Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Cramp Twins Travel to Super RTL, Fox Kids Germany

    TV-Loonland has sold its hit animated series, The Cramp Twins, to top broadcasters in Germany. Super RTL has picked up the second season (26×11), while pay-TV provider Fox Kids Germany has committed to both the first and second seasons (52×11).

    Super RTL, which recently began airing the TV-Loonland production, Ned’s Newt, plans to launch the second season of Cramp Twins in spring 2005. The show will fist debut on Fox Kids starting in January 2005, when it joins the new Jetix programming block.

    The Cramp Twins is based on the comic book series by Brian Wood, published by the Bloomsbury Press in the U.K. Produced in cooperation with the BBC and Cartoon Network U.K., the series follows the adventures of Wayne and Lucien, 10-year-old twins who are complete opposites. The show debuted in September 2001 and became one of the U.K.’s top-rated cartoons. In addition to the sales in Germany, the series has this year sold to broadcasters in Austria, Switzerland, the U.K., France and Spain, as well as Asia and the Americas.

  • Foster’s Home Fully Adopted by Cartoon Network

    Having received a warm welcome from young viewers across the country, the new animated series, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, has earned its keep at Cartoon Network. The broadcaster has ordered 26 more episodes, bringing the total to 52. Series creator Craig McCracken, the creative mind behind the Emmy-winning The Powerpuff Girls, will exec. produce the new installments, which will see the series through a third and fourth season.

    According to Cartoon Network, Foster’s Home has topped the basic cable ratings and delivery charts among key kids demos during its time period every week since its launch on Aug. 13. Jim Samples, exec VP and general manager of Cartoon Network Worldwide, comments, "I cannot think of another original animated series anywhere on television that has produced such dramatic results within such a short time."

    Produced at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, Calif., Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends centers on 8-year-old Mac and his imaginary friend, Blooregard. When Mac’s mother decides he’s too old for an imaginary friend, Blooregard is sent to a rather unique orphanage where others of his kind wait to be adopted by new kids. Unwilling to let go of his pal, Mac convinces Madame Foster to let him visit often and keep Blooregard from being adopted by anyone else. These visits prove quite adventurous as Mac and Blooregard spend time with a particularly odd group of colorful residents. The show airs Fridays at 7 p.m. (ET/PT), with an encore at 10:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

  • Miramax Picks Wild Brain for CG Opus

    Disney-owned Miramax Films and its offshoot, Dimension Films, are teaming with animation house Wild Brain Inc. to produce CG-animated features. Under the multi-year, multi-film agreement, the entities will co-finance and co-produce the toons, starting with Opus, based on Berkeley Breathed’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comic strip, Bloom County.

    Miramax/Dimension and Wild Brain will each finance 50% of production on agreed projects and Miramax/Dimension will distribute the films worldwide in all media. The agreement also gives Miramax/Dimension the opportunity to distribute Wild Brain’s self-financed, direct-to-video productions over the next three years.

    Wild Brain produced an original short titled Hubert’s Brain, but is mostly known for service work such as Disney Channel’s new preschool television series, Higglytown Heroes, and commercials for Coca-Cola, Nike and Lamisil.

    Pensive penguin Opus figured prominently in Bloom County until Breathed discontinued the strip in 1989 and started the Sunday strip, Outland, featuring many of the same characters. In November of 2003, Opus got his own Sunday strip, aptly titled Opus.

    Scary Movie 3 scribe Craig Mazin will adapt Opus for the big screen.

    Andrew Rona and Brad Weston, Co-Presidents of Dimension, will oversee the relationship for the studio. Charles Layton, exec VP of the office of the co-chairmen, Andrew Gumpert, exec VP of business and legal affairs and Eric Sherman, VP of business and legal affairs, negotiated on behalf of the studio.

  • Great Whites Attack Silver Screen

    DreamWorks hopes to crate a feeding frenzy at the box office with today’s release of Shark Tale, the latest CG comedy from the studio behind Shrek, Shrek 2 and Antz. The new pic is poised to take a sizeable bite out of the weekend’s receipts as it opens in a whopping 4,000 theaters in a time frame devoid of family fare competition.

