Today, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced nominations in the Motion Pictures and Television categories for the 32nd Annual Producers Guild Awards Presented by General Motors. The 2021 PGA Awards will take place virtually on Wednesday, March 24 at 5 p.m. PT. More information at producersguild.org.
Five of the year’s buzziest animated features made the cut:
Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
The Croods: A New Age Producer: Mark Swift
Onward Producer: Kori Rae
Over the Moon Producers: Gennie Rim, Peilin Chou
Soul Producer: Dana Murray
Wolfwalkers Producers: Paul Young, Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, Stéphan Roelants
The PGA’s list lines up exactly with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globe nominees this year (Soul ended up taking the prize at that recent ceremony). The Producers Guild has presented an award in this category since 2005 (one year before the Globes), and the two bodies have consistently agreed, awarding the same animated feature 11 out of 14 times (one exception was last year’s breakaway, when LAIKA’s Missing Link took the Golden Globe while Toy Story 4 took the PGA and Oscar honors).
The Academy has yet to announce its final nominees, but the PGA also has a strong trend of agreement with Oscar over their shared history, awarding the same animated feature in 12 out of 15 years. And looking across the year’s, the Guild are also big Disney-Pixar fans, with the sibling studios claiming 11 out of 15 awards.
In a new video produced for International Women’s Day 2021, DreamWorks Animation President Margie Cohn introduces fans of the studio’s hit series and features to the “talented, smart, multifaceted women who help bring [their] diverse characters and stories to life.”
Checking in from scattered remote workspaces, creative and capable women working across the animation pipeline on projects including The Boss Baby: Family Business, The Croods: A New Age, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts,Fast and Furious: Spy Racers and Spirit Untamed recorded messages sharing lessons from their own career journeys, discuss the importance of creating diverse, strong and realistic female characters and (along with some male colleagues) #ChooseToChallenge the status quo to create a gender equitable future.
Because, Cohn says: “When we all choose to challenge ourselves and address generations of learned assumptions, that’s when we can create the biggest change.”
Production is underway on Disney Junior’s Eureka!, an animated music-filled series about a talented young inventor living in the fantastical prehistoric world of Rocky Falls. The series is set to premiere later this year. Ruth Righi (Sydney to the Max) stars as the voice of title character, Eureka, with Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) and Lil Rel Howery (Free Guy) as her parents, Roxy and Rollo, and Javier Muñoz (Hamilton) as her teacher, Ohm.
The series is produced by Academy Award-nominated animation studio Brown Bag Films (Doc McStuffins) in association with Disney Junior. The announcement was made today by Joe D’Ambrosia, SVP Original Programming and general manager, Disney Junior.
“Eureka! is an inspiring young girl with a big imagination and even bigger heart,” said D’Ambrosia. “Through her creative inventions and friendships, she brings her prehistoric town together and helps others learn to look at the world from different perspectives. We like to think of her as our very first Disney Imagineer.”
Eureka! tells the story of a young girl inventor who is way ahead of her time. Utilizing creative out-of-the-box thinking, she designs inventions and contraptions in the hopes of making the world a better place and moving her prehistoric community into a more modern era. With the help of her supportive parents, teacher, best friends — Pepper and Barry — and beloved pet mammoth Murphy, Eureka is learning to embrace that she is not ordinary … she’s extraordinary.
Rounding out the voice cast is Kai Zen (Amphibia) as Pepper, Devin Trey Campbell (Broadway’s Kinky Boots) as Barry and Fred Tatasciore (Big Hero 6 The Series) as Murphy.
Christiana “Chee” McGuigan, a science educator who has worked at the California Science Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, serves as the series’ science education consultant. Biomedical scientist, social entrepreneur and former senior policy advisor for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Knatokie Ford, advised on the original series development. Engineering experts from Disney’s world-renowned Imagineering team advised on the early development of Eureka’s inventions.
Emmy Award winner Norton Virgien (Doc McStuffins) and award-winning children’s book author/illustrator Niamh Sharkey (Henry Hugglemonster) are the series’ creators and executive producers. Emmy Award-nominated Erica Rothschild (Sofia the First) developed the series with Virgien and Sharkey and serves as co-executive producer and story editor. Film and television writer and director Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood) and Emmy Award-nominated television producer Donna Brown Guillaume (Happily Ever After: Fairytales for Every Child) are consulting producers. Multitalented singer, songwriter and producer Kari Kimmel (Spirit Riding Free) is the series’ songwriter, and Emmy Award-winning Frederik Wiedmann (All Hail King Julien) is the composer.
Aspen Film, the Colorado city’s year-round film arts and education organization, today announced its program for the 30th Aspen Shortsfest, taking place virtually April 6-11. One of only four Oscar-qualifying festivals in the U.S. strictly dedicated to short films, Aspen Shortsfest is recognized as one of the premier short film festivals, showcasing the best in cinema from around the world.
With 80 films screening, this year’s Shortsfest features filmmakers exploring unique and timely themes in the festival’s five categories: Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama and Short Short. The 2021 slate features six world premieres, three international premieres, seven North American premieres and 15 U.S. premieres from filmmakers representing 28 countries and six continents. Almost 3,000 films were submitted for consideration. Fifty-five films are directed or co-directed by women, accounting for 69% of the program.
Among the animation highlights are the international premiere of Roborovski, co-directed by acclaimed British actor/filmmaker Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), the U.S. premiere of Joanna Quinn’s Affairs of the Art, Kim Kang-min’s KKUM, Ann Marie Fleming’s Old Dog, the 20-plus-directors anthology Only a Child and Renee Zhan’s animated space opera O Black Hole!, among others.
“We are so proud to be presenting another incredible roster of films from around the globe for this year’s Shortsfest,” says Aspen Film Executive + Artistic Director, Susan Wrubel. “While we are disappointed not to be able to traditionally hold our 30th anniversary at the historic Wheeler Opera House, this year we are presenting an exciting line up of interactive virtual events as a sidebar to the screening portion of the festival, complete with some interactive iconic Aspen buildings which guests and filmmakers can enter virtually to experience another level of Shortsfest.”
Shortsfest Director of Programming Jason Anderson states, “We’re thrilled to be celebrating Aspen Shortsfest’s 30th birthday with such a stylistically diverse showcase of amazing new works by some of the most exciting emerging and established filmmakers from all over the world. The 80 titles in this year’s program demonstrate the breadth, depth and incredible diversity of film talent that we have the privilege of introducing to our audience.”
