Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • [adult swim] Coifs Perfect Hair Forever

    The anime spoof Perfect Hair Forever joins the lineup on Cartoon Network’s [adult swim] block on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 12:30 a.m. The last of five new fall offerings to debut during the late-night toon showcase, the series follows The Boondocks, Squidbillies, Stroker & Hoop and 12 oz. Mouse to the screen.

    Created by Space Ghost Coast to Coast writer/producer Matt Harrigan, Perfect Hair Forever chronicles the adventures of a young, balding boy on a quest for perfect hair in a mystical land. Along the way, Gerald seeks guidance from a pervy old mystic he refers to as ‘Uncle Grandfather,’ and has encounters with a singing hot dog and a tree that tells inappropriate jokes and longs for acceptance.

    [adult swim] viewers were previously introduced to the Flash-animated Perfect Hair Forever in September when it first appeared as a quickly-produced fill-in for the delayed Squidbillies. Based on viewers’ positive reactions, Cartoon Network decided it give it whirl as a full series. The network will initially air six episodes of this latest twisted toon from Williams Street Prods., the small, but prolific, animation shop behind such [adult swim] hits as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and Squidbillies.

  • Cartoon Network Too Coming to U.K.

    Turner Broadcasting has announced plans to roll out the new kids animation channels Cartoon Network TOO and Boomerang +1 in the U.K. next year. Cartoon Network Too will be cross between Cartoon Network and Boomerang, featuring such original properties as Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls, as wells as Hanna-Barbera library classics including Yogi Bear, Wacky Races and Hong Kong Phooey.

    ‘With the largest cartoon library in the world as its basis and having invested an average of $100 million a year on new shows internationally, Cartoon Network has now reached a point in its development where it has a treasure trove of back catalogue content crying out for a channel of its own,’ says Dee Forbes, senior VP and general manager of Turner Broadcasting System U.K. and Ireland.

    Scheduled to launch in 2006, Boomerang +1 will essentially be the same as Boomerang, just set at a one-hour time shift. The network will be dedicated to time-honored favorites including Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry and the Looney Tunes library.

  • Potter Takes on Chicken Little

    Warner Bros.’ eagerly awaited Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire casts its spell over 3,800 theaters today in a bid to end the two-week box office reign of Disney’s animated Chicken Little. Since fans have had to wait two years for this fourth installment of the series based on the popular novels by J.K. Rowling, Goblet may prove to be the most successful of the batch, despite its PG-13 ratings.

    Directed by British filmmaker Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and a Funeral), this latest Harry Potter adventure has the student wizard chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament, a challenging, multi-faceted competition that pits him against representatives from three different wizarding schools. In addition to the tremendous pressure to bring school pride to Hogwarts, Harry must deal with the return of the evil Voldemort in this vfx extravaganza featuring computer animated creatures and other digital wizardry by ILM, The Orphanage, BUF, The Motion Picture Company, Framestore CFC, Rising Sun Pictures, Cinesite, Animal Logic and Double Negative.

    The fantasy pic should easily claim the top spot this weekend since the only other major opener is 20th Century Fox’s Johnny Cash bio pic, Walk the Line. Harry’s biggest competition may come from holdovers. Chicken Little performed well in its second weekend and promises have legs for weeks to come, and Sony Pictures’ Zathura: A Space Adventure could also get a boost from strong word of mouth.

    Get the behind-the-scenes scoop on the visual effects created for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the January issue of Animation Magazine, coming soon to Barnes & Noble and other fine booksellers.

  • Disney’s Meet the Robinsons Goes 3-D

    On the heels of the successful launch of Chicken Little in 3-D, Disney has announced that it will apply the Disney Digital 3-D process to its next computer-animated feature, Meet the Robinsons, which will open in theaters nationwide in December of 2006.

