Disney Channel has ordered a second season of animated buddy-comedy The Ghost and Molly McGee ahead of its series premiere on Friday, October 1 (9:35 p.m. EDT) on Disney Channel, following the debut of the new Disney Channel Original Movie Under Wraps. New episodes roll out Saturdays (9 a.m. ET) through November 27 on Disney Channel, with episodes available in October on Disney+.
Created and executive produced by Bill Motz and Bob Roth (LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures), along with executive producer Steve Loter (Kim Possible), the series follows tween optimist Molly, who lives to make the world a better place, and grumpy ghost Scratch, whose job is to spread misery. The first season will also welcome guest stars Kelsey Grammer (Cheers), Natasha Rothwell (Insecure), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) and Jane Lynch (Glee).
Joining the previously announced lead voice cast — Ashly Burch (Molly McGee) and Dana Snyder (Scratch) — the additional main series voice cast includes Jordan Klepper (Klepper) as the voice of Pete, Molly’s anxiously idealistic father; Sumalee Montano (The Lost Symbol) as the voice of Sharon and Grandma Nin, Molly’s creatively pragmatic mother and adoring grandmother, respectively; and Michaela Dietz (Steven Universe) as the voice of Darryl, Molly’s mischievously entrepreneurial brother.
Additional season one guest stars include Jenifer Lewis (black-ish), Danny Trejo (Machete), Aparna Nancherla (Corporate), Pamela Adlon (Better Things), Patton Oswalt (Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.), D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place), Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!), Jessica Keenan Wynn (Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) and Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs).
A trio of Chibi Tiny Tales shorts, featuring chibi-style versions of Molly and Scratch embarking on wild adventures, including a visit to The Haunted Mansion, will begin rolling out in October on Disney Channel, Disney Channel YouTube and DisneyNOW. Coinciding with the series premiere, DisneyNOW will launch a time-management game, Bandshell Boo-nanza!, in which players must perform a variety of fun-filled tasks in order to help Molly throw the best multi-day talent show ever. A digital EP, Music from The Ghost and Molly McGee, featuring five original songs from the series, is set for release Friday, Oct. 1, on Walt Disney Records. Additionally, an exclusive The Ghost and Molly McGee design will launch at Amazon.com/DisneyChannel this fall.
Rob Cantor (Tally Hall) is series songwriter, Madison Bateman (DuckTales) is story editor, and Britta Reitman (Star vs. The Forces of Evil) is producer. The series is a production of Disney Television Animation and carries a TV-Y7 parental guideline.
Another compelling animated feature import is joining the Netflix pantheon, as the streaming giant announces the acquisition of Cannes Film Festival 2021 Official Selection The Summit of the Gods (Le Sommet des Dieux), directed by Patrick Imbert (The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales) and based on the best-selling manga by Jiro Taniguchi and Baku Yumemakura.
Netflix will release The Summit of the Gods in select U.S. theaters on November 24, in the U.K. on November 26, and streaming worldwide (excluding Fance, Benelux, China, Japan and S. Korea) on November 30. The film premiered at Cannes in July.
Synopsis: Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8th, 1924? Only the little Kodak camera they took with them might reveal the truth. In Kathmandu, 70 years later, a young Japanese reporter named Fukamachi recognizes the camera in the hands of the mysterious Habu Jôji, an outcast climber believed missing for years. Fukamachi enters a world of obsessive mountaineers hungry for impossible conquests on a journey that leads him, step by step, towards the summit of the gods.
Imbert wrote the script with Magali Pouzol and Jean-Charles Ostorero. Producers are Ostorero, Didier Brunner (The Triplets of Belleville, Ernest & Celestine), Damien Brunner and Stéphan Roelants. Executive producer is Thibaut Ruby.
The Summit of the Gods is produced by France’s Folivari (Pachamama, SamSam, The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales) and Belgium’s Mélusine Productions (Wolfwalkers, The Prince’s Voyage, Swallows of Kabul).
Netflix has announced that it is launching a new mentorship program for emerging creatives — particularly from underrepresented communities — looking to break into the animation industry. Seeking to build on the impactful storytelling of productions like Maya and the Three, Ridley Jones and Over the Moon, the studio is looking to deliver more of these empathy and understanding-building stories to audiences, and increase the diversity of representation behind the screen at the same time.
In the announcement, Netflix points out that this journey starts with building talent pipelines into the biz. Entry level roles within animation are highly competitive, and candidates from top animation schools or referrals from industry connections have a significant advantage.
So, the streamer is launching the four-month Netflix Animation Foundations Program to broaden its reach and prepare underrepresented talent to compete in the early creative talent pools. The goal: build equity and increase access for underrepresented early creatives.
Program participants will be matched to a mentor from Netflix Animation Studio. Mentees will receive mentorship on the industry, career advice,and guidance with editing and curating professionally-styled portfolios, writing samples or resumes, so they are prepared to apply for internships, training programs and entry level positions within animation.
Netflix | LatinX in Animation | Exceptional Minds
For the Fall 2021 launch of this program, Netflix has partnered with LatinX in Animation and Exceptional Minds to identify candidates from the Latinx and neurodivergent communities.
LatinX in Animation (LXiA) represents a diverse group within the animation, VFX and gaming industries dedicated to uniting a talented pool of innovators with a heart to create exceptional stories across multiple platforms. They do so by organizing activities and events focused on networking, camaraderie, community service, education, communication and professional development. LXiA provides the resources necessary to promote and further develop Latinx creatives and decision-makers in the animation, VFX and gaming industries.
Exceptional Minds (EM) is the only autism education organization that provides technical instruction in the digital arts while fully integrating behavioral training into the curriculum. EM has a three-year, full-time Professional Training Academy that is unique in that it combines the skills of artists, instructors, technicians, and behaviorists into a completely articulated curriculum based on idiographic, empirically validated principles of instructional design.
The Boss Baby is back and reporting for business in DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby: Family Business, the hilarious DreamWorks Animation sequel guaranteed to bring the whole family together for rapid-toddling adventure and non-stop laughs. In celebration of the flick’s release on Digital today (August 31) and upcoming rollout on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray and DVD (September 14), Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is offering Animag readers a preview of one of the newborn bonus features fans can find on the release.
In this exclusive clip from just one of these fun behind-the-scenes peeks, the sequel’s voice stars and top creatives reflect on the “Special Lessons” to be learned from Family Business, and the experiences they shared in bringing it to the screen.
“I really mean this when I say, I’m more proud of this movie than pretty much all of the other movies I’ve ever made,” beams Alec Baldwin, the voice of the original Boss Baby (a.k.a. Ted). Amy Sedaris, who brings to life the new diapered executive on the scene Tina, notes, “While I was recording, I just felt like I was doing it for my god kids.”
The clip also features voice stars James Marsden (Tim) and Eva Longoria (Carol) as well as veteran DreamWorks filmmaker Tom McGrath. “I think the point of The Boss Baby: Family Business is, even if you kind of drift apart, it’s never too late to pick up the phone and reconcile your differences,” says the director & executive producer.
