Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Gumby Joins Lampoon Frat

    As everyone’s favorite green clay animation icon turns 50 years old, National Lampoon Inc., Premavision and Clokey Prods. have announced plans to produce a new Gumby TV series aimed at college students. Gumby: The Lost Tapes will air on the in-dorm National Lampoon Network this fall.

    National Lampoon, the twisted comic fraternity that bought us such beloved films as Animal House and Vacation, will produce new dialog and music tracks to give the classic Gumby series an edgy and irreverent twist. The company has also acquired rights to air the vintage Gumby episodes with original audio intact as part of its fall lineup.

    “Like National Lampoon, Gumby has been a piece of Americana experienced by multiple generations,” says National Lampoon President Douglas S. Bennett. “Think of this as South Park goes back to the 20th Century.”

    The National Lampoon Network reaches nearly five million college students on 600 campuses nationwide. Programming is also available at www.NationalLampoon.com, and is packaged for sale on DVD and other media.

  • Brothers Grim, Cave Caves

    It wasn’t exactly happily ever after at the box office for Dimension Films and its big-budget, Terry Gilliam-directed fantasy pic, The Brothers Grimm. The $80 million period piece was one casualty of an all-around lackluster weekend, earning an estimated $15 million to come in at second place. Meanwhile, Universal’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin managed to stay on top with around $16.4 million.

    Grimm did far better than its genre competition, Sony Screen Gems’ CG-laden monster mash, The Cave. Scaring up an estimated $6.2 million, the subterranean screamer debuted at No. 6 behind seven-week holdover The Wedding Crashers, a romantic comedy from New Line Cinema. Third and fourth place were claimed by DreamWorks’ airborne thriller, Red Eye, with around $10.4 million, and Paramount’s urban revenge tale, Four Brothers, with an estimated $7.8 million.

    The Brothers Grimm features visual effects created by Artem Ltd. and Peerless under visual effects supervisor Kent Houston, who previously helmed vfx work on Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Twelve Monkeys. Digital effects on The Cave were handled by Luma Pictures and visual effects supervisor James McQuaide (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution).

    Disney’s animated release, Valiant slipped 43% in its sophomore week, descending to No. 8 with an estimated $3.3 million and a two-week total of around $11.5 million. Produced by Vanguard Animation in the U.K. for a reported $35 million, the film should recoup production costs in worldwide theatrical before turning a tidy profit on home video. Still, the film’s performance is a wake-up call to anyone thinking CG animation is a lightning rod for box-office success.

  • Spielberg to Make Worlds Collide

    Daily Variety reports that Steven Spielberg will follow his adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds with a remake of the 1951 sci-fi thriller When Worlds Collide, another George Pal classic. Spielberg will serve as producer on this flick about human beings struggling to survive the ultimate natural disaster, which should call for a heaping helping of digital effects and animation.

    Paramount’s Collide remake was originally to be written, directed and produced by Stephen Sommers, who helmed Universal’s Van Helsing and The Mummy series. Spielberg took over as producer when Sommers left the project to spearhead 20th Century Fox’s vfx comedy, A Night at the Museum, written by Reno 911 cast members Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Gurant.

    It is uncertain whether or not Spielberg will direct this modern update as well. The project marks a return to familiar ground since he produced the 1998 disaster flick Deep Impact, which was inspired largely by director Rudolph Mate’s original When Worlds Collide. Spielberg is now busy filming Munich, a historical pic about the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympic games. That film is due in theaters this December. Also on his plate is a fourth Indiana Jones movie with old pal George Lucas.

    Sommers will reportedly stay on Collide as a producer, along with producing partner Bob Ducsay, Chris Columbus (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) and Michael Barnathan (Fantastic Four).

  • Alias Ships MotionBuilder 7

    Alias has announced that its MotionBuilder 7 software for character animation is now shipping worldwide. This latest release promises new rigging enhancements, numerous new workflow features and improved compatibility with other 3D applications.

    According to Alias, Motion Builder 7 gives animators increased control over characters through such rigging updates as character extensions and control rig visual feedback. To improve workflow, the company has added save and load character animation functionality that lets animators rapidly transfer, re-purpose and reuse animation clips with any character. In addition, new constraints allow users to easily transfer animated character setups between MotionBuilder and Maya. More information on MotionBuilder 7 features can be found at www.alias.com/eng/products-services/motionbuilder/new/index.shtml.

