Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Age of Empires III Goes Mobile

    Mobile games publisher Glu Mobile has inked deal with Microsoft to adapt the real-time strategy game Age of Empires III for mobile phones. The announcement was made today at the 2007 the Game Developers Conference (GDC), taking place all week long in San Francisco, Calif.

    Originally developed for PC by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios, Age of Empires III is a popular installment in a series that has sold 16 million copies worldwide. Glu’s mobile version is scheduled to launch worldwide in 2008.

    Glu and Microsoft previously teamed to launch Project Gotham Racing Mobile worldwide earlier this year. Other titles developed by Glu include the originals Super K.O. Boxing!, Stranded and the Ancient Empires franchise, as well as games based on major brands from Atari, Harrah’s, Hasbro, PlayFirst, PopCap Games, SEGA and Sony. Founded in 2001, Glu is based in San Mateo, Calif. and has offices in London, Hong Kong, France, Germany and Brazil.

  • Posthumous ACTRA Win for Carlson

    The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) awarded the 2007 ACTRA Award for Best Voice Performance to the late Len Carlson for his work on the hit cratoon series Atomic Betty. Before suffering a fatal heart attack in 2006 at the age of 69, Carlson had voiced more that 2,000 animated episodes, contributing to such shows as Beetlejuice, Carebears, Racoons,Roboroach,Beyblade and Berenstain Bears.

    No doubt a sentimental favorite, Carlson won the ACTRA award over fellow Atomic Betty cast member Tajja Isen, as well as Ellen-Ray Hennessy from Di-Gata Defenders, Ron Rubin from Erky Perky and Adrian Truss from Jane and the Dragon.

    Calrson provided voices for many characters, including Minimus PU, in Atomic Betty, a show that follows the adventures of a young girl who leads a double life as ‘Galactic Guardian and Defender of the Cosmos.’ A co-production between Atomic Cartoons, Breakthrough Animation Inc. and TeleImages Kids, the series has been licensed worldwide to major broadcasters in more than 130 territories and has a third season going into production.

    ‘We are extremely proud that Len Carlson won this prestigious ACTRA Award,’ says Kevin Gillis, exec producer and managing partner of Breakthrough Animation Inc. ‘It is a fitting legacy to his iconic talent that Len be honoured posthumously and recognized for his wonderful work in Atomic Betty. It is a tribute to the amazing depth of his talent as he created more than 18 voices for this series alone! We all miss him.’

    Carlson began his long acting career in Seattle, Washington and landed principal roles in such productions as The Verdict, Race For The Bomb, The Henry Ford Story and The Deejay, for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also directed and voiced episodes of CBS’s Captain Kangaroo and The Undersea Adventures of Captain Nemo, as well as Disney Channel’s The Raccoons.

  • El Tigre Unleashed on Nick

    A 13-year-old boy is torn between becoming a superhero like his father and a super villain like his grandfather in El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera, a Flash-animated series premiering on Nickelodoen this Saturday, March 3. The show will debut with back-to-back episodes starting at 10 a.m. (ET/PT).

    Created by the Mexican-born husband-and-wife team of Jorge R. Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua, El Tigre is Nickelodeon’s first Flash-animated comedy series. The show follows the misadventures of Manny (voiced by Alanna Ubach), a well-meaning kid who lives with his father, Rodolfo (Eric Bauza) and his grandfather, Granpapi (Carlos Alazraqui), in Miracle City, a spicy urban melting pot full of colorful heroes and nefarious villains. When he spins his mystical belt buckle, Manny transforms into El Tigre, a brave and powerful masked warrior who possesses the spirit of a good guy but also has potential to be a great baddie.

    ‘Sandra and I set out to create a world that is rich with Latino culture based on where we grew up in Mexico and the things we are passionate for and love about our heritage,’ says Gutierrez. ‘So we decided to make Miracle City a magical place of beauty and excitement juxtaposed with a spicy underbelly of crime and villainy.’

    ‘I did my college thesis on Flash animation, and when I discovered Jorge had a similar passion for it, we decided that our first collaborative series would be done in this medium,’ adds Equihua. ‘It gives the show more of a unique look and feel with a striking color palette and also complements the frenetic action of the stories.’

