Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Toonami Compressed to Impress

    Turner Broadcasting’s children’s animation channel, Toonami, has joined the lineup on Video Networks Ltd’s HomeChoice, an interactive TV, video-on-demand and broadband service. The cartoon programming will be broadcast in the MPEG-4/AVC format, making Toonami the world’s first television channel to be encoded with advanced compression technology.

    Video Networks worked in partnership with Harmonic to launch an initial video-over-xDSL service in 2004 using DiviCom MV 100 encoders configured with MPEG-2. According to Video Networks chairman and CEO Roger Lynch, the move to MPEG-4 allows the company to provide superior picture quality, while reducing the bandwidth required to transmit broadcast channels.

    Paul Cackett, channel manager for Toonami, comments, “As the first channel in the world to be broadcast live using this technology, Toonami is at the cutting edge. The superior quality of Toonami’s programming will now be matched by the high spec picture.”

    Toonami, which broadcasts such hit animated shows as Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z and Teen Titans, has been automatically added to HomeChoice’s kid’s TV package, broadcasting on channel 326.

    Video Networks’ migration to MPEG-4 for its remaining broadcast channels, including Turner-owned Cartoon Network and Boomerang, is expected to be completed within the next two months. For more information on HomeChoice, go to www.videonetworks.com/about.htm.

  • Gizmondo Gets European Street Date

    Sony’s PSP (PlayStation Portable) may be best-selling handheld gaming device at present, but it’s about to get some more competition. Gizmondo Europe Ltd, a subsidiary of Jacksonville, Florida-based Tiger Telematics Inc., today announced that its Gizmondo entertainment handheld will begin its pan-European retail roll-out on May 19.

    The feature-packed machine is powered by the Microsoft Windows CE operating system, a Samsung ARM9 400Mhz processor and NVIDIA’s GoForce 3D 4500 graphics accelerator, allowing users to play games, listen to MP3s, watch Mpeg4 movies and send/receive multi-media messages. What’s more, it has Bluetooth for multi-player gaming, a built-in digital camera and a GPS chip.

    Already available in the U.K., Gizmondo will next hit retail locations in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Nordic regions. The standard Gizmondo pack will be priced at EUR349, the Smart Adds-enabled pack at EUR189 and the Value Pack at EUR289. Subscribers to the added value Smart Adds devices will get twenty free music downloads as well as a host of other free items.

    "The product, the company and the content are gaining momentum all the time," says Carl Freer, co-founder and chairman of Tiger Telematics. "These launches are landmark achievements for us and place us several steps closer to our U.S. debut.”

    While a U.S. street date has not been made public, the company says the Gizmondo should be available in the states this spring.

  • Nickelodeon U.K. to Join Winx Club

    Soon, Harry Potter won’t be the only kid casting spells in the United Kingdom. 4Kids Entertainment announced that its new animated series, Winx Club, is set to debut on Nickelodeon U.K. in May 2005.

    The Winx Club takes place in the magical world of Magix and tells the story five smart, hip and fashionable teenage friends who attend the Alfea College of Fairies.

    The show currently airs in the U.S. on 4Kids TV and is seen around the world via such broadcasters as RAI 2 (Italy), France 3, Teletoon (France), RTL II (Germany), Telecinco (Spain), Alter TV (Greece), TV 2 (Denmark), MTV3 (Finland), Nickelodeon (Netherland/Benelux), TV 2 (Norway), RTP1 (Portugal), Club RTL (Belgium), ORF (Austria), YTV (Canada), Network TEN (Australia), Cartoon Network (Australia and New Zealand), TV3 (New Zealand), Minimax (Poland), S4C (Wales), TVR /Channel 2 (Romania TV Markiza (Slovakia) and Iceland Broad Corp.

    Influenced by top Italian designers, Winx Club is produced in Italy by Rainbow Srl and is adapted for English language markets by 4Kids Entertainment.

