content distributed by top U.K. and U.S. outlets — notable projects include JoJo and Gran Gran and Love Monster for CBeebies, Elmo Gets a Puppy and The Monster at the End of This Story for Sesame Workshop. Founded in 1985, A Productions is headed by joint Managing Directors Katherine McQueen and Mark Taylor, founder.

    Cyber Group Studios has teamed up with A Productions as part of a wider business strategy to expand into new global markets. The studios will collaborate in developing ground-breaking new content for audiences across Europe and the globe, starting this year with the joint production of Digital Girl, a new kids’ animated series which will join CGS’ robust slate of 10 series in production and 10 in development. By joining forces with Cyber Group Studios, A Productions will invest in developing its own original IP, alongside its growing creative-led service work. The studio will also invest in and benefit from CGS’ latest technology innovations, such as its real-time animation pipe, to create breakthrough new content.

    DNEG provided Oscar-winning VFX work for Tenet (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2020)
    DNEG provided Oscar-winning VFX work for Tenet (Warner Bros. Pictures, 2020)

    Top tech-powered, award-winning VFX and animation company DNEG and publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Sports Ventures Acquisition Corp. have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in DNEG becoming a public company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company, led by DNEG’s Chairman & CEO Namit Malhotra, will retain the name DNEG; it is expected that its ordinary shares will be listed on the Nasdaq.

    The transaction implies a combined company enterprise value of approximately $1.7 billion, DNEG expects to receive approximately $400 million in gross transaction proceeds, including a fully committed $168 million common stock PIPE at a purchase price of $10 per share from leading investors including affiliates of Sports Ventures, Novator Capital Limited, affiliates of Fairfax Financial and Arbor Financial. An affiliate of Sports Ventures has agreed to backstop a portion of the $350 million minimum cash condition, subject to limitations.

    “As we take the next logical step in our evolution, partnering with Sports Ventures on the road to becoming a publicly traded company, I would like to thank and celebrate our talented teams across the globe. Every day, they come together to create incredible new worlds for our storytelling partners, raising the bar for every project that we deliver,” said Malhotra. “This transaction creates long-term stability for our teams while also allowing us to exploit the tailwinds in the media and entertainment industry and the explosion in demand for content, which are huge growth drivers for our company. I am excited to take the best of everything that makes our company so successful and to use it as a platform on which to build and innovate further. Leveraging our leading technology stack, DNEG is already making great strides into new growth areas such as gaming and content creation partnerships, and we are perfectly positioned to exploit massive new opportunities in the metaverse and the convergence of all forms of content creation.”

    Formed through the 2014 merger of Prime Focus and Double Negative, DNEG boasts operations in LA, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai and Mumbai, and has snagged six of the last 10 VFX Oscars for its work on Tenet, First Man, Blade Runner 2049, Ex Machina, Interstellar and Inception. Recent and current productions include Dune, Ghostbusters Afterlife, Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall and video game adaptations The Last of Us, Uncharted, Borderlands and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. DNEG entered feature animation with Ron’s Gone Wrong and has been tapped for the new Garfield movie. By going public, the company hopes to accelerate growth and expand into new business territories such as gaming and content creation.

    Top L-R: Randie Swanberg, Mario Caserta, Todd Peleg, Graham Dunglinson. Bottom: Alex Tracy.
    Top L-R: Randie Swanberg, Mario Caserta, Todd Peleg, Graham Dunglinson. Bottom: Alex Tracy.

    Fancy VFX, a new visual effects studio targeting television, film and advertising projects, has launched as a sister company to Goldcrest Post. Led by veteran Executive Creative Director/Visual Effects Supervisor Randie Swanberg and Senior Flame Artist/Visual Effects Supervisor Mario Caserta, the studio offers complete solutions for the design, execution and delivery of high-caliber visual effects. Along with a physical base within Goldcrest Post’s facility in Manhattan, Fancy VFX supports a secure virtual pipeline, allowing it to quickly add talent and resources to meet specific project requirements.

    Fancy VFX’s lead staff also includes CG Supervisor Todd Peleg, Head of Production Alex Tracy and Executive Producer/Director of Sales Graham Dunglinson. The studio occupies an entire floor at Goldcrest’s facility, which is equipped with VFX and CG workstations, storage systems and other gear set up in separate pipelines for advertising and entertainment projects. The studio is also leveraging the latest cloud and virtual machine technology to support remote production. Its first project is providing design services to immersive entertainment co. Illuminarium for an experience focused on the art of Georgia O’Keeffe (February 2022).

    The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
    The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder

    Disney+ unveiled a fresh clip for its highly anticipated animated series reboot The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, in which an aged up Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt) and her mom Trudy (Paula Jai Parker) butt heads with dad Oscar (Tommy Davidson) over some more grown-up footwear. The show’s official key art was also dropped as fans gear up for the premiere on February 23. (Don’t miss our cover story in the March ’22 issue of Animation Magazine, where you can read all about it!)

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=rH9gGwBaA-M

    From Disney Television Animation, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is executive produced by original series leads Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar. Calvin Brown, Jr. is co-executive producer, Jan Hirota is producer and Eastwood Wong is art director. The all-star cast also features JoMarie Payton, Cedric the Entertainer, Karen Malina White, Soleil Moon Frye, Alisa Reyes, Carlos Mencia, Maria Canals-Barrera and Alvaro Gutierrez.

    Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937); Peter Dinklage [photo: Vicki Couchman for The Sunday Times]
    Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937); Peter Dinklage [photo: Vicki Couchman for The Sunday Times]
    Speaking Disney, while both longtime studio fans and modern audiences have generally received the studio’s live-action reimaginings of its animated classics, Emmy-, Golden Globe – and SAG Award-winning Game of Thrones and Cyrano star Peter Dinklage put the upcoming Snow White update (2023) on blast on the Marc Maron podcast WTF‘s Monday episode, saying:

    “Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White — but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that fucking backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together? What the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

    Dinklage, who has achondroplasia, was referring to the casting of West Side Story star Rachel Zegler in the project, which will also star Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen and is being directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man movies). Disney responded to the comments with a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday:

    “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community. We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”

     

  • ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ Studio Locksmith Options ‘The Lunar Chronicles’

    ‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ Studio Locksmith Options ‘The Lunar Chronicles’

    In its first major acquisition since the release of its debut feature film Ron’s Gone Wrong (longlisted for the BAFTA award), London-based Locksmith Animation today announced it has optioned Marissa Meyer’s best-selling The Lunar Chronicles series of novels — including Cinder (2012), Scarlet (2013), Cress (2014) and Winter (2015), published by Feiwel & Friends.

    The book series, which focuses on a reimagining of classic fairy tale heroines, has been a sensation since the first volume was published on January 3, 2012. The series has been praised by critics for its “high coolness factor” (Kirkus Reviews) featuring “an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world” (YA Books Central).

    “At Locksmith, we are always looking for material that will give viewers a contemporary and authentic perspective,” said the studio’s Co-Founder & President of Production Julie Lockhart (producer, Ron’s Gone Wrong). “Marissa’s books successfully turn well known fairy tales into an epic, modern saga that will be engaging and relevant to today’s audiences. We could not be more thrilled about collaborating with her on bringing her vision to life through animation.

    The Lunar Chronicles is set in a futuristic world, beset by a pandemic, where Earth and its former colony, Luna, exist in a perpetual state of unrest and tension. In Cinder, the first book, a teenage cyborg named Cinder (based on ‘Cinderella’) deals with her wicked step-mother, finds love and discovers secrets about herself. As the series continues, Cinder forges an alliance with Scarlet, a spaceship pilot; Cress, an imprisoned computer hacker; and Winter, a Lunar princess. Along with a diverse crew that includes a soldier, a criminal, and a royal guard, they must work together to rise up against the evil Queen Levana to save the country and possibly even the world.

    Author photo courtesy of Marissa Meyer.
    Author photo courtesy of Marissa Meyer.

    “We are huge Marissa Meyer fans and cannot wait to bring Cinder, Scarlett, Cress and Winter to a worldwide audience through the talents of our extraordinary team,” said Natalie Fischer, CEO of Locksmith Animation. “This unforgettable series has garnered huge praise and popularity and we are determined to give this material the treatment it deserves.”

    “I am absolutely thrilled to be working with the team at Locksmith to adapt The Lunar Chronicles for the screen,” Meyer shared. “Everyone has shown so much enthusiasm for these books and characters, and hearing about Locksmith’s vision for the project gives me the best kind of chills. I am as eager as readers are to see Cinder, Prince Kai and the rest of the Rampion Crew brought to life with stunning animation, and a lot of love!”

    Meyer is a #1 New York Times bestselling author whose other titles include Heartless, The Renegades Trilogy as well as the graphic novel duology Wires and Nerve. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University and a MA in Publishing from Pace University. In addition to writing, Meyer hosts The Happy Writer podcast. She lives near Tacoma, Washington with her husband and twin daughters.

    Meyer was represented in the Locksmith deal by Creative Artists Agency in association with Jill Grinberg Literary Management.

     

  • DreamWorks ‘Madagascar: A Little Wild’ Makes Paws-itive Moves for Deaf Representation

    DreamWorks Animation announced today that deaf actress Shaylee Mansfield is featured in the sixth season of Madagascar: A Little Wild in a “sign over” performance, one of the first in a kids’ animated series. The character is named and modeled after Mansfield and was animated by using a video reference of her performing for animators to model from, building upon the previous five seasons featuring ASL and deaf characters.

    Like series favorites Dave and Pickles (voiced by Candace Kozak) the chimpanzee siblings, 12-year-old Mansfield’s (human) character uses American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate, expanding inclusivity and promoting awareness of ASL.

    Check out the featurette below highlighting the process used by Mansfield alongside Delbert Whetter, Jevon Whetter and Justin Maurer, who serve as ASL consultants on the series. The video also features showrunner/exec producer Johanna Stein and supervising director TJ Sullivan.

    Mansfield began her career as a deaf YouTuber with the goal of inspiring families and children worldwide to learn ASL. As an actress, she works to show authenticity to the deaf community and expand awareness for ASL through her performances.

    Season six of Madagascar: A Little Wild (six episodes) is currently streaming on Hulu and Peacock(watch the trailer here).

    Madagascar: A Little Wild
    Madagascar: A Little Wild

    Based on the $2.2 billion film franchise, Madagascar: A Little Wild captures the winning personalities of the Zoo Crew — Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo — reimagined as kids residing in their rescue habitat at the Central Park Zoo. Their adventures inside and outside the zoo’s walls are filled with original music and danceworthy songs. They might be small, but like everybody who lands in New York City, these little guys have big dreams.

