ASFIA-Hollywood has this year earmarked an unprecedented $160,000 for animation-based programs and events — a nearly 14% increase in funding over the organization’s 2016 discretionary budget.
“Just a few years ago these expenditures were not possible,” said Executive Director, Frank Gladstone. “But, we have been carefully building the organization and now we are able to give back in so many important ways … Nonprofits are not supposed to keep their money, but the truth is we do keep one little bit of profit – the knowledge that we are strengthening our industry and community.”
Among the programs and events receiving funding are ASIFA’s Animation Aid Foundation ($12,000), ASIFA Animation Educators Forum and its scholarship and faculty grant programs ($65,500), the Animated Film Preservation Initiative ($38,000), and Open Source Software development ($5,500).
ASIFA-Hollwyood — the largest chapter of the international nonprofit professional organization — also produces the annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation. The 45th Annie Awards are scheduled for Saturday, February 3 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Visit www.asifa-hollywood.org for more information.
Premiere indie animation distributor GKIDS has acquired North American rights for the Spanish animated feature Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Psiconautas, los niños olvidados), also known as Psychonauts internationally. The 2D animated dystopian fantasy is directed by Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero, and is based on Vázquez’s graphic novel turned award-winning short film, Birdboy.
The feature has been one of the darlings of the festival circuit over the past year. Since debuting at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2015, Birdboy/Psiconautas has made the official selections for prestigious animation fests including Annecy, Ottawa, HAFF and Anima Mundi, making its North American debut at the Nashville Film Festival. The film opened in limited release in Spain earlier this year, and is due out in France this month.
Birdboy notably took the Best Animated Feature Award at this year’s Goyas — the “Spanish Oscars” where director Vázquez also took the Best Animated Short prize, for Decorado.
“From the first moment we screened the film we knew we had to be involved,” said Dave Jesteadt, President of GKIDS. “With iconic characters and a storyline that explores universal themes of hope, despair, salvation, and loss with humor and grace, Birdboy pushes the boundaries of animated storytelling in exciting new directions.”
GKIDS is planning a Fall 2017 release for both the original Spanish film and a new English-language verision.
Synopsis: Stranded on an island in a post-apocalyptic world, teenager Dinky and her friends hatch a dangerous plan to escape in the hope of finding a better life. Meanwhile, her old friend Birdboy has shut himself off from the world, pursued by the police and haunted by demon tormentors. But unbeknownst to anyone, he contains a secret inside him that could change the world forever.
The film was produced by Zircozine Animation and Basque Films, in co-production with Abrakam Estudio and La Competencia; producers are Farruco Castromán, Carlos Juárez and Luis Tosar.
You can watch a Spanish-language trailer at the official site.
Birdboy: The Forgotten ChildrenBirdboy: The Forgotten Children (Psiconautas, los niños olvidados)Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Psiconautas, los niños olvidados)Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Psiconautas, los niños olvidados)Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Psiconautas, los niños olvidados)
FNE at Anifilm 2017: France Takes Top Animation Awards
Jean-François Laguionie took the top feature prize at Czech Republic’s Anifilm festival for Louise by the Shore, with a special mention for Dash Shaw’s My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea.
BBC Deals for ‘Hey Duggee’ Merch
BBC NorAm has signed on Children’s Apparel Network and Jay Franco for kids’ duds and other specialized products featuring the Squirrel Club.
First “Ideation Weekend” for Animated Content Comes to Maui
Presented by Creative Lab Hawai’i, the program will bring together local entrepreneurs and industry mentors for a free content development intensive, June 10 & 11. Attending experts include Jeff Gill (South Park, Ask the StoryBots), Andrew R. Robinson (Blizzard Entertainment) and Kaaren Lee Brown (Super Monsters).
Award-winning actor Hugh Bonneville — known to TV audiences around the world as Downtown Abbey’s Earl of Grantham — is hitting the tracks with the world’s most famous blue choo-choo in the upcoming feature Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor. Having just unveiled the first trailer, the new 70-minute special (Thomas’s 12th movie) will premiere in UK cinemas on Friday, August 25 before rolling out in over 70 countries.