Affairs of the Art
Animation at Aspen Shortsfest:
À LA MODE In a kingdom tormented by fashion crazes, a queen and her court must always keep up with the new trend. If not, an abominable monster will consume them: the Ridicule. (Jean Lecointre, France, 9 min.)
A TINY TALE A dog gets abandoned on the side of the road. Attached to a streetlight, he stays alone until the day he meets a young astronaut wannabe and a professional cyclist who keeps on trying to beat her highest score. With spring as a backdrop, we wanted to use moments of simple lives to discover little stories that intertwine with each other. A microcosm that settles on a split-screen where the different characters evolve at the same time. (Sylvain Cuvillier, Chloe Bourdic, Theophile Coursimault, Noemie Halberstam, Maylis Mosny, Zijing Ye, France, 8 min.)
AFFAIRS OF THE ART How many obsessions can one family have? In Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy. (Joanna Quinn, U.K., Canada, 16 min.) U.S. PREMIERE
DREAM EATER A story of a little girl having nightmares and a monster eating only happy dreams. (Min-jeong Jo, South Korea, 11 min.) U.S. PREMIERE
KKUM My mother’s dreams have always been strong premonitions for important moments in my life. I rely on her dreams more than any religion. (Kim Kang-min, Republic of Korea, 9 min.)
MARÉ Brought by the waves of the sea, a fantastic being of gigantic size discovers a pleasant place of great natural beauty, and makes it his home, becoming the guardian and soul of the place. There, he meets a cheerful little boy with whom he creates a bond of friendship forged in sharing the pleasure that both feel in living in harmony with nature. But one day, peace is threatened by a polluting and noisy tide. (Joana Rosa Bragança, Portugal, 15 min.)
NAVOZANDE, LE MUSICIEN At the time of the attack of the Mongols, a young musician and the love of his life are separated from each other. Fifty years later, the musician is summoned to perform at the castle of the Mongols where his beloved is being held. (Reza Riahi, France, 15 min.)
O Black Hole!
O BLACK HOLE! A woman who can’t stand the passing of time turns herself into a black hole. A thousand unchanging years pass inside her warm and dark embrace until, finally, the Singularity awakens inside. An immovable woman meets an unstoppable girl in this epic 2D/3D space opera about the meaning of transience and letting go. (Renee Zhan, U.K., 16 min.)
OLD DOG After losing his best friend, an elderly pug named Henry must depend on his owner for help and companionship. Writer/director Ann Marie Fleming (Window Horses) makes visible the tender work of caretaking in her new animated short, Old Dog. All dogs (and people) should be so lucky and so loved. (Ann Marie Fleming, Canada, 3 min.)
ONLY A CHILD is a visual poem created by over 20 animation directors under the artistic supervision of Simone Giampaolo, which gives shape and colour to the original words spoken by Severn Suzuki at the U.N. Summit in Rio in 1992, a child’s desperate call to action for the future of our planet. An omnibus film celebrating the environmental youth movement 30 years in the making. (Simone Giampaolo, Switzerland, 6 min.) U.S. PREMIERE
RENAIDANCE is a 3D narrative emotional animation. The theme invigorates cultural inheritance and the integration of dreams, courage, and culture as transformation. By artistically interpreting a motif of inheritance and family support, integrating different cultures “inheritance” through the inspiring story, this film braces strong family love and elder culture in a never-ending chain. (Zhike Yang, Wenjie Wu, Han Chen Chang, China, Taiwan, U.S.A., 4 min.)
ROBOROVSKI follows the eponymous thimble sized hamster who spends his days in Marvin’s Pet Shop, hoping to find a family. However, when he is constantly overlooked by the people and animals around him, his seething resentment and intense jealousy soon take hold, and a murderous side of little Roborovski is released. (Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Dev Patel, Australia, 15 min.) INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
THANADOULA “I could have been there with her…” Two sisters entwined by love. When Annie disappears, her younger sister, Natalie, seeks her out in an unconventional way: as a thanadoula, accompanying the dying in their final stages. Between their slow 12 and final breaths, Natalie finds a bridge between life and death and ultimately, a pathway to her sister. (Robin McKenna, Canada, 6 min.) U.S. PREMIERE
THE FOURFOLD Based on the ancient animistic beliefs and shamanic rituals in Mongolia and Siberia, the film explores the indigenous worldview and wisdom: Nature is the homeland of human being, Tengri is the deity and the father sky, Earth is the mother with rivers nourishing all beings, pagan and pantheist gods co-exist with all mortals. Against the backdrop of the modern existential crisis and the human-induced rapid environmental change, there is a necessity to reclaim the ideas of animism for planetary health and non-human materialities. (Alisi Telengut, Canada, 8 min.)
The Great Malaise
THE GREAT MALAISE (LE MAL DU SIÈCLE) In the voiceover for this animated short, a young woman attempts to describe herself, casting her life in the ideal light that society expects. The film’s imagery, however, tells a different story, poignantly illustrating the intense anxiety that comes with the quest for perfection and the pursuit of happiness. A film that’s both funny and moving, and above all, profoundly human. (Catherine Lepage, Canada, 5 min.)
THE TOMTEN AND THE FOX (REVEN OG NISSEN) A hungry fox hunts for food on a cold winter night. On the edge of the forest he discovers a small farm. He sneaks closer to steal some food, unaware of the tomten who guards the farm, and is caught red-handed in the hen-coop. When the tomten sees how hungry the fox is, he decides to share his Christmas porridge with him, as long as the fox promises to leave the animals alone. (Yaprak Morali, Are Austnes, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, 9 min.)
TOBI AND THE TURBOBUS (TOBI UND DER TURBOBUS) You fly with no seat! That’s the rule in the Turbobus. To get one is a hard day job for a young wolf on his turbo-journey to find real friendship. (Verena Fels, Germany, 8 min.)
TWIN TREES A brother and sister walk along, each carrying a tree in a small pot. When they come across a parrot and a fallen statue, they each have to choose their own journey. (Emmanuel Ollivier, France, 4 min.) U.S. PREMIERE
WE HAVE ONE HEART After his mother dies, Adam comes across some letters exchanged years ago between his Polish mother and his father, a Kurd living in Iraq. This is an opportunity for him to find out more about his father, whom he never knew. The juxtaposition of animated drawings and archival material takes us back forty years into the past and enables us not only to feel the emotions linking the lovers living in different parts of the world, but also to uncover an extraordinary family secret. (Katarzyna Warzecha, Poland, 11 min.)