    "The response from our beta customers to MotionBuilder 7’s newly extended character animation capabilities, improved interoperability with popular 3D packages and productivity enhancements has been very positive," says product manager Curtis Garton. "Providing animators with the tools they need to tackle the most demanding, high-volume animation is our number one priority with MotionBuilder."

    Alias MotionBuilder core technologies include real-time architecture; non-linear, non-destructive animation layering; and Story Timeline performance environment. In addition, MotionBuilder’s native file format, Alias FBX, allows it to be easily integrated into any existing 3D production pipeline.

    New and upgrading customers can purchase the latest version of MotionBuilder for Windows and Mac OS X from an authorized reseller or online at www.alias.com. Pricing remains unchanged from MotionBuilder 6. Alias MotionBuilder Pro 7 (node-locked) sells for $4195 and Alias MotionBuilder Pro 7 (floating) is $4795. For new Alias MotionBuilder Pro customers, the cost includes a one-year Platinum Membership subscription.

  • Pepsi, Microsoft Giving Away Xbox 360s

    Through a new Pepsi-Cola company promotion, thousands of gamers will be given the opportunity to own an Xbox 360 before Microsoft’s next-generation console hits retail this holiday season. The Mountain Dew “Every 10 Minutes” sweepstakes began yesterday and will see one of the video game and entertainment systems given away every 10 minutes for nine weeks straight.

    Unlike other product sweepstakes, this contest is a game of strategy. Participants can actually choose how they will play, positioning themselves to optimize their chances of winning. Hopefuls can start by going to www.every10minutes.com to register and set up a free account. Then they set about collecting codes, which are printed under specially marked caps of 20-ounce and 1-liter bottles of participating Pepsi products and under the rim of specially marked fountain cups. It’s up to the player to choose which 10-minute drawing to enter. Codes can spread across different drawings or stockpiled and put toward one event.

    According to Frank Cooper, VP of promotions and interactive marketing for Pepsi-Cola North America, thousands of people have already registered. Those numbers are expected to climb with this week’s debut of a new national TV and radio campaign produced by BBDO New York.

  • Puppetmaster Band On the Road

    The successful B-movie mogul behind Full Moon Features is taking his distinctive brand of horror on the road this October with a nationwide tour. Charles Band’s Full Moon Horror Road Show will feature puppets and other props from his catalog of chillers, many of which feature stop-motion animation by the late, great Dave Allen.

    Each stop on the tour promises a surprise celebrity guest from past films, rare clips, behind-the-scenes moments, contests, bizarre audience participation, a Q&A/signing session and an original puppet and doll auction. Attendees will also have a chance to be killed in an upcoming Full Moon feature.

    Charles Band began making films in 1975 at the age of 21, and has built up a body of work that includes such cult favorite franchises as the Puppetmaster, Subspecies and Dollman series. Other home-video hits include Oblivion, Blood Dolls and Decadent Evil. Like Roger Corman before him, Band has helped launch the careers of a number of Hollywood A-listers, including Demi Moore, Viggo Mortenson, Helen Hunt and Kelly Preston.

    Band’s traveling horror fest kicks off on Oct. 5 in Austin, Texas, and comes to an end on Halloween in Philadelphia, where fans are required to come in costume to help celebrate the holiday. Tour dates and more information on the event and the Charles Band phenomenon in general can be found at www.fullmoonfeatures.com and www.charlesband.com.

  • Kids’ WB! Premieres New Yu-Gi-Oh!

    Yu-Gi-Oh! Grand Championship, the fifth season of the hit animé series, will have its exclusive U.S. premiere on Kids’ WB! this weekend. The early preview with air on Saturday, Aug. 27 at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT and 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

    The 2005-2006 season begins with the ultimate defeat of the villainous Dartz, who led an ancient civilization on the lost Island of Atlantis 10,000 years ago. Having restored order in the world, Yugi and the gang are ready to go home. They accept a ride in Kaiba’s private jet, under that condition that Yugi and Joey must participate in his latest game tournament, the KC Grand Championship.

    Another new incarnation of the franchise, 4Kids Ent.’s Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, will debut on Cartoon Network in October. Geared to a younger audience, the series is set a generation in the future and chronicles the lives of students at the famous Duel Academy.