In Journey Beyond Sodor, Thomas leaves his island home for his first journey to the mainland, where he befriend the Experimental Engines: Lexi, Theo and Merlin — who believes he can make himself invisible. After spotting a magical-looking place on the horizon, Thomas stumbles into the Steelworks, where he meets the engines Frankie and Hurricane, who arent quite what they seem. When James come to find Thomas and gets trapped in the Steelworks, it’s up to the little blue engine and his new innovative friends to save the day.
“I am delighted to be involved in the latest Thomas & Friends movie. Like so many others I enjoyed the books when I was young, so it’s a real honor to be voicing a new character, Merlin. To play an engine in one of Thomas’s adventures is a big thrill for a little boy in a grown- up body!” said Bonneville. “One of the keys to Thomas’s endurance is that young children, who are just beginning to explore their imaginations through story telling, are drawn into a world they feel they can inhabit and understand. At their heart these are tales of friendship, adventure and lessons learned from mistakes made, all while trying to keep on the railway tracks.”
Bonneville joins an illustrious line of celebrity voices which have made their mark on the world of Thomas & Friends, including Ringo Starr, Eddie Redmayne, Alec Baldwin and Olivia Colman. Surprisingly, the similarity between Bonneville and Merlin’s dashing looks occurred by chance, according to the filmmakers.
“When we design engines’ faces it’s really important to us that their character comes across. Merlin is so full of life, energy and enthusiasm and despite being older than Thomas, he also has an innocence to him and he’s a really caring character,” said Senior Producer Ian McCue. “Our director worked on a few different sketches, from which we chose the face which we felt best fitted the character — we chose one which had big, sparkling eyes, and defined cheeks as he’s always laughing. As Merlin tries to make himself invisible, we also wanted to get across a slightly mystical feeling, which we feel his face does well!”
The arrival of the Journey Beyond Sodor trailer was time to the 72nd anniversary of the very first Thomas the Tank Engine book, The Three Railway Engines by the Reverend W. Awdry, released on May 12, 1945. The storybooks quickly became a global brand, which now reaches more than 150 territories in over 40 languages across publishing, TV, feature-length movies, localized websites, apps, toys (the No. 1 preschool property in the UK and Australia, and No. 2 in the US), consumer products, live attractions and more.
The franchise’s previous movie, The Great Race, also saw international theatrical release in countries including UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia and Italy.
Great news, Moonflowers and Hemkas of all description: a third wave of all-new episodes of Hasbro Studios’ direct-to-digital series Hanazuki: Full of Treasures will begin to roll out on Friday, May 19. Fresh adventures will arrive once a week, leading up to the season final on Friday, July 14. Even better news: Hanazuki has been confirmed for a second season, due in 2018.
Available on YouTube and the YouTube Kids app, Hanazuki follows the titular girl guardian (or Moonflower) as she works to safeguard the moons of a distant galaxy from a mysterious threat known as the Big Bad. Along the way, she learns to unlock the power of her emotions and use magical treasures to help the little Hemka creatures that live on her moon, and gather other guardians together to save the galaxy.
Fans can also download a new Hanazuki game app — available now for freed download on iOS and Android devices — and be on the lookout for the first toy line launching at Target and Justice stores in June.
Disney XD has announced that Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer will debut with multiple airings on Saturday, June 3 (at 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. EDT). The all-new animated comedy series is created, executive produced and featuring the voice of Aaron Springer, an Emmy-winning director of the Mickey Mouse shorts series.
The show centers on eccentric, science-obsessed seventh grader Billy Dilley and his lab partners Zeke and Marsha, whose summer break takes an unexpected turn when they get stuck in a bizarre other world beneath the Earth’s surface. Their only way out is to to repair Billy’s science fair project, “The Cheeserator.” As the trio work together to get back to the world above, Billy’s boundless curiosity leads them into all sorts of wild adventures in this subterranean playground, where he will make the most important scientific discovery of all: friendship.
