Author: Ramin Zahed

Annecy Announces Animated Feature Lineup
Nine animated features from around the world will be competing for the prestigious Cristal Award at the Annecy Animation Festival this June.

The features, as reported by Variety today are (in alphabetical order):
- 2096: A Story of Love and Fury
  Directed by: Luiz Bolognese (Buriti Films, Gullane, Brazil)
- The Apostle
  Directed by: Fernando Cortizo (Artefactor Productions, Spain)
- Arjun: The Warrior Prince
  Directed by: Arnab Chaudhuri (UTV, Disney, India)
- Berserk Golden Age Arc II: The Battle of Doldrey
  Directed by: Toshiyuki Kubooka, Michael Sinterniklaas(Lucent Pictures, Studio 4°C, Warner Bros., Japan)
- Jasmine
  Directed by: Alain Ughetto (Les Films du Tambour de Soie, France)
- Khumba
  Directed by: Anthony Silverston (Triggerfish, South Africa)
- Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
  Directed by: Dan St. Pierre and Will Finn (Summertime Ent., U.S.)
- My Mommy is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill
  Directed by: Marc Boréal & Thibaut Chatel (Label Anim, Melusine, France, Luxembourg)
- Pinocchio
  Directed by: Enzo D’Alo (Cometa Films, Iris Productions, 2d3D, Walking the Dog; Italy, Luxembourg, France, Belgium)
As previously announced, Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University is the festival’s opening movie. Other U.S. titles screening out of competition include Chris Sullivan’s Consuming Spirits, Kevin Schreck’s Persistence of Vision and Don Hertzfeldt’s It’s a Beautiful Day. Cartoon Network’s Brian Miller, director Robert Morgan and producer Didier Brunner of Les Armateurs are this year’s feature film jurors.

Here is the complete list of animated features that are screening outside the competition:
- After School Midnighters
  Directed by: Hitoshi TAKEKIYO (Japan)
- Aya de Yopougon
  Directed by: Marguerite ABOUET, Clément OUBRERIE (France)
- Blood-C: The Last Dark
  Directed by: Naoyoshi SHIOTANI (Japan)
- Buratino’s Return
  Directed by: Ekaterina Mikhailova (Russia)
- Consuming Spirits
  Directed by: Christopher Sullivan (U.S.)
- El Santos vs la Tetona Mendoza
  Directed by: Alejandro Lozano LOZANO (Mexico)
- Gusuko-Budori no Denki
  Directed by: Gisaburo SUGII (Japan)
- It’s Such a Beautiful Day
  Directed by: Don Hertzfeldt (U.S.)
- One Piece Film Z
  Directed by: Tatsuya Nagamine (Japan)
- Persistence of Vision
  Directed by: Kevin Sschreck (U.S.)
- Sakasama no Patema
  Directed by: Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Japan)
- The Legend of Sarila
  Directed by: Nancy Savard (Canada)
- The Snow Queen
  Directed by: Maxim Sveshnikov, Vladlen Barbe (Russia)
- Tito on Ice
  Directed by: Max Andersson, Helena Ahonen (Sweden)
Among the other special screenings are Universal/Illumination’s Despicable Me 2 and Olivier Jean-Marie’s Oggy and the Cockroaches. The 37th edition of the festival runs June 10-15 in under the artistic director of newcomer Marcel Jean. Poland is the featured country, and an homage to Polish animator Jerzy Kucia is also part of this year’s eclectic program. For more info, visit www.annecy.org.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
April 23, 2013
Netflix May Say Buh-Bye to SpongeBob

Remember a few years ago when Nickelodeon was blaming its diminished ratings on Netflix and the popularity of its animated series SpongeBob SquarePants on the disc/streaming service? Well, the absorbent yellow dude might have to find a new culprit soon as Netflix announced that it plans to let its deal to carry Nickelodeon, BET and MTV content expire next month. The vid sub service did note that it might continue to keep licensing some of the cablers’ shows.

Netflix said it has been moving away from broad, multi-year deals with networks and cable channels, in favor of more selective licensing arrangements to carry programs that will work best for its subscribers.

Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings, in a letter to shareholders, said a recent deal with Warner Bros. Television illustrates the subscription service’s more handpicked approach to programming.