    The new Kids’ WB! Saturday lineup is also highlighted by all-new episodes of The Batman (8:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. PT), Pokémon Advanced Challenge (10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. PT) and MegaMan NT Warrior: Axess (11:30 a.m. ET/ 0:30 a.m. PT).

  • Trollz Feature Debuts on Disney Channel

    DIC Ent.’s revived Trollz brand comes to the small screen with a new animated feature set to make its world television debut on Saturday, Aug. 27. Disney Channel in the U.S. will air Trollz: Best Friends For Life at 2 p.m. with subsequent airdates scheduled for Sept. 3 and 29 on Toon Disney.

    Trollz is a contemporary version of the world-famous spiky-haired dolls originally created by Thomas Dam in Denmark more than 50 years ago. This new teenage lifestyle brand revolves around five teenage best friends– Amethyst, Onyx, Sapphire, Topaz and Ruby–each offering her own unique style in personality, color and fashion. Together, they form the "Magic of The Five," to ward off bad spells and extol the virtues of friendship and forgiveness.

    This month marks the back-to-school retail launch of the Trollz lifestyle brand, which includes the first two direct-to-DVD titles from Warner Home Video, toys from Hasbro, books from Scholastic and video games by Ubisoft. In addition, a persistent online Trollz community can be found at www.trollz.com.

  • Deko Boko Climbs to Canada’s Treehouse

    Manga and animation licensing/publishing entity VIZ Media will introduce young Canadian viewers to the animated preschool series Deko Boko Friends on Treehouse TV in September. The kid broadcaster will air 61 episodes of the Japanese hit that airs in the U.S. on Nick Jr., Noggin and Nicktoons.

    VIZ Media’s debut Japanese animation property for preschool audiences, Deko Boko is a series of 30-second animated shorts that aim to deliver positive messages and teach lasting life lessons of acceptance and difference through the adventures of 12 unique characters.

    Treehouse TV, owned by Corus Ent., is seen in more than five million homes across Canada. Kids will also be able to visit the world of Deko Boko Friends through toys from Spin Master and books from Simon & Schuster. Additional licensees will be announced at a later date.

  • Disney Sends 3 Wise Men to Wal-Mart

    The tale of the three wise men who followed the Star of Bethlehem to the birthplace of Jesus is the subject of a new animated feature that Walt Disney Home Entertainment will distribute exclusively in Wal-Mart stores on Nov. 1.

    The 3 Wise Men, co-produced by Arenas Ent., Carrère Group and Tele Madrid, is directed by Antonio Navarro. Animation was completed at Mexico’s Animagicstudio by a crew led by Disney veterans who worked on Fantasia 2000, Hercules and Tarzan.

    The film’s English-language voice track was recorded by Martin Sheen (TV’s The West Wing) and son Emilio Estavez (The War at Home). Other voices were provided by platinum recording artist Lupillo Rivera, Latin Grammy winning Christian recording artist Marcos Witt, Spanish-language TV star Jose Luis Rodriguez, Mexican TV star Kuno Becker, Christian recording artist Jaci Valesquez and popular Latino theatre troupe Culture Clash. The original Spanish-language track is also available on the disc.

    Taking some liberties with the biblical story, Wise Men has Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar set out on a journey across the dessert to retrieve the royal gifts designated for the King of Kings before tyrannical ruler Herod takes them for himself. Along the way, they meet up with a handsome soldier and a beautiful rebel warrior who help battle the deadly scorpions, vicious wolves and giant dragons conjured by Herod’s evil counselor, Belial.

    The film screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 and had a limited release in Europe last year. Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, the feature runs approximately 76 minutes and will retail for $19.99 at Wal-Mart.

  • Grimm, Cave Open for Exploration

    Matt Damon and Heath Ledger hit theaters today as legendary 19th Century German fairytale crafters Will and Jake Grimm in director Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm. Though reviews have been less than enthusiastic, enough Gilliam devotees and Harry Potter fans might turn out to make a hit of this period fantasy pic from Dimension Films. Other genre followers will likely descend into The Cave, Sony Screen Gems’ vfx-filled, claustrophobic monster movie.

    Classic stories such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel are woven into The Brothers Grimm, a tale of con artists who travel the Napoleonic countryside defeating monsters and demons for a fee. When their exploits are brought to the attention of French authorities, the not-so-daring duo is forced to deal with a real magical curse in an enchanted forest where young girls are disappearing. Ehren Kruger penned the screenplay and Charles Roven and Daniel Bobker are producers.

