With Cryptozoo set to make its Blu-ray and On Demand debut on Tuesday, November 16, filmmaker Dash Shaw (My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea) unlocked an exhibit to spotlight one creature in the film’s mythical menagerie. Magnolia Home Entertainment provided Animation Magazine with a sneak peek at the home release’s cryptid GIF gallery and revealed early sketches of the beast, which you can check out below.
Cryptozoo “The Manticore” | Magnolia Home Entertainment
So, what is this creature called?
Dash Shaw: This is a Manticore.
How was the specific character developed? What inspired it?
The Cryptozoo film is populated with mythological creatures coming from actual mythologies around the world. The Manticore is a Persian legendary being similar to a Sphinx. Lots of mythologies have similar stories and characters, something Joseph Campbell famously wrote about.
I tried to pick beings that I hadn’t seen in a film before. I wanted it to be about how the world of fantasy and imagination exists in our real world. The premise of the film is that imagination is the most important thing and that it should run wild.
How did it transform from your initial vision, if at all?
Jane Samborski, the animation director of the film (also my wife) painted this and most of the cryptids in the film. I wanted to write something she would enjoy painting. She had an all-women’s Dungeons & Dragons group while I was working on the screenplay, and I think some elements of that inspired the Cryptozoo film as a whole.
When does the Manticore appear in the film?
This creature appears briefly in a cage of Savage Cryptids in the Cryptozoo park. I hope this movie is like a Hieronymous Bosch painting, in that it’s so full of creatures… you may miss all of them on a first viewing.
Anything else you think audiences may find interesting?
“Manticore” means “man-eater.”
“Manticore” original sketches for Cryptozoo.
In Cryptozoo, a group of cryptozookeepers set out to capture a dream-eating baku, but begin to wonder if the fantastical creatures they encounter belong on display in the cryptozoo or if they should remain elusive in the wild. Written and directed by Shaw with animation directed and produced by Jane Samborski, the movie stars Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Zoe Kazan, Louisa Krause, Angeliki Papoulia, Thomas Jay Ryan, Peter Stormare and Grace Zabriskie.
Visit our contest page for a chance to win Cryptozoo on Blu-ray. Read more about the Sundance prize-winning film in Animation Magazine‘s feature story here.
Tubi unveiled the trailer for its first-ever original animated series The Freak Brothers, based on the cult classic underground comics by Gilbert Shelton and set to premiere Sunday, November 14 with two episodes. (TV viewers can catch a sneak peak with a special 90-second trailer during FOX’s Animation Domination block in Family Guy, 9:30-100 p.m.) New episodes will drop every Sunday through Dec. 26.
The series follows laid-back Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek (Woody Harrelson), man-child Fat Freddy Freekowtski (John Goodman), paranoid Phineas T. Phreakers (Pete Davidson) and their sardonic cat, Kitty (Tiffany Haddish). The all-star cast also features Adam Devine and Blake Anderson as Chuck and Charlie, a couple of weed savants always looking for the next side hustle, with hearts of gold hidden beneath their unwashed exteriors; Andrea Savage as Harper, a no-nonsense techie who undoubtedly wears the pants in her household; La La Anthony as Gretchen, a social-advocate lawyer who is the more idealistic and compassionate younger sister of Harper; and ScHoolboy Q voices an animated version of himself who finds himself surrounded by “The Freaks.”
The series is produced by WTG Enterprises and distributed by Lionsgate; animation by Starburns Industries and Pure Imagination Studios.
The Harper House
Having just premiered on September 16, Brad Neely (China, IL; Brad Neely’s Harg Nallin’ Sclopio Peepio) broke the news Thursday that The Harper House will not be unpacking any further seasons on Paramount+. The series creator posted to Twitter: “I’ll always appreciate the show’s resilient crew and cast that came together during an unprecedented breakdown of normal life to make this family with me. I’m grateful to everyone involved and to anyone who gave it a shot. It’s time to get nuts.”
Produced by CBS Eye Animation in association with 219 Productions, with animation by Titmouse, The Harper House centers on Debbie Harper (Rhea Seehorn), the overconfident female head of a household, who struggles to regain a higher status for herself and for her family of oddballs, after losing her job and moving from the rich side to the poor side of a small town in Arkansas. To save money, they’ve moved into their inherited Victorian fixer-upper — a historic residence known as the Harper House.
Also featuring the voices of Jason Lee, Tatiana Maslany, Ryan Flynn, Gabourey Sidibe, Gary Anthony Williams, Nyima Funk, VyVy Nguyen and Lance Krall, the series was exec produced by Neely and Katie Krentz.
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
The campers face an insidious new threat in the Season 4 trailer for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous from DreamWorks Animation. Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Cruella, The Good Place) and Haley Joel Osment (The Kominsky Method) join the cast for this batch of 11 episodes, premiering on Netflix on December 3. Finally escaping Isla Nublar, the campers find themselves in grave danger when shipwrecked on a mysterious island. As the group begins to uncover the strange secrets of this new land, they must hatch a plan to not only save themselves, but also protect the dinosaurs from the sinister forces at work.
The series follows six teenagers chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime experience at Camp Cretaceous, a new adventure camp on the opposite side of Isla Nublar, who must work together to survive when dinosaurs wreak havoc across the island. From DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, Camp Cretaceous is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow, and Frank Marshall, alongside executive producers and showrunners Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley.
Go, Dog, Go!
Go, Dog, Go! lets the dogs out for Season 2 on Netflix next month! Nine all-new episodes inspired by PD Eastman’s best-selling children’s book, including the seasonal special Snow, Dog, Snow! debut December 7. The DreamWorks Animation series is executive produced by Adam Peltzman (Blue’s Clues, Wallykazam!).
Tag Barker (Michela Luci) and Scooch Pooch (Callum Shoniker) are off to the races for more adventures in Pawston! See them compete in their first race as Race Cadets, rally the community to organize an unforgettable 100th birthday celebration for the city of Pawston, and endeavor to fix Sandra Paws’ sleigh and save “Sniffs-mas!” But no matter how far and fast they travel, Tag and Scooch are often reminded that it’s friends and family that truly make their community go.
Brainstream
NFB.ca is adding a compelling slate of new titles to its free-to-watch selection this month, hailing from NFB studios across Canada. These include the world premiere of the interactive animated film Brainstream, by Caroline Robert of Studio AATOAA; Renée Blanchar’s profoundly human feature documentary The Silence; the short docs Being Prepared by Carol Kunnuk and Into Light by Sheona McDonald, the latter being released to highlight Transgender Awareness Week; a thematic channel for Remembrance Day; and films celebrating the winners of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. The new works join more than 5,500 titles and roughly 100 interactive works already available.
Debuting November 19, Brainstream (Sérotonine Anonyme) is a 20-minute interactive animated film in which a young girl livestreams her thoughts during a new kind of treatment session. The piece explores the fascinating workings of our brain with sensitivity and humor. It will have its world premiere at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in the form of an installation, in competition as part of the DocLab section, and it will be launching online simultaneously around the world, accessible at nfb.ca/brainstream, on computers as well as mobile devices.
Tubi / NIS America
In other Tubi news, FOX’s free streamer recently announced a deal with NIS America to bring a collection of globally popular anime series to fans. The lineup is:
Arakawa Under the Bridge
bunny drop
Cardcaptor Sakura (Dubbed in English and Japanese)
Chronicles of the Going Home Club
Daily Lives of High School Boys
Ghastly Prince Enma Burning Up
Ground Control to Psychoelectric Girl
Hanasaku Iroha Home Sweet Home
Hanasaku Iroha ~ Blossoms for Tomorrow ~
If Her Flag Breaks (Subtitled in Spanish and English)
kimi ni todoke -From Me to You-
Nagi-Asu: A Lull In The Sea (Dubbed in English and Japanese)
Natsume’s Book of Friends
PandoraHearts
The Eccentric Family
Toradora! (Dubbed in English and Japanese and subtitled in Spanish and English)
YURUYURI
Kukuli
Sales & Distribution Updates:
Animaccord has launched Season 5 Masha and the Bear on the U.K.’s top free-to-air children’s channel, Tiny Pop, which also extended rights to S1, Masha’s Tales, Masha’s Spooky Stories and The show’s new educational musical project Masha and the Bear: Nursery Rhymes is also now available on demand on POP Player.
