Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Click Catches Cars

    Adam Sandler once again proved his box office prowess as his latest comedy, Sony/Revolution’s Click, changed the channel on Disney/Pixar’s Cars. Featuring visual effects by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Pixel Magic, Graphic Nature Ltd. and Legion LLC, Click earned an estimated $40 million in North America over the weekend to take the No.1 spot.

    In Click, Sandler plays a workaholic architect whose life is turned upside-down when he is given a universal remote that can control his life. Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken and David Hasselhoff co-star in this latest effort from Frank Coraci, who previously directed Sandler in the hits The Waterboy and The Wedding Singer.

    Sliding to No. 2 in its third week, Cars hauled in another $22.5 million, according to estimates. To date, the computer-animated comedy has earned around $156 million domestically but is still pretty much in park overseas until the World Cup soccer finals conclude. Cars has earned around $15 million in foreign markets where Warner Bros.’ Poseidon has taken the lead.

    Paramount’s wrestling comedy, Nacho Libre, placed third with around $12.1 million, followed by Rogue Pictures’ urban crime thriller, Waist Deep, with approximately $9.4 million. Universal’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift $9.2 million rounds out the top five with an estimated $9.2 million.

    In its second Weekend, 20th Century Fox’s Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties lost more than 34% of its audience, dropping from No. 7 to No. 8, scratching up around $4.7 million over the weekend to bring its total to approximately $16 million. Meanwhile DreamWorks’ Over the Hedge was finally edged out of the top ten, having earned more than $144 million over the past six weeks.

    Backed by positive reviews and strong fanboy buzz, Warner Bros.’ Superman Returns promises to deliver some early fireworks when it opens in theaters on Wednesday, June 28, before raking it in over the long holiday weekend.

  • Monster House to Debut in 3D at Cinema Expo

    Columbia Pictures Monster House will screen in stereoscopic 3D by REAL D at Cinema Expo in Amsterdam on Thursday, June 29. The second animated feature to employ Sony Pictures Imageworks’ Performance Capture technology previously used on The Polar Express, Monster House will be distributed in 3D day-and-date with its conventional 2D release on July 21.

    In Monster House, three kids venture across the street to a mysterious house that they believe to be alive. The youngsters are voiced by newcomers Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Mitchel Musso, who are joined in the cast by Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jon Heder, Kevin James, Jason Lee, Catherine O’Hara, Kathleen Turner and Fred Willard. Produced by Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, Jack Rapke and Steven Spielberg, the film is directed by UCLA Spotlight Award-winner Gil Kenan.

    REAL D’s 3D conversion process was introduced with The Polar Express: An Imax 3D Experience, which has grossed more than $60 million in a limited number of venues and is slated for return engagements during the holidays. Sony is hoping for similar success with Monster House, which could potentially be brought back to IMAX venues every Halloween.

  • New WAC-O Films Online!

    Animation Magazine is proud to present nine new shorts as part of our on-going, online animated short film competition known as World Animation Celebration Onlne (WAC-O). Be sure to watch them all and then vote for your favorites. We recently announced our first quarterly winner, Le Building from Marco Nguyen, Pierre Perifel, Xavier Ramon’de, Olivier Staphylas and R’mi Zaarour, and are counting on your feedback to determine the next one!

    WAC-O currently features a total of 54 animated shorts, including the nine brand-new entries posted today. Entries represent a wide range of animation techniques including CG, hand-drawn, Flash and stop-motion, and vary in genre from comedy, drama, science-fiction, horror and fantasy. New films are added on a regular basis and are immediately subject to voting. Festival visitors can view all films and vote for their favorites at www.animationmagazine.net/wac.

    Film submissions are received on a rolling basis. Submission forms and additional information can also be found at www.animationmagazine.net/wac.

  • Honeycomb, Aardman Director Get Beastly

    Honeycomb Animation, has teamed with Aardman Animations director Andy Wyatt (Planet Sketch, Pop School, Animal School) to bring a new adult-oriented animated series to mobile phones. Offering humorous looks at sex in the animal kingdom, Beastly Behaviour will be made available by Mobile Streams via The Comedy Channel on Vodafone Live in the U.K.

    Each episode of Beastly Behaviour will focus on a certain animal or insect, poking fun at such peculiar reproductive qualities as the oyster’s gender bending, the cockroach’s seven sex organs and the angler fish’s ability to absors the entire body of her lover during intercourse. The collection of shorts is a continuation of a series Wyatt created and directed for WDR and Channel 4 for the 1994-1995 season.