Building on the success of the first film, The Boss Baby: Family Business welcomes back the Templeton brothers Ted (Baldwin) and Tim (Marsden) as they’re introduced to a brand-new boss baby, Tim and Carol’s daughter Tina (Sedaris), who is on a mission from BabyCorp.
The home release of Family Business also features an all-new animated short, deleted scene, gag reel, interactive Creative Experiments Labs, drawing tutorial and more. Read all about it here!
DreamWorks Animation announced today The Croods: Family Tree series, inspired by the hit film The Croods: A New Age, will premiere on Peacock and Hulu streaming on September 23 with six episodes. The announcement was accompanied by a colorful trailer for the debut season, starring the odd cohabitating clans of Croods and Bettermans.
The Croods: Family Tree continues the ever-evolving story of the Croods and the Bettermans as they learn to live together on the most idyllic farm in prehistory. The journey from sparring rivals to unlikely friends is fraught with hilarious misadventures as the two families slowly overcome their differences to turn a treehouse divided into a treehome united.
The new series features the voices of Kelly Marie Tran (Raya and the Last Dragon) as Dawn, Amy Landecker (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) as Ugga, Kiff VandenHeuvel (This Is Us) as Grug, Ally Dixon (The Interview) as Eep, AJ Locascio (Voltron Legendary Defender) as Thunk, Dee Bradley Baker (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) as Sandy, Artemis Pebdani (Big City Greens) as Gran, Darin Brooks (The Bold and the Beautiful) as Guy, Matthew Waterson (Tales of Arcadia) as Phil and Amy Rosoff (Scandal, Criminal Minds) as Hope.
Mark Banker (Go, Dog, Go!) and Todd Grimes (The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants) serve as executive producers for the series.
The Croods: Family Tree is the latest entry in a franchise that began with the Oscar-nominated, $587.2 million-grossing 2013 DreamWorks Animation feature The Croods, directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders. This pic spawned the 2D-animated Netflix series Dawn of the Croods, developed by Brendan Hay, which ran for four seasons from 2015-2017. The 2020 big screen sequel The Croods: A New Age, directed by Joel Crawford, has totted up $215.9M in worldwide box office since its November 2020 release in spite of COVID-19, and topped PVOD rental lists on FandangoNow, Apple TV and Google Play.
Get ready to suit up! DC FanDome, the ultimate global fan experience, will return on Saturday, October 16 at 10 a.m. PDT, with an all- new, epic streaming event. The free virtual event will once again welcome fans from around the world to immerse themselves in the DC Multiverse at DCFanDome.com and celebrate the stars and creators of their favorite feature films, live-action and animated television series, games, comics, home entertainment releases and more.
DC FanDome 2021 will also be available on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, giving fans more ways to watch the events unfolding in DC FanDome’s Hall of Heroes. Additionally, DC Kids FanDome will launch the same day with a special kid-friendly experience accessed separately at DCKidsFanDome.com.
The animated titles taking the spotlight include the DC League of Super-Pets big-screen feature; new series Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Batman: Caped Crusader and Young Justice: Phantoms; Harley Quinn Season 3; and upcoming additions to the home entertainment movie library, Injustice and Catwoman: Hunted.
DC League of Super-Pets
“DC FanDome 2020 was a first-of-its kind global virtual fan experience and showcased every aspect of the DC Universe with unprecedented scale and access,” said Ann Sarnoff, Chair & CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group. “This year, we’re taking everything that people loved about DC FanDome and supercharging it to super-serve fans with even more exclusive first-looks, breaking news, in-depth interviews and insight from the stars and creative teams of their favorite DC content.”
Last year, the debut virtual event’s DC FanDome: Hall of Heroes and DC FanDome: Explore the Multiverse supercharged the worldwide fanbase, generating over 22 million global views across 220 countries and territories with more than 150 million views of trailer content.
DC FanDome 2021 will again feature an unrivaled gathering of casts and creators behind fan-favorite DC games, comics, movies and TV shows. Expect breaking news, exclusive trailers and announcements, never-before-seen footage, revealing conversations and more surprises in the DC FanDome:
Warner Bros. Animation will feature a look at the upcoming limited series Aquaman: King of Atlantis; provide a sneak peek at season three of the adult animated comedy series Harley Quinn and share what’s in store for #HarIvy; deliver a very early look at the next animated chapter of the Dark Knight in the all-new upcoming series Batman: Caped Crusader; and give fans a preview of Young Justice: Phantoms. (Warning: there will be spoilers!)
Warner Bros Home Entertainment will preview two upcoming original DC Animated Films: a sneak peek at Superman and the rest of the Justice League in Injustice, an all-new animated movie inspired by the popular games and comic, as well as the premiere of the trailer for the all-new animated heist movie Catwoman: Hunted. Both movies are produced in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
Aquaman: King of Atlantis
Warner Bros. Pictures will showcase six highly anticipated titles with an exclusive new trailer for The Batman, new content from DC League of Super-Pets, a first look at Black Adam, a sneak peek at The Flash and behind-the-scenes looks at Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Warner Bros. Television will offer a look at new seasons of Batwoman, The Flash, Superman & Lois and Sweet Tooth; a farewell tribute to Supergirl as it approaches its epic conclusion after six seasons; a celebration of 100 episodes of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow; a first look at forthcoming new drama Naomi; and a sneak peek at an upcoming episode of DC’s Stargirl.
Warner Bros. Games will feature new reveals from the highly anticipated Gotham Knights, developed by Warner Bros. Games Montréal, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, developed by Rocksteady Studios.
Injustice
DC publishing will honor the legacy of one of the world’s greatest Super Heroes and icon of truth and equality, Wonder Woman, with a showcase of three upcoming books. DC explores her history with the DC Black Label miniseries Wonder Woman Historia, expands the Amazon mythos with Nubia and the Amazons and honors the inspiration she has provided to women around the world with the original graphic novel Wonderful Women of the World. Additionally, DC will share details about the next installment of the epic, universe-spanning Batman/Fortnite comic crossover, and fans can also expect to hear more about the upcoming Batman: Fear State, the new six-issue Black Manta series, the return of the Milestone Universe, and much more.
HBO Max will unveil an exclusive look at the upcoming series Peacemaker and limited event series DMZ. The streamer is also debuting more surprises and sneak peeks from new series as well as returning favorites such as Titans and Doom Patrol. All four series hail from Warner Bros. Television.
Harley Quinn
All DC FanDome programming will be captioned in multiple languages, including Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian and Spanish. And DC FanDome will again be completely free to all fans worldwide. Adding to the worldwide DC FanDome experience, fans in China will be able to enjoy the global content plus a variety of exclusive and engaging local DC content.