Monster Entertainment announced that China’s CCTV-14 Kids has picked up preschool series The Day Henry Met, produced by Dublin’s Wiggleywoo Ltd. The show will debut Nov. 29 in the Animation World block.
Moonbug Ent. is expanding its U.K. presence with tiny Pop, which will bring episodes of Arpo, Blippi, CoComelon and My Magic Pet Morphle to preschools across the country.
Fauna Entertainment‘s flagship IP Kukuli (26 x 7′) has been picked up by Spacetoon and will be dubbed in Arabic for broadcast and streaming on Spacetoon GO in the MENA region. The hyperactive monkey’s adventures already air in 55 different countries.
Popular Turkish cartoon Limon and Oli has added Türk Telekom Tivibu and Vodafone TV to its roster of local partners. The series comprises four seasons (106 episodes) featuring the beloved characters, who celebrate their 30th anniversary this year.
In celebration of Disney+ Day, the second anniversary of the streaming platform, Disney+ not only premiered more than 25 new pieces of content, but also debuted dozens of first looks, new trailers and exclusive clips from The Walt Disney Company’s world-class studios that showcase the incredible breadth of content coming to the service in the years ahead. Additionally, Disney+ subscribers were treated to a slate of all new content from each of its marquee brands: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and, in international markets, Star.
Disney Animation:
Baymax: Check in with everyone’s favorite healthcare companion in a trailer for his new Disney+ Original Series. Baymax, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first-ever animated series, starts streaming exclusively on Disney+ in Summer 2022.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers: John Mulaney and Andy Samberg, stars of the upcoming hybrid live-action/CG animated feature based on everyone’s favorite animated chipmunks, unveiled teaser art for the new movie streaming on Disney+ in Spring 2022.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Disenchanted: Stars Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey share that the sequel to the hit animation/live-action hybrid film Enchanted will stream exclusively on Disney+ in Fall 2022.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Writer and producer Jeff Kinney reveals all-new key art for Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The animated adventure starts streaming December 3, 2021 on Disney+. Kinney further announced that a second animated film from the book series will be coming to Disney+: Rodrick Rules will premiere on Disney+ in 2022.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild: Simon Pegg is back as Buck in The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, an all-new movie, premiering January 28, 2022 on Disney+. The teaser trailer featuring Buck, Crash & Eddie and a few new friends as they go on a prehistoric mission to save the Lost World from dinosaur domination was released today:
Pinocchio: Inspired by Disney’s animated classic, this retelling, directed by Robert Zemeckis, combines live action and visual effects and stars Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, Luke Evans and the voices of Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key and Lorraine Bracco. Pinocchio premieres on Disney+ in Fall 2022.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder: It’s time to get loud with the Prouds in the trailer debut for The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. The new series, based on the Disney Channel series from the 2000s, starts streaming February 2022.
Tiana: Walt Disney Animation Studios announced that Stella Meghie (The Photograph) will be director and writer of the new long-form musical series based on The Princess and the Frog, coming to Disney+ in 2023. In the series, Tiana sets off for a grand new adventure as the newly crowned Princess of Maldonia, but a calling to her New Orleans past isn’t far behind.
Tiana
Zootopia+: Go back to the fast-paced mammal metropolis of Zootopia with new art from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia+, a new short-form series coming to Disney+ in 2022.
Zootopia+
Live-action Disney projects promising plenty of VFX flair include a series adapting The Spiderwick Chronicles into a modern coming-of-age story combined with fantasy adventure (Paramount Television Studios/20th Television) and Hocus Pocus 2, bringing back Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as The Sanderson Sisters in Fall 2022.
The Spiderwick Chronicles artwork
Pixar Animation:
Cars on the Road: Larry the Cable Guy revealed the title of Pixar’s upcoming Cars series: Cars on the Road. Join Mater and Lightning McQueen in this fun-filled cross-country road trip streaming in 2022.
Cars on the Road concept art
Win or Lose: Directors Michael Yates and Carrie Hobson reveal concept art for Pixar’s first-ever original long-form animated series Win or Lose, coming to Disney+ in 2023. Each 20-minute episode highlights the perspective of a different character as a middle school coed softball team prepares for their championship game.
Win or Lose concept art
Plus, Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter announced an exclusive peek behind the curtains of Pixar in two brand-new documentaries coming to Disney+ in 2022 that explore the making of Turning Red and Lightyear.
Disney+ Marvel Animation
Marvel
Marvel Studios’ 2021 Disney+ Day Special, streaming now, offers a sneak peek at upcoming projects Hawkeye (Nov. 24), Moon Knight (2022), She-Hulk (2022) and Ms. Marvel (Summer 2022) as well as a packed slate of new projects, with several animated twists on the MCU including:
X-MEN ‘97: an animated series from Marvel Studios that explores new stories in the iconic ‘90s timeline of the original series. Beau DeMayo is executive producer and head writer.
What If…? (Season 2): The second season of the fan-favorite animated series. After enlisting the Guardians of the Multiverse to stop Infinity Ultron, The Watcher returns in Season 2 of What If…? to meet new heroes and explore more strange new worlds in the MCU’s ever-expanding Multiverse. Directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews with executive producer AC Bradley serving as head writer.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year: an animated series that follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots. Executive producer Jeff Trammel serves as head writer.
I Am Groot: a series of original shorts exploring Baby Groot’s glory days growing up, and getting into trouble, among the stars. Directed by executive producer Kirsten Lepore (Sweet Dreams, Adventure Time “Bad Jubies”).
Marvel Zombies: an animated series from Marvel Studios that reimagines the Marvel Universe as a new generation of heroes battle against an ever-spreading zombie scourge. Directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews.
X-Men ’97
Lucasfilm
On behalf of the studio, Warwick Davis announced the supporting cast for the Willow series (2022): Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha Patel and Dempsey Bryk (watch here). Star Ewan McGregor and director Deborah Chow shared a BTS look at Disney+ Original Series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022). And the documentary celebrating the legendary Star Wars bounty hunter, Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett, debuted on Disney+ today.
Star
Audiences can also look forward to VFX thrills in in upcoming 20th Century Studios titles, which will debut in 2022 on Star in international markets, as well as on Hulu in the U.S. and Star+ in Latin America. The Princess is an irreverent action movie set in a fairy tale world, starring Joey King as a young royal fighting to save her kingdom (Summer 2022). For sci-fi fans, Prey is a new entry in the Predator franchise set in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, where a skilled warrior named Naru fiercely protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien hunter (Summer 2022).
Nickelodeon is getting into the holly jolly “Nickmas” spirit with a holiday-themed lineup of premieres and specials across its hit animation, live-action and preschool series beginning Friday, Nov. 20. Viewers will be treated to a festive lineup featuring: A Loud House Christmas, the brand-new original live-action holiday movie based on the Emmy Award-winning animated series The Loud House, and all-new episodes of the net’s hit series, including Blue’s Clues and You!, PAW Patrol, Rugrats, Danger Force and That Girl Lay Lay.
In A Loud House Christmas, premiering Friday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT), Lincoln Loud (Wolfgang Schaeffer) gears up for the ultimate Christmas until he finds out that most of his sisters have plans to be elsewhere for the big day. Determined to remind his family that they all need to be together, Lincoln and his best friend Clyde McBride (Jahzir Bruno) embark on a mission to preserve the family’s holiday traditions. A Loud House Christmas will also see additional characters from the animated The Loud House series come to life as they join Lincoln, Clyde, and the Loud family in the town of Royal Woods for the holidays.
The Nickmas slate of holiday-themed programming will also feature fan-favorite titles and original holiday movies from Nickelodeon’s library of holiday classics, which includes the iconic perennial Rugrats “A Rugrats Chanukah,” SpongeBob SquarePants “It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!” and PAW Patrol “Pups Save Christmas,” and Nickelodeon original holiday movies A Fairly Odd Christmas, Merry Christmas Drake & Josh, Santa Hunters and Tiny Christmas. A collection of Nickmas episodes and movies are also available to stream on Paramount+ and Download-To-Own services, as well as Nick.com and the Nickelodeon App, which also features short-form content.
A Loud House Christmas
Nickmas 2021 animation premieres on Nickelodeon, unless otherwise noted:
(ET/PT. Times and dates subject to change.)
