Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Godzilla Gets Star in Hollywood

    Tokyo may be tired of being trampled by it’s prehistoric tormentor, but Hollywood loves the big green guy. Godzilla, the star of more than two dozen movies and a cartoon series, today got his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    The star ceremony was just one of many events held this year to celebrate Godzilla’s 50th birthday. The fire-breathing, radioactive dinosaur first exploded on the big screen in 1954 with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which was recently restored and re-released in select theaters.

    The Big G has continued for decades to thrill audiences worldwide with a satisfying blend of camp and catastrophe. The latest film in the franchise, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., premiered in the U.S. over the summer. Fans are now looking forward to the next and supposedly final installment (for at least a decade) in Toho’s long-running film series. In Godzilla: Final Wars, the title terrible lizard will have another go at nearly every monster he’s battled in the past. Word has it he’s even going to take on his computer-generated version.

    While Godzilla has traditionally been played by a man in a big rubber suit, he got a CG makeover for Roland Emmerich’s and Dean Devlin’s ill-received 1998 U.S. remake. Though that effort flopped, Toho’s rubber Godzilla has continued to build a dedicated cult audience. The American Cinematheque, for one, regularly draws crowds for sell-out screenings of new and classic Godzilla films at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

    Fans are hoping Godzilla: Final Wars will get some theatrical distribution in the U.S., and perhaps all the 50th birthday attention will entice a distributor to give it at least a limited run. The film is slated to open in Japan in December.

  • Majesco Nabs Disney Shows for GBA Video

    Majesco has secured rights to bring several Disney properties to its Game Boy Advance Video line. The deal with Buena Vista Home Entertainment will make episodes of Disney’s Kim Possible, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch: The Series, The Proud Family, Super Robot Monkey Team and Brandy & Mr. Whiskers available on Game Boy cartridges.

    "In keeping with the commitment to nurture future technologies, Buena Vista Home Entertainment is proud to partner with a prominent leader in the portable digital entertainment platform," says Lori MacPherson, VP of brand marketing and product development for BVHE. "We look forward to seeing the opportunities this distribution avenue presents."

    The first release under the deal is Disney Channel Collection Vol. 1. Scheduled to ship in time for the holidays, the title will feature installments of Lilo & Stitch and Kim Possible.

    In March, Majesco partnered with 4Kids Ent. to bring episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sonic X to the 23 million Game Boy Advance owners in North America. Also available for Game Boy Advance Video are installments of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, Jimmy Neutron, The Fairly OddParents and All Grown Up.

    Each Majesco Game Boy Advance Video title carries a suggested retail price of $19.99. More information about the company’s lineup can be found online at www.majescogames.com.

  • Disney Artist J. P. Miller Dead at 91

    Former Disney animator and children’s book illustrator John Parr Miller died recently at home in Manhasset, N.Y. The 91-year-old artist is credited with helping to establish Disney’s character model department in 1937 and contributed to the look of beloved screen characters from such films as Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo.

    At the time of his death Miller had a number of children’s books still in circulation, including Follow Me (1998) and several entries in Random House’s enduring Little Golden Books series. Other titles he illustrated include Do You Know Colors?, Little Bunny Follows His Nose, The Sweet Smell of Christmas, The Wonderful House, Lucky Mrs. Ticklefeather, I Am a Mouse, Little Turtle’s Big Adventure and Jingle Bells: A New Story.

    Following a stint at Grand Central Art School in New York, Miller moved to Hollywood during the depression. He found work in Disney’s story department in 1934 and saw the studio expand from short films to features before leaving to serve in World War II. After the war, he and other Disney veterans were recruited by Golden Books to create images that would be enjoyed by generations.

    Miller continued to work as a freelance illustrator into his 80s. Samples of his work were shown this month in a Golden Books exhibition at the Donnell Library Center opposite the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He is survived by his half brother, George E. Miller, also of Manhasset.

  • Sky Captain to Fly at New York’s HDFEST

    A special screening of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow has been added to the HDFEST New York lineup. The screening will take place on Sunday December 5th at The Tribeca Grand Screening Room, 2 Avenue of the Americas at 7:30pm.

