Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Spider-Man 2 to Christen Sony’s 4K Projector

    Columbia Pictures’ CG-loaded blockbuster, Spider-Man 2, has been chosen to be the first major motion picture to be presented using Sony’s new uncompressed 4K Digital Projection System. The invitation-only screening will take place on Jan. 13 at the Entertainment Technology Center’s Digital Cinema Lab at the Hollywood Pacific Theatre.

    A panel discussion on the movie’s production will precede the screening at 7 p.m. Participating are editor Bob Murawski, sound designer and sound effects editor Paul Ottosson, supervising sound mixers Greg Russell and Kevin O’Connell, and visual effects supervisors John Dykstra and Scott Stokdyk.

    "A very talented team of people worked incredibly hard to bring these amazingly detailed images to life" notes Yair Landau, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Ent. and president of Sony Pictures Digital. "Sony’s 4K digital projection system is the ideal vehicle for screening this movie in the most dramatic and visually appealing manner, truly showing off all the care and effort that went into this production."

    The new projector is powered by advanced visualization and shared storage systems from Silicon Graphics. It uses a Silicon X-tal Reflective Display (SXRD) imaging panel to achieve a 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution, nearly four times the pixel count of current HD displays.

  • Best Ent. Goes to Loonland for Joe, Reboot

    Best Ent. has acquired home entertainment rights to TV-Loonland’s animated properties G.I. Joe The Movie and Reboot II for German speaking territories. The 90-minute G.I. Joe adventure is scheduled to debut this winter and the three-DVD Reboot II set is due in shops in time for Christmas.

    In the next few weeks, Best Ent. will also release the successful TV-Loonland series Three Friends and Jerry (39×26), Pongwiffy (six 75-minute DVDs), Shadow Raiders (three 75-minute DVDs and one 100-minute DVD) and Enchanted Tales (20 60-minute DVDs). Enchanted Tales features such timeless stories as Gulliver’s TravelsBeauty and the Beast and Treasure Island.

    As we reported yesterday, TV-Loonland just sold seasons two and three of Three Friends and Jerry and the CG-animated holiday special Donner to Jetix Germany (formerly Fox Kids). Three Friends and Jerry is a co-production between TV-Loonland and Swedish company Happy Life Animation, a subsidiary of Svensk Filmindustri. It centers on 10-year-old friends Frank, Thomas and Eric as new kid Jerry cooks up crazy ideas in desperate attempts to be accepted into their group. Donner was animated by Rainbow Animation Studios and follows the story of unhappy reindeer Donner, who must overcome a severe identity crisis at Christmas time.

  • Vinton Taps New Story Director

    Mike Cachuela, who recently served as storyboard artist on Pixar’s The Incredibles and Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, has been plucked by Vinton Studios to be the animation house’s director of story for feature films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    The move to Vinton Studios presents Cachuela with a welcomed opportunity to again work with director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, Monkeybone). Cachuela is overseeing the story department on Moongirl, a CG short Selick is directing for Vinton. He will also collaborate on Selick’s stop-motion feature adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s children’s book, Coraline, which is in pre-production.

    Also in the works at Vinton Studios is The Corpse Bride, the eagerly awaited stop-motion feature Tim Burton is producing for Warner Bros. Slated for release Halloween, 2005, the film is based on a 19th-century Eastern European folk tale and will feature the voices of Oscar nominated actors Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson and Albert Finney. Burton is also calling on favorites Joanna Lumley (James and the Giant Peach, TV’s Absolutely Fabulous) and Christopher Lee (Sleepy Hollow, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars: Episodes II and III).

  • Jetix Germany Crazy for TV-Loonland Shows

    TV-Loonland has sold an animated series and a 3D holiday special to Jetix Germany (formerly Fox Kids). The pay-TV broadcaster picked up seasons two and three of the hit show, Three Friends and Jerry, as well as Donner, a half-hour Christmas pic that debuted in 2001. The sales follow Jetix Germany’s recent acquisition of the TV-Loonland series, The Cramp Twins.