    In the first part of the premiere episode, ‘Sole of a Hero,’ Manny and best pal Frida borrow Rodolfo’s super-charged Bronze Boots of Truth for some late-night fun and end up wrecking them, something Rudolfo discovers when has tries to use them in battle against the villainous El Oso. In the second half, ‘Night of the Living Guacamole,’ Manny is sent by his father to buy some premium guacamole and ends up buying a cheap knock-off and pocketing the leftover money to buy a laser tattoo maker. As it turns out, the substitute guac was engineered by the evil Dr. Chipotle Jr. and turns both Rodolfo and Granpapi into horrible Guacamole Monsters bent on destroying Manny.

    El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera is produced at the Nicktoons Studios in Burbank, Calif. The show will air regularly on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

  • Nick Gets Scurvy

    Nickelodeon has acquired worldwide multiplatform rights to Entara Ltd.’s CG-animated show Those Scurvy Rascals. The series of 26 three-and-a-half-minute episodes will begin airing this spring on Nickelodeon channels worldwide and on Nicktoons in the U.S.

    Aimed mainly at tween boys, Those Scurvy Rascals follows the humorous adventures of a group of hapless pirates as they roam the high seas on an obsessive quest for pants. The series was named Best Children’s Series and picked up the Children’s Choice Award at the 2006 British Animation Awards and was recently nominated for Best Animation at the British Academy Children’s Film and Television Awards. More information on the property is available online at www.thosescurvyrascals.com.

    Entara acquired the show from Soho-based animation studio Blue-zoo, whose original Those Scurvy Rascals short aired as one of the selections in Nicktoons’ Nextoons: The Nicktoons Film Festival in 2005. Entara also owns the BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, which airs on BBC2 in the U.K. and PBS in the U.S. In addition, the company acts as a third-party agent for Habbo, the popular online gaming community for teenagers, and has picked up U.K. licensing rights to Domo, a Japanese stop-motion cult sensation produced by Media International Corporation (MICO). Domo was also acquired by Nickelodeon for broadcast on its international channels.

    In related news, Entara has appointed Theresa Plummer-Andrews to the position of non-executive director. Andrews, who previously served as head of acquisitions and co-productions for CBBC, will also join Entara’s board of directors, along with former Taffy Ent. principal Regis Brown, who joined Entara as exec VP of distribution last August.

  • Toons in Tarantino’s Grindhouse Fest

    Ralph Bakshi’s glorious 1975 animated feature Coonskin and the X-rated 1979 animated Tarzan spoof Shame of the Jungle will be among the films screening in Quentin Tarantino’s Los Angeles Grindhouse Festival, which kicks off this weekend at the New Beverly Cinema. The event will continue through April 30 and will feature more than 50 exploitation films from the 70s, including rare prints directly on loan from Tarantino’s private collection, many of which are unavailable on DVD.

    Tarantino conceived the Los Angeles Grindhouse Festival while working on Grindhouse, the new double feature he directe with pal Robert Rodriguez (Sin City). That film opens in theaters nationwide on April 6th.

    ‘Grindhouse is a tribute to the movies I have loved for decades that have mostly been under-appreciated and forgotten,’ says Tarantino. ‘I’m thrilled to have this chance to show the original works for a new generation to discover, and to give Los Angeles the rare opportunity to see these gems on the big screen.’

    Coonskin (a.k.a. Streetfight), is a bleak, brutal and funny tale of Harlem street survival that satirizes thug life and race relations in the U.S. The film uses a unique blend of animation and live-action background footage to chronicle the gangland rise and fall of a black rabbit and his entourage of ne’r-do-wells. The film will be screened as part of a triple feature with Shame Of The Jungle and Tunnel Vision from directors Neal Israel and Bradley R. Swirnoff on March 23 and 24.

    Attendees will be treated to an ultra rare 35mm print of Shame Of The Jungle (a.k.a. Tarzoon, la honte de la jungle) from SND Valisa Films. The French/Belgian co-production was originally released in 1975 and later made its way to the U.S., edited for an ‘R’ rating and re-dubbed by American actors including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, Andrew Duncan, Judy Graubart and Johnny Weissmuller Jr., son of the actor who played Tarzan in numerous Tarzan films.

    For show times, check local listings or visit the New Beverly Cinema website at www.newbevcinema.com or call for program information at (323) 938-4038.

  • New Paprika Trailer Online

    Sony Pictures Classics has released the U.S. trailer for Paprika, the latest anime tour-de-force from virtuoso Japanese filmmaker Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers). The film, which screened stateside late last year for Oscar consideration, will debut in select North American theaters on May 25.

