Andy Zazzera has joined Nice Shoes Creative Studio as CG Director as part of the New York-based studio’s growth. Zazzera had previously collaborated with Nice Shoes last summer, working with Creative Director James Coulson and Director of CG Steve Parish on vfx shots for online film Dream Reclaimed, Lionsgate’s Urge and the opening sequence for Nitehawk Cinema’s 2015 Shorts Festival.
Zazzera’s prior work experience includes stints with Speakeasy FX, Sarofsky Corp. and Buck, contributing to projects for Capri Sun, Huggies, Verizon and Oreo. He has also worked with Marvel productions, supervising title sequence production for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man.
Scrat, Manny, Sid, Diego and a few new friends from Blue Sky’s blockbuster Ice Age franchise are putting a prehistoric spin on Easter traditions in the new animated holiday special Ice Age: The Great Egg-scapade, which premieres Sunday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. During the broadcast, 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky will also reveal an exclusive sneak peek at upcoming feature Ice Age: Collision Course (July 22).
In The Great Egg-scapade, harried prehistoric bird mom Ethel (Taraji P. Henson) entrusts her precious, soon-to-hatch egg to Sid (John Leguizamo). When she recommends him to her neighbors – a condor mom (Wendy Williams), Cholly Bear (Gabriel Iglesias) and Gladys Glypto (Lili Estefan) – business booms at his new egg-sitting service. However, dastardly pirate bunny Squint (Seth Green), who is seeking revenge on the Ice Age gang, steals, camouflages and hides all the eggs. Once again, with Squint’s twin brother Clint (Blake Anderson) assisting, Manny (Ray Romano), Diego (Denis Leary) and the rest of the gang come to the rescue and take off on a daring mission that turns into the world’s first Easter egg hunt.
The special arrives on Digital HD the day after its broadcast premiere. Directed by Ricardo Curtis, The Great Egg-scapade is produced by John C. Donkin with executive producers Lori Forte, Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha.
Virtual reality creators’ community Kaleidoscope announces the 2016 Kaleidoscope World Tour — a multi-city international tour showcasing the best in virtual reality film, art and immersive experiences. Following the success of last year’s inaugural tour, the 2016 edition will kick off March 1 in Paris, France and travel to nine additional cities through April 12.
Following Paris, the festival will make stops in London, Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Melbourne, Pangyo and Tokyo. Audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy the full lineup of experiences on Gear VR equipment supplied by Samsung, as well as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets. In addition, experiences will be exhibited using the newly launched Wevr Transport, ensuring beautiful playback and a seamless user experience. Festival events will also include talks and demos from top VR creators and industry members.
Sourced from all over the world, over 30 innovative projects will feature in the lineup. Highlights include the world premieres of Phil Tippett’s Mad God, produced by Wevr; Pierre Friquet’s Jet Lag; and Balthazar Auxietre’s La Peri: A Prelude. Kaleidoscope will also present international premieres of Tyler Hurd’s Old Friend (Wevr), Daniel Ernst’s Marchland (part of a retrospective of his VR dioramas) and Notes on Blindness by Arnaud Colinart, Amaury La Burthe, Peter Middleton and James Spinney.
Also on tap are last year’s festival Audience Choice Award winner, Surge by Arjan van Meerten; and special screenings of Rose & I (Penrose Studio), theBLU: Encounter (Wevr), a sneak peek of Invasion! (Baobab Studio) and a featured demonstration of Google’s Tilt Brush painting-in-3D-space experience.
Produced in association with WIRED, the Kaleidoscope World Tour is powered by Wevr Transport. “Rising Stars of VR” moderated artist panels are brought to you by G-Technology, with additional lead sponsors including Nokia who will feature their groundbreaking OZO VR camera at each stop of the tour, and Unity, the leading game engine for VR creators. Skullcandy is the exclusive headphone sponsor with SubPac providing immersive physical audio with its M2 wearable and S2 studio range of products.