    Created by Mangus Carlsson, Three Friends and Jerry is a co-production between TV-Loonland and Swedish company Happy Life Animation, a subsidiary of Svensk Filmindustri. It centers on 10-year-old friends Frank, Thomas and Eric as new kid Jerry cooks up crazy ideas in desperate attempts to be accepted into their group. The series aired from 1998 to 1999 in the U.S. on Fox Family and in the U.K. on Nickelodeon, and is now seen in more than 40 countries.

    Donner premiered on ABC Family three years ago. Created by Kevin Munroe and animated by Rainbow Animation Studios, the special and follows the story of unhappy reindeer Donner, who is nothing like the other reindeer in Santa’s stable. The sleigh puller must overcome a severe identity crisis in order to get on with his Christmas duties.

    TV-Loonland has development teams and production facilities in continental Europe, Great Britain and the U.S., as well as a comprehensive rights catalogue and a worldwide operating distribution team.

  • AOL Extends Princess Natasha’s Reign

    America Online’s kid’s service, KOL, in partnership with Animation Collective, has launched an original online comic book series and game based on its animated web series, Princess Natasha. Posted each week exclusively at AOL Keyword: Princess Natasha, the full-length comic books follow storylines from the series’ first and upcoming second season. Meanwhile, the game sends Natasha on yet another secret mission as she fights for justice against the evil Lubek.

    The first season of the web series saw hundreds of thousands of kids log in to follow the escapades of student spy Natasha in 10- to 15-minute original webisodes. Season Two’s 10 new weekly installments will continue to follow our heroine as she acquires the invisibility spray, finds Zoravia’s stolen national treasure and discovers a double agent.

    Two new Princess Natasha titles will be added to KOL’s online games library. Welcome to Lake Trouble has Natasha on a mission to capture Lubek and destroy the power station he is building. With Oleg’s help, she must kick, punch and jump over Lubek’s evil robots and drones. In Oleg’s Super Secret Fort Smashin’ Robots, Lubek has built a secret fort that needs to be destroyed. Luckily, Oleg has constructed special robots that can smash anything with kids’ help.

    In addition to Princess Natasha, New York City-based Animation Collective develops games and produces the Kung Fu Academy web series for KOL. The Flash animation house also produces Fox Box’s Crash Dummies with 4Kids Ent. and the Nicktoons series Leader Dog and Tortellini Western.

  • EA Grabs Piece of UbiSoft

    Redwood City, Calif.-based video game giant Electronic Arts has acquired a 19.9% interest in competing developer/publisher UbiSoft Ent., headquartered in Rennes, France. Shares purchased as a block from Talpa Beheer B.V. will be completed upon obtaining antitrust clearance from the U.S. government. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

    With the investment, EA has become Ubisoft’s largest shareholder. As a result of the transaction, shares in the French game company rose 16.61% yesterday in mid-morning trading on the Paris Brouse. Ubisoft’s many award-winning and best-selling titles include the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia series.

    Backed by annual revenues of around $2.96 billion, EA recently attempted to purchase 90% of shares in Swedish independent game company Digital Illusions CE (DICE), which made the popular Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield Vietnam for EA. However, EA failed to get enough of the company’s shareholders on board. Yesterday, EA changed the conditions of its offer, seeking instead a 50% stake in DICE, and extended the offer acceptance period from Dec. 27 to Jan. 20.

  • ATI, Avid Bundle Hardware, Software

    ATI Technologies Inc. has joined forces with Avid Technology Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Softimage Co., to provide 3D artists and students with a complete graphics hardware and software solution. The companies are now offering SOFTIMAGE|XSI Foundation software with the FireGL T2-128 AGP 8X workstation graphics accelerator in a single package for $599.

    Certified for SOFTIMAGE|XSI software and all leading industry applications, the FireGL T2-128 is a entry-level workstation graphics accelerator which, according to ATI, boasts all the functionality of more expensive models. It features 128MB of unified graphics memory and dual display support through DVI-I and VGA connectors.

    Designed for individual 3D professionals, SOFTIMAGE|XSI Foundation software includes extensive polygon modeling tools, Subdivision Surfaces and a nonlinear animation and interactive rendering toolset.

