Animation Magazine

Author: Mercedes Milligan

  • Animation Vets Form Astro-Nomical Entertainment

    Animation Vets Form Astro-Nomical Entertainment

    Animation industry veterans Jay Ahn and Chris Henderson have partnered to form Astro-Nomical Entertainment, a full-service development and production company geared for high-quality, independent, family-friendly animated films. Backed by China-based Characterplan, Astro-Nomical is preparing to commence production on its first feature project, Mean Margaret, and is in talks with Barry Cook (Mulan) to direct.

    Mean Margaret is based on the National Book Award-nominated children’s book by Tor Seidler, about a cranky toddler from a family of nine who is taken in by two woodchucks and raised among a community of wacky animal characters. The project was most recently incubated at Marza Animation Planet, which will lead story and design efforts for the feature. Ahn and Henderson will serve as producers, with production handled by Digital Dimension, based in Montreal.

    Astro-Nomical is working with Pelagius Entertainment’s Joe Fries and Natalie Khoury, who serve as exec producers, committing equity funding to Mean Margaret. IM Global is handling worldwide sales.

    Based in Burbank, Astro-Nomical is focused on developing intellectual property and sourcing financing to develop and produce mid-budget animated family films and franchises, catering to both the domestic and international markets, and generating ongoing revenue streams across multiple media platforms. Industry experts Dr. Kevin Niu and David Alper will serve as advisors to the company.

    Further projects in active development as well as executive producing attachments will be announced soon.

    Jay Ahn is an L.A.-based independent film and TV producer with over 20 years’ experience in production, financing and distribution in Korea and the U.S. He is one of the founders and key shareholders of ToonBox Entertainment, where until recently he served as co-CEO and co-President for three years and executive produced The Nut Job. He continues to advise to ToonBox, now in production on The Nut Job 2.

    Chris Henderson began his career in 1984 working on Tranzor Z, before founding indie animation studio Kookanooga Toons (Monster Mania, Growing Up Wild). He also worked for Disney TV Animation, serving as showrunner for 101 Dalmatians and Hercules. Henderson produced hundreds of animated interstitials for Buena Vista Television before producing DVD feature releases The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 and Return to Never Land. He also produced Clifford’s Really Big Movie (2004) for Scholastic and Warner Bros.

    Astro-Nomical Entertainment
    Astro-Nomical Entertainment
  • Jon Stewart HBO Show will Toon & Lampoon News

    Jon Stewart HBO Show will Toon & Lampoon News

    At a Television Critics Association press event on Saturday, HBO programming president Casey Bloys revealed some details about the new Jon Stewart project in the works — something that had been quite vague since the late night icon signed a four-year deal with the cabler after stepping down from his The Daily Show gig. And it turns out, the multiplatform project will be animated!

    “The idea is it will be an animated parody of a cable news network with an Onion-like portal,” said Bloys. “The project will be structured to allow Stewart to release multiple pieces of short-form content — video and text — through HBO’s digital platforms, but will also include a linear-television element, likely in the form of a half-hour series.”

    Stewart is forming an animation studio team to tackle production, which will allow the popular comedian turned host to comment on events in real time, according to Bloys. Content could possibly launch as early as September or October. 3D software/pipeline company Otoy is involved in the project — HBO acquired a stake in the operation earlier this year.

    Jon Stewart
    Jon Stewart
  • DreamWorks Channel Coming to MENA

    DreamWorks Channel Coming to MENA

    beIN Network and DreamWorks Animation are joining forces to launch the first DreamWorks channel in the Middle East and North Africa, with the new channel joining beIN’s service package on August 1.

    The standalone DreamWorks channel first launched in Asia Pacific last summer.

    Operating 24 hours a day and available in both Arabic and English, the channel will launch with a lineup including DWA original series Dragons: Race to the Edge, Dinotrux, All Hail King Julien, The Adventures of Puss in Boots and Dawn of the Croods. A morning preschool block will offer Guess with Jess, Roary the Racing Car and Little Red Tractor, among others.

    “We are glad to cooperate with DreamWorks and support spreading the content of this channel in the Middle East and North Africa for the first time in Arabic to our subscribers and exclusively on beIN bouquets,” said Yousef Mohammed Al-Obaidly, EVP of beIN Media Group. “We seek to meet the needs of our large audience of children in the region and our goal is to provide educational and entertaining services to children and families through our designated channels. We are preparing for more partnerships with DreamWorks.”