  • House of Flying Daggers Hits Home

    It’s one of those rare slow weeks for animation on home video, but fans of fantastic visuals and innovative effects work might want to check out director Yimou Zhang’s martial arts epic, House of Flying Daggers. Tailor made for those who liked Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the pc is available now on DVD and VHS.

    Starring Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau, House of Flying Daggers tells the story of an officer who breaks a beautiful rebel fighter out of prison in order to learn more about the secret organization she is believed to belong to. The film has been praised for its dazzling action sequences and breathtaking visual style, aided by effects houses Animal Logic and Fuel.

    Extras found on the DVD include a featurette on the creation of the film’s visual effects, a making-of featurette, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, storyboard comparisons, a costumes gallery and commentary by the director and actor Ziyi Zhang. The Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment release lists for $28.95 on DVD.

    For the kiddies, Paramount Home Entertainment today released Blue’s Clues: Blue’s Room: Beyond Your Wildest Dreams, featuring two episodes of the popular Nickelodeon preschool series. Also included are the bonus episodes, "Blue’s Collection" and "The Wrong Shirt," the interactive Blue’s Imagination Match-Up Game, NickTrition Tips for parents and a Baby Nick Jr. curious Buddies music video. The release carries a suggested retail price of $16.99.

  • Fox Animation Ups Cohen to Production VP

    Fox Animation has promoted former director of development John Cohen to VP of production. Cohen, who has been with the company since 2000, will oversee existing projects and will even see some of his original ideas added to the development slate.

    Currently on Cohen’s plate is Fox’s toon feature based on the beloved Dr. Seuss book, Horton Hears a Who. The project will be brought to the screen by Blue Sky, the 3D animation studio behind Ice Age and Robots. Cohen is also overseeing Fox’s CG/live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks movie and is developing a live-action flick based on MGA Ent.’s popular line of Bratz fashion dolls. Mike Young Prods. is animating the Bratz for an upcoming TV series and direct-to-video releases.

  • Foothill Reps Hollywood Visual Effects Countdown ’05

    Foothill Entertainment Inc. was at MIPTV in Cannes, France, last week shopping its stable of animated properties and a documentary production titled Hollywood Visual Effects Countdown ’05. The production features interviews with leading masters of the trade and footage from this year’s Visual Effects Society Awards ceremony.

    Produced in High-Definition, the one-hour program includes actor Tom Hank’s comical roast of The Polar Express director/producer Robert Zemeckis, who received the Lifetime Tribute Award at the 2005 VES Awards.

    Foothill president Jo Kavanagh-Payne comments, "Hollywood Visual Effects Countdown ’05 is a bit of a departure for us because it is more of a factual type of program than we generally seek to represent. However, when we saw the tremendous high-definition production quality and inherent interest that visual effects generate in the viewers, we jumped at the chance to represent it.

    Among Foothill’s animated properties showcased at MIPTV was the toon feature Toy Warrior, a kids’ fantasy/action pic produced by Seoul Movie. In development are Special Delivery and Snapper. Co-developed by phuuz ent. of Los Angeles and Sarbakan Inc. of Quebec, Special Delivery started out as a video game concept but will be exploited across multiple mediums including television and licensing. The preschool series Snapper is created by U.K.-based Phew!! and follows the adventures of a small, mischievous crocodile that does not swim.

    Look for Hollywood Visual Effects Countdown ’05 coming soon to TV and home video.

  • Apple Opens Final Cut Studio

    At the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) tradeshow in Las Vegas, Apple today unveiled Final Cut Studio, a top-of-the-line HD video production suite that features Final Cut Pro 5, a major upgrade to the Emmy award-winning editing software for DV, SD, HD and film.

    In addition to Final Cut Pro 5, Final Cut Studio’s toolset includes Soundtrack Pro, a new audio editing and sound design application; Motion 2, a groundbreaking real-time motion graphics application with GPU accelerated 32-bit float rendering; and DVD Studio Pro 4, the first commercially available DVD authoring software that burns high-definition DVDs to the latest HD DVD specification.