Blue’s Clues and You! – “A Blue’s Clues Festival of Lights” – Friday, Nov. 26, at 11 a.m. | A special, surprise guest comes to Periwinkle’s house to celebrate Chanukah, the very festive, festival of lights. Josh and Blue play Blue’s Clues to figure out who the surprise guest is, and celebrate the holiday by spinning dreidels, frying latkes and singing an original Chanukah song. (Read more.)
The Adventures of Paddington – “Paddington Gets Locked Out on Christmas Day/Paddington Feels the Music” – Friday, Dec. 3, at 8:30 p.m. (Nick Jr.) | The Browns get locked out of the house on Christmas Day and try to get back inside in time for dinner. Then, when Ms. Potts gets injured, Paddington must lead the Windsor Gardens Parade and Simi helps him find the beat.
The Patrick Star Show – “Just in Time for Christmas” – Friday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. | Patrick travels through time to find a last-minute Christmas gift for his family.
Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years – “Ho! Ho! Horror!” – Friday, Dec. 3, at 7:15 p.m. | Santa Claus visits the children of Kamp Koral who aren’t quite sure what to make of the jolly giant.
Middlemost Post – “Parker Saves Christmas” – Friday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. | When Santa gets injured during a stop on Mt. Middlemost, Parker, Angus and Russell help finish his deliveries.
PAW Patrol – “Pups Save the Treasure Cruise/Pups Save Rocket Ryder” – Friday, Dec. 3, at 12 p.m. | Mayor Humdinger tricks people to sail icy waters in search of an Antarctic treasure, but they all need rescuing when they get stranded on shore. Then, the pups need to rescue Ryder and Alex when they get out of control on a rocket-powered ATV.
Blue’s Clues and You! – “Blue’s Snowy Day Surprise” – Monday, Dec. 6, at 12 p.m. | There are SNOW many great things to do on a snowy day, but Blue’s surprise may be the best! Josh and Blue play a wintry game of Blue’s Clues to figure out what her surprise is. Along the way, they make shapes in the snow with their friends and sing a snow day song with Mo Snow. Special Guest: Leslie Odom Jr. as “Mo Snow.”
Bubble Guppies – “Christmas is Coming!” – Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 12 p.m. | On a quest to attend King Grouper’s Christmas party and deliver a promised tree, Lady Oona and Lord Goby must face the ravages of winter and a mysterious Freezy Dragon, who seems intent on keeping them from the festivities. Special Guest: David Cross as “Freezy Dragon.”
Peppa Pig – “Christmas with Kylie Kangaroo / Winter Games / London / George’s Wooly Hat / Doctor Hamster’s Big Present” – Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 12 p.m. | Peppa and her family spend Christmas in Australia. Then, Madame Gazelle takes the whole class to London for the day. George has a new hat, and Peppa and her family take Goldie the Fish to Doctor Hamster for her check-up.
Baby Shark’s Big Show! – “Snowball Bonanza/The Present”– Thursday, Dec. 9, at 12 p.m. | Chucks tries to help Baby Shark and his friends win the annual Snowball Bonanza against Carnivore Cove’s neighboring town. Then, Baby Shark goes undercover to figure out the perfect gift for Mommy Shark.
Blaze and the Monster Machines – “Snowbie the Snow Truck” – Friday, Dec. 10, at 12 p.m. | Blaze and AJ help a truck named Snowbie get home in time for the Great Snowball Fight.
SpongeBob SquarePants – “SpongeBob’s Road to Christmas” – Friday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. | SpongeBob and his pals journey to the North Pole to give Santa a present.
Rugrats – “Traditions” – Friday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m. | When Tommy’s first Chanukah falls on Christmas Eve, the Pickles family has to juggle their family traditions to make sure each feels important, while also celebrating Las Posadas with Betty and her family. (Read more.)
The Casagrandes – “Throwing Pains” – Friday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. | During a snow day, Ronnie Anne and her skater pals must battle for the gym space by playing dodgeball.
Fans can head to the Nick and Nick Jr. apps, and NickJr.com to view holiday-themed episodes and short-form content. Noggin, Nickelodeon’s interactive learning service for preschoolers, will continue to spread cheer this season with a holiday hub featuring over 50 pieces of festive long and short-form content, including: holiday-themed shorts; full-length episodes of hit series PAW Patrol, Bubble Guppies, Peppa Pig and more; games; play-along videos; and e-books.
Cyber Group Studios, a leading producer and distributor of animated series best known for its award-winning preschool show, Gigantosaurus, is partnering with Grilled Cheese Media, a producer of diverse and family-focused properties, to develop Yum-Yum, an original new animated comedy-adventure series for preschoolers.
Grilled Cheese Media (Uncle Dave’s Laugh Emporium, Awesome 4Some) is led by multi-Emmy-winning actor/director/comedian Dave Coulier (Full House, Fuller House) and animator/executive producer Bob Harper (The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!, The Ricky Gervais Show). Coulier and Harper are co-creators and executive producers of the new series.
Dave Coulier | Bob Harper
Yum-Yum is envisioned as a family comedy for young viewers about a fun-loving crew of islanders who have slapstick adventures as they travel the world in search of the yummiest foods.
“We’re very excited to team up with such brilliant creative minds as Dave and Bob on this hilarious new project for preschoolers,” said Pierre Sissmann, Chairman & CEO, Cyber Group Studios. “We look forward to sharing the series with audiences everywhere.”
“It’s great to join forces with Dave once again and to be working together on Yum-Yum, a fresh and original series that will take viewers on funny, food-filled adventures around the globe, ” said Karen K. Miller, President & CEO, Cyber Group Studios USA, who previously worked with Coulier on the hit series Full House.
“I’ve created, and been a part of family fun and laughter in movies and television my entire career,” said Coulier. “I’m excited and happy to say that Yum-Yum is fun and packed with laughs. Kids are going to love it.”
Hold onto your antlers, earthlings … the Solar Opposites crew are putting their own extraterrestrial spin on the season with the all-new episode “A Very Solar Holiday Opposites Special,” premiering Monday, November 22 on Hulu. Watch as the Solars do the most to celebrate the holidays they understand the least!
A Very Solar Holiday Opposites Special
As fans wait for this heartwarming gift to drop down their chimneys, they can get into the spirit by pondering the musical question, “WTF Is Christmas?”
Blending the show’s 2D animation with live action and stop motion, the “WTF Is Christmas?” stars the streamer’s beloved Shlorpion family with a special vocal appearance by Emmy winner Darren Criss. (You can watch the full-length red band video here.)
The audio-only version of the song will be released digitally on November 12, available to download and stream here.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, a leading global children’s entertainment company, and Warner Animation Group, the animated film production arm of Warner Bros. Pictures, today announced plans to bring on Jon M. Chu as director of the upcoming film adaptation of Oh, The Places You’ll Go! The film, set to debut in 2027, will bring the iconic story and characters of Dr. Seuss’ beloved book to life on the big screen.
Based on Dr. Seuss’ final book, Oh, The Places You’ll Go! will be a globetrotting animated musical following a young adventurer as they journey through the joys and heartaches, and the peaks and valleys, of life.
Chu most recently helmed the acclaimed film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights for Warner Bros. which was released June 11, 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max. Chu is perhaps best known for directing the worldwide phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians, which was nominated for numerous awards and earned more than $240 million, making it one of the top 10 highest grossing romantic comedies of all time. He is attached to direct Wicked, the feature-film adaptation of the record-breaking musical phenomenon for Universal.
For television, Chu serves as an executive producer and director of Home Before Dark for Apple TV+, which recently debuted its second season. Previous credits include Step Up 2: The Streets, GI. Joe: Retaliation, Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never and more representing over $1.3 billion worldwide.
Alongside Chu as director, Bad Robot Productions has been tapped to adapt Oh, The Places You’ll Go! for the big screen, marking the award-winning production company’s first foray into feature animation. J.J. Abrams will serve as producer on the film along with Hannah Minghella, Bad Robot’s Head of Motion Pictures.
Oh, The Places You’ll Go! is part of the growing slate of animated projects that Warner Animation Group and Dr. Seuss Enterprises are developing, including a film adaption of The Cat in the Hat that will kick-off the new Dr. Seuss movie slate in 2024, with Erica Rivinoja (South Park, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) and Art Hernandez (Planes, Planes: Fire and Rescue) on board as directors, and Thing One and Thing Two (working title) an original feature length animated adventure. Additionally, the hit Netflix series Green Eggs and Ham debuted its second season on Netflix on November 5, 2021.
