Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Disney Sends Pics to Vietnam

    Buena Vista International (BVI) will distribute the upcoming Pixar toon, Cars, and other highly anticipated motion pictures in Vietnam through MegaStar Joint Venture Company Ltd., a joint venture between Envoy Media Partners and Phuong Nam Corp. Disney sees Vietnam as a dynamic, growing market and looks forward to having its films run in the nation’s first eight-screen multiplex, which MegaStar will open in late April.

    MegaStar has offices in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and will be run in Vietnam by Lim Eng Hee and overseen by Tony Manne, based in the U.S. In addition to Cars, the company will handle the Vietnamese roll-outs of such Disney pics as Eight Below, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and the eagerly awaited sequel Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest.

  • Jetix Europe Has Job for Captain Flamingo

    Jetix Europe has picked up various rights to Breakthrough Ent.’s and Heroic Film Co.’s new animated kids’ show, Captain Flamingo. The deal covers television distribution, pay TV, home video and consumer products activities for Europe and the Middle East, with the exception of Spain and Portugal. Buena Vista International Television will service distribution of TV rights to the series on behalf of Jetix Europe.

    A YTV Canada original production, Captain Flamingo follows the adventures of Milo Powell, a small boy who dons a terrycloth cape and a big beak to fight for justice for little kids everywhere. Giving him some much-needed but secretive help Lizabeth, the girl next door who’s totally in love with him. The show is packaged as a series of 52 11-minute episodes.

    Created by John May and Suzanne Bolch and developed with Breakthrough Animation managing partner Kevin Gillis and Rob Davies of Atomic Cartoons, Captain Flamingo is a co-production of Breakthrough Animation, Heroic Film Co., Atomic Cartoons and Philippine Animators Group.

    The acquisition of Captain Flamingo is part of Jetix Europe’s quest to bring more comedy and short-form offerings to a platform that has been largely devoted to half-hour boys’ action franchises.

    Philippine Animators Group holds television rights for Captain Flamingo in Asia, while Breakthrough Ent. retains rights for all remaining global territories. French cable and satellite rights were recently picked up by TPS TELETOON.

  • Academy to Screen VFX Pix

    The Los Angeles-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a salute to ‘Movie Magic’ with a series of films known for groundbreaking visual effects and other technological innovations. Presented by the organization’s Science and Technology Council, the program will kick off on Wednesday, May 10, with a screening of the effects-laden 1939 disaster flick, The Rains Came. The series will continue into June with 1929 sound pioneer Applause, the 1982 computer graphics extravaganza Tron and 1935’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which won a Oscar for cinematography.

    Known for its spectacular monsoon and earthquake sequences, The Rains Came won the first Academy Award given in the Special Effects category. E. H. Hanson and Fred Sersen were honored for both sound and visual effects. Academy Governor Craig Barron, who represents the Visual Effects branch, will introduce a newly restored print of the film on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

    A more recent pioneer in the area of visual effects, Disney’s Tron used computer-generated imagery to create a virtual world that exists inside an arcade video game. Oscar nominee Bill Kroyer (Technological Threat) will introduce a 70mm print of the film and moderate a discussion with the film’s visual effects supervisor, Richard Taylor, and director Steve Lisberger.

    The Samuel Goldwyn Theater at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills will host all 7:30 p.m. screenings except for Applause, which will screen in The Linwood Dunn Theater at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Tickets for each show are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with valid IDs. They may be purchased in advance by mail, in person at the Academy’s headquarters in Beverly Hills during regular business hours, or on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 310-247-3600.

  • Mozilla Honors Toons with Firefox Flicks

    Mozilla Corp., the company behind the popular Firefox web browser, has announced the winners of its first user-generated short film contest, Firefox Flicks. From a field of 300 submissions, the company singled out two animated entries and three live-action shorts for recognition last week at the San Francisco Int’l Film Festival.

    Firefox enthusiast Jeff Gill took second place in the contest with Wheee!, a short that animates well-known logos to lampoon Firefox competitors Netscape and Internet Explorer. Meanwhile, an honorable mention went to Danny Robashkin’s This is Hot, a CG-animated spot that has Eskimos heating up their chilly surroundings by surfing the web with Firefox.

