Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • JAKKS Pacific Taps DreamWorks Toons for TV Games

    Through a licensing agreement with DreamWorks Animation, JAKKS Pacific Inc. will produce multiple plug-and-play video games based on the hit animated feature films Shrek, Shark Tale, Over the Hedge and Madagascar. As with previous TV Games releases, the DreamWorks titles will come loaded on hand-held controllers that plug directly into standard television sets.

    The Shrek, Shark Tale, Over the Hedge and Madagascar TV Games are expected to launch at North American retailers nationwide in 2006 with a suggested retail price of $19.99.

    JAKKS, which has a similar licensing deal in place with the Walt Disney Co., previously launched TV Games products based on the hit animated properties SpongeBob SquarePants, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Spider-Man, to name a few. For more information on JAKKS Pacific’s TV Games line, go to www.tvgames.com.

  • Kong Tops Spike TV Game Nods

    Like the 8th Wonder of the World himself scaling the Empire State Building, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie from Ubisoft climbed to the top of this year’s nominee list for the Spike TV Video Game Awards. The big ape game is up for seven kudos, including Best Action Game, Best Graphics, Best Performance by a Human (Male–Jack Black, Female–Naomi Watts), and Designer of the Year (Michel Ancel). Actor Samuel L. Jackson, who took home a VGA award last year for his performance in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, will host the 2005 awards ceremony on Friday, Nov. 18 at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles. The two-hour gala event will be broadcast on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV.

    50 Cent: Bulletproof from Vivendi Universal Games, World of Warcraft from Blizzard Ent., James Bond 007: From Russia with Love from Electronic Arts and Call of Duty 2 from Activision each received six nominations. World of Warcraft and Call of Duty 2 are up for Game of the Year, along with Sony Computer Entertainment America’s God of War, Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 and Vivendi Universal Games’ F.E.A.R.

    Resident Evil 4 and God of War are also giving Kong some competition in the Best Action Game race, as are 50 Cent: Bulletproof and Rockstar Games’ The Warriors (Vivendi Universal Games). Kong and The Warriors will also rumble for Best Game Based on a Movie, a category filled out by Star Wars Battlefront II from LucasArts, The Matrix: Path of Neo from Atari and James Bond 007: From Russia With Love.

    Best Graphics will be a showdown between King Kong, Call of Duty 2, F.E.A.R., PGR3 (Microsoft Game Studios) and Resident Evil 4. Meanwhile Kong and F.E.A.R earned Designer of the Year nods for Michel Ancel and Craig Hubbard, respectively. They will be up against David Jaffe for God of War, Rob Pardo for World of Warcraft and Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendogs.

    Winners of the VGAs are determined by votes from the Video Game Industry Voting Council, which is made up of more than 200 industry journalists. Winners in two Viewers Choice categories will solely be determined by viewer voting. The audience will asked to choose the Best Driving Game from Gran Turismo 4 (Sony Computer Entertainment America), L.A. Rush (Midway), Forza Motorsport (Microsoft Game Studios), Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts), and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (Rockstar Games). Viewer voting will also determine Most Addictive Game from a field comprised of We Love Katamari (Namco Hometek), World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment), Lumines (Ubisoft), Nintendogs (Nintendo) and Meteos (Nintendo)

    Other nominees are:

    BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME

    Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (Electronic Arts)

    SSX On Tour (Electronic Arts)

    Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (Activision, Inc.)

    Top Spin (2K Sports)

    EA Sports Fight Night Round 2 (Electronic Arts)

    BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME

    Blitz: The League (Midway)

    Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts)

    NBA 2K6 (2K Sports)

    World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International (Konami)

    NBA Street V3 (Electronic Arts)

    BEST FIGHTING GAME

    Fight Night Round 2 (Electronic Arts)

    SOULCALIBUR III (Namco Hometek)

    TEKKEN 5 (Namco Hometek Inc.)

    Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (Capcom)

    Mortal Combat: Shaolin Monks (Midway)

    BEST MILITARY GAME

    Call of Duty 2 (Activision)

    Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood (Ubisoft)

    Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)

    Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (Ubisoft)

    SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

    BEST HANDHELD GAME

    Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar Games)

    Lumines (Ubisoft)

    Nintendogs (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)

    Meteos (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)

    Burnout Legends (Electronic Arts)

    BEST FIRST PERSON ACTION

    Call of Duty 2 (Activision)

    Far Cry Instincts (Ubisoft)

    F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)

    Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)

    Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Games Studio)

    BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAME

    World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)

    SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

    Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)

    City of Villains (NCSoft)

    Guild Wars (NCSoft)

    BEST PC GAME

    Call of Duty 2 (Activision)

    F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)

    Sid Meier’s Civilization IV (2K Games)

    World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)

    Battlefield 2 (Electronic Arts)

    BEST RPG

    Jade Empire (Microsoft Game Studios)

    X-Men Legends II: Rise of the Apocalypse (Activision)

    Dungeon Siege II (Microsoft Game Studios)

    Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (LucasArts)

    World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment)

    BEST WIRELESS GAME

    Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari & Glu)

    Need for Speed Underground 2 (EA Mobile)

    Massive Snowboarding (Gameloft)

    The Incredibles 3D (Disney Mobile)

    Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory (Gameloft)

    BEST BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY

    Sony PSP (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

    Xbox 360 (Microsoft Game Studios)

    Nintendogs Voice Recognition (Nintendo Co. Ltd.)

