Disney XD is growing its store of original series by ordering two new toons — Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer and Country Club — and re-upped the magical comedy hit Star vs. The Forces of Evil and short-form series Two More Eggs. The announcement was made Friday through The Hollywood Reporter.
Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer is created by Aaron Springer, a writer and director who has worked on SpongeBob SquarePants, Gravity Falls and the Mickey Mouse shorts. Premiering in 2017, the show follows eccentric, science-obsessed 7th grader Billy Dilley (voiced by Jessica McKenna) and his lab partners Zeke (Tom Kenny) and Marsha (Catie Wayne) as summer vacation takes an unexpected turn and they get trapped in a strange, magical world beneath the Earth’s surface. Springer serves as executive producer.
Country Club is created by comic book team Chris and Shane Houghton, who both were most recently on the Harvey Beaks story team at Nickelodeon. Coming in 2018, the show centers on Cricket Green — a mischievous and optimistic country boy whose family moves to the big city. Cricket’s curiosity and enthusiasm lead his family on epic fish-out-of-water adventures and endear them to their new urbanite neighbors. Rob Renzetti (Gravity Falls) serves as executive producer alongside the Houghtons.
Star vs. The Forces of Evil, created by Daron Nefcy and produced by Disney Television Animation, has been picked up for a third season. Two More Eggs, created by The Brothers Chaps (a.k.a. Mike and Matt Chapman) has received a second season order.
Country Club and Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer
Disney Junior has ordered two new animated series and put in second season orders for The Lion Guard and Goldie & Bear, it was announced by EVP of Original Programming and General Manager of Disney Junior Worldwide Nancy Kanter. The new shows are Vampirina — executive produced by Doc McStuffins creator Chris Nee — and Puppy Dog Tails, created by comedian Harland Williams. Both series are now in production and will premiere in 2017.
Vampirina, inspired by Disney Publishing’s kids book series Vampirina Ballerina, tells the story of a young vampire girl who faces the joys and trials of being the new kid in town when her family moves from Transylvania to Pennsylvania. Many of the key creatives behind Peabody Award-winning series Doc McStuffins are onboard, including executive producer Chris Nee and co-executive producer Norton Virgien. Nicky Phelan (Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty) is directing the series, which is produced by Brown Bag Films in association with Disney Junior.
Puppy Dog Tails is created by comedian and actor Harland Williams and follows fun-loving pug puppies Bingo and Rolly, whose thrill-seeking appetites take them on daily adventures around their neighborhood and beyond. Williams also served as consulting producer, with executive producer Sean Coyle (The Awesomes, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and story editor Dean Batali (That ‘70s Show). The show is produced by Wild Canary in association with Disney Junior.
The Lion Guard (produced by Disney Television Animation) launched in January and ranked as the No. 1 series across preschooler networks in Total Viewers and preschoolers 2-5 for two consecutive months. Last month, it placed among the monthly Top 10 series with kids 2-5 across all cable TV networks. Goldie & Bear (produced by Titmouse in association with Disney Junior) ranked as 2015’s No. 1 series across preschool networks.
Award-winning 3D animation studio Calabash has delivered a fresh catch for StarKist Tuna with a new spot featuring classic brand icon Charlie the Tuna. The studio partnered with director Steve “Spaz” Williams, who began his career at ILM; production company Phasmatrope and Quench Agency to create the “Modern Charlie” spot. The ad promotes the heart healthy benefits of StarKist’s Tuna and Salmon Creations products.
“Charlie’s basic design has hardly changed since he was first introduced in the early 60’s, but he has been interpreted in slightly different ways over the years,” says Calabash executive producer Sean Henry. “We felt obligated to stay as true as possible to the official look, but there were a lot of elements to the design that needed to be thought out carefully. Charlie’s design is pretty abstract, like a comic strip character. It works well as a drawing, but it is a real challenge to sculpt in 3D since it is only designed to be seen from one or two angles.”
Creative director Wayne Brejcha found inspiration in Blue Sky’s Peanuts Movie when it came to translating the midcentury 2D character design into 3D. “Charlie’s 3D spatial coherence is playful …Sean rigged our CG Charlie to be able to do what the hand-drawn cartoons can do. He’s not a strictly jointed armature – he’s more of a series of liquid forms, and we kept a sharp eye on the resulting 2D shapes you see as the final result to gauge how well we were capturing Charlie’s personality.”
