Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Gotham, Lionsgate, IDT in Toon Deal

    The lucrative family home-video market is set to get even more crowded with 19 direct-to-DVD animated features coming from the Gotham Group, Lionsgate and IDT Ent. over the next three years. According to Daily Variety, management/production entity Gotham will make ten movies for Lionsgate and nine for IDT with an investment of $50 million raised from Korean firm Sovic Venture Capital. Each production will be budgeted at around $3 million.

    Headed by founder/CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Gotham will cover half of the production costs for each film and will outsource most of the animation to Korea while throwing work to its management clients. The company will also be able to draw material from the literary properties it manages; including Dark Horse Comics, Simon & Schuster’s young adult and children’s library and the works of William Steig (Shrek) and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are).

    IDT, which is being acquired by Liberty Media, plans to release the animated features through its home video subsidiary, Anchor Bay, and Liberty’s Starz premium cable network.

  • CreativeHeads on the Job for Animation Mentor

    Online character animation school Animation Mentor has partnered with CreativeHeads Inc. (CretiveHeads.net) to provide job placement resources to its students. Through the arrangement, Animation Mentor graduates will receive comprehensive career services from CreativeHeads, a leading job board for the animation, visual effects, video game, high-end software and technology industries. CreativeHeads also powers the AnimationMagazine.net job board.

    Using CreativeHead’s specially designed tools, Animation Mentor graduates

    will be able to access hundreds of job postings from various creative

    industries and track the job status of applications submitted. They will also be able to build a free online profile that will host art files and demo reels that students can update at any time.

    Animation Mentor, whose instructors are working studio animators, will also be able to showcase graduate profiles and reels in CreativeHeads’ Heads Up! newsletter, which is distributed to more than 20,000 creative employers. CreativeHeads will send out the first electronic portfolios this September 2006, and Animation Mentor will integrate CreativeHeads’ career services into its soon-to-be-launched alumni website.

    Based in Berkeley, Calif., AnimationMentor.com launched in March of 2005, offering a certified, eighteen-month program built from the ground up by founders Bobby Beck, Shawn Kelly and Carlos Baena, whose combined credits include Disney/Pixar’s Cars and Finding Nemo, as well as 20th Century Fox’s Star Wars: Episopde III’Revenge of the Sith. More information can be found at AnimationMentor.com.

  • MTV2 Airs Gods of Gaming Special

    Cable outlet MTV2 gets its game on this weekend with the broadcast of MTV News Presents: Gods of Gaming, a group interview with four top game innovators that will air on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT. The program will feature insight from Will Wright (creator of Sim City and The Sims), Cliffy B (Unreal and Gears of War), David Jaffe (Twisted Metal and God of War) and Harvey Smith (Deus Ex and Fireteam).

    Taped at an art gallery exhibit dedicated to retro gaming in the heart of Los Angeles, Gods of Gaming promises to deliver an in-depth, no-holds-barred discussion of the state of industry. Topics tackled include what’s right about games, what’s wrong about them, why Tom Cruise needs their help and just how famous these guys should be.

    The program is part of MTV2’s efforts to step up its game-related and animated offerings. The network recently launched its first animation block, Sic ‘Emation, which includes the series Celebrity Death Match, Where My Dogs At? and The Adventures of Chico and Guapo. For more information on Gods of Gaming and other MTV2 programs, go to mtv2.com.

  • Snakes on a Plane Lifts Off

    The airline ban on liquids is going to look extra silly once moviegoers get a load of what Samuel L. Jackson has to deal with in Snakes on a Plane. Opening today, the New Line Cinema release just may have enough camp appeal to steal the checkered flag from Sony’s Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, which has held the top spot for two consecutive weeks. Also opening in wide release today are Universal’s college comedy, Accepted, and MGM’s tween-targeted Hillary Duff/Haylie Duff comedy, Material Girls.