    Dragons: Race to the Edge
    Dragons: Race to the Edge
  • Daily News Bytes

    Daily News Bytes

    Video: LAIKA and Focus Features Debut Two New ‘Kubo’ Featurettes
    Learn the lineage of the movie’s villains in “Creatures of Darkness” and discover the “Myth of Kubo” (with commentary by director Travis Knight, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey and more). Kubo and the Two Strings arrives in theaters August 19.

    ’Game of Thrones’ Season 6: RSP Delivers Explosive VFX for Finale
    Rising Sun Pictures has released its VFX breakdown for that nail-biting season ender of the hit HBO show. Didn’t anyone tell them it’s dangerous to play with Wildfire?

    20th Japan Media Arts Festival Call for Entries Starts
    2017 event seeks entries in interactive art, video work, games, web-based work, animation and comics. Submissions are open until September 9, 2016.

    Obituary: Gary Hughes, Animation Artist and Sculptor
    A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, Hughes founded his own animation company and provided hundreds of animated sequences for clients including National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, NBC and PBS. See more of his sculpture work at garyhughesart.com.

    The Hillbillies Have Eyes in New ‘American Horror Story’ Season 6 Teasers
    A new season of Ryan Murphy’s bizarro show means a new round of cryptic videos to tickle your fright fancy.

    Creatures of Darkness
    Creatures of Darkness
  • People on the Move: Blink Ink, Disney/ABC, FuseFX, marblemedia, Post Factory, ZDF

    People on the Move: Blink Ink, Disney/ABC, FuseFX, marblemedia, Post Factory, ZDF

    • Academy Award nominated animator PES has signed on to Blinkink following recent spots for Honda and Android. Known for his ability to reimagine everyday objects in wholly new ways for his stop-motion masterpieces like Fresh Guacamole, Roof Sex, KaBoom! and Human Skateboard, PES’s videos have racked up over 200 million views on YouTube — not to mention on the festival circuit and in commercials for brands including Orange Telecom, Kinder Surprise, PlayStation, Sprint, Samsung and Bacardi. Most recently, he earned an Emmy nomination for “Paper” for Honda this year. Check out his reel online.

    • Disney/ABC Television Group is bolstering its digital programming services division by hiring on technology executives John Solaro and Roger Tsai, who will both report to EVP of digital media strategy & business John Frelinghuysen. Formerly at Microsoft, Solaro is now head of user experience and product innovation for D/ABC TV’s Digital Media group and will lead a team integrating visual, interactive and motion design and innovation across multi-platform products, as well as spearheading incorporation of non-linear, mobile, DTC and cloud products. d hails from media tech company Gracenote, where he led connected car projects, and is now VP of digital strategy, business planning and operations for the Digital Media division. He will head a team tasked with identifying, developing and executing new digital business strategies.

    • FuseFX continues to grow its Vancouver operation with the hire of Shawn Hillier as Senior VFX Supervisor and Maya Roza as Compositing Supervisor. Hillier joins after a 15-year stint at ILM, where he contributed to blockbusters including Jurassic World, Pacific Rim, Star Trek, Transformers, Star Wars: Episode III and the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films. He will now supervise vfx production for TV projects including Syfy series The Magicians and Dark Matter. Roza arrives from a similar position at Double Negative, bringing over 10 years of experience in vfx, with credits including The Huntsman, The Fifth Wave, Jurassic World, Chappie, Elysium and Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Pt. 1. A Vancouver native, Roza has also held staff positions at Image Engine Design, Prime Focus World and Atomic Cartoons.

    • Canadian production company marblemedia has appointed Donna MacNeil to the newly created position of VP of Marketing and Strategic Development. MacNeil will create brand marketing initiatives to grow business and drive new revenue for the company and its subsidiaries Distribution360 and marblemedia Interactive — especially DTC video, games and apps. She most recently held the same position at Mark Media in Toronto, and was previously the youth marketing consultant for Youth Lab, as well as holding senior executive positions at Spin Master and Kidscreen.

    • Post Factory, a SIM Group company, has tapped Liam Ford as CTO, charged with overseeing planned expansion of the studio’s color grading and finishing services. Bringing over a decade of post-production engineering and IT experience — most recently as Vice President of Technology at Company 3 in New York –Ford will assume the lead role in technology operations, strategy and planning.