    Directed by Shrek helmer Vicky Jensen, animator Bibo Bergeron (The Adventures of Pinocchio, A Goofy Movie) and writer Rob Letterman, Shark Tale evokes classic mob movies to tell the story of a fish named Oscar (Will Smith), who finds himself in deep water when he takes credit for killing the son of shark mafia boss Don Lino (Robert De Niro). The cast also includes Oscar winners Renée Zellweger and Angelina Joile, hot property Jack Black, director Martin Scorsese, TV icon Peter Falk and Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli and Vincent Pastore.

    Shark Tale is the first completely 3D feature produced at DreamWorks’ Glendale, Calif. facility. The crew was largely made of 2D animators who have learned to use Maya through the studio’s CG training program. For a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Shark Tale, see the November cover story in Animation Magazine, now available.

    Also opening in wide release today is Buena Vista’s firefighter effects flick, Ladder 49. Illusion Arts, Pacific Title Digital and Pixel Magic contributed effects to the action/drama starring John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix, Jacinda Barrett, Morris Chestnut, Jay Hernandez and Robert Patrick.

  • MIPCOM: Anderson, Sony Launch CG Captain Scarlet

    The new Thunderbirds movie may have been a no go at the box office, but the creator of the original series has big plans for re-launching another blast from the past. Gerry Anderson Prods. has teamed with Sony Pictures Ent. and Sony Wonder, the family and children’s entertainment division of the newly-merged Sony BMG Music Ent., to launch 26 episodes of the CG-animated television series, Gerry Anderson’s New Captain Scarlet.

    The new series, now in production at the Pinewood Studios outside of London, is a modern update of Anderson’s original Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons from the ’60s. Like Thunderbirds, Scarlet employed Anderson’s "supermarionation" process of bringing puppets to life. A sign of the times, puppets on strings and miniature sets have been replaced by state-of-the-art computer-generated models and environments for the revival.

    When Spectrum agents Captain Scarlet and Captain Black are sent to investigate mysterious alien signals, Captain Black mistakenly initiates a battle with the Mysterons, who destroy the men and recreate them as indestructible agents of evil programmed to destroy Earth. Black returns from the grave to lead the alien campaign but Scarlet escapes the Mysterons’ influence and regains control of his human psyche. Once friends, the two captains now fight on opposite sides of good and evil.

    As Anderson embraces new technologies, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have resurrected the supermarionation process for their latest feature, Team America, a politically-charged Thunderbirds spoof that is sure to pull some strings at the box office. Read more about Team America and the puppet work by the Chiodo Bros. in the November issue of Animation Magazine.

    Sony Pictures Television International will launch the broadcast sale of Gerry Anderson’s New Captain Scarlet for international territories at MIPCOM 2004 in Cannes, France, Oct. 4-8. Sony Pictures Television will represent the series in the U.S. broadcast market and Sony Pictures Consumer Products will lead the development of licensing and merchandising efforts outside of the U.K. Sony Wonder will distribute the series on home video and will work with legendary music producer Chris Schwartz’s TriMedia Ent. Group to develop and release soundtrack recordings.

    Anderson has produced or co-produced 17 television productions, including Joe 90, Fireball XL5 and Stingray. In addition to the new Scarlet, Anderson Ent. is in pre-production on the TV projects Regor the Rescue Dog and A Christmas Miracle. The company is also exploring avenues of exploiting the back catalogue, of which Granada Ventures is master licensee.

  • Nick Close to Granting Master Games License

    Herb Scannell, president of Nickelodeon Networks issued a statement today saying that Nickelodeon is working closely with several parties and is in the final stages of licensing rights to develop video games based on the broadcaster’s animated properties. Scannell indicated that the process would be supervised by independent directors of Viacom and that no decision has yet been made as to which video game publisher would receive the rights

    THQ, which publishes games based on Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, The Fairly OddParents, SpongeBob SquarePants and other Nickelodeon properties, currently holds the license but may lose it to another publisher when the contract runs out this year. Nick also has a relationship with Majesco, which releases episodes of The Fairly OddParents, Dora the Explorer and other Nick toons as part of its Game Boy Advance Video line.

    The need for independent directors in deciding the matter stems from the fact that Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone owns 73% of Midway Games, which may soon become part of the Viacom family.

    THQ today issued a statement clarifying remarks it made about Midway in response to questions from investment analysts. The statement reads, "In stressing its own strengths in the videogame publishing business, THQ made comments that understated Midway Game’s strengths and capabilities. THQ said that it regretted any misimpression created by those comments."