Jamaica’s KingstOOn event and conference has received a record number of entries for this year’s contests. Over 900 submissions from 93 countries have poured in for the KingstOOn Emerging Animators Content Competition (KEACC) and the KingstOOn International Animation Festival. The conference and festival, only in its second edition, will take place March 12 & 13 (kingstoonfest.com).
Organizers will narrow down the 95 KEACC entries to 44, divvied up in the categories Storyboard, Character Design, Caribbean Short Film, and Concept. The aim of the KEACC contest is to discover new talent and showcase the quality of work created by animation artists in the Caribbean. Entries were received from Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Martinique, Haiti, St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba and Guadeloupe.
The film festival competition received 840 submissions from the Caribbean, Europe, North, Sout & Central America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania. These have been narrowed down to 49 films which will compete for awards in the Student Film, Short Film and Full Feature Film categories. The films will be screened at venues around Kingston in the week leading up to KingstOOn.
KingstOOn 2016 is programmed around the theme “Learn, Earn and Display,” and will include a conference, marketplace, creative concept competition and festival. The event is an initiative of the Government of Jamaica in collaboration with the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.
The owners of the world’s largest animation network, Frederator Networks, have teamed up with the largest animation studio in Latin America, Ánima Estudios, to create Átomo Network. The new venture will act as one of the world’s largest recruiters and incubators of Spanish-language animation. Both entities have made an initial million-dollar investment and have opened offices in New York, Burbank, Madrid and Mexico City.
Átomo Network will provide its members the same services, resources, promotion and audience development and programming expertise as The Channel Frederator Network. In addition, the Átomo Network will be providing translation and dubbing services to select members of The Channel Frederator Network, to help their English language channels and shows expand their audiences to Spanish-speaking audiences. Plus, creators will be provided access to Hispanic-specific promotions and licensing opportunities, and the ability to build projects on and off YouTube.
“We’re seeing huge scalability in online content in the Spanish-language vertical, especially within Central and Latin America, and an appetite for next generation animation,” says Frederator Networks CEO Fred Seibert. “Our partnership with Ánima Estudios enables us to deliver on what this global audience is seeking by introducing them to the amazing content and creators of the Channel Frederator Network.” Frederator last year increased its channels from 1,200 to 2,500, and upped viewership to 540 million views.
“After building our reputation in feature films and TV series for almost 15 years, we believe it is a natural progression for us to take a leap into the online animation world,” adds Fernando de Fuentes, President & CEO Ánima Estudios. Ánima Estudios has built a global presence, having released three theatrical features and two original series.
The 16th annual Toy of the Year Awards have wrapped up in New York City, and Disney Junior preschool hit Doc McStuffins took two top wins with the Doc McStuffins Pet Vet Checkup Center from Just Play: Best Toy of the Year and Preschool Toy of the Year.
“From toys that can inspire kids’ career choices to ones that boost their creativity and confidence, the 2016 TOTY winners have provided children with countless hours of fun, challenges and learning—benefits that last a lifetime,” said Steve Pasierb, the president and CEO of the U.S. Toy Industry Association. “We congratulate Just Play, KidKraft and the winners across all 12 categories for their innovation and success in the marketplace—and for enhancing children’s experiences through play!”
KidKraft took the People’s Choice Award for its Uptown Espresso Kitchen, as voted for online by consumers.
Walt and co. took further victories as Star Wars (Disney/Lucasfilm Licensing) was named Property of the Year , while the LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Millennium Falcon by The LEGO Group won the boys’ category. And Disney Infinity 3.0 was awarded E-Connected Toy of the Year.
Other 2016 winners were Shopkins Scoops Ice Cream Truck by Moose Toys (Girls’ Toy), VEX Robotics Robotic Arm by HEXBUG (Educational Toy), Hasbro’s Pie Face Game (Game of the Year), Bright Beats Dance & Move BeatBo by Fisher-Price (Infants & Toddlers), Meccanoid G15 by Spin Master (Innovative Toy), Razor GFD Fury by Razor USA (Outdoor Toy) and Tumble Trax Magnetic Marble Run by Learning Resources (Specialty Toy).