    • Post Factory has also appointed David Feldman as SVP for Features and Television. Previously director of feature sales for Company 3 and Deluxe, Feldman will lead sales and customer relations for newly-expanded features and TV finishing services at Post Factory New York. He will also liaise with other SIM companies to provide film and TV producers with packaged services covering multiple aspects of production and post. Feldman brings 20 years of post experience in executive level roles, and spent his early career as an assistant editor with credits on films for Fox, Sony, Universal, Disney, et al. Post Factory’s current projects include Collateral Beauty, Keeping Up with the Joneses, Gifted and The Wall.

    • ZDF Enterprises has promoted Tanja Meier-Sieden to the leadership of its newly created Portfolio Management department. The 35-year old holds a degree in business administration and has been with the company since 2007, most recently managing the Business Development and Affiliates unit, assigned to the Executive Board. Meier-Sieden will report directly to President and CEO Alexander Coridass. ZDF Enterprises has direct participation in 12 associated companies, producing fiction, documentaries and children’s programs.

    Liam Ford
    Liam Ford
    David Feldman
    David Feldman
    Donna MacNeil
    Donna MacNeil
    John Solaro and Roger Tsai
    John Solaro and Roger Tsai
  • SIGGRAPH ‘16 Wraps with Strong International Attendance

    SIGGRAPH ‘16 Wraps with Strong International Attendance

    SIGGRAPH 2016 has come to a close, concluding its 43rd annual edition with strong attendance numbers from around the world, gathered in Anaheim to “Render the Possibilities.” The event played host to over 14,000 attendees, with 10,600+ from around the U.S. and the balance hailing from 73 different countries, including Canada, Japan, the U.K., S. Korea, France, China and Germany.

    Attendees came to see great independent and studio-made films and games; to learn about the newest developments in emerging technologies; to gain hands-on experiences for future application; to hear the “how-to” behind cutting edge productions; and, to experience the merging of traditional hands-on processes with new technologies. During the course of the conference, more than 635 pieces of progressive content were shared by over 1,760 speakers and contributors.

    “This year’s conference was yet another remarkably educational and stimulating gathering of thousands of leading researchers, innovators, technologists and creative practitioners — working across many existing or emerging communities within the disciplines of computer graphics and interactive techniques,” says Conference Chair Mona Kasra. “During these past five days, our attendees were exposed to incredible opportunities to learn and interact directly, one-on-one, with these content creators. The next wave of excellence in specialties such as technical research, animation, art, 3D printing, real-time gaming, education and virtual reality were presented by the leading experts in these fields from every corner of the world. Overall, this year’s event was extraordinary, and I truly hope our attendees had a wonderful time!”

    The convention floor featured over 150 diverse exhibitors, and novel screening opportunities included the exclusive North American premiere of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new animated short, Inner Workings.

    This year’s Real-Time Live! Award for Best Real-Time Graphics and Interactivity went to the presentation “From Previs to Final in Five Minutes: A Breakthrough in Live Performance Capture” — a collaboration between Epic Games, Ninja Theory, Cubic Motion and 3Lateral Studio. Also during Real-Time Live!, Pixar announced the official open source release of Universal Scene Description — the studio’s technology used to interchange 3D graphics data through various digital content creation tools.

    The Emerging Technologies program Best in Show Award went to “Demo of Face2Face: Real-Time Face Capture and REenactment of RGB Videos,” which presented a novel approach to producing real-time facial reenactments of a target-video sequence.

    The 44th annual conference and exhibition will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, July 30 to August 3, 2017.

    SIGGRAPH
    SIGGRAPH
  • NSPCC, Aardman Animate to Keep Kids Safe

    NSPCC, Aardman Animate to Keep Kids Safe

    Leading U.K. children’s charity NSPCC has called on the Aardman animators to help parents get talking to their children about sexual abuse with a new animated short. Launching in cinemas across the country Friday, July 29, is a 30-second spot featuring the “voice of X Factor” Peter Dickson, which will encourage parents to view the full version of the animation, which stars dinosaur characters explaining to kids how to stay safe.

