Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • My Little Pony Goes Theatrical

    Hasbro’s girls’ lifestyle brand, My Little Pony, is headed for the big screen with an animated holiday special scheduled play weekend matinees in theaters across the country during the month of October. The Screenvision digital network will present My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas Oct. 1-23 via the through an initiative between the Hasbro Properties Group (HPG) and Kidtoon Films.

    The 44-minute film will focus on Pony character Minty as she embarks on an adventure to save Christmas for all of her friends. Young moviegoers will receive a My Little Pony party hat and favor during pre-show Pony Parties. Following the theatrical engagement, Hasbro and Paramount Home Entertainment will release the production on DVD on Oct. 25 for the suggested price of $16.99.

    Having occupied stable space on store shelves for more than 20 years, The My Little Pony brand continues to grow on a national and global basis, according to Bryony Bouyer, senior VP for the Hasbro Properties Group. “Our relationship with Kidtoon Films extends the pony experience for girls as their favorite friends come to life in theatres,” he adds.

    My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas is one of the new movies in Kidtoon Films’ G-rated matinee movie series. Past releases include Tonka: Tough Truck Adventures and Candy Land: The Great Lollipop Adventure, both based on long-standing Hasbro properties.

    Tokyopop’s Jr. Cine-Manga will release a Very Minty Christmas comic book this fall. Books, CDs and toys based on the special are also on the way from various licensees.

    For a list of theatres showing My Little Pony: A Very Minty Christmas weekends in October, visit www.kidtoonfilms.com.

  • Zellweger to Play Beatrix Potter

    Renee Zellweger (Shark Tale) has signed on to portray Beatrix Potter in a biopic about the beloved children’s book author, according to Daily Variety. Ewan McGregor (Valiant, Robots) is reportedly in talks to play Potter’s publisher and love interest in the live-action film that will contain animated elements.

    Titled Miss Potter, the film is being produced by David Kirschner Prods. and Phoenix Pictures, with Babe helmer Chris Noonan attached to direct from a screenplay by Broadway scribe Richard Maltby Jr. (Ain’t Misbehavin’, Fosse). Financing will be provided by Grosvenor Park and international sales and distribution will be handled by Summit Ent.

    Potter is best known for the books The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher which were animated in the late ’80s with Dennis Hopper and Meryl Streep providing narration. The upcoming film will focus on the author’s life and her struggle for independence in Victorian England.

    Zellweger, who is again teaming with DreamWorks Animation to voice a role in the Jerry Seinfeld animated comedy, Bee Movie, will be an exec producer on Potter. Phoenix’s Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and David Thwaites will server as producers, along with David Kirschner and Corey Sienega of Kirschner Prods., which is working with Brian Grazer’s Imagine Ent. to bring kid lit favorite Curious George to the big screen in Universal’s upcoming 2D-animated feature.

  • TV-Loonland Mints Feature Division

    TV-Loonland, a Munich-based independent producer and distributor of family entertainment, has announced the establishment of Loonland Pictures to market in-house and third-party productions. The new arm will launch in December to handle the new animated feature Heidi, along with partners 20th Century Fox and NFP Marketing.

    In Loonland Pictures, the company has created an independent sales and video distribution company into which it will channel major TV-Loonland productions, programming from the Loonland library and renowned animation series from outside companies.

    Selma K’ppel, CEO of TV-Loonland, comments, ‘We believe that against the backdrop of a bitterly competitive distribution market worldwide, it is particularly important to search for marketing strategies that take the offensive. With our British subsidiary, Metrodome, a successful marketer in the movie distribution and home entertainment business, we have already achieved success in our marketing scheme. With Loonland Pictures we will continue on this path in the German-speaking countries.’

    Heidi, Loonland Pictures’ flagship project, is slated to launch in German theaters on December 22, in time for the 125th anniversary of the classic children’s book by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. The 80-minute film is a co-production of TV-Loonland, its British subsidiary Telemagination and Canadian animation house Nelvana. Directed by Alan Simpson, the animated feature tells the story of an orphan who lives in the Swiss Alps and has exciting adventures with her grandfather and her friends Peter and Klara.

  • DreamWorks Animation Makes Executive Decisions

    With direct-to-video releases and Broadway musicals being added to DreamWorks Animation’s production slate, the studio is restructuring its ranks, naming Shark Tale producer Bill Damaschke head of creative production and development, and bringing on Kristine Belson as head of development.

