Atlantyca Brings Olly to RSI: Moonscoop’s animated preschool show Dive Olly Dive will be making a splash on Italy’s RSI, Italy’s Swiss Italian broadcaster thanks to a new deal made by Moonscoop’s distribution partner Atlantyca Entertainment. The second season of the CG, High Def 52 x 11 show follows the fun-filled underwater escapades of young research submarine-in-training, Olly, and his best. Dive Olly Dive is a co-pro between Mike Young Productions (Ltd Moonscoop LLC), and Atlantyca Entertainment in Italy (season 2), Flying Bark Productions Pty Ltd. of Australia, KI.KA, ARD of Germany, Telegael Teo of Ireland and GDC Assets Management Ltd. in China.
Dive Olly Dive
Three DHX Shows Go Down Under: DXH Media’s Ha Ha Hairies (Season 1), Rastamouse (Season 2) and Grandpa in my Pocket (Season 1) are the three latest DHX Media shows picked up by ABC TV in Australia. DHX Media has worldwide television and home entertainment rights and North American licensing rights to Turner Broadcasting-commissioned series Ha Ha Hairies (52 x 11’) produced by Adastra Creative, the team behind hit CBeebies show Grandpa in my Pocket. A live-action series with animated elements, Ha Ha Hairies brings a contemporary makeover to classic silent movie clowning and mime routines to delight young viewers today. The live action cast is supported by two animated Hairy Fairies, Wiggy and Kwiff who narrate the show. Rastamouse (78 x 11’), the animated series based on the critically acclaimed books by Genevieve Webster and Michael De Souza, is already a proven success with fans in Australia and ABC has shown a huge commitment to the property adding a further 26 episodes to its roster.
Disney/Pixar has announced the complete cast for its upcoming feature Monsters University: Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Dave Foley, Sean P. Hayes and More Join Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi in the impressive cast for the much-anticipated prequel, slated for a June 21 release date. Joining Billy Crystal and John Goodman are Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Dave Foley, Sean P. Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Charlie Day, Nathan Fillion, Bobby Moynihan, Julia Sweeney, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, John Krasinski, Bonnie Hunt, Beth Behrs and John Ratzenberger. Also revealed this week were the story and screenplay credits. Directed by Dan Scanlon, Monsters University features a story and screenplay by Daniel Gerson & Robert L. Baird (Monsters, Inc.) and Scanlon.
Scanlon says the cast was able to bring the story to life with great ingenuity and enthusiasm.
“Working with this group of actors was an extraordinary experience. They each brought a unique level of humor, emotion and creativity to their work that not only complemented their individual performances, but made the overall story come together in a really wonderful way.”
Here is the official description of the cast of characters:
Billy Crystal reprises his role as Mike Wazowski, now a college-age monster who follows his dream of becoming a Scarer at Monsters University.
John Goodman returns as James P. Sullivan (Sulley), an overly confident, young hotshot Scaring student at Monsters University.
Steve Buscemi rejoins the monster world as Randy Boggs, a Monsters University freshman who is ready to experience all that college has to offer (if only he can curb his habit of disappearing).
Helen Mirren gives voice to Dean Hardscrabble, legendary Scarer and hard-to-please head of Monsters University’s prestigious School of Scaring.
Alfred Molina is the voice of Professor Knight, an esteemed professor in Monsters University’s School of Scaring.
Dave Foley stars as Terry Perry, the skeptical half of a bickering two-headed monster and dedicated Oozma Kappa (OK) brother.
Sean P. Hayes gives voice to Terri Perry, the more sensitive side of a two-headed Oozma Kappa (OK) fraternity brother with Scaring aspirations.
Joel Murray voices Don Carlton, a “mature” student at Monsters University and a founding member of the Oozma Kappa (OK) fraternity.
Pixar’s Peter Sohn provides the voice of Scott “Squishy” Squibbles, an undeclared sophomore at Monsters University and Oozma Kappa (OK) fraternity member who still lives with his doting mother.
Charlie Day provides the voice of the incomparable Art, an Oozma Kappa (OK) fraternity brother with a questionable past.
Nathan Fillion portrays Johnny Worthington, the confident president of Roar Omega Roar (ROR), a Monsters University fraternity that prides itself on its notable Scarers.
Bobby Moynihan helps bring to life Chet Alexander, a yes-monster member of the Roar Omega Roar (ROR) fraternity.
Julia Sweeney lends her voice to Ms. Squibbles, indulgent mother to Monsters University sophomore Scott “Squishy” Squibbles.
Aubrey Plaza gives voice to Claire Wheeler, the somber president of Monsters University’s Greek Council and emcee for the annual Scare Games.
Tyler Labine was tapped to voice Brock Pearson, vice president of the Greek Council and enthusiastic emcee of the Scare Games.
John Krasinski) provides the voice of “Frightening” Frank McCay, a Scaring super star at Monsters, Inc.
Bonnie Hunt was called on to provide the voice of young Mike Wazowski’s grade school teacher Karen Graves.
Beth Behrs serves as the voice of Carrie Williams, fearless leader of the Python Nu Kappa (PNK) sorority.
John Ratzenberger returns to the Pixar recording studio as the voice of a Monsters, Inc. employee.
Produced by Kori Rae (Up, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc.), the movie features music from future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Randy Newman (Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 3).
Disney has released a new Toy Box trailer for its upcoming Disney Infinity game, which will be unleashed on Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, PS Vita, and PC on August 18. The platform will allow players to create stories and enjoy games starring a wide variety of popular characters from The Walt Disney Company (Pirates of the Caribbean, Phineas & Ferb, Nightmare Before Christmas, Monsters, Inc.) and Pixar Animation Studios (Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles).
Disney Infinity allows players to both experience original adventures in some of their favorite Disney and Pixar worlds and to build their own worlds using the power of their imagination. Disney Infinity integrates collectible character figures that come to life in the game. These figures provide experiences that are true to these characters and stories, as well as the opportunity to bring characters from various Disney and Pixar films to play together in a virtual “Toy Box.”
Throughout each story-driven experience, called a “Play Set,” players will solve challenging puzzles, battle enemies and explore iconic locations from famous Disney properties, while collecting unique characters, vehicles, and gadgets from each world and saving them to a virtual “Toy Box.” Players can access their “Toy Box” and build and customize their own unique virtual world using their favorite characters, vehicles, settings and accessories. Disney Infinity allows players the opportunity to share these unique creations in the “Toy Box” mode with friends both online and off.