    Talk PANTS with Pantosaurus is produced as part of NSPCC’s “PANTS” campaign, which has already helped over 400,000 parents talk to their children about sexual abuse since it launched three years ago. The campaign has also lead to one conviction and a number of other disclosures of abuse from children. The film is designed for kids ages 4-8, as talking to children about staying safe is most effective when taught at a young age.

    Last year a total of 10,757 offences against children under 10 were reported to police in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

    The NSPCC worked with Aardman Animations and music production company Adelphoi Music to create the animation and song which features underpants-clad dino Pantosaurus. Talk PANTS is designed to teach children that their body belongs to them, they have the right to say no and to tell someone they trust if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

    “Humor, animation and music are a great way of making it less awkward for parents and young children to talk about this very difficult subject,” notes Aardman executive producer Heather Wright. “The song has definite ‘earworm’ potential and I’m sure children will find it funny and memorable which will in turn give them the language they need to use to protect themselves.”

    The full version of Talk PANTS with Pantosaurus is available online at nspcc.org.uk/pants

    Talk PANTS with Pantosaurus
    Talk PANTS with Pantosaurus
  • Make a Date with Adult Swim’s Drive-In Tour

    Make a Date with Adult Swim’s Drive-In Tour

    Vacuum the Dorito crumbs out of your backseat and wax up your hot rod: the 2016 Adult Swim Drive-In tour is coming soon! Fans across the country will get a chance to enjoy a free, magical night cozying up with Adult Swim and getting a first look at upcoming programming, starting next month and running through mid September.

    Each stop on the five-week, 10-city tour will offer an exclusive sneak peek at unaired episodes, never-before-seen pilots and specials, and lots of other favorites — all on a massive 40-foot inflatable screen. Attendees will also enjoy food trucks, free popcorn, concessions, games and prizes. Vouchers for a free food truck meal will be handed out while supplies last, or plan on bringing a picnic dinner.

    The screening events are free and open to fans aged 18 and over — RSVP at AdultSwimPresents.com

    Adult Swim Drive-In stops include:

    Albuquerque, NM (Balloon Fiesta Park, Aug. 18); Austin, TX (Blue Starlite Drive-In, Aug. 22); Indianapolis, IN (Old National Centre, Aug. 26); Nashville, TN (Nissan Stadium, Aug. 29); Columbus, OH (South Drive-In Theatre, Sept. 1); Detroit, MI (Belle Isle Park, Sept. 6); Chicago, IL (Soldier Field, Sept. 8); Denver, CO (88 Drive-In Theatre, Sept. 10); Seattle, WA (CenturyLink Field, Sept. 15); and Portland, OR (Portland Meadows, Sept. 17).

    2016 Adult Swim Drive-In
    2016 Adult Swim Drive-In
  • Daily News Bytes

    Daily News Bytes

    Daria, Beavis & Butt-Head Returning to TV as VH1 Classic Becomes MTV Classic
    Still want your MTV? You just have to hold out until August 1 when the channel rebrands and replays the Mike Judge toons alongside Aeon Flux, Clone High and live-action classics.

    Netflix Renews Beat Bugs, Preps Motown Series
    Musical animated series Beat Bugs gets re-upped for a second season, and the streaming giant reveals some details of Motown inspired toon with Smokey Robinson as executive music producer.

    Andreas Deja Shares the Lessons He Learned from Those Animation Masters, Disney’s Nine Old Men
    The German-born legend in his own right dishes on the wisdom he received working with Woolie, Frank & Ollie, Ward and Milt in the golden dawn of the Disney renaissance.

    Check out the Rough Animation Test for Upcoming Rocket & Groot Shorts
    According to Marvel’s animation SVP Cort Lane, the 12 shorts will launch on Disney XD early next year and are being produced with Passion Pictures and Arnaud Delord, of the Gorillaz music vids.

    Torque Director Shares Swamp Thing Animation Test for Canned Dark Universe Film
    Joseph Kahn gives CBR a look at the dark DC Comics universe live-action movie that might have been.

    Daria
    Daria
  • Reallusion Announces 2016 3D Character Design Contest

    Reallusion Announces 2016 3D Character Design Contest

    Calling all 3D artists, game developers and animators: Reallusion and Polycount are seeking entries for the 2016 Game Character Design Contest! Participants can enter any animatable, humanoid character to compete against some of the brightest artists in the 3D animation community for a chance at prizes including a share of $4,000 cash, 3D hardware, software and content goodies.