“We are beyond thrilled to bring one of the most beloved Dr. Seuss books to life for so many generations of Seuss fans,” said Courtenay Valenti, President, Production & Development, Warner Bros. Pictures. “The pairing of this classic title, with the creative excellence of Jon Chu and Bad Robot defines what we at WB try to achieve; marry great branded entertainment with singular creative talent.”
Susan Brandt, President of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, said, “Jon M. Chu is one of the most creative directors in the industry and we look forward to working collaboratively with Jon to capture the emotional and resonating messages found in Oh, The Places You’ll Go! We’re thrilled to bring this beloved story to screen for fans with Mr. Chu and the teams at Bad Robot and Warner Animation Group.”
“As soon as we made the decision to adapt Oh, The Places You’ll Go! as a musical we knew we wanted to approach Jon,” said Hannah Minghella, Head of Motion Pictures Bad Robot. “Not only does he bring a passion and expertise in directing musicals but he also brings a deep humanity to all of his work. We’re thrilled to be on this journey together!”
Additional details about these new projects will be unveiled in the coming months, and more collaborations between Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Warner Animation Group are expected in the future.
Gear up for Thanksgiving with Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, Robin and Starfire as the Teen Titans dish out a full serving of Teen Titans Go! episodes ahead of the holiday. The new half-hour special, “A Doom Patrol Thanksgiving,” premieres Friday, November 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will be preceded by a week-long feast of Teen Titans Go! character-themed marathons Monday, Nov. 15 through Friday, Nov. 19 (2-9 p.m. ET/PT).
In “A Doom Patrol Thanksgiving,” Beast Boy returns home for Thanksgiving and the Doom Patrol enters a float in the town’s parade.
Leading multi-platform media company Shout! Factory and Machine Media Advisors announced a new entertainment distribution deal for the beloved animated feature FernGully: The Last Rainforest ahead of its 30th Anniversary. The announcement was made today by Melissa Boag, Shout’s Senior Vice President of Family Entertainment, and Matt Feige, Jon Sheinberg and Susie Sheinberg, Founding Partners of Machine Media Advisors.
The multi-year agreement provides Shout! Factory with worldwide rights to this timeless and charming animated feature, including digital, video-on-demand, broadcast, theatrical, and home entertainment. Shout! Factory is planning a strategic launch of the feature across all major entertainment platforms timed to the film’s 30th anniversary celebration in 2022.
Leveraging unparalleled access to archival content and collaboration with filmmaker Bill Kroyer, new bonus content, collectible packaging and specialty releases are in development.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
“Shout! Factory is thrilled to be releasing this cherished family favorite back into the marketplace for its 30th Anniversary. The message of caring for our environment is as relevant today as when the film was originally released,” said Boag.
“We could not be more excited to partner with Shout Factory to release FernGully: the Last Rainforest as part of a broader revitalization of this timely and important story,” said Matt Feige, Jon Sheinberg and Susie Sheinberg.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest features an all-star voice cast, including Tim Curry, Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Jonathan Ward, Robin Williams and Grace Zabreiskie. Directed by Bill Kroyer, with a screenplay by Jim Cox and score by two-time Oscar nominee Alan Silvestri,, the film is based on the stories of “FernGully” by Diana Young. The 2D animated feature was produced by Kroyer Films, Youngheart Productions and Australia’s FAI Films.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
This exclusive deal was negotiated by Jon Sheinberg and Matt Feige of SFO Entertainment and Shout’s Jordan Fields, Vice President of Acquisitions.
Synopsis: Crysta (Samantha Mathis) is a fairy who lives in FernGully, a rainforest in Australia, and has never seen a human before. In fact, she is told they are extinct. But when a logging company comes near the rainforest, she sees that they do exist, and even accidentally shrinks one of them: a boy named Zak (Jonathan Ward). Now her size, Zak sees the damage that the company does and helps Crysta to stop not only them, but an evil entity named Hexxus (Tim Curry), who feeds off pollution.
Premiere kids & family entertainment company pocket.watch and Sunlight Entertainment today announced a new interactive global experience, Ryan’s World FanFest. The virtual real-time event takes audiences through a fun set of activities featuring YouTube sensation Ryan Kaji, his parents Shion and Loann, and twin sisters Emma and Kate, along with fan-favorite animated friends and special guests.
The first-ever experience of its kind for Ryan’s World’s 30M+ fans is free to stream globally at www.ryansfanfest.com on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT) and will air in-person at 468 Chuck E. Cheese Watch Parties nationwide as part of pocket.watch’s new partnership with the family entertainment company.
“The hard work and success of pocket.watch creator franchises is made possible by the dedicated fans around the world who consume every piece of content and engage in these exciting activations,” said Kerry Tucker, Chief Marketing and Franchise Officer of pocket.watch. “This first, and most interactive, Ryan’s World experience to date is a giant ‘thank you’ to fans around the world who show up time and time again to play and learn with Ryan. Pocket.watch is proud to be working with FanFest’s partners, Target and Chuck E. Cheese, who share in our mission to bring kids more of what they love and be everywhere they are.”
The FanFest platform is a brand new and interactive event for Ryan’s World fans who hail from all corners of the world. The 90-minute extravaganza invites fans into the Kaji family home as Ryan discovers a secret portal leading to “the multiverse” unlocking doors to various worlds, from the North Pole, to Ryan’s Lab, to Rainbow World, where they work to solve puzzles and challenges alongside his animated pals of the Ryan’s World franchise. Prior to the event, pocket.watch welcomed parents of fans to submit videos and photos of their children to be incorporated into FanFest.
“Ryan’s World fans are so dedicated and have stood by our side these past six years throughout all the amazingly fun opportunities Ryan’s enjoyed the privilege of hosting,” said Shion Kaji, Ryan’s father and founder of the family’s production company Sunlight Entertainment. “We’ve never been more excited to bring together fans from all over the world at the same time to participate in what will be the biggest and most interactive extravaganza the Ryan’s World universe has ever seen!”
Guest stars for the event include Rosanna Pansino, GEM Sisters, MarMar, Chuck E. Cheese and WWE Superstars Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. Fans can also expect the following new and interactive features throughout the program:
Photo booth: Families can pose for pictures with Ryan and friends while watching the show.
Downloadables: Parents can download and print free coloring pages, puzzles, science experiment activities and DIY projects inspired by the show.
Active Objects: Fans can click on objects in the video to interact like never before for Ryan’s World. They can choose which door they would like Ryan to pick and even curate their own holiday wish list of Ryan’s World
Voice-Activated Emojis: During segments of the show, fans can use their voices to make emojis appear!
“We are thrilled to offer our Guests and Ryan’s World fans an immersive and in-person experience in our venues across the country,” said Melissa McLeanas, VP of Global Media, Licensing and Entertainment for CEC Entertainment. “As the exclusive destination for FanFest viewing parties, this partnership brings to life the power of content and creators across multiple platforms, delivering family entertainment for the next generation of kids.”
During the program, Ryan will exclusively reveal five of his hot holiday toys available at Target this upcoming season, and provide full Ryan’s World downloadable holiday wish lists for kids to create and share. Additionally, The Foos, characters from codeSpark Academy, will demonstrate to kids and families how they can learn to code through their wide-ranging games and challenges. The FanFest after party will take place in Roblox where Ryan’s twin sisters, Emma and Kate of EK World, will debut their Roblox avatars for the first time and fans can play a new minigame inspired by FanFest.
Ryan’s World FanFest will start streaming Saturday, Nov. 27 at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT) on www.ryansfanfest.com. For details on the interactive and in-person viewing parties at Chuck E. Cheese, visit chuckecheese.com/ryansworld.
One of Germany’s top animation production houses, Akkord Film (akkord.film) celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with a rejuvenated, ambitious vision for the future and a fresh leadership team. Industry veteran Dirk Beinhold founded the studio in 2001, and since 2012’s Raven the Little Rascal has pursued animation with passion and enthusiasm, adapting children’s book classics such as Rabbit School – Guardians of the Golden Egg (feature, 2017) and Petronella Applewitch (series, 2020/21) as well as fable-inspired feature The Elfkins – Baking a Difference, a.k.a. A Piece of Cake (2020). Akkord was even nominated for the Cartoon Tributes “European Animation Producer” honor in 2018.