    The voice cast features Tucker Chandler as Alex, Amir O’Neil as Marty, Shaylin Becton as Gloria, Luke Lowe as Melman, Jasmine Gatewood as Kate and Eric Petersen as Ant’Ney. In addition to Mansfield as Shaylee, season six welcomes guest stars Maria Canals-Barrera as Pilar and Tony Plana as Pedro. The series is exec produced by Johanna Stein (Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny) and co-exec produced by Dana Starfield (Welcome to Monster High).

    Madagascar: A Little Wild
    Madagascar: A Little Wild

     

  • Trailer: Fall In Wuv with the ‘Looney Tunes Cartoons Valentine’s Extwavaganza!’

    Trailer: Fall In Wuv with the ‘Looney Tunes Cartoons Valentine’s Extwavaganza!’

    This Valentine’s Day, all you need is love and Looney Tunes Cartoons. Gather up your loved ones and join Bugs, Daffy, Porky and more of your Looney friends as they celebrate the most romantic day of the year in Looney Tunes Cartoons Valentine’s Extwavaganza!, a new special streaming Thursday, February 3 on HBO Max.

    In this love-struck episode, Porky’s sweet on Petunia, but Daffy is sweet on Porky’s sweets. Then, Bugs comes face-to-face with an unexpected admirer… These and more romantic misadventures are in store for the Looney Tunes characters, you don’t want to miss it!

    From Warner Bros. Animation, and starring the cherished Looney Tunes characters, Looney Tunes Cartoons echoes the high production value and process of the original theatrical shorts with a cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling. In this modern iteration of the classic series, marquee characters are featured in their classic pairings in simple, gag-driven, and visually vibrant stories.

    Looney Tunes Cartoons is executive produced by Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!). The voice cast includes Eric Bauza (Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Tweety/Marvin the Martian), Bob Bergen (Porky Pig), Jeff Bergman (Elmer Fudd/Sylvester), Fred Tatasciore (Yosemite Sam) and Candi Milo (Granny), Michael Ruocco (Beaky Buzzard).

    A picture containing text, vector graphics Description automatically generated

     

  • VES Elects Its First All-Women Executive Committee to Lead the Way in 2022

    Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s global professional honorary society, announced its 2022 Board of Directors officers. The Officers, who sit as the VES Board Executive Committee, were elected at the January 2022 Board meeting. The Officers include Lisa Cooke, who was re-elected Board Chair, and is the first woman to hold this role since the Society’s inception. And for the first time in the Society’s 25-year history, the five-member Executive Committee comprises an all-women group of venerated industry professionals.

    “It is my honor and privilege to continue to Chair this society of outstanding artists and innovators and I appreciate the trust placed in me,” said Cooke. “I’m proud to work amongst an exceptional group of impassioned and talented leaders, who are committed to advancing our mission and serving our members worldwide. As an all-women Executive Committee, I hope that this representation encourages other women to seek positions of leadership in our industry, and that organizations continue to lift up people from diverse backgrounds and experience to fully reflect our global community.”

    The 2022 Officers of the VES Board of Directors are:

    • Chair: Lisa Cooke
    • 1st Vice Chair: Emma Clifton Perry
    • 2nd Vice Chair: Susan O’Neal
    • Secretary: Rita Cahill
    • Treasurer: Laurie Blavin
    Lisa Cooke
    Lisa Cooke

    Lisa Cooke, Chair: A producer at Tippett Studio, Cooke has several decades experience as an animation/VFX producer, story consultant, screenwriter and actor. Firmly believing that effective science communication is vital to our world, she founded Green Ray Media, and for the last 10-plus years, has been producing animation and VFX to create scientific, medical and environmental media for a broad audience.

    In the past, Cooke has worked for entertainment clients including Lucasfilm, Fox, Nickelodeon Films, ABC, CBS, Paramount and Universal, and in the VFX and animation industry for companies like Pixar, Glasgow-based Digital Animations Group, Tippett Studio and as Senior Producer at Reardon Studios, where she helped bring MOVA Contour Reality Capture to the film industry.

    She served six years on the VES Bay Area Board of Managers Executive Committee before joining the VES Board of Directors, where she has served as Second Vice Chair, First Vice Chair, Co-Chair of the Archives Initiative and is currently serving her second term as Chair.

    Emma Clifton Perry
    Emma Clifton Perry

    Emma Clifton Perry, 1st Vice Chair: Clifton Perry has more than 16 years experience across feature films, longform/TV series, commercials and advertising, offering a truly global perspective, having lived everywhere from Saudi Arabia to Canada. She has worked both in-house with FOX and at VFX facilities worldwide including WETA Digital, Framestore, MPC, Rising Sun Pictures, DrD, Method Studios and The Mill, amongst others, working both as an artist and in leadership roles. She is currently based in Wellington, New Zealand, providing remote VFX consulting/supervision, compositing supervision and lecturing services worldwide. She studied at the NCCA, Bournemouth University, U.K..

    This is Clifton Perry’s third consecutive term on the Executive Committee, serving as 2nd Vice Chair in 2020 and 1st Vice Chair in 2021. Clifton Perry has served for five consecutive years on the Board of Directors and nine cumulative years on the New Zealand Board of Managers. She was the 2nd ever New Zealand Section Chair, serving as Chair for three years and a year as secretary/treasurer.

    Susan O'Neal
    Susan O’Neal

    Susan O’Neal, 2nd Vice Chair: O’Neal joined the VES in the late 1990s and has served as a member of its global Board of Directors from 2010 and on the Executive Committee in 2016. For many years, she served as the Chair for the legacy global Education Committee and currently co-Chairs the Membership Committee. She has been instrumental in the work to grow the Society by leading the bi-annual membership review and approval process.