    Despite being largely withheld from critics, Snakes on a Plane has received mostly fond reviews from those who have managed to catch advanced screenings. The film stars Jackson as Nelville Flynn, a government agent who gets more than he bargained for when he escorts a witness in protective custody on a flight over the Pacific Ocean. It seems an assassin has also boarded the plane with a crate full of deadly, CG-animated snakes. CafeFX handled the lion’s share of the effects work under vfx supervisor Thierry Delattre, with Hybride and Pacific Title helping out. Before even opening, the movie inspired a cheapie knock-off titled Snakes on a Train, which Asylum released on home video on Tuesday.

    Opening in very limited release today are The Illusionist from Yari Film Group Releasing and Trust the Man from Fox Searchlight. Illusionist stars Edward Norton as a turn-of-the-century magician who uses slight-of-hand to woo a woman beyond his social standing. Trust the Man is a Romantic Comedy starring Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

  • Cartoon Animation Institute Opens in L.A.

    Headed by Family Guy director Peter Shin, the Cartoon Animation Institute (CAI) is opening its doors in Los Angeles tonight, Aug. 18, with a grand opening event. Scheduled to go from 7 p.m. to midnight, the celebration will introduce the school, its curriculum and mission objectives.

    CAI was founded to provide comprehensive education to prepare students for careers in animation, visual effects and digital media. The school will employ an interdisciplinary faculty of academics, researchers, and professionals. At present, the faculty includes Family Guy veterans Kara Vallow, Young Lee, Mike Elias, Andy Tauke, Shannon Smith, Peter Michels and John Holmquist.

    CAI’s primary location is at 3440 8th Street in Los Angeles. Anyone who wants to learn more about the school, its grand opening event or any of its programs may contact Chris Lee, president/exec. director at (213) 388-7277 or go to cartoonmation.com.

  • Editor’s Note: Bickford Doc a Must See

    Best known for the clay animation work he did for avant-garde musician Frank Zappa in the 1970s, underground animator Bruce Bickford is the subject of Monster Road, an enthralling 2004 documentary that has just been released on DVD. Clay’s answer to R. Crumb and Harvey Pekar, Bickford bares his soul and reveals the driving forces behind his unique creations in this Bright Eye Pictures release, which features never-before-seen animation.

    Bickford’s work is not as technically smooth as what we’ve come to expect from the likes of Tim Burton or Aardman. His characters tend to skate around rather than exhibiting well-executed walk cycles, and there’s a certain jumpiness to his technique that would seem amateurish if it weren’t for the amazing and mesmerizing pictures he is able to paint with plasticine.

    At one point in the film, Bickford looks into the camera and says that what Hollywood lacks is energy. ‘It’s all about energy,’ he reiterates. His own work is all about energy. Nothing on the screen is static. He uses the clay medium to its fullest potential as characters and other objects routinely morph into other things in his surreal, absurd and metaphorical scenes that often focus on the violent nature of man and the world at large.

    The reclusive animator works alone in the basement of the home he grew up in, still shooting on 16mm film with an old Bolex camera. His studio is filled with countless clay figures, including tiny ‘little guys,’ with which he feels a kinship since he himself was often picked on for being slight of stature. In his films, he’s able to give the little guy the upper hand to strike back against his larger oppressors. We see this theme begin to emerge early in clips of animation experiments he conducted as a kid.

    Equally as engaging as Bickford’s creations and his thoughts on animation is his dysfunctional family life, which has greatly influenced his work over the years. The documentary spends a good deal of time on Bickford’s father, George, a retired aerospace engineer whose mind is slowly being ravished by Alzheimer’s Disease. Through interviews, family photos and home movies, first-time filmmaker Brett Ingram tells an often tragic and disturbing story of a family destroyed by depression, divorce, untimely death and suicide. Those moments are then balanced out by whimsical shots of the shaggy-haired and skinny Bruce spryly climbing trees and swinging a chain with a fiery ball at the end of it.

    In 2004, Monster Road won Best Documentary at a number of major film festivals, including Slamdance, the Independent Film Festival of Boston, the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Indie Memphis Film Festival and the Red Bank Independent Film Festival. The DVD features more than 30 minutes of bonus materials, including rare animation and deleted scenes. More information can be found at www.brighteyepictures.com.