“Many of our earliest deals were with networks and cable networks and included some shows that have not proven successful,” Hastings wrote. He further added that cable networks often hold back the most popular shows for as long as possible to keep cable and satellite distributors happy. “By dealing directly with producers of TV shows, we are better positioned to pick just those shows that we believe will work best, and secure rights that may be otherwise blocked by TV carriage and transmission deals.”

“With all the recently added fresh programming from Disney, Cartoon Network, Hasbro’s The Hub and DreamWorks Animation, we have a great kids offering,” Hastings added.

Analysts believe that Viacom’s distribution deal with Netflix was hurting Nickelodeon’s regular viewership.

SpongeBob SquarePants

April 23, 2013
Mysterious Mickey Mouse Short to Screen at Annecy

An enigmatic Disney short titled Mickey Mouse in ‘Get a Horse’ will have its world premiere at the Annecy Animation Festival on June 11. This never-before-seen, black-and-white, hand-drawn short features Walt Disney as the voice of the iconic mouse. The plot finds Mickey, his cheerful gal pal Minnie Mouse and their pals Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow enjoying a pastoral musical wagon ride—until Peg-Leg Pete shows up and tries to run them off the road!

Presenting this “lost” Mickey short at Annecy will be filmmakers Lauren MacMullan (Wreck-It Ralph, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Simpsons), Dorothy McKim (Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice, The Ballad of Nessie, Meet the Robinsons) and legendary Disney artist and animator Eric Goldberg. We have a feeling we’re going to find out a lot more about this mysterious offering after the short premieres at the festival, but for now the Mouse House is trying to keep the details a big secret. Frankly, we’re just happy that we get to put Disney and 2D animation in the same sentence once again!

Mickey Mouse in ‘Get a Horse’

April 23, 2013
‘Sanjay and Craig’ to Premiere on Nick in May

Sanjay and Craig, a fun new animated show about the adventures of 12-year-old Sanjay (Maulik Pancholy) and his best buddy, a snake named Craig (Chris Hardwick) is set to premiere on Nickelodeon on Saturday, May 25 at 10:30 a.m. The 20-episode series, produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios, will begin airing on the network’s international channels in early 2014.

Sanjay and Craig is created and co-executive produced by Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell and Andreas Trolf. These first-time creators were teamed with award-winning writers and producers Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi (The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Alvin and the Chipmunks). The series features the voice talents of Pancholy and Hardwick in the lead roles with additional cast members that include: Linda Cardellini (Mad Men, Freaks and Geeks) as Megan; Matt Jones (Breaking Bad) as Hector; Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development) as Mr. Noodman; Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory) as Vijay; Grey DeLisle (The Fairly OddParents) as Darlene and Sandy Dickson; and Remington Tufflips as himself.

“The comedic and outrageous adventures of Sanjay and Craig deliver the perfect yet distinctive mix of weird, wonderful and random humor that is both unconventional and modern, which this post-millennial world has a strong affinity for,” says Russell Hicks, President of Content Development and Production.

Sanjay and Craig’s relationship is an alliance of equals, with Sanjay relying on his best buddy to aid his misadventures through their suburban neighborhood. From perfecting the ultimate bike skid, tightroping across a pool of garbage on a dare or Craig manipulating a contest to win his best buddy one hundred dogs, their routine hijinks often cross into the land of the fantastical and the absurd. Only Sanjay and his closest friends can hear Craig’s warped words of wisdom. The only thing that stands in their way is their unhinged, snake-phobic neighbor, Mr. Noodman, who’s always on the verge of figuring out that Craig can talk.

During the half-hour series premiere, Sanjay and Craig infiltrate the hospital to see the world’s first butt transplant in “Brett Venom MD.” Then in “Laugh Quake,” the two go on a quest to find the ultimate laugh. Beginning May 6, viewers can head to www.nick.com to play Rad Awesome Butt Doctors, a brand-new online game where Sanjay and Craig dress up as doctors and have to work together to fix sick patients.