Following the premiere, new episodes of Billy Dilley will continue to roll out daily on Disney XD through to Thursday, June 15. The first 10 episodes of the series will be available on the Disney XD app and VOD platforms on June 3.
Springer stars as the voice of Billy, with Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Zeke and YouTube star Catherine Wayne (Animalist) as Marsha. Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer is a production of Disney Television Animation.
Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean SummerBilly Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer
Corus Entertainment’s world-class kids’ content producer-distributor Nelvana has secured a range of new partnerships for several of its key animated series, plus live-action titles. These include VOD, linear and in-flight deals for shows like Babar, Franklin, Ranger Rob and Max and Ruby.
On the VOD side, Amazon (UK) has picked up Backyardigans, Mr. Young, Little Bear and Life with Boys. Pure Flix (US) snagged the Babar, Pippi Longstocking and Rescue Heroes series as well as special programming for Franklin and Babar. And Cinedigm in the US & Canada has signed up George and Martha, Rescue Heroes, Pippie Longstocking, Braceface, Wayside, Elliot Moose, The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
Broadcast deals have been inked with Accessible Media (Canada) for Babar, SRC Canada (French-speaking Canada) for Ranger Rob, and Television Entertainment (Latin America) for Backyardigans.
And up in the air, Spafax Inflight Entertainment and Air Canada have finalized agreements for a number of shows: Backyardigans, Fairly OddParents, Max and Ruby, The ZhuZhus, Ranger Rob, Little Charmers, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, Trucktown, Franklin and Friends, and Scaredy Squirrel.
Adult Swim has announced the next addition to its original programming slate will be an animated series from Tyler, The Creator and Lionel Boyce called The Jellies!, premiering this summer. The duo, together with other members of their hip-hop collective Odd Future, previously created and starred in the sketch comedy series Loiter Squad for the network.
The Jellies! is a quarter-hour animated series which follows a family of Jellyfish, including their 16-year-old human son Cornell. When Cornell learns that he was adopted at birth, he is shocked by the news and spirals out of control as he tries to “find himself.” The result is he, his family and friends continue to end up in uncanny situations.
Tyler is also creating the show’s musical score and original composition, as well as being a member of the voice cast alongside Boyce, Phil LaMarr, Blake Anderson, AJ Johnson, Kevin Michael Richardson, and other talented performers. Augenblick Studios provides the animation.
You can check out a promo clip for The Jellies!here.
With the Turner Upfront 2017 set for next week, Adult Swim is coming in strong for the company with over a decade of supremacy as a content destination for millennials in both primetime and late night categories, growing its audience and extending its reach to a new generation of fans.
The Jellies! is the latest new animated series announced by AS since March, when it unveiled plans for Apollo Guantlet and Hot Streets.
Even though it hasn’t been officially released yet, Hello Neighbor — a new PC-based title from indie publisher tinyBuild Games and Russian development studio Dynamic Pixels — has been garnering so much attention that global brand licensing & merchandising agency Evolution has already signed on to represent it. The announcement was made by Luke Burtis, Managing Partner at tinyBuild; and Travis J. Rutherford, Partner/Chief Revenue Officer at Evolution.
“We have literally been inundated with inquiries from industry leading manufacturers for Hello Neighbor given the engagement we already have on YouTube and positive reviews from prominent bloggers, and it was clear that we needed to partner with a best in class licensing and brand management agency,” said Burtis. “The entire Evolution team has been very excited about licensed product opportunities and we are thrilled that they are on board.”
Evolution will be targeting partners in key categories such as toys, apparel, accessories, back-to-school and novelty.
Hello Neighbor is a stealth horror game that pits players against a constantly learning Artificial Intelligence. In the first-person game, the player moves into a new suburban neighborhood and quickly grows suspicious of what one neighbor is hiding in his basement. Determined to solve the mystery, the player must break into his house, using stealth and cunning to evade the sinister neighbor. With adaptive AI that learnes from player’s choices and actions, the neighbor develops counter-strategies and traps, making each attempt to crack the basement more challenging … and scarier.