    Founded by Simon and Sara Bor in 1982, Honeycomb Animation is the toon studio behind the BAFTA-nominated series Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, which it co-produces with Elephant Production for CiTV. The company’s other recent productions include Funky Valley for Five, Lost in the Snow for CiTV and Binka for CBeebies. Honeycomb is currently in production on a sixth season of Grizzly Tales, a second season of Funky Valley and a spin-off series titled Funky Town, slated to debut next year.

  • Aardman Mobilized in Singapore

    Starcut, which distributes Aardman Animations’ mobile content in Southeast Asia, has secured an exclusive deal to make short clips of Wallace & Gromit, Angry Kid, Creature Comforts and other shows available on M1’s Watch-A-Video service in Singapore.

    Available exclusively to M1’s 3G customers, Watch-A-Video features more than 20 subscription-based video channels that allow high-quality videos to be automatically pushed to the customers’ 3G phones at scheduled download times.

    Other Aardman properties being repurposed for mobile platforms include Morph, Panic in the Village and Rex the Runt. During the last 12 months, the studio has also begun developing new IP specifically for wireless and other new media platforms. Ardman content is now distributed in 16 territories around the world.

  • Futurama Revived at Comedy Central

    TVWeek.com reports that Comedy Central has ordered 13 all-new episodes of Futurama from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. FOX cancelled the series three years ago and was considering bringing it back in light of strong DVD sales. Now it appears that Fry, Bender and the gang have found a new home in the same neighborhood as Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny.

    Futurama centers on Fry (Billy West), a pizza delivery boy who is accidentally cryogenically frozen and thawed out a thousand years later to find himself a fish out of water in a futuristic society. Having joined up with an intergalactic delivery service, he travels the galaxy and gets into wacky adventures with a rag-tag crew of bizarre characters. West is reportedly returning to the audio booth for the new episodes, as are Katey Segall as Leela and John DiMaggio as Bender.

    The show lasted five seasons on FOX and earned three Emmy Awards, including Best Animated Series of 2002. Cartoon Network then picked it up in syndication, adding it to its successful [adult swim] lineup. When that contract expires in December of 2007, exclusive rights will go to Comedy Central, which bought 72 episodes at $400,000 apiece. The new episodes are slated to premiere sometime in 2008, joining Comedy Central’s animated hits South Park and Drawn Together.

  • Iron Man Gets Release Date

    Paramount Pictures’ long-gestating feature adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Iron Man has finally been pinned to the calendar. This first product of Marvel’s distribution deal with Paramount is currently slated to open in theaters on May 2, 2008, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Directed by Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathrua: A Space Adventure), Iron Man is being independently produced by Marvel Ent. with its $525 million revolving film-financing facility. It’s also the first project for Avi Arad Prods., the shingle recently established by former Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad.

    A lesser-known comic book staple created by Larry Lieber, Iron Man chronicles the adventures of Tony Stark, a driven inventor and enigmatic heir to the Stark Enterprises fortune. Like most Marvel characters, he leads a double life, commanding his empire by day and at night becoming Iron Man, the living embodiment of decades of defense spending and innovation. With billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art armor and weaponry at his disposal, Stark fights crime, terrorism and corporate espionage. Rights to the classic comic property recently reverted back to Marvel following an unsuccessful two-year development period at New Line Cinema.

    While at New Line, the project saw scripts drafted by Smallville scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, as well as X-Men writer David Hayter. In addition to directing, Favreau is developing a new script with the writing team of Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway (Convoy). Tom Cruise was once attached to play the title role, but there is yet no word on who will suit up as Iron Man.

  • LAIKA Finds Space for Jack & Ben

    Animation production house LAIKA has leased roughly 60,000 square feet of space in the Leland James Center in Northwest Portland, where it will produce its second CG-animated feature film, Jack & Ben’s Animated Adventure. The space will serve as a production, technology and administrative facility until the company builds its new, state-of-the-art studios on 30 acres of land that chairman Phil Knight recently purchased in Tualatin, 12 miles south of Portland.

    LAIKA is currently in production on Coraline a stop-motion feature being directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach). Based on the international bestselling children’s novel by Neil Gaiman, the fantasy pic will feature the voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher and the British comedy duo French and Saunders.

    Animator and writer Jorgen Klubien is directing Jack & Ben’s Animated Adventure, which is described as a heartwarming story of brotherly love set in the animal kingdom. LAIKA plans to have the film ready for distribution in 2009. The company has also acquired film rights to U.K. writer/illustrator Alan Snow’s bestselling series of children’s novels, Here Be Monsters.