    The Disney Digital 3-D technology allows films to be exhibited in stereoscopic 3-D that requires viewers to don special glasses. The Chicken Little 3-D experience opened in 79 specially equipped theaters and averaged a whopping $26,000 per venue.

    Meet the Robinsons will get a much wider 3-D rollout, hitting between 750 to 1000 screens with Real D capabilities, according to Chuck Viane, president of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. He comments, “Certainly Chicken Little, with its witty story and amazing animation, is a fantastic movie-going experience in any format. However, the box office performance level of the 3-D theaters proves that the public is not only embracing the story but the newest in innovative technology as well. The folks at Dolby, ILM and Real D certainly deserve kudos for their collaboration with us in this revolutionary and highly successful venture.”

    Based on the bestselling book A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce (George Shrinks, Rolie, Polie Olie), Meet the Robinsons tells the story of Lewis, a 12 year-old genius inventor who meets a mysterious boy from the future named Wilbur Robinson. The two travel forward in time and spend a day with Wilbur’s eccentric family, a day that will change Lewis’ life forever. Meet the Robinsons is directed by first-timer Steve Anderson and produced by Dorothy McKim.

  • Ten Toons Compete for Oscar

    The executive committee of the short films and feature animation branch of the Academy has identified ten films eligible to compete in the Best Animated Feature Film category of the 2005 Academy Awards competition. Pics making the first cut include three Disney releases’Chicken Little, Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle, and the Vanguard Animation-produced Valiant. The other contenders are Weinstein Co.’s Hoodwinked!, Fox Animation’s Robots, DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar, Warner Bros.’ Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, Sony Classics’ Steamboy, DreamWorks Animation’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Pentamedia Graphics Ltd.’s Gulliver’s Travel.

    This year’s darkest horse is Gulliver’s Travel, a CG take on Jonathan Swift’s classic political satire about a man who finds himself a giant in the land of Liliput. Indian toon studio Pentamedia Graphics last year took a stab at the Oscar race with its 2D feature effort, The Legend of Buddha.

    Hoodwinked!, Kanbar Ent.’s computer-animated spoof of the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale, opens in roughly 1,800 theaters across North America on Dec. 23. Read about the film’s production in the January issue of Animation Magazine, coming soon to Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. You can also check out the trailer at www.aoltrack.com/r/ca6a5fe600dd49309c7f0d0b5a05f3f6/ and

    www.aoltrack.com/r/99aca927f71ce50ec8daecf9d74d8984/.

    A maximum of three films can be nominated for the prize this year. Films submitted in the Best Animated Feature category also may qualify for awards in other areas, including Best Picture, provided they meet the rules criteria governing those categories.

    The 78th Academy Award nominations will be announced at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Tuesday, January 31, 2006. The 2005 Academy Awards will then be presented on Sunday, March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PST.

  • Bonhams NY Auctions Toon Art

    Production materials from such studios as Disney, Walter Lantz, Fleischer, Warner Bros., MGM, Hanna-Barbera, and Sullivan Studios will go on the block on Nov. 21 with Bonhams New York’s first auction dedicated to animation art. Cels, layout drawings, concept art, animation drawings and production backgrounds will be among the items offered to collectors. A total of 350 lots from memorable animated shorts and features will be previewed Nov. 18-20 at 595 Madison Ave. in New York City.

    A background cel from Disney’s Pinocchio featuring the title character and Lampwick as they begin transforming into donkeys on Pleasure Island is expected to go for as much as $12,000. Other cels up for grabs include a pivotal moment featuring Maleficient from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (est. $7,000-9,000), a production background of the cupids helping the centaruette comb her hair in Fantasia (est. $10,000-15,000), and an image of the Evil Queen holding the box intended for Snow White’s heart (est. $10,000-15,000).

    The earliest animation drawing offered is a Winsor McCay creation from 1914’s Gertie the Dinosaur. (est. $3,000-4,000). Collectors can also bid on cels from the Disney classic Dumbo and watercolors from Disney artist Gustaf Tenggren.