    O’Neal is currently a recruiter for BLT Recruiting, Inc and has worked as an Operations Manager at The Mill, Operations Director at Escape Studios in Los Angeles, and as an Account Manager at Side Effects Software, Inc. She started her career in visual effects at Digital Domain in 1993, where she worked in finance and operations before turning to production. O’Neal’s credits include T2: 3D – Battle Across Time, Titanic, The Italian Job, West Wing, Deuce Bigalow 2: European Gigolo as well as a host of music videos, commercials, and other works. O’Neal is the recipient of the 2019 VES Founder’s Award.

    Rita Cahill
    Rita Cahill

    Rita Cahill, Secretary: Cahill is an international business and marketing/PR consultant and has worked with a number of U.S., Canadian, U.K., E.U. and Chinese companies for visual effects and animation projects. Current and former clients include companies in the feature film, television, VR and game industries, as well as government and educational entities. She is also a partner in MakeBelieve Entertainment, a film development company and serves as Executive Producer on a number of international projects.

    Previously, Cahill was the VP Marketing for Cinesite where she oversaw the marketing of four divisions of the pioneering digital studio’s services. Prior to Cinesite, Cahill was a founding Board member of the Mill Valley Film Festival/California Film Institute and remains on the Institute’s Emeritus Board of Directors. Cahill was also the Founding Consultant on the formation and establishment of the Singapore International Film Festival.

    This is Cahill’s seventh term as Secretary. Previously, Cahill served as Chair or Co-Chair of the VES Summit for eight years.

    Laurie Blavin
    Laurie Blavin

    Laurie Blavin, Treasurer: Blavin’s 20-year career spans the culture, creativity, and technology of both Hollywood and Silicon Valley. She is currently with Scanline VFX as their Global Head of Talent Acquisition. A proven leader with expertise in building and managing creative and technical teams, Blavin counsels companies and professionals in strategy, brand value stewardship and full-cycle staffing and recruiting for international companies large and small, startup and established businesses. She is passionate about humanizing the technology side of organizations, while supporting the seeming chaos that sometimes accompanies visionary innovation.

    On the VFX and entertainment front, Blavin has worked at or for DreamWorks Animation, The Orphanage, Scanline VFX, MPC and Technicolor. Prior to focusing on VFX, she worked at AOL, vivid Studios, Walmart.com and Blurb. Away from work, Blavin is a collector and curator of fine photography and spends time behind the camera on personal projects. This is Blavin’s third term on the VES Board of Directors.

    The Visual Effects Society is a professional global honorary society dedicated to advancing the arts, sciences and applications of visual effects and to upholding the highest standards and procedures for the visual effects profession. VES represents more than 4,000 members in over 40 countries worldwide. Learn more at www.visualeffectssociety.com.

     

  • iQIYI, WildBrain Power Up ‘Jonny Jetboy’ from Keith Chapman

    China’s leading online entertainment service iQIYI has teamed up with global kids’ & family powerhouse WildBrain to create Jonny Jetboy, a new action-packed kids’ series from hitmaker Keith Chapman (PAW Patrol, Bob the Builder). The 40 x 11’ series is targeted at kids aged 4-7 and is currently in production, with delivery slated to begin in 2023.

    Jonny Jetboy will be produced by iQIYI, in collaboration with WildBrain as its supervisor, and the animation production will be done by China’s Winsing Animation Studio (GoGo Bus, Team S.T.E.A.M.). Chapman and Michael Vogel (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic) serve as executive producers, heading the project’s creative leadership alongside Jinming Lu from Winsing, chief director for China’s popular animation franchise GG Bond.

    Jonny Jetboy marks the first global partnership for original China IP struck by WildBrain’s China team, based out of Shanghai. The project, which was initiated by iQIYI in concert with WildBrain China, brings together two of the kids’ entertainment industry’s leading players, leveraging their considerable mutual capabilities across production, distribution and consumer products.

    Xiaoxuan Yang, iQIYI’s Vice President, stated, “Previously, iQIYI and WildBrain mainly collaborated over content acquisition. As for Jonny Jetboy, it marks collaboration from creative stage for both parties. Together with first-class teams from both international and domestic, as well as WildBrain’s strength in international distribution and licensing in global market, this is a key step for iQIYI in building an internationally recognized IP.”

    Chapman added: “I’m thrilled to be working with Mike and Jinming and the talented teams at iQIYI and WildBrain to build Jonny Jetboy into a global super-brand. It’s going to be an awesome ride!”

    WildBrain Studios in Vancouver and Winsing in China are working together to create the exciting new series, which follows the adventures of 10-year-old Jonny, the youngest member of his family — who are secretly the “superteam” known as JetForce.

    “Jonny Jetboy marks a major milestone for our dedicated China team as we join forces with iQIYI, a leading player in media and entertainment, to launch this thrilling new kids’ brand for the international market,” said Jianbo Wei, WildBrain’s Managing Director for China. “With the combined creative genius of the team behind the show, coupled with high-energy storylines and heroic characters, we’re certain Jonny Jetboy has the right stuff to speed into the homes and hearts of families around the world.”

    Winsing’s Lu stated, “WinSing will be fully dedicated to the quality of production on Jonny Jetboy through innovative technologies and our deep experience in the animation industry. We are excited to be working on this series and look forward to delivering the highest quality animation to global audiences.”