    Artists can create their own 3D characters for entry, which can be fully rigged and animated, humanoid/bipedal characters. Participants must submit a 30 second video that shows the personality and detail of the character. Submissions are now open and will close on October 16, 2016. Complete competition information and rules can be found on the contest web page.

    The contest in part is designed to introduce artists to and promote Reallusion’s iClone Animation Pipeline (the company is providing a free 45 day trial of the Pro version for all entrants, downloadable here). iClone saves users tons of time and effort by providing pre-rigged, universal morph-ready quad avatar designs that allow users to turn 3D sculptures into animatable 3D characters, equipped for thousands of motion assets, facial lip-syncs, look changes, body shape morphs, multi-layered outfits and dynamic textures — all easily retargeted and exportable to external 3D tools

    Sponsors include: Renderosity.com, CGTrader.com, 3D.sk, Humster3D, Sketchfab, and media partners Polycount.com, ArtStation.com and 3DTotal.com.

    iClone
    iClone
  • BAFTA Young Game Designers Winners Announced

    BAFTA Young Game Designers Winners Announced

    The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced the winners of the 2016 BAFTA Young Game Designers competition, in association with Nominet Trust, at an awards ceremony held July 23 at BAFTA headquarters in London. The Awards were hosted by CBBC presenter Ben Shires and games journalist Jane Douglas. Presenters were BBC Radio 1’s Dev Griffin, actress Amy-Leigh Hickman, Ukie CEO Jo Twist and games scriptwriter Rhianna Pratchett (Tomb Raider, Heavenly Sword)

    The winners included four aspiring game creators, aged between 10 and 18, and a stand-out inspirational teacher. As previously announced, Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet) was awarded the YGD Hero Award.

    Now in its sixth year, the Young Game Designers competition presents awards in two categories: The Game Concept Award, for a written idea for a new game; and the Game Making Award, for creations made using computer software. The winners chosen by a jury of industry experts for 2016 are:

    Game Concept Award (10-14 year-old): Aysheq Husain (13, from Birmingham) for Imagibots – Save Eden Green

    One day out of the blue, Professor Eden received a telephone call from the Mayor of Eden Green. It was terrible news, there was a massive asteroid on a collision course for the village and apparently there was nothing the government could do to save Eden Green from being obliterated.

    Game Concept Award (15-18 year-old): Nic Gordon (18, Derby) for YOU ARE BEING FOLLOWED

    YOU ARE BEING FOLLOWED is a story-driven game, containing puzzle and exploration elements. You control of Emma, a blind woman, driven by paranoia to leave the noise of her home in a bustling metropolis in pursuit of a place of complete silence.

    Game Making Award (10-14 year-old): Charlie Thurston(14, Forest Row in East Sussex) for Apocalypse Alpha

    The world has been ravaged by a deadly and mysterious infection known as The Judgement, the lucky ones are dead and the minds of survivors are destroyed. Society crumbles and those left with their humanity intact must fight to survive. Throughout the game you must scavenge for supplies and weapons, fight your way through the hordes of Infected and reach the Airbase in one piece. You’ll make friends and enemies, but in the end it’s every man for himself.

    Game Making Award (15-18 year-old): Daniel Smith (18, Gateshead in Tyne and Wear) for Spectrum

    SPECTRUM is a mind-bending first person puzzler that challenges you to switch colours and manipulate gravity in order to escape a digital labyrinth. You don’t know why you’re there or what the purpose of the place is. The only way to navigate the chambers is completing increasingly challenging puzzles, the more you overcome, and the more you learn the dark secrets this digital place hides.

    The young winners will receive a slew of prizes, including help further developing their game with industry experts.

    The YGD Mentor Award was bestowed on Michael Warburton, Head of Games Development at Cambridge Regional College and creator of Rizing Games — the first FE educational commercial games development studio in the country.

    The YGD Hero Award was accepted by TD Alex Evans and Studio Director Siobhan Reddy for Media Molecule, which was recognized for its continuing support of young game designers.

    In a message of support to all the young finalists, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, President of BAFTA, said: “When I met the winners of the 2015 competition, I saw for myself the remarkable game ideas and game-making skills of young people today and I am once again very impressed by the unique ideas of this year’s finalists.

    “The games industry continues to be one of the most successful, creative and fastest growing in the country and I am pleased to see so many young people taking advantage of this exciting opportunity – one which could well launch their careers as the next big thing in British games.”