    The illustrated catalog is available online for review and purchase at www.bonhams.com/us. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of more than 40 Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com.

  • Boomerang Orbits the Middle East

    TV viewers in the Middle East now have access to classic cartoons 24 hours a day with the Orbit Satellite and Radio Network’s adoption of Turner’s Boomerang. Available to subscribers of the Mega, Prime and Kids packages, the animation channel will introduce new audiences to the likes of Top Cat, Bugs Bunny, Wacky Races, Captain Caveman, The Hair Bear Bunch and Penelope Pitstop.

    Aimed at kids 4-9, Boomerang joins Cartoon Network on Orbit, a multi-channel, multi-lingual digital pay TV platform that broadcasts 33 TV channels to the Middle East and North Africa.

  • TELETOON’s Skyland Sneaks Internationally

    Canada’s TELETOON will offer a unique, intercontinental sneak peek at its new original production, Skyland, on Saturday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. The special one-hour premiere presentation of the sci-fi action-adventure series will also be broadcast on Nicktoons Network in the U.S., France 2, ITV in the U.K. and ABC in Australia.

    Skyland is set in the year 2451, when the earth’s shattered crust has turned into millions of planetary fragments. In this floating world, the Great Wall of China and the Empire State Building stand side-by-side, and the Eiffel Tower is visible from the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The story revolves around Mahad and his sister Lena, two extraordinary children who struggle to free their mother from the Guardians, the tyrannical caste that rules over the new world order.

    Produced by Canada’s 9 Story Ent. and France’s Method Films, the premiere combines hand-drawn images with 2D and 3D animation. Montreal-based Kaydara developed the software used in the production, which features motion-capture character animation.

    The sneak peek will be repeated on New Year’s Eve at 6:30 p.m., and the series will settle into its regular Saturday-Sunday 7:30 p.m. timeslot on Jan 29 on TELETOON, the exclusive Canadian broadcast rights holder. Milimages handles distribution of the property internationally. A trailer and making-of clip can be downloaded at www.teletoon.com/corp/media/docs/Skyland.htm.

  • Walden, New Line Take Verne Journey

    Having brought author C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe to the screen with Disney, Walden Media is tackling another fantasy literary classic. According to Daily Variety, the company is teaming with New Line Cinema to produce a 3-D version of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. Academy Award-winning effects man Eric Brevig (Total Recall) will make his directorial debut with the pic, working form a screenplay by D.V. DeVincentis (High Fidelity).

    Scheduled to go into production in April, Journey3-D will be a modern interpretation of the time-honored tale of a teenager and his scientist father who discover a prehistoric world at the earth’s core. In this case, the scientist believes that Verne actually made such a trip and left his original manuscript as a map to the fantastic, subterranean environment. Walden Media CEO Cary Granat tells the trade a major goal of the production is to encourage youngsters to read the book and search for clues in its pages.

    The project will be shot using special large-format 3-D cameras, which were previously used in the production of Walden’s Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep, both directed by James Cameron. For Journey, actors will be composited with CG environments and creatures

    Journey 3-D will be produced by Charlotte Huggins, a veteran producer of special venue, large-format films such as Wild Safari 3D and S.O.S. Planet. Cale BoyterCale Boyter and Michael Disco will oversee production for New Line, while Alex Schwartz and Evan Turner spearhead efforts for Walden. New Line and Walden are currently in post-production on a cinematic adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s novel Hoot, and will release their take on the Thomas Rockwell children’s book How to Eat Fried Worms in 2006.

  • Producers’ Guild Revisits Animation

    On Thursday, Nov. 17, The PGA New Media Council will present a panel discussion with leaders in animation production from Sony Pictures Animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation, DreamWorks Feature Animation, Mike Young Prods., Rubberbug and The Jim Henson Co. The event will focus on how different producer skills transfer in the animation world, as well as the finer points of both 2D and 3D animation pipelines.