    Unreal Engine 3 (Epic Games Inc.)

    Facial Mo-cap for NBA Live 06 (Electronic Arts)

    CYBER VIXEN OF THE YEAR

    Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux in Aeon Flux (Majesco Entertainment)

    Jessica Alba as Invisible Woman in Fantastic 4 (Activision)

    Traci Lords as Cassandra Hartz in True CrimeNew York City (Activision)

    Joanna Dark in Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)

    Maria Menounos as Eva in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN—MALE

    50 Cent in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)

    Jack Black in Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)

    Michael Chiklis in Fantastic 4 (Activision)

    Sean Connery in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)

    Terrence “T.C.” Carson in God of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

    BEST SUPPORTING MALE PERFORMANCE

    Eminem in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)

    Dr. Dre in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)

    Christopher Walken in True Crime: New York City (Activision)

    Michael Clarke Duncan in The Suffering: Ties That Bind (Midway)

    Diddy in Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari)

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN–FEMALE

    Charlize Theron in Aeon Flux (Majesco Entertainment)

    Naomi Watts in Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie

    (Electronic Arts)

    Josie Maran in Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)

    Jessica Alba in Fantastic 4 (Activision)

    Cornelia Hayes O’Herlihy as Fiona Belli in Haunting Ground (Capcom)

    BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE PERFORMANCE

    Maria Menounos as Eva in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)

    Rosario Dawson in Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari)

    Natasha Bedingfield in James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)

    Mariska Hargitay in True Crime: New York City (Activision)

    Traci Lords in True Crime: New York City (Activision)

    BEST CAST

    Fantastic 4 (Activision)

    Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Electronic Arts)

    50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)

    True Crime: New York City (Activision)

    James Bond 007: From Russia With Love (Electronic Arts)

    BEST ORIGINAL SONG

    “Maybe We Crazy” by 50 Cent in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)

    “Lights and Sounds” by Yellowcard in Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts)

    “When I Get Angry” by Spider Loc in Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts)

    “Getting Up Anthem: Part I” by Talib Kweli and Rakim in Mark Ecko’s

    Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari)

    “Error Operator” by Taking Back Sunday in Fantastic 4 (Activision)

    BEST SOUNDTRACK

    Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar Games)

    50 Cent: Bulletproof (Vivendi Universal Games)

    Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (Activision)

    Guitar Hero (RedOctane)

    SSX On Tour (Electronic Arts)

    BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

    Call of Duty 2 (Activision)

    We Love Katamari (Namco Hometek)

    God of War (Sony Computer Entertainment America)

    Indigo Prophecy (Atari)

    Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)

  • Stewie Dominates on DVD

    Fox Home Entertanment’s direct-to-video feature, Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, proved another successful outing for creator Seth McFarlane’s once-canceled animated FOX series. According to Daily Variety, the toon release earned more than $41 million during its first two weeks at retail, faring better than a lot of recent theatrical releases.

    Stewie sales are on target to surpass those of Disney’s direct-to-video sequel, Tarzan 2, which has made around $42 million since its debut in June. However, the Family Guy spin-off has a way to go to catch the year’s top-selling DVD premiere, Disney’s Mulan II, a $60 million success story.

    Featuring the voices of Drew Barrymore, Ron Livingston and Beverly Hills 90210 alumni Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling, Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story was originally intended to serve as a three-episode arc to kick off the show’s revival. The episodes will eventually air at a later date, but the uncut and uncensored DVD offers additional material that won’t be broadcast.

    Family Guy survived for three seasons on FOX before getting the axe from the network in 2002. The first season then hit DVD in 2003 and surprisingly became one of the year’s hottest sellers. The property has since taken in roughly $200 million at retail.

  • Happy Tree Friends Meet Night Stalker

    A little birdie with a barbecue fork through its head tells us that the accident-prone critters from Mondo Media’s Happy Tree Friends will make a cameo in the next installment of ABC’s Night Stalker, airing Thursday, Oct. 27 at 9 p.m./8 p.m. C.

    Capitalizing on two hot trends, remakes and supernatural programming, ABC’s Night Stalker continues the investigations of Carl Kolchak (Stuart Townsend), a reporter who specializes in bizarre stories that defy rational explanation. Animated Happy Tree Friends clips and product shots will be featured in an episode titled “Malus,” which centers on an eerie child who has strange things happening around him. If you miss the initial airing, you can purchase the episode and download it on the new video iPod via the new arrangement between Apple and Disney.

