Author: Ryan Ball

Children’s entertainment producer and distributor Nelvana has entered into a partnership to co-produce Gaspergoo with filmed entertainment and lifestyle brand company Zoup-ah! Home to such animated properties as Babar, Franklin, Beyblade, Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends, Nevlana will manage worldwide television distribution, merchandising and home video rights to the new kids lifestyle brand focused on cooking.

Slated for launch in 2005, Gaspergoo will encompass a half-hour live-action/animated TV and home video series, licensed consumer products, publishing and food lines, cooking schools and a themed restaurant franchise.

The TV and DVD series is aimed at kids 5-9 and follows the zany antics of two brothers who, armed with their passion for food and Grandma’s special recipes, create a kids cooking phenomenon. The show is designed to inspire children and their families to cook and eat nutritious meals together. In addition to a mix of live action and animation, it will feature playful music, entertaining stories and multiple levels of education.

The brand’s global master housewares licensee is the Meyer Corp. (KitchenAid, Circulon, Silverstone), and Purcell Murray, one of the largest distributors of high-end kitchen appliances in the U.S., will sponsor the show’s cooking segments. The title sponsor is Napa, Calif.-based Copia–The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, supported by trustees Robert Mondavi, Martha Stewart, Alice Waters and Eleanor Coppola.

Gaspergoo was created by musical entertainer Jeanne Smith and entrepreneur Erik Stangvik. Business development VP and partner Bill Bourdon, who joined the company last fall, manages strategic partnerships, licensing and public relations. Chris Friden recently came on board as creative director for Gaspergoo and other Zoup-ah! properties in development.

Bandai Ent. and Cartoon Network have acquired the new anime action/adventure series, D.I.C.E. Created by Bandai and animated by Xebec, a subsidiary of Production I.G., the series is scheduled to premiere on Cartoon Network this January.

D.I.C.E. (DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises) is a large organization established to deal with emergencies occurring throughout the Sarbylion galaxy. When the highly trained kids of unit D.I.C.E F-99 need assistance, they rely on their Dinobreakers (transforming dinosaur vehicles) to help get the job done.

Aimed at boys 6-11, D.I.C.E. features a blend of CG and cel animation. Cartoon Network has picked up 26 episodes of the series created by Bandai Ent., distributor of such notable titles as Mobile Gundam SEED, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bebop, .hack//SIGN and Wolf’s Rain.

More information about D.I.C.E. can be found at the show’s official Web site, www.diceofficial.com.

Taking place this week in Santa Monica, Calif., the American Film Market (AFM), is traditionally populated with lower-budget, live-action fare and independent genre flicks. This year, however, animation is well-represented as children’s entertainment company DIC Ent. enters the mart for the first time. DIC is there to offer international buyers a diverse slate of family and kid-themed product and to acquire all-new properties for its U.S. home entertainment distribution business.

In the offing is the new CG feature, Inspector Gadget Gadget’s Biggest Caper Ever…The Case of the Flying Lizzard, produced by DIC, in conjunction with Mainframe Ent. Inc, as well as six brand new Strawberry Shortcake animated titles and nine 65-minute titles from the tween brand, Trollz.. Also up for grabs are 13 classic Movie Toons animated features, including Sabrina Friend’s Forever, Inspector Gadget’s Last Case, The Amazing Zorro, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Dennis the Menace and more.

Clive Jordan, DIC’s VP of international home entertainment and head of international sales, comments, "Inspector Gadget remains as popular today as it was 20 years ago, and Strawberry Shortcake is taking the world by storm with its re-launch last year. The Movie Toons catalog is filled with classics and the positive buzz on Trollz continues so we look forward to a busy market."

In addition to Inspector Gadget, Strawberry Shortcake and Trollz, DIC’s stable of toon properties includes Knights of the Zodiac, Sabrina, Madeline, Liberty’s Kids, Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego, Sonic The Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros. and Super Duper Sumos. In September of 2003, DIC launched the DIC Kid’s Network, a syndicated programming block that airs on more than 400 stations across the U.S.

Daily Variety reports that Turner Broadcasting cable outlets TNT and TBS will shell out as much as $40 million to acquire broadcast rights to six Universal pics, including the effects-filled actioners Van Helsing and The Chronicles of Riddick.

Also included in the package are the hit espionage thriller, The Bourne Supremacy, and the box office duds Wimbledon, Connie & Carla and The Door in the Floor. Most will be available for broadcast in early to mid-2007, except for Connie & Carla, which should bow in Dec. 2006. According to Variety, agreeing to take the weaker performers helped TNT/TBS edge out Universal’s own cable net, USA, for rights to the hotter properties.

After Van Helsing debuts on TNT and TBS, Universal can exercise its right to sell it to another cable outlet within a three-year window to that closes December 2011. TNT and TBS will then get the CG-laden pic back for for 2012.

The PGA New Media Council has announced that Debbie Denise, senior VP and production infrastructure exec producer for Sony Pictures Imageworks, has joined the panelists for its latest Producers Guild discussion and mixer, which will focus on animation and what’s being done to draw new audiences. The event will be held on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 11, at the Sony Imageworks Theater in Culver City, Calif. Leaders in animation production from top studios will be on hand to discuss their latest releases and the state of the industry, specifically what’s being done to attract different audiences.

Moderating the event will be Heather Kenyon, director of development original animation for Cartoon Network. Prior to joining Cartoon Network, Kenyon was editor-in-chief of Animation World Network (www.awn.com), and began her career in animation at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons as manager of the production information department.