  • Cartoon Network Inks Apparel Deals

    Cartoon Network Enterprises has struck three new licensing agreements that will see new apparel lines based on two of the network’s hit animated shows. Olaes Design and Marketing (ODM) and SGFootwear will respectively produce t-shirts and shoes inspired by the new hit action-adventure series, Ben 10. Meanwhile, Mighty Fine will develop juniors’ and tweens’ fashions based on long-standing favorite, The Powerpuff Girls.

    ODM, which specializes in the young men’s and boys’ market, will develop both long- and short-sleeved t-shirts and sweatshirts featuring images of the Ben 10 alien heroes. The product line will be available in mid-tier and department stores beginning this fall. Slated to arrive at retail nationwide in the spring of 2007, SGFootwear’s Ben 10 line will range from athletic shoes to flip-flops.

    A Cartoon Network original, Ben 10 debuted in January of this year and airs five nights a week at 5:30 p.m. The series follows the adventures of 10-year-old Ben Tennyson, who investigates a crashed meteorite and discovers a strange wristwatch-like device that allows him to transform into 10 different alien beings, each with unique powers and abilities. The property’s master toy licensee is Bandai America Inc., which has action figures, playsets and other toys available at retail.

    Mighty Fine has signed a multi-year deal to develop a line of knit tops, t-shirts and fleece tops featuring The Powerpuff Girls characters Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, as well as icons and logos. The line will sport a retro edge and will be sold through specialty and boutique stores as well as upscale department stores beginning this fall, with prices ranging from $25 to $50.

    Created by Craig McCraken, the Emmy-winning The Powerpuff Girls follows three super-powered sisters who routinely save the world from a host of evil super villains’all before bedtime. With more than 75 licensees, the property has become a billion dollar business globally.

    Los Angeles-based Mighty Fine is the creator and licensor of such characters as French Kitty, Ruby Gloom and Bad Cat, and is the creative force behind the fashion brands Doe and Disney Couture.

  • Tom and Jerry Screenshots Emerge

    Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the first set of screenshots from the upcoming Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS game, Tom and Jerry Tales. Set for release this fall by Eidos Ent, the title aims to bring classic cartoon fun to handhelds while tying into the new cartoon series debuting this fall on The CW.

    Developed by Sensory Sweep Studios, Tom and Jerry Tales continues the game of cat-and-mouse as players take on the role of Jerry and try to outwit hapless housecat Tom. In his quest to recover the cheese Tome stole and return safely to the mouse hole, Jerry must avoid booby traps and out-maneuver his long-time mortal enemy. The GBA version will include various mini-games and the DS version will integrate touch-screen activated events that require players to use quick reflexes to avoid danger.

    Hanna-Barbera’s Tom and Jerry first appeared on CBS in 1940 and kept up their adversarial relationship in various series through the 1980s. After an absence of more than 13 years, the duo is coming back with Tom and Jerry Tales, a new series set to air on The CW’s Kids’ WB! block. Exec produced by Joseph Barbera and Sander Schwartz, the new show promises a return to basics with plenty of wild chases, slapstick gags and over-the-top mayhem. The episodes are being produced by animator Frank Molieri (Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas, Cock-a-Doodle Duel) and writer/producer Tom Minton (Duck Dodgers, Dave the Barbarian).

  • Ubisoft Forms Star Wars: Lethal Alliance

    Video game publisher Ubisoft Today announced the forthcoming title Star Wars: Lethal Alliance, the first Star Wars game to be developed exclusively for the PSP and Nintendo DS handheld platforms. The action-adventure game is being created for PSP by Ubisoft’s Montreal studio, while the company’s facility in Casablanca is developing the DS version under a long-term licensing partnership with LucasArts. Fans can look forward to a worldwide retail rollout this December.