    The SOFTIMAGE|XSI Foundation and FireGL T2-128 bundle for AGP-based desktop systems is available online at www.ati.com and www.softimage.com. For more information about ATI’s FireGL product line, go to www.ati.com/FireGL.

  • Flight Plan Set for Disney’s Valiant

    As the major studios reroute their animated feature release dates like air traffic controllers, Disney has locked April 15, 2005 for the theatrical debut of Valiant, a CG pigeon feature produced by Vanguard Animation.

    Valiant is an adventure/comedy that tells the story of a lowly wood pigeon who overcomes his small size to become a hero in Great Britain’s Royal Air Force Homing Pigeon Service during World War II. The RHPS advanced the Allied cause by flying vital messages about enemy movements across the English Channel, while evading brutal attacks by the enemy’s Falcon brigade.

    Ewan McGregor, perhaps best known for playing a young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels, voices the title character, leading a star-studded cast that includes Sir Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast, House of Sand and Fog) Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge, Bridget Jones’s Diary), Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband, My Best Friend’s Wedding), John Hurt (Harry Potter films, The Elephant Man) Hugh Laurie (Stuart Little 1 and 2) and Ricky Gervais (BBC’s The Office).

    British character designer Gary Chapman makes his directorial debut with this film, produced by John H. Williams (Shrek 1 and 2). Exec. producers are Barnaby Thompson for Ealing Studios, Ralph Kamp for Odyssey Ent., Robert Jones for the U.K. Film Council and Keith Evans for Baker Street Media Finance. Eric M. Bennett, Curtis Augspurger and Buckley Collum serve as co-producers for Vanguard.

    Valiant was produced at Vanguard Animation’s recently built CG studio at Ealing Studios in London. Additional work was completed at its Los Angeles and New York offices. Disney is distributing the picture in North America and Odyssey Ent. in the U.K. is handling international distribution.

    If the film is successful, Vanguard will be well positioned to movie into Pixar’s role as the Mouse House’s home for 3D toon production. Disney is also trying to fill that slot itself as it releases its first in-house 3D production, Chicken Little in November of 2005. Disney is also reportedly establishing a computer animation facility in Glendale, Calif., to turn out Toy Story 3. Andrew Millstein, former head of Disney’s defunct Orlando facility, is involved in the project.

  • A Fifth of Simpsons on Tap

    With winter officially kicking in today, there’s no better time to settle down in front of the tube and revisit some classic moments from TV’s longest-running primetime animated series. The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season arrives on DVD complete with a slate of extra features that will make any Simpsons fan drool like Homer at a donut shop.

    So the DVD releases have a bit of catching up to do, considering The Simpsons is now in its sixteenth season. However, patience has its rewards and series creator Matt Groening has said that he didn’t want to put out a disc set without giving it the proper send-off. As a result, this season five compilation offers commentary on every episode from the likes of Groening, exec. producer James L. Brooks, showrunner Al Jean, producers David Mirkin, Greg Daniels and Bill Oakley, director David Silverman, former writer Conan O’Brien and actors Hank Azaria, Dan Castellenetta and Jon Lovitz.

    Other extra features include an audio intro from Groening, "Treehouse of Horror" sketches, commercial spots, deleted scenes and a 100th episode featurette. The four-disc set lists for $49.98.

  • Anacondas, Thunderbirds Trek to DVD

    Big computer-generated snakes, cool rescue vehicles and a vast expanse of the Gene Roddenberry universe highlight today’s home video releases. Fans of science-fiction and visual effects in general can now pick up Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Star Trek: Voyager: The Complete Seventh Season and Thunderbirds.

    Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid has a scientific expedition set out for Borneo to seek a rare flower called the Blood Orchid, which may have revolutionary medicinal properties. Things turn deadly, however, when the search party unwittingly stumbles into a mating hot spot for oversized reptiles. Overgrown CG snakes by Australian effects house Photon are the stars of this sequel to the 1997 surprise hit, Anaconda, which starred Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight and Ice Cube. The Columbia TriStar release lists for $26.96.