This ambitious video game and toy initiative was originally scheduled for June, to tie in with the release of Pixar’s Monster University, but it’s now slated for August. Disney hopes that Infinity will follow in the footsteps of Activision Blizzard’s Skylanders, a world in which players collect action figures and then transfer them into the game’s action by plugging them into a sensor base. Skylanders has generated more than $1 billion in sales since its release two year ago; about 100 million of its toys have been sold. The next edition of Skylanders will arrive in stores this fall.
According to video game developer Avalanche Software, Toy Story 3 was the inspiration behind Disney Infinity, with the game’s free-form play pattern significantly expanded for the new platform. Idea for Disney Infinity was developed when Disney Interactive wanted to expand the initial idea for a Toy Story 3 game sequel.
The PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Wii U will be almost identical, but there is no plan for cross-play between platforms at this time. PC will follow suit, but codes (purchased online) will take the place of the Infinity base reader, figurines (characters), and discs (buffs, mounts, etc.).
Bibo Bergeron’s 3-D, CG-animated feature A Monster In Paris (Un Monstre a Paris) is available on DVD and Blu-ray this week in the U.S. thanks to Shout! Factory. The imaginative, beautifully animated pic is set in Paris, circa 1910 and tells the story of a shy movie projectionist and a clever inventor who set out to capture a monster that is terrorizing the city. The monster, in turn, is in love with a beautiful cabaret singer (voiced by singer/actress Vanessa Paradis). The features songs by Paradis and Sean Lennon with a music score by popular French singer/songwriter Matthieu Chedid (aka M) and Patrice Renson.
The English voice cast includes Catherine O’Hara, Danny Huston, Adam Goldberg and Bob Balaban. Luc Besson (Arthur and the Invisibles, The Fifth Element) produced the 25 million euro-budgeted project.
Japanese audiences will have a chance to experience Iron Man 3 in a completely new way when the feature plays in 4DX at a theater in Nagoya on April 26. The theater, which is operated by Korona World chain will screen 12 titles a year using the new format, says The Hollywood Reporter.
So what is this 4DX all about? According to the story, the 4D format uses strobe lights and ceiling equipment that can drop bubbles on the audience. The ticket will cost the audience a $13 extra premium for 3D versions and $10 for 2D pics in addition to the average price of admission, which is about $12.50 in Japan.
“It was really a matter of timing that Iron Man became the first title for 4DX in Japan, though we were looking for a blockbuster action film, as that is what works best with the system,” Tagiki Ishiguro, a spokesperson for Korona World, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The 4DX system is currently used in theaters in China, South Korea, Thailand, Russia, Mexico, Israel and a number of other territories in South America. The first film to be shown in the format was Avatar in 2009, in Seoul, where the company behind the system, CJ Group is headquartered. CJ Group is planning to bring 4DX to the U.S. this year, hoping to equip 200 theaters by 2018.
Comedy Is King on Nicktoons U.K.: It looks like two new animated series are finding their way to Nicktoons in the U.K. Continuing to emphasizing comedy, the cabler will debut Robot & Monster and Rocket Monkeys in time for its new redesign. Nicktoons is also kicking off a new 360 campaign with the tagline “100 percent toons *(may contain nuts)”. In addition, a series of 30-second animated promos will feature popular characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Penguins of Madagascar and Fairly Odd Parents.
Rocket Monkeys
Tele Images’ Ranch Opens in Italy: The animated series The Ranch, a new 26 x 26 2D project from French house Tele Images (a division of Zodiak Kids) made its debut in Italy on DeAKids Super! block, weekdays at 4:25 p.m. Planeta Junior handles all licensing categories for the property in Italy. The Ranch-online game also offers kids the opportunity to build their own ranch, take care of their horses and participate in competitions. The interactive game is part of a 360° strategy which includes books (Hachette), comics (Casterman), music and a licensing program to be managed by TF1 Licences in French speaking Europe.
The Ranch
Everything’s Rosie Returns to RAI Yoyo: U.K.’s V&S Ent. has signed a deal with Italy’s RAI for its pre-school animation Everything’s Rosie. The second season of Everything’s Rosie (52 x 11’ episodes, plus an upcoming 24’ special) will air on RAI’s specialist children’s channel RAI Yoyo at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The CG-animated show follows the brightly colored adventures of a little girl with a taste for adventure, and a cast of characters such as Will, Holly, Big Bear, Oakley the ancient oak tree and Raggles the rabbit. Rosie airs on CBeebies in the U.K. (weekdays and weekends 7.10 a.m. and 12.40 p.m.) and internationally across 150 territories.
Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon’s president of content development, is leaving the cabler. Nickelodeon Group president Cyma Zarghami announced her departure in a company-wide email on Monday, according to Deadline.com. The 24-year veteran of the kids cable network oversaw the development of animated series such as The Penguins of Madagascar and Fanboy and Chum Chum, Back at the Barnyard, Avatar: The Last Airbender, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera and Tak and the Power of Juju. She was also responsible for live-action hits such as iCarly, Big Time Rush, Victorious, Supah Ninjas, The Troop and BrainSurge.
Over the past year, Nickelodeon has had to make some changes to fight declining ratings, including moving many of its productions and top execs to Los Angeles. All of her Cohn’s direct reports will now report to Russell Hicks, president of content development and production in Los Angeles. Hicks has also restructured Nickelodeon Productions, eliminating executive vp Alison Dexter’s position.
“We have focused our attention on serving the first generation of post-millennial viewers with exciting new content, introduced an innovative new brand experience through our App, and experienced new momentum in our ratings,” wrote Zarghami in the email to her colleagues.
Sticky’s Dukes of Bröxstônia Premieres On ABC3: Sticky Pictures acclaimed animated series the Dukes of Bröxstônia will kick off its third season on Australia’s ABC3. The seven-minute, dialog-free series centers on a crazy band from Bröxstônia —singer Arj, drummer Barj and guitarist Larj. The new format in the third season is based on a Bröxstônian TV broadcast – complete with Bröxstônian advertisements and channel idents. The new series makes its worldwide debut on ABC3 today (Monday, April 15) at 7.25am. For more info, visit www.stickypictures.tv.