The studio has just appointed three co-CEOs:
Valentin Greulich joined Akkord Film as a producer in 2012. He helped shape the company’s development and strategy over the course of eight years and has been integral in advancing Akkord into the renowned animation company it is today. After the success of The Elfkins, he took a one-year sabbatical as an international project consultant in 2020 and now returns as a financing and co-production expert.
Imke Fehrmann is an internationally respected animation expert with more than 30 years of experience who joined Akkord in 2019 as Executive Producer and COO. After 14 years of high-profile experience in senior production roles for international companies such as Animal Logic, Axis Animation, Aardman and Lucasfilm Animation, among others, as well as Executive VFX Producer for Framestore and Rodeo FX, she is deeply integrated into the global, constantly evolving industry. She is a mentor for Women in Animation, a co-founder of German Women in Animation and member of the FMX program board.
With many years of experience in international script development and financing, company owner Dirk Beinhold is a key driver of the continuous success of Akkord Film. Beyond being Akkord Film’s CEO, the USC Peter Stark Program alumnus plays an important role in strengthening the German and European animation industry and its producers. He is Vice-Chairman of Animation in Europe (federation of E.U.-based animation producers associations), founding board member of the new animation branch of the German Film Academy and board member of the animation branch of the German Producers Alliance.
Going forward, Akkord wants to put more focus on global IPs and original content to produce films and series targeted at an international audience and tailored to a broad spectrum of old and new media platforms. Collaboration and co-production with exceptional creatives and internationally experienced and innovative German and European animation studios will complement Akkord’s studio in Hamburg, headed by production manager Anne-Sophie Presch-Gacon. Akkord will expand its creative network within the industry and strengthen its existing script development team (Creative Producers Katharina Wicke, Susanne Biesinger and Claudio Winter).
The international debut of The Elfkins – Baking a Difference as the fourth most successful German theatrical film outside Germany in 2020 (garnering the Children’s Jury Award for Best Animated Film at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, the Bavarian Film Award and Best Animated Film at the Giffoni International Film Festival) was a first step towards this future. The Elfkins’ next big adventure is scheduled to go into production in 2022. Currently, two animated series and two more feature films are set for completion in 2024-2025.
As award-winning global independent animation studio ZAG (www.zag.com) continues to build its executive leadership team, the company has appointed former Zinkia executive Maria Doolan, who drove the global growth for the hit Pocoyo brand, to the newly created position of VP, TV Content. She reports to Jeremy Zag, Founder & CEO, and Julian Zag, EVP, Global Operations and Head of Global Consumer Products.
Doolan will be responsible for ZAG’s global strategy of content distribution across all platforms including television, home entertainment and digital media, for select properties in the ZAG Heroez portfolio. Her first priority will be focused on the company’s newest IP, Ghostforce, which was recently acquired by Disney Channels U.S. and debuted in October 2021 on Disney XD. Doolan will also work in partnership with ON kids & family (Mediawan) for the aspirational brand phenom Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, as well as all future ZAG properties.
Doolan has over 20 years’ experience managing, marketing and selling TV and retail products and properties, spending 17 years with Zinkia Entertainment. During her tenure with the company, she served in several roles, most recently as Global Head of International TV Distribution & Co-Productions, developing partnerships with multinational players. Prior, she served as Executive Producer of the Early Learning Collaborative, securing a U.S. Ready to Learn (RTL) grant with a local non-profit partner, becoming the first non-U.S. brand to get an RTL grant; 23 educational apps covering English-language learning and math for three- to five-year olds were developed. The grant managed a $34 million development and marketing budget and supervised the project launch with complementary school marketing materials produced for U.S. distribution. In her earliest and most long lasting role as Managing Director of Brand & Business Development, Doolan was responsible for financing, marketing and managing Pocoyo worldwide, defining the brand and product strategy and market positioning; and developing key L&M partnerships.
Maria Doolan
Entertainment content and technology house Trioscope (www.trioscopestudios.com), known for its proprietary animated drama engine, today announced the expansion of its creative team with two key executive hires:
Chief Strategy Officer John Evershed, who boasts an impressive 30-year resumé, is on board to help formulate and articulate Trioscope’s corporate strategy and trajectory, including corporate, project and slate financing, international co-production and business development. An innovative entrepreneur across film, TV, streaming and social media, Evershed advises several companies including Chonky, Mellow Manor and ZikVid and is the author of the annual Adult Animation White Paper. He previously served as the CEO of Mondo Media, where he oversaw the channel’s formation on WarnerMedia’s SVOD platform VRV, generated 5 billion views on YouTube and raised more than $100 million in company and project financing. He also produced multiple originals for a spectrum of networks, including Adult Swim, MTV, Syfy and IFC. Throughout his career, Evershed nabbed multiple awards for his creative work, including two Annie awards for Happy Tree Friends (G4) for Best Animated TV Series and the Berlin Film Festival’s award for Best Adult Animated Feature for Dick Figures: The Movie.
Vice President of Production Taylor Church brings more than 10 years of industry experience to her new role at Trioscope, where she supervises all facets of production from pre-production to post. Before joining the company, Church was a longtime collaborator on Trioscope’s hybrid live-action/animation series The Liberator (Netflix). She spent several years at the School of Humans, an Atlanta-based multi-platform production house, where she produced countless hours of programming; spearheaded the podcast division; and was at the helm of the successful podcast Hell and Gone.
The news follows a highly successful year for the studio, which has seen rapid growth with a recent $5.25 million investment from BITKRAFT, Sony and more to further pioneer a genre of animated content for global audiences. In addition to the premiere of The Liberator on Netflix, which reached #3 worldwide for the platform, the company recently finished production on the short film Night of the Cooters, produced by George R. R. Martin and starring Vincent D’Onofrio, who also directs. Trioscope also has partnered with Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, Netflix and A&E Studios for unannounced projects and announced a television development and production partnership with major music powerhouse Quality Control.
John Evershed | Taylor Church
The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE, www.mpse.org) announced the reelection of Mark Lanza to a two-year term as President. Additionally, David Barber has been elected to a two-year term as Secretary, a position he has held on an interim basis for the past year. Lanza and Barber join continuing Board Officers, Steve Urban (Vice President), Jeremy Gordon (Treasurer) and Christopher Reeves (Sergeant-at-Arms). In the organization’s annual board elections, Korey Pereira and Harry Snodgrass were elected as new board members. Returning board members include David Bondelevitch, Baylon Fonseca, Christina Horgan, Kevin Howard, Eric Marks, Stuart Morton and Solange Schwalbe.
MPSE is preparing for the 69th Annual Golden Reel Awards, scheduled for March 13, 2022. The 68th Annual MPSE Golden Reel Awards were held this past April 16 as a virtual event. It was a great success, including winners, nominees, presenters and attendees from around the globe. The team behind Pixar’s Soul took home the Feature Animation award.
Netflix has announced a new adult animated and live-action comedy series, Saturday Morning All Star Hits!, from creators/exec producers Kyle Mooney of Saturday Night Live and Ben Jones, Creative Director of Bento Box Entertainment and creator of series Stone Quackers (FXX), The Problem Solverz (Cartoon Network) and Neon Knome (Adult Swim).
Saturday Morning All Star Hits!
Saturday Morning All Star Hits! celebrates all that is ’80s and ’90s television. Wildly irreverent and slightly disturbing, twin hosts Skip and Treybor (Mooney) take us on a trip through the Saturday Morning cartoon experience.
The eight-episode series will premiere December 10 on the streamer.
Saturday Morning All Star Hits!
Bento Box Entertainment is the animation studio for the project, which is produced by Broadway Video.
In addition to Mooney and Jones, executive producers for the series are Lorne Michaels, Andrew Singer and Katy Jenson for Broadway Video; Scott Greenberg and Joel Kuwahara for Bento Box Entertainment; Dave McCary and Scott Gairdner.
This Thanksgiving, Bugs, Daffy, Porky Tweety and more of your favorite Looney Tunes are dishing out a third season of mayhem in Looney Tunes Cartoons, available for streaming Thursday, November 25 on HBO Max.
In these nine new episodes, the mischievous mouse duo Hubie and Bertie star in their first Looney Tunes Cartoons dedicated short, where they risk it all to break into a cheese shop. Also in store, Sylvester crashes Tweety’s birthday party while Daffy the Caveduck and Prehistoric Porky have a Stone Age adventure. Back in modern times, Petunia Pig tries her hoof at gardening and Marvin the Martian has finally conquered Earth… except no one bothered to tell Bugs.