    Leased from the Con-way Group, the new production space is located just two blocks from LAIKA’s current headquarters. The building will house the entire Jack & Ben crew, including animators, until the new animation campus opens in 2008.

  • Meet Your Pitch Party Winners!

    The network execs voted. Our staff voted. You voted! Now we have the results of the 5th Annual Animation Magazine Pitch Party! Thousands of votes have been calculated and we are proud to announce this year’s winners, including our grand prize finalist who will be given the chance to pitch to the judge of their choice and perhaps become the next big thing in animation.

    For their top pick, our judging panel of industry execs chose Happy-go-Lucky from pitcher Heath Cecere of Los Angeles. Cecere’s ad promotes the project as ‘The delightful stories of a boy named Happy, a dog named Lucky ‘ and how they’re both neither.’ DIC Ent. chief creative officer Michael Maliani notes that it could be a hard sell, but likes the humor potential. [adult swim] director of development Nick Weidenfeld likes the character design, while the slightly dark, goth artwork got the attention of Kids’ WB! senior VP/GM Betsy McGowen and Jetix Europe senior VP of programming Michael Lekes. Gotham Group founder and CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein also likes the art and finds the premise fun, while Spawn creator and toy tycoon Todd McFarlane comments, ‘Nice play on words. Going against type has a potential. I’d like to see a better LOGO.’

    McFarlane no doubt gave high marks to Monster in a Box, created by Brian Smith and produced by EggPlant, Prods. of Toronto. Placing second with the judges, the series of two-minute shorts has various poor saps opening the box and unleashing wild, unpredictable, destructive and disgusting hilarity. ‘Imaginative idea!’ says Goldsmith-Vein.

    The third-place winner is Surgeon Sturgeon from Academy of Art University grad Leo Antolini of San Francisco. However, most of the judges found this one to be more appropriate for adult audiences. Radar Cartoons exec producer Rita Street noted, ‘It’s super hard to sell an adult comedy show, but this one, if it’s well-written, might have a chance. I like that it appears to be a super over-the-top soap opera.’ Antolini won the top prize in last year’s Pitch Party with Edgar & Kipp.

    Animation Magazine employees liked Surgeon Sturgeon even more, making it the No.1 staff pick. We all agreed that the retro art style is fun and concept has the protential of being the next SpongeBob SquarePants if tailored to appeal to both kids and adults. Placing second with the staff is Happy-go-Lucky, while third place came out a tie between Out of Order from Ben Bayouth, Gabe Barrere and Dillon Oleata, and Piddles & Chubba, also from Heath Cecere (Happy-go-Lucky).

    Online reader votes favored Grandpa from Samuel T. Nelson. The adventures of an elderly gentleman with ‘nutty squirrels and a mean ol’ wife’ took top honors, followed by Buck Woodall’s Bucky & The Hui, about a surfing karate kid living in Hawaii. Getting the third highest amount of online votes is Alice Lin’s Best Enemies, in which a cat named Pumpkin tries to be friends with fellow cat Fetti, who wants Pumpkin dead.

    Congratulations to all of our 2006 Pitch Party winners! We hope to hear great news from you down the road, and wish all of our participants much success in their animation adventures. To see all of this year’s pitches, go to www.animationmagazine.net/pitch_party_06_vote.html, or pick up the August issue of Animation Magazine, coming soon to Barnes & Noble and other fine booksellers.

  • Sith Named Year’s Best License

    Lucasfilm Ltd.’s Star Wars: Episode III ‘ Revenge of the Sith was named Overall Best License of the Year at last night’s International Licensing Excellence Awards gala, which wrapped up the 2006 Licensing Int’l expo in New York City. Toys and other consumer products based on the latest installment in George Lucas’ space opera have been extremely popular with both kids and adult collectors, contributing to Hasbro’s win for Best Film, TV, Entertainment Licensee in the Hard Goods category.

    Nickelodeon’s popular animated preschool series Dora the Explorer was also a big winner, taking Best Film, TV, Entertainment Brand License and earning Kids Headquarters the award for Best Film, TV, Entertainment Brand Licensee’Soft Goods.

    Disney’s Cinderella proved its evergreen appeal by winning Best Character Brand License, while Best Character Brand Licensee went to CSS Industries for Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head hard goods and to Jerry Leigh Apparel for It’s Happy Bunny soft goods.