Dukes of Bröxstônia
Zodiak Kids Signs Trademark for Tickety Toc: Zodiak Kids has signed a new deal with licensed bags manufacturer, Trademark Collections for its hit pre-school show Tickety Toc. The three-year deal which covers the U.K. and Eire will see Trademark’s product line-up which includes bags, purses and wallets, wheeled luggage and umbrellas arrive at retail from Spring 2014.New episodes of the CG-animated show will appear on Milkshake and Nick Jr. beginning in May. Zodiak Kids control all worldwide rights for Tickety Toc except in Korea and Japan.
Tickety Toc
Gruppo Alcuni’s Pet Pals Heading for Indonesia: Italian studio Gruppo Alcuni has signed a new deal with Spectrum Film for the TV and DVD rights of the 52 brand new episodes of Pet Pals for Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Aimed at 4 to 7-year-old audiences, Pet Pals is based on the adventures of five animal friends and teaches kids about positive values such as non-violence, cooperation, discovery and friendship. The show is broadcast on Rai 2, Rai Yoyo and Rai Gulp in Italy and more than 40 countries worldwide. In the new 52-episode, CG-animated season of the show, Crow Witch has decided to cancel the past, erasing all traces of her humiliating defeats by the Pet Pals. Our intrepid heroes discover an antidote to her spell and embark on an epic journey in search of the potion’s mysterious ingredients.
Japanse studio HeARTBIT Digital Creation has announced that it will use a Toon Boom pipeline, namely Storyboard Pro and Toon Boom Harmony for its upcoming production Francesca, which is based on a popular manga.
“I feel extremely honored to use Toon Boom technology. I find it far superior, providing users with unlimited functionality and efficiency while creating projects. I’m sure Toon Boom will bring the Japanese animation industry to a new level unattainable before. I’m hoping that lots of Japanese animators will find as much excitement in using Toon Boom’s first-class tool as I did,” says Hitoshi Kumagai, chief executive officer of HeARTBIT Digital Creation.
“We are delighted to welcome HeARTBIT Digital Creation in the Toon Boom family. Their property will be a great opportunity for Toon Boom technology to demonstrate its efficiency at producing Manga according to the unique production style of Japan,” says Joan Vogelesang, president and chief executive officer of Toon Boom.
Vancouver-based Jeff Chiba Stearns’ new animated project Yellow Sticky Notes | Canadian Anijam, will have it’s Canadian Premiere at the 20th Annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival at the end of April. The film is a follow up to his 2007 animated hit Yellow Sticky Notes.
To create the project, 15 of Canada’s top, award-winning and celebrated independent animators have come together to create a collaborative animated film. Yellow Sticky Notes | Canadian Anijam is an innovative and global approach to animation filmmaking and unites animators from coast to coast, from Vancouver to Halifax and all parts in between, to self-reflect on one day of their lives using only 4×6 inch yellow sticky notes, a black pen and animation meditation. The short features work by original Anijam creator Marv Newland along with Oscar winners Alison Snowden and David Fine and Oscar nominees Cordell Barker, Janet Perlman, Chris Hinton, and Paul Driessen. Other award-winning animators, Jeff Chiba Stearns, Jody Kramer, Howie Shia, Jonathan Ng, Lillian Chan, Malcolm Sutherland, Joel Mackenzie, Louise Johnson round out the ‘anijammers’.
To create the film, the animators were asked to self-reflect through animation on personal and global events that impacted one day of their lives. Each of the animators created their sequences without knowing what the other participants were creating. Starting with a ‘to do’ list written on the day of a life-altering event, the animators transitioned from text to imagery by utilizing ‘animation meditation’ to create a visually animated poem representing how their lives were affected by that pivotal day. All future revenue created by the film will be used to create a foundation called the Yellow Sticky Notes Project to teach classical animation workshops to kids and youth across Canada.
“I am thrilled and honored to have the Canadian premiere of Yellow Sticky Notes | Canadian Anijam at this year’s Hot Docs,” says Chiba Stearns. “For an animated film to get into an exclusive documentary festival is extremely rare, but I can see how the film could be considered an ‘anidoc’ because the film documents a day in the lives of each of the animators involved. Even though this is an entirely animated film, I feel it is also very much a new form of experimental documentary with its approach of documenting the past, present and future.”
Hot Docs (www.hotdocs.ca) is North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market, and will present its 20th annual edition from April 25 to May 5, 2013.
The first round of speakers and panels have been announced for next month’s Production Pipeline Expo, which takes place May 3-4 at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. What originally began as the Career Fair & Technology Expos of 2011 and 2012 has evolved into a brand new, two-day event, which is designed as a full blown visual effects and animation expo, complete with expert panels, presentations, best in class educational sessions and inspiring speakers. The announcement was made today by the expo’s founder/originator Anthony Horn, former director of marketing and development of the Visual Effects Society.
“The Production Pipeline Expo 2013 has been conceived to serve as a new home for the solutions that will inspire today’s artist, help discover tomorrow’s new leaders, and spark original ideas that will drive ‘the next big thing’ in the collective creative industries of VFX, Animation and Game Development,” says Horn. “This show will focus on the artists, new technologies, original thinking, and talent building, and has been designed to inspire and teach on a collective level.”
The 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.
Among the initial guest speakers slated to participate in the inaugural Production Pipeline Expo are vfx supervisors Glenn Cote, Kinect Scanning and mo-cap’s Mike Amron, creative artist Kevin McTurk, Faceware’s vp of business development Peter Busch, Silverdraft’s managing director John Parenteau, Turner Studio’s VP of animation Art David, Zoic Studio’s head of pipeline Mike Romy, Smith Brook Farm’s president Don Levy and Matchbox Effects’ owner Paul Hopkins.
Indie animation studio Assorted Nuts is preparing a new animated series and game with Canadian game developer Frima called Tiny Yeti. The game will be launched in winter of 2013 while the 52 x 11″ comedy series is eyeing a late 2015 release date. Focusing on comedy and interactive gameplay, the multi-platform game will target kids 9 to 14.
Tiny Yeti is described as the tale of a media-savvy and rambunctious best friend that just happens to be a miniature monster-like Yeti. The game melds both heart and fish-out-water comedy with digital interactivity.
“Tiny Yeti will have a playful yet mischievous spirit that both boys and girls are going to enjoy,” says Magnus Jansson, CEO of Assorted Nuts Animation Studios, which has offices in Karlstad, Sweden and Los Angeles, U.S.
The studio develops and exploits intellectual properties for the international market, including series such as The Streamy Award-winning The Goob and Monkey Business and features (in development) such as Jumping Green Things and Girl Unit. For more info, visit www.assortednuts.se.