In addition to joining the DC FanDome at the main DCFanDome.com destination, fans will be able to watch the event via Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. DC FanDome will be fully accessible on phones, tablets, laptops or desktops, allowing fans to take DC FanDome with them wherever they are. For all the latest scoop on DC FanDome, please be sure to visit DCFanDome.com regularly for news and updates. By registering at DCFanDome.com (it’s free!), you’ll get DC FanDome news directly in your inbox and gain access to members-only exclusives. And be sure to follow the #DCFanDome hashtag on social media and the DC social channels on Facebook (@dc), Instagram (@dccomics) and Twitter (@DCComics).
DC Kids FanDome
Once again, DC FanDome is going to be a family affair, serving the youngest DC fans with their own special experience in the DC Kids FanDome. Kids and their parents around the world can explore the DC Multiverse alongside their favorite DC Super Heroes, catch sneak peeks of upcoming DC animated adventures like Batwheels, DC Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go!, and immerse themselves in at-home digital activities all in a safe, kid-friendly environment at DCKidsFanDome.com.
Beginning today and running through the end of October, Warner Bros. Consumer Products will launch the DC FanDome Shop in the U.S. with additional territories around the world to follow, allowing fans from across the globe to stock up on DC FanDome apparel, accessories, collectibles and more. Featuring exclusive, only-available-here DC Comics merchandise, the DC FanDome Shop will drop new items every week leading up to the main event on October 16.
Batwheels
WarnerMedia Ad Sales has recruited a Legion of Brand Super Heroes to join the action at DC FanDome 2021. Ally and Unilever have come on-board as official sponsors and brand collaborators. With Ally’s commitment to The Milestone Initiative and Unilever’s support of Believe in Wonder, these franchise-first partnerships will allow each brand to align with DC’s IP to drive impactful change across the advertising and entertainment industries, as well as fans worldwide.
Leading up to DC FanDome and the event day itself, DC UNIVERSE INFINITE (DCUniverseInfinite.com) will be releasing more than 300 comics and graphic novels available to read for free with registration. New titles will be available each week, starting with the complete storyline of Flashpoint, fan-favorite series Injustice: Gods Among Us Vol. 1 and, available for the first time on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE, The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes!
ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS), a division of ViacomCBS, announced an exclusive deal with award-winning writer and director Juan José Campanella, on the heels of the studio’s successful first-look deal with Campanella’s production company, 100 Bares Productions.
The live-action thriller Los Enviados (The Envoys), directed by Campanella and starring Luis Gerardo Méndez, Miguel Ángel Silvestre and Irene Azuela, was produced under this first-look deal and will premiere later this year on ViacomCBS’ premium streaming service Paramount+ in Latin America. Season 2 of Los Enviados is currently in development under Campanella.
“We are thrilled to have such an amazing and talented writer and director like Juan José Campanella on board to write, produce, direct and provide consulting services for our studio under this agreement,” said JC Acosta, President of ViacomCBS International Studios and Networks Americas. “Campanella’s vision, passion, and talent for innovative storytelling is unparalleled and we are honored and excited to be working with him in this new capacity.”
“This relationship has been a dream come true for me. We have worked with ViacomCBS for the last five years, and it’s been such a nurturing relationship,” said Campanella. “In JC Acosta, I found a great leader and it’s amazing to develop great projects with creative, committed, and fun people. I am sure many good things will come out of this partnership.”
The Argentinian filmmaker is known in animation for helming the 2013 CGI feature Metegol (a.k.a. Underdogs), which set an all-time box office opening record for Argentina and at the time was reported as the most expensive film ever produced in the country, as well as the most expensive Latin American animated feature. The family sports adventure earned over $14 million in its home country and went on to score $31.775M worldwide. Metegol was awarded the Goya for Best Animated Film. An English-language version released in the U.S. featured the voices of Ariana Grande, Matthew Morrison, Nicholas Hoult, Taran Killam, John Leguizamo, Eugenio Derbez and Bobby Moynihan.
Campanella won the “Best Foreign Language Film” Oscar for The Secret in Their Eyes, as well as a Goya, Ariel and three Silver Condors. His feature film credits also include the award-winning features Son of the Bride and Same Love, Same Rain; The Weasel’s Tale and Moon of Avellaneda; the TV miniseries Winds of Water; as well as several episodes of Law & Order: SVU and House.
WarnerMedia has greenlit more episodes of the comedy animation Titoo – Har Jawaab Ka Sawaal Hu for POGO, its kids entertainment channel in India. The original series, produced by leading Indian animation studio Cosmos-Maya, premiered in July 2020. After a standout debut – one of the year’s biggest for any kids’ TV show in India – and four successful seasons, the latest commission includes a further 52 half-hour episodes as well as four 80-minute TV specials.
“After we received so much love for Titoo from POGO fans over the past year, it was in many ways an easy decision to greenlight new episodes. It’s such a great show and is clearly making an impression on kids and families,” said Abhishek Dutta, South Asia Network Head for POGO & Cartoon Network. “We continue to put faith in locally-made shows that demonstrate India’s burgeoning creativity and talent within the animation industry. In addition to Titoo, POGO’s line-up for the rest of 2021 is looking really impressive, with a steady rollout of new episodes, specials and fan-favorites.”
Titoo is a rip-roaring comedy that follows the daily escapades of its titular eight-year-old. Titoo is a good-hearted, intelligent kid who loves to help everyone, but inadvertently manages to brew even more trouble. Titoo’s quintessentially Indian yet wildly eccentric world includes his parents, his loving and protective brother and a faithful gang of friends, all with uniquely quirky personalities. Hilarity ensues when the spirited boy who has dubbed himself ‘Titoo the Great’ gets into trouble for his trickery along with his friends. But, no matter how sticky the situation that Titoo finds himself in, the clever and enterprising boy always comes up with a solution.
Watch the Hindi-language promo on POGO’s Facebook page.
Anish Mehta, CEO of Cosmos-Maya, commented, “We are elated to see the love that has been showered on Titoo since his debut. With his unique quirks and funny antics, he embodies the ‘novelty with familiarity’ mantra and is clearly a hit with the viewers. We’re certain that young fans will enjoy these brand-new escapades of Titoo. This is one of India’s fastest growing IPs and, together with POGO, we are pushing all creative boundaries to make this a mega show.”
Since early 2020, WarnerMedia has premiered more new local titles on its networks than any other broadcaster in India. As well as Titoo, POGO has debuted Lambu-G Tingu-G and Smashing Simmba. On companion channel Cartoon Network, viewers can enjoy Bollywood-inspired show Dabangg – The Animated Series and Bandbudh aur Budbak. Most recently, it also launched its first-ever Indian CGI superhero series, Ekans – Ek Se Badhkar Snake.
Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival brought its 25th edition to a close with the sold-out in-person screening of Takashi Miike’s The Great Yokai War – Guardians, bowing for its International Premiere at the festival, and the unveiling of this year’s esteemed award winners. This years big animated winners included the feature films Cryptozoo and Mad God as well as the Indian short Seen It were among this year’s worthy animated prizewinners.