    The Grand Prize was awarded to Daredevil by Pete Macomber, a Venice, Calif.-based filmmaker who works in music videos and commercials. The documentary-style slice of life featuring a young girl whose “other browser is a surfboard,” was obviously chosen for its slick production values. The winning entries will be used as part of Mozilla’s 2006 marketing activities.

    Entries were judged by a panel of professionals from the entertainment and advertising industries, including talent behind the HBO series Six Feet Under and Charlie’s Angels and American Pie film franchises. Mozilla announced the winners following a screening of selected Firefox Flicks and a panel discussion on the emergence of community-powered video on the Web.

    To view the Firefox Flicks videos, go to http://www.firefoxflicks.com. Firefox is available as a free download at www.getfirefox.com or through the Mozilla Store at http://www.mozillastore.com.

  • Ice Age Still Hot Overseas

    Ice Age: The Meltdown from 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Animation ruled the overseas box office for the fifth straight weekend, earning an estimated $25.3 million in 61 territories, according to The Hollywood Reporter. To date, the animated sequel has raked in more than $350 million in foreign markets. With the estimated $177 it’s earned domestically, the $80 million film has generated more than half a billion dollars worldwide since its March release.

    This past weekend, Meltdown reportedly claimed the No. 1 spot in Australia, France, Italy, the U.K. and 12 other territories. Despite tough competition from hit domestic toon Asterix and the Vikings from M6, the French have collectively plunked down approximately $38.6 million to witness the return of Manny the Mammoth and pals. Meanwhile, the Japanese basically said ‘no thanks,’ adding just $2.8 million to the film’s fund over the past two weeks.

    The first Ice Age, released in March of 2002, captured $206 million in foreign receipts to drive its worldwide take to around $382 million. The sequel is closing in on the impressive overseas cume of Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc., and has surpassed DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 in foreign ticket sales, though the second coming of the big, green ogre pulled in a whopping $920 worldwide.

    Disney’s The Wild, which has rolled out in about half of the international markets, has offered little toon competition overseas, taking in just $22.5 million to date. Meltdown will instead get a run for its money from the Paramount action sequel Mission: Impossible III, opening worldwide this weekend.

  • Kidtoon Films Program Expands

    Motion picture exhibitor National Amusements Inc. has come aboard the Kidtoon Films program, which features a G-rated film every Saturday and Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. in select U.S. theatres. Rolling out in National Amusements’ Cinema de Lux, Showcase and Multiplex Cinemas, the program will offer a dozen animated films in 2006, starting this month with She-Ra, Princess of Power in The Secret of the Sword. New titles will arrive each month, accompanied by a parental guidance review written by children’s media professional Dr. Donna Mitroff.

    National Amusements operates more than 1,500 screens in the U.S., U.K., Latin America and Russia. The company also offers other family-friendly initiatives, including Bookworm Wednesdays, a summer reading program, and Baby Pictures, a theatre-going experience designed for parents of infants.

    Future Kidtoon Films features include the CG-animated Arthur’s Missing Pal, the Strawberry Shortcake “Sweet Dreams” movie and My Little Pony: The Runaway Rainbow. Parents can sign up for a monthly newsletter providing information about upcoming films or access the information on Kidtoonfilms.com. Tickets for all performances can be purchased in advance at the theatre, by phone or online at www.national-amusements.com.

    Kidtoon Films is a subsidiary of Sabella Dern Ent. Inc., a property creation and animation studio that develops, enhances and brands global intellectual properties. For more information, go to www.kidtoonfilms.com

  • Namco Bandai Unveils Next-Gen Games

    Namco Bandai Games America Inc. today announced its lineup of next generation video games to be revealed at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The new console offerings will include extensions of signature franchises and brand-new properties designed to take advantage of the graphics processing power of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii.

    PlayStation 3 users will get to duke it out with Tekken 6 and get behind the wheel for Ridge Racer 7, while owners of the Xbox 360 console will be able to enlist in Mobile Ops: The One Year War, a mech-action game an online gameplay component. Also slated to hit the new Xbox machine is the latest installment in the popular card battle franchise Culdcept Saga, which will also feature online battle via Xbox Live.