    The movie revolves around Dr. Atsuko Chiba, an attractive, 29-year-old Japanese research psychotherapist working on cutting-edge therapy involving dream manipulation. Her alter-ego is a stunning and fearless 18-year-old ‘dream detective,’ code named Paprika, who can enter into people’s dreams and synchronize with their unconscious to help uncover the source of their anxiety or neurosis. But when the technology that allows her to do this falls into the wrong hands, all hell breaks loose and Atsuko must put her life on the line to set things right. The pic is adapted from a science fiction novel by Yatsutaka Tsutsui and sports the tagline ‘This is your brain on anime.’

    Paprika is produced by Sony Pictures Ent. Japan and animation studio Madhouse. To view the new U.S. trailer, go to www.apple.com/trailers/sony/paprika. Additional footage from the movie can be seen at www.paprikamovie.com.

  • Canemaker to Judge Platform Fest

    Ocscar-winning animator John Canemaker has joined the panel of judges for the Platform International Animation Festival, a new, six-day event kicking off in Portland, Oregon, on June 25. Founder and Director Irene Kotlarz also announced that the deadline to enter the competition has been extended to March 15.

    Canemaker, who is also a respected animation historian, garnered his first Academy Award nomination and win in 2006 for his short film The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation. He is the author of nine acclaimed books, including Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men and Windsor McCay, and serves as director of the animation program at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. His won award-winning, independent animated films are in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

    Other judges lined up for the competition aspect of the fest include director/special effects specialist Gaelle Denis (After the Rain, City Paradise), director/animator PES (Game Over, Roof Sex) and animation producer Eiko Tanaka (Tekkon Kinkreet, Mind Game). London-based multi-media artist and Slade School of Fine Art professor Dryden Goodwin will judge the installations.

    ‘We are excited to have secured judges who are well respected in the animation industry, and whose credits show their commitment to creativity, innovation, and excellence,’ says Kotlarz. ‘Our judges understand the importance of discovering fresh talent and recognizing innovation and originality to create future generations of animators who will continue to cultivate the art form.’

    The Platform International Animation Festival is designed to provide a platform for artists, innovation, debate and discussion. The program will feature premieres, retrospectives, exclusive screenings, guest speakers, exhibitions, workshops with leading artists, parties and networking opportunities with industry insiders. The organizers also wish to recognize other art forms, including comics, illustration, character and toy design, motion graphics, gallery art and live-action cinema.

    The festival has already received more than 700 entries from animators from more than 25 countries and is still looking for short films, commercials, music videos and TV series under 40 minutes in length. Awards will be given in categories covering commercial and independent films, student animation and films for new platforms, including cell phones and the Internet. Rules stipulate that films must have premiered after Jan. 1, 2005 to be eligible. More than $50,000 in prizes will be awarded during the festival.

    An international selection committee that includes award-winning animators Laura Heit (Look For Me) and Chris Hinton (Nibbles), and animation writer/director/producer Yvette Kaplan (King of the Hill, Ice Age), will meet in March to choose films for screening in the competition. The animated installation entries were selected in February by Portland-based animator Rose Bond, British experimental film authority David Curtis and independent New York animator George Griffin. For more details, go to www.platformfestival.com.

  • New Spider-Man in Kids’ WB! Web

    Kids’ WB! on The CW has picked up a new animated Spider-Man series from Culver Ent., a new unit of Sony Pictures Television. Scheduled to join the Saturday morning lineup in early 2008, the tentatively titled The Amazing Spider-Man is being overseen by supervising producer Greg Weisman (The Batman, Gargoyles) and producer/supervising director Victor Cook (Hellboy: Blood and Iron, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command).

    The new cartoon show finds our friendly neighborhood web-slinger at the beginning of his hero’s journey. Having spent the summer engaging common criminals with his new-found powers, 16-year-old Peter Parker struggles to keep his crime-fighting alter-ego a secret while combating the pressures of normal teenage life.

    ‘Our goal is to reinterpret these great characters and concepts for our millennium,’ says Weisman. ‘We’ll have plenty of resonant material for the Spider-Man fan, while engaging the Spider-Man novice with the same thrills we experienced when we were first exposed to the character. Our stories will appeal on multiple levels with plenty of eye-candy, action, humor and colorful characters for the youngest demographic balanced with extensive character development for ‘tweens, teens and adults.’