    Having built a cult following through Mike & Spike’s Sick and Twisted film Festival and other stops on the fest circuit, as well as DVD releases, Happy Tree Friends recently found a U.S. broadcast home on cable network G4–videogame tv. Happy Tree Friends & Friends is part of the network’s new hour-long strip, Barbed Wire Biscuit, which airs Monday through Friday at midnight. A number of DVD releases of the toon shorts are also readily available.

  • Doom Seals the Deal

    Video game sales may be outperforming box office receipts these days, but the two industries do tend to mesh with favorable results, as evidenced this past weekend by the No. 1 debut of Universal’s Doom. Still, audiences didn’t exactly come out in droves to see star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or any other Hollywood luminaries this frame, resulting in a weak opening for the $60 million vfx-laden sci-fi shoot ’em up and its fellow openers.

    Doom earned an estimated $15.3 million. Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak (Cradle 2 the Grave, Exit Wounds) and featuring digital effects work by Framestore CFC and Double Negative, the action chiller is based on Microsoft’s popular first-person shooter that has marines fighting genetic mutants in a research facility on the planet Mars. The film fared better than other recent game-to-screen adaptations, namely helmer Uwe Boll’s Alone in the Dark and House of the Dead, which only mustered worldwide grosses of $6.4 million and $13.8 million respectively. With blockbuster king Peter Jackson involved as exec producer, Universal’s cinematic treatment of Microsoft’s Halo promises to prove a more financially rewarding game adaptation when it debuts in 2007.

    Moviegoers largely ignored critics and chose Doom over better-reviewed newcomers Dreamer from DreamWorks and Oscar buzzer North Country from Warner Bros., both based on true stories. Released in about a thousand fewer theaters than Doom, Dreamer, a girl-and-her-horse story starring Dakota Fanning, took second place with an estimated $9.3 million. Meanwhile, the Charlize Theron legal drama, North Country, got off to an even slower start with around $6.4 million in the No, 5 spot.

    Last week’s champ, Sony/Revolution Studios’ remake of The Fog, rolled out of contention in its sophomore week, dropping to fourth place with an estimated $7.3 million. After displacing DreamWorks Animation’s and Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, The Fog slipped behind the clay-animated feature, which is holding strong at No. 3 with approximately $8.7 million for the weekend and a three-week domestic total of roughly $44 million.

    Since opening in the U.K. last weekend, Wallace & Gromit has earned an estimated $29 million overseas, bringing its cumulative take to around $70 million. Buoyed by strong word-of-mouth, the animated comedy has managed to hold onto a good percentage of its audience week after week, and is expected to stick around through the holiday season. With its worldwide gross soon to surpass the $100 million mark and home video looking favorable, there’s a good chance that we’ll be seeing more of bumbling British inventor Wallace and his four-legged pal, Gromit, on the big screen, especially if upcoming DreamWorks Animation efforts Over the Hedge and Flushed Away fail to raise franchise tent poles.

  • Firefly, Ballad Venture into Production

    Project Firefly LLC, one of several animation studios to emerge from the demise of Disney’s traditional toon operations, has banded with The Ballad Group LLC to launch a new joint venture aimed at producing, promoting and packaging original properties for worldwide film and television distribution.

    “We are excited to enter into this relationship with The Ballad Group and know that the complement of both parties’ strengths will allow us to use our creative talent and proven experience to produce a multiple number of original properties, most notably a full-length animated feature film,” says Project Firefly co-founder and president Dominic Carola.

    Glenn Dewitt, president and creative director for The Ballad Group, adds, “Our mission is to create musical and theatrical productions for both traditional and new media that have youthful appeal and convey’positive ideals.”

    Project Firefly is currently animating the title character in Universal Pictures’ and Imagine Ent.’s Curious George, handling roughly a quarter of the film which is slated to swing into theaters in February 2006. In addition to providing both 2D and 3D animation services for theatrical releases, home video products, television series, commercials and interactive media, the company generates original content. Its TV pilot, Farm Force, recently won the Nicktoons’ Nextoons Film Festival Viewer’s Choice Award.

    More information on Project Firefly Animation Studios and The Ballad Group can be found at www.projectfirefly.com and www.theballadgroup.com, respectively.

  • Noodlesoup Prods. Founder Splits

    Jeff Nodelman, founder of animation studio Noodlesoup Prods., has left the company to pursue his own creative endeavors. According to Noodlesoup CEO Nathan Graf, Nodelman will continue to collaborate with the studio on various projects while he works to build his own portfolio. The announcement comes as the busy toon house makes plans to ramp up its original project development slate.

    One new project has Noodlesoup collaborating with MSN on "Music Man," a new application that translates chat text into original live music played by an animated band in the activities window during a chat session. Noodlesoup pitched the concept to MSN, built the software application, recorded the original music and produced the animation for Music Man, which is now live on MSN Messenger.

    Also in the works at the studio are 13 half-hours comprising the second season of The Venture Bros. for The Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block. Noodlesoup, which produced the series’ initial 2003-04 season, also produced a live-action Venture Bros. spoof special for the show’s recent DVD release. The network has also commissioned the company to produce four shorts for its new shorts program, Sunday Pants. Other jobs include and an opening sequence for MTV’s Chico & Guapo and an animated version of the Sesame Street book Too Big for Diapers, which will be featured as a DVD extra on Elmo’s Potty Time.