Internet animation powerhouse Machinima has launched a new fan-fiction series titled Happy Hour Tales. The first episode of the toon kicked off on Sunday (April 14) on Machinima’s Happy Hour Channel. The off-the-wall tale is written by Matt (Two Best Friends Play). Fans are invited to submit original and “totally insane” story ideas and control the outcome of what happens in the next episode of the animated web show.
You can watch the show and submit your ideas here:
Emmy-winning animation veterans Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle spill the beans on their eagerly awaited Nickelodeon show, which is based on DreamWorks’ Monsters vs. Aliens.
Nick and Cartoon Network had great success with TV series based on DreamWorks’ features Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. That’s why it’s not surprising that Nick is taking another chance with the studio’s 2009 blockbuster directed by Conrad Vernon. The new CG-animated series, which premieres in April, will continue to explore the adventures of the lovable ’50s-era movie monsters and a whole new group of scheming ETs who live and work together in Area 50-something! We recently caught up with Emmy-winning toon industry veterans Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle (Kim Possible, Penguins of Madagascar), who are exec producing the new show with Bret Haaland, to find out more about their cool new venture:
(from left) Robert Schooley and Mark McCorkle
Animag: OK, first things first: Can you tell us about how and when you got involved with the TV spin-off of Monsters vs. Aliens?
Bob Schooley: Our first exposure was before the DreamWorks feature was even finished. While we were working on the first season of Penguins of Madagascar, we went over to Glendale to see the work in progress to think about TV series potential. As it happened, by the time we were finishing up Penguins, Nick and DreamWorks were ready to move ahead with development on the project. We re-teamed with our original partner on Penguins, Bret Haaland, and reacquainted ourselves with each other and the property.
What did you like about the premise and how did you expand it to fit a weekly animated series?
Mark McCorkle: There had been some whacks at turning MvA into an action show, but by the time we came aboard the decision was made to go in a more comedic direction much like we had done on Penguins. Luckily a lot of our Penguins team of writers and artists could move right over with us. Film school 101 says that comedy is built on conflict, so when you have “versus” in your title, you’re off to a solid start. We liked the distinct personalities of the monsters and the visual variety of the team. It gave us a fantastic starting place. The problem was since Gallaxhar met his fate in the movie, we’d need fresh aliens. We took this as an opportunity to create a whole new cast of aliens from all over to balance out our monster gang. Unlike the villain of the movie, our aliens aren’t so overt with their plans, so they end up living at Area 50-Something in a kind of “keep your enemies closer” arrangement. It’s a classic comic situation.
Monsters vs. Aliens
Where is the animation produced? How many people are in the animation team?
Bob: Like all the CG shows produced at Nick, most of the pre-production is done in-house right here in Burbank, including our writing, storyboarding and our character designs. Chris Neuhahn, who worked with us on Penguins, is the supervising producer who then coordinates and oversees the CG side. Those assets are then sent to two outside animation studios for primary animation and rendering—one in Canada and one in New Zealand. Then, our Nick CG core team does some of the effects work and finishing touches here before delivery. Between Nick Animation in Burbank and the animation studios we partner with, it takes well over a 100 people to make an episode.
How does the budget compare to other shows you have worked on?
Mark: CG is still expensive compared to most traditional and Flash TV animation. The nice thing is though our budget is roughly the same as it was for Penguins, but the technology is five years down the road, so we’re getting a lot more bang for our buck. Literally! A lot of stuff blows up!
Monsters vs. Aliens
Looking back, what would you say was the biggest challenge in launching this show?
Bob: I don’t think we’ve ever started a new series and told writers, “This is an easy show.” They’re all hard. But this one was especially tricky because the science fiction/monster movie genres have been so thoroughly dissected and parodied over the last decade or so. We made the decision to really just embrace the monsters as a family—a very weird family—and let the comedy flow from character more than the genre tropes. There are nods here and there to the modern classics, but overall it’s more of a self-contained universe than we originally anticipated. And things got pretty weird fast.
Now that the monsters are ready for delivery, what are you most proud of?
Mark: It’s a gorgeous show. Everyone was really looking to top what we did with Penguins and up our game. Frank Rocco, our art director, really loves this world and it shows. We also love that we assembled a new cast of voices that are absolutely brilliant and hysterically funny. It’s a varied line up of familiar (and brilliant) animation names like Jeff Bennett, Diedrich Bader and Kevin Michael Richardson and some newcomers to the voiceover world like Riki Lindhome and Eric Edelstein.
Monsters vs. Aliens
What kind of animation tools are used to produce the animation?
Bob: Had to check with our tech team for this one, since we have enough trouble getting our script software to work for us. We use Maya 2012 for all modeling and animation. Rendering is done through Mental Ray and compositing in Nuke 6.2. Plus there are a host of proprietary pipeline tools.
What were some of the inspirations for the show? Beside the movie, of course.
Mark: The B movies of the ‘50s and ‘60s are such a terrific source of inspiration. Horror and sci-fi were delightfully cheesy back then. It’s fun for us to use some of that source material as a launching pad. But like most comedies, the most powerful inspiration comes from our characters. As with our past shows, the cast provides inspiration on that front. Once the actors make the characters come alive, stories spring to life thanks to the discoveries they make during their performances.
Monsters vs. Aliens
Here it comes: The big question about the state of TV animation today, compared to say, a couple of decades ago?
Bob: It’s amazing where we are as an industry compared to when we first started. The incredible variety of shows, covering every genre from comedy to action, is matched by the range of animation techniques and artistic styles. It’s a fantastic time to be working in TV animation, not to mention watching it.
What kind of advice do you offer animation professionals who want to find a job in a very competitive market?
Mark: 3-D total immersion holographic resumes are the only way to separate one’s self from the pack. Short of that, we’ve always found that the recommendation of a colleague we respect goes a long way. Our industry really is a community. We like to stay in touch with friends at other studios. That open communication can lead to us getting a tip about a talented writer or artist in search of a position. Likewise, if our crew is full, then we can reach out to others on behalf of someone looking for a job. Positive word of mouth is a powerful tool in the job market.
Who are your animation heroes? Favorite animated characters of all-time?
Bob: As we grew up, the smart humor of directors like Chuck Jones and Terry Gilliam inspired us. Once we broke into the business, Tad Stones at Disney was a great mentor and friend. Tad taught us a great deal about storytelling in general, but he also showed us how to run a show. And as parents, we watched countless hours of Rugrats and SpongeBob with our own kids.