    Best Corporate Brand License was awarded to Crayola (Binney Smith, Inc./Nancy Bailey Associates, Inc.). The year’s top corporate licensees are Fisher-Price Inc. for Cadillac Escalade (hard goods) and Mighty Fine for Ford (soft goods).

    Digital Blue was named Best Sports Brand Licensee for products based on pro skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, who has conquered the video game market and will soon be the star of a direct-to-video animated feature from IDT Ent. and Mainframe. Meanwhile, Best Sports Brand License was give to Brandgenuity’s World Poker Tour.

    Hot Topic claimed the award for Best Retailer for its sales of merchandise based on the hit comedy Napoleon Dynamite, while The Andy Warhol Foundation and The Beanstalk Group LLC’s Andy Warhol brand took top honors in the Art category. Rounding out the list of winners are Sesame Workshop and Sunkist, whose Healthy Habits for Life was named Best Promotion of the Year.

  • Diego is Go for Season Two

    After a successful first season on Nick Jr., the preschool series Go, Diego, Go! has received the green light for a second batch of episodes. A spin-off of the wildly popular Dora the Explorer, the show chronicling the adventures of wildlife rescuer Diego will continue with 20 new half-hour installments slated to begin airing on Nick Jr. this October.

    Go Diego Go! is created and is exec produced by the Dora team of Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh. In each episode, Diego receives a call for help at his Animal Rescue Center in the rainforest. With help from his friends, high-tech gadgets and viewers at home, he identifies and locates the animal in trouble and the adventure begins. Diego’s famous cousin, Dora, also makes guest appearances in the series, which debuted in September of 2005 and quickly became one fo the top preschool shows on commercial TV.

    The voice of Diego is provided by Jake T. Austin, who can also be heard in Warner Bro. animated feature The Ant Bully, which hits theaters on July 28 and features the voices of Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep. The Diego cast also includes Oscar-nominated actress Rosie Perez as Click, a high-tech camera with a knack for locating lost animals.

    Go, Diego, Go! airs regularly at 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. (ET/PT) weekdays on Nick Jr. and weekends on CBS. Nick Jr. is a specially designed preschool programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

  • HIT, Sparrowhawk Plan Euro Kid Net

    HIT Ent. has announced plans to launch a European kids network with help from Sparrowhawk Media, the parent company of Hallmark International. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new children’s programming entity is scheduled to debut within 18 months and will be headed by former Fox Kids Europe CEO Bruce Steinberg.

    The yet unnamed kids channel will be akin to PBS KIDS Sprout, a 24-hour preschool television network launched in the U.S. last September by HIT, PBS, Comcast Corp. and Sesame Workshop. That venture features such HIT animated series as Bob the Builder, Barney & Friends, Thomas & Friends, Angelina Ballerina and Pingu.

    Though HIT is based in the U.K., the new network will reportedly avoid the local market, which has been deemed too saturated with children’s content already. HIT will, however, release its feature-length Bob the Builder movie in the U.K. through Odeon Cinemas, which will give the film a limited run.

  • Patlabor 2 Bound for DVD

    Image Ent. Inc. and Bandai Visual USA Inc. are bringing the 1993 anime favorite Patlabor 2 The Movie to DVD on July 11. The film will be available as both a single-disc release and a limited-run, two-disc collector’s edition packed with bonus materials and featuring new cover art created by noted illustrator Yutaka Izubuchi, the mechanical designer of the Patlabor movies.

    Patlabor 2 was directed by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost In The Shell, Jin-Roh, Avalon) and written by Kazunori Ito (.hack//, Avalon). The story takes place three years after the events of the first film, finding police commanders Ki’ichi Gotoh and Shinobu Nagumo enlisted in the hunt for Tsuge, a rogue officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces connected with an escalating wave of terrorist attacks. As the fear of terror in Tokyo slowly brings about the end of democracy and the beginning of martial law, the investigation takes a darker turn when a shadowy military and political coalition is implicated in a terror strike that shatters the Bay Bridge.

    The collector’s edition will have a limited run of only 10,000 units. The freshly remastered anamorphic transfer of the film will be available in both Japanese (with optional English subtitles) and in English with newly dubbed voiceovers. The second disc will offer a behind-the-scenes documentary titled The Making of Patlabor 2 The Movie in Japanese with English subtitles. The movie will also be packaged with two books. The first will feature 144 of pages of exposition, interviews, criticism, key animation drawing samples and additional information about the film, while the second will showcase the director’s storyoard over 300 pages. The limited edition will list for $89.99, and the single-disc version will retail for $29.99.

  • Animation Art on Block in L.A.