    Titled Animation Prducers: New Skill to Draw From, the program will feature Sony Pictures Animation producer Michelle Murdocca (Open Season), Walt Disney Feature Animation VP of production Carolyn Soper, DreamWorks Animation producer Mark Swift (Shark Tale), Mike Young Prods. co-founder and partner Mike Young (Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Pet Alien), Rubberbug president and CEO George Maestri (original animation producer on Comedy Central’s South Park), The Jim Henson Co. new media producer Bret Nelson and XLT CEO David Koenig (producer of Bratz, Lil’ Bratz, Build A Bear Workshop DVDs).

    The program will take place at Sony Imageworks Theatre on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 17. Networking and cocktails will begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by the panel discussion at 8 p.m. There is no charge for Active PGA members. Guests accompanied by active PGA members get in for $10 and non members admission is $20 (make check payable to Producers Guild of America). RSVP at www.pganewmedia.org/pnm/events/CurrentEvents/edutainment.drawingnewaudiences.html.

    Sony Imageworks Theatre is located at 9050 West Washington Blvd. in Culver City. Parking is free at below ground parking provided by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. The event is produced by NMC Events Committee chairs James Fino and Duncan Wain.

  • Corpse Bride DVD Details

    Warner Home Video has spilled the beans on some of the tasty nuggets to be included on the upcoming home vid release of the animated feature Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. The PG-13 pic about a romantic triangle involving a re-animated beauty will be available to own on January 31, 2006.

    Corpse Bride stars Johnny Depp as the voice of Victor, a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to the mysterious title character, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter. While the Land of the Dead proves more lively than his Victorian England, Victor must find a way to get back above ground to his fianc’e, Victoria (Emily Watson).

    DVD special features will include a behind-the-scenes documentary titled Inside the Two Worlds, an in-depth look at how the animators approach their characters, a featurette on the film’s creator titled Tim Burton – Dark vs. Light, an exploration of how the voice cast helped bring the animation puppets to life, an inside and tour the puppet workshop, pre-production galleries, a featurette on how composer Danny Elfman Interpreted the film’s two distinct worlds and

    a music-only track.

    Though it was a hit with critics, Corpse Bride wasn’t quite as successful at the box office as other recent animated releases such as DreamWorks’ Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Disney’s Chicken Little. Corpse took in nearly $100 million worldwide and should generate a nice chunk of change from Burton devotees on disc.

  • Jackson Loads Frighteners Director’s Cut

    As Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong gets set to stomp into theaters on Dec. 14, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is releasing his director’s cut of The Frighteners, a vfx-laden supernatural comedy he made with Michael J. Fox in 1996. Offering more than four hours of bonus materials, the DVD is slated to hit retail on Nov. 29.

    Before becoming a household name with his Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Jackson wrote and directed The Frighteners, which stars Fox as a funeral-crashing psychic sleuth who tangles with a supernatural born killer. The movie was produced by Jackson and partner Fran Walsh, along with Robert Zemeckis, Tim Sanders and Jamie Selkirk.

    The director’s cut features 14 minutes of additional footage, as well as a free movie ticket to King Kong. Other DVD goodies will include an introduction and feature commentary by Jackson, a making-of documentary, authentic storyboards and the original theatrical trailer for the film. The disc will carry a list price of $26.98.

  • No Sophomore Slump for Boondocks

    Following its Adult Swim record-setting premiere, The Boondocks drew even more viewers with its Nov. 13 episode, titled ‘The Trial of R. Kelly.’ According to Cartoon Network, the show enjoyed double-digit delivery and ratings growth in its second week, making it the most-watched program on the late-night animation block that caters to adults 18-34.