    Noodlesoup recently completed production on a spot for Earthlink and is currently working on a CG-animated commercial for Chloraseptic. For more information on the studio, go to www.noodlesoup.net.

  • Nat Geo’s Mamma Mirabelle Joins TVO Family

    National Geographic Television & Film’s Kids’ (NGT&F) Programming and Production ‘s live-action/animated preschool series Mamma Mirabelle’s Home Movies has sold to TVO Canada. Donna Friedman Meir, president, kids’ programming and production for NGT&F announced this first broadcast deal for the show’s 13×22 or 26×11 episodes yesterday.

    Mamma Mirabelle’s Home Movies’ cast of loveable baby animals with regulars like Max the elephant calf, Bo the cheetah cub, Karla the zebra foal and monkeys Pip, Flip and Chip, provide a fun-spirited foray into the wild kingdom for preschoolers. Each day the motherly elephant Mamma Mirabelle gathers the adorable animals in the savannah to watch home movies of themselves and other creatures on their day-to-day adventures. As they watch, Mamma explains the ways of the natural world to her ever-curious kiddies.

    The series is based on George Evelyn and Wild Brain animation studio’s original concept. Writer Andrew Yerkes (Pocoyo, Stanley, Bear in the Big Blue House) provided the script for the pilot episode with Leo Nielsen (Wide Eye, Paz, Maisy), who hails from the U.K.’s King Rollo Films animation house, serving as director and producer. Eve Hall (O’Grady High, The Berenstain Bears, Monster by Mistake) was the educational consultant with support from NGT&F’s research team and Nat Geo’s Digital Media group. Production will begin on 26×11 episodes of Mamma Mirabelle’s Home Movies’ for fall 2006 delivery.

  • Holy Home Video, Batman!

    Following a successful return to the big screen, the Dark Knight is blitzing home video today with a slate of releases sure to make any fan’s DVD collection darn near complete. In addition to the debut of the latest live-action installment, Batman Begins, we get the all-new animated feature, The Batman Vs. Dracula, as well as Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology, featuring all four of the films from the franchise started by Tim Burton in 1989, and the early serials from 1949.

    Directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia), Batman Begins stars Christian Bale (Equilibrium, American Psycho) as Bruce Wayne and his cowled alter-ego in a story that explores the origins of the Batman legend and his emergence as a force for good in Gotham. The cast also includes Gary Oldman (Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Katie Holmes (The Gift), Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai), Liam Neeson (Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace), Michael Caine (Alfie), Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Rutger Hauer (The Hitcher) and Tom Wilkinson (In The Bedroom).

    The film is available in two versions; a single-disc release containing only the movie for $28.98 and a two-disc deluxe edition with all the bonus materials for $30.97. The deluxe set comes packaged with Detective Comics #37, a 72-page comic book featuring the very first Batman story, Batman: The Man Who Falls, as well as Batman: The Long Halloween, a chilling excerpt that also inspired the new film.

    The DVD menu is presented as an interactive comic book that grants access to such special features as the making-of documentaries Genesis of the Bat: Batman Incarnations from the Mid-1980s to the Present; The Journey Begins: Creative Concepts, Story Development and Casting; Shaping Mind and Body: Fighting Style; Gotham City Rises: Production Design; Cape and Cowl: The New Batsuit; The Tumbler: The New Batmobile; Path to Discovery: Filming in Iceland; and Saving Gotham City: The Monorail Chase Sequence. Other extras will include a DVD ROM Batman Begins mobile game demo, Easter eggs, a photo gallery and a character/weaponry gallery.

    Also from Warner Home Video comes The Batman vs. Dracula, a new direct-to-video animated feature that has our hero taking on not only arch enemies The Penguin and The Joker, but also the original bat-man himself, Count Dracula. Bonus materials include the featurette Science vs. Superstition, in which Batman’s computer sheds some light on the legend of Dracula and the rumors surrounding the historical figure. There’s also an interactive map of Gotham that unlocks video clips on the making of the film, as well as interviews with the voice cast, deleted scenes and a "Batman vs. Superman" excerpt from the animated TV series, The Batman. Fans can pik it up for the suggested price of $19.95.

    Batman: The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997 is a gift set that includes Burton’s original theatrical release, Batman, and its sequels, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. Each film is a two-disc edition loaded with behind-the-scenes extras such as commentary by filmmakers Burton and Joel Schumacher, making-of featurettes and in-depth looks at everything from music to costuming and production design. All four movies are packaged together for the suggested retail price of $79.92. Each special edition is also available separately for around $26.99 from Warner Home Video.

    For some old-school bat action, pick up The Batman: The 1943 Serial Collection. All 15 episodes of the cliffhanger serial come to disc for the first time ever with this two-disc set from Sony. Lewis Wilson plays Bruce Wayne/Batman and Douglas Croft is Dick Grayson/Robin in these early Saturday matinee adventures that have the dynamic duo fighting to protect Gotham City from the evil schemes of Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Naish). The set lists for $29.95.