  • Dragon Flies under Big Tent Ent.

    Cite Amerique, Scopas Medien and Image Plus have appointed New York-based integrated marketing agency, Big Tent Ent., as its marketing and licensing agent for the new preschool series Dragon. The show is based on the book series by Dave Pilkey, author of the worldwide best-selling Captain Underpants series. Through the agreement, Big Tent Ent. will manage the marketing, promotional and licensing initiatives for the children’s property in North and South America, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand.

    Inspired by a character Pilkey drew on a birthday card for his girlfriend, the Dragon book series follows the adventures of a young dragon as he explores the world around him and learns simple life lessons. Written by Steven Westren, the series employs stop-motion animation to bring the property to viewers. The show has already been purchased by Treehouse TV in Canada, ZDF in Germany and the ABC in Australia.

    Big Tent Entertainment plans to develop a wide-reaching licensing and marketing program for the property. On the licensing end, it will initially focus its efforts on establishing partnerships in such merchandise categories as toys, apparel, publishing and home décor.

    Big Tent serves as the North American marketing agent for such popular children’s properties as The Koala Brothers, the hit preschool series now airing twice a day during Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney block, and Miffy & Friends, one of the world’s largest brands for toddlers and infants.

  • King Rollo Kingdom Divided

    U.K. animation house King Rollo Films is undergoing a major restructuring. The company’s production arm, King Rollo Films Ltd., and its property management division, Rollo Rights Ltd., have historically been jointly owned by the same three partners’original founder and renowned children’s writer/illustrator David McKee, producer Clive Juster and animation director Leo Nielsen. Now the two branches are to become completely independent.

    The split sees Nielsen assume ownership of the production company while Juster and McKee jointly own Rollo Rights, with Juster serving as managing director.

    Juster comments, “The intellectual property and secondary rights side of the business has never been fully exploited because our focus has always been on film production. Now it will get my undivided attention and I look forward immensely to this new challenge.”

    King Roll Films has been in operation since its signature series, King Rollo, went into production in 1979. The company has just completed Wide Eye (26×10) for Abbey Home Media and the BBC, a second season of the flagship series Paz (28×5) for Discovery Kids and Telescreen, and a third series of animated stories for Fimbles producer Novel Ent. and the BBC.

    Nielsen will continue with new production at the company’s Honiton studio while Rollo Rights will operate at a new facility closer to Juster’s home. Rollo Rights owns or controls in varying degrees a portfolio of properties including Mr. Benn, King Rollo, Victor and Maria, Towser, Watt the Devil, Art, Ric and Dr Xargle,

    The first project under the revised arrangement is a new episode of Mr. Benn, which Juster and McKee are producing in association with Nickelodeon U.K. Naturally, King Rollo Films Ltd. will handle animation.

  • Sims 2 Movies to Hit the Web

    Electronic Arts’ eagerly awaited The Sims 2 debuted last week with a new feature that lets fans make animated movies using the Sims characters. Now the game publisher is creating its own Sims short films with the help of Rooster Teeth Prods., maker of the Red vs. Blue animated online comedy series.

    Red vs. Blue, which logs 750,000 downloads each week, is an example of Machinima, a blossoming new form of computerized animation that uses video game engines to create real-time digital videos.

    Rooster Teeth will create Strangerhood, a whole series of movies based on The Sims 2. The storyline centers on a group of eclectic characters who find themselves gathered in a mysteriously remote suburban neighborhood, suffering from amnesia. Throughout the season, the group will attempt to figure out who they are, why they have been brought together, how they can live with each other and just exactly who is behind this bizarre experiment. A promo for the series is available for download today, with new movies premiering on a regular basis at www.strangerhood.com.

    Rooster Teeth founder Burnie Burns lauds The Sims 2 movie making feature as "an addictive cutting edge gaming advancement that opens the world of movie production to the masses by allowing anyone to start shooting movies with the touch of a button." He adds, "While original Sims fans got their first taste of the Machinima movement by using first-generation capture features, The Sims 2 players can capture any camera angle, build wild and outlandish sets, create an enormous custom wardrobe and even modify a character’s facial features like a special effects master."