    The events in Star Wars: Lethal Alliance takes place between the films Star Wars: Episode III’Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV’A New Hope. Collaborative gameplay will let players take on the roles of Twi’lek Rianna Saren and her security droid, Zeeo, who are hired by the Rebel Alliance to infiltrate Imperial planets. From the chaotic planet of Coruscant to the dusty, dangerous alleys of Mos Eisley, Rianna and Zeeo must use an arsenal of tricks to complete their mission to steal the plans for the Death Star.

    The game will also feature never-before-seen locations on Despayre, Danuta and Alderaan. Each new environment promises encounters such iconic figures as Boba Fett, Kyle Katarn, Princess Leia Organa, Darth Vader, Rodians, Quarren and stormtroopers.

  • Fantastic Four Sequel Gets Title Change

    20th Century Fox has changed the title of its upcoming Fantastic Four sequel from Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer to Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, according to SuperHeroHype.com. Reuniting director Tim Story with stars Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Julian McMahon, the film is scheduled to hit theaters on June 15, 2007. Doug Jones (Hellboy) is rumored to play the CG-animated Silver Surfer.

    The next movie will reportedly have intergalactic herald The Silver Surfer arriving on Earth to prepare it for destruction. In addition to dealing with the new threat, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, Johnny Blaze and Thing have to cope with the return of arch nemesis Dr. Doom. The new title is reminiscent of the Marvel/Lionsgate animated feature, Ultimate Avengers II: Rise of the Panther, which was released directly to home video last week.

    The first Fantasitc Four film opened in July of 2005 and ended up earning more than $330 million worldwide despite lackluster reviews and some discontent among hardcore comic-book fans. Based on the long-running Marvel Comics series, the films center on a group of astronauts who are exposed to cosmic radiation and develop unique abilities.

  • Driessen Joins aniBOOM Judges

    Oscar-nominated Dutch animator Paul Driessen (3 Misses, The Yellow Submarine) has joined the panel of judges for aniBOOM, an online animation contest that will allow the general public to view and rate films when the Interactive animation content site goes live on Sept. 1.

    The other judges include Fred Cohen, former chairman of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and former president of King World International Prods.; Ken-Ichiro Hayafune, exec producer of Nippon Animation and chief producer of Nippon Animedia; Max Howard, who served as president of Feature Animation at Warner Bros. and is now producing the upcoming Exodus Film Group toon features Igor and The Hero of Color City; professor Rony Oren, head of the animation unit at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design; Arlene Sherman, an Emmy Award-winning creative development exec at Sesame Workshop; and Douglas Wood, a former VP of production and creative affairs at Universal, Turner Pictures and Warner Bros. Feature Animation who currently heads development for the JVP Feature Animation Studio.

    Driessen has received more than 70 international awards for his work. During the 1994 Ottawa Animation Festival, the International Association of Animated Films gave him the ASIFA-International Life Achievement Award. He garnered an Oscar nomination for 3 Misses in 2000 and received another lifetime achievement award at the Zagreb Int’l Animation Festival in 2002. For the past ten years, Driessen has taught animation at the Kassel art school in Germany, which has produced two Oscar winners under his tutelage. To find out how you can enter your short in the competition, visit www.aniboom.com.

  • Transformers Scribes Chat on Yahoo!

    Fans of the animated Transformers series can get the inside scoop on director Michael Bay’s upcoming live-action/CG feature film adaptation during a live Yahoo! video chat with the writers tomorrow, Aug. 18. Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci will shed light on the production and answer questions beginning at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. E/T.

    In addition to dishing on story elements of the movie, the scribes will apparently reveal which Autobots and Decepticons will appear in glorious CG in this machine vs. machine showdown. Registered members of the movie’s official web site (www.transformersmovie.com) can submit questions in advance via e-mail. The site will post the link for the Yahoo! chat tomorrow at 10 a.m.

    Based on the hugely successful Hasbro toys that changed from vehicles to towering robots, the Transformers animated TV series ran from 1984 through 1987. Produced by Hasbro, Marvel and Toei Doga, the show centered on the battle between good robots led by Optimus Prime and evil ones controlled by Megatron. An animated feature film, Transformers: the Movie, was released in 1986. A 20th anniversary special edition DVD of the film will be released by the home entertainment group of Sony BMG Music Ent. in November.