    Trekies can dock at their local video retailer and beam up Star Trek: Voyager: The Complete Seventh Season. This seven-disc set includes 26 episodes, as well as featurettes titled Braving the Unknown: Season 7, Voyager Time Capsule: The Doctor, Coming Home: The Final Episode, Real Science With Andre Bormanis, The Making of Borg Invasion 4-D, and Lost Transmissions. The Paramount Home Entertainment release carries a suggested retail price of $129.99.

    Speaking of Star Trek, the Jonathan Frakes-directed, vfx-loaded Thunderbirds hits retail today as well. The live-action, big-screen adaptation of Gerry Anderson’s classic 1960s supermarionation series stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a family of rescuers out to foil the fiendish plans of The Hood, played by Ben Kingsley. Extras include commentary by Frakes, a music video by Busted and the featurettes Secrets of Tracy Island, Lady Penelope’s World, Creating The Ultimate Action Sequence, Lady P. & Parker Lose Their Cool: Fun & Stunts and FAB1: More Than Just a Car. Released by Universal Home Entertainment, the disc retails for $29.98.

  • BVITV Licenses Toons to RTÉ

    Ireland is set to be invaded by dragons, dinosaurs and robot monkeys, much to the delight of young viewers. Buena Vista Int’l Television (BVITV) has signed new, multi-year agreements with Irish terrestrial broadcaster RTÉ for film and TV properties, including Disney animated fare.

    RTÉ’s twice-weekly Disney Club block will get the action series, Disney’s American Dragon: Jake Long. The show follows the adventures of an ordinary teen who has the power to become the American Dragon, protector and guardian of all magical creatures secretly living in the human world. Also included in the deal is Disney’s Lilo & Stitch: The Series and Disney’s Brandy & Mr. Whiskers, which centers on two mismatched friends–a pampered pooch and a wacky rabbit.

    In a separate agreement, RTÉ has licensed a raft of kids properties from the BVITV-distributed Jetix Europe portfolio. Shows falling under the agreement include Power Rangers DinoThunder and Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, a futuristic anime-style action adventure series about a young boy who leads his team of mechanical warrior simians in defending his home against the evil Skeleton King and his monster minions.

    Buena Vista features to be broadcast on RTÉ include the vfx-laden blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1, which features a lengthy anime sequence by Production I.G., and Kill Bill: Vol. 2.

  • Nick Greenlights New Toons

    Kid cabler Nickelodeon is pumping more animation into its lineup by ordering two new toon series, according to Daily Variety. The X’s and Catscratch will join new season pick-ups of Danny Phantom and My Life as a Teenage Robot.

    Just in time to capitalize on the popularity of Pixar’s The Incredibles comes The X’s, which presents a similar theme. Created by Carlos Ramos, the new show focuses on a suburban family of undercover crimefighters. Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, The Tick) and Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me) will voice Mr. and Mrs. X. Nick has ordered 13 installments to begin airing next year.

    Also getting a 13-episodes order, Catscratch follows the continuing adventures of three cats who inherit a fortune and a mansion from their late caregiver. The show is created and exec produced by Doug TenNapel and features the voices of Wayne Knight (Seinfeld), Rob Paulsen (Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius) and Kevin McDonald (Kids in the Hall).

  • THQ Possesses Constantine Rights

    Video game maker THQ has been granted North American publishing rights to Constantine, Warner Bros.’ upcoming DC Comics adaptation starring Keanu Reeves. The exclusive agreement was signed with U.K. game publisher SCi Entertainment Group and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in February 2005, in conjunction with the film’s theatrical debut.

    Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Hellblazer graphic novels, Constantine is a supernatural thriller that centers on John Constantine (Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to investigate the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, they are plunged into a world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles.

    The video game will closely follow the events in the film, allowing gamers to play as Constantine in third-person mode. Gameplay will shift between the planes of Earth and “Hell L.A.,” introducing terrifying enemies from the movie as well as new baddies created for the game. Adding to the creep fun is an arsenal of horrific artifacts including The Crucifier, the Holy Shotgun and the Shroud of Moses.

  • Lemony Tops Sour Box Office

    While Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events may not rival Harry Potter in terms of widespread popularity and box office draw, the kid lit adaptation from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies tapped into the same audience to become the top movie in North America during a lackluster frame. The darkly comic Jim Carey vehicle pulled in an estimated $30.2 million, knocking Warner Bros.’ Oceans Twelve down a peg to No. 2 with around $18.2 million.