The Tomten and the Fox
In addition to the festival program, Shortsfest will present virtual industry panels and special guests in conversation. For 2021, Aspen Film partner Eventive will be hosting the festival’s 2021 film and Livestream Q&A viewing platform. Festival goers will have the option to view films on their computers or devices, as well as on their Smart TVs via the Eventive App for Roku, Apple TV or Chromecast. Nightly live Q&As with Shortsfest filmmakers will take place on Eventive and be available to all festival ticket- or passholders. And Aspen Film’s FilmEducates is providing interactive, online educational opportunities to schools throughout Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley and beyond.
To further augment the virtual experience, Aspen Film is partnering with Filmocracy to provide an engaging and interactive experience for filmmakers and festival-goers alike. For VIP and Full Virtual Passholders, a virtual map of Aspen will allow entry to virtual event spaces in Aspen’s iconic buildings: The virtual Aspen Art Museum that will be the social space for the nightly Sip & Chat sessions; the virtual Hotel Jerome will serve as the virtual Filmmaker Lounge; the virtual Red Brick Center for the Arts hosting the Education Hub, and the virtual Wheeler Opera House that will be the portal to enter the festival’s Eventive screening platform.
Netflix revealed on Sunday the lead voice cast of Trese, the streamer’s highly anticipated Original Anime series based on the Philippine graphic novel created by Budjette Tan and KaJO Baldisimo. Filipino actress Liza Soberano (My Ex and Whys, Alone/Together) will voice Alexandra Trese in the Filipino language version of the series, while Filipino-Canadian actress Shay Mitchell (YOU, Pretty Little Liars) will voice the lead character in the English version.
“I’m so excited to be a part of a unique and amazing project like Trese, and to voice a character as brilliant as Alexandra Trese. Philippine folklore is rich and fascinating, and I am thrilled to be a part of the team bringing this story to life,” said Mitchell.
“It’s an honor to be the voice of an iconic character such as Alexandra Trese,” Soberano agreed. “I’m a huge fan of Budjette and KaJO’s award-winning Trese comics. Maraming salamat! Excited nako!”
Shay Mitchell / Liza Soberano
Set in a Manila where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live in hiding amongst humans, Trese follows Alexandra Trese finds herself going head to head with a criminal underworld run by malevolent supernatural beings. Jay Oliva (Wonder Woman, The Legend of Korra) is executive producer for the series, which is produced by Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson at Jakarta/Singapore studio BASE Entertainment.
“As a fan of the komiks, I knew that the title role of Alexandra Trese was going to be challenging to cast for the animated series. It is important for the voice talent to embrace the layered character to fully become Alexandra Trese,” Oliva commented. “My concerns went away as soon as Shay Mitchell stepped into the recording booth. Shay’s Alexandra exceeded my expectations and she delivers a performance of strength, determination and family duty that is at the very core of the character. If that wasn’t enough, imagine my delight when we confirmed Liza Soberano joining the Filipino voice cast! I am a big fan of hers and she fits the character so well. Having Liza play Alexandra Trese for the series makes this project even more special to me and my team!”
Trese will premiere in 2021, exclusively on Netflix (www.netflix.com/trese).
Spain’s motion picture academy presented the 35th Goya Awards on Saturday in a hybrid on-site (with no audience or nominees) / virtual ceremony televised from Malaga. While Pilar Palomero’s coming-of-age tale Schoolgirls (Las Niñas) swept up four prizes including best picture and best new director, this year’s animation competition stood out for the once-in-a-generation nomination of just one feature — Turu, the Wacky Hen (La Gallina Turuleca), which of course brought the award home to roost.
Directed by Victor Monigote and Eduardo Gondell, the Spanish-Argentinean CG family movie stars the popular poultry character, who is gifted with the ability to understand humans and a beautiful singing voice. When her beloved human friend suffers an accident and gets taken to the hospital in the Big City, Turu embarks on a great adventure to find her — becoming a star, falling in love and facing off with a wicked villain along the way.
Turu, the Wacky Hen (La Gallina Turuleca)
In the animated short race, hybrid kids’ adventure Blue & Malone: Impossible Cases won out over three-time Goya winner Alberto Vázquez’s Homeless Home, Metamorphosis and Vuela. Available on Movistar+ in Spain, the short has now totted up 14 awards and more than 70 festival selections, with a feature film and animated series in the works. The Goya for best short animation is a qualifying award for the next Academy Awards.
A sequel to Blue & Malone: Imaginary Detectives (nominated for the Goya in 2014), Impossible Cases picks back up with young heroine Berta, now grown up and working as a journalist. When she goes back to visit the theater where her childhood tragedy occurred, Berta’s long-forgotten (animated) imaginary friends Morando Malone and Big Blue Cat are waiting to help her rediscover her youthful inspiration and joy with the help of a magic “desadultizer.”
“Spanish animation has incredible potential, you just have to see all the finalists in the animation category,” said director and screenwriter Abraham López Guerrero. “Potential at all levels, industrial, artistic and cultural. We in the film community just need to believe in it a little more.” Guerrero dedicated the award to the short’s producers — Emilio Luján and Manuel Carbajo (ESDIP Animation Studio), Gerardo Álvarez (The Impossible Journey Film), Nathalie Martinez and Maxi Valero (Wise Blue Studios) and Pablo de la Chica (Salon Indien Films) — and the whole 150-plus person team that brought the film together over the course of four years.
Goya voters were also carried away by the magic crafted for Basque Country period drama Coven (Akelarre), awarding Mariano Garcia Marty and Ana Rubio the prize for special effects. Pablo Agüero’s story of 17th century village girls being arrested for witchcraft. The film won four additional awards out of nine nominations this year, for original music, costume design, makeup/hair and art direction.
In further “yep, there’s still a pandemic” news, Anime Expo and E3 are joining Comic-Con in its decision to forego a physical event this summer. Ray Chiang, of The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, notified AX fans this week that “it is apparent that we will not be able to safely hold a physical show this July,” but added that the leading U.S. anime con will still celebrate its 20th anniversary year online; Anime Expo Lite will return July Fourth weekend. Gaming confab E3, also slated for June, was noted as canceled in a document filed by the L.A. Department of Convention and Tourism. Comic-Con attracted 135,000 attendees in 2019; AX averages over 100k and E3 over 60k at their live events. Jeff Brustrom
The KingstOOn Animation and Film Festival is preparing a virtual fourth edition that will place the Jamaican event at the center of the conversation on Diversity in Animation. Having already cemented its place as a hub for Afrocentric content, KingstOOn in 2021 is extending its reach to include other areas of diversity such as gender and inclusivity when it runs from April 21-25. The event will offer an expo, business forum and its signature Pitch Boot Camp & Competition as well as festival screenings.