Featured Panelists are:

Debbie Denise, senior VP/production infrastructure exec producer, Sony Imageworks

A highly respected exec visual effects producer, Debbie continues in that role while overseeing Imageworks’ production infrastructure. She is currently exec producer on The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio and Monster House, the second film to use Imageworks’ proprietary technology, Imagemotion. She most recently completed production on the CG feature, The Polar Expres, working with senior visual effects supervisors Ken Ralston and Jerome Chen, and director Robert Zemeckis. Debbie also recently wrapped on the upcoming Christmas with the Kranks, collaborating with director Joe Roth and Revolution Pictures, and the sci-fi thriller, The Forgotten.

Teresa Cheng, producer, DreamWorks Feature Animation

Currently serving as a producer on the upcoming DreamWorks Animation comedy, Madagascar, Cheng previously held the role of head of production for PDI/DreamWorks, the studio’s Northern Calif.-based computer animation campus. In that role, Cheng oversaw all global production efforts for the studio including Shrek 2. Before that, she served as the production manager for the Academy Award-nominated animated feature, Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron.

Randy Fullmer, producer, Disney Feature Animation

Fullmer joined the Feature Animation team in 1987 as a special effects animator on Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Little Mermaid. He next supervised the effects department on Rescuers Down Under and Beauty and the Beast, before moving on to the newly created role of artistic coordinator for The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Between 1996 and 2000, he produced The Emperor’s New Groove with long-time friend and director Mark Dindal. The two have again teamed to produce and direct Chicken Little, the first fully CG-animated film from Walt Disney Feature Animation, scheduled for an early July 2005 release.

John Kafka, producer, Universal Cartoon Studios

Kafka served as an animator on many commercials and television shows in the late 1970s before going on to produce a season of the animated series, Spawn, at HBO. He also directed episodes of Baby Blues for Warner Bros. and Cinderella II for Disney. Most recently, he produced two animated films based on the live-action Universal properties, Van Helsing: The London Assignment and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.

Steve Galloway, director of film and TV at TOKYOPOP

With more than 20 years of experience in features, long-form music programming and animation, Galloway’s multifaceted background includes high-level positions with Pioneer Laser Ent., Universal Music Group and Nelvana Communications. At TOKYOPOP, Galloway spearheads development and worldwide sales of both anime and live-action feature and television properties such as the anime series GTO and Reign: The Conquer.

Greg Spiridellis, producer/president, JibJab Media

Gregg co-founded JibJab with his brother, Evan Spiridellis, in 1999, believing that the Internet offered a unique opportunity for creators to bypass traditional distribution channels and build brands. Since then, he has produced short films for such clients as Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Fox, the History Channel, Sony, Kraft and Revlon. In early 2004, the brothers’ short film, Ahnuld for Governor, appeared in the Sundance Film Festival. More recently, their 2004 election parody, This Land, became an Internet sensation, logging more than 50 million views in its first six weeks online.

Networking and cocktails will begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by the panel discussion at 8 p.m. There is no charge for Active PGA members. Guests accompanied by active PGA members get in for $10 and non members admission is $20 (make check payable to Producers Guild of America). RSVP by Nov. 9 at www.pganewmedia.org/pnm/events/CurrentEvents/

edutainment.drawingnewaudiences.html.

Sony Imageworks Theatre is located at 9050 West Washington Blvd. in Culver City. Parking is free at below ground parking provided by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. The event is produced by NMC Events Committee chairs James Fino and Duncan Wain.

To aid in the production of its CG feature film, Happily N’Ever After, BFC Berliner Film Companie GmbH has entered into a custom development and support agreement with mental images GmbH, a German subsidiary of U.S. company mental images inc. The deal includes a license of mental ray 3D modeling and rendering software to be used by The BFC’s in-house production service arm, BFC Studio, under the supervision of BFC head of production Michael Hefferon.

Slated for delivery in the third quarter of 2005, Happily N’Ever After is described as a humorous action/adventure reinterpretation of classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales intended for all audiences. The voice cast will include Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., George Carlin, Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn and Patrick Warburton. Paul Bolger will direct from an original script by Robert Moreland. Producer credit goes to Vanguard Films principal John H. Williams, who produced both Shrek films and Disney’s upcoming Valiant, and Rainer Soehnlein is exec producer.

According to mental images, mental ray software supports 64-bit computer processors as well as the most recent dedicated graphics processors for maximum rendering speed. The company says it is the first rendering software that combines the physically correct simulation of the behavior of light with full programmability for the creation of any imaginable visual phenomenon.

Other recent major motion pictures to use mental images software include DreamWorks’ Shark Tale, Warner Bros.’ The Matrix Reloaded and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and Universal’s Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and The Hulk.

Sydney, Australia-based newcomer SLR Prods. is set to begin production on an animated series based on the best-selling Deadly children’s book series by Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings. Yoram Gross-EM.TV will serve as the Australian animation studio and distributor for the 13×30 show, which is financed through the Distinctively Australian Fund run by the Film Finance Corp. Australia and has been pre-sold to Aussie broadcaster Network Nine.

Deadly will be the first series from SLR Prods., which was founded by Suzanne Ryan in 2003 as a joint venture with New Zealand production company South Pacific Pictures, producers of the hit indie feature, Whale Rider. Ryan will produce Deadly, with David Evans directing and Ryan and Geoff Watson of Yoram Gross-EM.TV serving as exec producers.

Ryan comments, "I have no doubt that the television series of Deadly will have a huge national and international appeal. Morris Gleitzman’s and Paul Jennings’ wonderfully inventive world is an animator’s dream and it is fantastic that a project like this can be fully financed from Australia."

Deadly will premiere on Nine Network in 2005. Also in the works at SLR Prods. is I Got A Rocket! The Australian/U.K. co-production between SLR and Taffy Ent.’s U.K. unit is based on the popular Australian picture book of the same name by Matt Zurbo and Dean Gorrissen. The trailer was launched at MIPCOM earlier this year.