    Exec produced by DreamWorks principal Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures’ Transformers is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 4, 2007. The cartoon series, Transformers: Energon, airs on Cartoon Network in the U.S.

  • Cartoon Network U.K. Blocks Out Cartoonito

    Young animation viewers in the U.K. will have a new daily destination when Cartoon Network Too launches its new preschool block, Cartoonito. Anchored by such established favorites as Cookie Jar’s Caillou, Warner Bros.’ Baby Looney Tunes and HIT Ent’s Barney, the 6 a.m. to 3 p.m block will debut on Monday, Sept. 4, with programs in English and French.

    Other shows scheduled to air during Catoonito include Animal Stories from Collingwood O’Hare and Foothill Ent., Blanche from VGI Ent., Hi-5 from Southern Star,Big Foot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks from CCI Ent., Ellen’s Acres from Cartoon Network U.S. and Animation Collective, Fluffy Gardens from Monster Animation, Pororo the Little Penguin from Iconix Ent. and Roobarb and Custard Too from Celador.

  • NaturalMotion Secures Major Funding

    NaturalMotion Ltd., developer of Dynamic Motion Synthesis-based 3D animation technologies, has closed a major round of financing through an investment by Benchmark Capital Europe, the venture capitalist firm behind eBay and other online entities. The additional capital will help NaturalMotion further develop of innovative and interactive 3D entertainment technologies.

    ‘Raising additional capital was a matter of choice, not necessity, and had a lot to do with the partner,’ says Torsten Reil, CEO of NaturalMotion. ‘We have had a great relationship with Benchmark since well before the financing and truly share their vision of building pioneering, world-class technology companies.’

    NaturalMotion’s 3D animation products, endorphin, euphoria and morpheme, utilize Adaptive Behaviors and artificial intelligence to simulate the human-nervous system so that content creators can achieve realistic reactions rather than using canned animations. Widely used in the film and game industries, endorphin creates off-line animation faster than traditional techniques. Based on Oxford University research on the control of body movements, euphoria synthesizes 3D character animation in real time on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, creating unique gameplay moments for upcoming games including Star Wars and Indiana Jones titles from LucasArts. The recently announced morpheme is described as a powerful new animation engine and tool chain for next-generation game development. More information on the company and its products can be found at www.naturalmotion.

  • Brother Bear 2 Due at Month’s End

    Buena Vista Home Entertainment will release Brother Bear 2 directly to home video on Aug. 29. Directed by Ben Gluck, this sequel to Disney’s 2003 animated hit features all new original music by Melissa Etheridge, as well as voice help from Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy), Wanda Sykes (Over the Hedge), Mandy Moore (Entourage), Michael Clark Duncan (The Green Mile), Catherine O’Hara (Chicken Little) and Kathy Najimi (King of the Hill), among others.

    In Brother Bear 2, Dempsy takes over for Joaquin Phoenix in the role of Kenai, who emerges from his first hibernation and takes his little brother, Koda (Jeremy Suarez), to Crowberry Ridge to feast on spring berries while Moose pals Rutt (Rick Moranis) and Tuke (Dave Thomas) court a pair of females. The plot thickens as Kenai’s childhood friend, Nita (Moore), shows up with a carved amulet Kenai gave her long ago. It seems Nita can’t get married until she and Kenai both burn the amulet together at Hokani Falls, a task that involves an arduous journey over icy mountains, raging rivers and unforeseen obstacles.

    Brother Bear 2 was one of the last features to be animated at DisneyToon Australia, the traditional animation facility behind such Mouse House sequels as The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s London Adventure, Return to Neverland Jungle Book II and Bambi II. Slated to hit retail in 2007, Cinderella 3 will be the final release to issue forth from the shuttered studio.

    Bonus materials on the DVD will include a Behind the Music of Brother Bear 2 featurette, a music video with Melissa Etheridge and an interactive game titled Trample Off, Eh? The release will carry a suggested retail price of $29.99.