    WildBrain’s China team is focused on bringing new and exciting content and brand experiences to kids and families within and outside of China. Not only does the team develop new original IP with local partners through WildBrain’s global infrastructure of production, distribution and consumer products licensing, it also strikes local partnerships for notable WildBrain IP such as Peanuts, Strawberry Shortcake, Teletubbies and others, while also supporting existing third-party Chinese properties for international trade.

    iQIYI is committed to become a technology-based entertainment company. In recent years, iQIYI has continuously expanded its global resources and partners, exploring new collaborations with world-renowned animation studios. iQIYI has provided premium kids’ content for both local and international audiences. iQIYI has also made an effort in promoting Chinese original animation to meet a wider global audience. iQIYI original animation series Deer Squad is the first Chinese original animation to land on Nickelodeon’s U.S. platform.

    About Jonny Jetboy – Learn what it takes to be a true hero! Every kid dreams of being a hero, but becoming a hero doesn’t happen overnight! It takes years of practice, training and dedication. Jonny Jetboy follows the adventures of Jonny Jones, the youngest member of the Jones family, who are secretly the “superteam” known as JetForce, committed to protecting their home, the high-tech city Calamity Canyon, from its many villains.

    Jonny is the FASTEST member of the force, wielding a one-of-a-kind JetGlove, which he uses to power up anything to go super-fast – his family’s awesome jets, boats, scooters and even a blender! Sometimes this leads to mishaps (like exploding smoothies) but hey, he’s still learning! Like every family, the Joneses don’t always get along, but when they work together, nothing in the world can stop them! In each episode, Jonny will learn valuable lessons from his parents, his sister – and even the family’s pet tortoise – about what it takes to be a true hero!

     

  • Crunchyroll Slates ‘JUJUTSU KAISEN 0’ Movie for March 18

    Crunchyroll Slates ‘JUJUTSU KAISEN 0’ Movie for March 18

    Crunchyroll announced it will release the highly-anticipated feature JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 in theaters for fans on March 18 in the United States and Canada, with tickets on sale February 25. The dark fantasy film from TOHO Animation will be available in both English dub and subtitled and will arrive in more than 1,500 theaters nationwide. The film will also be released in select U.S. based IMAX theaters.

    The movie is also coming soon to theaters in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France with CRG events; Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, French-speaking Africa and Latin America. Additional territories to be announced soon.

    JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 follows Yuta Okkotsu, a nervous high school student, who enrolls in the mysterious Tokyo Jujutsu High School under the guidance of Satoru Gojo after being haunted by the curse of his childhood friend. The film is based on the manga of the same name published by JUMP COMICS / Shueisha, a prequel to the smash hit supernatural adventure series from Gege Akutami.

    The anime series JUJUTSU KAISEN is based on the best-selling manga of the same title, serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, which has sold over 60 million copies in Japan. In the U.S., the series is published by VIZ Media. The series was named Anime of the Year by the Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2021. Both Crunchyroll and Funimation have the entire series on their platforms, both subbed and dubbed, for fans to catch up on before seeing the theatrical experience.

    JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 is animated by MAPPA and directed by Sunghoo Park. The film is being distributed in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand by Crunchyroll in association with Funimation and in additional European countries by Crunchyroll and Wakanim.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGiUXKgdIu4 

    Official synopsis: When they were children, Rika Orimoto (voiced by Kana Hanazawa) was killed in a traffic accident right before the eyes of Yuta Okkotsu (Megumi Ogata), the close friend she with whom she’d made a pact to marry as adults. Rika became an apparition, and Yuta longed for his own death after suffering under her curse, but the greatest Jujutsu sorcerer, Satoru Gojo (Yuichi Nakamure), welcomed him into Jujutsu High. There, Yuta meets classmates Maki Zen’in (Mikako Komatsu), Toge Inumaki (Koki Uchiyama) and Panda (Tomokazu Seki), and finally finds his determination to break Rika-chan’s curse.

    Meanwhile, the vile curse user Suguru Geto (Takahiro Sakurai), who was expelled from the school for massacring ordinary people, appears before Yuta and the others and promises to carry out “the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons” on December 24. While Geto advocates for creating a paradise for only jujutsu sorcerers, he unleashes a thousand curses upon Shinjuku and Kyoto to exterminate all non-sorcerers. Will Yuta be able to stop Geto in the end? And will he finally break Rika’s curse…?

    The official motion picture soundtrack to JUJUTSU KAISEN 0 is available now on Spotify.

     

  • Art Directors Guild, MPSE Announce Awards Nominees

    Art Directors Guild, MPSE Announce Awards Nominees

    More guilds announced their 2022 award nominees today, namely the Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE, Local 800) and the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE). The two bodies are in agreement as to the five outstanding animated features of the year; while the Golden Reels will also crown the best in episodic/short-form and non-theatrical animation sound design.