The 15 second “Modern Charlie” spot pays homage to a classic ad from the 1960s, which sees Charlie playing the harp and “putting his heart into it” when his flute-playing sidekick Octopus reminds him that StarKist “doesn’t want tuna with heart, they want tuna that’s god for the heart.” Calabash has worked with the famous fish before, having produced the 2005 MasterCard Super Bowl ad “Icons,” in which Charlie sits down to dinner with Mr. Peanut, Count Chocula and other famous food mascots.
U.K. digital distributor and VOD content management company MoMedia has signed a worldwide deal with family entertainment company Outfit7 for the kids property Talking Tom and Friends. The agreement is the first between the two groups.
Under the three-year deal, MoMedia will distribute the digital rights for the CG-animated Talking Tom and Friends (52 x 11) on local and worldwide transactional EST and SVOD streaming platforms including Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and Google Play, where the range of Talking Tom apps have been downloaded over 3 billion times to-date.
Talking Tom and Friends is currently available on YouTube and chronicles the hijinks of wisecracking cat Talking Tom and his pals as they shoot their own reality TV show. It was one of the first series to be featured on the YouTube Kids app when it launched earlier this year. Traditional broadcast distribution is being handled by U.K. indie Jet Pack.
MoMedia’s digital distribution portfolio also includes high-profile kids brands including Transformers: Rescue Bots (Hasbro), Postman Pat (DreamWorks Classics) and Pocoyo (Zinkia).
The Walt Disney Company’s chairman and CEO Robert Iger announced at Thursday’s annual shareholders meeting that the box office record-smashing Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be available to own through an early Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere release on April 1, followed by Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD editions on April 5.
The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams, has generated over $926 million in domestic box office and $2.05 billion worldwide. Fans who bring the space-faring adventure home will be treated to an in-depth new documentary and bonus behind-the-scenes material including extensive footage, deleted scenes and exclusive interviews with the actors and filmmakers.
Kids entertainment company CAKE together with French CG animation studio TeamTO and Belgian creative house Thuristar have announced that their new animated series My Knight and Me (52 x 11) will launch at this year’s MIPTV market, taking place April 4-7 in Cannes.
Aimed at kids ages 6-11, My Knight and Me is a medieval comedy about street-smart Jimmy the Squire, his best friend Cat the daring princess, and his father Henri of Orange, a charmingly inept but passionately chivalrous knight who might not be the most efficient protector of the realm, but is definitely the funniest. Together his trio set out to make the Dark Ages a little bit lighter and a lot more fun.
The series already has five broadcasters onboard: Canal+ Family and Teletoon+ in France, Super RTL in Germany, and VRT-Ketnet and RTBF-Ouftivi in Belgium. The show will make its broadcast debut on RTBF-Ouftivi, Canal+ Family and Super RTL later this year. CAKE is handling international distribution.
My Knight and Me is the fifth production to come out of CAKE and TeamTO’s creative partnership which has previously produced Angelo Rules and Oscar’s Oasis. The new show is a spinoff of Thursitar’s short film 850 Meters by Joeri Christiaen, who is directing the series.
Wind Dancer Films, the company behind TV series and films like Roseanne, Home Improvement and What Women Want, is going after the children’s TV space with the appointment of 15-year executive team member Dete Meserve as Principal. Meserve will lead the company’s expansion into kids TV, which officially kicked off with the launch of its first children’s series Ready Jet Go! on PBS KIDS.
Meserve serves as executive producer on Ready Jet Go!, working with creator Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!, Dinosaur Train). She is also heading up animated series project Not a Box, currently in development and based on the award-winning book by Antoinette Portis. In her career, Meserve has produced numerous films and series and has been responsible for securing over $65 million in financing for film and TV properties. Her credits include Home Improvement, Saint George, What Women Want, Bernie, The Keeping Room, Wildest Africa and As Cool as I Am.
Prior to joining Wind Dancer, Meserve was vice president of USC Radio. She began her career as station manager of the National Public Radio affiliate in Evansville, Indiana, and assistant general manager of the PBS affiliate. Meserve is also the author of multi-award-winning, best-selling novel Good Sam, which she will produce as a film for Hallmark Channel.