    Damaschke, who is overseeing the musical stage production of Shrek, will oversee creative production and artistic development for all DreamWorks Animation projects, reporting to DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and chief operating officer Ann Daly. The ten-year DreamWorks veteran was instrumental in training the studio’s 2D animators to produce its first in-house CG production, Shark Tale, and will continue to develop the company’s talent pool.

    Reporting to Damaschke, Belson will oversee all feature film development and acquisition for DreamWorks Animation. She comes to the studio from the Jim Henson Co., where she served as VP of production. Her various producer credits include The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz, Five Children and It and Good Boy!. Before joining DreamWorks, she was working a s producer on Henson’s forthcoming sequel, Power of the Dark Crystal, and Puss ‘n Boots, a live-action film that will be competing with DreamWorks’ direct-to-video Shrek 2 spin-off about the storied cat.

    Belson’s previous industry gigs include VP of production at Columbia Pictures, senior VP for Turner Pictures and director of production at 20th Century Fox. She’s listed as a producer on DreamWorks upcoming focusing on.

  • Oscar Shorts Deadline Looms

    Do you think you have the next Geri’s Game, Wrong Trousers, Harvey Krumpet or Ryan? To be considered for the 78th Academy Awards, your animated or live-action short films have to be submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by 5 p.m. PT on Monday, October 3.

    For the short film categories, filmmakers must submit an entry form, film synopsis, cast and credits list, stills, filmography, film print and proof of qualifying exhibition or festival win. Films that reach the branch screening round of voting will need to supply a second film print to the Academy by Wednesday, January 4, 2006.

    Oct. 3 is also the deadline for foreign language films, which require additional documentation, including a synopsis of the film in English and cast and crew credits list. Film prints must be received by the Academy no later than Friday, October 14.

    Screenings of submitted films in the foreign language film category will begin on Friday, October 28, while the live-action and animated short film screenings will start in early November.

    The 78th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 31, at 5:30 a.m. PT, in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The 2005 awards ceremony will be presented on Sunday, March 5, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT.

    Additional submission information may be obtained by contacting Awards Coordinator Torene Svitil at 310-247-3000, ext. 190; by fax at 310-247-2600; or by visiting www.oscars.org/78academyawards/rules.

  • FOX Inks Family Guy’s Goodman

    Writer David Goodman has signed a seven-figure deal with 20th Century Fox Television to stay on as exec producer and showrunner of the hit primetime animated series Family Guy, according to Daily Variety. Having successfully brought the show back from cancellation this spring, FOX has ordered 22 new episodes of the edgy comedy, which is likely to continue next season.

    Goodman, who pilots Family Guy alongside series creator Seth MacFarlane, will also develop new shows for the network under the deal, his first solo pact with FOX. The network reportedly recognizes Goodman as a driving force behind Family Guy’s success wit the all-important adults 18-34 demographic and aims to keep him in their stable. Fox recently signed a similar deal with Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, who co-created the new primetime toon American Dad with McFarlane.

    Before joining the Family Guy crew for its third season in 2000, Goodman served as a writer and co-exec producer on Matt Groening’s Futurama. Other writing credits include UPN’s Star Trek spin-off, Enterprise, and the animated home video release Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost. He also co-wrote and exe produced the new direct-to-video feature Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin, The Untold Story, which hit retail this week.

  • Stuart Snyder Named GM of TBS’ GameTap

    Former Cinar Corp. president and CEO Stuart Snyder has been appointed general manager of GameTap, Turner Broadcasting System’s unique broadband entertainment network offering downloadable video games and other content. Based in Atlanta, Snyder will manage the marketing, programming, development and distribution of GameTap, set to launch in October.

    “GameTap represents a major new initiative for Turner Broadcasting, introducing to the world a bold and progressive entertainment programming platform,” Snyder comments. “With the formidable resources and support being allocated by Turner, we will be dedicated to establishing nothing less than the global benchmark for game play.”

    Snyder was instrumental in Cinar’s successful turnaround and sale to ex-Nelvana toppers Michael Hirsh and Toper Taylor, who renamed the company Cookie Jar Ent. last year. Before that, he co-founded New York-based Turnstile Ent., which creates and produces family programming such as Clifford the Big Red Dog LIVE and the soon-to-be-released toddler DVD series Baby Road Trip. Snyder, who also will continue to be a board member of Turnstile.