    The 26th Annual Art Directors Guild Awards will take place March 5 at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. See the compelte list of nominees here (www.adg.org). the nomineeds for Animated Feature Film are:

    • Encanto< (Disney) Production designers Ian Gooding, Lorelay Bové; art directors William D. Schwab, Camille Andre, Mehrdad Isvandi
    • Luca (Pixar/Disney) Production designer Daniela Strijleva; art directors Deanna Marsigliese, Don Shank, Paul Abadilla, Chia-Han Jennifer Chang, Josh Holtsclaw, Daniel Lopez Munoz
    • Raya and the Last Dragon (Disney) Production designers Paul Felix, Mingjue Helen Chen, Cory Loftis; art directors Shiyoon Kim, Ami Thompson
    • Sing 2. (Illumination/Universal) Art director Olivier Adam
    • The Mitchells vs. the Machines. (Sony Pictures Animation/Netflix) Production designer Lindsey Olivares; art directors Toby Wilson, David R. Bleich

    Hybrid children’s seriess Waffles + Mochi is also nominated in the Variety, Reality or Competition Series category for episode “Tomato” (prod. designers Cindy Chao and Michele Yu; set designers Rebecca McAusland and Michael Leonard; graphic designers Sarah M. Gonzalez and Gina Alessi; set decorator Lizzie Boyle).

    Celebrating talented sound artists the world over, the MPSE revealed the nominees for the 69th Annual MPSE Golden Reel Awards. This year, the awards ceremony will be held as an international virtual event on Sunday, March 13. The full list of nominees is available here (www.mpse.org).

    Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Animation Series or Short

    • Jurassic World – Camp Cretaceous “Eye of the Storm” (Netflix) Supervising sound editor Rob McIntyre MPSE; sound designer Evan Dockter; sound effects editors Marc Schmidt, D.J. Lynch; dialogue editor Anna Adams; foley editor Aran Tanchum; foley artists Ezra Walker, Vincent Guisetti
    • Love, Death + Robots “Snow in the Desert” (Netflix) Supervising sound editor Brad North MPSE; sound designer Craig Henighan MPSE; foley editors Jeff Gross, Dawn Lunsford; foley artist Alicia Stevens; music editor Jeff Charbonneau
    • Star Trek: Lower Decks “Strange Energies” (Paramount+) Supervising sound editor James Lucero; sound effects editors James Singleton, Mak Kellerman; dialogue editor Michael LaFerla; foley artist Michael Britt
    • Star Wars: Visions “The Duel” (Disney+) Supervising sound editors David W. Collins, Matthew Wood; sound designer David W. Collins; sound editor Luke Dunn Gielmuda; foley artist Jana Vance
    • Star Wars: The Bad Batch “Reunion” (Disney+) Supervising sound editor Matthew Wood; sound designer David W. Collins; sound editor David W. Collins; foley editor Frank Rinella; foley artist Kimberly Patrick
    • Star Wars: A Galaxy of Sounds “Excitement” (Disney+) Supervising sound editor David W. Collins; sound designers Ben Burtt, David Acord, Ren Klyce, Tim Nielson, Chris Scarabosio, Tom Bellfort, Sam Shaw, Gary Rydstrom MPSE; sound editor Matthew Wood

    Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Animation

    • Arcane – League of Legends “When These Walls Come Tumbling Down” (Netflix) Supervising sound editors Brad Beaumont MPSE, Eliot Connors MPSE; supervising music editor Alexander Temple; supervising ADR editor Shannon Beaumont; foley editor Alexander Ephraim MPSE; foley artists Dan O’ Connell, John Cucci MPSE; music editor Alex Seaver
    • LEGO Star Wars “Terrifying Tales” (Disney+) Supervising sound editors David W. Collins, Matthew Wood; sound designer David W. Collins; sound editors Justin Doyle, Bonnie Wild; foley editor Frank Rinella; foley artists Kimberly Patrick, Andrea Gard
    • Maya and the Three “Chapter 9: The Sun and the Moon” (Netflix) Supervising sound editor Scott Martin Gershin MPSE; sound designers Chris Richardson, Andrew Vernon MPSE; sound designer Scott Martin Gershin MPSE; sound effects editors David Barbee MPSE, Masanobu “Tomi” Tomita; foley artist Dan O’Connell; music editor Andres Locsey
    • What if…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? (Disney+) Supervising sound editor Mac Smith; sound effects editors Bill Rudolph, Alyssa Nevarez; dialogue editor Cheryl Nardi; supervising music editor Anele Onyekwere; music editor Tom Kramer; foley artists John Roesch MPSE; Shelley Roden MPSE
    • White Snake 2: The Tribulation of the Green Snake (Netflix) Supervising sound editor Gary Chen; sound designer Gary Chen; sound effects editors Wang Shuangshuang, Gary Chen, Mango Mok, Ji Hongrui, Irene Sun, Qiu Yi; ADR editors Listen Zhang, Liu Huizhe; foley editors Liu Huizhe, Cui Lin; foley artist Wang Ziwei, Miao Yin, Zhang Jindong, Xin Shengnan

    Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Animation

    • Encanto (Walt Disney Animation Studios) Supervising sound editor Shannon Mills; supervising dialogue editor Brad Semenoff MPSE; sound designer Nia Hansen; sound effects editors Samson Neslund, Justin Doyle, Cameron Barker, Qianbaihui Yang MPSE; dialogue editor Richard Quinn; foley editor Alyssa Nevarez; foley artists John Roesch MPSE, Shelley Roden MPSE; supervising music editor Earl Ghaffari; music editors Angie Rubin, Kendall Demarest MPSE
    • Luca (Pixar Animation Studios) Supervising sound editors Chris Scarabosio, André Fenley; supervising dialogue editor Rich Quinn; supervising foley editor Ronni Brown; sound effects editors Justin Doyle, Pascal Garneau; foley editor E. Larry Oatfield; foley artists Jana Vance, Ronni Brown; music editor Lodge Worster
    • The Mitchells vs. the Machines (Sony Pictures Animation) Supervising sound editor Geoffrey G. Rubay; supervising ADR editor James Morioka; sound designer John Pospisil; sound effects editors Kip Smedley, Andy Sisul MPSE, Alec G. Rubay, Dan Kenyon, Greg Ten Bosch MPSE; ADR editor Curt Schulkey; foley artist Gregg Barbanell MPSE; foley artist Rick Owens MPSE; music editors Dominick Certo MPSE, Barbara McDermott
    • Raya and the Last Dragon (Walt Disney Animation Studios) Supervising sound editor Shannon Mills; supervising dialogue editor Brad Semenoff MPSE; sound designer Nia Hansen; sound effects editors Samson Neslund, David C. Hughes, Cameron Barker; foley editors Chris Frazier, Steve Orlando; foley artists John Roesch MPSE, Shelley Roden MPSE; supervising music editor Jim Weidman; music editor David Olson
    • Sing 2 (Illumination/Universal Pictures) Supervising sound editor Dennis Leonard; supervising dialogue editor Jonathan Greber; supervising ADR editor Daniel Laurie; sound designer Josh Gold; sound effects editors Lucas Miller, Benjamin A. Burtt; foley editors Shaun Farley MPSE, Jonathon Stevens; music editors Michael Connell, Charles Inouye

    Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee (NEON) has also been nominated in the Feature Documentary category: Supervising sound editor Edward Björner; dialogue editor Jens Johansson; sound designer Fredrik Jonsäter; foley artists Rune Van Deurs, Bengt Öberg.

     

  • New on Netflix: February Animation Highlights

    New on Netflix: February Animation Highlights

    Staggering but true: We are almost done with the first month of 2022, and the cogs of the animation industry are spinning ever faster as another year full of new and returning toons picks up steam. Streaming giant Netflix has released its February calendar, packing series, season and film premieres into the shortest month of the year.

    Highlights include the debuts of The Cuphead Show! and Cat Burglar, as well as new seasons of Kid Cosmic, Disenchantment, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Ridley Jones and more.

    February will also mark the launch of Netflix Games, a new mobile feature for Android and iOS devices offering everything from casual games to immersive narratives. Netflix subscribers can enjoy a variety of games without ads or in-app purchases, starting with idle dungeon crawler Dungeon Dwarves (release TBC).

    Kid Cosmic
    Kid Cosmic

    Feb. 1

    • Gabby’s Dollhouse Season 4 (Netflix Family) – New lessons, new surprises, same adorable kitties — including Floyd! Gabby leads the way with Pandy, CatRat, Cakey, Baby Box and other beloved pals.
    • Despicable Me
    • Despicable Me 2
    • Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

    Feb. 3

    • Kid Cosmic Season 3 (Netflix Family) – Kid’s superhero dreams come true as the Local Heroes become Earth’s greatest champions. But is something amiss with this ridiculously awesome adventure?

    Feb. 8

    • Child of Kamiari Month (Netflix Anime; Japan) – A year after losing her mother, a young girl learns that she must journey across Japan to the annual gathering of gods in the sacred land of Izumo.

    Feb. 9

    • Disenchantment Part 4 (Netflix Series) – The misadventures of hard-hitting, hard-drinking Queen Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo and her personal demon Luci return and deepen in Part IV of Matt Groening’s comedy fantasy series Disenchantment.

    The mystery of Dreamland’s origins — and the stakes for its future — become ever clearer as our trio (and King Zøg) find themselves on personal journeys that will ultimately tie in to the kingdom’s fate. Separated at the end of Part III, our heroes race to reunite in this sweeping series of ten episodes. They’ll find themselves everywhere from the depths of Hell to the clouds of Heaven and everywhere in between, including Ogreland, Steamland, underwater, monasteries, insane asylums, the Enchanted Forest, the Dreamscape and more. All the while, puzzle pieces both canonical and personal will reveal themselves to eager fans.

    Feb. 15

    • Ridley Jones Season 3 (Netflix Family) – Outer space adventures, treasure hunting and new friends keep Ridley and crew busy as they protect the museum from magical mishaps — and Mr. Peabody.
    Rabbids Invasion Mission to Mars
    Rabbids Invasion Mission to Mars

    Feb. 18

    • The Cuphead Show! (Netflix Family) – Follow the misadventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his easily swayed brother Mugman in this animated series based on the hit video game
    • Rabbids Invasion: Mission to Mars (Netflix Film) – An unlikely team of Rabbids are on the mission of a lifetime to Mars. It’s up to them to come together and stop the galaxy’s newest threat.

    Feb. 22

    • Cat Burglar (Netflix Series) – Classic cartoon craziness meets an interactive quiz in a new series from the creators of Black Mirror.

    Feb. 24

    • Karma’s World Music Videos (Netflix Family) – Step into Karma’s musical world as she rocks the mic — and her curls — for this fun and funky playlist packed with rhymes and the power of positivity!
    Cat Burglar
    Cat Burglar

     

     

  • Roku Ventures into Adult Toon Territory with ‘Doomlands’ This Friday

    Roku Ventures into Adult Toon Territory with ‘Doomlands’ This Friday

    Roku, Inc. will premiere its first original adult animated series Doomlands on The Roku Channel this Friday, January 28. The irreverent end-times show started as creator Josh O’Keefe’s university film project turned crowd-funded pilot, and was later developed by Josh Bowen and Look Mom! Productions. The series will be available exclusively for free on The Roku Channel in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

    The series looks at the life of the infamous Danny Doom and aspiring bartender, Lhandi, as they sling beers across a hellish wasteland in their mobile pub: The Oasis. Facing ruthless desert gangs, memory-stealing creeps, and even mean bathroom graffiti, all this crew’s got to do to survive is not kill each other.