The live-action Astro Boy feature film project has gained some momentum as Hollywood Reporter reveals that New Line is in talks to come onboard the project — and has tapped San Andreas scribes Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore to write the script.
The film is currently in development between Australian studio Animal Logic (The LEGO Movie) and Japanese rights holder Tezuka Productions. Animal Logic’s Zareh Nalbandian will produce, with Jason Lust as executive producer alongside Mike Callaghan and Reuben Liber from Ranger 7 Films. Animal Logic is currently in production on LEGO Ninjago and LEGO Batman.
Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy first appeared in manga in 1951, running in print through 1968 and selling over 100 million copies worldwide. Astro Boy appeared in TV animation in the ‘80s and early 2000s, but had a major box office stumble with Imagi’s CG feature released in 2009.
South Africa’s largest animation event will welcome shining personalities and buzzworthy films from around the world this week as the Cape Town International Animation Festival runs February 18 to 21 (ctiaf.com). This year’s global focus reflects director Dianne Makings’ hopes that the event, formerly known as Kunjanimation, will act as a gateway to the continent’s animation industry.
Professional representatives and award-winning films representing Australia, Brazil, France, Ireland and others will complement local experts and films in the four-day program. Highlights include the African premiere of Stick Man, the latest BBC holiday special produced by UK’s Magic Light Pictures (The Gruffalo) and animated by South Africa’s Triggerfish Studios.
Evening screenings will also include award-winning features such as Oscar nominee The Boy and the World and Cartoon Saloon’s acclaimed Song of the Sea — director Tomm Moore is one of the featured speakers, along with DreamWorks animator Nedy Acet, Nickelodeon senior director of international productions Alexi Wheeler, Despicable Me producer Arnauld Boulard, Oscar-winning indie animator Adam Elliot and more.
While Triggerfish has lead the charge in putting South African animation on the map, local studios and the Cape Town festival organizers are striving to cement international relationships and ensure a healthy pipeline of TV and feature production projects to bring local industry to the next level. To this end, CTIAF has established links with key international fests like Annecy, the London International Animation Festival and this year, Italian festival Cartoons on the Bay.
Add to these efforts the growing number of international co-production deals reached through South Africa’s nine co-production treaties, and the country’s toon turnout is set to continue on an upward and outward trajectory.
Cartoon Network Enterprises has signed on six new North American licensing partners for apparel and accessories inspired by the highly anticipated reinvigoration of The Powerpuff Girls brand. A brand new animated series from Cartoon Network Studios and a full, worldwide licensing program are launching this year, bringing Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup back to the top of their girl power game.
The Powerpuff Girls apparel program — including a variety of products and designs to appeal to girls, juniors and women — launched this month with the debut of The Powerpuff Girls x Jeremy Scott collection from Moschino. Now available worldwide at Moschino stores and select boutiques, the line features an assortment of prints inspired by the PPG, seen on one-piece swimsuits, knitwear tops, iPhone cases, bags and more.
The new partners were announced in time for the MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas, where attendees can check out new products first hand. Partners on display are ABG Accessories (kids cold weather apparel & headwear, available at all tiers of retail beginning spring 2017), Accessory Innovations (bags and related accessories including backpacks, lunch bags, luggage, tote bags, luggage tags and more; summer), Everything Legwear (adult hosiery at specialty retailers; summer), Hybrid Jem (girls and juniors tops for all tiers of retail; spring), Jerry Leigh (full range of juniors and girls apparel; spring) and Komar (girls sleepwear at all tiers of retail; spring 2017).