    Namco Hometek Inc. and Bandai Games Inc. officially merged in January of this year, bringing together such popular franchises as Pac-Man, Tamagotchi, SoulCalibur, Naruto an Inuyasha. The integrated company makes its home at Namco’s Santa Clara, Calif., facility and operates under new president and CEO Genichi Ito. For more information on Namco Bandai Games America Inc. and its products, log onto www.namcobandaigames.com.

  • More Toons Set for Cannes

    Joining DreamWorks’ Over the Hedge and Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly at this years Cannes Film Festival are Zentropa’s Princess and Nord-Ouest Prods.’ Azur and Asmar, the latest film from acclaimed French director Michel Ocelot. Both films will be included in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar.

    Princess, an anime-style adult toon from Danish writer/director Anders Morgenthaler (The Nelly Nut Show, Araki), will kick off the Director’s Fortnight screenings on May 18. Trust Film Sales is handling international sales for the film, in which a missionary priest abandons his profession to avenge the death of his porn star sister.

    Ocelot’s Azur and Asmar employs African-style art to tell the story of two boys’one Muslim and one Christian’whose friendship is threatened by cultural and socio-economic differences in the ancient Orient. The bilingual fable is told with a combination of French and Arabic. Ocelot’s latest animated film, Kirikou and the Wild Beasts, has been a major hit in France since its release last year.

    More films to be included in the sidebar are scheduled to be announced on Tuesday. For a complete list of official selections and more details on the 59th annual Cannes Film Festival, go to www.festival-cannes.fr.

  • Game Art Picked for E3 Exhibit

    A total of 16 pieces of video game art have been selected for inclusion in the third annual ‘Into the Pixel’ exhibition, which will be on display during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles next month. A panel of judges from E3, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and the Prints & Drawings Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) chose to recognize artwork from such titles as Monster House from THQ, God of War from Sony Computer Entertainment America, The Godfather from Electronic Arts, Stranglehold from Midway Games and The Witcher, an upcoming game from CD Projekt.

    Scheduled for release on PC in the spring of 2007, The Witcher will transport players to the fantasy world created by celebrated author Andrzej Sapkowski. As legendary monster slayer Geralt of Rivia, players will engage in classic role-playing with real-time combat elements mixed in. The ‘Into the Pixel’ exhibit will display image titled ‘The Road,’ created by concept artist Damian Bajowski.

    One of Eastern Europe’s largest game distributors, CD Projekt specializes in localization and publishing of role-playing games. With offices in Warsaw and Prague, the company has brought such hits as Baldur’s Gate, Diablo, Neverwinter Nights and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind to the Polish market. In September of 2003, the company announced The Witcher as the first project for its internal development unit, CD Projekt RED. For more information on the game, go to www.thewitcher.com.

    Other games to be represented in the art show are 10TACLE Studios’s Elveon, Big House Games/Microsoft’s Rise of Legends, Midway Games’ Project Assassin, FreeStyleGames/Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s B-Boy, Lexus Numerique’s Evidence: The Last Ritual, Areanet’s Guildwars, Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Buena Vista Games’ Turok, Bizarre Creations/Microsoft’s Project Gotham Racing 3 and Human Head Studios’ Prey.

    Presented by Turner’s GameTap, ‘Into the Pixel’ offers videogame artists an opportunity to receive recognition for from their peers in both the digital and fine art worlds. The E3 exhibit will be open to attendees in the Concourse Foyer of the Los Angeles Convention Center May 10-12. All of the selected art from last year’s exhibit can be seen online at www.intothepixel.com/view-art.php?year=2005.

  • ILL Clan Spoofs Nintendo’s Wii

    Nintendo yesterday announced that its next-generation console, developed under the codename ‘Revolution,’ will officially be called ‘Wii,’ and today there’s already an animated Internet short making fun of it. The 30-second machinima toon was produced by New York based animation studio ILL Clan Inc. and is an unscheduled episode of the group’s bi-weekly gaming news and talk-show, TrashTalk.