Fantasia took up a hybrid format for the 2021 festival, returning to Festival Scope and Shift72 for the Canadian geo-locked virtual component and holding in-person screenings at Montreal’s historic Cinéma Impérial and the Cinéma du Musée. Across the digital and physical screenings, the festival boasts over 100,000 in viewing numbers that include ticket sales, badge purchases and streamed events. A record-breaking 500+ journalists from around the world were accredited for Fantasia, which also saw a heightened industry presence with numerous distribution and sales acquisitions being announced out of the fest, including pick-ups by Shudder, Utopia and Oscilloscope Films, and sales acquisitions by XYZ and Vanishing Angle.
Mad God
In addition to films, the festival presented a slate of virtual events accessible from anywhere in the world, notably headlined by masterclasses given by boundary-pushing Japanese filmmaker Shunji Iwai and Oscar-winning stop-motion animator and filmmaker Phil Tippett, who were honored with a Career Achievement Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award, respectively.
Fantasia’s 25th edition included 25 feature film World Premieres, 12 International Premieres, and 34 North American, with 24 countries represented in the full line-up, and its strongest program of Quebecois cinema to date. Animation and related highlights included the world premiere of Maya Tippett’s short documentary on her father, Worse Than the Demon; the North American premieres of features including Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji’s The Deer King, Joann Sfar’s The Little Vampire, Poupelle of Chimney Town from Studio 4°C, Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, Pompo: The Cinephile and Pascal-Alex Vincent’s documentary Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist; and an eclectic assortment of international shorts.
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko
The 2021 Fantasia animation winners are:
Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation Jury – president Hefang Wei (animator, Weilaï Productions Co-Founder, Kazak Productions Art Director), Ashkan Rahgozar (author, director, Founder and CEO of Hoorakhsh Studios) and Kalp Sanghvi (director, writer, Co-Founder of Ghost Animation Collective).
Best Feature: Cryptozoo (U.S.A., d. Dash Shaw) |”This film is a psychedelic paean, it is a modern and fascinating mythological painting, and it is also a strong political metaphor.”
Special Jury Mention: Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (Japan, d. Ayumu Watanabe) | “The jury mention award goes to Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko because of its creative storytelling and stunning animation.”
Seen It
Best Short Film – Gold: Seen It (India, d. Adithi Krishnadas) | “This film instantly stuck to me in terms of its graphic style. Lovely visuals and brilliant portrayal of haunting experiences with the use of humor.”
Best Short Film – Silver: Ghost Dogs (U.S.A., d. Joe Cappa) | “This film is about a dog’s feelings during midnight. The author’s sense of humor and the creepiness of the environment elicit a strange and fantastic emotion in the viewer.”
Best Short Film – Bronze: Mondo Domino (France, d. Suki) | “Because of the important message of the film, its outstanding animation, and music.”
Ghost Dogs
L’Écran Fantastique Award Presented by Yves Rivard, Canadian Correspondent
“The 2021 Prix L’Écran Fantastique is awarded to Phil Tippett’s animated feature Mad God. In addition to being an uncompromising work, the film seduces with its waking-nightmare qualities. Delirious, baroque, cruel, inventive, this film, visibly influenced by creators such as Lovecraft, Bosch, Jules Verne, Svankmajer and Kubrick (!), perfectly embodies the spirit of Heavy Metal, so dear to a large segment of fantasticophiles. We’re betting that with each viewing, new answers will be given to the many mysteries of its narrative.”
Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story
Audience Awards
Best Animated Film – Gold: Mad God (U.S.A., d. Phil Tippett) Best Animated Film – Silver: Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story (Philippines, d. Avid Liongoren) Best Animated Film – Bronze: The Deer King (Japan, d. Masashi Ando & Miyaji Masayuki)
Most Groundbreaking Film of the Festival: Mad God (U.S.A., d. Phil Tippett)
Best International Short – Bronze: Death and the Winemaker (Switzerland, d. Victor Jaquier)
Best Documentary – Bronze: Satoshi Kon, The Illusionist (France/Japan, d. Pascal-Alex Vincent)
Something wicked is coming around the corner in the all-new third season of Victor and Valentino, premiering Saturday, September 4 at 10:30 a.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network. Diego Molano’s supernatural comedy-adventure welcomes more guest stars to the frightful fun this season, including George Lopez, wrestler Oscar Gutierrez (a.k.a. Rey Mysterio), comedian Felipe Esparza and the all-women mariachi band, Reynas de Los Angeles.
Victor and Valentino
Victor and Valentino follows two half-brothers who spend a summer with their grandma in Monte Macabre, a small and mysterious town where the myths and legends of Mesoamerican folklore come to life. In S3, there’s something sinister unfolding in Monte Macabre, and Victor (voiced by Molano) and Valentino (Sean-Ryan Petersen) plan to sniff it out before it’s too late. Along the way, the boys will return to the Underworld for Dia de Muertos, hang out with the Reynas de Los Angeles for a mariachi musical, and mark Halloween with a harrowing two-part spooktacular special.
Cologne, Germany’s annual videogames confab gamescom has closed its second consecutive all-digital edition, increasing its viewership by 30% over 2020 as more than 13 million industry pros and fans from 180-plus countries tuned in across the full program. These numbers are set to increase as the recorded 2021 sessions remain available to watch online. The Opening Night Live alone (rebroadcast in 1,500+ co-streams in a variety of languages) increased about 25% to 5.8 million viewers, the reach of “Awesome Indies” more than doubled to half a million viewers, and access to the festival via Steam grew 43% to over 1 million virtual visitors.
gamescom
In 2021, the community was very active due to new formats: together, fans solved all 30 quests as part of gamescom EPIX, winning numerous prizes from the gamescom VAULT for tens of thousands of gamers. Fifteen thousand players took part in the Indie Arena Booth Online’s interactive game, 500 of whom spent extra time in the “Summer Camp of Doom” and reached max level 50. In addition, the community donated a total of almost 7,000 euros to the gamescom forest climate and preservation project.
Lost in Random
“gamescom 2021 has relied entirely on the power of the community. Whether co-streaming gamescom: Opening Night Live, joint quests at gamescom EPIX or even our fundraising campaign for the gamescom forest: the many shows, campaigns and the central content hub gamescom now were used millions of times by the community worldwide,” said Felix Falk, Managing Director of games – the Association of the German Games Industry. “In addition, we created a particularly large number of interaction opportunities this year in order to create the incomparable atmosphere of gamescom digitally as well. I am very pleased that gamescom 2021 with its many further developments was so well received. This makes it a great success for us and all the partners involved.”
Syberia: The World Before
As well as offering unique experiences for games fans, the event’s leading conference for the European games industry — gamescom congress — presented 35 program tracks and welcomed 56 experts (equally split between women and men) to discuss the potential applications of computer games in society and business. About 118,000 people followed the two-day program. This new attendance record was achieved in part with the support of Twitch. Many presentations can still be watched on gamescom.now.