    EA’s Maxis studio developed The Sims 2, the sequel to the best-selling PC game of all time. The new game shipped to retailers under the EA GAMES brand and has become the fastest-selling PC title ever. For the first time, players are able to control their Sims over an entire lifetime, making decisions that will affect characters’ lives from the cradle to the grave. With the addition of genetics, characters now pass their DNA down through generations, and the new Create-A-Sim feature offers a vast selection of facial features, hairstyles and outfits. Players can also build dream homes and design neighborhoods with new building, design and home furnishing options.

  • Intec to Control Star Wars Games

    Miami, Florida-based Intec Inc., a leading manufacturer of cross-platform video game accessories, has signed a deal with Lucasfilm Ltd. to produce controllers and other paraphernalia for the hugely successful Star Wars video game franchise.

    Intec will develop a whole suite of specialized Star Wars-branded controllers, including wireless models, which will feature new technologies designed to enhance the gaming experience. The company will also work closely with Lucas Arts to design products for games to be released later this year, as well as 2005 titles including the much-anticipated Star Wars: Episode III game slated for release on May 5.

    "Our Star Wars video games have been extremely well received by fans across the nation, from last year’s Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic to this month’s Star Wars Battlefront," says Mary Bihr, VP of global publishing for LucasArts. "This partnership with Intec will finally allow Star Wars fans the opportunity to experience the same high-quality in accessories as they have in our video games for years."

    Intec will launch its first Star Wars-branded, high-performance video game controllers–one for PlayStation 2 and one for Xbox–in time for the holiday season.

  • Miramax Picks Wild Brain for CG Opus

    Disney-owned Miramax Films and its offshoot, Dimension Films, are teaming with animation house Wild Brain Inc. to produce CG-animated features. Under the multi-year, multi-film agreement, the entities will co-finance and co-produce the toons, starting with Opus, based on Berkeley Breathed’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comic strip, Bloom County.

    Miramax/Dimension and Wild Brain will each finance 50% of production on agreed projects and Miramax/Dimension will distribute the films worldwide in all media. The agreement also gives Miramax/Dimension the opportunity to distribute Wild Brain’s self-financed, direct-to-video productions over the next three years.

    Wild Brain produced an original short titled Hubert’s Brain, but is mostly known for service work such as Disney Channel’s new preschool television series, Higglytown Heroes, and commercials for Coca-Cola, Nike and Lamisil.

    Pensive penguin Opus figured prominently in Bloom County until Breathed discontinued the strip in 1989 and started the Sunday strip, Outland, featuring many of the same characters. In November of 2003, Opus got his own Sunday strip, aptly titled Opus.

    Scary Movie 3 scribe Craig Mazin will adapt Opus for the big screen.

    Andrew Rona and Brad Weston, Co-Presidents of Dimension, will oversee the relationship for the studio. Charles Layton, exec VP of the office of the co-chairmen, Andrew Gumpert, exec VP of business and legal affairs and Eric Sherman, VP of business and legal affairs, negotiated on behalf of the studio.

  • New George of the Jungle Swinging to MIP

    Watch out for that tree! Studio B Prods. and Classic Media announced today that they will produce and distribute an all-new George of the Jungle flash animated series. Classic Media’s Doug Schwalbe and Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos will represent the series internationally at the upcoming MIPCOM and MIPCOM-JR markets nest week in Cannes, France.

    George of the Jungle first hit the air in 1967 as a primetime animated series from Jay Ward. In 1997, Disney resurrected the property for the big screen with a hit live-action feature starring Brendan Fraser (The Mummy, Monkeybone). Look-alike Christopher Showerman took over the role for the successful direct-to-video sequel released in 2003.

    Working with Classic Media and Tiffany Ward, Jay Ward’s daughter, Studio B Prods. will handle animation on the new series (52×11), which has been commissioned by Canadian animation broadcaster TELETOON for broadcast in 2006.

    Each episode will find the bumbling George protecting the jungle from a never-ending scourge of dastardly bad guys. He leaves the thinking to Ape, his brainy seven-foot-tall gorilla sidekick. Along for the ride are George’s loyal pet elephant, Shep, and his perpetual damsel in distress, Ursula.