    Artem Ltd. created the film’s digital imagery under visual effects supervisor Kent Houston, who previously helmed vfx work on Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Twelve Monkeys.

    If spelunking with Batman wasn’t enough for you this summer, you may want to check out The Cave, which pits a team of subterranean explorers against some nasty CG beasties. Directed by Bruce Hunt, a second unit director on The Matrix and Dark City, the film stars Cole Hauser (Paparazzi, Pitch Black), Morris Chestnut (Ladder 49, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid), Piper Perabo (Cheaper by the Dozen, Coyote Ugly) and Daniel Dae Kim (Spider-Man 2, TV’s Lost).

    The Cave’s digital animation and other visual effects were provided by Luma Pictures under the guidance of visual effects supervisor James McQuaide (Underworld, Underworld: Evolution).

  • Pixar Faces Probe, Stock Dip

    The Associated Press reports that shares of Pixar Animation Studios took 2.5% hit Friday following news that the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the company. Though a reason for the probe hasn’t been made public, it is suspected that questions came up when Pixar missed its second quarter results due to lower than-expected sales of The Incredibles on DVD.

    In early August, Pixar reported a steep 66% dip in quarterly earnings. Revenues checked in at $26.4 million, compared to a first-quarter gross of $161.2, and earnings were down to $12.7 million from $81.9 million reported in May.

    According to a statement issued by Pixar, the company received a fairly common, informal request for information from the SEC and has fully complied. Investors have been fairly quiet about the matter, whereas DreamWorks shareholders have filed class-action lawsuits against the studio for over-projecting Shrek 2 DVD sales.

  • Atari Makes Humongous Sale

    In its continuing efforts to streamline its operations, video game giant Atari has sold development studio Humongous to France’s Infogrames Entertainment SA (IESA), Atari’s majority stockholder. Atari will get $10.3 million out of the deal, as well as exclusive distribution rights for Humongous products in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through March 31, 2006.

    Humongous co-developed Atari’s Backyard sports series for kids, including such games as Backyard Baseball, Backyard Basketball and Backyard Football. The company’s assets consist primarily of intellectual property, existing inventory and license rights. Approximately $2 million of the purchase price represents pre-payment of certain future costs Atari will incur related to platform royalty advances, manufacturing costs and milestone payments.

    "This transaction substantially contributes to our resources for the launch of our largest titles in the holiday season, and further enhances our capacity to develop new titles, ultimately enhancing shareholder value,” says Bruno Bonnell, chairman, CEO and chief creative officer for Atari.

    New York-based Atari Inc. is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software such the hit franchises as DRIVER, The Matrix, Stuntman, Test Drive and children’s properties such as Blue’s Clues, Dora the Explorer and Dragon Ball Z.

  • Beavis & Butt-Head Return to MTV, Disc

    After a seven-year absence from MTV, Beavis and Butt-Head are coming back to present at the 2005 MTV Music Video Awards on Aug. 28. In addition to announcing the winner of the Viewer’s Choice Award, the duo is likely to throw in a plug for the Nov. 8 release of their new DVD box set.

    King of the Hill co-creator Mike Judge kicked off his cartoon career with Beavis & Butt-Head, an animated show about two heavy metal-loving pre-teen idiots who wreak havoc on the neighborhood when they’re not critiquing music videos. The series built a dedicated cult following before joining the ranks of MTV’s highest rated shows and becoming permanently entrenched in American pop culture. The small-screen success led to the1996 theatrical feature, Beavis & Butt-Head Do America, which grossed more than $70 million. Subsequent DVD releases have sold in excess of 5 million units, and fans snatched up more than a million copies of video games based on the property.

    Beavis & Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection, Volume 1 promises to be the most comprehensive episode compilation released to date. No specific details of the box set have been released at this time, but we’re hoping for some good extra features such as a few of the early shorts and animation tests Mike Judge exhibited during The Animation Show, a traveling festival he spearheaded with independent animator Don Hertzfeldt (The Meaning of Life Rejected). Our fingers are also crossed for some of the Milton shorts that aired on Saturday Night Live and inspired Judge’s live-action feature, Office Space.

    Judge is currently putting the finishing touches on his second live-action feature, Idiocracy, which stars Luke Wilson as a man who is revived in the future to discover he’s the smartest man on Earth.