Sanjay and Craig

April 22, 2013
Global TV News Bytes

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Debuts on Nicktoons: Popular series Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal has officially joined the Nicktoons lineup in the U.S. The new deal with Nicktoons includes a pick-up of two seasons of the latest installment, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal along with the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! library which includes Classic Yu-Gi- Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds. Classic Yu-Gi-Oh! debuted March 11th on the network and currently airs with back-to-back episodes Monday through Friday at 8 p.m. The newly produced Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal began airing in April 12th at 9 p.m. with back-to-back episodes. In this newest series, dueling goes to the next level of excitement. The series’ two heroes, Yuma and Astral, face the world’s most skilled duelists at the World Duel Carnival, the greatest tournament in history. The series is currently in its 11th consecutive year of broadcast in the U.S. 4K Media handles the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise in all territories outside Japan.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal

PBS Orders 3rd Season of Wild Kratts: Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Entertainment have received a third season order from PBS KIDS in the U.S. and TVO in Canada for an additional 26 x 22’ episodes of the hit animated wildlife adventure series Wild Kratts. The series was created and developed by real life brothers and zoologists, Martin and Chris Kratt, who star in the show as animated versions of themselves.

A co-pro between The Kratt Brothers Company and 9 Story Entertainment, Wild Kratts (92 x 22’) is distributed in the US and Canada by Kratt Brothers Company, and internationally by 9 Story Entertainment. The show premiered in January 2011 on PBS KIDS in the U.S., and TVO, Knowledge Network and Télé-Québec in Canada. It has also been sold to Discovery Kids Latin America and Asia, Super RTL (Germany) Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (Middle East), NOGA (Israel), TV3 (Spain), SIC (Portugal), Dublin Films (Ireland), VRT (Belgium), Chello Media (Eastern Europe), MediaCorp PTE Ltd. (Singapore), TV3 Catalunya (Spain), Minika (Turkey) and Primetime (Colombia).

Wild Kratts

DQE Announces Post-MIPTV Production Deals: Indian animation powerhouse DQ Entertainment has announced a slate of new deals as a follow-up to activities at the recent MIPTV Market: ZDF Enterprises and DQE are working on the first season of the new high-def series titled The Jungle Book Safari (26 x 12). Mixing animation and live action which will have the famous animated characters from The Jungle Book TV Series, Mowgli – the man cub, Baloo – the bear and all his friends, who will host the episodes to introduce various species of live action animals to the audience. Live action documentary footage of the animals in short, non-fiction parts will be combined with animated sequences from The Jungle Book.

DQ Entertainment Intl. has also formed a strategic partnership with kid production, consulting and brand management company Rollman Entertainment, for the development, production, distribution, licensing and merchandising of animated and live action TV series, feature films and new media content targeted for the global marketplace. REI is led by Eric Rollman, former President of Fox Family Productions, Saban Productions and Marvel Animation. REI and DQE currently work together on NFL Rush Zone, animated TV series currently airing on Nicktoons USA, Iesodo, an original animated series targeting the CBA market and The Jungle Book, theatrical animated feature, exec produced by Rollman, now in preproduction.

The two partners are focusing on five TV series through 2016 with a total budge budget of $35,000,000 and as well as a slate of animated features.

The Jungle Book Safari

April 22, 2013
Thom Chapman Joins DHX as Territory Manager

Thom Chapman, former VP of Business Development and Sales at Toonbox Entertainment, is DHX Media’s new territory manager. Reporting to DHX Media’s SVP Distribution Josh Scherba, Chapman will be responsible for sales to English-speaking Canada and the Asia Pacific territories. He will focus on the expansion of DHX Media’s properties across all platforms in these key territories.

At ToonBox Entertainment, Chapman oversaw financing, PR, sales, deliveries, and advertising for the company’s animated projects. Thom has also produced live action films for eOne, as well as creating and producing the YMA nominated 3D interstitial series The Beet Party, along with assisting in the pre-sales and financing of a number of other successful projects.

“Thom has a terrific track record in both the creative and business sides of animation,” says Steven DeNure, president and COO of DHX Media. “He will be a great asset to our sales team as we continue to forge relationships in the key markets of Canada and Asia Pacific.”

DHX Media

April 22, 2013
Raleigh Studios to Host Production Pipeline Expo

The venue for the first annual Production Pipeline Expo has been changed from The Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport to Raleigh Studios (5300 Melrose Ave, Stages 10 and 14, Hollywood, CA 90038). The two-day event takes place May 3-4. The announcement was made today by event founder Anthony Horn.