    The flagship title for Culver Ent., The Amazing Spider-Man will come to the small screen following this summer’s release Spider-Man 3, the latest installment in Sony’s and director Sam Raimi’s vfx-laden blockbuster film series. Opening nationwide on May 4, the film will offer the highly-anticipated introduction of Spider-Man’s dark counterpart, Venom (Topher Grace), as well as Sandman, a super villain portrayed by Thomas Hayden Church.

    Costumed crime fighters abound in the Kids’ WB! lineup as The Amazing Spider-Man gets set to join the Emmy-winning series The Batman the new hit Legion of Super Heroes. Also featured in the block are Xiaolin Showdown, Pok’mon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Jackie Chan Adventures, ‘Mucha Lucha! Gigante and Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue!, among others. Learn more about the Kids’ WB! offerings on The CW network at www.KidsWB.com.

  • Fresh South Park On Tap

    The 11th season of Comedy Central’s hit animated series South Park kicks off on Wednesday, March 7, at 10 p.m. This new batch of seven episodes will include a parody of the FOX action series 24, as well as a visit from presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. And for those who would prefer to watch the episodes without the bleeps, the uncensored versions will be made available on iTunes the following Tuesday starting March 13.

    South Park chronicles the misadventures of Eric, Stan, Kyle and Kenny, three fourth graders living in a dysfunctional Colorado town. Created by exec producers Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the controversial comedy debuted in 1997 and remains Comedy Central’s highest-rated series.

    Over the past ten years, the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series has drawn heat for being a cartoon about foul-mouthed kids and for mercilessly satirizing celebrities and religious organizations including the Catholic Church and Scientology. Cast member and Scientologist Isaac Hayes (Chef) left the show last year in protest of an episode that poked fun at the religion founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Movie star and Scientology poster boy Tom Cruise threatened legal action over the same episode, which has him refusing to come out of a closet. Comedy Central was pressured to temporarily shelf the installment but has since put it back into rotation.

    It will be interesting to see what kind of trouble Stone and Parker can manage to get themselves into this season, especially as the presidential race heats up and provides them with plenty of cannon fodder. Episodes of the show repeat Wednesdays at 12 a.m., Thursdays at 10 p.m. and 12 a.m., Fridays at 12 a.m. and Sundays at 11 p.m. More information on the series can be found at www.southparkstudios.com.

  • Spider-Man 3 Peeks on Heroes, Web

    The Monday, March 5, installment of the hit NBC series Heroes will offer an exclusive one-minute clip of the upcoming Columbia Pictures release Spider-Man 3. A full six minutes from the film will then immediately be available online at NBC.com for a period of 24 hours. The programming event is part of the pervasive marketing campaign ramping up for the movie, which is sure to be blockbuster when it opens on May 4.

    The minute-long clip to air during Heroes will involve a cliffhanger that is intended to drive viewers to the web where they can see what happens by watching the six-minute sequence, NBC.com’s first-ever HD-streamed presentation.

    Director Sam Raimi returns to the helm for a third round with the web slinger as Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church and Bryce Dallas Howard join returning cast members Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco. Based on the Marvel Comics series created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man 3 finds Peter Parker finally striking a balance between his devotion to M.J. and his duties as a superhero when his suit begins to change, giving him enhanced powers and a swollen ego. As he struggles with changes in his own personality, he must also thwart the evil plans of Sandman and Venom, two of the most powerful members of the property’s rogue’s gallery.

    As with the last two installments, Spider-Man 3 will feature a heaping helping of CG animation effects. Handling the lion’s share of the work is Sony Pictures Imageworks, with CafeFX, Furious FX, Giant Killer Robots and other vendors lending a hand.

  • Ratings Rise for [adult swim]

    Having graduated from a late-night programming block on Cartoon Network to a Neilson-recognized network in its own right, [adult swim] has been setting records among ad-supported basic cable for monthly total day delivery of adults 18-34, scoring especially well with male viewers. During the month of February, the home of Aqua Teen Hunger Force extended its run as the top network among men 18-24 for 23 consecutive months.

    According to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research, [adult swim] saw double-digit growth across all targeted demographics over last February and ranked No. 3 among basic cable networks for total day delivery of adults 18-49. Results reflect the fact that February ’07 marks the first month Nielsen Media Research has measured ‘extended home viewing,’ which encompasses college dorms and off-campus housing.

    Throughout February, [adult swim] attracted an average of 460,000 adults aged 18-34, new basic cable monthly record. Other monthly records were set in the adults 18-24 (280,000), men 18-34 (283,000) and men 18-24 (169,000) demographics. During the final week of the month, the network ranked No. 1 for total day delivery among the four key demos, seeing a 26% spike among adults 18-34.