    Snyder began his professional entertainment career at MGM/UA as head of the Non-Theatrical Division and later moved to its Home Entertainment Division. He later built the hugely successful home entertainment division for Turner Broadcasting, before moving on to serve as president of USA Home Entertainment and president and COO of WWF Ent.

    GameTap will offer subscribers an “all-you-can-play” gaming service on their PCs via broadband connection. To access GameTap, players securely download and install Turner-developed client software from www.gametap.com.

  • Pixar’s RenderMan Makes Escape in Europe

    Through a new a partnership with Pixar Animation Studios, Escape Studios will provide sales, training and support services for Pixar’s Academy Award-winning RenderMan software in Europe. In addition to supporting the product line, Escape aims to help raise the RenderMan profile and user knowledge of the brand across the continent.

    "Pixar has been seeking a partner with a profound understanding of the European production scene combined with superior training facilities staffed by the industry’s best instructors," says Chris Ford, business director of RenderMan products at Pixar. "Escape fully understands the requirements of the European industry, and our present and future customers can expect a new whole level of support and backup."

    Escape Studios, which describes itself as a hub for 3D animation and visual effects expertise, has provided software, training and new talent for such industry leaders as The Mill, Aardman Animations, BBC, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Electronic Arts, Rockstar Games and Nissan.

    As part of its strategy to develop the European RenderMan community, Escape Studios has established a RenderMan user group, which can be accessed through the Escape online forums at www.escapestudios.co.uk/forums.

    Pixar has embarked on a major expansion of Renderman’s market and user base through a growing product line including RenderMan Pro Server, RenderMan Artist Tools, and the new RenderMan for Maya. Boasting a powerful shading language and anti-aliased motion blur, the software is used by leading vfx shops and animation houses for high-end productions. For more information on RenderMan, go to www.pixar.com.

  • MTV Networks Sprints to Mobile

    Viacom’s MTV Networks has signed a deal with wireless carrier Sprint to bring the broadcast entity’s brands and programming direct to Sprint PCS customers on their multimedia phones. Beginning in October, Sprint expects to offer access to exclusive programming and other short content from such outlets as Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, VH1, CMT and The N.

    The Emmy Award-winning Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Services offers a variety of live and on-demand video and audio channels delivered directly to customers’ wireless handsets, which feature a built-in media player. Users can subscribing to individual channels or selecting one of two channels featuring a variety of content.

    “More than three years ago, Sprint was the first to bring the third screen to life and launch broadcast television on a mobile phone," says Jeff Hallock, VP of wireless product strategy and marketing for Sprint. "With MTV Networks’ top brands becoming a part of our multimedia offerings, our customers can now have the choice and flexibility to view the content they’ve come to enjoy at home anytime and anywhere on our nationwide network.”

    “The relationship each MTV Networks channel has with its audience is very unique, so we’re highly focused on making sure our mobile content is equally unique–and available to all of our audiences wherever they are across multiple platforms,” adds Jason Hirschhorn, senior VP of digital music and media for MTV Networks.

    In addition to the premium subscription channels, Sprint plans to offer its PCS customers downloads of other mobile content from each network, including music tones, exclusive music content, news updates, daily jokes and screen savers.

    MTV Networks owns and operates more than 100 channels worldwide, offering such television programming services as MTV, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike TV, CMT Noggin, Logo, MTVN International and The Suite from MTV Networks, a package of 13 digital services.

  • Activision’s Gun Nails Hollywood Stars

    Developed by Neversoft Ent., Activision’s upcoming old west action-adventure game, Gun, has attracted some heavy Hollywood firepower. The title’s voice cast will include Thomas Jane (The Punisher), Kris Kristofferson (Blade: Trinity), Tom Skerritt (Alien), Brad Dourif (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Lance Henriksen (TV’s Millennium).

    Scripted by Randall Jahnson (Mask of Zorro, The Doors), Gun will put gamers in the role of vengeful gunslinger Colton White (Jane), who must straddle the line between good and evil as he squares off against corrupt lawmen, a murderous preacher, renegade army psychopaths, merciless outlaws and unforgiving Native Americans. Game play involves waging war on horseback, collecting bounties and commandeering trains.