    "The arrival of Final Cut Studio ushers in a new era of high-definition video production that relies on effortless integration of video, audio and effects to elevate production values," boasts Rob Schoeben, Apple’s VP of applications marketing.  "Final Cut Studio allows producers to edit in a broad range of HD formats, add stunning motion graphics, sculpt the perfect soundtrack and burn their projects to high-def DVDs."

    Final Cut Pro 5 is designed for professional editors working in a number of formats, including DV, SD, film, and all major HD formats, including HDV, DVCPRO HD and fully uncompressed HD. Native HDV (long GOP MPEG-2) support in Final Cut Pro 5 enables users to edit camera native HDV without generation loss. In addition, powerful new multicam tools let editors cut from up to 128 sources, with simultaneous, real-time playback of up to 16 angles at a time. A new IMX codec allows for native editing of broadcast content from Sony’s XDCAM and direct support for Panasonic’s P2 solid state media gives editors a high-speed solution for tapeless transfer of DVCPRO, DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD video.

    Final Cut Studio will be available in May through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $1,299. Registered users of any previous version of Final Cut Pro can upgrade for $699 and Production Suite customers can upgrade for $499. Final Cut Pro 5, Soundtrack Pro, Motion 2 and DVD Studio Pro 4 will also be sold separately. Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut Studio can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutstudio.

  • Pirates of the Caribbean to Walk Game Plank

    The Walt Disney Co.’s Buena Vista Games is going into development on a series of interactive titles based on the upcoming big-screen sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. The first set of games will roll out for the PSP and Nintendo DS handhelds in conjunction with the film’s summer 2006 bow.

    In the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest games, gamers will be able to play as Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann as they swashbuckle across land and sea in search of the legendary Dead Man’s Chest. The handheld titles are being developed by Seattle-based Amaze Ent. and Griptonite Games.

    In addition, UK-based developer Eurocom, which has contributed to the James Bond, Harry Potter and Crash Bandicoot game franchises, has been signed to create future Pirates games for the upcoming next generation consoles.

    Stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley will return for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Gore Verbinski. The pic is filming in Los Angeles and the Caribbean for release in July 2006.

  • Motorsport Shorts Drive Xbox Game

    San Francisco-based creative/marketing studio Plan C is set to roll out Xcelerators, a series of short web films designed to promote the upcoming release of Microsoft’s new Xbox racing title, Forza Motorsport. The five-minute films will debut Tuesday, April 19, at www.forzamotorsport.net, in advance of the game’s May 3 street date.

    Baring the tagline, "You are what you race,” the Xcelerators shorts demonstrate how Xbox accurately captures the racing lifestyle by going behind-the-scenes with the real-life drivers, crews, cars, environments and racetracks from the American Muscle, European Motors, Exotic Modified, Super Unlimited and Tuner/Drifter racing cultures.

    “Plan C has been excellent to work with in identifying new vehicles for launching the Forza Motorsport Xbox game into the marketplace,” said “Members of the Xbox community are highly-involved and totally motivated to learn as much as they can, as soon as they can, about the newest and latest games on our platform," comments Eli Friedman, global group marketing communications manager for Xbox ."This series of films from Plan C is a step forward for us in finding non-traditional ways to speak to our global audience with a fresh and credible voice.” More information on Plan C can be found at www.plan-c.biz.

  • Raven Moon Opens Toon Division

    Raven Moon Entertainment Inc. has joined the growing list of contenders out to snatch a share of the 3D animation action currently held by industry leaders such as Pixar and DreamWorks Animation SKG. The company today announced that it is launching a new animation division to focus on entertainment and advertising service work, as well as production of its own original feature toons.

    “Because the cost of living in Florida is a lot less, we can attract talented animators at a lower cost which will enable us to challenge the biggest and the best companies for a piece of the animation revenue pie,” says Raven Moon CEO Joey DiFrancesco. “Without a doubt we can offer movie studios and production companies in Los Angeles and New York the highest quality animation at a significant discount.”