    Launched by Turner Broadcasting System in 2001, [adult swim] was thrust into the national spotlight last month when devices designed to promote the Aqua Teen Hunger Force series and movie caused bomb scares in Boston. Turner ended up paying the city $2 million dollars to avoid legal action, but the payout proved to be well worth it and the publicity generated no doubt contributed to the network’s ratings growth.

    February also saw the launch of two new [adult swim] series, Saul of the Mole Men and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Blending live-action and animated elements, the series join such animated staples as The Venture Bros., Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Squidbillies and 12oz. Mouse. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters, [adult swim]’s first theatrical feature, is set to debut in 800 theaters nationwide on March 13.

  • 300 Game Slashes to Retail

    In advance of the March 9 theatrical debut of Warner Bros. Pictures’ 300, publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and distributor Eidos Interactive today released 300: March To Glory, the video game based on the highly anticipated film and the graphic novel by Sin City creator Frank Miller. The title was developed by Collision Studios and is available exclusively for Sony’s PSP handheld system.

    In 300: March To Glory, gamers are invited to play as King Leonidas, who leads 300 brave Spartan soldiers into battle against Xerxes and his vast Persian army in the ancient battle of Thermopylae. The game incorporates elements from both the movie and the graphic novel, offering lots of blood and gore as players decide the fate of western civilization by slashing, slaying and savagely maiming anything that gets in their way.

    Rated ‘M’ for Mature, the title can be had for the suggested retail price of $29.99. Read more about the game in the April issue of Animation Magazine, available next week at newsstands and Barnes & Noble locations.

  • Cartoons on the Bay Picks Nominees

    Organizers have posted the list of 40 programs in competition for the Pulcinella Awards at this year’s Cartoons on the Bay, an international showcase of television animation taking place April 19-22 in Salerno, Italy. Nominees for the eight competition categories include productions from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Croatia, Israel, Poland, Singapore and Taiwan.

    This year’s batch of contenders includes Bill Plympton’s Guide Dog, The selection includes 162 programs from 19 countries (13 countries were represented in 2006) and will be on display in the digital video library for artists and professional in the industry, buyers, distributors, multimedia publishers and journalists.

    More information on Cartoons on the Bay can be found at www.cartoonsbay.com.

    This year’s nominees are:

    TV Series for Infants

    Charlie And Lola – Season 2 (26×11)

    U.K./2006/2D

    Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends ‘ Season 2 (17×22)

    Canada/U.K./2006/CG

    Peo Gallery Ii (26×3)

    Switzerland/2006/Clay animation

    Petpals (26×13)

    Italy/2006/2D

    Santapprentice (52×13)

    France/2006/2D

    TV Series for Children

    Class of 3000 (26×30)

    U.S./2006/2D

    Deadly! (13×30)

    Australia/2006/2D

    Growing Up Creepie (22 min.) (26X 22)

    U.S./2006/2D

    Ruby Gloom (26×22)

    Canada/2006/2D

    School For Vampires (52×13)

    Germany/2006/2D

    TV Series for All Ages

    How To Cook Italian By Arturo & Kiwi (26×4)

    Italy/2006/2D

    Miniscule (78×5)

    France/2006/CG with live-action backgrounds

    Rintindumb (75×2)

    France/2006/2D

    Starveillance( 6×22)

    Canada/2006/Stop-motion

    The Imp (5×1)

    Spain/2007/CG

    TV Series of Action & Adventure

    Ayakashi (11×26)

    Japan/2005/2D/CG

    Codename: Kids Next Door( 1×11)

    U.S./2006/2D

    Galactik Football (26×26)

    France/2006/2D/CG

    Oban Star-Racers (26×30)

    France/2006/2D/CG

    The Secret Show (52×13)

    U.K./2006/2D

    Educational & Social Program’UNICEF

    Art With Mati’ E Dada’ (13×5)

    Italy/2005/2D/CG

    Jra (5 min.)

    Israel 2006/2D

    Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (20×30)

    U.S./2006/2D/CG

    The Little Short-Sighted Snake (11 min.)

    Estonia/2006/2D

    The Sea of Their Own (12 min.)

    South Korea/2006/2D

    Pilot of TV Series

    Me, My Self and the Others (52×5)

    Italy/2006/ 2D

    Monster Safari (6 min.)

    U.S./2006/Stop-motion

    Rahan, Son of the Dark Age (3 min.)