Monsters vs. Aliens will premiere on Nickelodeon on Saturday, April 6 at 11:30 a.m.
Disney Junior and Brown Bag Films introduce preschool audiences to a close-nit creature family in a new toon called Henry Hugglemonster.
Watch out, Dora the Explorer, Curious George and Dinosaur Train. There’s a charming little monster in town which will give you some stiff preschool competition this month. The CG-animated toon, which is produced in Dublin by Oscar-nominated Brown Bag Films, is called Henry Hugglemonster, and is based on the popular book series by Ireland’s Children’s Laureate Niamh Sharkey. The show premieres this month on Disney Junior, which is home to one of the most popular preschool lineups on TV, which includes Doc McStuffins (another Brown Bag project), Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Sofia the First.
As Beth Gardiner, VP of original programming at Disney Channel, tells us, the property was brought to her attention at a time when the studio was looking for shows that the whole family—including mom and dad and even the grandparents—could watch with the young ones together.
“It was one of those rare meetings,” she recalls. “The books’ author Niam Sharkey and Brown Bag’s exec producers Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O’Connell came in and pitched the idea. The whole show was centered on the emotional life of this five-year-old, middle child. He has his older siblings and baby brother and grandpa … He has learned a lot in his five years, and he’s sharing it with the world.”
Gardiner says at the time that the show first pitched several years ago, there were a lot of curriculum-based series in the preschool landscape. That’s why Henry Hugglemonster, which emphasizes compelling characters and fun stories, proved to be a real breath of fresh air.
Henry Hugglemonster
“I think we really enjoyed a great freedom as we set up to define Henry’s world and adventures,” she points out. “Nancy Kanter [senior VP and general manager of Disney Junior Worldwide] encouraged us to be silly and defy logic. We were really in our preschool heads. She pushed us to tell really fun and engaging stories, and that freedom was really exciting.”
Perhaps one of the key secrets behind the success of the show is that the production paired the book’s original author with TV veterans such as Emmy-winning director Norton Virgien (Rugrats, Doc McStuffins), story editor Sascha Paladino (Wonder Pets, Ni Hao Kai-Lan), producer Gillian Higgins (Doc McStuffins, Octonauts) and composer Matt Mahaffey (Ni Hao Kai-Lan).
Author Is in the House
“Niamh is an exec producer on the show, and this was her first foray into television,” says Gardiner. “As an author and illustrator, she is used to working solo in her attic, but she absolutely loves coming to the studio two or three times a week. She looks at the designs and offers some notes on the scripts and the visuals. We all sit in a cramped studio, and that makes us work very closely together. And she really thrived and enjoyed the process. As the Children’s Literature Laureate of Ireland, this whole year has been really wonderful for her.”
Beyond the eye-popping animation (which also gets an assist from Singapore-based Sparky Animation), the series’ colorful voice cast and its musical numbers provide parents with more reasons to tune in with the little ones. Yes, that’s SpongeBob SquarePants himself, Tom Kenny, supplying the voices of Daddo and Grando. Lara Jill Miller, Lori Alan, Chiara Zanni, Hynden Walch and Kari Wahlgren round up the family voices, while the guest list includes former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell as a popular monster pop star (is there any other kind?), Brenda Blethyn as Ernestine Enormomonster, Brian Blessed as Eduardo Enormomonster and Rob Paulsen as Henry’s best buddy Denzel Dugglemonster, a monster with scoop-shaped hands!
Henry Hugglemonster
The music becoming such an integral part of the show owes a lot to composer Matt Mahaffey. Since Henry’s sister Summer is a huge music fan, she tries to emulate her favorite pop star (voiced by Gerri Halliwell) to win a contest. Of course, she learns in the end that it’s best to follow your own musical instincts and not try to copy another artist. Mahaffey did such a great job writing music for that episode that the producers decided to include original songs in every episode.
“Every episode has one or two songs,” says the show’s director Norton Virgien. “I always felt that songs added a lot of energy to the show and our story editor Sascha loves musicals from his time in New York, so we let it all grow organically. So in a way, the show does feel like a musical.”
Virgien, who moved to Ireland from Los Angeles to work on Doc McStuffins and Henry Hugglemonster at Brown Bag, says he loves the fact that the show allows them to experiment with different styles and formats.
“Sometimes it’s a comedy, sometimes it’s an adventure, sometimes it’s even a bit of a noir!” he notes. “We really explore many different genres. I think it’s healthy to shake things up and be adventurous.”
Henry Hugglemonster
Of course, having directed a very impressive list of animated children’s TV shows and movies, Virgien has an acute understanding of which ingredients are essential to the success of a program like this.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a family sitcom centered on kids, and yet, when you’re young, the family is the most important part of our social life. We deal with things like how to handle feelings, how to get along with siblings, how to deal with bullies and how to face disappointments because of the choices that we make. I know this all sounds very serious, but we handle them in a fun way—our characters are exaggerated monsters, but they feel like a real, caring human family.”
The director says he’s also very fond of the show’s Maya-based CG animation.
“The characters are designed to be a little monster-y, both funny and exaggerated,” he explains. “I’m pleased with the way that our animators were able to transform the charming 2D illustrations by Niamh Sharkey to CG. We haven’t felt any limitations and we can squash, stretch and move them as much as we want. I think she is very happy with the animation, because we gave it depth rather than changing it. In Hollywood, we tend to take a property and manhandle it to get a cookie-cutter shape for the audience. Here at Brown Bag, we let the original property lead the creative process organically, and I’m proud of the approach we took.”
Henry Hugglemonster
Looking back at how rewarding the experience has been for him and his team, Virgien says it’s been great to have the book’s creator and writing and directing teams all in the same facility.
“I feel so lucky to work on these shows,” he admits. “It’s 10 times more fun when the audience is there for you. I love 2D animation, but because of our timing constraints, CG animation gives us more control over the subtleties of acting and delivers a lot more precision of timing. So in fact, we can produce a much tighter and prettier show than we could back in the days of Rugrats.”
These days, Virgien says working at a small indie studio like Brown Bag reminds him of how he and his team used to be in the early days of Rugrats at the now-defunct Klasky Csupo.
“Rugrats opened the doors for people to experiment more. Back then, nobody had done a kid’s-eye view of family life. We were allowed to take on any subject and not just repeat the usual animation styles. We learned that it pays to be inventive, and I think Henry Hugglemonster has that same spirit. The energy and excitement we feel here at Brown Bag are undeniable.”