    ILL Clan’s animated “Gaming News Alert” features characters ILL Will and Mal Content in a fast-paced “Who’s on first”-style send-up of the console’s name. ‘This was too good to pass up,” says ILL Clan co-founder Matt Dominianni, who directed the short. “We saw the gaming community talking a lot about this today, and our technique allowed us to create an animated response almost immediately.”

    Part of an ever-growing community of machinima artists, The ILL Clan uses video game engines to create their animation. The studio’s work has been featured on MTV2, SpikeTV and as part of an ad campaign for the Audi A3. To watch the Wii spoof, go to http://trashtalk.illclan.com/trashTalkAlert01.php. The ILL Clan homepage is located at www.illclan.com and more information on machinima is available at www.machinima.org.

  • Marvel Taps Elf, Shaun Directors

    As Marvel Studios continues to line up talent to bring its aggressive slate of independently produced comic book-based feature films to the big screen, the company has hired director/actor/writer Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathura:A Space Adventure) to helm long-gestating celluloid treatment of Iron Man. In addition, Shaun of the Dead writer/director Edgar Wright has signed on to co-write and direct Ant Man, while a number of other screenwriters take whacks at such Marvel properties as The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Nick Fury and Thor.

    In addition to directing Iron Man, Favreau will develop the script with the writing team of Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway (Convoy). Nick Cassavetes, director of The Notebook and She’s So Lovely (and son of legendary indie filmmaker John Cassavetes) was previously attached to direct the film, and actor Tom Cruise was at one time considering the starring role. Screenplays have already been drafted by Smallville scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, as well as X-Men writer David Hayter.

    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. Marvel will release the film through distribution partner Paramount Pictures.

    Wright is currently following up his hugely successful zombie spoof, Shaun of the Dead, with a cop comedy titled Hot Fuzz, which will reunite members of the Shaun cast. He will work with writing partner Joe Cornish on the script for Ant Man, a cult-favorite comic book series about an electronics expert who can shrink to the size of an insect and communicate with ants via a telepathic, cybernetic helmet. Wright will co-produce with his Big Talk Prods. partner, Nira Park.

    Zak Penn, who previously collaborated with Marvel on scripts for X2: X-Men United, Fantastic Four and the upcoming X-Men: The Last Stand, will write a new Incredible Hulk film. Under Marvel’s arrangement with Universal, Marvel will develop and produce the major theatrical release and Universal will retain various distribution rights. It’s unclear at this point if the film will be a sequel to Universal’s poorly received Hulk movie from a few years ago, or a brand-new interpretation.

    After a terribly botched 1991 attempt, Captain America will get another shot at feature filmdom with writer David Self (Thirteen Days, Road to Perdition) attached. Before taking on the all-American super soldier, Self did a good deal of script doctoring for a number of studios and worked with Marvel on Namor, the Sub-Mariner for Universal, and Deathlok for Paramount.

    Another Marvel superhero with military roots, super spy Nick Fury, will be adapted for the screen by scribe Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One, End of Days, Hollow Man). Meanwhile, Mark Protosevich, who wrote the upcoming big-budget summer release, Poseidon, will hammer out a script for Thor. Marvel’s take on the legendary Norse god of thunder has appeared in made-for-TV Incredible Hulk movies but hasn’t been seen much outside of the animation realm.

    Buoyed by a $525 million revolving film-financing facility, Marvel is negotiating with other talent and visual effects houses to help realize its new slate of productions. Additional financing will come from Marvel’s overall distribution arrangement with Paramount. The projects will be shepherded and produced by Marvel’s president of production, Kevin Feige, and VP of Production Ari Arad. Marvel hopes to have its first release in theaters in 2008.

  • Legend of the Dragon Rides on Jetix

    Legend of the Dragon, an animated action series from global animation company BKN International AG, will air seven days a week during the Jetix action-adventure programming block in the U.S. The show will join the lineup on October 7, greatly enhancing its exposure to the target audience of kids 8-12.