Halo Infinite
The devcom Developer Conference 2021 was also a great digital success and brought together over 2,000 trade visitors from as many as 87 countries for the first time. In total, more than 250 speakers offered exciting talks, panels and fireside chats, which is around 50% more content than last year. The conference’s diverse program also offered over 55 hours of live streaming on Twitch and was watched by around 200,000 people.
As for the gamescom awards 2021, which presented honors in 22 categories during Opening Night Live (hosted by Geoff Keighley) and during gamescom studio, jury members and fans agreed on the year’s big winner: Elden Ring. The jury awarded the title Best Action Adventure, Best Role Playing Game, Best Sony PlayStation Game and crowned it with the main prize Best of gamescom. The gamescom fans further chose Elden Ring as their most hotly-anticipated title.
Elden Ring
This year’s winners are:
Platform
Best Microsoft Xbox Game: Halo Infinite, Microsoft
Best Nintendo Switch Game: Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Ubisoft
Best PC Game: Syberia: The World Before, astragon Entertainment
Best Sony PlayStation Game: Elden Ring, FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Europe
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Genre
Best Action Adventure Game: Elden Ring, FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Europe
Best Action Game: Far Cry 6, Ubisoft
Best Family Game: Super Dungeon Maker, rokaplay
Best Indie Game: Lost in Random, Zoink Studios / EA Originals
Best Role Playing Game: Elden Ring, FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Europe
Best Simulation Game: Park Beyond, Limbic Entertainment / Bandai Namco Europe
Best Sports Game: Riders Republic, Ubisoft
Best Strategy Game: Age of Empires IV, Microsoft
Best Multiplayer Game: Halo Infinite, Microsoft
Best Ongoing Game: Apex Legends, Electronic Arts
Most Original Game: Dice Legacy, DESTINYbit / Ravenscourt
Dice Legacy
Consumer Awards
Best Streamer: Fextralife
gamescom “Most Wanted”: Elden Ring, FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Europe
gamescom global Awards
Best Announcement: Saints Row, Volition / Deep Silver
Best Lineup: Bandai Namco Europe
Best of gamescom: Elden Ring, FromSoftware / Bandai Namco Europe
Best Trailer: Saints Row, Volition / Deep Silver
Heart of Gaming Award: Let’s Play 4 Charity
gamescom 2022 will take place in Cologne and online from August 24 to 28.
Un Rescate de Huevitos (An Egg Rescue), the latest release in the hit An Egg Movie franchise from Mexico’s Huevocartoon Producciones, has jumped into the frying pan of the COVID cinema calendar and proved a hit as a specialty release aimed at Spanish-speaking audiences. Released by Pantelion Films across the U.S., the CGI-animated adventure is on track to gross $430K in its opening weekend.
The huevitos rolled out to 320 locations, earning a per-screen average of over $1,300, with Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Austin as its best-performing markets.
Once again written, directed and produced by Huevocartoon founding brothers Gabriel and Rodolfo Alatriste, Un Rescate de Huevitos is the fourth entry in Mexico’s highest-grossing film series, following the events of 2015’s Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos (A Rooster with Many Eggs), also released in the U.S. by Santa Monica-based Pantelion.
Un Rescate de Huevitos (An Egg Rescue)
The movie follows our plucky rooster, Toto (voiced by seven-time Ariel Award winner Bruno Bichir) and his lovely hen wife, Di (actress/singer Maite Perroni) on a dangerous quest into the Congo to recover their stolen egg-children from the clutches of a villainous Russian egg collector, and take them off the menu of a gourmet food event. The voice cast also features Carlos Espejel, Angélica Vale, Mayra Rojas, Miguel Rodarte, Mauricio Barrientos, Jesús Ochoa, Pepe Lavat, María Alicia Delgado and more.
The sequel is produced by Huevocartoon, Sky Mexico and Cinergistic Films. Videocine handled the release in Mexico, where the pic has grossed 29.3 million pesos (~$1.456M USD) since its August 12 release.
A fifth huevos adventure, Un Gallo Congelado (A Frozen Rooster), is in development for release in 2022.
Ed Asner, a seven-time Emmy winner known to television history as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant and to animation lovers for his emotional voice starring role as Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s Oscar-winning feature Up, died Sunday, August 29 surrounded by family. He was 91 years old and was still working after more than 60 years on screen.
A message posted to the @TheOnlyEdAsner official Twitter account confirmed the news Sunday afternoon: “We are sorry to say that our beloved patriarch passed away this morning peacefully. Words cannot express the sadness we feel. With a kiss on your head – Goodnight dad. We love you.”
Ed Asner as Lou Grant
Asner was born November 15, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri as the youngest of five children, and attended Wyandotte High School. He was at University of Chicago for two years before joining the Army, returning to the Windy City after this stint and joining the Playwrights Theater Group (the future Second City Group). Asner moved to New York in 1955, honing his stagecraft and making his Broadway debut in Face of a Hero, starring Jack Lemmon, and performing at Shakespeare Festivals in Stratford and Central Park.
Asner moved to Los Angeles in 1961 and began building a career as a character actor in television — on series such as Ironside and The Fugitive — as well as in films including Kid Galahad, El Dorado and Gunn through the 1960s. A failed pilot in 1970 brought him to the attention of Grant Tinker, who cast Asner as Lou Grant in the hit Mary Tyler Moore Show, which ran for seven seasons and secured the actor three supporting Emmy Awards as well as a continuation of the role on the hour-long drama Lou Grant, for which he picked up two leading actor Emmys. Asner secured his two other gold statuettes for his work on the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man and Roots. Notable live-action credits also include ELF (the fifth time he played Santa Claus) and more recent turns in Grace & Frankie and Cobra Kai.
Gargoyles (Hudson)
The actor’s distinctive voice and performing skill were a natural fit for voiceover and narration work in live-action, transitioning into animation in the 1980s, including Hanna-Barbera’s Stories from the Bible and Filmation fairy tales Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night and Happily Ever After. He voiced recurring roles in 1990s series Fish Police as Chief Abalone, Batman: The Animated Series (Roland Daggett), Captain Planet and the Planeteers (Hoggish Greedly), Gargoyles (Hudson), Freakazoid! (Sgt. Cosgrove), Spider-Man: The Animated Series (J. Jonah Jameson) and Superman: The Animated Series as Granny Goodness, which he reprised in 2004’s Justice League Unlimited and the movie Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010), as well as numerous guest roles.
Batman: The Animated Series (Roland Daggett)
Through the early 2000s and 2010s, Asner stepped into the recording booth for recurring roles in Max Steel, Spider-Man, W.I.T.C.H. and The Boondocks, as well as bringing characters to life for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, The Wild Thornberrys, Johnny Bravo, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Family Guy, King of the Hill, The Cleveland Show, Regular Show, American Dad!, Ballmastrz 9009 and SpongeBob SquarePants, as well as more recent episodes of musical comedy Central Park and, of course, as the curmudgeonly widower Carl who finds a new sense of family on the wild adventure of Pete Docter’s Up (2009). Asner reprised the role for upcoming Disney+ shorts series Dug Days, based on the movie.