Videos of pre-alpha game builds alone have racked up over 600 million views on YouTube, with the game franchise set to launch officially this summer.
“When we first saw Hello Neighbor from Dynamic Pixels and tinyBuild Games, we knew this was going to be a massive commercial success,” commented Rutherford. “With Pixar-style visuals, and tense gameplay, demand for the game is already evident from its YouTube hits and will appeal to a broad demographic audience of males and females. The full game will release on multiple platforms beginning summer 2017, and we already have industry leading licensees and major retailers clamoring for rights and products based on the eccentric Hello Neighbor characters.”
CLIPS: ‘Mike Tyson Mysteries’ Returns for Third Season
Iron Mike and his mystery-solving team return to correct (or cause) more mayhem starting with “Help A Brother Out” on Adult Swim on Sunday, May 14 at 11:30 p.m. Read more about the new seasons here and check out two fresh newclips.
Annecy 2017 – MIFA Pitches and Recruitment
Out of 342 submissions, 34 features, shorts, TV specials/series, and transmedia projects have been selected for the Pitches alongside Animation du Monde. Plus, recruiters from over a dozen studios will be seeking fresh infusions of talent.
“Best Anime 100″ Results Revealed for NHK’s “Nippon Anime 100”
The Japanese network’s three months of online polling yielded a list that reflects the variety and vibrancy of the local animation biz over the last several decades. I won’t spoil the No. 1 pick for you, but Sailor Moon didn’t even crack the Top 50, so these rankings are obviously flawed.
Accomplished feature film producer Teddy Zee, who has delivered Hollywood hits such as The Pursuit of Happiness (2006) and Hitch (2005), has been tapped by Korean kids’ animation and games company Pinkfong to serve as a general advisor to help shepherd its continued growth. Zee will leverage his entertainment industry experience to help Pinkfong in the areas of content development, business practices, and more.
Pinkfong is a steadily growing brand which has so far boasts more than 2,000 songs, stories and apps in its library. With the aim of creating stimulating, fun learning experiences for children around the world, the company is anchored by its mascot, Pinkfong — a lovable little fox filled with curiosity and imagination who loves music more than anything, and can overcome any obstacle with the help of his friends and magical starlight necklace.
The Pinkfong YouTube channel has recently marked a year-over-year subscriber increae of 200%, driven by its breakout “Baby Shark” video which has racked up 470 million views worldiwde (including 146 million in the States).
Global production company We Fly Coach — a network of directors, producers and artists with 10 offices worldwide — has expanded its creative capabilities by joining forces with award-winning animation and visual effects house Believe. Based in Santiago with offices in New York, Believe is a 10-year-old studio of some 30 artists and producers, which crafts content for ad agencies, TV networks and more.
The strategic partnership allows We Fly Coach to expand its live-action expertise into animation and design-driven projects, while leveraging Believe’s diverse artistic strengths to better serve the international advertising and branded content marketplace. Together, the new allies have already created a number of projects, including animated spots for Coca-Cola and Cheetos.
“Believe’s team of artists is consistently producing such compelling, high-quality work across a wide range of styles. We are excited to partner with them to pair our talented directors with their superior artistry to provide the best results for our clients,” commented Dan Pack, We Fly Coach’s Managing Director.
The 28th Dusty Film & Animation Festival has wrapped up, concluding with the presentation of the 2017 Dusty Awards at New York City’s SVA Theatre. The ceremony, featuring notable presenters from the entertainment world, highlighted the work of more than 100 graduating students from the School of Visual Arts’ BFA Film and BFA Animation departments.
In addition to the student awardees (listed below), this year’s alumni awards were bestowed on Titmouse animation studio co-founders Shannon and Chris Prynoski, and Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up).
“We are so proud, in this 28th year of the Dustys, to recognize these promising filmmakers and animators,” said Reeves Lehmann, chair of the BFA Film and BFA Animation programs at SVA. “We are excited to celebrate the successes of our students with many guests from the worlds of film and animation.”