    Based on series creator Aaron McGruder’s popular comic strip of the same name, The Boondocks stars Regina King (Miss Congeniality 2,Ray) as the voices of streetwise brothers Huey and Riley Freeman, who have been sent to live in the suburbs with their cantankerous grandfather, voiced by John Witherspoon (Friday, Next Friday, Friday After Next). Other regular voices are provided by Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911), Gary Anthony Williams (Malcolm in the Middle), Gabby Soleil (Johnson Family Vacation) and Jill Talley (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie).

    The show’s ratings have, in part, been fueled by the controversy surrounding its politically-charged themes and liberal use of the ‘N’ word. Also, like Comedy Central’s South Park, the series revolves around young kids who say outrageous things and get involved with adult issues. In the latest episode, Huey and Riley find themselves on opposing sides of the hot-button ‘underage peeing’ issue when troubled R&B star R. Kelly comes to town.

    The episode put The Boondocks at No. 12 on the list of ad-supported basic cable’s top 50 shows of the week among adults 18-34, and helped drive Adult Swim to a 33-week winning streak for total day delivery of adults 18-24 and men 18-24.

  • Latest Sinbad Voyage Scrubbed

    According to an article in The Los Angeles Times, Sony has dropped the anchor on The 8th Voyage of Sinbad, a vfx spectacular that was to star Keanu Reeves as the storied Persian swashbuckler. The studio reportedly yanked the feature out of development in light of the dismal box-office performance of Stealth, the last effort from their chosen director, Rob Cohen (Dragon Heart, Reign of Fire).

    The tales of Sinbad first came to the big screen in 1958 with The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, which featured groundbreaking animation effects by Ray Harryhausen. An unofficial continuation of that series, 8th Voyage was to update the Middle-Eastern legend with plenty of state-of-the-art CG monsters and other effects. Harryhausen was rumored to be involved as consultant, but in fact turned down the offer since it would prevent him from engaging in Sinbad projects of his own.

    There is no word on whether or not Sony plans to retool the project with a different director at a later date. Another recent attempt to bring the mythic hero back to the big screen, DreamWorks’ animated Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, was met with general apathy at the box office despite lead voice turns by Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta Jones.

  • Autodesk Announces Cleaner Updates

    Autodesk promises greater video optimization with Autodesk Cleaner 6.5 for Macintosh and Autodesk Cleaner XL 1.5 for Windows, the newest updates to its professional desktop media mastering and encoding software. New features include encoding support for DivX version 5.2 player for Cleaner XL 1.5 and DivX 6.0 player for Cleaner 6.5 for Macintosh. Also new is On2 Technologies’ Flix exporter for publishing video in Macromedia Flash-compatible .FLV and .SWF formats.

    “Our Cleaner software products truly close the loop in facilitating a start-to-finish workflow standardized on Autodesk Media & Entertainment solutions,” says Bill Roberts, director of product development for Autodesk

    Media and Entertainment. “Autodesk Cleaner software resides on the desktop of one or more systems at almost all of our client sites, whether it’s being used as a core application for DVD production or to streamline automation

    of review-and-approval processes.”

    New features for Cleaner XL include support for Autodesk Backburner, command line script support for pipeline automation and new input formats including DPX, Cineon, OpenEXR and Wiretap support on input. Cleaner XL 1.5 also offers the addition of 4:2:2 and two-pass encoding for MPEG-2, while Cleaner 6.5 for Macintosh adds Apple QuickTime 7 to the list of updated codecs. Both releases feature the DivX Pro encoder, Kinoma version 3 exporter and support for Real 10.

    Cleaner XL 1.5 Windows is available now and Cleaner 6.5 for Macintosh is expected to begin shipping this winter. The suggested retail price for an individual license of each product is $599. Upgrade pricing from Cleaner 6 Macintosh or Cleaner XL Windows to the current versions is approximately $125.00, while upgrading from Cleaner 4 or 5 runs around $179.00. For More information on these and other Autodesk products, go to www.autodesk.com.