The Production Pipeline Expo will include a presentation of Joust, The Creative-Cartel’s new workflow software which was introduced at the 2013 NAB show. Previously, Joust was only available internally at the vfx studio, and was most recently used on the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan film After Earth. Jenny Fulle, CEO at The Creative-Cartel will be conducting demos of the new tool at the Expo.

The first annual Production Pipeline Expo 2013 will address the creation, development, management, and delivery of content across film, television, and games along all the disciplines involved within an actual production pipeline, with special attention paid to all major portions of the creation process. For comprehensive information about this event, visit www.productionpipelineexpo.com.

Production Pipeline Expo

April 22, 2013
Fox Offers More Details on CG ‘Peanuts’ Feature

Good grief, Charlie Brown! One of the hot items announced at last week’s CinemaCon event in Las Vegas was that Fox’s upcoming Peanuts feature will definitely be CG-animated and in stereoscopic 3-D. The studio also confirmed that the film will be released in November 2015 to mark the 65th anniversary of Charles M. Schulz’s beloved comic strip. Fox’s frequent animation partner Blue Sky Studios will produce the animation and Steve Martino (Horton Hears a Who!, Ice Age: Continental Drift) is directing the effort. The Peanuts script was written by Charles Schulz’s son Craig Schulz, his grandson Bryan Schulz, and Bryan’s screenwriting partner Cornelius Uliano, and all three are also listed as producers.

Feature rights to the landmark franchise have long been unavailable, as Schultz was reluctant to grant film licenses to his characters. The highly influential strip ran from Oct. 2, 1950 to Feb. 13, 2000—just one day after Schulz died at the age of 77. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty and the rest of the gang inspired a series of award-winning TV specials, including the 1965 CBS special A Charlie Brown Christmas and the 1966 offering It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, directed by Bill Melendez and produced by Lee Mendelson.

To date, 45 TV animated specials have aired on TV which are also available on disc. The TV series The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show ran in 1983 and This Is America, Charlie Brown aired in 1988. The Peanuts gang also starred in several 2D animated features, including A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969), Snoopy Come Home (1972), Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977) and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (1980), but none of them reached the glorious heights of the early TV specials.

All we can say at this point is that we’re keeping our fingers crossed that you won’t let us down, CG-animated Charlie Brown!

Peanuts

April 21, 2013
DreamWorks Announces New Chinese Co-pro ‘Tibet Code’

DreamWorks Animation Chief Exec Jeffrey Katzenberg announced the launch of a new Chinese co-production on Friday (April 18) in Beijing. Based on a popular Chinese book series set in ninth-century Tibet, the movie is called Tibet Code, and is a joint venture of Oriental DreamWorks and Chinese investors, including the country’s main distributor China Film Group.

DreamWorks Animation unveiled its Chinese joint venture last year to operate a studio in Shanghai that will produce animated movies and other entertainment for the Chinese and global market. The studio is also co-producing the next Kung Fu Panda movie, which has been a blockbuster in China.

At Friday’s news conference, Han Sanping, chairman of China Film Group, said “Tibet Code” would help export China’s culture and values to the world, a long-term strategic goal of the Chinese government.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Katzenberg said he saw the Tibet series as a strong franchise and dismissed suggestions that there was any political motive behind the film.

Hollywood films are still subject to censorship in China. In April, one the day of its Chinese premiere, Chinese officials nixed the showing of Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Django Unchained, due to its violent content.

DreamWorks Animation

April 21, 2013
Simon Cowell to Make an Animated Feature

British media mogul and sharp-tongued reality show judge Simon Cowell (The X Factor, American’s Got Talent) told The Daily Star recently that the has sold an animated feature to a major studio. Although he was tight-lipped about the animation production company and the subject of his animated pic, he did note that he’s been working on it for the past ten years. He also revealed that he plans to cast himself in the project as a cameo.

“It’s an idea I had ten years ago, and the first studio I’ve got to wants it,” he bragged. “Making an animation is something I’ve always, always, wanted to do because I love cartoons…We only did the deal a few weeks ago so I’m not allowed to say any more.”