Festival producer/director, Annie Flocco added: “We’d also like to extend a big thank you to our many generous sponsors and supporters, some of whom have been with us for many years, and to the spectacular SVA Theatre crew for collaborating on another year of stellar events.”
2017 Dusty Award winners:
ANIMATION
Outstanding Animated Film: Fiona Chenxue Lu, To Be Fiona
Outstanding Achievement in Character Animation: Joseph Sulsenti, Fishy
Outstanding Achievement in Animation Production Design:
Joseph Sulsenti, Fishy
Fiona Chenxue Lu, To Be Fiona
Human Spirit Award – Animation: Soren Hughes, A Sun Came
Special Jury Award – Animation:
Branko Kljajic, The Heist
Alexa Swanson, Friend Fiction
Demitria Bozas, Selfish
FILM
Outstanding Film: Alejandro Cortés Sánchez, The Disappeared
Marvel’s most popular potty-mouthed mercenary is getting the adult animation treatment, according to Variety. FXX, the home of Archer, has placed a straight-to-series order for 10 episodes of an untitled Deadpool cartoon, which is being created by Donald Glover and Stephen Glover. The show is set to debut in 2018.
The Glover brothers — Golden Globe-winning Atlanta creator Donald and series staff writer Stephen — will serve as showrunners, executive producers and writers, with Marvel’s Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory also on board as executive producers. Marvel Television is producing the project, in association with FX Productions and ABC Signature Studios.
In 2016, Tim Miller’s Deadpool was a surprise box-office smash for 20th Century Fox, proving that there is a large audience wiling to fork over for well-done R-Rated comic-book adaptations. The film starred Ryan Reynolds in the title role and made almost $800 million worldwide, more than making up its $58 million budget.
Deadpool 2 is set to arrive in summer 2018, directed by David Leitch — a prolific stunt performer and coordinator who helmed the Deadpool: No Good Deed short and this year’s Atomic Blonde.
Germany’s Sola Media has acquired worldwide distribution rights for CG-animated feature film Anchors Up – Boat to the Rescue. Set to sail into cinemas in the fall, this new adventure stars the popular kids’ character Elias and is produced by Norway’s Animando and Qvisten Animation studios.
In Anchors Up, young rescue boat Elias pulls of a daring mission and is hailed the hero of the hour, which earns him a new job at the Big Harbor. But he soon discovers his new life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as the harbor is threatened by a local gang mining an illegal, highly valuable metal that has the power to change the weather. Elias must call upon his old friends to help expose the operation and save the day.
“Anchors Up is a fun, suspenseful film with heart for the whole family, with the universal message ‘together we are stronger,”’ commented Solveig Langeland, Managing Director of Sola Media.
The film is being directed by Simen Alsvik (Lilyhammer) and William John Ashurst, with Animando’s Sigurd Slåttebrek producing. Anchors Up will be released in Scandinavia by SF Film in October.
Animando is a production company specializing in children’s content, and Elias is its number-one brand. Created by Slåttebrek and Alf Knutsen, Elias is the first Norwegian kids’ series to be picked up by Netflix for English-speaking territories, and has sold to nearly 100 territories.
Qvisten is one of the largest animation studios in Scandinavia, producing award-winning movies, commercials and TV Series. Its stop-motion feature In the Forest of Huckybucky will have its international festival premiere as part of the official selection at Annecy in June. Qvisten’s latest short, Odd Is an Egg, has proven a hit on the festival circuit and recently won Best Animated Short at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Turner’s Cartoon Network EMEA has announced a brand-new animated comedy series is coming late this year, when The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe ventures forth across the region. The announcement was made by Patricia Hidalgo, Chief Content Officer for Turner EMEA Kids & International Kids Strategy, during the opening keynote of Cartoon Business in Belfast. The series is being produced in partnership with Copenhagens’ Sun Creature Studio.
“Ivandoe is a really exciting project, with an extremely talented creative team at its helm and welcome support from the Danish Public Service Fund. The story and style presents us with a great opportunity to introduce this new IP in a non-traditional way, with a host of interactive digital elements that will allow kids to get to know the hilarious and loveable characters by questing along with them. We can’t wait to see the response from Cartoon Network fans.”