    For more DC Comics superhero action, check out Warner’s five-disc release of The Adventures of Superman: The Complete First Season. All 26 episodes of the classic 1950s TV series starring George Reeves are packaged with the 1951 movie Superman and the Mole People, a vintage George Reeves short a retrospective titled From Inkwell to Backlot, commentaries and original Kellogg’s cereal TV spots. It lists for $39.98.

  • Tarzan, Emperor in New Groove on Disc

    Disney today released special editions of its animated features Tarzan (1999) and The Emperor’s New Groove. The two-disc sets are joined on shelves by a reissue of the 1992 20th Century Fox animated movie Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, as well as the direct-to-video entries The Wheels on the Bus: Mango Helps the Moon Mouse and The Care Bears Big Wish Movie. a host of TV toon favorites including Atomic Betty, Pet Alien, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Yu-Gi-Oh!.

    Disney’s hugely successful take on the legend of the Ape Man, Tarzan stars the voices of Tony Goldwyn (Ghost), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting), Glenn Close (Adaptation), Rosie O’Donnell (A League of their Own), Lance Henriksen (Alien vs. Predator), Nigel Hawthorne (The Madness of King George), Wayne Knight (Jurassic Park). The set features commentary by the filmmakers, deleted scenes, an alternate opening, a presentation reel, a featurette on the history and development of Tarzan from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, three all-new games including Terk’s Tree-Surfing Challenge, the DisneyPedia entry "Living In The Jungle" and music videos featuring Everlife, Phil Collins and ‘N Sync, all for the list price of $29.99.

    The Emperor’s New Groove: The New Groove Edition is a supped-up version of the Disney toon feature starring the voices of David Spade (Joe Dirt), John Goodman (TV’s Father of the Pride), Eartha Kitt (TV’s Batman), Patrick Warburton (Cartoon Network’s The Venture Brothers) and Wendie Malick (TV’s Just Shoot Me). Additions this time around include audio commentary by the filmmakers, a behind-the-scenes look at how the film was made, deleted scenes, an interactive game, a Rascal Flatts music video for “Walk the Llama Llama” and Sting’s Making the Music Video featuring the Academy Award—nominated Song "My Funny Friend And Me.” Fans can get into the groove for around $29.99.

    Ferngully: The Last Rainforest: Family Fun Edition brings new extra features to the environmentally conscious animated feature voiced by Tim Curry (The Wild Thornberrys Movie), Samantha Mathis (The Punisher), Christian Slater (Alone in the Dark), Robin Williams (Robots) and comedy team Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. Bonus materials include commentary, script-to-screen comparisons of five key scenes, behind the scenes featurettes, eight set-top games, a promo gallery, a still gallery and a music video for “If I’m Gonna Eat Somebody It Might as Well Be You." The edition carries a suggested retail price of $19.98.

    The new preschool kids adventure The Wheels on the Bus: Mango Helps the Moon Mouse is a mix of live action, puppetry and 3D CG animation. Released by Starlight Home Entertainment, this second episode in the award-winning series features the voice talents of Roger Daltrey, frontman of legendary British rock group The Who, and former Saturday Night Live player Victoria Jackson, as well as songs by Laura Hall from Whose Line Is It Anyway?” It is available now for around $14.98.

    Another classic property is back with Care Bears: Big Wish Movie, a direct-to-video CG-animated feature. Extras included on the Lions Gate release include a Care Bears sing-along, Build a House Game and Rocket Hunt Game. It lists for $19.98.

    Popular Nickelodoen shows get tossed together on one disc with Nick Jr. Favorites Volume 2. The compilation offers an eight-episode mix of hit franchises including Dora the Explorer ("Super Map"), LazyTown ("Sleepless in LazyTown"), The Backyardigans ("Quest For the Flying Rock”), Blue’s Clues "Blue’s Big Pajama Party” ) Little Bill "Little Bill’s Giant Space Adventure”) and the Max & Ruby installments “Ruby’s Lemonade Stand,” “Ruby’s Rummage Sale” and “Ruby’s Magic Act.” Also available from Paramount Home Entertainments is Nick Picks Volume 2, which features nine episodes including The Fairly OddParents: "The FOP Big Superhero Wish,” All Grown Up: "Interview With a Campfire,” SpongeBob SquarePants: "I’m With Stupid,” “SpongeBob SquarePants Meets the Strangler,” My Life As a Teenage Robot: "Gridiron Glory,” Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: "Party At the Neutrons,” Danny Phanton: "Splitting Images” and Rugrats: "10th Anniversary Parts 1 & 2.” Each of the two releases list for $16.99.

    Warner Home Video’s Atomic Betty Volume 1: Betty, Set, Go! and Atomic Betty Volume 2: Betty to the Rescue! each offer eight 11-minute episodes of the Cartoon Network animated series on single discs for $19.97. Meanwhile, Fox Home Video has released two editions of Cartoon Network’s Pet Alien. Containing four episodes each, Pet Alien: Aliens Unleashed and Pet Alien: Atomic Tommy can be had for $14.98.