According to the article, he’s hoping to have the movie in theaters by Christmas of 2014 and plans to have several A-list Hollywood names attached to the pic. Come to think of it, his former colleague from American Idol, Paula Abdul, did co-star in a music video with an animated cat, so anything is possible in Toon Town, right?

Simon Cowell

April 21, 2013
Amazon Serves Up Seven New Animated Pilots

In the latest chapter in the new media versus TV wars, Amazon has added 14 TV pilots to its programming online on Friday (April 19). The online entity has posted six animated children shows and one adult toon and is asking for audience feedback to decide which shows will be developed into full series.

“We’re looking for distinctive shows that people get really attached to and love,” Amazon Studios director Roy Price told the Los Angeles Times. “In the digital, on-demand world, you really have to have that passionate fan base, because there are no hammock shows, there’s no 8:30 show, [to bring viewers]. It’s important to reach out to customers on a large scale and see what they’re interested in.”

He said that viewership of FX’s animated sitcom Archer and Adult Swim’s stop-motion Robot Chicken hint the rising level of interest in satires and comedies targeted at older viewers, while popular preschool shows such as Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues suggest more areas of growth.

“You end up with a few areas you can look for ideas that seem to be compatible with those concepts,” Price said. “If you’re betting on one show, it’s got to be right down the middle of the fairway,” Price said. “But if you’ve got 14 you can allow people to try new things.”

“We have a lot of customers coming every day who love movies and TV in particular,” Price said. “Obviously, they like to share their thoughts and opinions on shows, so it just seemed natural for us to go to them with the best TV ideas we can find.”

Here are brief descriptions of the shows:

Creative Galaxy

Creative Galaxy is an animated interactive art adventure series, designed to inspire kids’ creative thinking through crafts, story, music and dance. The series was created by Angela Santomero, creator of Super Why!, the Emmy-nominated literacy series, Blue’s Clues and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Positively Ozitively

In this innovative problem solving series, Dot, Dorothy’s daughter, goes off to Oz everyday with the children of the beloved characters from L. Frank Baum’s classic book, The Wizard of Oz. In each episode, the yellow brick road leads Dot to a new magical location where she solves problems alongside her Oz friends.

Sara Solves it

Created by Curious George and Arthur executive producer Carol Greenwald and Blue’s Clues writer Angela Santomero, the plot follows brother and sister duo Sara and Sam on absorbing, math-based mysteries that spring from the questions young children encounter in their daily lives.

Teeny Tiny Dogs

Produced by The Jim Henson Company (Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train) and created by Howard Baker (Rugrats), Teeny Tiny Dogs follows Butch, Butterfly, Dinky and Polly as they help one another navigate the big world despite their teeny, tiny, small size. This series promotes happiness through friendship, learning, growing and developing a strong sense of self as seen through the eyes of canine friends.

Tumbleaf

Tumbleaf was created by Drew Hodges and Bix Pix Studios, the L.A-based award-winning stop motion studio. The series, aimed at preschoolers, is set in a whimsical land where a small blue fox named Fig plays each day and discovers adventure, friendship and love around every bend in the path. Children will be enriched by narratives that promote play through exploration and cognitive reasoning.

Annebots

The Untitled J.J. Johnson Project revolves around Anne, a young scientist, who creates three robot helpers to assist her scientific experiments in the back of her dad’s junkyard. This science-based series from creator J.J. Johnson (Dino Dan, This is Emily Yeung) aims to introduce kids to science and technology in a fun, new way.

Adult Show

Supanatural

Supanatural is a adult animated comedy series about two outspoken divas who are humanity’s last line of defense against the supernatural, when they’re not working at the mall. The series, written by Lily Sparks, Price Peterson and Ryan Sandoval, will be produced by Jason Micallef (Butter) and Kristen Schaal (The Daily Show).

You can check them all out here:

www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1001155581.

Tumbleaf

April 19, 2013
Ari Folman’s ‘The Congress’ to Premiere in Cannes

Annie-nominated director Ari Folman’s new pic The Congress will open the 45th Director’s Fortnight sidebar during the Cannes Film Festival on May 16.