The Boondocks (Ed Wuncler)
Asner served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981 to 1985, stirring controversy with his public declamation against U.S. involvement in El Salvador, protest against South African apartheid and the organization’s rescinding of an award given to then-POTUS Ronald Reagan after his dissolution of the air traffic controller’s union. He later clashed with the guild by joining in lawsuits over health plan changes and unpaid residuals. However, he received a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, which joined a 2000 Ralph Morgan Award from the guild. He was inducted into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame in 2003.
“There have been few actors of Ed Asner’s prominence who risked their status to fight for social causes the way Ed did,” SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris said in a statement on the star’s passing. “He fought passionately for his fellow actors, both before, during and after his SAG presidency. But his concern did not stop with performers. He fought for victims of poverty, violence, war, and legal and social injustice, both in the United States and around the globe.”
Asner is survived by his children, Matthew, Liza, Kate and Charles.
Robotech, the space opera anime epic of humans defending their homeworld against alien domination, is set to return for a new generation of audiences as Funimation premieres all 85 episodes of the series remastered — along with the two movies, Robotech II: The Sentinels and Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles— on its streaming service in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand on August 24.
Produced by Harmony Gold and Tatsunoko Productions, the action-adventure animated series Robotech introduced an entire generation of viewers to anime when it first premiered in 1985 and, to this day, has a thriving and extensive fan base around the globe.
Robotech Remastered Comparison
Robotech is told through the eyes of characters caught up in a series of wars that erupts when a mysterious spacecraft crash-lands on Earth. Only through unlocking the secrets of “Robotechnology” do they have any hope of surviving. The sprawling series helped introduce a generation of western audiences to anime and is full of engaging drama, genuine relationships and forward-thinking ideas.
Robotech – Collector’s Edition (Funimation)
Funimation will also exclusively debut the Robotech – Collector’s Edition box set on September 28 on the Funimation Shop, containing all 85 episodes of the series, all remastered for the first time on Blu-ray in Dolby Digital. The remastering will be faithful to the preceding DVD box set release and retain a classic “film grain.”
With its retro packaging design, the collector’s edition also includes: an exclusive Variant Transforming Robotech – Roy Fokker’s VF-1S; an exclusive Variant Action Figure – Roy Fokker in Pilot Uniform Variant Shade of Black; and a series of embroidered patches. It’s the first time and truly one-of-a-kind dual packaging of the Transforming Robotech and action figure.
Epic Games has released Unreal Engine 4.27, introducing powerful new features for creators across game development, film and television, architecture, automotive and beyond. Highlights include major updates to the in-camera visual effects toolset for virtual production, enhancements to GPU Lightmass for significantly faster light baking, integration of the Oodle Compression Suite and Bink Video codecs for free use in Unreal Engine, production-ready Pixel Streaming, production-ready OpenXR support, Datasmith upgrades, and much more.
This release introduces a slew of improvements to the efficiency, quality and ease of use of Unreal Engine’s in-camera visual effects (ICVFX) toolset 一 making it faster and easier than ever to utilize this revolutionary virtual production technique that is changing the face of filmmaking. Epic recently teamed up with filmmakers’ collective Bullitt to further prove out these tools by making a short test piece and putting the latest production workflow through its paces. That free sample project is now available for the community to download.
Unreal Engine ICVFX
With the new 3D Config Editor in 4.27, users can more easily design their nDisplay setups for LED volumes or other multi-display rendering applications. All nDisplay-related features and settings are now combined into a single nDisplay Root Actor for easier access, and the addition of multi-GPU support now enables nDisplay to scale more efficiently. Multi-GPU support also enables users to maximize resolution on wide shots by dedicating a GPU for in-camera pixels, and to shoot with multiple cameras, each with its own uniquely tracked frustum. Additionally, 4.27 adds support for OpenColorIO to nDisplay, ensuring accurate color matching of Unreal Engine content to what the physical camera sees on the LED volume.
Also in 4.27, Unreal Engine’s Virtual Camera system has been significantly enhanced, adding support for more features such as Multi-User Editing, and offering a redesigned user experience and an extensible core architecture. Live Link Vcam, a new iOS app, enables users to drive a Cine Camera in-engine using an iPad. There are also improvements for producing correct motion blur in traveling shots, accounting for the physical camera with a moving background.
Lastly, new Level Snapshots let users easily save the state of a given scene and later restore any or all of its elements, making it simple to return to a previous setup for pickup shots or for creative iterations.
In addition, Epic’s partners at disguise offer a fully integrated ecosystem of hardware, software and services for connecting physical stages with virtual sets through their RenderStream infrastructure, which has been updated to take full advantage of 4.27 features.
Unreal Engine GPU Lightmass
Unreal Engine 4.27 offers many enhancements to GPU Lightmass, including more feature support and increased stability. The system uses the GPU rather than CPU to progressively render pre-computed lightmaps, leveraging the latest ray tracing capabilities with DirectX 12 (DX12) and Microsoft’s DXR framework.
GPU Lightmass significantly reduces the time it takes to generate lighting data for scenes that require global illumination, soft shadows, and other complex lighting effects that are expensive to render in real time. Since users can see the results progressively, it’s easy to make changes and start over without waiting for the final bake, making for a more interactive workflow.
For in-camera VFX workflows, GPU Lightmass enables crews to modify virtual set lighting far more quickly than before, making productions more efficient and ensuring that creative flow is not interrupted.
Unreal Engine Path Tracer for Final Pixels
The Path Tracer is a DXR-accelerated, physically accurate progressive rendering mode in Unreal Engine that can be enabled without requiring any additional setup. In 4.27, a range of improvements make the Path Tracer viable for creating final-pixel imagery comparable to offline renderings — with features such as physically correct and compromise-free global illumination, physically correct refractions, feature-complete materials within reflections and refractions, and super-sampled anti-aliasing.
Users can now also tap Movie Render Queue to render from multiple cameras as a batch process, without having to go through complicated Sequencer setups. This makes it easy to repeatedly create a series of large stills from different viewpoints while working through creative iterations or variations.
With RAD Game Tools becoming part of the Epic Games family, the Oodle Compression Suite and Bink Video codec are now built into Unreal Engine, putting some of the fastest and most popular compression and encoding tools in the industry into the hands of Unreal Engine developers for free.
Unreal Engine Pixel Streaming
Pixel Streaming is now production-ready, with a host of quality improvements and an upgraded version of WebRTC. This powerful technology enables Unreal Engine and applications built on it to run on a high-powered cloud virtual machine, delivering the full-quality experience to end users anywhere on a normal web browser on any device. In this 4.27 release, we’ve also added support for Linux and the ability to run Pixel Streaming from a container environment.