    Studio B has produced original series such as Yvon of the Yukon, What About Mimi? and D’Myna Leagues, which currently air in more than 22 countries around the world. The company’s international co-productions include Yakkity Yak, which currently airs on Nickelodeon in the U.S. and TELEOON in Canada. In addition to a full slate of service work, the studio is in production on 26 22-minute episodes of Being Ian for YTV and 26 22-minute episodes of Class of the Titans for TELETOON.

  • Pet Alien Lands at Cartoon Network Europe

    Pet Alien, the new animated series from Mike Young Prods. (MYP), has been acquired by Cartoon Network Europe to air in nine territories including Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Distributed by MYP’s newly formed subsidiary, Taffy Ent., the CG sci-fi comedy is set to debut in January 2005.

    Based on a property created by Jeff Muncy of John Doze Studios, the screwball series is aimed at kids 6-11 and contains a lot of physical gags à la Looney Tunes. Extraterrestrial visitors Dinko, Gumpers, Flip, Swanky and Scruffy take up residence with 12 year old Earth boy named Tommy Cadle and try to help him in every aspect of his complicated, pre-adolescent life. In the process, they turn his existence inside out and upside down.

    MYP’s co-producers on the series include Antefilm/TF1 of France, Crest of India and Telegael of Ireland.

    In addition to Pet Alien, Taffy distributes MYP’s Emmy Award-winning, 3D-animated PBS series, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, and the upcoming ToddWorld for Discovery Kids and TLC.

  • Shark Tale Out to Hook Gamers

    In advance of Friday’s opening of DreamWorks’ latest CG feature, Activision has released the Shark Tale video game to retailers nationwide. The title immerses gamers in the underwater world of Reef City as they assume the role of Oscar, a fast-talking hustler who finds himself in deep trouble when he takes credit for something he didn’t do. Players will dance, race, fight, explore and brave their way through more than 25 movie-inspired and game exclusive levels.

    In the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions, players can plug in a dance pad and earn points while busting moves to remixed and licensed R&B, funk, reggae and hip-hop music from top artists in uniquely choreographed dance missions.

    The game was developed for the console platforms by Edge of Reality, for the Game Boy Advance by Vicarious Visions and for the PC by Amaze Ent., all working in conjunction with the DreamWorks animation team.

    Rated “E” for Everyone, DreamWorks’ Shark Tale is available for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube for the suggested retail price of $49.99. Both the Game Boy Advance and PC versions feature unique gameplay and list for $29.99 each. BradyGames’ official strategy guide is available at electronics, book and software retailers nationwide, and online at bradygames.com.

    Read about the making of the game in the October issue of Animation Magazine, and see our November cover story for a behind-the-scenes look at the big-budget animated feature, set to take a bite out of the box office this Friday.

  • TOKYOPOP Casts Samurai Girl

    Manga publisher TOKYOPOP Inc. has signed actress Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) to star in a live-action feature film adaptation of the graphic novel and anime property, Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School. Screenwriter Dan Gordon (Wyatt Earp, The Hurricane) has been brought on to script the project.

    Gordon describes the story as "a delicious action/comedy mix of Clueless meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." The script has an ancient Samurai warrior reincarnated as a twentysomething sushi bar hostess who may be mankind’s only hope in destroying a coven of murderous wolverines hatched every 5,000 years.

    “The storyboard aspect of manga is already custom-built for film,” says Steve Galloway, TOKYOPOP’s exec director of film/television. "With Hart and Gordon attached to this story’s fast-moving adventures, we have all the makings of a terrific cinematic package for teens."

    TOKYOPOP and Hartbreak Films are now in conversations with potential studio partners for the film.

    A pioneer of the Cine-Manga book format, TOKYOPOP’s best-selling releases include graphic novels based on Pixar’s Finding Nemo, DreamWorks’ Shrek 2, Disney Channel’s Lizzie McGuire and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. The company’s animated television properties include Rave Master, Initial D, GTO and Reign: The Conqueror.

  • Annie Awards Submissions Due Friday

    ASIFA-Hollywood, the International Animated Film Society, issued a final reminder that entries for the 32nd Annual Annie Awards are due by Friday, Oct. 1. The event will honor the year’s best animated film, television and short subjects. Judging materials are due on Oct. 29 and final nominations will be announced on Dec. 6.

    The Annie Awards recognize overall excellence as well as individual achievement in areas ranging from production design, character animation and effects animation to storyboarding, writing, music and voice acting in a total of 21 categories. New this year is the allowance of video game animation in the shorts category.