    Combining elements from the first three books in the popular series by Daniel Handler, A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the misadventures of the Baudelaire children, who are orphaned when their parents are killed in a fire. A distant relative named Count Olaf (Carey) takes them in with the intention of doing away with them and inheriting their fortune.

    Directed by Brad Siberling (Casper), the film features visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) under visual effects supervisor Stephan Fangmeier (Master and Commander: The far Side of the World, The Perfect Storm). Read more about ILM’s work on Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events in the forthcoming February issue of Animation Magazine.

    The debut of 20th Century Fox’s Flight of the Phoenix turned out to be an unfortunate event in itself. The remake of 1962 Jimmy Stewart film only managed an estimated $5.1 million and an eight-place finish. The survival actioner stars Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi, with visual effects by Rhythm & Hues, Digital Domain, CaféFX and The Farm.

    Warner Bros.’ CG holiday heartwarmer, The Polar Express, continues to perform strong, hauling in another $8.5 million to hold onto the No. 4 slot in its sixth week out of the station. The Robert Zemeckis/Tom Hanks collaboration has earned an estimated $123.5 million to date, but still needs to lay some track in order to catch up with the studio’s reported investment of $170 million.

    The Polar Express lagged slightly behind the James L. Brooks-directed family dramedy, Spanglish, which opened at No. 3 with an estimated $9 million. Meanwhile, New Line Cinema’s comic book adaptation, Blade: Trinity, bled out 58% in its second week, dropping from No. 2 to No. 5 with around $6.6 million. The vampire actioner starring Wesley Snipes is likely to mark the end of the franchise, but animation fans may want to note that there are rumors of an animated featurette to be included on the DVD.

  • Triplets in Osborne’s Classic Film Fest

    Sylvian Chomet’s animated masterpiece, Triplets of Belleville, has been selected to screen at this year’s Robert Osborne’s Classic Film Festival, to be held Jan. 27-30 at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia. The mostly hand-drawn pic will be in good company with the likes of such time-honored films as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Hud, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Marlene and Cinema Paradiso.

    For the three-day festival, the 2,000-seat Classic Center theatre will be transformed into a world-class movie palace with the installation of a 54-foot silver screen and state-of-the-art 35mm projection and sound systems. Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies and columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, says he also plans to include original trailers and cartoons to give festival attendees a complete retro movie experience.

    Special guests of the festival will include actresses Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Patricia Neal (Hud) and Jane Powell (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers), and actor/director Maximilian Schell, who helmed Marlene, a documentary about legendary film icon Marlene Dietrich.

    Guests will appear on stage after the screenings of their films for candid discussions with Osborne and members of the audience. Those guests present on Friday morning will also participate in a panel discussion titled "They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To." The discussion will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the Classic Center and is free and open to all. Those guests present after the screening of Casablanca on Sunday afternoon will attend the closing reception in the Classic Center. Tickets for the reception are available at the Classic Center box office.

    All films, with the exception of the Saturday matinee showing of The Adventures of Robin Hood, will require a ticket for admission. Festival tickets can be purchased separately or as a package at the Classic Center box office, online at www.classiccenter.com or by calling 1-800-918-6393. Ticket prices are $10 per individual film or $60 for a pass to all films and panel discussions. Students can either purchase individual film tickets for $8 or a pass to all films and panel discussions for $45 with valid student ID.

    Robert Osborne’s Classic Film Festival is an annual nonprofit event of UGA’s Grady College. For more information, visit www.grady.uga.edu/osbornefest.

  • Popeye Returns in 3D on Fox

    He’s strong to the finish ‘cuz he eats his spinach but Popeye is making a fresh start with a cutting-edge 3D look and an all-new animated TV special debuting tonight on Fox at 8:30/7:30 Central. Produced by King Features Syndicate and computer animation house Mainframe, the show is just part of a larger franchise relaunch timed to Popeye’s 75th anniversary. An animated theatrical feature may also be on the way.

    In Popeye’s Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates plays a sea hag/siren opposite Billy West (Ren & Stimpy) as the spinach-guzzling seafarer. The 30-minute special was written by Mad About You star Paul Reiser and Jim Hardison.