    Written and directed by newcomer Kerry Conran, Sky Captain blends live actors with computer-generated environments and animated elements like giant, Fleischer-style robots. Conran’s own effects studio, WOT, contributed to the film’s pixel magic, as did ILM, Stan Winston Digital, Café FX, Gray Matter FX, The Orphanage, Pacific Title Digital, Pixel Liberation Front, Ring of Fire, R!OT, Rising Sun Pictures, Hybride Technologies, Engine Room, EFilm, Luma Pictures and Rising Sun Pictures.

    All the films screened at HDFEST (including a Sunday Dec. 5 screening of Phil Tippett’s Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation) showcase a wide range of techniques using digital technology and originate on a variety of high-definition cameras. In addition, a panel discussion titled “How the Independent Filmmaker can Benefit from HD Technology” is scheduled for Saturday December 4th and will include HD directors and industry experts speaking about their experiences with the technology and offering advice to new HD filmmakers.

    The HDFEST 2004 World Tour began this past May in Sydney, Australia. Additional 2004 HDFEST events were held in London, Finland, South Florida, and Los Angeles. Tickets ($8 for each screening) for the New York HDFEST events can be purchased through HDFEST’s website www.hdfest.com/tickets.htm. For information about HDFEST New York visit www.hdfest.com or call 321-206-5343.

  • Atari Offers Gaming Flashback

    While most video game makers are busy pushing their latest titles for the holiday season, Atari is getting more mileage out of its catalog of classics with this week’s release of the Atari Flashback Classic Game Console. The plug-and-play device comes loaded with 20 vintage Atari favorites including Asteroids, Centipede and Breakout, as well as Saboteur, which is being reissued to gamers for the first time.

    A hybrid of the Atari 2600 and 7800 consoles, the unit is modeled to resemble a smaller replica of the 7800, which hit the market 20 years ago. The Flashback comes with two joystick controllers, a power supply and a cable that plugs directly into the TV for easy set-up and use.

    Other titles pre-loaded on the console include Adventure, Air Sea Battle, Battlezone, Canyon Bomber, Crystal Castles, Desert Falcon Food Fight, Gravitar, Haunted House, Millipede, Planet Smashers, Sky Diver, Solaris, Sprintmaster, Warlords and Yar’s Revenge.

    Atari recently licensed some of its classic games for use in Jakks Pacific’s popular line of plug-and-play TV Games, which resemble old Atari joysticks and come loaded with ten games for around $20. The Atari Flashback retails for around $44.95.

    The release follows on the heels of Atari’s other retro release, Atari Anthology. The title offers 85 vintage Atari classics on a single disc for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. More information on both products can be found at www.atari.com.

  • Harry Potter 3 Casts a Spell on DVD

    Hogwarts comes home for the holidays as the third installment in the hugely successful Harry Potter film franchise arrives on DVD and VHS today. The film hit theaters in June and went on to make $790 million worldwide. Now it’s sure to work some powerful magic at retailers.

    Directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien, A Little Princess) this adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s third book in the series takes place during young Harry’s third year at wizard school. Harry fears it may be his last year on Earth when he learns that convicted murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) has escaped from Azkaban Prison and may be coming after him. Daniel Radcliff returns in the title role, joining returning cast members Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Robbie Coletrane, Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith. Irish actor Michael Gambon (Sleepy Hollow, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) takes over the role of Albus Dumbledore, previously played by the late Richard Harris.

    Also taking a starring role are visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic, Cinesite Europe, FrameStore CFC, Doule Negative, The Moving Picture Co., Baseblack, Machine and Northern Lights Post. Insiders are saying that the film’s vfx fireworks will surely get noticed during the upcoming awards season.

    DVD features include deleted scenes, interviews with Rowling and the filmmakers, cast interviews hosted by Johnny Vaughan and the Shrunken Head, three games, a making-of featurette, an animal trainer featurette, self-guided iPIX tours of Honeydukes and Professor Lupin’s classroom, a sing-along with the Hogwarts choir, a Hogwarts portrait gallery, a Hogwarts timeline, DVD-ROM wizard trading cards, theatrical trailers and a preview of the video game from Electronic Arts.