Henry Hugglemonster will premiere on Disney Junior on Monday, April 15 at 5 p.m.
It’s no surprise that France continues to be a market leader in animation production in Europe. Despite the tough economic climate in the continent, French studios strive to bring some of the best animated series for children and for adults to the market year after year. Thanks to continued support from the government and the subsidies provided by the CNC, and the talent and hard work of its animation community, the country produces about 400 hours of TV animation content annually. While most of the productions are financed with foreign partners, broadcasters such as Gulli, France 5, France 3 and TF1 continue to be the key outlets for animated fare. We thought it would be a good time to spotlight some of the studios that continue to deliver top-notch animated shows for both local and global consumption. Here’s a sampling of what some of these top toon producers had to share with us:
Mini Ninjas
Cyber Group Studios Interview with Pierre Sissmann, president New shows at MIP-TV: We are bringing a new series called Mini Ninjas, a 2D show aimed at six- to 10-year-old audiences. Then, we have the second season of Zou, our popular preschool show (104 x 11), which is becoming a big brand, shown in 110 countries in 22 different languages, and it’s a big hit for Disney internationally. We are also offering the first episode of Mademoiselle Zazie (78 x 7), a co-pro with Scrawl for France Televisions, about two friends who live by the seaside, and more episodes of our CG-animated The Zorro Chronicles, which generated strong presales at MIPCOM last year. We introduced another preschool show called Mia at MIPCOM (a co-pro with Sardine) and we’re introducing a new series for seven- to nine-year olds, called Mirette, which centers on a young girl who solves mysteries as she travels the world with his father and their cat. On the TV animation business in 2013: The market is very crowded and there is lots of talents globally. Some broadcasters have much less money than before, especially for international acquisitions. So that does reinforce the need for co-productions with French companies. Also, the broadcasters are aiming further down the line for commitments—They’re already planning their budgets for 2015. I find that the level of development that is required today from the animation studios is much higher than it was two or three years ago. I feel like we need to make a full trailer for every one of our shows. But we have five shows on the air, so I can’t really complain! Support from the government: In order to receive French subsidies, you have to qualify, and there’s a complex system in place where you need 14 points out of 21 to qualify. It’s not a gift, because we’re making the French industry work. Our studio in Paris had over 100 employees in August—with social security changes, it’s a big commitment. On average, a show may cost 5.5 million euros, let’s say a preschool show costs about 5.4 million euros—out of that you can qualify to get 15 percent from the government and you can also get tax credits depending on the expenses you have in France—that would bring you up to 30 percent, if you’re very smart. That’s not counting the fact that French networks have to invest a percentage of revenues into animation. In a way, it opens doors to people who are looking for well-known brands or new content and triggers big international co-productions. How to stay ahead: We try to produce animated content that can be seen in every territory in the world, and that’s not easy to do. Everyone wants to do it and produce Hollywood-style entertainment. When you look at countries like France, Italy, Spain, you noticed that a lot of their content is localized. We want to globalize ours. We learned the importance of story and solid writing at Disney. On our show Zou, we have animation veterans like Theresa Plummer Andrews as our story editor. We aim to get the best French authors and international writers for our shows. We also believe that the visuals are very important. Our studio is specializing in CG right now. We’re tech geeks and have won several tech awards from the ministry of technology. We have to compete with big projects from the studios like DreamWorks and Pixar. They have raised the bar in terms of visual quality, and we invest a lot in technology to keep our standards high. We also invest a lot in every aspect of our productions, including the music. The promise of apps and second screens: We look very carefully at how to improve our websites and our apps. Four years ago, we produced a web series for Michael Eisner’s company Tornante called Prom Queen, but we retreated from the market because there was no money. Two years ago, we went back and analyzed the market and we still don’t see a huge amount of money, but we want to be in that space, so we developed websites for our shows and created apps for our properties. We put out a nice ebook based on our show Zou, and we are going to release apps based on Ozie Boo, Zou and Totanka in several languages. We are encouraged by the results, but we look at is as marketing, as a way to extend our brand, and not a real revenue-generator.
Zip Zip
Go-N Productions Interview with Eric Garnet, studio co-founder New shows at MIP-TV: We have Zip Zip, a 52 x 11 animated series for boys and girls 6-10, which is in production with France Televisions and SuperRTL. The show is a fast-paced, character-driven buddy comedy about a group of animals of the forest who dress as pets and moved to a big city to enjoy food and lodging. We also have SuperBunny, a 52 x 5 series in development with France Televisions, which is based on a best-selling series of books by Stephanie Blake. Take on the French animation business: The French animation business seems to resist the general recession quite well. French channels have kept fairly high levels of investment in series production until now, although we all anticipate a decrease for the years to come, which will compel us to be even more creative both artistically and in terms of financing. Biggest challenges: To develop and push original developments in a market where most players still favor existing properties or famous brands. How much help do you receive from the government? France is still blessed thanks to the support of CNC and tax credit. How to stay ahead of the competition: Stay flexible and adaptable by limiting overheads. Stay focused on scouting new and contemporary talent (designers, writers, filmmakers). Stay open to the international market and try to develop projects with a wide international appeal. New apps and multiplatform ventures: We have been exploring this area but it doesn’t bring significant revenues for the time being, TV remains our main moneymaker.
LoliRock
Marathon Media (a division of Zodiak Kids) Interview with David Michel, general manager New shows at MIP-TV: Our brand new show is LoliRock, very current, fresh take on the young magical girl genre, blending music and magic for the 6-11 girl audience. LoliRock is co-produced with France TV and Disney France. We have big promotional plans for Totally Spies in the Palace of Versailles this spring, in May or June, perhaps around the time of the Annecy Festival. Our storyboard-driven Nickelodeon Show Blake and the Squirrels is also in production. The state of the toon business in France: It’s obviously going to be a hard year for our industry. The resources of our key French & European partners are declining and the only way to avoid getting hit by it is to come to the market with a very unique, distinctive, surprising creation. The economic crisis is impacting French public TV. Government is asking for cutbacks in the public sector and we’re expecting that the TV sector will also be affected. Biggest challenges: Interestingly, this crisis hasn’t affected the demand for top artists—writers, designers, board artists, directors. These talents are harder than ever to get and one of our priorities this year is talent development. Government support: The subsidy level hasn’t changed substantially over the last few years. However the average French network license fee is trending down, for a greater number of rights. What makes your studio stay ahead of the competition? We enjoy the benefits of being both a small and a large company. On the one hand, we are an independent, creative studio focusing on working with the best talents and excellent production value. And at the same time, we benefit from the scale of Zodiak—the media group we are part of—for sales, marketing and global strategy. On the new apps and second screen ventures: They are clearly starting to contribute to our bottom line. A show like LoliRock would never have been produced the same way a few years ago. The second screen/new media/technology side is now key and embedded within the production of our shows. I just read an article about how disappointed people are with their YouTube channels. People were expecting it to bring in lots of money. But you have to realize that YouTube is necessary for promotion and you have to be smart about it. In the app market, it’s very hard to be visible and compete with a huge studio like Disney, whose new Princess app skyrockets to the top of the app store chart the day it’s released. As an indie, we’re one of 10,000 apps that are launched on the same day. There’s money in it for people who hit the critical mass. For us, we have to come up with content that’s very different and quite original.