    Kristofferson plays Wite’s mountain man father, Ned, while Skerritt assumes the role of resistance fighter Clay Allison. Meanwhile, typecasting abounds as the game features Dourif as evil preacher Josiah Reed, Perlman as Mayor Hoodoo Brown and Henriksen as obsessive tyrant Thomas MacGruder.

    The Mature-rated Gun is slated for release this fall for PlayStation2, Xbox 360, Xbox, GameCube, and PC.

  • Fox Deploys Robots, Stewie

    If you’ve only budgeted $30 for expanding your DVD collection this week, you’re out of luck. Today’s slate of releases is virtually dominated by animation, leading off with the home video debut of 20th Century Fox Animation’s big-screen CG extravaganza, Robots, and the direct-to-video feature film, Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story.

    Directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age), Robots stars Ewan McGregor as the voice of Rodney Copperbottom, a young inventor who goes to Robot City to meet his hero, Bigweld (Mel Brooks). His adventures lead him to take on corporate baddie Ratchet (Greg Kinnear), while being seduced by femme-bot Cappy (Halle Berry). Drew Carey, Jim Broadbent, and Amanda Bynes also lend their voices to the film, which is based on a book by William Joyce (Rolie, Polie, Olie; George Shrinks; A Bug’s Life). Joyce also served as producer.

    Bonus materials include commentary by director Wedge and Joyce, additional commentary by the Blue Sky technical team, the animated short film Aunt Fanny’s Tour of Booty, an inside look at the making of Ice Age 2, deleted scenes with optional commentary by Wedge, the original Robots short that sold the movie to the studio, a character inspiration featurette titled You Can Shine No Matter What You’re Made Of, a Blue Man Group music featurette, interactive character bios and design galleries, an Xbox exclusive multi-player racing game and the DVD Rom games Robot Dance, Invent-a-Bot and Fender Photo Shoot. The DVD carries a suggested retail price of $29.98.

    Also from Fox Home Entertainment comes the eagerly awaited feature-length extension of creator Seth MacFarlane’s popular FOX TV series, Family Guy. Drew Barrymore, Ron Livingston and Beverly Hills 90210 alumni Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling join the cast for Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. The film 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 will offer additional material that won’t be broadcast.

    The 83-minute, unrated release focuses on maniacal baby genius Stewie, who aims to change his ways following a near-death experience. Putting aside plans of world domination, he sets out in search of his roots when he sees a man on TV who must surely be his real father. DVD extras include deleted scenes, still galleries, an uncensored audio track, animatics and commentary by MacFarlane, cast members and writers. Fans can pick it up for around $29.98.

    Other TV favorites hitting DVD today include SpongeBob SquarePants: The Complete Third Season, a three-disc set featuring 37 episodes for the list price of $54.99, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, 2nd Gig: Volume 1, with four episodes of the anime TV series. The single-disc standard edition from Manga/Bandai/Anchor Bay lists for $24.98 and the special edition three-disc set with soundtrack CD and limited edition exclusive collector’s tin can be had for $49.98.

    As DreamWorks and Aardman Animation get set to unleash their Wallace & Gromit feature in theaters on Oct. 7, Sony has released the complete first season of the clay animated British series Creature Comforts from Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park. The single-disc edition includes all 13 nine-minute episodes which aired on British television and Comedy Central. The $19.94 price tag also gets you such extras as a behind-the-scenes featurette, games and the Oscar-winning original Creature Comforts short that started it all.

    If that’s not enough, there’s also the 16-disc Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset featuring the distinctive cut-out animation of Terry Gilliam. For $199.95, you get classic episodes of the TV series plus Monty Python Live at Aspen, Steve Martin’s Python retrospective, the show’s first German episode. The release is available from A&E Home Video.

  • Rugrats Takes on Snow White

    Family Guy isn’t the only toon series with a direct-to-DVD feature debuting this week. Tommy, Angelica, Chuckie and the rest of the gang from the hit Nickelodeon show are back and putting their unique twist on a fairytale favorite with Rugrats: Tales From the Crib: Snow White.

    The premiere installment of the Rugrats: Tales From the Crib collection, this unique take on the Snow White story has Angelica playing the role of the evil queen on a mission to steal the title of "fairest one of all" from Susie Carmichael, who’s cast as the enchanting title character. Helping Snow White foil the queen’s plot are the dwarf-babies, played by the Rugrats. Series regulars such as Cheryl Chase, E.G. Daily, Cree Summer and Melanie Chartoff are joined by guest stars Amanda Bynes (What a Girl Wants, The Amanda Show), Kenan Thompson (Barbershop 2, Saturday Night Live) and Jeffrey Licon (The Brothers Garcia, Joan of Arcadia).