South by Southwest (SXSW) has announced that Seth Rogen’s R-rated animated comedy feature Sausage Party will have its debut as a work-in-progress screening at this year’s festival. The Sony and Annapurna Pictures production will play March 14 at 9:15 p.m. at Austin’s Paramount Theatre. Sausage Party is set for a theatrical release on August 12.
Sausage Party is a raunchy, madcap tale of one sausage’s quest to unravel the mystery of his grocery store existence. After tumbling from a shopping cart, the film’s savory hero and his friends struggle to make their way through the supermarket to get back to their shelves before the big Fourth of July sale. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jonah Hill conceived the original story.
Conrad Vernon (Madagascar 3, Monsters vs. Aliens) and Greg Tiernan direct the film, which features the voices of Rogen and Hill with Kristen Wiig, Salma Hayek, Edward Norton, David Krumholtz, Nick Kroll, Michael Cera, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Bill Hader, Anders Holm, Paul Rudd and Danny McBride.
The National Film Board of Canada announces the launch of a new, subscription supported video-on-demand service powered by Vimeo where film fans can discover the latest and most acclaimed NFB-produced animated and documentary shorts any time from their computers, mobile devices, tablets or smart TVs.
NFB Shorts On Demand (vimeo.com/ondemand/nfbshorts) is launching with a selection of 14 recent films that have received high priase at festivals, five of which are available online for the first time. Subscribers will have access to the online premieres of Michele Cournoyer’s Soif, Cordell Barker’s If I Was God…, Claude Cloutier’s Carface, Sarah Van Den Boom’s In Deep Waters and Randall Okita’s The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer.
Additional films include Bruce Alcock’s Impromptu, Chris Landreth’s Subconscious Password, Felix Dufour-Laperriere’s The Day Is Listening, Hart Snider’s The Basketball Game, Andrea Dorfman’s Big Mouth, Nicola Lemay and Janice Nadeau’s No Fish Where to Go and Tali’s Bus Story.
A subscription of $4.99 per month grants unlimited viewing. Films can also be purchased individually as rentals ($1.99) or download-to-own ($3.99). NFB Shorts plans to add three new films every two weeks to build the selection. As a bonus, one new film will always be available for free streaming. The service is available in French and English.
Nickelodeon held its annual upfront presentation in New York’s Lincoln Center on Wednesday, detailing plans to head into the season with over 650 episodes of new and returning series. The presentation was also punctuated with a special appearance from New York Knicks power forward, Carmelo Anthony–who was on hand to tout his new TMNT x Melo collaboration, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-branded capsule collection of boys’ apparel and accessories launching in all Macy’s stores in May. In a surprise finale, top-selling artist Flo Rida closed with a performance of his latest hit single, “My House.”
Returning animated series include preschool programs Shimmer and Shine, Blaze and the Monster Machines, PAW Patrol, Wallykazam! and Dora and Friends: Into the City!; kids series SpongeBob SquarePants (seasons 10 & 11), Harvey Beaks, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Fairly OddParents and ALVINNN!!! and The Chipmunks.
Nick’s 2016 new toon pipeline includes:
Rusty Rivets, picked up for 26 episodes, follows the animated adventures of Rusty as he invents his way out of jams by repurposing parts and objects into the wildest, coolest contraptions ever. The series embodies the principles of the maker movement, while exposing preschoolers to concepts found in science, technology and engineering. Rusty Rivets is created and co-produced by Spin Master Entertainment (PAW Patrol), and slated to premiere later this year.
The Loud House, picked up for 26 episodes, is the first series to be greenlit out of Nickelodeon’s Animated Shorts Program and is inspired by first-time creator Chris Savino’s (Rocko’s Modern Life, The Powerpuff Girls) chaotic life growing up in a huge household.
Bunsen is a Beast!, picked up for 20 episodes, is an original animated comedy created and executive produced by animation veteran Butch Hartman (The Fairly OddParents). The series follows the adventures of Bunsen, the first beast to attend a human grade school, and his best friend and classmate Mikey, who guides Bunsen through the ups and downs of life as a human.
Mysticons, picked up for 40 episodes, is a half-hour, action series about four girls who transform into legendary warriors and band together to save their realm from an evil queen, Necrafa. Mysticons is licensed by Nelvana.