Me and My Robot
Millimages Interview withRoch Lener, CEO What’s new at MIP-TV: We’re delivering the final episodes of our boy-targeted CG-animated series (a 52 x 13 co-pro with Korea’s Synergy) Me and My Robot. We also have the second season of Mouk, our preschool series which has been doing very well in various territories. We’re also bringing two of our other favorite titles, 64 Zoo Lane and Louie. On the animation scene: It’s become a lot more competitive to sell animated shows to broadcasters. There is still room for established producers with a good track record, but there are fewer slots than ever. Having said that, Millimages is a very international company, and we’re fortunate to have many successful partnerships in Europe, South America and Asia. Having been in this business for 22 years, we value the importance of making the right editorial choices and picking the right creative designs and talent. We also act as an international distributor and we even put together co-productions that don’t involve the participation of France as an official party. Challenges of the industry: We always seek to develop the best properties and work with partners who have the best properties. It’s a never-ending challenge. We also have to make sure to develop a distribution arm that reaches the market of today. In the old days, there used to be national broadcasters in almost every territory, but now the market is more divided between the older broadcasters and new micro-broadcasters, including all the VOD and new platform ventures. It’s a necessity to reach all of them and there are thousands of them out there. Revenues from the catalog are crucial to finance the new shows. Government support: Officially, it’s the same as before, but in reality, they’re giving out less money. There’s a financial crisis in the western countries and France is part of that. How to stay ahead: In this business, everyone is number one in some area. We don’t care about being the number one in anything—what we aim for is to sell good programs to broadcasters. What we like more than anything else is that 98 percent of the English kids know and love our show 64 Zoo Land, or 95 percent of the kids in France are big fans of Corneil and Bernie. When small kids sing the theme song to Louie or get excited about watching Mouk, that’s what puts a smile on our faces. It’s not about being number one. It’s about having your work be recognized and loved by the viewers…When we can touch the viewers through our TV shows or through the second screen, we’re proud to have that direct link with the home viewers.
The Jungle Bunch
PGS Entertainment Interview with Philippe Soutter, President New shows at MIP-TV: We are very excited to be representing A² Entertainment and to be working with Andy and Amy Heyward. Through our partnership with them, we’ll bringing the first animated movie trilogy from Stan Lee to MIP-TV. Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 is a winning combination of super heroes, comedy, adventure and an all-star cast. U.S. partners are already in place with Hub for TV and Gaiam Vivendi for DVD. We will also have A² Entertainment’s Secret KidVenture Club, a one-of-a-kind series that empowers kids by helping them understand the world they live in. There’s also a new 52-episode season of our award-winning CG-animated show The Jungle Bunch, as well as Method/Morgen’s Heroes United, the exciting new series inspired by Playmobil, which features a myriad of characters … knights jousting against robots, a girl pirate and a brave knight riding across a dusty plain, and a glittery fairy teaming up with a scientist to save the world. On the state of the TV animation business: It’s exciting to see our friends in the French animation business get the recognition they deserve. Each year, it seems the global appetite for French animation grows and the ratings these shows deliver is proof that these producers are at the top of their game. The biggest challenges: Our constant challenge is to choose the right content and build trust with the producers we represent. We are proud of the fact that 80 percent of the 26 half-hour shows we represent have gone into a second season no later than one year after delivery. Our challenge is to keep this statistic alive! Support from government: As a distributor, we don’t receive as much government support as producers do. We do however have a very efficient, media-savvy banking system here and are able to access their support to structure financing deals. How to stay ahead: Our simple, straight-forward business model is our biggest strength. Because we focus only in distribution, we don’t compete with producers we represent, essentially doing the same job they do. And we concentrate on the kids’ programming business because we know this business inside and out. We’re not trying to sell drama one minute, a reality show the next and a kid’s show after that. For us it is and will always be all about kids and all about the producers. On apps and second screens: For me, it’s all about having the right show as it always leads you to the best platform. However, that said, we are excited to see that the downturn of physical video/DVD is now being compensated by digital.
My Knight and Me
TeamTO Interview with Guillaume Hellouin, president and CEO New shows at MIP-TV: TeamTO will be presenting My Knight and Me (52 x 11), our new project in development, which is a comedy series with some epic adventure. The TV series is created by Joeri Christiaen and Thierry Gaudin, and it is a Franco-Belgian coproduction between TeamTO and Thuristar. It targets a six- to 10-year-old audience. The show follows the adventures of a young boy who dreams of becoming a knight but first he has to attend squire school and intern with his knight, Henri of Orange. On the animation business in 2013: 2013 looks more exciting than ever; there are a lot of high-quality projects in preparation. Biggest challenges: Our biggest challenge is to adapt ourselves to the environmental and technological evolutions. Subjects that were big hits five years ago are not today. Broadcasters are always looking for innovation, but they also need to be sure it will be a hit! Our main objective is to create with a high-quality level. That’s why for each project, our research & development team elaborates specific and state-of-the-art pipelines that enable us to create distinctive visual looks and at the same time guarantee the level of productivity that fits with the industry standards while producing in France. Government support: We have a system that costs nothing for the government but still helps the industry to grow. We get financing at various levels: development, production, distribution, R&D, etc. How to stay ahead of the competition: TeamTO is a studio that has the specificity of being both a production company and a studio in which series are made. Therefore, we control each production step and are able to develop our own projects, such as Angelo Rules, but we are also working with other producers on a work-for-hire basis (i.e. The Raving Rabbids for Ubisoft).