  • DreamWorks, Activision Strengthen Bond

    With a number of successful Shrek video games under its belt, Activision Inc. has expanded its relationship with DreamWorks Animation. A new long-term licensing deal grants Activision exclusive game rights to four upcoming feature films from the major toon studio. .

    Activision will develop and publish video games based on the Jerry Seinfeld CG feature, Bee Movie, and Kung Fu Panda starring Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman. The deal, which covers all current and future console platforms, PC and hand-held devices, also includes pics in development, such as the comic-book adaptation Rex Havoc and the comic fantasy How to Train Your Dragon. In addition, the company will continue to turn out interactive ogre adventures beyond Shrek 3.

    DreamWorks Animation SKG CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg comments, “Activision is a market leader in developing computer-generated movie properties into video game franchises. Working with Activision, we hope to deliver an unprecedented level of collaboration between the movie and the video game.”

    Activision has shipped more than 10 million units of games based on DreamWorks Animation brands such as Shrek, Shark Tale and Madagascar. The company is currently developing titles based on DreamWorks’ May 2006 release, Over the Hedge and 2007’s Shrek 3, and retains game rights to 2008’s Madagascar 2.

  • Producers’ Guild Revisits Animation

    On Thursday, Nov. 17, The PGA New Media Council will present a panel discussion with leaders in animation production from Sony Pictures Animation, Walt Disney Feature Animation, DreamWorks Feature Animation, Mike Young Prods., Rubberbug and The Jim Henson Co. The event will focus on how different producer skills transfer in the animation world, as well as the finer points of both 2D and 3D animation pipelines.

    Titled Animation Prducers: New Skill to Draw From, the program will feature Sony Pictures Animation producer Michelle Murdocca (Open Season), Walt Disney Feature Animation VP of production Carolyn Soper, DreamWorks Animation producer Mark Swift (Shark Tale), Mike Young Prods. co-founder and partner Mike Young (Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Pet Alien), Rubberbug president and CEO George Maestri (original animation producer on Comedy Central’s South Park), The Jim Henson Co. new media producer Bret Nelson and XLT CEO David Koenig (producer of Bratz, Lil’ Bratz, Build A Bear Workshop DVDs).

    The program will take place at Sony Imageworks Theatre on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 17. Networking and cocktails will begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by the panel discussion at 8 p.m. There is no charge for Active PGA members. Guests accompanied by active PGA members get in for $10 and non members admission is $20 (make check payable to Producers Guild of America). RSVP at www.pganewmedia.org/pnm/events/CurrentEvents/edutainment.drawingnewaudiences.html.

    Sony Imageworks Theatre is located at 9050 West Washington Blvd. in Culver City. Parking is free at below ground parking provided by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. The event is produced by NMC Events Committee chairs James Fino and Duncan Wain.

  • Madagascar Goes Wild on Disc

    DreamWorks Animation’s big CG summer release, Madagascar, busts out on home video today, complete with a host of extras including the theatrically released animated short film, The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper. The film made more than $520 million at the worldwide box office and will no doubt find its way into a lot of stockings this holiday season.

    Directed by Eric Darnell (Antz) and first-timer Tom McGrath, Madagascar is a fish-out-of-water story that has a set of pampered New York City zoo animals shipped off to Africa. Ben Stiller provides the voice of Alex the lion, who learns that the juicy steaks he’s accustomed to come from animals like his pals. Chris Rock plays his best friend, a zebra who is bored with captivity and yearns to run free in the far-off land of Connecticut. Jada Pinkett Smith provides the voice of a pregnant hippo and David Schwimmer plays a cowardly giraffe. Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop) Andy Richter (Quintuplets), rocker Gwen Stefani (The Aviator) and Sacha Baron Cohen (HBO’s Da Ali G. Show) fill out the voice cast.