    Legend of the Dragon is produced and created by Rick Ungar (Biker Mice from Mars), and written and developed by Sean Catherine Derek. The series is set in China, a land of ancient mysteries and modern wonders where old meets new, dark meets light and the universal balance of Yin and Yang is held in harmony by The Golden Dragon. When the guardian of the temple passes on, a new Golden Dragon must be chosen from a brother and sister, twins born in the Year of the Dragon.

    The Jetix pickup will certainly help BKN’s licensing program for the series. ‘Jetix is a top-rated action-adventure programming block and will serve as a significant cornerstone of our extensive branding and media initiatives,’ comments Joy Tashjian, president of JTMG, which handles all licensing and merchandising for the property in North America. ‘With the Grand Toys line and Games Factory PlayStation video game launching in fall, we expect to soon announce a number of new licensees.’

    BKN’s library of animated properties includes UBOS, Kong: The Animated Series, Kong: King of Atlantis, Kong II – Return to the Jungle, Roswell Conspiracies, Shanghai Tiger, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Pocket Dragon Adventures and Highlander: The Animated Series. Series in development and production include Dork Hunters from Outer Space, coming this fall, and Zorro: Generation Z, slated to debut in 2007.

  • Disney Toons Phoned in to India

    The Walt Disney Co. this week began offering 30-second animated series for cell phones in India, according to Daily Variety. Disney Mobile Theater, a venture with telco Airtel, will also offer animated icons and wallpapers featuring Disney characters, as well as ring tones and games. The relationship is the first between an Indian mobile carrier and Walt Disney Internet Group, which has mobile content deals in place in 12 Asia-Pacific territories including China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. Users in India can download the Disney ‘mobisodes’ for 33′ each, while Java games can run as high as $2.20 apiece.

  • LucasArts Brings euphoria to Indiana

    With our coverage of this year’s Game Developer’s Conference, we brought you word that Naturalmotion had introduced euphoria, a new character animation tool designed for use in video games. Now Naturalmotion informs us that LucasArts has adopted the behavioral simulation engine for use in Indiana Jones‘ first expedition on Microsoft’s Xbox 360. As one of only two publishers with early access to the run-time animation technology, LucasArts is well advanced in integrating euphoria into the 2007 release.

    For the first time ever, characters in a video game will move, act and even think like actual human beings without the limitations of traditional game animation, according to Naturalmotion. Indie and his foes will all adapt realistically to their given situations on the fly, resulting in unique gameplay moments that will never be repeated. On a swaying rope bridge, for instance, characters will attempt to balance themselves, stumbling and grasping for stability as they try to reach the other side before plummeting to their doom. The action isn’t scripted, so the possibility that some characters may fall victim to the physics engine lends a level of unpredictibility to the game.

    ‘With euphoria, A.I. drives character behaviors so that there’s a different payoff every time,’ says Peter Hirschmann, VP of product development at LucasArts. ‘The depth of this character interaction gives us true next-gen gameplay that you simply couldn’t do with earlier generations of hardware.’ Hirschmann notes that LucasArts has been working with NaturalMotion since 2004 to help bring their groundbreaking technology to games.

    ‘LucasArts is an excellent partner with a real passion to raise the bar for next-gen games, and we look forward to working with them to apply euphoria technology to its games for years to come,’ adds NaturalMotion CEO Torsten Reil.

    NaturalMotion is the first company to create 3D character animation software based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS), a technology that utilizes adaptive behaviors and artificial intelligence to simulate the human nervous system. The company’s first product, endorphin, synthesizes off-line 3D character animation in real time and has rapidly become a tool of choice for many leading games and visual effects artists. NaturalMotion’s euphoria will be demonstrated by LucasArts when it debuts its next-gen Indiana Jones game at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, Calif., taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 10-12.

  • SCI FI Greenlights Galactica Prequel

    SCI FI Channel’s Upfront presentation to advertisers in New York unveiled plans to spin a new series off the hit Battlestar Galactica revival. Titled Caprica, the show will go back half a century before the events depicted in Galactica. Development is being spearheaded by Galactica exec producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, writer Remi Aubuchon (FOX’s 24) and NBC Universal Television Studio.