The DPSF is a co-funding partner. The pilot episode of Ivandoe was produced with Copenhagen Bombay studio.
Created by Danish animators Christian Bøving-Andersen and Eva Lee Wallberg (previously on the team for CN EMEA’s The Amazing World of Gumball), The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe (10 x 3 min.) follows young prince of the forest, Ivandoe who is tasked by his father, The Mighty Stag, to go on a quest and return with the magical Golden Feather of the fearsome Eagle King. Accompanied by his dedicated squire, a small bird called Bert, Ivandoe embarks on an epically silly adventure, discovering new and mysterious areas of the forest and an array of peculiar creatures along the way.
“It’s been so much fun to work with Cartoon Network and the dedicated team at Sun Creature Studio developing what started as a small idea in East London into 10 actual episodes produced here in Copenhagen. We are very happy and proud of the result and we really hope that the kids out there will love questing with Ivandoe just as much as we do,” said Bøving-Andersen and Wallberg.
The property will launch as an online interactive digital play experience alongside its linear roll-out, encouraging kids and animation fans to “quest” with Ivandoe and Bert, traveling the lands and unlocking new episodes — a first for CN EMEA.
The Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince IvandoeThe Heroic Quest of the Valiant Prince Ivandoe
As Pixar’s latest summer event flick burns rubber towards theaters, the tension is building in the newest Cars 3 trailer. The spot, “Rivarly,” gives fans a deeper psychological insight into the conflict between cocky young racecar Jackson Storm and our ol’ pal Lightning McQueen. We also get a sneak peek at some of the nail-biting on-track action, and the training methods Lightning turns to to up his game — from the ultra high-tech to the gritty old-school.
Cars 3 hits theaters on June 16. Directed by franchise storyboard artist Brian Fee, the film is produced by Kevin Reher (A Bug’s Life, La Luna) and co-produced by Andrea Warren (LAVA).
Synopsis: Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician, Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo), with her own plan to win, plus inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a few unexpected turns. Proving that #95 isn’t through yet will test the heart of a champion on Piston Cup Racing’s biggest stage!
Armie Hammer also stars as the voice of Jackson Storm. Meet more of the cast and characters here.
Canada-based kids content company DHX Media has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the entertainment division of Iconix Brand Group, which includes an 80% controlling interest in Peanuts (which Iconix picked up in 2010) and 100% of Strawberry Shortcake (acquired from AG in 2015). The remaining 20% stake in Peanuts remains in the hands of members of creator Charles Schulz’s family. The total pricetag is $345 million USD), and the transaction is expected to close on or around June 30.
“Peanuts is one of the world’s greatest entertainment brands, with a tremendous global legacy of comics, animated content and consumer products reaching back almost 70 years. We are thrilled by the opportunity to welcome Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the entire Peanuts gang into our family of leading kids’ properties, including Teletubbies, Inspector Gadget, Caillou, Degrassi and others,” said Dana Landry, CEO of DHX Media.
“Over the past 10 years, DHX Media has become a global leader in children’s entertainment content, building scale across production, distribution and consumer products and is perfectly positioned to benefit from the incredible growth of streaming services, worldwide. Peanuts and Strawberry Shortcake have widespread, evergreen appeal that make them ideal for layering onto this platform, complementing our 450-title library, and significantly increasing our scale in consumer products. These brands are expected to drive meaningful growth across multiple revenue streams, and we look forward to extending their reach to new generations of kids worldwide.”
The agreement adds more than 340 half-hours of proprietary content to DHX Media’s library, which can be exploited across the company’s new territories and channels, and feed potential for new productions across platforms. DHX expects the two brands to expand its consumer products business from 19% to 44% of total annual revenue, which should grow 52% to approximately $443 million CAD. Further, DHX’s pro forma predictions include realization of annual cost synergies of $5 million CAD within the first year, post-closing, and $25 million CAD within the first five years.