    The Warner Home Video release is rated "PG" and lists for $29.95 on DVD and $22.99 on VHS.

    Also arriving in time for the holidays is the animated direct-to-video Miramax pic, In Search of Santa. The CG film stars popstar siblings Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff as the voices of penguin princesses Crystal and Lucinda, who set out on the adventure of a lifetime when a sleigh bell mysteriously falls from the sky and Crystal is determined to prove it came from one of Santa’s reindeer. As they journey to the North Pole, they must work together to outrun hungry, wild beasts, outwit greedy pirates and try to keep three sneaky court penguins from stealing their parents’ throne. The Buena Vista Home Entertainment release goes in the stocking for $19.99 on DVD and $14.99 on VHS.

    Four episodes of one of Cartoon Network’s hit anime series come to disc with Ghost in the Shell–Stand Alone Complex Volume Three. The Manga Ent./Bandai Ent. release comes as both a standard edition in Dolby Digital for $24.98 and a limited edition with two discs, one in Dolby Digital and one in DTS Digital.

    From Paramount Home Video comes As Told by Ginger: The Wedding Frame, featuring three animated episodes from the hit Klasky Csupo Nickelodeon series. Lois Foutley marries Dr. Dave in this three-part story that sees Ginger start to have doubts about love and commitment. Meanwhile, a wicked triumvirate hatches a plan to sabotage the wedding and it’s up to Ginger’s brother, Carl, to foil the plot with a little cloak and dagger. It carries a suggested retail price of $16.99 on DVD and $9.95 on VHS.

  • Smurfs to Fight Winter Blues on DIC Kids

    Those hard-working little blue folks from Smurf Village are getting ready to make a big splash on DIC Kids’ Network. The Smurfs, the Saturday morning 1980s hit has been acquired by DIC Entertainment from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution. DIC Chairman and CEO Andy Heyward announced today that his company has bought 26 half-hour episodes of the popular show for broadcast on its three-hour programming block.

    The Smurfs will begin airing in January 2005 on the DIC Kid’s Network, designed to provide stations with children’s programming that meets core FCC requirements. Select episodes of the show have been handpicked by DIC to meet the educational standards of the block.

    Produced by Hanna Barbera, the traditionally animated toon was first bought by Fred Silverman, president of the Fred Silverman Company & former CEO & president of NBC, to air on NBC where the series dominated Saturday morning for nearly a decade, boosting the network from last place to first place in kids. Based on characters created by Peyo (and first introduced in a strip in Le Journal de Spirou) in 1956, The Smurfs became an international hit which still airs on major broadcast outlets around the world. In addition to a hit TV series and a feature film, the toon evolved into a global brand sensation with a successful line of toys, books and music. The Smurfs made their first appearance in 1956 when creator Peyo introduced them in a story of Johan & Peewit in Le Journal de Spirou.

    “I had the privilege to work at Hanna Barbera in the late 70s and early 80s and to collaborate closely with the original creator, Peyo," says Heyward. "We watched the series command a 60 share rating on NBC. Ratings like that have not been seen before or since, and I believe we can bring the series to the top of the ratings charts once again on the DIC Kid’s Network." He adds. "The Smurfs is one of those rare timeless jewels that became one of the first mega-entertainment brands for kids, and with the retro trend showing no signs of slowing down, we believe the environment is right to re-awaken this ‘sleeping giant’ to a new generation of young viewers."

    Launched in in September 2003, The DIC Kids’ Network reaches 100% of the U.S. markets and airs on over 450 stations. The programming block airs on major broadcast outlets, including local FOX, WB and UPN affiliates, and offers three separate exclusive programming feeds, along with a Spanish Language feed. The block is comprised of six half-hours of animated programs from DIC Entertainment’s extensive library of over 3,200 half-hours of popular animated programming.

  • Nintendo DS Hits Retail

    Nintendo’s latest hand-held gaming device has arrived and some eager gamers waited as long as 15 hours in line to be the first to get their hands on it Sunday night. The Nintendo DS went on sale at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 21 at EB Games in the Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles.