    Two bonus never-before-seen Pre-School Daze specials have the Rugrats gang learning even more valuable lessons about life. In Good News Bad News, Angelica declares that she wants to be a news anchorwoman and takes on the task of starting her own class news show. Picture Imperfect has Angelica ditching her pal Harold when she realizes the importance of standing with the cool kids in the class photo. Meanwhile, Miss Weemer renews her infatuation with the children’s photographer.

    In addition to the bonus specials, Rugrats: Tales From the Crib: Snow White includes an exclusive Rugrats Snow White music video and comes in special glitter foil packaging for the list price of $19.99. The Paramount Home Entertainment release got a star-studded send-off over the weekend as Nickelodeon threw a "purple carpet" gala that attracted the likes of Omar Epps, Natasha Henstridge, Blair Underwood, Rick Schroder, Patrick Warburton, Wendy Malick, Amy Brenneman, Amy Yasbeck and Dan Cortese.

    If it’s vintage cartoon fun you’re looking for on disc, check out Walt Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites: Vol. 8 Holiday Celebration with Mickey & Pals Collection and Walt Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites: Vol. 9 Classic Holiday Stories Collection. Both releases contain timeless shorts featuring beloved Disney characters for $14.99.

    Photo: Natasha Henstridge, Amy Yasbeck and a young friend enjoy Nickelodoen’s Fairypalooza event.

  • Don "Inspector Gadget" Adams Dies

    Don Adams, the actor best known as Maxwell Smart on the classic spy spoof TV series Get Smart, died from a lung infection in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sept. 25. With his distinctive inflection and sharp wit, Adams was a natural for cartoon work, lending his voice to the title character in DIC’s long-running Inspector Gadget, among others.

    After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps in WWII, Adams worked as a stand-up comedian before landing roles on TV. He voiced the title role in the 1963 cartoon series Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, reprising the role for 1964’s Underdog. He also voiced the role of Comet in Rankin & Bass’ enduring 1964 animated holiday special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, before going on to write, direct and star in Get Smart, which earned him three Emmy Awards. The live-action James Bond send-up originally ran from 1965 to 1970 and was revived twice in the ’80s and ’90s.

    The Maxwell Smart character served as inspiration for Adams’ Inspector Gadget, which he voiced through its various incarnations from 1983 to 1999. During that time, he also voiced the role of Principal Hickey in the 1997 series Disney’s Pepper Ann. Adams is survived by seven children from three marriages. He was 82 years old.

  • BOXX Workstations Go Multi-Core with AMD

    BOXX Technologies announced that it is adding a new level of performance to its 7000 series 3DBOXX workstations and RenderBOXX render nodes by offering the latest AMD Opteron 880 and 280 multi-core processors.

    The advanced AMD64 dual-core architecture offers direct connection between CPU, memory and I/O resources, helping digital content creators increase productivity with their 7000 series BOXX machines.

    "BOXX works closely with AMD to deliver the high level of performance that is critical to an efficient workflow in digital creation for 3D animation, computer-generated effects, compositing, and rendering," says Francois Wolf, director of marketing for BOXX Technologies. 

    In addition to Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors, The BOXX 7000 series of workstations will now feature Dual NVIDIA nForce Professional 2050 and 2200 MCPs for a high-performance, scalable architecture; NVIDIA SLI technology and BOXX’s unique dual PCI-E x16 implementation to elevate graphics performance level; Dual PCI-E x16 slots include full x16 speed on each slot for better dual-monitor or single-monitor performance from NVIDIA Quadro SLI GPUs; both 32- and 64-bit computing capabilities; expanded I/O options including SATA 3Gbps and storage for large datasets (up to 5TB internal); and  multiple chassis options for expanded RAID protected storage and hotswap storage options.

    BOXX workstations and render nodes offering Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors are expected to ship by the end of this month.  Pricing varies with system configuration.  To find more details and create a customized workstation configuration, go to www.boxxtech.com.

  • DreamWorks Deal Grrrrreat for Kellogg

    Daily Variety reports that DreamWorks Animation and cereal juggernaut Kellogg Co. have entered into an exclusive, multi-year deal that will see characters from upcoming DreamWorks theatrical and home-video toon releases show up in commercials and on boxes at breakfast tables.