    Located in Orlando, Florida, the new animation division plans to develop existing Raven Moon properties into theatrical feature films such as The Dino Bugs Movie, The Gina D & The Transistor Sisters Movie, The Mr. Bicycle Man Movie and The Bobo Blocks Movie.

  • Moviegoers Head to Amityville

    The latest in a long streak of hot horror entries, MGM’s remake of The Amityville Horror scared up an estimated $23 million to claim the top spot at the box office over the weekend. As the frame’s only major wide release, chiller easily outpaced holdovers Sahara, Fever Pitch and Sin City.

    Directed by relative newcomer Andrew Douglas, the 2005 adaptation of Jay Anson’s novel, The Amityville Horror, (purportedly based on actual events), stars Ryan Reynolds (Blade: Trinity) and Melissa George (TV’s Alias) as a couple who move their family into a house haunted by the memory of a grizzly mass murder. Vfx studio Asylum contributed to the film’s thrills and chills under visual effects supervisor Sean Andrew Faden, who last served as CG supervisor on 20th Century Fox’s The Day After Tomorrow.

    Dropping to No. 2 this week is Paramount’s Sahara, which is directed by Breck Eisner, son of outgoing Disney CEO Michael Eisner. The $100 million action adventure romp earned another $13 million, bringing its cume to just over $36 million in its second week. So far, the Indiana Jones-styled treasure hunt pic has failed to achieve the phenomenal success enjoyed by last year’s Jerry Bruckheimer-produced National Treasure.

    Fox’s Farelly Brothers romantic comedy, Fever Pitch, slides into third with an estimated $8.8 million in its second weekend, followed by Dimension’s CG-heavy neo-noir actioner, Sin City. Director Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novels took in around $6.6 million, bringing its three-week take to an estimated $61 million. Meanwhile, Sony’s Ashton Kutcher/Bernie Mac comedy, Guess Who, rounds out the top five with $4.9 million.

  • Sith Hits Benefit Screenings Circuit on May 12

    If you’re dying to see George Lucas’ final installment of the Star Wars series and don’t want to be one of super-geeks who have already lined up in front of the theaters weeks before the film’s May 19, LucasFilm and 20th Century Fox are offering you another option. Special screenings have been scheduled for May 12 (yup, that’s a whole week before all your other friends can see it in theaters!) in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to benefit an assortment of charities.

    For example, the L.A. screening at the Mann Village in Westwood will benefit Artists for a new South Africa. Keep in mind that the tickets go for $500 and $1,000. It’s for charity, after all. And sorry, the prices don’t include a night on the town with Natalie Portman! For L.A. ticket info., call (818) 817-2310 or email starwars@ansafrica.org.

    In other Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith news, it’s official: The movie will have a PG-13 rating. Meanwhile, lucky attendees of this year’s Celebration III on April 23 at the Indiana Convention Center will be able to enjoy a live appearance by the Jedi master himself, George Lucas. The man behind the epic saga will be on hand at 8:45 a.m. for three half-hour Q & A sessions about the making of the Star Wars movies. Rick McCallum, producer of the Star Wars prequels, will also be on hand to answer those tricky fan questions.

    Finally, we’re sure you realize that come this summer, you won’t be able to walk into any grocery story or toy ship without running into a slew of Sith-related tie-in toys and merchandising items. We hear Kellogg’s has already started its "Good Morning Goodies" promo push, offering selection of Star Wars cereals, breakfast treats, fruit snacks, cookies and mail-in premiums. That’s right, you can brighten up your Jedi breakfast with items such as the Light-Up Saberspoons, R2-D2 cereal bowls, Star Wars FX Plate and Jedi Mind Game cards. Make sure you check out the special Star Wars-themed Corn Flakes boxes, which contain marshmallows in the shapes of the movie’s popular characters and vehicles. For a fun article about the making of the cool digital characters in the new movie, make sure you check out the June issue of Animation Magazine, which will be out at Barnes and Nobles bookstores the first week in May.