This release furthers Epic’s goal of having Unreal Engine connect as seamlessly as possible to additional tools, with enhanced support for USD and Alembic. With 4.27, users can export many more elements to USD — including Levels, Sublevels, Landscape, Foliage and animation sequences — and import materials as MDL nodes. Users can now also edit USD attributes from the USD Stage Editor, including through Multi-User Editing. In addition, it’s now possible to bind hair and fur Grooms to GeometryCache data imported from Alembic.
With Unreal Engine 4.27, it’s easier than ever to create XR content in Unreal Engine, with production-ready support for the OpenXR framework. The OpenXR plugin, which enables users to target multiple XR devices with the same API, now also offers support for additional features — including Stereo Layers, Splash Screens, querying Playspace bounds and motion controller visualization — and for extension plugins from the Marketplace, enabling you to add functionality to OpenXR without relying on engine releases.
We’ve also redesigned the VR and AR templates to offer more built-in features and easier setup, giving users a faster way to get started with their projects.
Unreal Engine USD and Alembic support (beta)
Through the new online subsystem (OSS) released in 4.27, Epic Online Services is now included directly in Unreal Engine. This update includes the integration of the Epic Online Services SDK within the engine, putting its tools and interfaces at your fingertips.
Additionally, a new Epic Online Services plugin for Unity is available today in open source. Developed and maintained by PlayEveryWare, the plugin will launch first on PC, with console and mobile support arriving later this year.
Epic Online Services power cross-platform social game experiences with engine-agnostic, open, modular, and free online services that connect friends on any platform and any store. Visit dev.epicgames.com for more information.
Hollywood’s legendary El Capitan Theatre presents Disney-Pixar’s double Oscar winner Soul on the big screen August 27 through September 2, shown in brilliant Dolby Vision Laser Projection & Dolby Atmos Audio Technology. The El Capitan Theatre will also be playing two new Pixar SparkShorts, Twenty Something and Nona before each screening of the movie.
El Capitan guests may also enjoy a Mighty Wurlitzer Organ performance playing Disney favorites before the movie Friday and Saturday.
Daily showtimes for Soul starting Friday, August 27 are 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Showtimes and dates are subject to change.
The El Capitan Theatre has taken enhanced health and safety measures to its guests and cast members. All guests must follow posted instructions while visiting the El Capitan Theatre. For health and safety information including theatre policies and procedures, visit https://elcapitantheatre.com/safetyinformation/.
Synopsis: What is it that makes you…YOU? Pixar Animation Studios’ feature film Soul introduces Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx) – a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22 (Tina Fey), who has never understood the appeal of the human experience. As Joe desperately tries to show 22 what’s great about living, he may just discover the answers to some of life’s most important questions.
Directed by Academy Award winner Pete Docter (Inside Out, Up), co-directed by Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami), written by Kemp Powers & Mike Jones, and produced by Academy Award nominee Dana Murray (Pixar short Lou), Soul also stars the voice talents of Phylicia Rashad, Questlove and Daveed Diggs. It features original jazz music by globally renowned musician Jon Batiste, and Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network), from Nine Inch Nails, composed an original score that drifts between the real and soul worlds.
Initially released on Disney+, the movie was one of the most well received animated features of 2020, winning two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, two BAFTA Awards, seven Annie Awards, five VES Awards, three Critics Choice Super Awards, an NAACP Image Award, PGA Award and many other honors from critics associations, professional guilds and festivals.
Read more about the making of Soul in Animation Magazine‘s feature storyhere.
Toonz Media Group and K6 Media Group have come together to bring a charming Christmas treat to Santa-fans everywhere — Li’l Santa, a brand new series based on the superhit comic books by Lewis Trondheim and Thierry Robin. Toonz has acquired the exclusive rights to distribute the preschool animation produced by K6 Media worldwide (except Canada, where the series is available in French on TeleQuebec.).
The first season (52 x 1 minute shorts) of the 2D series commences just before Halloween and follows the North Pole adventures of Li’l Santa (the pint-sized modern Santa eco-warrior with boundless energy and a big heart), culminating with a delightful 22-minute Christmas special. The show, currently available in English and French dubs, will be available in more languages soon.
“We are thrilled at Toonz Entertainment to start off with a strategic partnership with K6 Media Group as we set off the worldwide media distribution for Li’l Santa series and special,” said Bruno Zarka, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Toonz Media Group.
“It’s so exciting to be working together with a partner who we are confident will help us do this delightful, evergreen IP the justice it deserves,” said Laurent M. Abecassis. “This series and special is just the first of many stories from the magical world of Li’l Santa that we look forward to bringing to young audiences, in partnership with Toonz.”
Co-authored by celebrated French cartoonist Lewis Trondheim and award-winning French comic-book creator Thierry Robin, the Li’l Santa books have sold over a million copies in more than seven countries. The animated version retells the heart-warming stories of Li’l Santa and his friends and their magical moments. The series celebrates the spirit of Christmas with its focus on friendship, kindness and sharing, while also emphasizing on the universal and contemporary themes of conservation, sustainability and eco-friendly behavior. It’s the perfect programming for millennial families to embrace the holidays.
The show is currently in the final stages of post-production and will hit the market in October 2021, in time for Halloween.
Founded in Montreal, K6 Media Group is an award-winning production group specializing in innovative entertainment. The group’s activities include a production company, an animation studio and service team with a solid heritage in animation software. The studio has previously delivered the animated holiday specials Spookley the Square Pumpkin and Spookley and the Christmas Kittens. k6mediagroup.com
Toonz is a 360-degree media powerhouse with over two decades of unparalleled experience and one of Asia’s most active animation production studios (over 10,000 minutes of 2D and CGI kids and family content per year). Working with leading international partners including Marvel, Nickelodeon, Turner, Disney, Netflix, DreamWorks, Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, BBC, Amazon, Google, Hulu, HBO, CMG and Exodus Film Group, Toonz has produced highly-rated shows such as Wolverine and The X-Men, Speed Racer: The Next Generation, Playmobil, Dragonlance, Freefonix, Gummy Bear & Friends and Fruit Ninja. Current productions include Paddypaws and Pals in partnership with Keith Chapman, JG & the BC Kids with Janet Hubert, Sunnyside Billy conceptualized by Olivier Jean-Marie and Pierre the Pigeon Hawk starring Whoopi Goldberg, Will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson and Snoop Dogg. toonz.co
Paramount is offering up a treat everypup can enjoy: a sneak peek at the first six minutes of PAW Patrol: The Movie, now playing in theaters and on Paramount+. The thrilling intro sees a tanker trucker in pendulous peril on the bridge to Adventure Bay — thankfully, a good Samaritan is on hand to call in the city’s famous first responders to lend a few helping paws!