    Kellogg will help promote DreamWorks projects with packaging for cereals, toaster pastries, cereal bars and fruit-flavored snacks. The pact also gives Kellogg exclusive U.S. rights to use the studio’s animated characters to sell pancakes, waffles, cookies and crackers.

    In addition to Shrek 3 and a direct-to-video Puss In Boots spin-off, DreamWorks Animation is working on its third Aardman collaboration, Flushed Away, which will share the 2006 schedule with Over the Hedge, based on the comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Recently announced projects for 2008 are Kung Fu Panda, starring the voice of Jack Black (Shark Tale), and Madagascar 2.

    Also in development as possible DreamWorks franchises are adaptations of Cressida Cowell’s children’s book How to Train Your Dragon and the Warren monster hunter comic-book series Rex Havoc, as well as an alien invasion comedy with a twist titled It Came From Earth! and Route 66, a romantic comedy/road movie involving roadside attractions.

  • Nyocker! Is Tops at Ottawa

    The 2005 Ottawa International Animation Festival concluded over the weekend with the closing awards ceremony honoring the best of the fest. Held at the National Arts Centre on Sunday, the event was followed by a screening of the award winning films.

    The Mercury Filmworks Grand Prize for Animated Feature was awarded to Aron Gauder’s Nyocker! (The District!). The entry from Hungary was selected for its "visual innovation, energetic style and fearless satire of contemporary culture and politics.” Meanwhile, the student award went to CalArts grad J.J. Villard’s Chestnuts Icelolly, an edgy, traditionally-animated surreal of an ostracized boy who gets the last laugh.

    Winner of the Grand Prize for Commissioned Animation is Die Toten Hosen Walkampf from German Filmmaker Andreas Hykade. The judeges selected the film for its "beautiful choreography of color and shape with riotous set pieces and intimate touching moments.” Taking home the Nelvana Grand Prize for Independent Short Animation is Igor Kovalyov’s Milch (U.S.), characterized as “oblique but perceptive storytelling, which through a myriad of closely observed details takes us into an atmospheric, touching and sad story of childhood.”

    Henry Selick’s new CG short, Moongirl, claimed the Short Film Special Jury Prize in the kids’ competition. The flagship project for Laika (formerly Vinton Studios) reminded the judges of Selick’s charming 1996 stop-motion feature film, James and the Giant Peach.

    The award for Television Series for Adults was given to e Adult Swim favorite Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law from Richard Ferguson-Hull. The episode "Birdman of Guantanamole" was singled out for its risque humour and over-the-top parody of the superhero cartoon. On the children’s TV side, the winner is Codename: Kids Next Door, which won for the installment Operation A.R.C.H.I.V.E.

    Rounding out the list of top winners are Bruce Alcock’s At the Quinte Hotel (Canadian Film Institute Award for Best Canadian Animation), and fellow Canadian Peter Lepeniotis’ Surly Squirrel (National Film Board of Canada Public Prize).

    Other winners are:

    School Competition

    ENSAD (France) showreel

    Special Mention: Supinfocom Valennes, France

    New Media Competition

    Animation Short Made for the Internet

    Mole in the City from Roque Ballesteros/U.S.

    Special Mention to Manege Frei/Ljubisa Djukic/Germany and Three Feathers and a Rainworm by Igor Coric/Serbia \

    Interactive Animation

    American Penguin Project by Minki Park/U.S.

    Independent Short Films Competition

    Narrative Short Work

    Ichthys by Marek Skrobecki/Poland

    Experimental/Abstract Work

    _grau by Robert Seidel/Germany

    Special Mention

    Bow-tie Duty for Square Heads by Stephan-Flint Muller/Germany

    First Professional Work

    City Paradise by Gaelle Denis/U.K.

    Student Films Competition

    Elementary/Secondary Film

    Piper the Goat and the Peace Pipe by Lev Polyakov/U.S.

    Undergraduate Film

    Fish Heads Fugue and Other Tales for Twilight by Lauren Indovina, Linsey Mayer-Beug/U.S.

    Graduate Film

    Overtime by Oury Atlan, Thibault Berland, Damien Ferrie/France

    Special Mention:

    Death by Heart by Malin Erixon/Sweden

    Meeting Me by Angela Steffen/Germany

    Commissioned Films Competition

    Promotional Work

    Coinstar ‘Shoe’ by PES/U.S.