The sci-fi movie mixes live-action with animation and stars Robin Wright, Paul Giamatti, Jon Hamm, Harvey Keitel, Danny Huston and Frances Fisher. The much-anticipated feature by the gifted Israeli director is based on The Futurological Congress by Polish writer Stanislaw Lem, who also wrote the famous sci-fi book Solaris. The plot follows the story of an aging actress (Robin Wright), who agrees to having herself scanned and turned into a digital actress for the sake of a single last, large payment to support her disabled son. The studio can use her digital image in any way they see fit, and she is forever banned from acting again. Of course, she doesn’t realize are quite how extensive the ramifications of her actions are.

Folman’s Waltz with Bashir was a competition film in the Official Selection in 2008 and went on to win the Cesar and DGA Award for Best Animated Feature. He was also writer/director of the original version of In Treatment, which was later adapted by HBO.

The Congress

The Congress

The Congress

April 19, 2013
RGH Sends ‘Santa Claus’ to Cannes

RGH Entertainment, a division of Rubicon Group Holding, has begun production on Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, an animated feature film to be released in CG 3-D Stereoscopic. Directed by Anthony Bell (Alpha and Omega, Rugrats, and the upcoming Norm of the North) from a screenplay written by Rob Edwards (The Princess and the Frog, Treasure Planet), the pic is exec produced by RGH Entertainment CEO Randa Ayoubi and North American exec director David Corbett.

Inspired by L. Frank Baum’s (The Wizard of Oz) Life and Adventures of Santa Claus tells the backstory of a young boy who overcomes the odds to become one of the most beloved characters the world has ever known.

RGH will be attending the Cannes Film Festival with worldwide rights to the film, which will be available for a global theatrical release for Christmas 2014. Rubicon is also producing the feature film Postman Pat: The Movie, in partnership with DreamWorks Classics for release in cinemas worldwide.

“We are pleased to be bringing L. Frank Baum’s timeless tale into our growing portfolio of IPs for children and all family audiences,” said Ayoubi. “Our production of Baum’s century-old book will reveal the little known story behind the myth of one of the most enchanting imaginary characters of all time.”

For more info, visit:

www.rubiconholding.com and www.rghentertainment.com.

Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

April 19, 2013
Stuttgart Announces Animated Com Award Nominees
The Animated Com Award nominees have been announced for the 20th edition of the upcoming Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (April 23-28). Every year, the Animated Com awards honors the best of applied animation in the fields of advertising, spatial communication and technology The jury has chosen ten top animated projects out of the 120 submissions for this year’s short list. Here is the list of nominees:

Advertising
- BBC London 2012 Olympic Games: Stadium (U.K.)
  Pete Candeland, Great Britain 2012, BBC; Y&R
- Metamorphosis Buck USA 2012
  Good Gooks / Oxfam New Zealand; String Theory
- MTV EMA 2012 Opener
  Mate Steinforth, Germany 2012, VIMN MTV World Design Studio
- The Real Bears
  Lucas Zanotto, USA 2012, The Real Bears
Technology
- Mass Effects 3—Take Earth Back
  Istvan Zorkoczy, Hungary 2012, Electronic Arts / Bioware
- Pictoplasma Festival 2012 Opener
  Mate Steinforth, Germany 2012, Pictoplasma
- Red Bull Stratos—Mission to the Edge of Space
  Peter Clausen, Germany 2012, Red Bull Media House; Aixsponza GmbH
Spatial Communication
- Coca Cola 125th Anniversary—Future Exhibition
  Refik Anadol, Maurizio Braggiotti, Efe Mert Kaya; Turkey 2011, Coca Cola; Antilop
- Swiss Pavilion Expo Yeousu: The Source—It’s in Your Hands
  Marc Tamschick, Germany 2012, Booth Switzerland; Steiner Ssamen AG & Tamschick Media+Space
- Max Hattler, Germany/Great Britain 2012, KXFS + Vauxhall
For more info about the festival, go to www.itfs.de/en/.

Here are the great animated trailers for the festival:

The Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart
April 19, 2013
‘Dragon 2,’ ‘Monsters Univ.’ Shine at CinemaCon

Animated features took center stage at the CinemaCon confab in Las Vegas today. The industry event, which targets exhibitors, producers, distributors, equipment and concession industry professionals, was held this week (April 15-18) at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

On Wednesday, Disney offered a sneak preview of Pixar’s highly anticipated summer pic Monsters University, which opens in theaters on June 21. The early buzz on the feature is overwhelmingly positive, and we won’t be surprised if the pic, which goes back to Mike and Scully’s college years, gets a huge thumbs up from both audiences and critics this summer.