    The dual-screen successor to the Game Boy features a touch screen, voice recognition and wireless capabilities. According to Nintendo, the touch screen may make accessing items, moving characters or navigating menus as easy as a tap or drag on the screen. With voice recognition, players can simply tell the game what they want it to do, while chat software will allow them transmit text messages, handwriting and even drawings to one another. Wireless functions could potentially link players in the same room or across the country.

    The unit includes two processors, 3D capabilities on both screens, 16-channel sound and a rechargeable battery that features a low-energy-consumption design. One media bay handles new DS game cartridges that hold one gigabit of information and more. The second media port allows for compatibility with Game Boy Advance games, as well as a host of possible future accessories.

    Nintendo unveiled the DS at the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles this past summer. In addition to an upgrade in technology, the DS comes with a step-up in price from the Game Boy Advance. At $149.99, the device costs the same as Sony’s PlayStation 2 console, but retailers expect to sell out of the 1 million DS units shipped in North America before the end of the year.

    More than 100 companies worldwide have received software development kits and are planning games for Nintendo DS. Nintendo is developing titles based on its Super Mario, Metroid and WarioWare franchises, while third-party publishers work on Spider-Man 2 (Activision), Rayman (Ubisoft), SpongeBob SquarePants (THQ), Yu-Gi-Oh! (Konami), Sonic (Sega), and Pac-Man (Namco) titles.

  • SpongeBob’s Absorbent at Box Office

    SpongeBob took on Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) and emerged victorious over the weekend. Though it narrowly lost the top spot to Buena Vista’s National Treasure, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies enjoyed a big opening, soaking up an estimated $33.5 million.

    SpongeBob’s big-screen debut was buoyed by a built-in audience that followed the silly sea creature from his submerged pineapple digs at kid cable net Nickelodoen. The series’ popularity among college students helped it do well at Friday night screenings as well as rugrat-packed Saturday and Sunday matinees. And speaking of rugrats, SpongeBob topped another Nickelodeon property to claim the networks’ biggest cinematic bow to date. Rugrats first crawled into theaters in 1998 and opened to $27.3 million on its way to $100 million.

    Another accomplishment for SpongeBob was dispelling the myth that 2D feature animation is dead. The mostly traditionally drawn, $30 million toon opened bigger than Sony’s much hyped, $170 million 3D holiday pic, The Polar Express. Though it may gain steam as Christmas approaches, the Tom Hanks vehicle has performed under studio expectations, slipping to fourth place in its second weekend with an estimated $15.2 million.

    Edged out by SpongeBob, Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles settles for a third-place finish with a more than healthy $26.7 million in its third week out. Director Brad Bird’s superhero spoof is flying high with a cumulative take of $178 million and should also benefit from upcoming holidays as kids get let out of school.

    Putting 2D vs. 3D issues aside, the weekend proved a huge success for animation in general as three of the top five spots were claimed by toons. Even National Treasure, which pulled off a surprise win with around $35 million, features some digital magic from Asylum Effects, New Deal Studios and Realscan 3D. The actioner stars Nicholas Cage as a modern treasure hunter in a story that plays like Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Da Vinci Code. The Universal sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, finishes out the list at No. 5 with just over $10 million in its second week.

    Go behind the scenes with SpongeBob creator Steve Hillenburg as he discusses the making of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in the December issue of Animation Magazine, now available.

  • DreamVision Tells True Story with 3D

    London-based DreamVision Motion Pictures and Television plans to produce a 3D-animated musical titled Anna, which will mark the launch of the DreamVision Animation label. The kid-friendly pic will accompany a live-action feature based on the same true story of two people mysteriously connected by a dream.

    The live-action version, titled Unshakable, is based on the upcoming book of the same name by Paula Felps. It chronicles the events that began on December 23, 2002, when a dream led a man to seek out a child at the opposite end of the world. Director Jimmy Huckaby will shoot the film in the U.S. and Russia. The animated Anna re-tells the story for children with an original musical adaptation.