    Special Mention: Delirium Films Opening Title by Nebojsa Rogic/Serbia

    Music Video

    Phoenix Foundation "Hitchcock" by Reuben Sutherland/U.K.

    Kids Competition

    Short Film Made for Children

    Gopher Broke by Jeff Fowler and Blur Studio/U.S.

    More information on the festival can be found at www.awn.com/ottawa.

  • New PBS Kids Net Sprouts Up

    PBS KIDS Sprout, a new 24/7 preschool television network and web destination, debuts today on digital cable and satellite. The outlet is going out to more than 16 million subscribers with such program offerings as Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, Barney & Friends, Thomas & Friends, Angelina Ballerina, Sagwa: The Chinese Siamese Cat, Caillou, The Berenstain Bears, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Teletubbies, Dragon Tales, Pingu and Noddy.

    Diana Kerekes, the acting GM for PBS KIDS Sprout, comments, “Building on the remarkable success of our video-on-demand service, we’re very excited to be launching our digital cable channel and website today–making Sprout truly a multi-platform destination for preschoolers and their caregivers. Not only does Sprout offer programming that is trusted, we’re also able to provide such programs after 6 p.m., when other preschool channels just aren’t available."

    PBS KIDS Sprout also offers a complete video-on-demand (VOD) service featuring 50 hours of content every day. Offerings include Plaza Sesamo, the Spanish-language adaptation of Sesame Street, as well as Spanish-language versions of Barney & Friends, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina and more.

    Created through a partnership between Comcast Corp., PBS, HIT Ent. and Sesame Workshop, Sprout features thematic programming blocks uniquely scheduled to follow a typical preschooler’s day as hosts Kevin and Melanie provide fun and learning from breakfast to bedtime.

    Kids and their caregivers can play original games, view a programming schedule and interact with their favorite characters at the PBS KIDS Sprout website, www.sproutletsgrow.com. Contact your local cable company about availability of PBS KIDS Sprout in your neighborhood.

  • Nicktoons Rebrands, Adds New Shows

    Nicktoons, Nickelodeon’s 24-hour animation network, which recently became ad-supported, will now be known as Nicktoons Network. As part of its re-branding, the popular animation outlet for kids 6-14 is sporting a new logo and a fresh look both on air and at its website, www.NicktoonsNetwork.com.

    The Nicktoons Network is headquartered in the Nicktoons Studio (formerly known as The Nick Animation Studios) in Burbank, Calif., where the outlet will focus on creating new hit shows to augment its current content offerings, which are 75% exclusive to the channel.

    “We are thrilled to see Nicktoons Network expand from showcasing classic Nicktoons hits to a network with its own identity and original programming,” says Tom Ascheim, exec VP and general manager of Nickelodeon Digital Television.

    “As always, Nicktoons Network will remain dedicated to providing a top destination for animation lovers 24-hours a day,” adds Keith Dawkins, general manager of Nicktoons Network. Dawkins says the new name, look, identity and web site will help the network create brand distinction and provide added value to its audience.

    In 2006, Nicktoons Network will launch three original series. Scheduled to sneak peek this Thanksgiving Day is Skyland, a sci-fi action adventure show produced by Method Films and created by Emmanuel Gorin, Alexandre de la Patelliere and Matthieu Delaporte. Set in the year 2251, the series will follow a heroic young brother-and-sister team as they search for their parents in a new world order.

    Kappa Mikey, produced by Animation Collection and created by Larry Schwarz , the mind behind Nicktoons’ Leader Dog and Tortellini Western, is a parody about an American actor who inadvertently becomes a huge star in Japan after joining the cast of a struggling anime series.

    The 2006 lineup will also feature Shuriken School, a quirky martial arts comedy that centers on a boy undergoing Ninja training at an extraordinary academy. Xilam Ent. is the production company bringing the action to the screen.

    On Sept. 23 Nicktoons Network premiered a new weekend programming block titled Three-Headed Monster, which runs Friday through Sunday from 7 p.m. to midnight ET. The block will feature such Nicktoons favorites as the recently launched Martin Mystery, created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel from an original Italian comic book by Alfredo Castelli, and My Dad the Rock Star, produced by K.I.SS. front man Gene Simmons. Rock Star will air at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET, followed by Mystery at 10:30 p.m.