Fox and DreamWorks Animation stole the spotlight on Thursday as they showed a 3D clip from the June 2014 sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2, which is written and directed by Dean DeBlois. In the clip, Hiccup is now a strapping teenager and rides on his dragon Toothless’ back. The DreamWorks session also included a peek at the March 2014 release Mr. Peabody and Sherman, which is based on the classic Jay Ward toon introduced in Rocky and His Friends in the late 1950s. Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little) is directing the CG toon. Also previewed was DWA’s July 17 release, Turbo, which is directed by David Soren follows the adventures of an ordinary garden snail who dreams of being the fastest snail in the world.

On Thursday evening, CinemaCon will present its Big Screen Achievement Awards to a wide variety of actors and directors, among which are Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Aubrey Plaza (Breakthrough Performers), Morgan Freeman (Cinema Icon), Armie Hammer (Male Star of Tomorrow), Hailee Steinfeld (Female Star of Tomorrow), Justin Lin (Director), Elizabeth Banks (Award of Excellence), Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson (Comedy Duo), Harrison Ford (Lifetime Achievement Award), Chris Pine (Male Star) and Melissa McCarthy (Female Star).

For more info, visit www.cinemacon.com.

How to Train Your Dragon

April 18, 2013
U.S. Toon Veteran Casemiro Is Marathon’s New Kids CCO

French studio Marathon Media has hired American animation veteran Eryk Casemiro as its Chief Creative Officer, Kids. Casemiro who recently relocated to Paris, reports directly to Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel, CEO and Managing Director of Marathon. He will oversee the creative aspects of all current kids productions and will lead a team of executive producers. He will be in charge of development and production opportunities for new content for children and families across all media platforms.

Casemiro is the winner of a Daytime Emmy (Rugrats, 2003) and has been nominated 11 times for his work on animated TV shows. His development experience as a studio executive, writer, creator and producer spans over 450 half-hours of television and four features. During his seven years as SVP of Creative Affairs at Klasky Csupo, Casemiro helped to launch the Rugrats movie franchises as well as several television series including The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power and As Told By Ginger. Since that time, he has written and produced several internationally successful television series based on beloved children’s literary properties, including Olivia, The Mr. Men Show, and Poppy Cat.

“We are extremely excited to have Eryk on board,” note Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel, CEO and Managing Director, Marathon Media. “His arrival is a logical move for Marathon Media as we are expanding our activities in L.A. with the recent greenlight of our first co-production with Nickelodeon U.S., Nickelodeon International, Gulli and Game One, Get Blake. [former working title: Blake and the Aliens].”

Marthon’s smash hit animated series Totally Spies is now in its 6th season. Marathon Media (part of the larger Zodiak Kids family] is one of France’s biggest animation producers, and one of the world’s leading cartoon studios. All of Marathon Media’s animated series have been sold in the U.S. to date.

Marathon Media

April 18, 2013
U.K.’s Clear Vision Rides with Hasbro’s ‘My Little Pony’

L.A.-based Hasbro Studio’s has signed an extensive multi-territory deal with leading independent home entertainment label Clear Vision. The U.K.-based company has acquired home video distribution rights to the first and second seasons of the kids’ hit My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in the U.K., France, Spain, Italy, the Nordic countries and the Middle East.

“This agreement with a premier distributor like Clear Vision puts one of our key and most beloved brands into very good hands,” Finn Arnesen, Hasbro Studios’ senior VP of international distribution and development. “My Little Pony is a worldwide phenomenon and demand for it runs very strong in these major territories, where Clear Vision has established an excellent track record. We are very pleased to have them spearheading the home entertainment distribution of this popular series.”