  • Xbox: Next Generation is Music to MTV’s Ears

    In hopes of keeping up with all the hoopla surrounding Sony’s popular PSP, the folks at Microsoft will be offering a "sneak peek" at the next generation of Xbox on Thursday, May 12, at 9:30 p.m. (in N. America) and Friday, May 13 (in other regions around the world). MTV Presents the Next Generation Xbox Revealed will be produced by Austin Reading and Julie Kellman, who handled all the nomination vignettes for MTV’s 2004 Video Music Awards.

    Hosted by seasoned gamer and everybody’s favorite Hobbit, Elijah Wood, the special will also include performances by band-of-the-moment, Las Vegas rockers, The Killers.

    "We have a very long-standing relationship with MTV and are very excited to be working on this new project with both MTV and Microsoft," says Reading. "We’re developing some new and amazing concepts that will integrate both the live music performance and the next generation Xbox graphics in real time."

    Hmmm, does that mean we’re going to be treated to the scary sight of Microsoft titan Bill Gates jamming with the Killers? Be afraid, very afraid!

  • Intl. TV Channels Fired Up for Jane and The Dragon

    France 3, TVNZ and ABC Australia and Canada’s YTV are the first four entities to buy Nelvana/Weta’s new CG-animated series Jane and the Dragon, it was announced at the MIPTV market in France today. Each have acquired 26 episodes of the 3D toon about a headstrong 12-year-old female knight in the King’s Guard during the medieval times, who has a lovable 300-year-old dragon by her side.

    "This series was the headliner of our MIPTV 2004 development slae, and we are thrilled with its sale record over the past year," says Doug Murphy, Nelvana’s exec VP of business development. "We look forward to tracking its performance on these top channels as we develop plans for Jane and the Dragon consumer products program."

  • Animated Fantastic Four Back in Action

    As Fantastic Four gets set to make its big-screen debut this summer, the classic Marvel comic-book property is also making a triumphant return to TV with a new animated action/comedy series. Moonscoop, the new umbrella banner for France Animation and Antefilms Production, today announced that it has entered into a co-production deal with Cartoon Network Europe, which has also acquired worldwide broadcast rights to the series outside of the U.S.

    The new 26×26 Fantastic Four series will blend 2D character animation with 3D backgrounds, vehicles and other elements. Judging by character designs we’ve seen, Moonscoop has managed to update the superhero family while staying true to the spirit of the comics. A younger-looking Reed Richards still sports his grey temples and Ben Grim (a.k.a. The Thing) is as massive as ever.

    Moonscoop VP and exec producer Nicolas Atlan tells us his company worked closely with Marvel to introduce the franchise to a new generation of toon viewers. And while the show bears more resemblance to the comic books than the upcoming 20th Century Fox pic, he says it was important to keep some continuity between the show and the movie, mainly the story of how the title quartet got their super powers.

    Moonscoop and Cartoon Network Europe plan to have Fantastic Four ready to air by September of 2006. Also on the company’s plate is a second season of the hit series, Code Lyoko, which airs on Cartoon Network in the U.S. and can be seen around the world. The next round of shows will offer even more CG mixed in with the 2D animation and will introduce a fifth territory to the cyber world visited by its teen heroes.

  • Nick U.K. Greets Zenith’s King Arthur’s Disasters

    A tongue-in-cheek toon about a self-centered King Arthur, a narcissistic Sir Lancelot and a manipulative Princess Guinvere has struck a chord in Europe. Zenith Entertainment’s children’s animated series King Arthur’s Disasters has been sold to Nickelodeon U.K. for a 2006 broadcast, it was announced at MIP yesterday.

    The 13×30 comedy features the voices of Brit comics Rik Mayall, Matt Lucas, Phil Cornwell and Morwenna Banks, and is set to premiere on U.K.’s CiTV this April. Cake Entertainment’s Geneviere Dexter is distributing the show to key territories for Zenith.

    "This deal is fantastic news for us as we deficit financed the show and have started to make up the gap very quickly since the end of production," says Julian Scott, head of children’s drama and animation at Zenith. "This is our first kids animated project and it has been so well received that we’re thinking we might do it again!"