    BAFTA
    BAFTA
  • ‘Elena of Avalor’ Premiere Rules Ratings

    ‘Elena of Avalor’ Premiere Rules Ratings

    The July 22 simulcast premiere of the original animated series Elena of Avalor on Disney Channel and Disney Junior snagged the No. 1 series telecast position among all kid-targeted TV networks in Total Viewers (4.2 million), Kids 2-11 (2.2 million/5.6 rating) and Adults 18-49 (1.1 million/0.9 rating), for 2016 to date.

    The first two episodes of Elena of Avalor, which introduced a princess inspired by diverse Latin cultures and folklore, also generated 1.4 million viewer engagements – including over 1 million on the Disney Junior app in just its first few days – and an additional 3.9 million total views of the premiere episode and 13 videos on the YouTube Disney Channel. Among Hispanic viewers, the series premiere was the No. 1 TV telecast of 3Q 2016 to-date among the targeted Girls 2-11 (5.2 rating), Girls 6-8 (7.4 rating) and Girls 6-11 (6.0 rating) demographics.

    To date, Elena of Avalor programming has delivered over 6.5 million viewer engagements on the Disney Channel app and Disney Junior app and another 686,000 engagements on Disney Channel Set-top Box Video-on-Demand. Elena of Avalor‘s fan base spans over 15 million across key social platforms Facebook (7.8 million), Twitter (1.5 million), Instagram (4.5 million) and YouTube (1.2 million).

    For its premiere and encore telecasts to-date, Elena of Avalor has reached 12.6 million Total Viewers, including 5.5 million Kids 2-11 and 2.7 million Kids 2-5. In Live + 3 day ratings versus Live + Same Day ratings, “Elena of Avalor” grew by solid double-digit percentages, including with Total Viewers (+31% – 4.2 million vs. 3.2 million), Kids 2-11 (+38% – 2.2 million vs. 1.6 million) and Adults 18-49(+26% – 1.1 million vs. 876,000).

    Elena of Avalor
    Elena of Avalor
  • Milkshake Re-Ups Komixx Media’s ‘Toby’s Travelling Circus’

    Milkshake Re-Ups Komixx Media’s ‘Toby’s Travelling Circus’

    Channel 5’s Milkshake in the U.K. has commissioned U.K./U.S. family entertainment production company Komixx Media Group for a second season of Toby’s Travelling Circus, following the successful first season run on the popular preschool block. The order is for a package of 52 10-minute episodes of the stop-motion series.

    Season two will continue to follow charismatic Toby, the 7-year-old Ringmaster of a traveling circus and fairground. With his mischievous toy monkey Momo by his side, Toby has to make sure he and his friends put on a spectacular show everywhere they go. In the new adventures, Toby will be joined by his American cousin, Dani.

    Toby’s Traveling Circus season two will premiere on Milkshake in the fall of 2017.

    The second season of Toby is Channel 5’s most recent commission for Milkshake, following new series Winnie and Wilbur from Winduna Enterprises, starring Katy Brand and Bill Bailey; and the third season of Milkshake Monkey from Match Cut Ltd., premiering this September.

    Toby's Traveling Circus
    Toby’s Traveling Circus
  • Clips: The Melvins’ Buzz and Dale on ‘Uncle Grandpa’

    Clips: The Melvins’ Buzz and Dale on ‘Uncle Grandpa’

    Cartoon Network is delivering a hearty double helping of Uncle Grandpa on Thursday, August 4 with two all-new, back-to-back episode premieres starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT — complete with some special guests on the scene to help Uncle Grandpa have an extra rockin’ good mornin’!

    First up will be “RV Olympics,” in which Pizza Steve and Mr. Gus go for the gold.

    Following will be “Uncle Melvins,” in which special guest stars Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover of legendary group The Melvins get tooned up and teamed up with Uncle Grandpa to help Lizzy learn to rock out in order to win her school’s talent show.

    Created by Pete Browngardt, Emmy Award-winning animated series Uncle Grandpa airs weekdays on Cartoon Network, with episodes available on the Cartoon Network App, which you can find on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.