The Paris Radio and Television Club in France gave a nod to the quality of local productions by awarding the Best Children’s TV Program honors to The Long Long Holiday. The 21st edition of the ceremony, a prestigious event which celebrates programs and personalities that have contributed the most to “cultural enrichment” over the past year, was held February 8.
The Long Long Holiday (10 x 26 or 5 x 50) is an HD CG-animated series produced by Les Armateurs and distributed by Cyber Group Studios. Aimed at kids ages 6-12, the show recounts the daily lives of a brother and sister who are left at their grandparents’ house near the Normandy coast at the beginning of World War II. The series sheds a new light on the historical context of the time and place as seen through the eyes of two young, urban children who know nothing of the country and — despite the war — experience the most wonderful adventures discovering nature and making new friends.
“We are very proud of this prize, which rewards a risk-taking saga on World War II as seen through the eyes of little children,” says Les Armateurs General Manager & Line Producer Ivan Rouveure. “The high audience share and the viewers’ enthusiasm are proof that TV for children can propose entertaining, smart, and high-quality programs.”
Cyber Group Studios President Pierre Sissmann adds, “It is such an honor and a pleasure to distribute such a beautifully produced program, which is not only a great piece of entertainment but sheds light on a major part of our European history.”
In 2015, The Long Long Holiday was included in the official selection for the Annecy Animation Film Festival, Totally Serialized Festival (UK0 and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. This year, the show has been selected for the Stuttgart animation festival, the International Film Festival for kids in Montreal and is presented to the International Emmy Awards. Broadcast partners include France Televisions and Canal+ (France), ZDF (Germany), RTS (Switzerland), DR and TV5 (Denmark) with additional major markets in discussion.
The 2016 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, taking place June 13-18, will on the 17th hold the prize-giving ceremony for the fourth edition of the Disney Art Challenge. This year’s contest, chaired by Disney-Pixar CCO John Lasseter, follows an undersea theme. Following the ceremony, director Andrew Stanton and producer Lindsey Collins will be on hand for the premiere Finding Dory.
The Disney Art Challenge was created in 2013 by The Walt Disney Company France in partnership with RECA (the local Network of Animated Cinema Schools) with the aim of highlighting the talent and creativity of French students in graphic arts. Since its inception, over 600 students have taken part in the Challenge.
“Recognizing young talent is so important; these up-and-coming artists are the future of our medium. I love seeing the work of these fantastic students and am always inspired by their energy and fresh perspective,” says Lasseter.
For this year’s Challenge, “What goes on under the ocean?” — directly inspired by Finding Dory — students from the 25 RECA network schools are invited to create and submit concept art and a character and background based on the theme. Students may use traditional or digital techniques and submissions are open until April 15.
Three winners will be awarded the Disney Animation Challenge grant to help continue their training, as well as a diploma and trophy.
This year’s jury includes returning chairs John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, with comic-book artist Arthur de Pins (Zombillenium), director Alexandre Heboyan (Mune: Guardian of the Moon), journalists Caroline Vie and Laurent Cotillon, last year’s winner Caroline Cherrier, Art Ludique-Le Musee founder Jean-Jacques Launier, and Walt Disney Company France president Jean-Francois Camilleri. The public may also vote for an Audience Award winner July 4-23 at http://disney.fr/art-challenge.
Montreal’s Rodeo FX completed nearly 230 vfx shots for just-released blockbuster Deadpool — which just blew away the competition by posting a $150 million four-day opening. Directed by Tim Miller, the R-rated adaptation of Marvel Comics’ ultimate anti-superhero required a variety of vfx elements overseen by studio vfx supervisor Wayne Brinton.
Deadpool delivers the horrific backstory of Wade Wilson (played by Ryan Reynolds), a Special Forces operative who undergoes an experimental cancer cure only to be mutated into a slave-soldier. The indestructible operative has a mordant sense of humor, the ability to heal spontaneously, and a burning desire for revenge. Luckily for the production, Winton was a big fan of the character and was able to bring insightful proposals to the table.