    France/2006/2D

    Stripe On 69th (7 min.)

    Singapore/2006/2D

    Zombie Family (2 Min.)

    Italy/2006/2D/CG

    TV Special

    Anna And The Moods (26 min.)

    Iceland/2007/CG

    June’s Egg-Cellent Adventure: Juniper Lee Meets The Easter Bunny (24 min.)

    U.S./2006/2D

    Mug Travel (75 min.)

    South Korea/2006/CG

    Peter & The Wolf (30 min.)

    U.K./2006/Stop-Motion

    Where Is The New Year (23 min.)

    Poland/2006/2D

    Short Film

    Dinner In Lisbon (10 min.)

    Portugal/2007/2D

    Guide Dog (6 min.)

    U.S./2006/2D

    In The Neighborhood of the City (9 min.)

    Croatia/2006/2D

    The Man Who Makes Words (5 min.)

    Taiwan/2006/2D

    Wives’ Supermarket (4 min.)

    Italy/2006/2D

  • Adult Swim Draws Blood +

    Cartoon Network’s [adult swim] has acquired a taste for Blood +, the new anim’ series based on the popular feature film Blood: The Last Vampire. Produced by Aniplex Inc., in association with Sony Pictures Television, the half-hour action- and suspense-filled drama from exec producers Hideo Katsumata and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa features music from Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer and is set to premiere on Saturday, March 10, at 12:30 a.m. (ET/PT).

    Though high school senior Saya Otonashi has trouble remembering anything that happened prior to one year ago, she leads a happy life with her adoptive family. That all changes when she and her brother are attacked by a blood-sucking vampire called a ‘chiropteran,’ and Saya soon discovers that she is the only one who can defeat an evil that has plagued Japan for centuries.

    Blood Plus is directed by Junichi Fujisaku (Ghost in the Shell) and produced by animation studio Production I.G (Blood the Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell). Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) picked up the television and home video rights for Asia (outside of Japan), Latin America, North America, Australia and New Zealand shortly after the show’s successful Japanese premiere in October of 2005.

  • DreamWorks Profits Flushed Away

    DreamWorks Animation SKG reported operating revenue of $204.3 million and a net loss of approximately $21.3 million for its fourth quarter. The loss is largely chalked up to a pre-tax charge of approximately $109 million for the partial write-off of costs incurred in making Flushed Away, which scored with critics but didn’t quite catch on with North American audiences.

    “Looking at our 2006 releases overall, Over the Hedge finished as one of the top performing domestic theatrical releases of the year and is performing well in home video,” says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. “Flushed Away, however, did not meet financial expectations despite critical acclaim. Its performance offset what was otherwise a strong year for the rest of our titles, especially in the home video market.”

    Flushed Away has earned approximately $175 million worldwide, which would be impressive if the film didn’t cost around $149 million to make. The movie was released on home video just last week but DreamWorks isn’t expecting sales to mirror those of its last feature, Over The Hedge.

    For the quarter, Over the Hedge contributed approximately $104.1 million of revenue, driven primarily by its initial home video release. Through the end of 2006, the company shipped approximately 9.8 million units of the comedy worldwide. Madagascar kicked in an additional $36.2 million from international pay television and continues to sell well on home video with 22.2 million units shipped to date. Shrek 2 provided $31.1 million of revenue in the quarter from television and home video catalogue sales, while Shark Tale and Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit brought in approximately $9.5 million and $8.6 million, respectively. Flushed Away only contributed $6.2 million, driven by consumer products and the reimbursement payment from Paramount as part of the distribution agreement.

    With home video sales of Flushed Away expected to make little impact on financial results for 2007, DreamWorks Animation is looking to an established franchise to drive profits this year. Shrek the Third is set to hit theaters on May 18, but won’t contribute significant revenue until the second half of the year, after distribution and marketing costs have been recouped by Paramount. Bee Movie, which follows on Nov. 2, won’t generate meaningful revenue until 2008.

    “We have made a lot of progress this past year improving several aspects of the business and are entering a very exciting time for DreamWorks Animation,” Katzenberg adds. “With the next chapter in our Shrek franchise, as well as Bee Movie, we have a unique slate of one sequel and one original film that I believe captures the business model that we had envisioned for the company.”

    DreamWorks Animation also announced that its board of directors has approved a share repurchase program of $150 million for the company to execute at its discretion over the next 18 months. ‘The Company is now in a very strong cash position and we believe this repurchase program is an appropriate use for this cash and in the best interest of shareholders,” says Lew Coleman, president of DreamWorks Animation.