    Original animation art from such classic series as Woody Woodpecker and Auggie Doggie will be among the entertainment memorabillia items up for bid on June 25 and 26 at Bonhams & Butterfields in Los Angeles. The two-day event will feature nearly 350-lots, including rare and treasured cartoon imagery from major studios and master illustrators.

    Collectors can bid on a pair of 1928 Disney Studios drawings depicting Minnie and Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie, the film tat introduced the famous Mouse House mascot. Another early Disney lot on the block features a watercolor-on-paper production background from the 1929 film The Karnival Kid, the first film in which Mickey spoke. Fans will also find items from Fantasia, Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Dumbo, Pinocchio and others.

    In addition to classic Disney artwork and other cartoon items from the 1920s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, the auction will spotlight cels from Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera favorites, as well as FOX’s The Simpsons and other contemporary animated series. Exhibits and previews of the lots open in Los Angeles on June 23, and the illustrated catalog is available online at www.bonhams.com/us.

  • Small World Toys with Seuss

    Specialty toy manufacturer Small World Toys has secured a licensing agreement with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and plans to make products for infants, toddlers and preschoolers available in practically every U.S. toy, book and gift retailer in 2007. The announcement was made by Small World CEO Debra Fine at the 2006 Licensing Int’l show in New York.

    ‘We really took our time finding the right partner to create product with this license,” says Susan Brandt, exec VP of licensing and marketing for Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P. “We looked at all the obvious and some of the not-so-obvious manufacturers. Small World Toys was clearly the best partner for us to develop infant and developmental toys for this category.’

    Small World Toys previously met success with product lines based on the works of children’s author Eric Carle (Do you Want to Be My Friend?, Eric Carle’s Very Little Library), and will and soon to be released items based on books by Karen Katz (Where is Baby’s Mommy?, Daddy and Me). According to Fine, the company’s mission is to create toys that nurture the minds, bodies and spirits of children.

    The Dr. Seuss product line from Small World Toys will include Hear and Now Cubes, a Touch-and-Rhyme Block, a 1 Fish, 2 Fish chunky puzzle, a 3D Cat in the Hat puzzle, a Seussical plush Horton, Deedledude Sneeches, Yertle the Turtle plush stackers and a Green Eggs and Ham Melamine dinnerware set.

  • Cosgrove Animates Missing Dr. Whos

    As the BBC dusted off old episodes of the original Doctor Who series for DVD release, it was discovered that more than 100 episodes had somehow vanished from the archives. Manchester-based animation house was then called in to recreate two lost installments with animation.

    Working with BBC Interactive Drama and Entertainment, Cosgrove Hall animated lead actor Patrick Troughton and the rest of the cast in black and white using the original soundtracks, which did survive. The recreated episodes are from the 1968 Cyberman story thread, ‘The Invasion.’ Sophie Walpole, head of BBC Interactive Drama and Entertainment, notes that the decision to fill in those gaps was influenced by the popularity of the all-new Doctor Who series, which airs on BBC in the U.K. and SCI FI Channel in the U.S.

    “In the year that the Cybermen have returned to Doctor Who, it seemed a good idea to complete one of their finest outings from the 1960s,’ Walpole says. ‘The original two episodes of the series are lost forever but we have found a unique and innovative way of presenting this classic adventure by lovingly restoring the soundtrack and setting it to new animation. It’s a gripping adventure which still remains faithful to the original.”

    Cosgrove Hall’s Steve Maher served as lead animator on the project. ‘Working in black-and-white animation is dramatic and graphic,’ he comments. ‘It gave us the opportunity to employ the kind of noir lighting that only really works without color. It’s a slightly surreal experience using digital technology to recreate the visual qualities inherent in a TV show from , but a treat was Patrick Troughton’s Doctor . He has a wonderfully animatable face, so he was a gift. ‘

    Maher and crew employed keyframed traditional animation and also shot digital reference video that they then rotoscoped to achieve more realistic movement in certain scenes. Cosgrove had previously worked on the 40th anniversary Doctor Who story, developing techniques that would be significantly improved with ‘The Invasion’

    Doctor Who: The Invasion will be available on DVD in November. A sneak preview can be downloaded at www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2006/06/20/33077.shtml.

  • Murphy to Voice Tinker Bell

    Actress Brittany Murphy, best known by toon fans for her work as Luanne on FOX’s King of the Hill, has been cast as the voice of Peter Pan’s pixie pal in Tinker Bell, an all-new, CG-animated feature. The film will be released in the fall of 2007 by DisneyToon Studios and Walt Disney Home Entertainment as part of the new Disney Fairies franchise, which launched with a successful publsihing program in September of 2005.