The “cure” procedure introduces a mutation to Wilson’s body, changing the structure of his skin and hideously deforming him. Brinton and his team did concepts for skin decomposition at different stages, using time-lapse footage of rotting vegetables and meat for inspiration. Finding the production plates too dark to show subtleties, they added more detail and shape to the skin, modeling with ZBrush, doing lighting passes and compositing in the textures.
During the change, Wilson is held in a torture chamber, but escapes as the room burns to the ground. The scene was shot continually in one room that had been fitted with gas pipes emitting flames, making the usual practice of submitting individual shots for approval inefficient and awkward. Instead, Rodeo FX asked to submit the finished sequence in its entirety to film vfx supervisor Jonathan Rothbart. This meant that every shot in the submitted sequence had to be final, with all shots at the same level of quality.
Rodeo FX also delivered a key post-disaster scene in which a ship crashes, creating a junkyard of smoldering parts. The scene was shot on greenscreen, with the studio generating digital set extensions for the junkyard, compositing a matte painting shared by Blur Studio, and adding smoke and ashes. Rodeo FX produced additional matte paintings based on photos of the set. Smoke and ash started out heavy in the scene, reducing in intensity as it progressed to create what Rodeo compositing supervisor Martin Limann calls “a choreography of simulated ash, falling in 3D space.”
Bento Box Entertainment and Loren Bouchard’s Wilo Productions is bringing back the Bob’s Burgers Live! show to Los Angeles for an extra special event following a sold-out tour. The stage event has been touring since 2013, selling out every engagement, and in 2015 alone averaged nearly 3,000 attendees at eight events in Minneapolis, Chicago, Madison, Detroit, Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
Bob’s Burgers Live! 2016 will kick off April 29 at 8 p.m. at L.A.’s The Wiltern. The exclusive comedy and musical extravaganza will bring together the cast and creator of Fox’s Emmy-winning animated hit to celebrate 100 episodes (with No. 100 airing May 22). The night will include a live table reading of a classic episode, stand-up comedy performances, a sneak peek at clips from upcoming episodes, musical performances and more.
Scheduled to perform and participate in a Q&A are voice stars H. Jon Benjamin (Bob Belcher), Kristen Schaal (Louise), Eugene Mirman (Gene), Dan Mintz (Tina), John Roberts (Linda) and Larry Murphy (Teddy) as well as show creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard — and a surprise celebrity guest.
Tickets go on sale February 19 at 10 a.m. PST at wiltern.com and livenation.com, with a price range of $49.50 to $69.50. Live show merchandise can be found at bobsburgerslive.com.
Playmates Toys and DreamWorks Animation announce they are collaborating on a new toy line based on DWA’s upcoming series Voltron: Legendary Defender, a reimagining of the classic animation property. The show will bow as a Netflix Original Series this year, and as master toy licensee Playmates is planning to launch the new line in spring 2017.
“We are excited to work with DreamWorks Animation on the resurgence of such a beloved brand, and are looking forward to providing nostalgic fans and new audiences with a heroic space adventure toy line,” said Thomas Chan, CEO of Playmates Toys. “We are dedicated to developing an innovative line of toys that will bring the series to life, allowing fans to be immersed in the epic adventures of Voltron, as the team liberates the universe.”
Voltron: Legendary Defender follows five unsuspecting teenagers as they are transported from Earth into the middle of a sprawling, intergalactic war and become pilots of five mystical robotic lions in a battle to protect the universe from evil. Harnessing the power of teamwork, their machines are able to unite to form Voltron: a towering robotic warrior that represents the last, best hope for the triumph of good.
BBC Worldwide has commissioned a second season of popular animated children’s series Hey Duggee from London-based production house Studio AKA. The 52-episode order is placed on behalf of CBeebies international channels as well as potential clients. In the UK, CBeebies Controller Kay Benbow has also ordered season two of Hey Duggee for the channel.