  • Sin City Makes Big, Fat Kill on DVD

    Citing VideoScan’s First Alert sales chart, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City graphic novel series was the best-selling release of the week. The violent, black-and-white neo-noir thriller from Buena Vista Home Entertainment easily outsold all newcomers, including Universal’s Debra Messing romantic comedy, The Wedding Date.

    Sin City, which grossed around $74 million in theatrical release, picked up another estimated $9.84 million with rentals alone last week. While sales figures haven’t been released yet, it’s estimated that the film surpassed The Wedding Date by a four-to-one ratio. Coming in at a close third is 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season, a major coo for a $50 box set.

    Sin City blends live actors with CG imagry created by TroubleMaker Studios, The Orphanage, Café FX and Hybride under visual effects supervisor Daniel LeDuc (Spy Kids, Once Upon a Time in Mexico). Based on three of Miller’s graphic novels–Sin City, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard, the film features an all-star cast that includes Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl, Powers Boothe, Rutger Hauer, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan and Carla Gugino.

  • Corpse Bride Soundtrack Drops September

    Warner Sunset Records/Warner Bros. Records announced that The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride is set to hit retail on Sept. 20. The disc will include the flm’s original score and new music from three-time Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman (Big Fish, Good Will Hunting, Men in Black).

    Elfman comments, “Like The Nightmare Before Christmas, writing songs for Corpse Bride was a real treat. Tim’s visuals make the perfect complement for the kind of stuff I love doing most. These wonderfully fun, dark, offbeat tales are the perfect platform for me to write odd, slightly twisted, obscure styles such as my favorite musical era–1930’s jazz. I only hope we get to do more in the future.”

    The soundtrack features four new songs written by Elfman with lyricist John August, including "According to Plan," performed by Albert Finney, Joanna Lumley, Tracey Ullman and Paul Whitehouse; “Tears to Shed,” performed by Helena Bonham Carter, Jane Horrocks and Enn Reitel and “Remains of the Day” and “Wedding Finale,” both performed by Danny Elfman, Jane Horrocks, Paul Baker, Alison Jiear and Gary Martin.

    Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride tells the story of Victor (Johnny Depp), a man whisked away to the underworld to marry the mysterious Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) while his real bride, Victoria (Emily Watson), waits bereft in the Land of the Living.

    In addition to Big Fish and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Elfman has collaborated with Tim Burton on all of his feature films, including Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989) Edward Scissorhands (1990), Mars Attacks (1996), Sleepy Hallow (1999), Planet of the Apes (2001) and this year’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

    Elfman, former frontman for ’80s pop group Oingo-Boingo, also scored director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and composed for the FOX animated series The Simpsons and Family Guy. Now on his plate is the upcoming Simpsons movie, tentatively scheduled for 2008.

  • EA Puts VICON in Motion

    Video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) has chosen VICON to fulfill its motion-capture needs, purchasing an 86-camera VICON MX 40 system for its new, state of the art studio in Vancouver, Canada. The new rig will give EA the ability to capture more data, including simultaneous full body and facial capture from a single- or multiple-actor performance.

    According to VICON, EA chose the VICON MX 40 system for its unprecedented 4 mega-pixel grey-scale camera resolution, its highly flexible and automatable post-production toolset, and the resulting ability to produce immense volumes of high-fidelity data quickly and efficiently.

    Having acquired Los Angeles, Calif-based mo-cap leader House of Moves in June of 2004 and Denver, Col.-based competitor Peak Performance Technologies Inc. in February of this year, VICON is quickly cornering the mo-cap market. In June, the Academy Award-winning company formed the VICON Feature Unit (VFU), a Los Angeles-based entity dedicated to on-the-ground consulting, custom service, development and pipeline building for customers in the areas of film, television, video games, virtual prototyping and biomechanical analysis, among others.

    High-profile projects that have used VICON systems include Titanic, the Star Wars prequels, Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express and Best Visual Effects Oscar winner Spider-Man 2. The company’s next-generation VICON MX real-time optical motion-capture systems boast ultra-high-resolution, virtually artifact-free capture. For more information, go to www.vicon.com.

  • Disney’s Toontown Online Goes Retail

    Previously available only on the web, the family-friendly, massively multiplayer game, Disney’s Toontown Online, is slated to be launched for PC this fall by Sony Online Entertainment’s Platform Publishing. Through its agreement with Disney Online, in association with Buena Vista Games, Platform Publishing has also secured a license to also create a version of Toontown specifically for online-enabled video game consoles.