In previous years, the event has attracted globally renowned talent, such as Walt Disney development veteran Jeff Brustrom and Bento Box Co-Founder Joel Kuwahara. In 2019, KingstOOn saw over 3,000 attendees and close to 2,000 competition submissions from over 100 countries, and this year’s online edition is on track to surpass these numbers, according to the organizers. (www.kingstoonfest.com)
Nikki Whaites
Big Bad Boo is expanding its International Development team with the appointment of Nikki Whaites as Vice President in Toronto. Whaites brings 20 years of experience managing international development programs for leading NGOs to her new post, most recently with War Child Canada as the head of International Development. This area has become increasingly important to the company, which in the last few years has implemented entertainment-based educational programs with UNICEF and Ministries of Education in over 15 countries.
In 2020, Big Bad Boo was inducted into the Million Lives Clubs, a select group of companies whose programs impact the lives of over 1 million children who live under $5 per day. Big Bad Boo continues to expand its development projects through existing programs and its sister company, Oznoz, making its video on demand platform available for distance-based learning to over 7 million families in lower income and war-torn countries.
Kim Dent Wilder
Vancouver’s Mainframe Studios (a division of WOW! Unlimited Media) announced the promotion of Kim Dent Wilder to Executive Vice President. The newly created position recognizes Dent Wilder’s role in the continued growth of the studio and her role overseeing all of Mainframe’s productions.
With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Dent Wilder has played a key role in the substantial growth of Mainframe’s film and TV operations while nurturing the company’s creative artistry. She excels at identifying new talent and building teams. Formerly SVP of Production & Operations, she has helped Mainframe deliver high-profile projects including Madagascar: A Little Wild (DreamWorks Animation), Octonauts specials and series (Silvergate), Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures (Mattel), Spy Kids (TWC/Netflix), Bob the Builder (Mattel), ReBoot: The Guardian Code (Netflix), more than 20 DVD features in the direct-to-DVD Barbie series (Mattel) and two internationally released feature films, Escape from Planet Earth and Ratchet and Clank.
Cryptozoo
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea director Dash Shaw’s new indie animated feature Cryptozoo, which recently won the NEXT Innovation Award at Sundance, is proving popular with European Film Market shoppers. In deals with sales agency The Match Factory, global distributor, producer & streamer Mubi has acquired all rights to the adult-targeted toon for the U.K., Ireland, Germany and Turkey; the pic also sold to Filmin (Spain), September Films (Benelux) and Russian Report (CIS); a deal in Australia is pending. Magnolia Pictures acquired U.S. rights following the film’s Sundance debut. (Source: ScreenDaily)
In the 1960s, as a group of cryptozookeepers struggle to capture a Baku (a legendary dream-eating hybrid creature) they begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a “cryptozoo,” or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown. The voice cast features Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Grace Zabriskie and Angeliki Paoulia. Produced by Electric Chinoland with Fit Via Vi and Low Spark Films, in association with Washington Square Films and support from Cinereach. Cryptozoo is set to make its international premiere in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section.
Checkered Ninja
LevelK is also having a productive EFM, closing a number of pre-sales for Checkered Ninja 2 — sequel to 2018’s Danish blockbuster that set a 35-year box office record for a local production (950,000 admissions) and screened in more than 50 territories. Koba Films (France), Splendid (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland) and Cinemaran (Spain, Colombia) have already snagged the next chapter. (Source: Variety)
Currently in post-production, the sequel is once again directed by Anders Matthesen (Terkel in Trouble) and Thorbjørn Christoffersen (Ronal the Barbarian), produced by A Film, Pop Up Prod. and Sudoku ApS. In the second pic, Checkered Ninja, Alex and his entire family are off to Thailand to hunt down returning villain Philip Peppermint, who has escaped from prison. Checkered Ninja 2 is one of the selected projects presenting at Cartoon Movie next week.
Ralph Bakshi
Animator, director and producer Ralph Bakshi (b. 1938) has been named the winner of the 31st World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb Lifetime Achievement Award. The 2021 edition is slated to take place in the Croatian capital from June 7-12 (www.animafest.hr). Bakshi will be presented with the award during the opening ceremony.
Bakshi is a unique phenomenon in the world of cinema, and one of the most influential auteurs on the global animation scene. His films — nine features made over a span of seven decades — can still delight, maybe shock, but definitely enthrall viewers, transporting them to fantastical realms or cruel city streets. Fritz the Cat (1972), Heavy Traffic (1973), Wizards (1977), The Lord of the Rings (1978), American Pop (1981) and Cool World (1992), to name a few, are still entertaining and inspiring audiences today.
Voice stars Pauly Shore and Jon Heder reunite with the charming animated critters of the globally popular Pororo franchise, in the new 80-minute movie The Little Penguin Pororo: Treasure Island Adventure. Winner of the Dove Seal of Approval for All Ages, the fun-filled family adventure arrives on Digital, On Demand and DVD on April 20 from Lionsgate.
Synopsis: When plucky penguin Pororo and his animal pals decide to be the world’s greatest pirates, they discover a treasure map that brings them to a remote tropical island. There they meet marooned Captain Silver, who teaches them how to be good swashbucklers — but nasty Captain Dark shows up too, and wants the riches for himself. To claim the gold guarded by the fierce sea monster Kraken, they must solve a series of magical puzzles. But how can they escape the island that holds them all captive?
Pororo’s seventh feature-length adventure is directed by Kim Hyunho and Yoon Changsub, produced by Kim and co-produced by Jeehee Woo.
Cartoon Network’s next original comedy is ready to invade terrestrial screens! Elliott From Earth introduces Elliott, his mom Frankie and his new best friend, Mo the dinosaur, as they find themselves in space and begin an unexpected journey across the universe to discover why they were brought there in the first place.
The series will premiere in the U.S. on Monday, March 29 (9 a.m. PT/ET) with a two-week premiere event on Cartoon Network. Elliott From Earth will make its debut first in the U.K. on Saturday, March 6, and will roll out in select APAC, LATAM and EMEA territories beginning this April.