    The fourth-quarter financial results bring DreamWorks Animation’s reported revenue for all of 2006 to $394.8 million, and net income to $15.1 million. Details were discussed on Tuesday, Feb. 27, during a conference call that can be heard via webcast replays at www.dreamworksanimation.com.

  • Handmade, Ilion Pact for Planet One

    Daily Variety reports that Handmade Films Intl. and Madrid-based Ilion Animation Studios are financing and co-producing a $50 million CG-animated feature film titled Planet One. Penned by Shrek writer Joe Stillman, the film will be directed by Jorge Blanco, the lead artist on the Commandos video game series created by Ilion’s parent company, Pyro Studios. Production is slated to begin in May for a Christmas 2008 or Easter 2009 theatrical bow.

    Planet One is an alien invasion story with a twist that takes place on an alien world that bares a striking resemblance to suburban American in the 1950s. In this tale, the invader from outer space is a human astronaut who causes panic when his spacecraft lands. A video game based on the movie is being simultaneously produced by Pyro Studios.

    The movie is being produced by Ilion’s Ignacio Perez Dolest while Handmade’s Guy Collins and Michael Ryan handle co-producer duties, along with former Nickelodeon head Albie Hecht and Lola Film president Andres Vicente Gomez. Stillman, who collaborated on scripts for all three Shrek films, earned an Emmy nomination for his work on the Fox TV series King of the Hill, and also worked with Mike Judge on Beavis and Butthead.

  • Abrams Confirmed to Make Trek

    Paramount Pictures has officially announced that the next Star Trek movie will be helmed by J.J. Abrams, director of Mission Impossible III and the creative force behind the hit TV series Lost and Alias. Abrams and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof will produce the franchise reboot, which is written by Mission Impossible III scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

    Created by Gene Roddenberry, the original Star Trek television series aired from 1966 to 1969 before spawinng five spin-off series and ten theatrically released feature films that have collectively grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Paramount is counting on Abrams to breathe new life into the film series, which appeared to run out of steam when 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis only managed to earn $67 million worldwide.

    “If there’s something I’m dying to see, it’s the brilliance and optimism of Roddenberry’s world brought back to the big screen,” says Abrams. “Alex and Bob wrote an amazing script that embraces and respects Trek canon, but charts its own course. Our goal is to make a picture for everyone’life-long fans and the uninitiated. Needless to say, I am honored and excited to be part of this next chapter of Star Trek.”

    “We could not be more thrilled to be back in business with J.J. Abrams,’ adds Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Brad Grey. ‘The revival of the Star Trek franchise is an important part of Paramount’s turnaround.”

    Paramount has not released details regarding the storyline of the eleventh Trek flick, but the word on the web is that new actors will be cast as Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones, Scotty and the rest of the crew in a novel take on the origin story. In addition to writing the screenplay, Kurtzman and Roberto Orci serve as exec producers on the pic, along with Bryan Burk. Shooting is scheduled to begin this fall for a Christmas Day 2008 release.

  • Songs in the Key of Meatwad

    Williams Street and ADA (Alternative Distribution Alliance) will release the soundtrack for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theatres on April 10, just three days before the film arrives in 800 theaters nationwide. Produced by the creative minds responsible for the successful musical collaborations ‘Dangerdoom’ and ‘Chrome Children,’ the disc will feature skits and sound bites from the movie, as well as original recordings from Mastodon, Killer Mike, Unearth and other popular acts. Cartoon Network’s [adult swim]

    An eclectic mix of heavy metal, indie rock, and hip-hop, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon The Soundtrack will also include recordings from old school rap legend Schooly D, who contributed a new version of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force theme song for the film, as well as The Hold Steady, Nine Pound Hammer and others.

    John Friend, senior VP of Cartoon Network Enterprises, comments, ‘Adult Swim is the visual equivalent of hip hop and alternative rock music’it’s edgy, it’s young, it is definitely alternative. So, it makes sense to expand the brand into the music market with this visionary new soundtrack for our first movie.’

    Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is written, produced and directed Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis, creators of the cult-favorite series that airs during the [adult swim] late-night block on Cartoon Network. The feature is described as an action-adventure epic that reveals the mysterious origins of Meatwad, Frylock and Master Shake. Our heroes are put to the test when an immortal piece of exercise equipment threatens the balance of galactic peace and the Plutonians team up with the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past to take control of the sinister, deadly device. The movie is [adult swim]’s first theatrical release and marks distributor First Look Pictures’ first foray into animation.