    Currently accessible at www.toontown.com, Disney’s Toontown Online is ever-evolving virtual world where players create their own cartoon characters and join forces to save the world from the Cogs, humorless business robots bent on turning the colorful, happy world of Toontown into a dark metropolis of corporate monotony. Designed primarily for kids 8-12, the game has achieved popularity among all ages and received multiple kudos, including a 2003 Parent’s Choice award and the 2005 WiredKids Safe Gaming Award.

    The PC retail version will come with a CD-Rom, a game manual, a Cog poster and access to a bonus in-game item. The release is rated E for Everyone (cartoon violence and mischief) and will carry a suggested retail price of $19.99, which includes a two-month subscription to the game service.

    More information is available at www.platformpublishing.com.

  • Loose Moose Animates Apple Jacks

    Loose Moose animation studio in London recently produced the third installment in a series of commercial spots promoting Kellogg’s Apple Jacks cereal. The two-parter, titled "Costume," combines live-action, stop-motion animation and CG imagry to revisit characters Bad Apple and Cinna-mon as they race to be the first to hit the taste buds of morning munchers everywhere.

    Directed by Ken Lidster for Leo Burnett, Chicago, the spot has Bad Apple employing his unlikely sewing machine skills to make a costume to impersonate Cinna-mon. Part 1 finishes with the villainous fruit squeezing into his finished garment, followed by text that reads, "To Be Continued". Part 2 then opens Bad Apple pursuing Cinna-mon, only to have his costume fall down over his eyes, causing him to trip and tumble into a mailbox. CG was used to animate Cinna-mon and Stars circling his pounding head in classic cartoon style.

    Cinna-mon and Bad Apple are both stop-motion puppets that interact with practical, miniature sets and props. Background elements such as colonial style houses, the sky and cinnamon sprinkles, are all CG, created separately in Maya at Loose Moose studio and composited into the animation footage. Camera moves were matched using Boujou Bullett, a popular motion tracking software that allows Loose Moose to create multiple-pass effects shots.

    At times, the Loose Moose team exposed a green card behind the puppets in a checker-board fashion in order to have the option to matte them off the set more easily. In addition, they often had to checker board a different lighting pass to create mattes and beauty lighting setups.

    The sets and puppets were all made by Artem in London. Bruce Hancock at Edgeworx London composited the CG and stop-motion animation together and performed all other post-production.

    Loose Moose, which previously produced such successful animated campaigns as the singing Chips Ahoy! cookies and the Pepsi-Lipton Brisk celebrity puppets, operates with a close-knit core team of twelve people and a large pool of regular freelancers. The studio’s facilities include two motion control rigs and four Maya seats.

  • Lions Gate, RichCrest Animation in 3-Pic Deal

    Independent production and distribution studio Lions Gate Ent. has entered into a three-picture co-production and co-financing arrangement with Crest Animation Studio’s U.S.-based subsidiary, RichCrest Animation. Lions Gate Family Entertainment will distribute the trio of animated features worldwide, except in India.

    The first film under the pact will be the previously-announced Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, based on the Caldecott Medal-winning children’s book by Shrek author William Steig. A second, yet-untitled feature project is in development, and the third project will be identified in the near future.

    "This is a significant milestone for Crest and a pioneering feat for the Indian animation industry," comments Seemha Ramanna, managing director of Crest Animations Studios Ltd. ” This partnership with Lions Gate reflects confidence in Crest’s ability to produce full-length feature films of world-class quality as well as our recognition of Lions Gate as a content leader in the family space and a superior distributor of quality theatrical releases."

    Lions Gate Family Entertainment, under the management direction of exec VP Anne Parducci and the creative direction of exec VP Ken Katsumoto, now has a total of four major theatrical projects in the pipeline. In the fall of 2006, the company will distribute the CG-animated movie Foodfight!, produced by Larry Kasanoff’s Threshold Animation Studio. The film features the voices of Hillary and Haylie Duff and explores the hidden, afterhours world of a supermarket.

    RichCrest is producing Arthur’s Missing Pal, the upcoming feature film debut for the loveable aardvark star of many children’s books. Also in the works are five direct-to-video productions for Nest Ent. and a CG production of American Greetings’ The Get Along Gang. On top of that, the company says it’s developing two other CG features.