As they learn to call it home, Elliott and Mo explore the Centrium – an exciting place high up among the stars full of amazing aliens and wonderful cosmic creatures who, although different species, coexist in harmony. Elliott From Earth showcases the power of friendship and embraces the wonders of being different, open minded and accepting.
Directed by Mic Graves and Tony Hull with voices from Samuel Faraci (PAW Patrol), Noah Bentley (Dragons: Rescue Riders) and Naomi McDonald (Angelina Ballerina: Dance Around the World), Elliott From Earth is produced out of Cartoon Network’s EMEA hub, and the latest from the team behind The Amazing World of Gumball.
The first episode, “Wednesday – Part 1,” can be viewed on the CN App and VOD starting Monday, March 22. The full line-up for the two-week premiere event is:
Monday, March 29 (9 a.m. PT/ET)
“Wednesday – Part 1” – Elliott and his Mom, Frankie, investigate a mysterious rock which is not from Earth. “Wednesday – Part 2” – Somewhere across the universe, Elliott and Frankie discover a new place, and its strange inhabitants. “Wednesday – Part 3” – Elliott, Frankie and their new companion Mo find the strange new environment they’re in isn’t quite what it seems.
“Wednesday – Part 4” – Lost and alone, Elliott, Frankie and Mo have to accept all the help they can get.
Tuesday, March 30 (9 a.m. PT/ET)
“Idiosyncratic Induction” – On Elliott’s first day at the Hive, he meets the most unusual characters on his adventure so far. “Memory Mayhem” – Frankie tries to discover more about the mysterious rock that brought them to their new home, with the help of an entity called The Head.
Wednesday, March 31 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Developing Dilemma” – Frankie lets Elliott get a pet, which doesn’t go down well with their new neighbor.
“Inadvertent Inversion” – As Elliott, Mo and Frankie all try something new at the Hive, they find their worlds are about to be turned upside down again.
Thursday, April 1 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Regurgitated Reminiscence” – Elliott and Mo go to great lengths to retrieve Frankie’s old coffee machine. “Chaotic Clumping” – Elliott and Mo accidentally take a teleporter together and find themselves closer than they’ve ever been before. Will they decide to mutually part ways?
Friday, April 2 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Parallel Paradox” – Elliott finds himself having to be in two places at once.
Monday, April 5 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Problematic Prophecies” – Elliott and Mo make a new friend, Nara, who has a very special ability.
Tuesday, April 6 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Temporal Tedium” – It’s Fizzness Time! What does that even mean? Elliott and Mo make it their thing to find out as they meet Preston, a slow, yet hilarious prankster with a penchant for jewelry.
Wednesday, April 7 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Companion Confusion” – After a failed experiment in trying to find true love, Mo has to save Elliott from being sucked off the Centrium into outer space.
Thursday, April 8 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Melancholic Megalomaniac” – Elliott and Mo try to cheer up Lord Kallous, with the help of someone from his past.
Friday, April 9 (9 a.m. PT/ET) “Diminishing Discourse” – Elliott and Frankie decide to tell Mo about what really happened to the dinosaurs.
One of the most exciting aspects of France’s Cartoon Movie pitching and co-pro event (cartoon-media.eu), which takes place online March 9-11 this year, is that we are treated to a great snapshot of what European animation filmmakers are working on in the years ahead. Here is a sampler of 15 titles that piqued our interest. We’ll be watching their progress closely and hopefully we can all get to see them in a theater or on a streaming service in the near future.
Blind Willow
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
The official synopsis for this adaptation of short stories by Haruki Murakami is as intriguing as you can imagine from the brilliant Japanese writer of award-winning books such as Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and 1Q84. “A lost cat, a giant talkative frog and a tsunami help a banker, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant save Tokyo from an earthquake.” First-time writer-director Pierre Földes, who has many credits as a composer (L.I.E., Babylon Fields) is the talented man in charge of this 2D-animated French-Luxembourg-Canadian co-production. (Cinema Defacto, Miyu Productions, Doghouse Films, Micro_scope, Unite Centrale and Cinema De Facto).
Caramel’s World
Caramel’s World
European Film Award winner Salvador Simó (Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles) is back with another fascinating adaptation of a book by Gonzalo Moure. The plot centers on a deaf child who lives in a refugee camp in the Sahara and forms a friendship with a camel by reading the animal’s lips. Spanish company Koniec Films is producing this poignant tale about a young poet’s coming of age.
The Character of Rain
The Character of Rain
In this charming, eccentric movie directed by Liane-Cho Han (storyboard artist and animation director on films such as Calamity, The Illusionist, Zarafa, Ethel & Ernest, Leap!, Long Way North and The Little Prince) and written by Han and Aude Py, a two-and-a-half-year-old Belgian girl born in Japan thinks she is God, that she can make plants grow in the garden, or cross the sea by foot. But her world soon falls apart when she learns that she will have to leave Japan eventually. Based on Belgian author Amélie Nothomb’s bestselling book. Produced by Maybe Movies and Ikki Films (France).
Chicken Hare
Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness
This eighth movie by Belgian studio nWave is directed by Ben Stassen (Fly Me to the Moon, A Turtle’s Tale, Son of Bigfoot, The Queen’s Corgi) and Benjamin Mousquet, with a script by Dave Collard (staff writer on Family Guy). The hero of the tale is Chickenhare, half-chicken and half-hare, who has to disguise himself as a hare to avoid being bullied by his peers. Accompanied by his faithful servant Abe (a sarcastic turtle) and Meg (a martial arts expert skunk), he sets out to find the powerful scepter of the Hamster of Darkness before his evil Uncle Lapin gets his paws on it. A co-pro between nWave and Octopolis in France.
Eyeballed
Eyeballed
Animation veteran Paul Bolger (director of Happily N’Ever After, storyboard artist on features such as The Pirates! Band of Misfits, lead animator on The Thief and The Cobbler) is attached to this feature about a big bad monster known as Balor of the Evil Eye, whose gentle side is awakened when he meets six-year-old twin girls named Ifa and Shifra. Script is penned by Irish scribe Barry Devlin (A Man of No Importance, My Mother and Other Strangers) and produced by Irish toon veteran, Monster Entertainment chair Andrew Fitzpatrick.
Flee
Flee
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s powerful animated documentary centers on an Afghan man who arrives in Denmark as an unaccompanied minor. Years later, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend, but a secret from his past threatens to ruin his life forever. Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will voice the leads in an English-language version, and serve as exec producers. The project is produced by Final Cut for Real (Denmark) and co-produced by Mer Film (Norway), Most Alice (Sweden), Sun Creature (Denmark) and Vivement Lundi! (France).