Welcome to the Wayne, picked up for 20 episodes, marks Nick’s first digital short-form series to be greenlit for television. The series follows the comedic adventures of two 10-year-old boys exploring the crazy, unpredictable world of their New York City apartment building The Wayne. Welcome to the Wayne is created and written by Emmy Award-winning writer and composer Billy Lopez (The Wonder Pets!, Phineas and Ferb).
Pinky Malinky, picked up for 20 episodes, is a mockumentary series following the everyday life of Pinky Malinky, an infectiously positive hot dog living in a human world. Pinky’s experiences will be shared across social media and Nick’s digital platforms. The series is co-created and co-executive produced by Chris Garbutt and Rikke Asbjoern (The Amazing World of Gumball), and executive produced by Scott Kreamer (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness).
Albert, Nickelodeon’s first original animated TV movie, is the sweet story of a tiny Douglas fir tree named Albert who loves Christmas more than anyone, but whose miniature size has kept him inside the plant nursery year after year. Joined by his two best friends, a fun-loving palm tree and a rambunctious weed, Albert treks across the country to live his dream of becoming the world’s most famous Christmas tree. Max Lang (The Gruffalo) is set to direct, with Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb (The Adventures of Pete & Pete) executive producing.
Hey Arnold!, a two-part animated TV movie written and executive produced by the series’ original creator Craig Bartlett, will pick up where the original series ended and resolve unanswered questions and plotlines, including Arnold finally getting answers about the whereabouts of his missing parents.
International TV production and licensing company Silvergate Media has partnered with SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment to bring the first Octonauts 4-D cinema experience to fans around the world. Since launching in 2011, the brand has become a leading preschool property in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Australia and Korea. A successful launch is underway in China, with Russia to follow this fall.
The first feature-length film project, The Amazon Adventure – 4-D, follows the Octonauts as they travel way down the Amazon River in search of a fabled lost city, and Kwazii’s long-lost grandfather, Calico Jack. The film will be offered worldwide, with a U.K. premiere scheduled for this May. Further films from SimEx and Silvergate will follow through a three-year deal.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Silvergate to deliver an Octonauts 4-D experience to our theaters worldwide. Our guests will love joining the Octonauts down the Amazon River, and being chased by piranhas, all in 3-D with 4-D special effects,” says SimEx SVP of licensing & distribution Mike Frueh.
The Octonauts TV series, now in its fourth season, airs in over 100 countries worldwide, including on Disney Channel in the U.S., CBeebies (U.K.), ABC (Australia), TF1 (France), Super RTL (Germany) and now on China Central TV.
A new animated television series based on Disney’s Oscar-winning feature film Big Hero 6 is now in production, heading for a 2017 premiere on Disney XD. Emmy-winning producers Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley — creators and EPs for Disney Channel’s Kim Possible — are serving as executive producers. They are joined by fellow Kim Possible alum Nick Filippi, who is also supervising director. The series was announced Wednesday by Disney Channels Worldwide president & CCO Gary Marsh.
“Our colleagues at Walt Disney Animation Studios have created a brilliant new world, inspired by Marvel, with vivid, unique characters,” said Marsh. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to further develop these characters into a world class animated series — full of fun, action and the kind of endearing storytelling that only Mark, Bob — and Baymax — can deliver.”
The Big Hero 6 series, produced by Disney Television Animation, picks up immediately after the film’s events, continuing the adventures of 14-year-old tech genius Hiro and his friendly, cutting-edge robot companion, Baymax. Together with control freak Wasabi, scientist Honey Lemon, fanboy Fred and no-nonsense Go Go, they form the legendary superhero team: Big Hero 6. As a fresh-faced prodigy at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, Hiro faces daunting academic and social challenges, trumped only by the high stake threats facing the city rom scientifically enhanced villains.
A new trailer for Disney-Pixar’s upcoming summer sequel Finding Dory had its exclusive premiere on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, re-acquainting viewers with forgetful blue tang Dory (voiced by DeGeneres) and her clownfish friends Nemo and Marlin (Albert Brooks) and introducing new friends like Bailey (Ty Burrell), a beluga whale with defective sonar; Destiny (Kaitlin Olsen), a whale shark who can’t swim straight; and Hank (Ed O’Neill), a crotchety octopus and master of disguise.
Directed by Andrew Stanton and co-directed by Angus MacLane, Finding Dory will be released in theaters on June 17, 2016. Set six months after the events of Finding Nemo in the waters off the coast of Monterey, California, the film reunites Dory with her friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale? The voice cast also features Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton.