Produced and distributed globally by Hasbro Studios, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic follows a core cast of six pony friends through funny, offbeat experiences, lessons in friendship and exciting, enchanted adventures.The popular toon centers on the adventures of Twilight Sparkle, a studious young unicorn who is encouraged by her mentor, Princess Celestia, to advance her studies of magic by mastering the most powerful magic of all – friendship! The ponies each have unique abilities, talents and flaws that create both comedic and heart-warming dynamics within the circle of friends and other magical creatures they encounter.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

April 18, 2013
DreamWorks Returns to the Cave with ‘Croods’ Sequel

The adventures of the rambunctious Croods family will continue in a brand new sequel at DreamWorks. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a sequel to The Croods has been greenlit at DreamWorks Animation. Original co-writers and co-directors Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders are returning for the project. The studio is also in talks with the pic’s original voice cast (Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, etc.) for the second outing.

The early spring blockbuster was a giant hit for DreamWorks, with an impressive $144 domestic cume since its March 22 opening and a $242 million in international territories. The comedy adventure, which was originally hatched as a CG-animated project for former DreamWorks partner Aardman Animations with a script co-written by John Cleese, follows the adventures of a family of caveman and a progressive newcomer who guides them out of the cave and into an exciting, albeit dangerous world.

The Croods

April 17, 2013
Warner to Release ‘Justice League: Flashpoint’ in July
DC Ent. and Warner Bros. Animation will release the new animated feature Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox on July 30 this year. The PG-13 pic centers on Flash, who wakes up one day to find all his superpowers gone. The release will be available as a Blu-ray Combo Pack ($24.98), DVD ($19.98) and Digital Download.

Here is the official synopsis of the movie:

“When time travel allows a past wrong to be righted for Flash and his family, the event’s temporal ripples prove disastrous, creating a fractured, alternate reality where the Justice League never formed, and even Superman is nowhere to be found. Amidst a new world being ravaged by a fierce war between Wonder Woman’s Amazons and Aquaman’s Atlanteans, Flash must team with a grittier, more violent Batman and government agent Cyborg to restore the continuity of Flash’s original timeline.”

TV stars Justin Chambers (Grey’s Anatomy) and Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy), the voices of Barry Allen/Flash and Thomas Wayne/Batman, respectively, unite with numerous greats of television and film to fashion the famed animated roles. The feature’s voice cast also includes Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale, Friday Night Lights, Chronicle) as Cyborg, C. Thomas Howell (Southland, The Outsiders) as Thawne/Professor Zoom, Nathan Fillion (Castle) as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as Slade and Deathstroke, Dana Delany (Body of Proof) as Lois Lane, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) as Aquaman, Danny Huston (Magic City) as General Lane, Sam Daly (The Office, The Daly Show) as Superman, and Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series) as Batman.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is written by Jim Krieg, based on the comic-book series by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, directed by DC features veteran Jay Oliva (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) and produced by James Tucker (Superman: Unbound) is producer.

The Blu-ray release has lots of bells and whistles including:
- A Flash in Time: Are there other dimensions? Can time travel get us there? And if The Flash existed, could he really travel through time?
- Interviews with experts in mythology, theoretical physics and top DC writers will examine the science and legacy of the storytelling behind the fiction.
- My Favorite Villians! The Flash Bad Guys: Acclaimed DC Comics writer Geoff Johns and others share their favorite Flash villains in this short film that gives viewers a glimpse into the Flash’s world through the eyes of some of the nefarious characters he has encountered over the past 70 years!
- A Sneak Peek at the next DC Universe animated movie:. An in-depth look into the next DC Animated feature film, spotlighting the cast and crew.
- From the DC Comics Vault: Bonus cartoon episodes
- The Flashpoint Paradox Audio Commentary
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
April 17, 2013
Fox Pulls Bombing-Related Episode of ‘Family Guy’

In the wake of the tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon on Monday, Fox has pulled a controversial episode of Family Guy, which has generated much discussion and traffic on the web. The incident began when someone edited two disparate parts from a single episode of Seth MacFarlane’s show. The result was a clip which made it appear as if Peter is using a cellphone to remotely detonate two explosive devices, thereby securing his victory in the Boston Marathon. The two scenes actually occur minutes apart from each other and belong to two unrelated gags.

Subsequently, MacFarlane tweeted the following on April 16:

“The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent. The event was a crime and a tragedy, and my thoughts are with the victims.”

Fox decided to pull the “Turban Cowboy” episode — which originally aired about a month ago, from all digital outlets where it is currently available, including Fox.com and Hulu.

Family Guy “Turban Cowboy” episode

April 17, 2013