Hey Duggee is centered on “The Squirrel Club,” which is run by a big, friendly dog called Duggee. The Club is a place where kids take part in all manner of activities and adventures, earning badges along the way. Duggee’s mission is to teach kids valuable life skills related to responsibility, teamwork, taking acceptable risks and, most importantly, having fun.
Created and written by Grant Orchard, Senior Director of the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning Studio AKA, Hey Duggee features the voice talent of comedian Alexander Armstrong. The series has proven a hit on CBeebies channels since its launch, and has sold to over 80 international territories — including to key broadcasters France Televisions, ABC Australia, SVT (Sweden) and most recently to Nickelodeon in the US.
The show has also been viewed over 22 million times on BBC iPlayer and attracted multiple licensing partners, including Golden Bear (master toy) and Penguin’s Ladybird (publishing). Last year, the first Hey Duggee preschool app from BBC Worldwide and developer Scary Beasties rocketed to the top of the kids app chart and a new app is in production for an Easter 2016 release.
New York-based brand management 4K Media (a subsidiary of Konami Digital Entertainment) has been appointed by Crown Creative as the master licensee for girls’ fashion brand Rebecca Bonbon in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The cute, demure French bulldog character has the potential to reach par with Hello Kitty, and the target demographic makes it a fitting complement to 4K’s boy-skewing Yu-Gi-Oh! brand.
4K Media is launching a fresh licensing program, which includes apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home decor, plush and pet products aimed at young female consumers. New Rebecca Bonbon products are expected to arrive at select retailers late this year.
Rebecca Bonbon was created by Yuko Shimizu, the original artist behind Hello Kitty. Launched in 2005, the young Paris-born French bulldog and her New York City fashionista lifestyle have quickly grown in popularity around the world. The brand is especially popular in Asia thanks to creative partnerships, such as creating a friend character named Whoohoo inspired by real-life pop diva Jolin Tsai’s pet lapdog.
More info on the pretty pup can be found on her official site, rebeccabonbon.com.
Canadian-based kids only on-demand service Ameba is expanding its North American reach with an updated streaming app for Xbox 360. Available February 16 in the U.S. and Feb. 18 in Canada, the newest launch makes Ameba’s extensive kids content lineup accessible through the consoles in both Subscription and Advertising supported VOD services.
Additionally, Microsoft will feature select content in the Ameba catalog in an ongoing campaign on the Xbox 360 platform, giving content providers direct access to a large viewing audience. Ameba is also available on Roku, LG Smart TV, Sony, Amazon Fire, web, mobile and tablet (iOS and Android).
“Over the past year we retooled the entire customer experience after an extensive study of the video viewing habits of parents and their children,” says Ameba’s President & CEO Tony Havelka. “Ameba is simplified. We have eliminated the need for credit cards. We do not require any input of personal information. Parents do not need to set filters or timers for their children to enjoy our content. Viewers can watch all the videos in our catalog immediately on all of our supported platforms. We now support the four top monetization models, Subscription (SVOD), Advertising (AVOD), Rental (VOD) and Electronic Sell Through (TVOD). This gives parents the choice to interact with Ameba in any way that is convenient for them.”
Random House Children’s Books has appointed industry veteran Rachel Bader as its new Licensing Director. The new role tasks her with building and managing a consumer products licensing business for the publisher through partnerships across multiple categories in the US and Canada. Bader will also be responsible for exploring retail partnerships for non-book products, as well as licensing to manufacturers in appropriate categories.
Bader’s initial focus will be on the Everything I Need to Know Little Golden Books program, the character Rocket the dog from imprint Schwartz & Wade, and the picture books of Emily Martin such as last year’s The Wonderful Things You Will Be.
Before joining Random House, Bader was director of licensing for Prometheus Global Media, where she managed the licensing and promotional businesses for Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. She has also held the post at Conde Nast, Guinness World Records, Chorion Silver Lining and Scholastic.