    The power of Castle Grayskull can be felt once again with the six-disc He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Season One, Volume 1. Released by Bci Eclipse, the set contains 33 episodes of the popular 1980s cartoon, along with two new documentaries, a full-length animated storyboard, deleted scenes and two 4X6 art cards by Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz for $49.98.

    Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume 5: The Final Face-Off from 4Kids Ent. ($14.98) offers five episodes of the hit anime series from Funimation Prods. The show airs on Kids’ WB! in the U.S.

  • SpongeBob Goes to China

    The hugely successful Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants is scheduled to launch in China by late December, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The silly comedy about a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea will reach 120 million households on CCTV (China Central Television) Children’s Channel, which features nearly two hours of Nick programming daily.

    One of the most widely distributed shows in history, SpongeBob is syndicated in 170 markets in 24 languages, and has generated approximately $4 billion at retail worldwide. The show is the latest Nickelodeon property to be introduced to young Chinese viewers. Previous exports include CatDog and The Wild Thornberrys.

    Nickelodeon’s parent company, Viacom, and Shanghai Media Group recently launched a co-venture with more than 30 cable channels carrying locally produced, Chinese-language, live-action series and game shows, in addition to the daily hour and a half of Nick animation. The partnership follows the breakthrough launch of MTV as the first 24-hour channel in China, and is part of a raft of deals struck between Viacom’s MTV Networks Int’l and Chinese broadcast entities.

    In December of 2003, the Chinese government loosened regulations to allow foreign companies to acquire minority stakes in Chinese production ventures and Viacom was the first Western entity to take advantage of the situation and bring its brands to the potential audience of 386 million TV-viewing households.

  • Sony Goes Neanderthal with Favreau

    Actor-cum-director Jon Favreau has been building a busy slate of helming gigs since his Will Ferrell holiday comedy, Elf, proved a big hit for New Line Cinema. As he works to complete Columbia Pictures’ sci-fi kid lit adaptation, Zathrua: A Space Adventure, the multi-hyphenate has set up an animated feature titled Neanderthals at Sony Pictures Animation.

    Favreau will write and produce the CG toon feature, which is based on his original concept. The studio is keeping a tight lid on the film’s plotline for the time being, but it’s assumed that it will take place in prehistoric times, much like DreamWorks’ and Aardman’s upcoming Crood Awakening, which is being written by Monty Python alum John Cleese.

    “Jon’s passion for this story and his love of animation make this a perfect fit for us,” say Sony Pictures Animation exec VPs Penney Finkelman Cox and Sandra Rabins. “We are thrilled to be working with him in realizing his distinctive vision.”

    Neanderthals is the second Sony Pictures Animation project for Favreau, who voices the character Reilly, the construction foreman of a group of dam-building beavers, in Open Season, the toon studio’s first full-length animated feature. Sony Animation is also hard at work on its follow-up project, the penguin surfing comedy Surf’s Up!, slated for release in the summer of 2007. Open Season will turn the tables on hunters on Sept. 29, 2006.

    In addition to his film work, Favreau is the creator, producer and host of the Emmy-nominated IFC series Dinner for Five. His take on Chris Van Allsburg’s Zathura is due in theaters on November 11.

  • New Mickey Mouse Club Recruits at MIPCOM

    Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) today introduced the new CG-animated preschool show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to international TV buyers at MIPCOM in Cannes. The big-eared leader of the band himself made an appearance to help promote the learning-based series, which is slated to premiere on Disney Channels worldwide in spring 2006 and will be available for terrestrial broadcasters in September 2006.

    In addition to the titular icon, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will feature such classic Disney characters as Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Set in a colorful clubhouse environment, the song-filled show will have Mickey asking for viewers’ help with tasks such as deciphering picture puzzles and identifying shapes, patterns and numbers in order to solve practical problems such as what to do when Goofy’s bouncy ball is out of control, or when Donald has turned into a frog and needs a kiss from Princess Daisy to return him to his natural state.

    Mickey Mouse Club is a production of Walt Disney Television Animation. Series exec producer Roberts Gannaway has created and produced some of Walt Disney Television Animation’s most successful series of the past decade, including the Emmy Award-winning Disney’s Mickey MouseWorks and 101 Dalmatians: The Series, as well as Disney’s House of Mouse.

  • MYP, Gamania Add Up for Hero:108

    Los Angeles-based Mike Young Prods. (MYP) has teamed with Asian multi-player online game publisher Gamania Digital Entertainment of Taiwan to co-produce the animated comedy-action series Hero:108. Former Animation Magazine publisher Rita Street will exec produce through Radar Cartoons, the representation firm that handled Gamania’s producers.

    Aimed at kids 6-11, Hero: 108 (22 x 30) is the story of a group of kid defenders set on ending a conflict between animals and humans in a hidden kingdom. The show is based on the ancient Chinese novel The Water Margin and centers on Lin Chung (a.k.a. Panther Eye), a boy with special powers that he can’t control. The project may be familiar to Nicktoons viewers since it was introduced as a series of short animations that debuted last year during the Nicktoons Film Festival.