These and more Looney misadventures are in store on Thanksgiving Day — 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 Looney Tunes 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), Candi Milo (Granny) and Michael Ruocco (Beaky Buzzard).
Paramount+ and Nickelodeon are celebrating the holidays with an all-new Rugrats half- hour special episode, “Traditions,” premiering exclusively on Paramount+ on Thursday, December 2. The episode will later air on Nickelodeon on Friday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT).
In the multi-denominational special episode, when Tommy’s first Chanukah falls on Christmas Eve, the Pickles family must juggle their family traditions to make sure each feels important, while also celebrating Las Posadas with Betty and her family. The episode features guest stars Raini Rodriguez as Gabi, Swoosie Kurtz as Minka, Henry Winkler as Boris and Tata Vega as Tia Esperanza.
The episode aims to explain the various ways the holidays are celebrated and explore how families from different cultures come together to create their own new and unique traditions. (Winkler, playing Tommy’s “Bubbe,” even ad-libbed the Chanukah prayer heard in the episode.)
Rugrats “Traditions”
Rugrats “Traditions” was written by executive producers Kate Boutilier and Eryk Casemiro. Lalo Alcaraz (The Casagrandes) served as a research consultant, and co- producer Rachel Lipman (Rugrats) served as a cultural advisor.
In addition to the new special, the classic holiday episode “A Rugrats Chanukah” is available to stream, along with the entire original Rugrats series, on Paramount+. Fans can also catch “A Rugrats Chanukah” in the Nickelodeon Pluto channel’s 24- hour marathon of the episode starting at 6 a.m. (ET/PT) on Sunday, November 28, the first night of Chanukah. Following the marathon, the iconic episode will air every night of Chanukah (Sunday, Nov. 28 through Sunday, December 5) on NickRewind at 11 p.m. (ET/PT), and another six times throughout Nick Pluto Flashback Friday on Friday, December 3.
Rugrats “Traditions”
From Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Paramount+’s new Rugrats series is a reimagining of the classic ‘90s hit that features rich and colorful CG-animation and follows the babies as they explore the world and beyond from their pint-sized and wildly imaginative point of view. The series stars EG Daily (Tommy Pickles), Nancy Cartwright (Chuckie Finster), Cheryl Chase (Angelica Pickles), Cree Summer (Susie Carmichael) and Kath Soucie (Phil and Lil DeVille) reprising their roles, alongside Ashley Rae Spillers and Tommy Dewey (Didi and Stu Pickles); Tony Hale (Chas Finster); Natalie Morales (Betty DeVille); Anna Chlumsky and Timothy Simons (Charlotte and Drew Pickles); Nicole Byer and Omar Miller (Lucy and Randy Carmichael); and Michael McKean (Grandpa Lou Pickles).
GIPHY Arts has launched a new collaboration with award-winning animation studio Cartuna, generating a collection of shorts showcasing the work of 60 animators from around the world. Dubbed HEADS UP!, the bite-sized pieces are available to share via GIPHY Clips now.
Each episode features a different set of animators that had free rein in their interpretation of Cartuna’s fun and inventive prompts. The shorts tap into different cultural perspectives to universal subjects such as recipes and sports, as well as anomalous explorations into human existence and perplexing questions like what one might find on their way to the earth’s core.
As Cartuna describes it: “HEADS UP! Projectiles are flying in this exquisite corpse from Cartuna X GIPHY. Animators play a game of catch showcasing cultural pastimes, reminiscing on childhood memories and exploring the wacky imaginations of artists from around the world.”
Participating artists in HEADS UP! include Bujor Stefanescu, Keith Garces, Dan Forke, Jason Joannes, Miguel Duarte, Pattama Homrod, Sopedou Fu, Rachael Greenfield, Kiana Caines, Carl D’Arpa, Xinhui Ma, Hoss Wheeler, Preston Spurlock, Misato, Jenny He, Beeld Motion, Kimmie King, Angélica Agélviz and Connor Yarish.
The project was polished with sound design by Logan Baldwin, music by William Benckert and editing by Ben Bishop.
Founded in Bushwick, Brooklyn (NY) in 2015, Cartuna is an award-winning, full-service animation studio producing for TV, feature film, music videos, shorts and commercials. Commissioned work includes animated reimaginings of VMA performances by Backstreet Boys, Doja Cat and Lil Nas X (MTV); My Squishy Little Dumpling “Can You Resist the Squish?!” and SpongeBob Reimagined (Nickelodeon).
Cartuna’s original creations include series Magical Girl Friendship Squad (SYFY TZGZ), Loafy (Comedy Central), Liverspots and Astronots (Facebook Watch) and Sundance Indie Episodic premiere Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time, as well as festival fêted works including Michaela Olsen’s short Under Covers, Emily Ann Hoffman’s Blackheads and Penny Lane’s Nuts! Learn more at cartuna.com.
Each clip from the HEADS UP! series is available to share via GIPHY Clips. Search “heads up clips” or visit Cartuna’s GIPHY channel to explore them all.
Singapore-based media and entertainment-related investments company, Vistas Media Capital, today announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Paperboat Design Studios, an animation and design company based out of India, for an undisclosed amount. The studio, with more than 250 full time employees across its offices in Mumbai and Hyderabad, will help to make further strides for Vistas Media Capital’s growing media ecosystem that spans across film and video content, NFT, gaming and metaverse.
The acquisition of the majority stake reflects Vistas Media Capital’s ongoing commitment to expanding its value chain of media, entertainment, and related technologies. This deal comes at the heels of a newly announced film project between Golden Ratio Films – a wholly owned subsidiary of Vistas Media Capital – and U.S.-based production company Appian Way Productions just last month.
Established more than a decade ago, Paperboat Design Studio has created animation and design work, as well as live-action film, for a diverse clientele. The studio also offers VFX and CGI services through its majorly owned subsidiary Occult Studios, based out of Mumbai. Some of the major clients of Paperboat and Occult include Disney India, Discovery Kids, McCann, World Bank, Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Nestlé, Burger King and Reebok.
Paperboat has also worked on a number of popular television series including Bandbudh aur Budbak and Fukrey Boyzz. The studio also worked on the 2D animated feature film, Bombay Rose, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019 and was the first Indian animation to open for the Venice Film Critics’ Week. Bombay Rose received critical acclaim for its animation quality and was the winner of the ANN Award for Best Animated Film at the 2021 Kids, Animation & More (KAM) Summit.
Currently, Paperboat is working on two international animation projects: Bhrigu and the Palace of Mirrors based on the book with the same name, and Kabuliwala, based on the classic short story by Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
The World of Goopi and Bagha
“Paperboat is a team of passionate, talented and creative people, who have demonstrated their capabilities in the past with multiple projects across animation and VFX,” commented Abhayanand Singh, Group CEO of Vistas Media Capital. With their inclusion in the Vistas ecosystem, both companies will benefit from a synergistic relationship helping grow the business beyond India across content, NFT, gaming and metaverse.”
Soumitra Ranade, CEO & Co-Founder of Paperboat Design Studios, said, “We are extremely excited about becoming a part of Vistas Media Capital as it gives us an opportunity to explore exponential growth within and outside of India. The capital infused will be used to expand the team, create original IPs across genres and age groups and cross synergize other verticals of Vistas Media Capital. The business and its offerings are at an inflection point of massive explosion in the post COVID world, across digital and traditional media and entertainment verticals.”
Vistas Media Capital is a media content, IP and technology company, headquartered in Singapore, that operates and invests in ventures across the ecosystem of the global media and entertainment industry. The businesses and venture investments are diversified across global content production & distribution, streaming platforms (video and music), animation & VFX studio, blockchain technology & NFT, gaming, digital media marketing, events and award IPs. www.vistasmediacapital.com
Paperboat Design Studios was founded by Soumitra Ranade, Aashish Mall and Mayank Patel in 2011 to create top-quality projects in design, animation and film; a mission which has extended to documentaries, children’s books, nursery rhymes, apps and games. Their animated feature The World of Goopi and Bagha premiered at TIFF and screened at prestigious international film festivals such as Busan, Dubai and MAMI. Their live-action, animation/VFX film Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon was screened at Sundance, Curitiba Brazil, OIFFA, IFFSA, Reaktor Film Festival Vienna, and more. Bombay Rose was the opening film at Critics Week at Venice and then went on to be screened at TIFF, Busan, Animation is Film, MAMI, Chicago and other top festivals.