    Murphy’s will be the first voice ever given to Tinker Bell, who has been a silent character up to this point. As the star of her own movie, the sassy sprite will introduce kids to her secret, magical world of Pixie Hollow and a new circle of enchanting fairy friends.

    Disney Consumer Products is supporting the Disney Fairies property with a series of best-selling chapter books, small dolls, role-play items, a Disney Fairies magazine launch in Europe and a multi-category product launch scheduled for spring, 2007. Speaking at the 2006 Licensing Int’l expo in New York this week, DCP chairman Andy Mooney expressed confidence that retail sales for the current fiscal year would reach $23 billion, an increase of 10% over last year.

  • Avatar Renewed for Third Season

    Nickelodeon has ordered another 20 episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, insuring a third season of the popular, anime-inspired series from creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The new batch of installments set to go into production will bring the show’s episode total to 60.

    Produced at the Nicktoons Studios in Burbank, Calif., Avatar: The Last Airbender centers on Aang, a fun-loving 12-year-old who must forego a normal life in order to master his latent powers over the four elements. Aided by a protective teenage Waterbender named Katara and her bull-headed warrior brother, Sokka, Aang proceeds on a perilous journey to save the world while sometimes shaking off his heavy responsibilities so that he can enjoy being a kid.

    ‘Avatar continues to be one of our top shows with kid and tween audiences who keep tuning in for the layered storylines and incredible, animated martial arts,’ says Marjorie Cohn, exec VP of development and original programming for Nickelodeon. ‘In season three, Aang will confront his biggest enemy yet along with Katara and Sokka, and meet his destiny by facing the evil Fire Lord at last.’

    ‘When we came up with the original concept for the show, we intended Aang’s first journey to culminate by facing the Fire Lord in the third season,’ notes Konietzko, who previously served as assistant director for the Film Roman series Mission Hill and King of the Hill. ‘We’re excited that we will be able to complete that original vision for the series and allow Aang to meet his fate,’ adds DiMartino, also a former Film Roman director.

    On Friday, July 14, Nickelodeon will air The Fury of Ang, an hour-long animated movie that has our heroes travel to a spirit library in the middle of the desert, where Sokka hopes to discover powerful secrets to use against the Fire Nation. Along the way, something is taken from Aang that causes the Avatar to become angrier than ever before.

  • DIC, AOL Form Partnership

    DIC Ent. is expanding its new CBS Saturday morning programming block into cyberspace through a partnership with AOL’s kids’ division, KOL. DIC and KOL will co-produce online and on-air content for KOL’s Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party on CBS, which will go live on Sept. 16.

    KOL and DIC will develop a website around Secret Slumber Party programs, which include new toon series Horseland, Kooky Kitchen and Littlest Pet Shop, as well as established favorites Sabrina: The Animated Series, Trollz and Madeline. The interactive destination for kids will also offer special online content including games, program clips and behind-the-scenes features. In addition, KOL will create healthy eating public service announcements featuring its popular animated character, Princess Natasha.

    Among the other new programs to benefit from the DIC/KOL cross-promotional program is Dance Revolution, a live-action series inspired by Konami’s hit video game franchise, Dance Dance Revolution. The entities are also in development on programming for the 2007 season.

  • Surf’s Up for Sony and Jakks Pacific

    Through a new licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP), JAKKS Pacific will produce and distribute toys and leisure products based on the upcoming animated feature film, Surf’s Up. Slated to arrive in theaters on June 8, 2007, the penguin surfing comedy will be Sony Pictures Animation’s second feature effort after Open Season, which bows on Sept. 29 of this year.

    The agreement covers products in various categories, including plush dolls, action figures, playsets, role play items, remote control vehicles, kites and water toys. The line will begin rolling out at retail in the U.S. and Canada in the spring of 2007.

    Directed by Toy Story 2 co-director Ash Brannon and Tarzan helmer Chris Buck, Surf’s Up tells the story of Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf), a surfing penguin who leaves his home in Shiverpool, Antarctica to enter the Big Z Memorial Surf Off on the island of Pen Gu. However, his dreams of fame and fortune come into question when he meets a washed-up old surfer named The Geek (voiced by Jeff Bridges), who teaches him that the greatest champion isn’t always the one who comes in first. The film also features the voices of Zooey Deschanel, James Woods, Jon Heder, Diedrich Bader and Mario Cantone.