  • Danger Rangers Play It Safe on XM Radio

    Danger Rangers, the safety-themed animated TV series for kids, is taking its mission to radio vial a deal between Charlotte, North Carolina-based producer Educational Adventures and XM Satellite Radio. Educational Adventures is producing an ongoing series of one-minute features aimed at preventing accidental injury, which is the leading cause of death and disability in children under the age of 14.

    The Danger Rangers Play It Safe safety tips air on XM’s award-winning children’s channel, XMKiDS (channel 116). Each of the mini-programs present a Danger Rangers character highlighting tips on water, fire, pedestrian and bike safety, as well as important advice regarding household chemicals, pills, poison prevention and more, all underscored by an original song.

    Broadcasting daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM currently boasts more than 6 million subscribers. The service provides 160 digital channels offering commercial-free music, sports, talk, comedy and entertainment programming.

    The Danger Rangers series airs on public television and several VOD systems, and complementary book and DVD series are available at retail. Led by exec producers Howard Kazanjian (Star Wars) and Larry Huber (Power Puff Girls), the show’s creative team has collectively won more than 100 Emmy and Academy Awards.

  • BET, Film Roman Ink Toon Pact

    Film Roman, the animation studio behind FOX’s long-running primetime favorites The Simpsons and King of the Hill will produce animated films and multi-platform series with cable broadcaster BET’s newly-established animation division. BET also announced that it will reunite the Static Shockteam of Denys Cowan and Dwayne McDuffie to create a new action-adventure series.

    In addition to television and new media projects, Film Roman and BET plan to jointly develop and produce a slate of direct-to-DVD and theatrical releases. The three-year, non-exclusive contract allows for international distribution outside of the BET Network.

    BET’s president of entertainment, former Boondocks producer Reginald Hudlin, says viewers can expect to see animation on the channel by the fourth quarter of this year. “If Black America is a cultural superpower, then there’s no better medium to express the full range of our collective imagination than animation,” he comments. “There will be shorts that will air throughout our programming schedule as well as online content. Hopefully, by fall of next year, we’ll begin to launch our animated series.”

    After winning an Emmy Award and Humanitas Prize for the kid-centric superhero series Static Shock, Cowan and McDuffie will tackle adult-oriented animation with their next series, on which BET isn’t releasing any information just yet.

    “Black culture is youth culture. Where Black people go, pop culture follows,” Says Cowan, who currently serves as senior VP of animation for BET. “At BET Animation, with our creative partnerships and working with established superstars as well as young, hip creators, we hope to be the leaders of the next revolution in animation.”

    Cowan and McDuffie co-founded the successful comic-book company Milestone Media. McDuffie remains editor-in-chief of Milestone’s award-winning line of comic books and is also a producer and story editor on Cartoon Network’s Justice League. He has created or co-created more than a dozen comic-book series, including Damage Control, Deathlok II, Icon, Xombi, The Road To Hell and Hardware, and has written stories for such series as Spider-Man, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, The Tick, Captain Marvel, Avengers Spotlight, Back To The Future, Hellraiser, Ultraman and X-O Manowar.

    BET Animation recently signed a deal wth action star Vin Diesel and his One Race Prods. to jointly produce Hannibal the Conqueror, an animated series about storied African military leader Hannibal of Carthage, best known for marching an army of elephants over the Alps to challenge the Roman Empire.

  • ‘Cartoon City’ Established in China

    With foreign-made animation banned during prime cartoon-viewing time on Chinese television, domestic producers are joining forces to step up their own toon output. More than 40 well-known animation companies from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have agreed to participate in a so-called ‘Cartoon City’ established by the Changzhou National Hi-tech District, based in the Jiangsu province. With cooperative agreements from eight overseas entities from Korea, India, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore, the coalition aims to produce 12 animated productions representing 6,251 minutes of animation over the next year and a half.

    Animation was identified by the Changzhou Party in 2004 as an industry that had great potential to boost the local economy of the Yangtze River Delta. Changzhou has since sponsored the annual International Cartoon Festival and developed a State-level cartoon art exchange platform with international participants, making it the official State Animation Base.