Full Sail University today unveiled its plans to build a state-of-the-art Virtual Production Studio on its 210+ acre campus located in Winter Park, Florida. The Virtual Production Studio’s use of Unreal Engine (originally used to create real-time 3D environments for games), live event production and various aspects of filmmaking, artfully demonstrates the intersections between innovative storytelling, visual artistry and next-gen technology that are deeply ingrained within Full Sail’s educational mission.
Unlike traditional film sets, virtual production utilizes various software packages allowing users to marry both computer graphics and live-action footage in real time. This advancement gives content creators and contributors from various locations the ability to create and render digital environments, while onsite cast members are physically located in the studio working on set. Through a combination of tracking and real-time rendering abilities, this latest addition to the university’s campus will allow for immersive virtual environments (ranging from iconic landmarks to interplanetary landscapes, and more) to be created serving as scenic backdrops for film, TV and additional production projects.
Utilizing Brompton processors, and with 410 tiles on the ground, 90 tiles across its ceiling, and 2.8mm-pixel pitch, the facility features a 40ft wide and 16ft high LED wall (comprised of APG’s hyper pixel LEDs), and will be one of the most technologically advanced Virtual Production Studios on any college or university campus in the nation. This new facility will allow students to collaborate across multiple degree programs providing real-world experience with current trends and technology found in the entertainment industry, in addition to hosting professional projects and productions.
“As companies move to increasingly adopt virtual and augmented reality technology, Full Sail University continues to prove itself a national frontrunner by providing businesses with the talent necessary to drive innovation,” said Orlando Economic Partnership President & CEO Tim Giuliani. “With this new studio, Full Sail sets the stage to position its students to meet the future demand for content and applications developed specifically for virtual reality technologies. Full Sail’s studios, labs and educational programs contribute to the strength of Orlando’s world-renowned Modeling, Simulation and Training (MS&T) ecosystem and reinforce our region’s growing reputation as a leading technology and innovation hub. Beyond preparing high-skilled talent to meet the needs of our nation’s most innovative companies, Full Sail’s critical investment in our region’s digital infrastructure will act as a beacon for attracting, hosting and fostering the growth of professional productions right here in Orlando.”
Full Sail is dedicating over $3 million of direct capital investment to the creation of the on-campus Virtual Production Studio and supporting spaces and efforts. The investment in the new facility positively impacts the technology offerings to students and allows for additional project-based learning opportunities to be built within the curriculum across several areas of study.
“We knew this was the next logical step in our 40+ year investment in technology,” said Rick Ramsey, Education Director of Visual Arts at Full Sail University. “One of the most unique aspects of our new facility will be its 18 ft straight center section allowing us to accommodate game engine environments, as well as high resolution video environments, providing expanded creative use. This singular feature change will give the Full Sail virtual production studio more accurate and cleaner visual representation for the camera. Virtual production is where the industry is headed, and we are proud to bring the future of the entertainment industry to our students today.”
While the Virtual Production Studio will be utilized by Full Sail’s School of Television & Film, due to the university’s unique and wide range of degree program offerings, students within the Gaming and Art degree programs are uniquely positioned to begin creating content and environments, while numerous additional degree programs at the university can benefit from these facilities as well. These programs include:
Computer Animation Bachelors
Digital Cinematography Bachelors
Film Bachelors
Film Production Master of Fine Arts
Game Art Bachelors
Game Design Bachelors
Game Design Masters
Game Development Bachelors
Show Production Bachelors
Simulation & Visualization Bachelors
Additional information regarding the facility will be announced closer to the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled in 2022.
Full Sail University is an award-winning educational leader for those pursuing careers in entertainment, media, arts and technology. Founded in 1979, Full Sail has received numerous accolades throughout its 40+ year history, including most recently a 2021 “Top Graduate & Undergraduate Schools to Study Game Design” by The Princeton Review, a 2021 “Top 50 Film Schools” by The Wrap Magazine, and a 2019 “School/College of the Year” by the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges.
Full Sail University is a graduate and undergraduate degree-granting institution offering on-campus and online degree programs in areas related to Art & Design, Business, Film & Television, Games, Media & Communications, Music & Recording, Sports, and Technology. With over 80,230+ graduates worldwide, Full Sail alumni have worked on countless award-winning projects with individual recognition including Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, Addy, MTV Video Music Award and Video Game Award honors.
The nominees for the 34th European Film Awards (www.europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/the-show) were announced Tuesday, revealing the five animated features vying for a top prize this year. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Berlin, Germany on December 11. The nominees for European Animated Feature Film 2021 are:
The Ape Star – Linda Hambäck (Sweden/Norway/Denmark)
Even Mice Belong in Heaven – Denisa Grimmová & Jan Bubeníček (Czech Rep./Poland/Slovakia/France)
Flee – Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark/France/Sweden/Norway)
Where Is Anne Frank – Ari Folman (Belgium/France/Netherlands/Luxembourg/Israel)
Wolfwalkers – Tomm Moore & Ross Stewart (Ireland/Luxembourg/France)
Mission US: Prisoner in My Homeland
NHK announced the winners of the 48th Japan Prize (www.nhk.or.jp/jp-prize/english), celebrating the best in international educational content. This year’s contest received 267 entries from 48 countries and regions. Amid a live-action dominated list of winners, (the Grand Prix went to documentary I Am Greta), the web game Mission US: Prisoner in My Homeland (WNET Group, U.S.) was awarded Best Work in Digital Media.
The game enabled middle and high school students to vicariously experience the harsh history Japanese Americans endured during World War II. Players take on the role of a fictional 16-year old named Henry Tanaka as one day, he and his family suddenly have their belongings confiscated and are transported to an internment camp. Along the way, players must make tricky choices and are immersed in real photographs, recordings and other historical materials.
The Exploits of Moominpappa – Adventures of a Young Moomin
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival announced its full 2021 program (https://poff.ee/en/programmes/), which includes Current Waves, Screen International Critics’ Choice, Doc@PÖFF, Midnight Shivers, #PÖFFtrending, the Estonian Olympic Committee Sports Films, the Environmental Agency’s Environmental Films and screenings of the European Film Academy’s Discovery Award nominated films for this year. These join competition films previously announced, across the Official Selection, First Feature, Baltic Competition and Rebels with a Cause programs. It’s all kicking off November 16-24 in the Estonian capital.
In total, 179 feature films will screen, alongside 244 shorts at PÖFF Shorts, 55 as part of Just Film, 17 in KinoFF and 18 series at TV Beats. PÖFF’s film program features 34 world premieres, 32 international premieres and 11 European premieres. Select highlights include the World Premiere of The Exploits of Moominpappa – Adventures of a Young Moomin, directed by Ira Carpelan (Finland), in the children’s competition. The Rebels with Their Shorts program spotlights the compelling animated works Vadim on a Walk (Sasha Svirsky), The Walk (Yoakim Bélanger) and The Moon (Tomasz Popakul). Don’t miss the official <a href=”https://poff.ee/en/shorts-animation-competition-1/“>Shorts Animation Competition</a>, either!
The Pyramid
The Red Sea International Film Festival (https://redseafilmfest.com/en/) in partnership with VOX, the MBC GROUP and Saudia Airlines, today unveiled the program for its first edition, which will run from December 6-15 in Jeddah’s UNESCO World Heritage Site old-town (Al Balad) for its inaugural edition. Animation highlights of the selection include Mamoru Hosoda’s latest, most ambitious feature Belle, as well as the short films Carnivorous Bean Sprout (Sae-Rom Seo), Anxious Body (Yoriko Mizushiri) and The Pyramid (Mohamed Ghazala).
RTS Craft & Design Awards 2021 Effects nominees.
The Royal Television Society (RTS), Britain’s leading forum for television and related media, has announced the shortlist of nominations for the RTS Craft & Design Awards 2021 (https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-craft-design-awards-2021), sponsored by Apple TV+. The winners will be revealed on Monday, November 22 at the London Hilton on Park Lane. Across the 29 competitive categories, BBC One leads the way with 21 nominations, including four for its hit drama His Dark Materials and three for The Serpent. The nominees for Effects are:
Thomas Horton, Josie Henwood, Scott Pritchard & Alex Maldonado | Brave New World | UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group; Amblin Television for Sky One
Vine VFX | The Serpent | Mammoth Screen for BBC One
Effects Team | His Dark Materials | Bad Wolf for BBC One & HBO
Quirino Awards
The Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards have opened the registrations for its fifth edition, whose ceremony will take place on May 14, 2022 in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife. The call is aimed at works with majority production from one of the 23 Ibero-American countries, that have been released during 2021; although in the case of feature films, series and animations for video game works, the could have been released as of June 1, 2020.