    In addition to Mainframe’s 3D makeover, former Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh, who has been making quite a living scoring movies and animated TV projects such as Rugrats, is putting a new spin on the “Popeye the Sailor Man” theme song.

    Lions Gate Family Home Entertainment will release an hour-long version of the Popeye special featuring never-before-seen footage as well as classic material on DVD and VHS. FHE represents such pre-eminent children’s and family franchises as Barbie, Clifford The Big Red Dog, Care Bears, Rescue Heroes, Hot Wheels and Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.

    Popeye made his first public appearance on January 17, 1929 in Elzie Segar’s comic strip Thimble Theatre. He jumped to the silver screen in Popeye the Sailor, a 1933 Betty Boop cartoon from Fleischer Studios. The Sailor Man went on to star in nearly 600 Popeye cartoons, produced through the years by the Fleischer Studios, Famous Studios and Hanna Barbera, among others. In 1980, the character returned to the big screen in the live-action Popeye movie starring Robin Williams and Shelly Duvall. Ted Turner’s Cartoon Network celebrated the 60th anniversary of the muscled mariner’s film debut with Popumentary, a series of six prime-time specials that aired in 1993.

  • The Nicktoons Film Festival Announces: Screening 9’The “Magic In Small Things” Show

    The Nicktoons Film Festival continues this Sunday with Screening 9, a selection of seven shorts that will put a little magic back in your life–especially during this stressful season! A co-production of Frederator Studios and Animation Magazine for Nicktoons, The Nicktoons Film Festival airs on the Nicktoons cable channel Sunday nights at 10 p.m (EST) and 7 p.m. (PST), with a repeat at 1 p.m. (EST) and 10 p.m. (PST). The films featured in Screening 9–The "Magic In Small Things" Show are: The Turn-Off by Holly Klein, a director with credits on Blue’s Clues and Little Bill; It’s My Turn from CalArts grad Hwang Nguyen; Kenya from U.K. animator Jonti Picking, creator of the ultra-popular shorts series Weebl & Bob; Coolman! Deep Sea Blues from Nelvana filmmakers Arna Selznick and John Van Bruggen; Haina: A Concert from Brazilian artist Arnaldo Galvao; Gumbuster from Icelandic filmmaker Hrefna Bragadottir; and a set of Ape Escape shorties from director Yorifusa Yamaguchi, Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

    The Nicktoons Film Festival:

    Screening 9–The "Magic In Small Things" Show

    Airdate and Time: Dec. 19, 2004, 10 p.m. (EST); 7 p.m. (PST), Nicktoons

    Film #1: The Turn-Off (Length: 6:10; 2D cutout animation with a 3D character)–Obsessed with TV? Oh…right…you’re watching our show aren’t you? Well, you probably don’t have it as bad as filmmaker Holly Klein. "The Turn-Off," she explains, "is based on me, and how I grew up constantly watching TV. It’s about the dependence that we all have with media to constantly teach, entertain and relax us and ultimately tell us who we are, what we like and maybe even what we’re good at. I wanted to portray TV as a good guy and a bad guy all at once. He’s the enemy who lives with you and that you just can’t stop watching. And why would you want to?" (To contact Holly Klein e-mail her at holly_klein@hotmail.com.)

    Film #2: It’s My Turn (Length: 2:50; Pencil)–According to filmmaker Hwang Nguyen, it’s the little moments in life that make the best creative fodder. When we screened It’s My Turn, we liked the animation, but now that we found out about the magical and rather naughty little moment the short was based on, we like it even more. Says Nguyen, "I wanted to tell an entertaining story with interesting characters and was inspired by my sister, Anna. One day my brother and I were playing Puzzle Bubble and my sister came in and wanted to play, too but we wouldn’t let her. How unfair of us older brothers, huh? ‘Come on guys, let me play. Hey, it’s my turn. It’s my turn!’ She kept at it for a while and I think we both ended up leaving and letting her play by herself." This story proves that even sibling rivalry can lead to great inspiration. (If you want to chat about animation or your annoying little sister, write Hwang Nguyen at NguyenHwang@hotmail.com.)