    Commissioned by CiTV, King Arthur’s Disasters is a co-production with Spain’s Neptuno Films and based on an original idea by Paul Parkes and Will Ashurst.

  • VES-VFX Festival Hits Santa Monica in June

    Visual Effects Society executive director Eric Roth has announced that the 2005 VEX-VFX Festival will be held June 24-26 at the newly restored Aero Theatre in Santa Monica this year.

    The festival will include a cocktail party and silent auction featuring items of visual effects significance up for bid to raise money for the eight-year-old non-profit organization. There are also activities in the planning stage such as panels, special screening as well as other engaging events that celebrate visual effects. A full line-up announcement of the weekend’s festivities is expected by May 1.

    The 2005 VES-VFX Festival is open to the public. For information about buying festival passes or individual events, contact the VES office at (310) 822-9181 or info@visualeffectssociety.com.

  • Atomic Betty Fuels Up for the Holidays

    BreaKthrough Animation and Atomic Cartoons have started production on a one-hour Atomic Betty holiday special. The Yuletide comic adventure has been licensed to air on Cartoon Network in the U.S. and TELETOON in Canada.

    In the Atomi Betty Holiday Special, a long-forgotten constellation suddenly re-emerges, offering proof that celestial bodies actually sing. It’s up to Betty and a long-lost castaway to stop the villainous Maximus from shrinking the musical heavenly bodies and turning them into ornaments for his Christmas tree.

    Created by Atomic Cartoons and developed by Breakthrough animation, Atomic Betty chronicles the adventures of a young girl who leads a secret life as an intergalatci defender. The Flash-animated series is a co-production of Atomic, Breakthrough and Teleimages Kids.

  • Sahara Is Top Weekend Destination

    From the looks of it, audiences are hungry for any old Indiana Jones-type action adventure thrill rides. Matthew McConaughey is certainly no Harrison Ford, but he and his sidekicks–the always-reliable Steve Zahn and Spanish charmer Penelope Cruz–were able to attract $18.5 million of filmgoers’ dineros with the Paramount release Sahara this past weekend.

    Directed by Breck Eisner (that’s Mouse House bigwig Michael’s son who also directed episodes of the Steven Spielberg’s Sci Fi Channel miniseries Taken), the adventure yarn took the No. 1 place at the U.S. box office. Cinesite, Double Negative and Effects Associate delivered the vfx for this adaptation of the Clive Cussler novel.

    Dimension’s visually stunning Sin City dropped to the No. 2 spot with $14.1 million in its second week of release, while Fox’s Drew Barrymore-Jimmy Fallon baseball comedy Fever Pitch landed on the third spot with $13 million from 3.267 theaters. MGM’s Beauty Shop and Sony’s Guess Who took over the fourth and fifth spots.

  • Garfield Sequel on Fox Plate

    Daily Variety reports that the orange tabby with a taste for lasagna is set to make another trip to the big screen. SpongeBob SquarePants Movie scribe Tim Hill has reportedly been signed to direct a sequel to 20th Century Fox’s 2004 live-action Garfield: The Movie, which starred a computer-generated version of the famous fat cat from Jim Davis’ long-running comic strip.

    While it wasn’t the huge success Fox was counting on, Garfield earned a respectable $75 million domestically and picked up another $114 million internationally before going on to collect more scratch on home video.

    Effects house Rhythm & Hues, which created the CG Scooby-Doo for Warner Bros.’ recent big-screen series, also got its paws on Garfield for his 3D debut. Bill Murray (Lost in Translation, Osmosis Jones) lent his voice to the title character in the first Garfield movie, but there has been no word on whether or not he’ll return for the sequel.

    Hill previously directed Columbia Pictures’ Muppets in Space and Disney’s Max Keeble’s Big Move, and wrote and produced installments of Nickelodeon’s Action League Now!! He and Tim Rubiner also sold an animated comedy pitch titled Game Over to Warner Bros., according to the trade.