    Entries submitted for consideration must be from productions that originally aired, were exhibited in an animation festival or commercially released in the Unites States between Jan. 1, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2004.

    Winners and juried lifetime achievement award recipients will be honored at a black-tie gala celebration on Jan. 30, 2005 at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale, Calif. Tickets are available to the general public, space permitting.

    All rules, category information and entry forms are available at www.asifa-hollywood.org. You may also contact submissions coordinator Gretchen Dixon directly at (562) 235-0991 or www.gdixonpr@aol.com.

  • Riddick Director’s Cut Coming to DVD

    Universal Home Video is prepping an unrated director’s cut of the effects-laden sci-fi actioner, The Chronicles of Riddick. Featuring a new character, 14 minutes of additional footage, never-before-seen visual effects and the first level of Vivendi Universal’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay for Xbox, the new version is scheduled to arrive on DVD Nov. 16.

    Vin Diesel is back as Riddick in this follow-up to writer-director David Twohy’s 2000 sci-fi sleeper hit, Pitch Black. The film continues the story of an escaped convict who emerges as the most unlikely of heroes in a fight for survival that will determine the fate of humanity in a dangerous world. The cast also includes Alexa Davalos (Pitch Black, HBO’s And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself), Thandie Newton (Mission: Impossible II, TV’s ER), Karl Urban (The Bourne Supremacy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King), Colm Feore (Chicago, The Sum of All Fears) Academy Award winner Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Chocolat) and Keith David (Pitch Black).

    Extra features include a behind-the-scenes tour of the Riddick sets guided by Diesel, an interactive 360 degree view of eight different sets from the film, a play-by-play breakdown of the film’s most complex and compelling visual effects, deleted scenes, an interactive guide from the perspectives of the characters, on-demand facts and trivia, Toombs’ Chase Log and audio commentary with Twohy, Urban and Davalos.

    The unrated director’s cut version will be priced at $29.98 DVD and $22.98 VHS. The PG-13 theatrical version is now available to own.

  • ADV Mad About MADLAX

    U.S. anime producer and distributor ADV Films has acquired MADLAX, the new anime series from animation studio Bee Train (Noir, .hack//sign). The property will be released on home video by ADV Films and will air on the Anime Network.

    From director Koichi Mashimo (Noir, Sorcerer Hunters, Irresponsible Captain Tylor), MADLAX is described as an action packed, gun-toting series full of intrigue and lots of music by Yuki Kajiura (Noir). When female gun-for-hire Madlax and student Margaret are thrown together, they discover that their seemingly different lives share a deadly connection, a mystery they must solve before dark forces end their lives.

    "We’ve been waiting for this show ever since Noir ended," ADV Films co-founder Matt Greenfield told attendees at last weekend’s Anime Weekend Atlanta convention in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to his role as a VP of ADV Films, Greenfield was the writer, producer and director of the English-language version of Noir. "Many of the key players for Noir were reunited for this project, which features similar themes, equally gorgeous character designs and even bigger and more elaborate action sequences," he said.

    ADV Films’ best-selling titles include Neon Genesis Evangelion, RahXephon, Robotech, Full Metal Panic, Hello Kitty and Azumanga Daioh. The company’s extensive library also includes popular live-action science fiction programs such as The Jim Henson Company’s Farscape, the nationally syndicated Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda and the Saturn Award-nominated Mutant X.

  • DPS Film Roman Toons Up Crooner Connick

    Following his recent Emmy win for music direction on his PBS Great Performances concert, singer/actor Harry Connick Jr. is teaming with IDT Ent.’s DPS Film Roman to co-produce a one-hour 3D-animated holiday special. The Happy Elf is based on Connick’s original children’s song of the same name from his 2003 album, Harry for the Holidays, 2003’s the top-selling holiday CD. HC Prods., whose partners include Connick, Scott Landis and Ann Marie Wilkins, will co-produce.

    Written by Andrew Fishman from a story by Fishman and Scott Landis, The Happy Elf is the story of Eubie, one of Santa’s helpers, whose overly optimistic outlook is put to the test when he tries to bring Christmas joy to the sad little town of Bluesville.