    In support of the initiative, The Changzhou Municipal Government is sponsoring the International Cartoon Art Festival, which involves annual activities with Korea’s Jiangyuan Animation Institute and U.S.-based Walt Disney Co. Other programs include the China Creative Idea Market, which will team entities from the U.S., Canada, France, Japan and Spain for cooperative projects, and technical services for post-production and education.

    By year’s end, Changzhou hopes to have another 50 animation companies set up shop in Cartoon City. To feed the need for talent, 12 colleges and universities located in Changzhou have adopted an animation major and relevant courses. The province also hopes to lure the nation’s top animation scriptwriters and will host an auditing platform for scribes.

  • Cast Goes to Dog

    An independent animated feature has scored a voice cast that includes accomplished actors Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave and Isabella Rossellini, according to Daily Variety. Based on the 1956 British novel by J.R. Ackerley, My Dog Tulip will appeal more to adults as it chronicles the 14-year friendship between Ackerley and his rescued German Shepherd.

    Produced by Norman Twain, Howard Kaminsky and Frank Pellegrino, the film will be animated by Paul Fierlinger and Sandra Fierlinger, who made the Ottawa Grand Prize-winning short A Room Nearby and the Peabody Award-winning Still Life With Animated Dogs. Animation will commence after voice recording gets underway this month.

    Also lined up to lend their voices to the film are Brian Murray, Paul Hecht, Peter Gerety and Euan Morton. The film is expected to wrap in December of 2007.

  • Simpsons, Phooey, Magilla on Disc

    Make room on your DVD shelf for more fun with Homer and two Hanna-Barbera favorites from the 1970s. Ripe for the picking this week are The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season, Hong Kong Phooey: The Complete Series and Magilla Gorilla: The Complete Series.

    All 25 episodes from the eighth season of The Simpsons come on four discs that include the instalments ‘Burns, Baby Burns,’ ‘The Homer They Fall,’ ‘Hurricane Neddy,’ ‘Lisa’s Date with Density,’ ‘Bart After Dark,’ ‘You Only Move Twice’ and ‘The Springfield Files,’ which features guest-starring turns by X-Files stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. The Fox Home Entertainment collector’s set lists for $49.98 and includes such bonus features as The Simpsons House featurette, audio commentary, animation showcases, deleted scenes, a sketch gallery and promotional spots.

    Scatman Crothers voices the title role of Hong Kong Phooey, a Kung Fu-fighting canine hero who gets his crime tips while posing as a mild-mannered janitor in a police station. With help from his cat, Spot, the bumbling amateur superhero always manages to save the day and foil the evil plots of such villains as Claw, the Giggler, Goldfisher and the Gum Drop Kid. All 31 episodes of the 1974 series are contained on two discs, which also offer a retrospective documentary, a storyboard-to-animation comparison and commentary on three episodes by original team members including creative producer Iwao Takamoto and layout unit manager Willie Ito, as well as Warner Bros. animation producer-historian Scott Jeralds. The Warner Home Video releaes carries a suggested retail price of $26.99.

    Magilla Gorilla: The Complete Series is a four-disc set offering all 23 episodes of the show (1964-1965) about a big ape who lives at Mr. Peebles’ Pet Shop and is continually bought and returned when he wreaks havoc on customer’s lives. Also featured are secondary cartoons with the animated duos Punkin’ Puss and Mushmouse, and Rocochet Rabbit and Droop-a-long Coyote. Bonus materials include the feturette Magilla Theme Song, Live And Unplugged, which is introduced by series animator Jerry Eisenberg and offers rare footage of Hoyt Curtin and William Hanna at the piano. Mr. Peebles Pet Shop is an interactive interview gallery with Magilla voicer Allan Melvin, Eisenberg and animation historian Jerry Beck, and Here Comes a Star is an archival TV special that takes viewers inside Hanna-Barbera Studios. The Warner Home Video release lists for $44.98.