    Uncle Grandpa
    Uncle Grandpa
  • Clips: ‘Adventures with Tip & Oh’ Premieres Friday

    Clips: ‘Adventures with Tip & Oh’ Premieres Friday

    DreamWorks Animation’s all-new original series Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh premieres exclusively on Netflix Friday, July 29. Those strange alien creatures at DWA have issued some fun clips and stills to give you a taste of this colorful 2D comedy, so check ‘em out below. (And pick up a copy of the August/September issue of Animation Magazine to read more about the show!)

    Synopsis:

    What happens after a misfit alien named Oh conquers Earth, befriends an adventurous teen girl named Tip and together they save the day? Oh moves in with Tip and her human family and finally discovers the true meaning of home. The galaxy’s dynamic duo are back in DreamWorks Animation’s Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh, an all-new Netflix Original Series jam-packed with outrageous laughs, tons of heart and contemporary urban pop music performed by teen singing sensation Rachel Crow (Rio 2, X Factor). Life on earth will never be the same!

    Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh
    Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh
  • ‘Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV’ Official Trailer Launches

    ‘Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV’ Official Trailer Launches

    Sony’s Stage 6 and Square Enix have unveiled the official theatrical trailer for Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV — the CG animated feature companion to the latest installment in the smash-hit RPG videogame series. The trailer swoops and dives through a rich world that blends magical, mechanical and high-tech sorcery elements and gives us a first listen at the star quality English voice cast.

    As previously announced, Kingsglaive’s story runs concurrently with the Final Fantasy XV gameplay storyline. After the game’s hero Noctis sets out from the capital of the magical kingdom of Lucis, the movie shows what befalls his father King Regis (voiced by Sean Bean).

    Lucis holds the sacred Crystal, which is coveted by the menacing Niflheim empire. With the enemy’s crushing military might bearing down, King Regis concedes marry his son Prince Noctis to the Niflheim’s captive, Princess Luna (Lena Headey), and surrender his lands. But when it becomes clear the empire will stop at nothing to achieve their devious goals, only Nyx (Aaron Paul) and the rest of the magic using elite fighting force known as the Kingsglaive can save the world from complete domination by the empire.

    Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV will be released in select theaters August 19.

    Kingsglaive: FInal Fantasy XV
    Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV
  • Daily News Bytes

    Daily News Bytes

    Calligraphy Takes Flight in an Award-Winning Animation
    Iranian director and animator Meghdad Asadi Lari’s graduate school thesis film Simorgh transforms beautiful lettering into unique avian characters.

    Pixar Animation Studios Open Sources Universal Scene Description
    Top studio opens up USDI technology used to interchange 3D graphics data through various DCC tools, which provides a scalable solution for complex CG film and game production workflows.

    Heritage Auctions: Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction in Dallas
    Running August 4-6 on the floor in Dallas and online, Heritage is offering works by Alex Raymond, Bernie Wrightson, Steve Lightle, Michael Kaluta and more from titles spanning Swamp Thing to Suicide Squad.

    Call for Entries: Animage Festival
    Competition submissions are open through September 11 for the international animation festival in Pernambuco, Brazil, taking place November 22-27.

    U.K. Kids’ Animation Series Embroiled in Islamophobia Controversy
    Viacom-owned Channel 5 pulled from streaming an episode of Fireman Sam which contained a scene in which a character seems to have a page of the Koran underfoot.

    Simorgh
    Simorgh
  • Shout!, Hasbro Date ‘Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree’ Release

    Shout!, Hasbro Date ‘Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree’ Release

    Shout! Factory and Hasbro Studios announce a strategic distribution collaboration for the North American home entertainment release of the next installment of the popular My Little Pony film series spinoff, My Little Pony Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree. The collectible Blu-ray + DVD combo pack and DVD release will arrive on shelves in the U.S. and Canada on November 1, 2016, per the announcement made by Shout! Factory SVP of Family Entertainment, Melissa Boag.

    The multi-year partnership gives Shout! The exclusive home entertainment packaged media rights and select digital rights to the film. A full range of bonus content and specialty packaging are in development, with the movie to be launched strategically through the Shout! Factory Kids imprint.

    My Little Pony Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree follows Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and friends as they embark on a new adventure… to camp! When Canterlot High School goes on a field trip to Camp Everfree, they’re surprised to find a magical force is causing strange things to happen. With the help of the Mane 6 and especially Sunset Shimmer (who refuses to give up on her), Twilight Sparkle must confront the dark “Midnight Sparkle” within herself and embrace her newfound magical abilities to save the camp.