    In Battlestar Galactica, refugees from a besieged planet journey through space in search of a new home. Caprica will go back to show how the people of the Twelve Colonies had their peaceful lives disrupted by the emergence of the Cylons, the first robots with true artificial intelligence. The series will focus on two families, the Graystones and the Adamas, as they struggle with societal changes, corporate intrigue and sexual politics.

    SCI FI also announced the development of an 8-part limited series titled Motel Man, a one-hour thriller series called Snap and a six-hour miniseries based on Erich von Daniken’s best-selling book, Chariots of the Gods. Described as a cross between The Fugitive and The Twilight Zone, Motel Man from Lionsgate Television will debut in December with the adventures of a detective who uses a motel room key to open a portal to alternate worlds. Snap, from Lost producer Jesse Alexander, will center on a federal agent who takes on a Big Brother-type artificial intelligence. Oscar-winning Rocky producer Irwin Winkler will exec produce Chariots of the Gods, which plays with a theory that Earth was visited by extraterrestrials in ancient times and have been tinkering with human genetics ever since.

  • Lithgow Runs Paloozaville

    Hollywood-based animation design studio 23D Films and production company Weller/Grossman have teamed to produce Paloozaville, an animated/live-action kids series created by and starring actor John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun). The show will be a Kids Club feature on Mag Rack, Rainbow Media’s on-demand television network.

    As the mayor of Paloozaville, Lithgow will lead children in creative projects that can easily be constructed from household items, found objects or inexpensive craft materials. Each episode will feature CG sets and a unique theme inspired by art, history, dance, music, literature or other cultural staples. Explaining the show’s title, Lithgow comments, ‘A plaooza is an invitation to a creative adventure, an activity that keeps kids from uttering those terrifying wrds, ‘I’m bored!”

    Constructing the series’ whimsical virtual sets and animation is the work of 23D Films, which uses Adobe After Effects and various other tools to create architecture, vehicles and landscapes featuring wacky shapes, twisted angles and bright candy colors. ‘We needed the sets to explode with color but not compete with the live-action elements,’ notes 23D Films CEO Joe Russo. ‘Using bright, 2D plates integrated into 3D architecture achieved this in spades.’

    Paloozaville is an extension of Lithgow’s series of Palooza activity books, published by Simon & Schuster. Lithgow has published six best-selling picture books for children and has used his Broadway pipes to produce two CD of children’s songs and perform concerts around the country.

    With the slogan ‘TV for whatever turns you on,’ Mag Rack produces original entertainment exclusively for on-demand service. The network’s other offerings include The New Zoo Revue, So Smart!, Kaitie Brown @ Home, 24seven Gamer, Guitar Xpress, and The Pet Shop with Marc Morrone. More information is available at www.magrack.com. A reel of 23D Film’s work can be found at www.23dfilms.com.

  • Caillou Moving to Germany

    Cookie Jar Ent. has granted brand rights its acclaimed children’s series, Caillou, to leading German broadcaster Super RTL. The network will serve as the exclusive broadcast home for the 20 all-new half-hours of Caillou now in production, and will represent the brand for licensing and merchandising in Germany.

    Based on a series of best-selling children’s books, Caillou revolves around a lovable four-year-old with a unique way of relating to the world, and demonstrates how initial life experiences, no matter how commonplace, can be perceived with wonder and a sense of discovery. The stories address real problems and conflicts that typically arise in a young child’s development.

    Caillou airs daily on PBS KIDS’ Sprout preschool programming block in the U.S., and on TELETOON network in Canada. Other children’s animation brands managed by Cookie Jar Ent. include Arthur and Gerald McBoing Boing.

  • Negadon Gets North American Street Date

    Central Park Media has announced a North American DVD release date for Negadon: The Monster From Mars, the much talked-about, CG-animated Japanese monster movie from writer/director Jun Awazu. The 26-minute flick will get a very limited U.S. theatrical run starting May 9, but most Kaiju and animation fans in the states and Canada will be picking it up on DVD on July 11.