Awards include six main categories: Feature Film, Series, Short Film, School Short Film, Commissioned Film and Animation for Video Game. The best works in three technical categories will also be recognized: Visual Development, Animation Design and Sound Design and Original Music. The works presented in the main categories will automatically compete in the technical competitive categories. Registration must be done through the Festhome platform before December 20, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (Spanish time).
This week, fans can catch up on the most stellar performances of SpongeBob’s irrepressible invertebrate buddy in The Patrick Star Fan Favorites Special, premiering Friday, November 12 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on Nickelodeon. Break out the mayonnaise, set your belts to Wumbo and prepare to scream “Leedle leedle leedle lee” along with YouTube star and superfan Unspeakable as he counts down the audience-voted greatest Patrick Star scenes of all time!
Unspeakable hosts this half-hour special from his perfectly pink Patrick Star Fan Cave, as he counts down the best Patrick moments from SpongeBob SquarePants, presents a never-before-heard Patrick Star theme song, proves Patrick Star is the one liner G.O.A.T. and offers up montages from the cartoon celebrity’s other hit series: The Patrick Star Show and Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years!
The Patrick Star Fan Favorites Special features animation from SpongeBob SquarePants, along with hilarious Unspeakable segments throughout. Fans voted for their favorite moments on Instagram, Twitter, and Nickplay.com, including classics like “Wumbo,” “Is mayonnaise an instrument?” “Dirty Dan,” “Is this the Krusty Krab?” and many more.
The Patrick Star Fan Favorites Special with Unspeakable
Unspeakable (Nathan Graham) is a digital creator and YouTube star who’s highly successful channels garner about 325 million monthly views. His family-friendly content includes building a life-size LEGO house, buying an island house and doing crazy stunts with his friends. He was originally known for his Minecraft content but gained immense popularity uploading onto his real-life vlog channel where he does anything and everything. Graham started creating videos in 2011 and within two years he hit 100k subscribers. He continues to put in over 115 hours a week on his content. Unspeakable has collaborated with brands and family-friendly YouTubers like Mattel, Nickelodeon, ZHC, Carter Sharer and PrestonPlayz, further solidifying his audience. Unspeakable is Houston-based and has a total of 5 channels totaling over 31 million subscribers.
SpongeBob SquarePants is currently rolling out season 13 on Nickelodeon, following SpongeBob and his Bikini Bottom friends as they continue to embark on new adventures, including an upcoming half-hour holiday episode, “SpongeBob’s Road to Christmas.” The franchise features the voices of Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks) and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton).
Since its launch July 17, 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has reigned as the most-watched animated series for 19 consecutive years, while generating a universe of beloved characters, pop culture catchphrases and memes, theatrical releases, consumer products, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and a global fan base. ·
Unity, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating interactive, real-time 3D content, announced today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Weta Digital’s tools, pipeline, technology and engineering talent. Ultimately, this acquisition is designed to put Weta’s incredibly exclusive and sophisticated visual effects tools into the hands of millions of creators and artists around the world, and once integrated onto the Unity platform, enable the next generation of RT3D creativity and shape the future of the metaverse.
Weta Digital will join Unity’s Create Solutions focused on the continual evolution of Weta Digital’s dozens of proprietary graphics and VFX tools, such as Manuka, Lumberjack, Loki, Squid, Barbershop, HighDef, CityBuilder and many more. In the future, with Unity’s deep expertise in real time, these world-class artist tools will be available to creators through an accessible cloud-based workflow.
Weta Digital’s Academy Award-winning VFX teams will continue to exist as a standalone entity known as WetaFX and is expected to become Unity’s largest customer in the Media and Entertainment space. WetaFX will still be under majority ownership by Sir Peter Jackson and helmed by CEO Prem Akkaraju.
Peter Jackson | Prem Akkaraju (Weta)
“Weta Digital’s tools created unlimited possibilities for us to bring to life the worlds and creatures that originally lived in our imaginations,” said Jackson, Chairman & Co-Founder, Weta Digital. “Together, Unity and Weta Digital can create a pathway for any artist, from any industry, to be able to leverage these incredibly creative and powerful tools. Offering aspiring creatives access to Weta Digital’s technology will be nothing short of game changing and Unity is just the company to bring this vision to life.”
“We are thrilled to democratize these industry-leading tools and bring the genius of Sir Peter Jackson and Weta’s amazing engineering talent to life for artists everywhere,” said John Riccitiello, President and CEO, Unity. “By combining the power of Unity and Weta Digital, the tools and technology that built characters and scenes from the world’s most iconic films such as Avatar, Lord of the Rings and Wonder Woman, will enable an entirely new generation of creators to build, transform, and distribute stunning RT3D content.”
Weta Digital is the premier creator and innovator of VFX and animation, pushing what is possible in pursuit of artistic vision and delivering high-quality, ultra-realistic characters, objects, and worlds for a wide variety of award-winning movies and television shows, such as Avatar, Black Widow, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, The Suicide Squad and more. Weta Digital achieves this superior level of performance with a world-class creative team of VFX artists and engineers, who helped build an extremely sophisticated artist pipeline and set of tools to conduct advanced facial capture and manipulation, anatomical modeling, advance simulation and deformation of objects in movement, procedural hair and fur modeling, and many more techniques that have been galvanized, developed and perfected through hundreds of properties across thousands of shots for more than 20 years.
Mortal Engines
“Unity is the best at delivering world-class tools and technology to creators. Together we have the opportunity to make Weta Digital’s award-winning, high-end artist pipeline and tools, which are in a class by themselves, accessible to a much broader audience of artists than what has been historically possible,” said Akkaraju, CEO of Weta Digital. “Weta’s goal has always been to inspire and motivate a whole new generation of creators and it’s exciting to pass the mantle over to Unity. I see a future where more and more content shares the same level of visual fidelity as Avatar and Game of Thrones, and Unity is the ideal company to lead us into this future.”
With this transaction, Unity will acquire:
Weta’s world-class engineering talent of 275 engineers that are known for architecting, building, and maintaining Weta Digital tools and core pipeline
Dozens of industry-leading tools such as Manuka, Gazebo, Barbershop, Lumberjack, Loki, Squid, Koru, and more, all integrated seamlessly into Weta’s industrial strength production pipeline
A foundational data platform for interoperable 3D art creation, making it easy for hundreds of artists to work seamlessly together
A library of thousands of incredible assets that the WetaFX team will continue to accumulate as they create world class VFX in the years to come
“Weta Digital’s sophistication is represented by dozens of tools that all build on the same, unified pipeline. Alone, each tool is uniquely powerful, but as a complete platform, they represent a quantum shift in our ability to make it easy for artists to bring their imagination to life and work together like never before,” said Marc Whitten, Senior VP & General Manager of Unity Create. “We are excited to work closely with WetaFX to continue to push the edge of the art of possible with these tools and to bring them to VFX, entertainment, and eventually gaming and other artists as we evolve our pipeline for content creators.”
Marc Whitten | John Riccitello (Unity)
Unity and Weta Digital are empowering the growing number of game developers, artists and potentially millions of consumer creators with highly sophisticated content creation tools and a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription model. By moving these high-fidelity tools and assets to the cloud, Unity and Weta Digital will open new possibilities for creators to use the canvas they already know and love, while getting access to incredibly powerful artist tools, procedural building blocks, and scalable content. Creators will have the power to improve processes and simplify production, with stable, predictable results that approach perfection, while ultimately building their own part of the metaverse.
Under the terms of the agreement, Unity will acquire Weta Digital for US$1.625 billion in a combination of cash and stock. Akkaraju, who joined Weta Digital as CEO in early 2020 and is the creator of Weta’s cloud commercial service, will remain Chief Executive Officer of WetaFX. Joe Marks, Weta CTO, will join Unity as Chief Technology Officer of Weta Digital. The proposed acquisition is expected to close during Unity’s fourth quarter 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
The Raine Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Weta Digital.