Golem
Golem
The latest work from Czech stop-motion master Jiří Barta’s (Pied Piper, Toys in the Attic) is set against the backdrop of communist Prague in the 1950s and follows the adventures of a math student who sets out on a quest to find the famous Golem and bring it back to life. Produced by Vladimir Lhoták at Czech studio Hausboot.
Granny Samurai
Granny Samurai – The Monkey King and I
A young schoolboy finds his life completely turned around when his neighbor Granny Samurai defends him against the school bully and then takes him on an adventure to stop a scheming Monkey King. The high-energy movie is based on the popular book by John Chambers and directed by Jesper Møller, a European animation veteran who directed Asterix and the Vikings and Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams and also worked on Eight Crazy Nights, All Dogs Go to Heaven, Quest for Camelot and FernGully: The Last Rainforest. Germany’s Dreamin Dolphin Film and Denmark’s Parka Pictures are producing.
Maryam and Varto
Maryam and Varto
Written and directed by Gorune Aprikian (Passade) and Alexandre Heboyan (director of Mune: Guardian of the Moon and animator on Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens and Azur & Asmar), this emotionally charged drama centers on two Armenian children caught up in the 1915 turmoil who are saved by a young teenage Turk and embark on an enchanted journey through Anatolia. The film has a modern-day coda as well. Produced by French outfits Tchack (Matthieu Liégeois) and Araprod (Marie-Claude Arbaudie).
Ninn
Ninn
Based on a series of original graphic novels by Jean-Michel Darlot and Johan Pilet, this ambitious feature adaptation follows the adventures of a mysterious 11-year-old girl who has a magical connection to the Paris Metro and explores the dark tunnels and abandoned stations with an origami tiger who is her protector and guide. The project is exec produced by TeamTO co-founder Corinne Kouper (Yellowbird, PJ Masks, Angelo Rules) with creative development by industry veteran Mary Bredin (Justin Time, True and the Rainbow Kingdom, Pikwik Pack).
Sorya
Sorya Funan writer and director Denis Do is back with this lovely slice-of-life effort about a 17-year-old Cambodian girl who experiences the ups and downs of life in Phnom Penh as she works in a textile factory and sings karaoke at a local bar in hopes of finding stardom. The script is penned by Do, Louise Dubois and Tevy Dubray. Produced by France’s Special Touch Studios (Sébastien Onomo).
Uncanny Stories
Uncanny Stories
This smorgasbord of terror is based on popular tales written by Laura Kasischke, H.P. Lovecraft, Jean Ray, The Brothers Grimm, William Tenn and Edgar Allan Poe. Among the stories: A young girl wishes her stepmother would die; two young hikers meet a strange old woman; an endless nightmare; an explorer trapped by terrifying forces from a distant past, etc. Directed by Benoit Razy, Fabrice Luang-Vija, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Hefang Wei, Alain Gagnol, Izù Troin and Morten Riisber Hansen. Produced by French animation powerhouse Folimage and Les Films du Tambour de Soie.
Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope
Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope
This powerful animated pic tells the story of how famed Chilean poet Pablo Noruda saved 2,200 refugees after the Spanish Civil War and brought them to Chile aboard the SS Winnipeg. The project is directed by Elio Quiroga and Beñat Beitia with a script by Laura Martel based on her own graphic novel. Produced by Dibulitoon Studio (Spain) and co-produced by El Otro Film (Chile), La Ballesta (Spain) and Midralgar (France).
Your Spotted Skin
Your Spotted Skin
The forbidden love between Antonia the Cow and Kurt the Lion takes a terrible turn when a sheep goes missing and suspicion falls on the carnivore lion in this 2D-animated feature directed by Deniel Nocke, Stefan Krohmer and Thomas Meyer-Hermann. Nocke is the German writer-director behind acclaimed shorts No Room for Gerold and The Modern Cyclops. Produced by Germany’s Studio Film Bilder and Raumkapsel, Schmidt & Stein-Schomburg.
International animation studio Discreet Arts, headquartered in Hyderabad, has opened a U.S. office in Burbank, California, with animation industry creative veteran Steven Wendland appointed as President. The announcement was made Thursday by Discreet Arts Founder & CEO Srikanth Pottekula.
“We are extremely proud of the reputation we have built over the years of delivering consistent first-class animation for our clients, and now is the opportune time to further expand our operations by establishing a U.S. presence to build upon our strong relationships and attract new business,” said Pottekula. “Steven brings years of solid expertise in animation production and creative and possesses all of the tools to drive our growth in our original IP and work-for-hire businesses. We look forward to furthering our commitment to provide creative innovation as we expand to offer U.S. clients a broad range of services.”
Under Wendland’s leadership, Discreet Arts USA will focus on the expansion of the company’s 2D and CGI work-for-hire services for children’s and family content, including film, television, gaming, Android/iOS apps and interactive publishing. Some of the many clients over the years include Technicolor, Anima Estudios, Titmouse, MEG Toys, Studio 100, 6 Point Harness, Telegael, WildBrain Studios, Byju’s and Bento Box Entertainment. Wendland is also tasked to develop and produce original content, drawing both on current Discreet Arts-owned properties, as well as building a new IP slate.
Discreet Arts has produced dozens of series and films over the past 10 years, and has invested in several of these, adding to its library of original content. Feature films include Top Cat Begins, Top Cat: The Movie, Ana and Bruno, Monster Island, Guardians of Oz, Norm of the North and Captain Morten and the Spider Queen. Some of the studio’s many CG and 2D animated series are Wissper, Marco Polo, Tashi, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Lalaloopsy, Tarzan & Jane and Puppy in My Pocket.
“Discreet Arts is known for its focus on substance and reliability, consistently delivering quality animation that has propelled the company’s growth over the past 10 years,” said Wendland. “I’m thrilled to join with Srikanth in our new U.S. operation, where we will continue to expand the work-for-hire business by establishing new direct relationships with studios, animation production companies, broadcasters and streamers, and provide a front-end office link to the India studio. And I look forward to building the company’s library of properties with even more ideas and stories of universal appeal.”