Synopsis: When their biggest rival, Humdinger, becomes Mayor of nearby Adventure City and starts wreaking havoc, Ryder and everyone’s favorite heroic pups kick into high gear to face the challenge head on. While one pup must face his past in Adventure City, the team finds help from a new ally, the savvy dachshund Liberty. Together, armed with exciting new gadgets and gear, the PAW Patrol fights to save the citizens of Adventure City!
Joining the PAW Patrol in their thrilling first big screen adventure are members from the original series’ cast along with Iain Armitage, Marsai Martin, Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian West, Randall Park and Dax Shepard, with Tyler Perry and Jimmy Kimmel and introducing Will Brisbin.
Based on the TV series created by Keith Chapman, PAW Patrol: The Movie is directed by Cal Brunker (The Nut Job 2, Escape from Planet Earth) from a screenplay by Billy Frolick and Brunker & Bob Barlen; story by Frolick. The film is produced by Jennifer Dodge, p.g.a., and exec produced by Ronnen Harary, Adam Beder and Peter Schlessel.
PAW Patrol: The Movie is a presentation of Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and Spin Master Entertainment, produced by Spin Master Ent.
Read more about the movie in Animation Magazine‘s feature story here!
In the first ever city-scale augmented reality (AR) experience for Wallace & Gromit, multi award-winning independent studio Aardman has partnered with immersive storytelling consortium Fictioneers for the release of their latest R&D collaboration: Fix Up the City. Starring the famed British duo, the new app which launches today uses the power of AR and hyper-precise digital scanning to transform the cities Bristol, Cardiff (U.K.) and San Francisco (U.S.) into a virtual stage.
The game, which will take approximately one hour to complete in the U.K., will involve fun, engaging, large-scale AR experiences that will play out before fans in a never before seen way; while the U.S. experience in San Francisco will be a condensed adventure through the game’s highlights. Players will interact with Wallace’s famous rocket, watch Gromit take off in his iconic plane — and even battle a colossal cleaning robot!
Business tycoon Bernard Grubb has commissioned our famous duo to spruce up the city in time for his festival. There’s absolutely heaps to do and all manner of contraptions to discover — including the colossal cleaning robot, Big LAD. But help is at hand from BERYL, a fussy yet friendly Artificial Intelligence — perhaps she can help find Gromit, who appears to have gone walkies…
Fix Up the City is voiced by award-winning British actor Miriam Margolyes (Call the Midwife, Early Man, Bottersnikes & Gumbles) as BERYL, Jim Carter OBE (Downton Abbey) as Bernard Grubb, YouTuber Joe Sugg (A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon) as Big LAD and Ben Whitehead as Wallace.
Bernard Grubb, Wallace, & Gromit | Wallace & Gromit: Fix Up the City
Available on iOS and Android smartphones, the Fix Up the City app is free to download (for a limited time) and will become available to use upon successfully detecting a user’s location in central Bristol (the home of Aardman studios), Cardiff Bay or downtown San Francisco.
The activity, funded by U.K. Research & Innovation (UKRI), follows Fictioneers’ successful launch of The Big Fix Up earlier this year, which was shortlisted for two Cannes Lions awards. Now available worldwide, the app demonstrates innovation in storytelling using the latest cutting-edge technology.
Working alongside Unity Technologies, which powers more than 60% of the world’s augmented reality and virtual reality content; and bespoke 3D mapping company, Fantasmo, the team at Fictioneers has been able to scan key architecture in each city to embed hyper precise AR features and experiences, making for a more personalized, immersive and encaptivating experience for fans.
The new augmented adventure has been created by Aardman, and Fictioneers: a collaboration of partners including Potato (part of the AKQA network), Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games.
— Wallace & Gromit: Fix Up The City (@thebigfixup) July 23, 2021
“Wallace & Gromit are no strangers to invention and new technology and we are delighted that they are part of such a groundbreaking project,” said Merlin Crossingham, Creative Director at Aardman. “For the first time you can actually be part of a Wallace & Gromit adventure, and experience them larger than life, out in the real world!”
Lee Cummings, Creative Director at Tiny Rebel Games and a co-Founder of Fictioneers, said, “We are so excited to launch Fix Up the City this summer. It’s an experience that puts these cities at the forefront of city scale augmented reality experiences. This project has enabled us to unleash our full ambition and capabilities harnessed during the development of The Big Fix Up.”
Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden, added, “This is such an exciting initiative — and I’m delighted to see an innovative and creative project also acting as an economic boost for the city. Being alongside Bristol and San Francisco really does put Wales’ creative credentials on the map. We look forward to seeing people enjoying Wallace and Gromit adventures over the summer.”
Screen Australia has announced four children’s productions will share in $3.2 million (US$2.3M) of production funding. This includes the animated projects 100% Wolf: The Book of Hath and a Kangaroo Beach Summer Special, both for the ABC.
“We are proud to announce this impressive line-up of children’s titles as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting quality Australian screen stories for young audiences. It’s important that Australian kids can see their stories and experiences reflected on screen and families around the country will be in for a treat with these new projects,” said Sally Caplan, Screen Australia’s Head of Content. ” … fans of Kangaroo Beach and 100% Wolf will be delighted to see more of these entertaining stories coming to the ABC.”
100% Wolf: The Book of Hath: A 26-part second season of 100% Wolf from Flying Bark Productions for ABC ME. This animated series is centered on Freddy Lupin, heir to a proud family line of werewolves, who on his 13th birthday turns into a ferocious… poodle. In The Book of Hath, Freddy travels back through time to 825AD where he must help his ancestors defeat the Werelock Hath.
Series 2 sees the return of director Jacquie Trowell, producers Barbara Stephen and Alexia Gates-Foale and executive producer Michael Bourchier. They are joined by script producers Fin Edquist (100% Wolf Movie) and Tess Meyer (Skinford). This project is financed in association with the Australian Children’s Television Foundation and with support from Screenwest. Studio 100 Media is managing international sales.
Kangaroo Beach – Summer Special: A double-length special episode of hit animated children’s series Kangaroo Beach from Cheeky Little Media for ABC Kids iview. The special flashes back to the first day Neville, Frizzy, Gemma and Pounce arrived at Kangaroo Beach and began their junior lifeguard training, and features a cameo from comedian Celeste Barber as Neville’s mum. The series also includes four short-form comedy episodes for release online and two music videos featuring exclusive new songs from the Summer Special.
The creative team comprises Kangaroo Beach directors David Webster and Steve Moltzen, writer and creator Tim Bain, producer Celine Goetz and executive producer Patrick Egerton. They are joined by director Stephanie Davidson.
Also sharing in the funding are live-action teen drama Surviving Summer for Netflix from Werner Film Production in association with ZDFE, a 10-part series about a fierce New York teen who is sent “Down Under” to live with family friends in an Australian coastal town and discovers a love of surfing; and Tom Weekly Versus…, a 20-part series for ViacomCBS from Northern Pictures, based on the best-selling book series by Tristan Bancks about the outrageous adventures of one mischievous 10-year old.