    Everfree is directed by Ishi Rudell and features the My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic series voice stars Tara Strong, Ashleigh Ball, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Cathy Weseluck and Rebecca Shoichet.

    Equestria Girls - Legend of Everfree
    Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree
  • SIGGRAPH: Shotgun 7.0 Announced

    SIGGRAPH: Shotgun 7.0 Announced

    Shotgun Software announced the latest edition of its flagship cloud-based review and production tracking software Shotgun 7.0 at SIGGRAPH this week. The tool is focused on solving collaborative review challenges at studios, making it easier for team of all sizes to upload, share, view and track media on a single platform. The latest update expands Shotgun’s review capabilities by introduction editorial cut data into the review process, enabling teams to view their work at any time in context with the latest cut.

    “VFX and animation studios need to constantly view their latest work in context of the cut, and yet editorial makes continual changes throughout the project” says Don Parker. “Keeping up with this process manually takes way too much time and can lead to frustrating delays and mistakes. This release is a major step forward, helping teams understand what has changed and allowing artists and supervisors to look at their work in context of the latest cut, both in our web player and on the desktop with RV.”

    Shotgun 7.0 feature highlights include:

    • Import Cut: Editorial information is quickly published to Shotgun, summarizing changes that can be shared with anyone on the project.
    • Play Cuts Anywhere: With one click, watch the full cut either in the browser or in the Shotgun RV desktop player. Powerful filtering tools control which shot versions show up in the cut, such as “latest,” “latest animation” or “latest approved.”
    • View any Shot in a Review Session in Context of the Cut: Teams working through shot versions in review sessions can seamlessly switch between viewing the shot in the review playlist and viewing the shot in the context of the cut.
    • Track Overlapping Cuts: Quickly access a full history of all cuts on a project, including overlapping cuts such as :30, :60, :90 cuts on commercial projects, or both sequence and trailer cuts on film projects.
    • API Ready: A new data model tracking the cut data is fully exposed in Shotgun’s API so studios with development resources can integrate with their pipelines.

    Shotgun 7.0 will be demoed at SIGGRAPH 2016 in booth 337, July 26-28. Priced at $30 per account per month with “Awesome Support,” or $50 with “Super Awesome” support. Request a trial at shotgunsoftware.com/signup.

    Shotgun 7.0
    Shotgun 7.0
  • Musical Superhero ‘Tara Tremendous’ Gets Tooned Up

    Musical Superhero ‘Tara Tremendous’ Gets Tooned Up

    Kids and family production, music and publishing company Wonkybot Studios is in development on its first animated series, a tooned-up adaptation of hit music-driven superhero podcast The Secret Diaries of Tara Tremendous. The show aimed at kids ages 4-8 is announced on the heels of the podcast’s successful season and just ahead of the six-episode season two debut set for August 2 on iTunes.

    Created by Humanitas Prize and Young Artist Award winner Stewart St John — whose writing credits include over 50 episodes of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, Sabrina: The Animated Series, The Hulk, Heavy Gear, Tom & Jerry Kids and Showtime Original feature Seventeen Again — The Secret Diaries of Tara Tremendous continues to rack up 50,000 downloads a day, at one point ranking No. 6 overall just under smash hit cast Serial.

    The podcast’s success is also spurring three upcoming brand extensions: its first album featuring a collection of all the season one songs, The Secret Diaries of Tara Tremendous: Songs from a Superhero World (August), an album with all the cues from the originals score (August), and a middle grade book franchise launching in September. Wonkybot’s CEO St John writes and directs each episode, composes all original songs and co-scored the soundtrack with musical partner Michael Plahuta, and voices the character Dr. Epic.

    Wonkybot is partnering with producing team John Rogers (creator of The Librarians, The Player and Jackie Chan Adventures) and Jenn Court of Kung Fu Monkey Productions to develop the animated series. St John has set the TV series at the secret Power University where Tara learns how to use her superpowers, and chronicles her adventures as she learns to control her abilities, make friends and protect the secrecy of the school. The series will introduce a colorful cast of friends and frenemies, faculty members, superheroes and super villains.

    Wonkybot Studios was formed in 2015 by co-founders Stewart St John, COO Todd Fisher and Michael Plahuta.

    Tara Tremendous
    Tara Tremendous