    “Doomlands is a post-apocalyptic animated comedy soaked in dust, beer and blood. It’s an homage to Ozploitation and sci-fi cinema, and after many years in development, I’m so stoked for it to debut on The Roku Channel,” said O’Keefe.

    Executive producer and managing director of Look Mom! Productions Josh Bowen added, “Doomlands is Mad Max meets Cheers in the Mos Eisley Cantina, which is a major part of what originally attracted us to the concept. This project was produced almost entirely throughout the pandemic. In fact, Josh literally produced this show from my mom’s basement with the help of her home-cooked meals. The final product is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of our team, and we’re so excited that it’s now a Roku Original.”

    Doomlands was originally ordered by mobile-first streamer Quibi in 2020,before the Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman-founded platform shuttered after just six months and set several animated projects adrift.

    “I believe Josh O’Keefe is well on his way to becoming a household name in animation,” said Colin Davis, Roku’s Head of Original Scripted Programming. “What he’s created with Doomlands is clever, laugh out loud funny, and indisputably wild, all while grounding the show in excellent characters. We feel so lucky to be the home to his brilliance.”

    Mark Little and Kayla Lorette star as Danny Doom and Lhandi, respectively. Produced by Look Mom! Productions, a Blue Ant Media company, Doomlands was written by O’Keefe, Roger Bainbridge, Brandon Hackett, Lorette and Little. Lee Porter and Josh O’Keefe served as co-showrunners. The series is directed by O’Keefe.

    Blue Ant’s Look Mom! specializes in producing original animated content for teens and adults with a foucs on a creator-driven approach and collaborative process. Its slate of premium programming includes Adult Swim Canada’s Night Sweats, VRV’s (U.S.) Bigfoot and Gary and His Demons for Mondo Channel on VRV (U.S.), CBC Gem (Canada), Comedy Central (U.K.) and ABC Comedy (Australia). Look Mom! is also known for digital shorts such as Don’t Feed the Humans, World Doctors, Crack-Duck and more.

    Launched in 2017, The Roku Channel in Q1 2021, The Roku Channel reached U.S. households with an estimated 70 million people. In Q3 2021, The Roku Channel was a top five channel on the platform in the U.S. by active account reach. The channel features a diverse lineup of more than 80,000 free movies and programs and 220+ free live linear TV channels. It licenses and distributes content from more than 200 partners. In addition to Roku devices, The Roku Channel is available on Web, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung TVs and can be accessed in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

    lookmomproductions.com | therokuchannel.roku.com

     

  • Ooh Wee! ‘Rick and Morty’ 5 Season Box Set Lands in March

    Ooh Wee! ‘Rick and Morty’ 5 Season Box Set Lands in March

    Fans are invited to tag along on an intergalactic adventure across the multiverse with the Rick and Morty: Seasons 1-5 boxed set on Blu-ray ($89.99 SRP / $99.99 in Canada) and DVD ($79.99 SRP / $89.99 in Canada) from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 29. For a limited time, fans who purchase the set will receive an exclusive poster from the series.

    One of cables #1 watched comedies, the series from creators Justin Roiland (Solar Opposites) and Dan Harmon (Community) follows the misadventures of mad scientist Rick and his grandchildren with this outrageous boxed set which includes all 51 episodes from the first five seasons of the award-winning series, along with copious special features, including audio commentary, deleted scenes, “Inside the Episode” segments, numerous featurettes, past animatic sketches and more.

    Rick and Morty is the critically acclaimed, half-hour animated hit comedy series on Adult Swim that follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Rick Sanchez (voiced by Roiland) is living with his daughter Beth’s (Sarah Chalke of Scrubs) family and constantly bringing her, his son-in-law Jerry (Chris Parnell, SNL), granddaughter Summer (Spencer Grammer, Greek) and grandson Morty (Roiland) into intergalactic escapades.

    Bonus Features:

    Season 1

    • Commentaries for Every Episode
    • Animatics for Every Episode
    • Behind the Scenes
    • Deleted Scenes

    Season 2

    • Commentaries for Every Episode
    • Animatics for Every Episode
    • Deleted Animatic Sketches
    • Rick and Morty Season 2 Premiere Party Featuring Chaos Chaos

    Season 3

    • Commentaries for Every Episode
    • Animatics for Every Episode
    • “Inside the Episode” for Every Episode
    • Exclusive “Inside the Recording Booth”
    • Origins of Rick and Morty Part 1 & 2

    Season 4

    • “A Day at Rick and Morty”: Inside Season 4
    • “Inside the Episode” for Every Episode
    • Creating Snake Jazz
    • Directing Rick and Morty
    • Samurai and Shogun
    • Prop Process
    • Character Creation
    • Animation Challenges

    Season 5

    • “Fighting Gravity”: The Making of Season 5
    • “Inside the Episode” for Every Episode
    • B-Story Generator Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
    • Backgrounds
    • Animation and Compositing
    • Coloring Rick and Morty
    • Directing “Mortyplicity” & “Rickmurai Jack”
    • Season 5 Hype

    The Blu-ray set presents all 51 episodes from the first five seasons in high definition (1080p Full HD Video with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1) as well as digital code for all (U.S. only).

    Rick