    Nicktoons Network is also committed to continuing Nextoons: The Nicktoon Film Festival, which just wrapped its second season. The network teamed with Frederator Studios to host this unique on-air festival featuring original animation shorts submitted by independent cartoon filmmakers around the globe. This year’s $10,000 grand prize winner is La Revolution des Crabes (The Crab Revolution) by French filmmaker Arthur de Pins.

    Shows that will remain part of the Nicktoons Network lineup include the exclusives Corneil & Bernie, Kaput & Zosky and Yakkity Yak, as well as classic hits such as Ren & Stimpy, Invader Zim, Ahhh! Real Monsters, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Fairly OddParents.

  • Corpse Plays Bridesmaid to Flight

    Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. dug up a healthy take at the box office over the weekend, but couldn’t quite catch Flightplan, the Jodie Foster airplane thriller from Buena Vista. Burton’s latest stop-motion animation opus for Warner Bros. debuted in the No. 2 spot with an estimated $20 million, making it the highest-grossing September family release ever.

    The Nightmare Before Christmas, Burtons’ last foray into feature-length animation, opened to $8 million in 1993, eventually earning around $50 million. Corpse Bride should also do steady business as word-of-mouth spreads and Halloween approaches. And while it didn’t perform as well as such recent CG hits as Disney/Pixar’s the Incredibles or DreamWorks’ Madagascar, Corpse’s relatively modest budget will ensure a quicker profit. Hot on its trail, however, is DreamWorks’ and Aardman Animation’s Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which hits theaters on Oct. 7.

    Flightplan won the weekend with an estimated $24.6, proving audiences didn’t quite get their fill of airborne suspense with DreamWorks’ Wes Craven-directed Red Eye. Lola Visual Effects and Peerless Camera Co. Ltd. piloted the vfx for this latest nailbiter that has Foster playing a woman who loses her child, and perhaps her mind, on a cross-Atlantic flight.

    DreamWorks’ Just like Heaven, another romantic comedy about a dude who falls for a dead chick, slipped to No. 3 after holding the top spot last week. The rib-tickling ghost story with vfx by Big Red Pixel, Hammerhead and Pacific Title earned around $9.8 million in its sophomore weekend, putting it ahead of newcomer Roll Bounce, a roller boogie flashback that skated to the tune of $8 million for FoxSearchlight. Meanwhile, Sony Screen Gems’ The Exorcism of Emily Rose dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 with an estimated $7.5 million. Featuring visual effects by Captive Audience Prods., the $19 million reality-based chiller has made north of $62 million over the past three weeks.

    This week sees the release of Serenity, the highly anticipated feature-length treatment of Firefly, the short-lived FOX sci-fi series from creator Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel). Read about the film’s visual effects work by Emmy-winning shop Zoic in the upcoming November issue of Animation Magazine.

  • SOFTIMAGE|XSI 5.0 Debuts

    Avid Technology Inc. today announced the worldwide availability of SOFTIMAGE®|XSI version 5.0, the latest edition of its flagship 3D animation software. Unveiled over the summer at SIGGRAPH 2005, XSI v.5.0 boasts such new features as non-destructive character tools and a comprehensive set of migration tools for Alias Maya users.

    SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.5.0 also includes the GATOR attribute transfer system for re-purposing properties and animation between models, native 64-bit support for XSI and mental ray 3.4 software to create and render complex scenes and a new gigapolygon core that leverages multi-processor and multi-core platforms with an enhanced memory management system.

    The creative engine behind the Avid Computer Graphics toolset, SOFTIMAGE|XSI software is an integral part of Avid’s Make, Manage and Move Media strategy. The industry’s first 3D nonlinear production environment, it allows artists the freedom to make professional computer graphics, 3D animation and visual effects for film, television and video games. The software is used at such renown vfx houses as Troublemaker Studios, CafeFX, Giant Killer Robots, R!OT, The Mill, Stan Winston Studios, Pixel Liberation Front, La Maison, Hybride, Janimation, Quiet Man, PSYOP, Cinepix and Nerd Corps.

    SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.5.0 Foundation is available for $495 from the Softimage website at www.softimage.com/store. Meanwhile, the SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.5.0 Essentials package can be had for around $1,995 from authorized Softimage resellers, along with SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.5.0 Advanced for the suggested retail price of $6,995. For more information, go to www.softimage.com.