Last week, Genius Brands International announced an important new partnership with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, covering distribution and opening the doors for future co-development and co-production. Andrew Berman, SVP – Global Distribution Sales for Genius Brands International, took some time to answer our questions about what this means for the company’s future.
What was most important for Genius Brands International in forging a new distribution pipeline? Andrew Berman: The world is evolving and content consumption habits are at the top of the evolution process. Genius Brands’ new Kid Genius channel on Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand was the critical first step in our expansion strategy, providing consumers with direct access to all of our content through a single, collectively branded platform, which also links our various digital sites through a common home. Our relationship with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment was the crucial next step in that it opened the door to additional content for the Kid Genius channel while also empowering Genius Brands in its negotiations with traditional licensing and retailing partners. Our content attracts buyers, licensees and viewers and by partnering with Sony we have significantly increased our global influence.
Why was Sony Pictures Home Entertainment the right partner for this?
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment was committed to expanding its distribution in the children’s entertainment sector, which makes them the perfect partner for Genius Brands. Working collaboratively, we’re able to complement each other’s content offerings and meet a greater share of the growing global demand for smart programming for kids. Plus, being able to include the support of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in any market is always a substantial plus.
How does Genius Brands International plan to maximize its Sony distribution partnership?
We see our relationship with Sony on two fronts: First, utilizing Sony’s global name recognition, we’re able to maximize distribution opportunities for Genius Brands’ original content – more potential buyers are paying attention now; and secondly, third party producers trust us to develop and distribute their content knowing that we’re sanctioned by Sony.
As to the rather new Kid Genius channel, what kind of response are you seeing from viewers?
Since launching the Kid Genius channel last October, we have seen a fantastic month-over-month increase in viewership which is very exciting and which I believe will continue to increase as we debut more Genius Brands’ original, Sony and third-party content.
What is the next step in growing the Kid Genius presence?
It’s all about the content. That’s what will ultimately grow the reach and audience for Kid Genius. We’re aggressively seeking out new content that complements our existing line-up — more content with purpose. We’re looking to augment the existing carriage, expanding the reach of the Kid Genius Channel through other cable providers and platforms. And we also are creating a corresponding Kid Genius Channel app to further expand our audience.
What are the plans for growing Genius Brands International’s catalog through acquisitions, original properties and/or co-productions?
As I mentioned previously, we are actively seeking 3rd party acquisitions to complement and enhance our existing library. Specifically, we’re interested in acquiring content that serves the Baby Genius demographic, content which we plan on releasing through Sony under our Baby Genius releasing label. Of course, this content would also be made available on the Kid Genius Channel. Similarly, if a developer or producer has a strong concept or production in development, we want to speak with those people, especially now that we can offer Sony’s distribution strength in addition to our own development, production, licensing and marketing capabilities.
How does Genius Brands International/Kid Genius programming stand out from the larger TV animation landscape?
Genius Brands and Kid Genius stand out because of the distinct, unique and fresh “content with a purpose” that we bring to the marketplace. We have created a solid niche for ourselves by focusing on producing content that is enriching, engaging and, of course, extremely entertaining.
What is Genius Brands International looking for in potential acquisitions?
Four E Content! Enriching, engaging, extremely entertaining content that is harmonious with the Kid Genius line-up and would support our relationship with Sony.
How important are international content markets for the company as it continues to expand?
Our team has open lines of communications around the globe because content development, distribution and licensing is a year-round commitment. There may be seasons when it comes to schedules, but you can’t rest for a second and still maintain a competitive edge. That said, it is important to have one-on-one time with producers, programmers and licensing executives, which is why MIP Junior and Kidscreen markets are always must-attend events for us. But you have to maintain the dialog and relationships year round.
Will we see more Genius Brands International original series in development/production in the near future?
Absolutely. With the success of the Kid Genius channel and the myriad of opportunities made possible through our new partnership with Sony, we have a very robust, active development slate that includes several original series, including SpacePOP and Baby Genius, for both near and long term.
Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox have unveiled a new trailer for the upcoming CG animated feature adventure Ice Age: Collision Course, arriving in theaters July 22. The spot sets up the cataclysmic events of the fifth film, following the acorn-crazed Scrat into space and following a violent meteor shower back down to earth, where the Ice Age gang must confront the end of an era and look for help from an unlikely corner.