  • NaturalMotion Partners with Rockstar

    CG animation technology developer NaturalMotion has announced that it is integrating its revolutionary euphoria engine into upcoming next-generation titles for Rockstar Games, the publisher behind the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto video games. The two companies have been working together for several months.

    Based on NaturalMotion’s Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS) technology, euphoria uses the processing power of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles to simulate the human body and motor nervous system, creating fully interactive game characters that act differently every time. The system is designed to eliminate canned animation in favor of unique gameplay moments.

    ‘euphoria is about giving people an interactive experience they have never seen before,’ says NaturalMotion CEO Torsten Reil. ‘We now have the processing power to simulate humans, and the possibilities for games are endless. In Rockstar, we have found a partner that shares this vision, and is renowned for creating some of the most ground-breaking and immersive games in the industry.’

    NaturalMotion will announce specific euphoria-enhanced Rockstar titles at a later date. The company has also integrated endorphin into LucasArts’ eagerly awaited Indiana Jones video game, and is working with other major game companies to bring more dynamic in-game animation to their products.

  • Dinos, Ghostbusters, Gamers on Disc

    One of the most successful home video franchises in history continues with today’s release of The Land Before Time: The Great Day of the Flyers. The feature hits retail along with Ghostbusters’The Animated Series Vol. 1, Captain N The Game Master’The Complete Series and Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid.

    The Land Before Time: The Great Day of the Flyers, the twelfth installment in the evergreen animated property, finds Petrie gearing up to fly with his family in the Day of the Flyers event. In the process, he realizes how different he is from his brothers and sisters when his features cause problems in the family’s flight formations. It will take a run-in with a new creature named Guido to make Petrie embrace his uniqueness. Meanwhile, Cera copes with the arrival of a new baby sister and the amount of attention the newborn diverts from herself.

    Extras include Petrie and Guido’s Flying Game, Guido’s Sleepwalking Adventure, three sing-along songs, a “Dino-Mite Read-Along” with stills from the movie, interactive coloring pages, wallpapers and printable activities. The Universal Home Entertainment release carries a suggested retail price of $19.98.

    Brentwood Home Video today released the first volume of Ghostbusters’The Animated Series, the 1986 Filmation cartoon show based on the 1975 live-action comedy series, The Ghost Busters, rather than the hit 1984 feature. In the show, Jake Kong Jr., Eddie Spencer Jr. and Tracy the ape are supernatural investigators who use a device called a dematerializer to zap ghosts and send them to another dimension.

    The set contains the first 32 of 65 episodes on 6 discs. Bonus materials include creator interviews with producer Lou Scheimer, writer Robby London and directors Tom Tataranowicz and Tom Sito. There’s also a Ghostbusters anti-drug spot, a 10-minute presentation of the original promo pilot, a slideshow storyboard for the episode “Laser and Future Rock,” an image gallery including the original hero model sheets and sketches, series trivia, Easter eggs and the complete five-episode script for the Ghostbusters origin story on DVD-ROM. Also included is the fist episode of the live-action series, The Ghost Busters, starring Forrest Tucker, Larry Storch and Bob Burns as Tracy the ape. The set lists for $39.98.

    The Nintendo video game universe gets the cartoon treatment in Captain N The Game Master’The Complete Series. This compilation of episodes from the 1989 Saturday morning show follows the adventures of Kevin Keene, a teenager from Northridge, Calif., who is transported to another universe known as Videoland to defeat an evil villainess known as Mother Brain (the villain from Metroid). Given the title “Captain N: The Game Master,” Kevin joins the N Team, which consists of Princess Lana (the ruler of Videoland), Simon Belmont (the hero from Castlevania), Mega Man, Kid Icarus and a giant supercomputer dubbed Gameboy. Other characters include King Hippo from Punch-Out, the Eggplant Wizard from Kid Icarus and Dr. Wily from Mega Man.

    Extra features on the Captain N four-disc set include an interactive look at the Videoland concept art titled Exploring Videoland, Nintendo Power’s “Captain Nintendo” story and animated character bios. The Shout Factory release can be had for the list price of $34.98

    For the tykes, Buena Vista Home Video offers Little Einsteins: The Legend of the Golden Pyramid, featuring three episodes of the educational animated TV series for preschoolers. The title includes an interactive storybook and carries the suggested retail price of $19.99.