    Film #3: Kenya (Length: :49; Flash) A word of great warning: don’t watch this cartoon if you’re at all susceptible to a catchy tune. That’s right, if you’re the type to get music stuck in your head DO NOT watch Kenya. One of our fave filmmakers, Mr. J. Picking (a.k.a. Weebl), made this short just to torture us and we’ve got to say that we can definitely take the pain. Not only is that bad little lion adorable, we dig this short’s very British humor and, of course, can’t stop singing that darn song! (Check out Weebl’s well-visited cartoon site (www.weebls-stuff.com) for more shorts, including an offer for the new Weebl & Bob DVD of shorts that aired on MTV-UK.

    Film #4: Coolman! Deep Sea Blues (Length: 5:00; Flash)–Animation director Arna Selznick created the character Coolman with John Van Bruggen (Beetlejuice, Dog City), a director and writer who happens to also be her husband. Selznick has more than twenty years of cartoon experience with credits that include Canada’s Golden Reel award for the direction of the original Care Bears Movie. Well, in terms of design, this episode of Coolman, titled Deep Sea Blues, is about as far afield of the Care Bears as a good cup of java at a beatnik poetry reading. We really like the pacing of this cartoon, the character design and that funky Coolman–the hip alter ego of one worn-out everyman named Lester. Tune in to see how Lester’s purchase of a goldfish takes him to the coolest place of all, the bottom of the deep blue sea. (To find out more about the filmmakers and other Coolman shorts produced for Canada’s major indie house, Nelvana, e-mail funpak@corusent.com.)

    Film #5: Haina: A Concert (Length: :30, 2D animation)–If you’re having a little difficulty seeing the magic in life, may we recommend a dash of witchcraft? Although it really is only a dash, this beautiful and silly little short grabs your imagination and tickles your heart. We hope you enjoy the spell that Brazilian filmmaker Arnaldo Galvao casts in Haina; we know we’re still enchanted. (To reach Arnaldo Galvao, e-mail arg@uol.com.br.)

    Film #6: Gumbuster (Length: 3:33; 2D Animation)–Filmmaker Hrefna Bragadottir says that what she loves most about animation is the fact that absolutely anything is possible. Her unusual and totally endearing short, Gumbuster, definitely proves her point. Here’s how Bragadottir came up with the film: "[The idea] started developing when I was walking the gum-infested streets of England after a late night. Pieces of gum were scattered all over the place and looked like little, squashed aliens that did not belong there at all. For some odd reason it made me think of a chewing gum cloud that attacks cities around the world with chewing gum rain. This, however, had no storyline or meaning and was just a little gag that made me chuckle. It wasn’t until I did my three-month work placement at Varga Studios in Budapest that I really started developing the concept of chewing gum on the streets. If the pieces of gum had some other purpose, like tremendous singing talent, they could perhaps turn things around! I don’t know why pieces of gum would sing, but at least it convinced the characters of Gumbuster to stop spitting it on the streets!" (To find out more about filmmaker Hrefna Bragadottir, check out her website at www.flufftoons.com.)

    Film #7: Ape Escape (Length: 5:00; CG)–We’re running quite a few Ape Escapes, little one-minute fun-packed adventures of a boy and his crazy apes. We’d spend more time describing them, but we’d spoil the punchlines. Let’s just say if you like fart jokes, monkeys and wacky music, you won’t want to let these little shorts get away. All of our Ape Escape shorts were directed by Yorifusa Yamaguchi and come to us from Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment, courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

  • NFL’s Toon Commentator Goes Long Online

    If you need further proof of the ubiquitous nature of animation, look to the world of sports where even the NFL now has a popular animated personality. Thurston Long, a 3D cartoon commentator for CBS Sports’ NFL Today, is rapidly gaining a cult following among football fans and is now a star on the web as well.

    NFL Today’s satirical animated feature, "Outside the Huddle," has computer-generated comedic anchor Long lampooning professional football players, coaches and other celebrities during the pre-game show each Sunday. The segment, which started out as an experiment in the second week of the season, is produced by CBS Sports and face2face animation inc., Scripted Improv Media (producers of the nationally syndicated daily radio comedy series, The Daily Service) and sports-focused TV post-production house Synergistix Media.