Brand summaries:
Peanuts – When Charles M. Schulz created the world of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Woodstock and the rest of the Peanuts friends, he gave birth to a phenomenon that has endured for almost 70 years, and is now widely recognized across generations and demographics. Generating retail sales of $1.3 billion USD in 2015, the Peanuts brand has a strong, diversified global licensing program in approximately 100 territories with approximately 1,120 licensees, including Hallmark, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. and Cedar Fair. Animated Peanuts classics continue to be #1 ranked prime time TV specials and have been viewed in 196 countries, while 45 million comics are still read daily. In a recent E-Poll Market research report, Snoopy ranked as the #1 Most-Liked character in America among adult consumers and #2 for children. Snoopy was also one of the top three characters of which adult consumers would like to see more. Sources: Licensing Letter, Iconix Brand Group.
Strawberry Shortcake – A global girls’ property with multi-generational appeal, Strawberry Shortcake is truly a timeless brand. After more than 35 years since launch, it continues to resonate with young girls and their mothers who grew up with the beloved Strawberry Shortcake dolls. With a robust publishing program in 30 languages and 130 markets, 14 mobile apps and approximately 148 half-hours of content that have been viewed in 120 countries, Strawberry Shortcake holds tremendous potential in both the content and licensing markets. The property has generated $4 billion USD in global sales since 2002 from currently 305 licensees. DHX Media is currently producing, in conjunction with Iconix, a new animated series based on Strawberry Shortcake to drive new global growth for this perennial brand. Sources: American Greetings, Iconix Brand Group.
TV airwaves are about to get about 1,000% more positive with the news that Cartoon Network has given the greenlight to Unikitty! — a new Warner Bros. Animation series based on the fan-favorite, sunshine-and-lollipops character from global box-office titan The LEGO Movie. The series (premiere date TBA) will open up a whole new world of adventure, excitement and dance parties for Unikitty and her friends.
Per the announcment:
As ruler of the kingdom, Unikitty has busy days full of royal responsibilities. Unikitty is most interested in making sure everyone is happy and ridding the kingdom of negativity, but don’t misunderstand her optimism – she is one kitty not to be crossed. While she may be full of boundless energy and creativity, Unikitty is a force to be reckoned with if anyone gets in the way of spreading her positive vibes, especially if anyone makes her little brother and best friend, Puppycorn, sad. Also living in the castle are Dr. Fox, the resident scientist, and Unikitty’s trusty bodyguard, Hawkodile. Through it all, Unikitty and her friends make sure that every day is the happiest and most creative ever.
Unikitty! will feature the voices of Tara Strong (Teen Titans Go!) and Grey Griffin (Be Cool Scooby-Doo!) along with Kate Micucci (Be Cool Scooby-Doo!), Roger Craig Smith (Regular Show), Eric Bauza (The Adventures of Puss in Boots) and H. Michael Croner (Review).
The new series is being executive produced by The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie veterans Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Roy Lee and Jill Wilfert, and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!); with Aaron Horvath (TTG!) as supervising producer; and producers Edward Skudder (Dick Figures) and Lynn Wang (Star vs. The Forces of Evil).
The 24th International Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart wrapped up over the weekend with a festive awards ceremony, capping an event that truly embraced its “Animation Without Borders” theme. On top of making connections between animation, games, music and VR/AR, the festival’s motto also emphasized the power of animation to tell stories that reach people.
“About 90,000 visitors were present in the cinemas, the open air on the Schlossplatz, the GameZone in the Kunstgebäude and the numerous other venues of the ITFS,” noted Dittmar Lumpp, ITFS Managing Director – Organization and Finance. This is an increase of 13% year-on-year. “Especially on Fridays and Saturdays, the Open Air was very well attended. The many other guest venues such as the Mercedes Benz Museum, the Breuninger ‘Wall of Animation 2,’ the Wilhelma or the Trickfilmlounge in the Gerber, were well attended and this shows that the ITFS also shows a radiation effect beyond the cinemas.”