    Both films will be produced by DreamVision Universal Studios, Florida with domestic/international theatrical distribution handled by the DreamVision Distribution arm.

  • Spongy One Makes Splash in Theaters

    The last few weeks have been huge for animation fans, what with the release of Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles and Sony’s The Polar Express while DreamWorks’ Shark Tale is still treading water in theaters. With today’s release of Paramount’s and Nickelodeon Movies’ The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, we may very well the top three spots at the box office occupied by animated efforts.

    Directed by series creator Stephen Hillenburg, the movie has our yellow absorbent hero leaving his town of Bikini Bottom to find King Neptune’s stolen crown. In addition to series regulars Tom Kenny (SpongeBob) and Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick Star), the movie boasts star turns from voice guests such as Alec Baldwin (The Cooler), James Earl Jones (The Lion King), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Jeffrey Tambor (TV’s Arrested Development) and Clancy Brown (Highlander). Baywatch favorite David Hasselhoff also makes a live-action appearance.

    Spongebob’s feature debut is getting rave reviews from critics, scoring an impressive 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). The pic is outdone only by The Incredibles, which got the thumbs up from 96% of critics featured.

    Go behind the scenes with Hillenburg as he discusses the making of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in the December issue of Animation Magazine, now available.

    Also opening wide today is Buena Vista Pictures’ National Treasure, which stars Nicholas Cage as a modern-day treasure hunter in search for a war chest reportedly hidden by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. The action-adventure pic is directed by John Turteltaub and features vfx work by Asylum Effects, New Deal Studios and Realscan 3D.

  • Iron Giant Team Reunites in Los Angeles

    In celebration of the release of The Iron Giant Special Edition DVD, more than two dozen members of the creative team behind the movie will get together and answer questions from the public on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the Golden Apple comic-book store on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles. The unique event will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

    Before he passed away in late October, Golden Apple founder Bill Liebowitz issued this endorsement: "These are designers, animators, artists and special guests who haven’t seen each other in years. They are coming from all over–New York, Hawaii and Northern California–just for this event. They’ll be bringing rare production drawings, tests, models and all sorts of treasures for the fans to see."

    Fans who attend will be able to get autographs, photos and lively presentations. Animation Magazine’s editor, Ramin Zahed, will moderate the discussion, with esteemed animation historian Jerry Beck as a special guest.

    Released theatrically in 1999, award-winning The Iron Giant was lauded by critics but generally overlooked by the general public. It has since built an ever-growing cult following and a favorite of animation fans world-wide. The film was was written and directed by Brad Bird, director of Disney and Pixar’s latest blockbuster, The Incredibles. Voice actors include Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick, Jr. The Special Edition DVD came out Tuesday, offering a host of extra features including deleted scenes, outtakes, commentaries and more.

    Admission to Saturday’s event is free with the purchase of the Special Edition DVD at any Golden Apple location. All attendees will also receive an Iron Giant commemorative mini-figurine free with purchase of a DVD.

  • e-magiciens Makes Digital Magic in France

    Organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Valenciennes, France, this year’s e-magiciens digital creation festival will kick off Wednesday, Nov. 24 and continues through Friday, Nov. 26. The Theatre Le Phénix in Valenciennes will host the event, which highlights the work of European students.

    The fest is a continuation of the European Festival of Young CG Creation, which has seen four editions held at various locations in Europe. In addition to screenings of digital creations, the 2004 program will feature debates, conferences, roundtable discussions and an experimental lab. For more information on the festival, visit www.e-magiciens.net.

  • DreamWorks Sending Puss to Video?

    DreamWorks Animation is reportedly venturing into Disney territory with a direct-to-video spin-off of its hugely successful computer-animated sequel, Shrek 2. According to Daily Variety, the studio has signed Ed Decter and John Strauss, writers of The Lizzie Maguire Movie, to script an animated movie that focuses on the scene-stealing Puss in Boots character voiced by Antonio Banderas.

    Banderas has yet to make a deal, but it is unlikely that DreamWorks would further exploit the character without the participation of the purr-fectly cast star of such swashbucklers as The Mask of Zorro and Desperado.