    Negadon pays homage to such movie franchises as Godzilla, Mothra and Gamera, Atomic-age creations that helped pave the way for the success of the Japanese animation industry. While Toho Studios used men in rubber suits for its classic creature flicks, Awazu spent three years creating Negadon entirely in CG. He even invented special rendering algorithms to bring an authentic retro look to the film. Makoto Miyahara performed the animation modeling and Kenjiro Kato served as vfx supervisor.

    Released theatrically in Japan in October of 2005, Negadon won the Outstanding Production Award at the 20th Digital Contents Grand Prix and was named a Jury Recommended Work at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival.

    Read Awazu’s message to North American fans at www.negadonattacks.com/main.html. The site also features a digital positing of our Negadon story that ran in the April issue of Animation Magazine.

  • Filmation’s Flash in BCI’s Pan

    Navarre Corp.’s BCI has picked up home video distribution rights to Filmmation’s animated Flash Gordon series and plans to give the show its maiden DVD launch on July 18. The four-disc Flash Gordon’The Complete Series will feature all 24 episodes that aired from 1979 to 1981. BCI acquired the rights from Hearst Ent. and will release the series under its new ‘Ink & Paint’ banner for animated titles.

    Created by Alex Raymond, the Flash Gordon character first debuted in comic strips in 1934 and went on to appear in serials and feature films, inspiring George Lucas to invent the Star Wars universe. The space-traveling hero returned to the big screen in 1980 while the animated show was reaching a new generation of fans. Another toon series was launched in 1996.

    Flash Gordon’The Complete Series follows the adventures of the heroic Earthman who travels with the lovely Dale Arden and scientist Hans Zarkov to the distant planet of Mongo, where they battle ruthless Emperor Ming the Merciless with the help of Thun, savage leader of the Lion Men, dashing Prince Barin, leader of Arboria, and Vultan, King of the Hawkmen.

    BCI has previously handled the home vid releases of the Filmation series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra. As with those best-selling titles, the Flash Gordon disc will boast a number of special features, including a 20-minute documentary titled Blasting off with Flash Gordon, featuring interviews with creators and historians. There will also be and interactive storyboard-to-animation comparison and commentary by exec producer Lou Scheimer, writer Tom Ruegger, writer Michael Reaves, animator Darrell McNeil and host Andy Mangels on the episodes ‘A Planet in Peril,’ ‘Sir Gremlin’ and ‘Gremlin’s Finest Hour.’ Other extras include an extensive gallery of original model sheets for all main heroes and villains, detailed profiles of various characters, trivia, two collectible 4×6 exclusive Flash Gordon art cards by acclaimed comic artists Frank Cho and Gene Ha, and DVD-ROM scripts, storyboards and the complete series Bible in PDF format. The DVD set will launch in July at the San Diego Comic-Con and will be available for the suggested retail price of $39.98.

  • TV’s Earl is Underdog

    The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Jason Lee, star of hit NBC comedy My Name is Earl, has been cast as the voice of bumbling canine superhero Underdog in Spyglass Ent. and Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action adaptation of the classic cartoon.

    From 1974 to 1973, actor/comedian Wally Cox provided the voice of Underdog and his mild-mannered alter ego, Shoeshine Boy, in the animated series. Underdog always spoke in rhyme while rushing to the rescue of Sweet Polly Purebred and foiling the fiendish plots of mad scientist Simon Bar Sinister.

    Directed by Frederik Du Chau (Racing Stripes), the Underdog movie will have the powerful pooch adopted by a 12-year-old boy, who helps him protect Polly and the good citizens of Capitol City from Sinister, who will be played by Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent). Like Warner Bros.’ Racing Stripes, the big-screen Underdog will employ CG to make a real dog talk, rather than casting a computer-generated character in the title role a la Scooby-Doo.

    Serving as producers for Spyglass Ent. are Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber and Jonathan Glickman, along with Jay Polstein. Overseeing the project for Disney are Nina Jacobson, Brigham Taylor and LouAnne Brickhouse. Exec producer is Eric Ellenbogen, president of MediaClassic Media, which owns rights to the animated Underdog property. Cartoon Network’s Bob Higgins also serves as exec producer, and Erin Stam is overseeing for Spyglass.