Wendland was Vice President of Animation and Head of Creative Development at Technicolor’s L.A. office until 2020. He was responsible for developing and overseeing new properties for the company, while working with a development team located in Los Angeles and London. Among the projects developed and produced under his guidance were Mark Drop and Jerry Leibowitz’s Atomic Puppet, as well as Tom Taylor and James Brouwer’s The Deep. He helped develop The Deep toy line with Simba Toys, as well as story editing a series of four chapter books of The Deep, published by Bloomsbury.
Prior to joining Technicolor, Wendland worked at Canada’s Mainframe Entertainment (later Rainmaker Entertainment). While at Mainframe, Wendland produced many projects, including direct-to-video movies and many animated television series, including Spider-Man – The New Animated Series for Sony and MTV. He originally specialized in cinematography during his film studies, winning a Canadian Society of Cinematographers Award. He shifted his interest to visual effects and joined the first season of Stargate SG-1 in 1996, and then again to CG animation when he joined Mainframe in 1998, before finally joining Technicolor in 2008. He has been nominated for a BAFTA and an Emmy for his producing and directing efforts.
As part of the 2021 BRIC Talent and Innovation Summit, WIA’s Chair of Education Hsiang Chin Moe announced the recipients of this year’s WIA Scholarships on Friday. This annual award is committed to furthering deserving animation students who demonstrate artistic talent, a passion for animation, a financial need and a promising future in the field of animation.
Student members of WIA were encouraged to apply, no matter in what region of the world they are academically pursuing their animation career interests. The scholarship pool totals $15,000 and also features workshops and software packages for recipients of the 2021 cycle from industry partners Animation Mentor, Autodesk, Toon Boom and Unity.
“WIA’s annual scholarship program is very dear to my heart because we are able to provide direct support to future generations, who play an essential role in WIA’s goal of reaching 50/50 by 2025. I am extremely proud of all the students in the world who keep creating and sharing their stories despite all the difficulties they may have, especially in this time of pandemic,” said Moe.
Out of 97 applicants from 49 schools across U.S. states as well as Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, China, Germany, Indonesia, Sweden and Vietnam this year, the WIA scholarship committee selected these deserving students:
Tessa Abrams from California Institute of the Arts
Juliana Belmonte from Sheridan College
Anayis Der Hakopian from Royal College of Art
Sebrina Gao from ArtCenter College of Design
Vi Le from School of Visual Arts
Winnie Mai from School of Visual Arts
Christina Oyebade from Loyola Marymount University
Nadine Promes from U-Tad
Gabriela Soto from Ringling College of Art and Design
Jiamu Tao from School of Visual Arts
The scholarship winners’ bios and website links can be found on the WIA scholarship page.
Beyond those students who received cash scholarships, WIA also announced 26 Honorable Mention Winners who were awarded software and/or workshop packages to boost their animation skills. For yet another year, Toon Boom supported the WIA Scholarship Program with both software and scholarship funds. One-year bundled licenses of Storyboard Pro and Harmony Premium were awarded to finalists as well as virtual training. In addition to supporting the cash prize pool, Autodesk benefited this year’s recipients with licenses of their 3D modeling and animation software. Winners have the choice between one-year subscriptions of Autodesk Maya or Autodesk 3ds Max. Scholarship partner Animation Mentor offered one WIA Animation Scholarship winner a six-week workshop and will allow that awardee the choice of several courses including Maya Workshop: Animation Basics and Cartoony Animation for 3D Animators. Unity provided 15 Annual Unity Pro licenses and 15 Annual ArtEngine licenses to help female animators gain employable skills and practice of real-time 3D tools and technologies used in the animation industry.
“I am especially grateful for the generosity of our sponsors and partners that have extended their offers to many more deserving students this year. The 2021 application pool was incredibly inspiring due to the applicant’s exceptional creativity as well as their determination to learn and to grow, and I know our Honorable Mention winners will do great things with access to these software and workshop prizes,” said Moe.
On March 25, HBO Max will premiere the new animated special The Runaway Bunny, based on the children’s book by Margaret Wise Brown. Producer and director Amy Schatz captures the gentle magic of this classic with the use of traditional hand-drawn animation, narration and performance of an original Brown lullaby by Tracee Ellis Ross and songs by Grammy-winning artists Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Rosanne Cash, Ziggy Marley and Kimya Dawson, as well as Grammy nominees Rufus Wainwright and Michael Kiwanuka.
Originally published in 1942 by HarperCollins Publishers, the book has sold over 12 million copies and continues to enchant generations of children. The Runaway Bunny brings Brown’s poetry and the illustrations of Clement Hurd to animated life for the first time. Featuring a restless little bunny who dreams of leaving home, the film is an exploration of love and childhood. Woven throughout the story are songs that accompany the bunny on his imaginary, magical adventures into the world and back home to the comfort of his mother’s love.
“The Runaway Bunny is a timeless classic about youthful independence and the strength of a mother’s love,” said Billy Wee, SVP, Original Animation, HBO Max. “Amy Schatz has lovingly brought this story to vivid life with an incredible group of collaborators.”
Songs features in the special are:
Mariah Carey’s brand-new reinterpretation of her #1 hit song “Always Be My Baby”
Kelly Rowland – Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love”
Rosanne Cash – “You Are My Sunshine”
Ziggy Marley – “What a Wonderful World”
Rufus Wainwright – Billy Joel’s “Lullabye, Goodnight My Angel”
Kimya Dawson – “You Are My Baby”
Michael Kiwanuka – “Home Again”
Tracee Ellis Ross performs “Song of the Runaway Bunny,” the never-before-released song written by Brown, based on a Provençal love ballad which inspired Brown to write this book.
The Runaway Bunny is produced and directed by Schatz, whose work includes Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales and the Classical Baby series, currently available on HBO Max. Schatz’s productions have earned multiple Emmy, Directors Guild of America, Peabody and Parents’ Choice Awards, including a 2020 Emmy win for outstanding children’s program for We Are the Dream.
YouTube Originals has released the official trailer for Super Sema, voiced by Academy Award-winning actress and author Lupita Nyong’o. The brand new animated series features a young superhero African girl named Sema and follows her world-changing adventures. The show is produced by the award-winning, all-female team of Nairobi-based children’s entertainment startup Kukua.
Episodes 1 through 8 of this free-to-stream series are available Monday, March 8 at 8 a.m. PST / 11 a.m. EST and new episodes will roll-out between March and April only on the YouTube Originals for Kids & Family channel.