    The production reunites MYP co-CEO Bill Schultz with Gamania creative director Pongo, a former Cuckoo’s Nest animation director whose credits include such hit properties as Garfield and the longprunning Fox Kids Network series Bobby’s World.

    "Hero:108’s visuals alone are enough to attract kids, but it was the comedic elements that really sold us on the property,” Schultz says of Gamania’s first television outing, a series that will be designed to work seamlessly with online gaming.

    In an unprecedented move, Gamania will retain design duties and a large percentage of the storyboard work during the show’s pre-production phase. MYP will also rely on Gamania for animation supervision.

    Just last week, it was announced that Mike Young Prods. and its distribution arm, Taffy Ent., had become MoonScoop companies after the European toon entity purchased a 51% majority stake. Taffy Ent. distributes a number of MYP’s series, including the Emmy, Hugo, Prix Jeunesse and Parents Choice Award-winning series Jakers!, as well as ToddWorld, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Pet Alien.

  • Aardman Herds Shaun the Sheep Deals

    Fans of the Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit short A Close Shave will recognize the title character in Aardman Animations’ Shaun the Sheep, a new 40×7 series that has secured pre-sales around the world at MIPCOM 2005. The show was commissioned by CBBC for broadcast in 2007, and has been picked up by co-producer WDR in Germany, as well as ABC Australia, TVNZ New Zealand, SVT Sweden, DRTV Denmark, NRK Norway, YLE Finland and Minimax in Hungary.

    Aardman holds worldwide rights to Shaun the Sheep, a stop-motion series about a young member of the flock who doesn’t follow the fold and has to use his resourcefulness to get himself out of trouble when his maverick personality and playful curiosity get him in compromising positions. The show is exec produced by Aardman’s head of broadcast Miles Bullough and CBBC’s head of animation & acquisitions Michael Carrington.

    Shaun the Sheep Aardman is is the first-ever stand-alone animation commission from CBBC. Aardman is putting in place a full licensing program and is set to sign up new licensees for the TV property, which is scheduled to go into production in September for delivery in December 2006.

  • Gromit Tops Overseas, U.S. in Fog

    As expected, DreamWorks Animation’s and Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit opened at No.1 in the U.K. over the weekend and dominated the overseas box office with an estimated $26.4 million. Meanwhile, a close race had Sony/Revolution Studios’ remake of The Fog finishing in the top spot domestically with an estimated $12 million to Wallace & Gromit’s $11.7 million.

    Directed by Nick Park and Steve Box, the first big-screen outing for the clay-animated Wallace and his four-legged, plasticine pal, Gromit, reportedly brought in around $11.3 million from just 502 locations in Blighty alone. While two of the three Wallace & Gromit shorts have won Academy Awards, they are particularly popular in Aardman’s native U.K. And, despite a generally low-turnout weekend, the film performed solidly again in North America, losing only 27% of its audience in week two.

    Boasting the star power of Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, Paramount’s Cameron Crowe-directed romantic dramedy, Elizabethtown, landed at No. 3 domestically with approximately $11 million. Meanwhile, Buena Vista’s Jodi Foster thriller, Flightplan, descended to No. 4, taking in an estimated $6.5 million to bring its four-week cume to around $70.7 million. Rounding out the top-five is 20th Century Fox’s Cameron Diaz chick flick, In Her Shoes, with a sophomore haul of around $6.4 million.

  • Five, Nick Jr. Squeal for More Peppa Pig

    U.K. Broadcast outlets FIVE and Nick Jr. have ordered 52 new episodes of Contender Entertainment Group’s animated children’s series, Peppa Pig. Production is scheduled to begin immediately and delivery of the first 26 episodes is slated for the fourth quarter of 2006, followed by the other 26 in Q2 of 2007. The series recently launched in the U.S. on Cartoon Network’s new Tickle U preschool block.

    Winner of Best TV Production at Annecy 2005, Peppa Pig follows the everyday adventures of a mischievous pig and her family. Other awards garnered by the show include Best Preschool Series and Best European Program of the Year at the 2005 edition of Cartoons on the Bay in Positano, Italy.

    The series has been picked up in more than 120 countries and currently airs in more than 90 of those. Since debuting at MIP Jr. in October, it has been snatched up such international broadcasters as ABC in Australia, Canal J in France, TV3 in New Zealand, NRK in Norway, Nickelodeon in Scandinavia, C4U in Korea and SVT in Sweden.

    Peppa Pig is the second production for Contender, the first being the hit preschool series Tractor Tom. CelAction 2D is used to animate Peppa in the London studios of series creators Mark Baker and Neville Astley. The duo has been collaborating since 1994 on commercials, title sequences, short films and the award-winning BBC television series The Big Knights. Baker’s short films, The Hill Farm, The Village and Jolly Roger, have all been nominated for Oscars, while Astley’s short, Trainspotter, was nominated for a BAFTA and won the Edinburgh Festival’s McLaren Award. Peppa producer Phil Davies’ recent credits include the BAFTA nominated Six of One, as well as Donkey Town, Emma 18 and Home.