This year, an honorary award was bestowed on iconic Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto, who was lauded by American indie animator Bill Plympton: “Bruno Bozzetto has influenced the European identity like few others … His critical and, at the same time, affectionate observations of everyday life in the Signor Rossi TV series, are an expression of European diversity and universality.” Plympton also noted that the 79-year-old maestro hasn’t slowed down, with his satirical short Europe vs. Italy wracking up more than 1.6 million views since he posted it to YouTube in 2012.
ITFS was held once again in conjunction with the co-production market Animation Production Day and the FMX conference to create an all-encompassing animation experience. This year’s even also introduced the first Trickstar Business Award, which joins the event’s lineup of accolades which cover animated film, games and more.
2017 ITFS award winners:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Grand Prix: Impossible Figures and Other Stories II
Director: Marta Pajek; Producers: Piotr Szczepanowicz, Grzegorz Waclawek
Polish Film Institute | Poland
Special Mention: Bene’s Horizon by Eloic Gimenez & Jumi Yoon (3xPlus, France)
Special Mention: AYNY (My Second Eye) by Ahmad Saleh (Germany/Jordan/Palestine)
SWR Audience Award: Our Wonderful Nature – The Common Chameleon
Director: Tomer Eshed
Lumatic | Germany
Amazon Audience Award: Asteria
Directors: Alexandre Arpentinier, Mathieu Blanchys, Lola Grand, Tristan Lamarca, Thomas Lemaille, Jean-Charles Lusseau
ESMA | France
Young Animation Award for Best Student Film: Happy End
Director: Jan Saska; Producers: Kamila Dohnalová, Ondřej Šejnoha
FAMU | Czech Republic
Special Mention: Kastaars by Jasmine Elsen (RITCS, Belgium)
The FANtastic Prize: Tough
Director: Jennifer Zheng
Kingston University | UK
Tricks for Kids Award – Short Film: When I Hear the Birds Sing
Director: Trine Vallevik Håbjørg
Råsalt AS | Norway
Special Mention: Swiff by Alexis Agliata, Théo Bonora, Arnaud Bellour, Thibaud Gambier, Juliana Berckmans, Romain Lavoine (ESMA, France)
Tricks for Kids Award – Series (National): Trude Beast “The Beautyand the Beast”
Director: Klaus Morschheuser
Studio Soi | Germany
Tricks for Kids Award – Series (International): We Bare Bears “Burrito”
Directors: Daniel Chong, Manny Hernandez
Cartoon Network | USA
AniMovie Award for Best Feature: Window Horses
Director: Ann Marie Fleming; Producers: Ann Marie Fleming, Shirley Vecruysse, Michael Fukushima, Sandra Oh
Stick Girl Prod., NFB | Canada
Special Mention: In This Corner of the World by Sunao Katabuchi (Genco, Japan)
Trickstar Business Award: The Shadows
Hugh Welchman & Dorota Kobiela
Break Thru Films | Poland
German Screenplay Award: The Journey of the Elephant Soliman
Writers: Juliette Alfonsis, Matthias Drescher
German Voice Actor Award: Alexandra Maria Lara (“Rosita” in Sing)
Animated Games Award: On Rusty Trails
Developer: Tobias Bilgeri (Blackpants Game Studio)
Animated Com Award International Gold: Johnny Walker “Keep Walking” (Kristian Andrews, Studio AKA, UK) Silver: YP Dine “Living Room” (Rob Shaw, Bent Image Lab, USA) Bronze: Aldi “The Amazing Christmas Carrot” (Kylie Matulick, Todd Mueller, Psyop, USA)
Special Mention: SEED Matters by Buck
Lapp Connected Award: Shine
Alexander Dietrich & Johannes Flick (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)
Crazy Horse Session – 48H Animation Jam: Team Egypt (Islam Mazhar & Ahmad Abdelhameed)
Special Mention: Team Germany (Stella Raith & Beate Höller)
Arab Animation Forum Pitch Competition: Testimonial of My Grandmother’s Transformation into a Chair
Nicolas Fattough, Lebanon
Impossible Figures and Other Stories IIBruno Bozzetto