Directed by Mike Thurmeier, Collision Course features the voices of returning stars Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, Keke Palmer, Wanda Sykes and Jennifer Lopez. Additional roles are voiced by Stephanie Beatriz, Adam DeVine, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Max Greenfield, Jessie J, Nick Offerman, Melissa Rauch, Michael Strahan and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Synopsis:
Scrats epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.
Sony Pictures Animation and WWE Studios are collaborating on a sequel to SPA’s 2007 CG film Surf’s Up — an Oscar-nominated comedy about surfing penguins. The companies are co-financing and producing the movie, which is slated for a 2017 release in time for the property’s 10th anniversary. Titled Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania, the sequel will be distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, with WWE Studios providing marketing support by leveraging its multi-platform reach.
The new adventure finds Cody Maverick hungry for a new challenge, so he convinces a surf crew known as The Hang 5 — voiced by WWE Superstars John Cena, The Undertaker, Triple H, WWE Diva Paige and Mr. McMahon — to let him join in their journey to a mysterious place known as The Trenches, where legend has it they will find the biggest waves in the world. But Cody soon discovers that the life he left behind might be more heroic than any death-defying wave.
Wavemania is being helmed by Genndy Tartakovsky’s protege Henry Yu, making his directorial debut after serving as a story artist on the Hotel Transylvania flicks. Abdul Williams wrote the screenplay and Michelle Wong produces. Rainmaker Entertainment is providing the animation.
Nickelodeon is continuing to mine the ore of its classic ’90s content, announcing two major projects: a live-action TV movie inspired by iconic game show Legends of the Hidden Temple, and a two-part animated Hey Arnold! TV movie, written and executive produced by the original series’ creator Craig Bartlett.
The Hey Arnold! project, first announced in development last year, will pick up where the show ended, resolving unanswered questions and plotlines, including Arnold finally getting the answer about the whereabouts of his missing parents. The two hour-long TV movies are being produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank and are set for a 2017 debut.
“The greenlights for the Legends of the Hidden Temple and Hey Arnold! TV movies are terrific examples of how we are bringing our beloved content back to life both for new audiences and the generation that grew up on them,” said Cyma Zarghami, President, Viacom Kids and Family Group. “These TV movies will keep the spirit and essential themes of the original source materials intact, while branching out in new ways that will speak to and captivate today’s kids.”
The Legends of the Hidden Temple TV movie is being directed by Joe Menendez (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) and written by Jonny Umansky & Zach Hyatt, and Alex Reid. Elements of the original game show — the talking head Olmec, The Steps of Knowledge, the temple entrance and launching pad, and the green monkey, red jaguar and silver snakes — will be incorporated into the story of three siblings on a life-or-death mission. Isabela Moner stars.
The Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI) has announced the Official Selection of shots and feature films for the 2016 edition, taking place April 22 to 25. Alongside the screenings, TAAFI will present workshops, discussions and industry events. Early Bird passes for the festival are on sale now.
The opening night film will be the World Premiere of Spark, a CG-animated feature from ToonBox Entertainment in Toronto, co-produced by Red Rover and Shanghai Hoongman Technology. Spark is directed by Aaron Woodley and features the voices of Jessica Biel and Hilary Swank.
Other feature screenings include the World Premiere of traditionally animated Canadian film Nova Seed, directed by Nick DiLiberto; and Spanish stop-motion film Possessed, by Samuel Erik Ortiz. Highlights of the short film program include Oscar-nominated We Can’t Live without Cosmos by Konstantin Bronzit, and Moom by Tonko House. Over 60 short films curate from 1,700-plus international submissions will be presented this year.
Special guests participating in workshops, talks and signings this year include animator Eric Goldberg (Aladdin, Pocahontas), creative director Michael Rianda (Gravity Falls), award-winning animator Michel Gagne (Ratatouille), director Audu Paden (Animaniacs), filmmaker Marv Newland (Bambi Meets Godzilla), and Hanna-Barbera’s “Three Tooners,” Tony Benedict, Willie Ito and Jerry Eisenberg.
Festival pass-holders can also attend the Nelvana Bouncing Ball, Toronto’s largest annual animation industry gathering, held at Corus Quay on Saturday night. And on April 23 and 24, the Animation Arts Maarket returns for the second year (read more about it here).