    Bonus features on the DVD include commentary by the filmmakers and those mischievous penguins; the making-of featurettes Behind the Crates, The Tech of Madagascar and Mad Mishaps; games and DVD-ROM activities; a music video for the song “I Like To Move It, Move It”; a tour of the film’s exotic digital locations; photo galleries and a code to crack for a special surprise. The Universal Home Video release lists for $29.99.

  • TV Faves, Old and New, on DVD

    Classic toons and more recent hit shows arrive on the popular DVD format in multiple disc sets today in the form of The Flintstones: The Complete Fourth Season, The Huckleberry Hound Show: Volume 1, The Yogi Bear Show: The Complete Series, Home Movies Season Three and Winx Club Volume 2: The Power of Dragon Fire. In addition, SpongeBob SquarePants fans can pick up the ‘Where’s Gary?’ double-length episode from Paramount Home Entertainment.

    All 26 episodes from the fourth season of The Flintstones are re-mastered, restored and included in a four-disc set from Warner Home Video. In addition to the season that introduced the mighty Bamm-Bamm to the Rubble household, the set offers such extras as audio commentary by historians and writers on the episodes ‘Ann Margrock Presents’ and ‘Little Bamm-Bamm’, a documentary on theme song composer Hoyt Curtin and a look back at how The Flintstones became the first primetime animated series.

    Also from Warner Home Video comes The Huckleberry Hound Show: Volume 1, a four-disc set with 26 episodes of the show about a blue dog with a slow, Southern drawl. Extras include reassembled episodes, a tribute to legendary voice talent Daws Butler, "Huckleberry Quotes,’ and a featurette titled Huckleberry Hound: A Linguistical Masterpiece, a humorous interpretation by a linguistics professor.

    Rounding out this wave of releases from the Warner vault is The Yogi Bear Show: The Complete Series. All 35 re-mastered and restored original episodes are included on four discs, along with bonus features such as a time capsule look at the original pilot episode, a featurette on the art of Hanna-Barbera sound, a stills gallery featuring never-before-seen animation sketches, and a curiosity titled Yogi Gets Global, which presents a single episode translated into a variety of languages. Each of the Warner Home Video sets mentioned carries a suggested retail price of $44.98.

    Fans of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim will want to pick up Home Movies Season Three, a three-discer with 13 episodes of show currently airing in reruns during the late-night animation block. Among the bonus materials are commentary tracks, animatics for select episodes, A Featurette for People Who Don’t Necessarily Like Home Movies by Jon Benjamin, a music video and an the ‘Decide Your Doom’ game Revenge of the Dorks. The set is available from Shout! Factory for around $34.98.

    For girls, the weekly DVD drop includes Winx Club Volume 2: The Power of Dragon. Included are six episodes of 4Kids Ent.’s cartoon series about a group of tween friends who attend the Alfea School for Fairies, the oldest and most prestigious fairy school in the magic dimension. The show airs in the U.S. during the 4Kids TV Saturday morning block and on Cartoon Network. This latest home video release can be had for $14.98.

  • Animania HD Grabs Two from Monster

    Since hocking its wares at MIPCOM last month, Monster Distributes has been sewing up a number of deals including sales of the animated shows PicMe and Jungle Beat to VOOM’s high-definition toon channel, Animania HD, currently available on Echostar’s DISH Network. The agreement covers HD broadcast rights in the U.S.

    PicMe (104 x 5) is an award-winning interactive animation show from Irish production company Jammedia. The series, which allows childr

    star in their own cartoons, airs on RTE in Germany and has been picked up for a second season.

    Jungle Beat (13 x 5) from Zimbabwean production company Sunrise Media manages to do without dialog as it follows the adventures of a group of animals led by Giraffe, Monkey, Bee and Tortoise. More details on these and other Monster Distributes properties can be found at www.monsterdistributes.com.

    Animania HD is one of 10 high-definition core channels available through VOOM HD Networks, a subsidiary of Rainbow Media. Other VOOM channels available on Dish Network offer sports, movies, fashion, music and art programming.