    While the Puss pic is likely to go to the lucrative direct-to-video market, there is a chance it could wind up on the big screen. You may recall that Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 2 was originally slated to bow on video but the quality of the film convinced Disney to send it to theaters. However, that movie reunited the whole cast of Toy Story characters and their respective voicers. Puss may have emerged as the breakout character in Shrek 2, but it’s not certain that the cat could drag in audiences without his green ogre buddy in tow.

    Disney has been widely criticized by fans for exploiting its major animated properties with lower-budget video releases often referred to as "cheapquels." While many say the move diminishes the overall value of the franchises, the market has proven to be a cash cow for the Mouse House and DreamWorks would no doubt risk disappointing some fans for a piece of that pie.

  • Lucas Digital Prez Splits for Toons

    After more than two decades with Lucas Digital, company president Jim Morris is stepping down to pursue a career as a creative producer for computer-animated movies, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Morris served as general manager of ILM for 13 years and president of Lucas Digital for 11 years.

    While George Lucas and his newly minted Lucas Animation are entering the CG feature market, Morris has expressed a desire to branch out from Lucas’ Marin County, Calif.-based empire and pursue opportunities in Los Angeles.

    To help fill the void left with Morris’ departure, Chrissie England will step up and assume the role of president of Industrial Light & Magic, reporting to Lucasfilm Ltd. president Micheline Chau.

    With Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith slated to hit theaters this spring, ILM is busy with effects work on Paramount Pictures’ Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events, which bows Dec. 17. Other current projects include New Line Cinema’s sequel Son of the Mask, Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Disney’s The Pirates of the Caribbean follow-up.

    Morris’ decision to leave comes as all the various Lucas companies get set to relocate to one central facility at the Presidio in San Francisco. The move will see ILM, LucasArts Ent., Lucas Licensing, Lucas Online and Lucasfilm Ltd. Share the same 23-acre home.

  • DIC Names New Marketing Senior VP

    DIC Ent. has appointed Hasbro veteran Michael Verrecchia to the position of senior VP of Marketing.  The announcement was made by DIC Ent. president Brad Brooks.

    In his new position, Verrecchia will oversee all marketing and promotional initiatives for DIC, including marketing strategies for such brands as Strawberry Shortcake and Trollz. He will be responsible for creating and executing multi-layered retail and consumer campaigns, including advertising, promotions and publicity. In addition, Verrecchia will manage the efforts of DIC’s marketing team and outside vendors.

    Prior to joining DIC, Verrecchia served for nearly 14 years as a marketing executive in various divisions at Hasbro Inc. From 2002 to 2004, he was the company’s director of marketing for Disney’s girl-targeted toy product lines, including Disney Princesses, Finding Nemo, Toy Story and The Lion King. Verrecchia also served for two years as director of marketing for the Playskool preschool initiatives, leading the launches of brands such as Cool Crew and Bob The Builder.  For more than four years, he held the position of senior brand manager for licensed brands at Hasrbo and oversaw product development on brands including Star Wars Girls.

  • Nick Films in Wilbur’s Pen

    As Nickelodeon/Paramount’s The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie gets set to take moviegoers to Bikini Bottom, Daily Variety reports that Nick Films has signed on to co-produce Paramount’s live-action/CG adaptation of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web with Kerner Ent.

    Charlotte’s Web is the bittersweet story of a young farm girl who befriends a pig destined to become pork chops. Her efforts to save Wilbur are aided by a spider who spins messages in webs and turns the pig into a media sensation.

    Published in 1952, White’s best-selling children’s book was first repurposed for the big screen by Paramount in 1973. This latest version of Web is written by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) and revised by Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run). Gary Winick (13 Going on 30) is attached to direct and Kerner Ent. production head Paul Neesan will exec produce with Edgar Bronfman Sr.

    Walden Media, a subsidiary of Anschutz Film Group, may come aboard to co-finance and produce the pic, slated to go before the camera in January.