    If you miss "Outside the Huddle" on Sunday, you can now catch it online at www.SportsLine.com. CBS Sports president Sean McManus comments, "Once we had a true hit in Thurston Long, we wanted to leverage the CBS Sports franchise to deliver him to multiple networks, as many of our fans are watching television and following other scores on the Internet simultaneously. We’re pleased that we have a production team that can seamlessly create segments for both NFL Today and www.Sportsline.com.

    "Outside the Huddle" is able to offer fans a good amount of topical animation each week because of the express pipeline developed at face2face (www.f2f-inc.com). The New Jersey-based animation production company has delivered entertainment and advertising content for national television and major web sites for such leading media companies as AOL, CBS, HBO, and MTV. The company was founded in 2000 as a Lucent Technologies venture, capitalizing on core technologies developed at Bell Labs.

  • GTA: San Andreas Gunning for Xbox

    Not content to let PlayStation 2 owners have all the antisocial fun, Rockstar Games, the publishing arm of Take-Two Interactive Software, is bringing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to the Xbox. Developed by Rockstar North, the award-winning sequel will be available for Microsoft’s gaming console and for PC in North America on June 7th, 2005, and in Europe on June 10th, 2005.

    A follow-up to the hugely successful Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was named Game of the Year at Tuesday’s second annual Spike TV Video Game Awards. The game features the voice of actor Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown), who took Best Performance by a Human Male at the Spike TV kudo fest.

    More than 30 million units of the Grand Theft Auto franchise have been shipped to date, including more than 11.5 million units of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and more than 10.5 million units of Grand Theft Auto 3.

  • Snicket’s Out to Sell Tickets

    The story of a wicked count scheming to kill three wealthy orphans and steal their fortune may not sound like a holiday family film, but Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies are hoping to lure some Yule Tide business away from The Polar Express with Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

    Combining elements from the first three books in the popular kid lit series by Daniel Handler, A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the misadventures of the Baudelaire children, whose parents were killed in a fire. Feeling the holiday cheer yet? The fun starts when they are sent to live with a distant relative, a failed actor named Count Olaf (played with relish by the mercurial Jim Carey). Olaf sees an opportunity to inherit a lot of money but finds offing the kids much more of a challenge than he ever imagined.

    The film was shot almost entirely on sound stages in Los Angeles, Calif. and features visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) under visual effects supervisor Stephan Fangmeier (Master and Commander: The far Side of the World, The Perfect Storm).

    Animation Magazine Online visited the set during production and director Brad Siberling told us he was constantly working with the effects crew in bringing the books to the screen. He notes, "Especially in this case, because you’re using your effects team as truly part of your overall design [crew]. I did Casper and that was the first time we dealt with completely digital characters. That was a team at ILM with Dennis Muren and Stefan Fangmeier, so the first thing I did was call Stephan, who I thought was free. So he came down and I wanted to make sure he and [production designer] Rick Heinrichs met to see if there was a good marriage there because, as opposed to having a separate system, I wanted this to be a real, whole animal."

    While Siberling was glad that none of the characters in Snicket’s were completely CG, one of the Baudelaire children is a two-year old who needed some digital doubling. "When people see Sonny on the screen, it’s going to give writers and directors a lot of new ideas," Animation supervisor Colin Brady boasts of the motion capture animation work ILM performed for scenes that twin toddlers Kara and Shelby Hoffman couldn’t do.

    Read more about ILM’s work on Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events in the forthcoming February issue of Animation Magazine.

    Also hitting theaters in wide release today is 20th Century Fox’s Flight of the Phoenix, a survival remake starring Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi. When their plane crashes in the Mongolian desert, the flight crew and a team of oil workers must work together to build a new plane from the wreckage in this harrowing tale featuring visual effects by Rhythm & Hues, Digital Domain, CaféFX and The Farm.

    Opening in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco today is Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated Howard Hughes biopic, The Aviator. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role and is highlighted by effects work from Sony Opictures Imageworks, CaféFX, Entity FX, Digital Neural Axis, DNA Corp. and others.