    The Peppa property is also a success at retail, selling more than 100,000 DVDs since its February release in the U.K. In addition, a toyline from master licensor Character Options was launched this past spring and has been a big seller as well. Last month, Lions Gate’s Family Entertainment acquired the exclusive North American home entertainment rights to the series and plans to release the first title stateside in the fall of 2006.

  • MTV Networks Acquires IFILM

    Viacom’s MTV Networks has acquired IFILM, one of the top online portals for animated shorts and other video pieces from both Hollywood studios and amateur filmmakers. The $49 million deal follows on the heels of MTV Networks’ purchase of Neopets, a popular youth web destination for virtual pets.

    Hollywood-based IFILM, which reaches more than 10 million users per month, will remain under the leadership of CEO Blair Harrison, who will report to Jason Hirschhorn, senior VP of digital music and media for MTV Networks.

    “This move is at the heart of MTV Networks’ multi-platform strategy and meshes with our tradition of cultivating independent and creative brands," says MTV Networks chairman and CEO Judy McGrath. "We’re combining the top brands in all digital media with our global reach and programming expertise to speak to consumers everywhere they live their lives. Additionally, with IFILM’s strong business profile and growing traffic, we see significant opportunities for us to increase our online advertising revenue.”

    Featuring short films, TV clips, music videos and action sports for download, IFILM.com delivers more than 30 million streams per month, making it one of the top ten streaming media sites in the world. Among other things, MTV Networks will use the platform to promote programs offered on MTV: Music Television, MTV2, VH1, Mtvu, Nickelodeon, Nick At Nite, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike TV, CMT, Noggin, Logo, MTVN International and The Suite From MTV Networks.

  • Can Gromit Weather The Fog?

    Capturing a giant, mutant bunny is one thing, but defending the top spot at the box office from a supernatural force of nature may prove more challenging to the clay-animated stars of DreamWorks’ and Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Rolling into theaters today is Sony Pictures/Revolution Studios’ The Fog, yet another remake of a classic fright flick.

    First crafted by horror maestro John Carpenter in 1980, The Fog visits a sleepy seaside town where strange things start to happen exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sunk off the coast. Filling the Jamie Lee Curtis role this time around is Maggie Grace from TV’s Lost, and vfx house Hydraulx lends some updated creepy visuals.

    With a recognizable cast that includes Tom Welling from The WB’s Smallville and film star Selma Blair (Hellboy, Cruel Intentions), The Fog should do well in its pre-Halloween debut. Other recent attempts at dusting off past horror hits have paid off as moviegoers made box office successes of new versions of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror.

    With a higher theater count than The Fog, Wallace & Gromit has a fighting chance of holding its No.1 place, especially if word-of-mouth from last weekend proves substantial. The stop-motion comedy is expected to do boffo business in the U.K., where it opens to Aardman’s hometown crowd this weekend.

    Another promising competitor is Paramount Pictures’ Elizabethtown, starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. The Cameron Crow-directed romantic dramedy should draw a sizeable female crowd as guys catch Keira Knightley in butt-kicking mode in director Tony Scott’s adrenalin-charged Domino, based on the real-life exploits of model-turned-bounty hunter Domino Harvey.

  • EA and Spielberg to Make Games

    Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg has entered into a long-term agreement to make video games with interactive entertainment producer and distributor Electronic Arts. Known for both thrill-ride flicks such as Jurassic Park and moving historical dramas like Shindler’s List, Spielberg promises to bring pulse-pounding action and compelling storylines to gamers as he works with development teams at EA’s Los Angeles studio to create a trio of original franchises.

    The games are scheduled to begin development this year as Spielberg stakes out a spot at EALA to bring his signature style of storytelling to the concept, design and artistic visualization of the new games. EA will own the intellectual properties and the titles will be published and distributed worldwide by EA.

    “I have been playing EA games for years and have watched them master the interactive format,” Spielberg comments. “Having watched the game industry grow from a niche into a major creative force in entertainment, I have a great deal of respect for EA’s understanding of the interactive format. I’m looking forward to working closely with the team in Los Angeles.”

    “It’s incredibly exciting to be collaborating with Steven Spielberg,” notes Neil Young, VP and studio head at EALA. “He shares our vision for the potential of the medium and has the passion and creativity to help us finally deliver on the promise that a game can not only engage and compel you with its interactivity, but can also move you emotionally.”

    With interactive software outselling Hollywood product and movie tie-ins accounting for a significant percentage of games hitting the market, filmmakers are becoming more involved in the game development process. The strong link between the film and game industries was recently spotlighted by the announcement that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is exec producing 20th Century Fox’s big-screen adaptation of Microsoft’s hugely successful sci-fi shooter, Halo.

    Financial terms of the agreement between Spielberg and EA were not disclosed, and details of the three video games being developed under the partnership are being kept under wraps for the time being.