    Nickelodeon and Paramount have had big-sceen successes with the first two Rugrats movies but failed to hit the same highs with efforts like The Wild Thornberrys and Rugrats Go Wild. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie should prove more profitable when it opens this weekend. Then Dec, 17 will see the release of the highly anticipated Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events, which Nickelodeon co-produced with Paramount and DreamWorks.

  • Asian Television Awards Shortlist Out

    The 9th annual Asian Television Awards ceremony, scheduled for Dec, 2 in Singapore, will see 34 awards handed out in recognition of excellence in a variety of categories. Among the 155 entries on the short list are four animated productions.

    Up for Best Animation are Gokusen from Nippon Television Network (Japan); Journey to the West from Eastern Broadcasting and YOYO TV (Taiwan); Legends of the Ring of Fire–Why the Sun Chases the Moon from Walt Disney Television (Singapore); and Thenali Raman from MediaCorp TV 12 and Vasantham Central (Singapore).

    A total of 68 judges on 12 juries whittled the shortlist down from a field of more than 1,500 entries that poured in from all over Asia, including Japan, China, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines, Pakistn, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam.

    Remarking on the quality of this year’s entries, Jonathan Hallett, chairman of judges, comments, "After the difficulties of the past few years, it’s great to see the industry recovering. Local production is at an all-time high and the experience gained under difficult circumstances has clearly stood the industry in good stead."

    The awards ceremony will be televised live on television outlets in 10 Asian countries on Dec. 2. For more information, go to www.asiantvawards.com.

  • Henry’s Garden Short Planted on DVD

    The Award-winning CG-animated short film, Henry’s Garden, has landed on DVD complete with extra features including a narrated storybook for younger viewers.

    Created by Moon Seun and Kevin Geiger of Simplistic Pictures, the 81/2-minute Henry’s Garden is described as "a simple tale of joy, adversity, perseverence, and the enduring power of nature." Henry is an oafish looking character who takes solace in his garden but is saddened to see it besieged by the unrelenting tide of pollution. The short was produced with Alias Maya, Deep Paint and Adobe Photoshop on Windows PC workstations.

    Henry’s Garden has screened around the world, winning Best Animation awards at the 2003 Great Lakes Film Festival, the 2003 San Diego Asian Film Festival, the 2003 Beecher Digital Art Competition and the 2004 Bimini Int’l Film Festival. It was also featured at SIGGRAPH in 2003.

    The film is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio, with enhanced formatting for standard and widescreen TVs. The region-free NTSC DVD also features original development storyboards and animated menus.

    Seun and Geiger are the founders of the Anmation Co-op (www.animationcoop.org), a non-profit network of artists and animators that facilitates the creation of independent animated ventures by serving as an informal hub of association, resource sharing, collaboration and critique.

    To see more details on Henry’s Garden and to order a copy, go to the Simplistic Pictures website at www.simplisticpictures.com.

  • Disney Channel in New Groove

    The House of Mouse is making room for a llama, dusting off a largely overlooked 2000 theatrical release and turning it into a new series to air on Disney Channel. According to The Hollywood Reporter the studio has ordered 21 episodes of a weekly show based on The Emperor’s New Groove. Walt Disney Television Animation will produce The Emperor’s New Skool, which is slated to join the lineup in 2006.

    The Emperor’s New Groove stars David Spade as the voice of an egomaniacal Incan emperor named Kuzco, who is turned into a llama and comes to learn the importance of friendship during his quest to reclaim his throne. While the feature did mediocre business at the box office, it has pulled high ratings during Disney Channel broadcasts, prompting the series development.

    Exec produced by Bob Gannaway (Lilo & Stitch: The Series) and directed by Dave Knott (Recess), The Emperor’s New Skool places the characters in the Incan public school system. There have been no announcements regarding voice casting.

    Disney Channel will also fortify its Playhouse Disney block with 26 episodes of the new half-hour toon series, Little Einstein, from Curious Pictures. Set to debut in the fall of 2005, the show is a sin-off of the Baby Einstein video property owned by Disney. Meanwhile, ABC Family and Toon Disney are sending the Power Rangers into orbit with Space Patrol Delta, the 13th season of the popular action franchise, for the Jetix block.