Moreover, willing to control the quality and to guarantee the steadiness of the production process, we produce our projects entirely in France between our Paris-based studio and our Bourg-lès-Valence animation facility. Our production model is a flexible and reliable tool that allows us to maximize the artistic objectives and secure the marketable value of all of our projects at the same time. This approach, which bucks many current animation trends, is the one that, in our opinion, is the most favorable to support talent and therefore create quality content that reaches a wide audience. We have turned this model into a long-lasting development strategy. On new apps and second screen ventures: We are producing series for television so obviously TV is still our biggest moneymaker. However, thanks to the evolution of these technologies, we are now able to give a second (or third) life to our series. For example, last year we re-mastered Angelo Rules and Oscar & Co. so they appear in stereoscopic 3-D on the Nintendo 3DS. We actively pursue this dynamic of innovation by developing interactive online projects and videogames with the same quality standards. We are enthusiastic about making our properties exist on other platforms and thus establish them durably. That’s why TeamTO has started to form a dedicated team able to create interactive worlds that may redeploy themselves across linear media.
Floopaloo
Xilam Interview with Marc du Pontavice, CEO and president Taking to MIP-TV: It will be a record-breaking year for Xilam as we are offering second seasons of no less than three of our animated shows: Daltons (39 new half-hours), Floopaloo (26 new half-hours) and Zig and Sharko (26 half-hours)! Our new catch phrase is going to be: “Double your fun with Xilam series!” On the state of TV animation business in 2013: With the fragmentation of the market, the production increases significantly with more coproduction than ever considering the small license fee paid by the dedicated children’s channels. Comedy is still very popular, preschool tends to be less conservative and broadcasters are slowly recovering from their obsession with pre-established properties. Biggest challenges: Monitoring the production of four series and a feature film at the same time. Amount of support from the government: About 15 percent of our expenses. How to stay ahead: Double your quality, you’ll triple your shelf value. Long term is the only strategy in animation. Any insights on apps or second screens? Western channels are still the biggest client. But the emerging markets already counts for 15 percent of our turnover. And 2013 will likely see the digital revenues exceed 10 percent of the total Xilam business.
Mr. White, Homer is going to get you! That’s right, this Sunday night’s episode of The Simpsons will feature a new couch opening sequence which pays homage to AMC’s acclaimed series Breaking Bad. The killer sequence features Marge baking blue cupcakes and ends up with live-action stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston watching the toon from the couch on their living room!
The episode, which is titled “What Animated Women Want,” airs on Sunday, April 14 at 8 p.m. and features the voices of Wanda Sykes and George Takei. The new outing finds Homer trying to save his marriage after Marge gets fed up with his bad behavior, while Milhouse tries to attract Lisa by putting on bad-boy persona a la Brando in A Streetcar Name Desire. Hats off to the team at The Simpsons, which continue to crank out the laughs and clever parodies even though the show is in its 25th season.
Open Road Films (The Host, The Grey) has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to ToonBox and Redrover Co.’s 3-D, CG-animated The Nut Job. The family pic, which is directed by Peter Lepeniotis and penned by Lorne Cameron and Lepeniotis, will be released on January 17, 2014. Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Stephen Lang, Sarah Gadon and Jeff Dunham are part of the impressive voice cast.
Based on a 2005 short by Lepeniotis (Toy Story 2, Everyone’s Hero), the pic follows the adventures of Surly, a curmudgeon squirrel and his rat friend who plan a nut heist to survive in the big city. It’s produced by Graham Moloy and WK Jung and the exec producers are Mike Karz and Bill Bindley of Gulfstream Pictures, Jay Ahn, Daniel Woo, Hong Kim and Tom Yoon, in a co-production between ToonBox Entertainment, Redrover Co, Ltd. and Gulfstream Pictures.
Golaem has released Crowd Character Pack, a set of free ready-to-use characters and motions enabling faster crowd shots creation.
“We discovered that, on a given crowd production, our customers were spending 75% of their time creating specific characters and motions,” says Nicolas Chaverou, Golaem Crowd’s product manager. “The use of the character pack hence dramatically reduces audience shots creation time, down to a few days.”
The Golaem Crowd Characters Pack includes ready-to-use characters with a hundred props (tshirt, shirt, jacket, sun glasses…), texture variations for each prop, and 14 motions for stadium and concert spectators. The package allows the mixing and matching of these assets into millions of combinations thanks to its Asset Manager. Artists simply need to load the preconfigured asset library file and can beging rendering their crowd shots. While being ready-to-use, the Golaem Crowd Character Pack is 100% controllable. Golaem Crowd allows artists to decide precisely the props and shaders repartition by using simple sliders or per particle attributes. They can even create simple rules like “no ski cap for guys in shorts.”
The Golaem Crowd Character Pack allows artists to add their own props or shaders on top of established ones and to modify existing ones.
GKIDS’ New York Intl. Children’s Film Festival will pay a visit to the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Los Angeles, April 26-May 5.
Sponsored by Family Drysdale, the two-week festival will offer L.A. audiences a unique opportunity to catch some of the best recent animated features from all over the world, including:
A Letter to Momo
Directed by Hiroyuki Okiura
Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m.
A Monster in Paris
Directed by Bibo Bergeron
Saturday, April 27 at 6 p.m
Wolf Children
Directed by Mamoru Hosoda
Saturday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Meet the Small Potatoes
Directed by Josh Selig
Sunday, April 28 at 11 a.m
(Josh Selig will attend the screening.)
The Day of the Crows
Directed by Jean-Christophe Dessaint
Sunday, April 28 at 5 p.m.
From Up on Poppy Hill
Directed by Goro Miyazaki
Friday May 3 at 7:30 p.m.
(Jamie Lee Curtis will introduce the movie.)
Drawing on Imagination
A free event about the world of Chuck Jones and his cartoons.
Presented y Chuck Jones Creativity Center
Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m.
Kirikou and the Men and the Women (3-D)
Directed by Michel Ocelot
Saturday, May at 4 p.m.
The Painting
Directed by Jean-Francois Laguionie
Sunday, May 4 at 11 a.m.
Welcome to the Space Show
Directed by Koji Masunari
Sunday, May 5 at 5 p.m.
In addition, the new online gallery ArtKandy.com has donated limited edition fine art prints from the top children’s book illustrators – including Maurice Sendak, Mo Willems, Hilary Knight and Garth Williams – to be given away each night.