    Now in production for the 2005 holiday season, The Happy Elf will feature an animated Connick serving as host and narrator of the story, much like legendary performers Jimmy Durante, Fred Astaire and Burl Ives did for the classic Rankin & Bass holiday specials. Connick will also compose and produce the score.

    DPS Film Roman’s senior VP of programming and development, Sidney Clifton, will serve as creative exec for the animation house. Landis will exec produce for HC Prods., which is also developing a musical feature film titled Ben Invention, based on an original idea by Connick, for 20th Century Fox.

    IDT Ent.’s recently acquired Anchor Bay plans to release the special to the domestic DVD market, while the newly created IDT Ent. Sales company will handle worldwide television distribution.

    The Happy Elf marks the third holiday special for Connick, who in 2003 appeared on CBS and NBC with Christmas and Thanksgiving concert shows. The three-time Grammy winner has sold more than 20 million records and has appeared in feature films and television series, most recently enjoying a long stint on the NBC sitcom, Will and Grace.

  • Barbie, Tonka, TV Titles Trek to Video

    Following the phenomenal success of the direct-to-video computer-animated offerings Barbie in The Nutcracker, Barbie as Rapunzel and Barbie of Swan Lake, Lions Gate’s Family Home Entertainment (FHE) today releases Barbie: The Princess and the Pauper. Eagerly awaited by young girls everywhere, the Mattel-based title arrives with a new CG adventure for boys based on Hasbro’s Tonka Toys, as well as several disc sets of TV favorites.

    Animated by Canada’s Mainframe, Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper employs motion-capture technology to put a modern twist on the classic story as it teaches girls about hope, self-discovery and the strength of love. Barbie plays dual roles as the fair-haired Princess Anneliese and the raven-haired Erika. Each yearning for a different life, they find friendship and adventure when their paths cross.The film will be distributed on home video in the U.K. by Entertainment Rights Plc., which also retains international television rights, excluding the U.S.

    Tonka: Tough Truck Adventures–The Biggest Show on Wheels follows the exploits of master mechanic Joe and his 12-ton, 4-wheel drive pals Axel, Rally, Gator, Bolt, fins, Slice, Cutter, Trapper, Dunes and Crusher as they kick the small town of Biggsburg into high gear. Extra features include individual character pages, an animated photo gallery, a trailer, a music video and a bonus Tonka adventure. The Paramount Home Entertainment/Hadbro release lists for $16.99.

    Anime fans can pick up Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Volume 2, featuring four half-hour episodes of the new anime series based on the popular feature film and manga. The Manga/Bandai/Anchor Bay release is available in two versions. A one-disc standard edition in Dolby 5.1 surround lists for $24.98. For $49.98, fans can get the three-disc special edition, featuring a second disc in DTS 5.1 surround, plus extras, and a third disc containing the original series soundtrack CD.

    Star Trek: Voyager: The Complete Fourth Season makes the voyage home with a seven-disc collectable box containing all 26 effects-loaded episodes. In season four, Captain Kathryn Janeway and the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager pursue the Marquis ship in the Badlands and get pulled into the Delta Quadrant. After making a decision that saves an entire species, both crews end up stranded and must join forces to begin a 70,000 light-year journey to return to the Alpha Quadrant, the Federation and home. The Paramount Home Entertainment release is priced under $100 and includes the featurettes Braving the Unknown: Season Four, Time Capsule: Seven of Nine, Time Capsule: Harry Kim, The Birth of Species 8472, The Art of Alien Worlds.

    Static Shock: The New Kid offers a compilation of six episodes from season one of the popular Kids’ WB! animated TV series. Part of the DC Comics Kids Collection, the Warner Home Video title carries a suggested retail price of $19.97 on DVD and includes a featurette titled Static’s Gadgets.

    Also part of the DC Comics Kids Collection is Teen Titans: Divide and Conquer, featuring six episodes from season one plus the featurette Comic Creations. It also lists for $19,97 on DVD.

    Finally, for the preschoolers, there’s Paramount Home Entertainment’s Blue’s Clues: Bluestock, a music festival featuring the band They Might Be Giants and vocalists India Arie, Toni Braxton and Macy Gray. Included episodes are "Skidoo Adventure," "Morning Music" and "A Surprise Guest." Young fans also get an interactive game , Bluestock song lyrics and trailers for $16.99.