Sema and Lupita Nyong’o (photo: Kukua)
Fueled by STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math), and set in an African-futuristic world, Sema, along with her brother MB, uses her “technovating” powers to save her village from the villainous Tobor and his army of mischievous Bongalala robots. A heartless artificially intelligent ruler, Tobor meets his match in Sema, who knows that with determination, creativity and a helping hand from the amazing worlds of science and technology, anything is possible.
Super Sema was written by four-time BAFTA winner Claudia Lloyd (Charlie & Lola, Mr. Bean, Tinga Tinga Tales) and directed by Lynne Southerland, the first female African-American director for Disney (Mulan II). The series will be available on the Super Sema YouTube channel, which has had its WatchTime hours increase by more than 40% year-over-year in 2020 vs. 2019.
“We couldn’t be more proud of this series, it is the perfect addition to our diverse slate of content that supports kids learning and discovery of their unique strengths and passions,” said Nadine Zylstra, Head of Kids and Learning for YouTube Originals. “Coming from Africa and produced by an all-female team, Super Sema empowers young girls and boys around the globe who may see themselves in Sema, who is a smart, adventurous African girl.”
Super Sema is created and produced by Kukua. Overseeing the project for YouTube are Zylstra, along with Daniel Haack on the kids development team. The series is part of YouTube Originals’ new slate of projects coming from the previously announced $100 million commitment to invest in the future of quality kids, family and educational programming.
If you have the chance to see Disney’s new release Raya and the Dragon in a theater this month, you will also get a special bonus: A charming and heartwarming new short titled Us Again screens before the main feature. Directed by Zach Parrish, the wordless project (which will arrive on Disney+ in June) centers on an elderly man and his dynamic wife who magically get to relive their youth as they dance against a scenic urban backdrop to an original funk and soul score, composed by Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel).
The genesis of the short goes back to 2018, when Parrish was thinking about his own mortality, as well as his two sets of grandparents and how each had completely different attitudes about aging. One pair sold their house, bought an RV and visited all the national parks around the country, while the other had closed their curtains and just stayed home. “I thought about this idea of wish fulfillment of regaining one’s youth what you’d do if you could relive your younger days for one night,” says the 34-year-old director, who served as head of animation on Big Hero 6 and also helmed the Short Circuit film Puddles.
Having been a dance and theater fan all his life, Parrish wanted to use the language of dance to tell this story. “My mom was a huge influence on me growing up,” he recalls. “We shared this love of theater and dance, and she would take us to see plays in Chicago. When the show So You Think You Can Dance first came out, I was a freshman in college. So, when I moved to L.A., she would DVR her favorite dances from that show, and we’d watch them together when I went back home for visits. Musicals and dance offer such a heightened, exaggerated level of emotion, and I thought the short would be a perfect opportunity to explore that.”
But first, he had to pitch the idea to Disney’s Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee and President Clark Spencer, who were looking to relaunch the studio’s shorts program. “One of my priorities has been to bring back theatrical animated shorts and to give artists at our studio an opportunity to explore new ideas,” says Lee. “Us Again has so much spirit and energy, and pushes the boundaries of our short form storytelling.”
To help visualize his pitch, Parrish made a supercut of two of his favorite choreographer-dancers, Keone and Mari (featured performers on World of Dance). “I had been fans of theirs for a long time, and made this compilation not thinking that I could ever work with them,” says the director. “Fortunately, our producer Brad Simonsen reached out to them, and they came in and became our thought partners on this project. They helped us with the story, the characters, the movements. As the story got into its final stage, we redid the music and storyboards to make it all gel. Then, they would send us back videos and showed us what they would suggest for the dance numbers. Finally, we did a reference shoot so the animators could use that to do the animation.”
Zach Parrish
Keone points out, “Mari and I have always dreamed of having our particular style of movement being incorporated within animation. Our style is very new and young, and we were like kids in a candy store working with Zach and the team to capture it and see our movements realized through the characters in the film.” Adds Mari, “From the first time we saw the storyboards, I was already tearing up. The characters were easy to relate to and to empathize with. As a married couple, we tried to imagine being their age, and we also thought about our own grandparents in bringing the characters to life through dance.”
Parrish says he considers himself very lucky because the team was almost done with the animation before last year’s COVID shutdowns started. “We only had to do about two weeks of animation from home,” he recalls. “My big challenge was the number of people that I had to oversee on this project, which was about a hundred. My previous short was much smaller and I had fewer notes to work with. The level of complexity was another one. We had multiple sets, cars, crowds, city streets, a carnival and transforming characters! But we also had an amazing team that was super down for all the challenges.”
The director says he knew he wanted to work in animation from a very early age. “I was that weird kid who said he wanted to make cartoons when the D.A.R.E. officer asked our first grade class what they wanted to be when they grew up,” admits Parrish. “Some of my favorite animated influences were Disney’s Aladdin and Hercules and Pixar’s The Incredibles.”
As we wrap up the interview, he says he can’t wait for his mother to see the short with him at a special cast and crew family screening. “We were trying to say a lot with this short,” he concludes. “A lot of people think it’s about being old, but to me it’s not about that. It’s about any of the things that stop you from being present and recognizing what is special about your life and how beautiful the people in your life are. It’s about not getting twisted into focusing on the past and the things that will drag you down. Our main character learns that at end of the film; that his life is amazing and the world is beautiful, and he can be part of it if he makes that choice.”
Us Again screens in theaters with Raya and the Last Dragon, beginning March 5. The short will make its streaming debut in June on Disney+.
Portfolio Entertainment’s Distribution Division has secured a new round of global sales for its action-packed animated series Hero Elementary: Discovery Kids Latin America has acquired all 40 episodes, with additional pickups from TVB (Hong Kong), City Saskatchewan (Canada) and the American Forces Radio and Television Service for all offshore U.S. Military Bases. The series will also be heading to MIPTV as part of Portfolio’s slate of new and established titles available at the market.
Aimed at kids aged 4-7, Hero Elementary (40 x 22’ or 80 x 11’) follows the pupils of the titular institution, where kids with superpowers learn how to use their unique gifts, and no aspiring superhero could dream of a more exciting place to train! At Hero Elementary, the gym is a veritable obstacle course. Sky-high towers dot the courtyard so that students can practice leaping over tall buildings. And of course, there is more high-tech gadgetry than any kid could dream of. The series currently airs around the world with broadcast partners including PBS Kids (U.S.), Discovery Inc. (MENA), Minika (Turkey), YLE (Finland), KAN (Israel), Knowledge Network and TVO (Canada).
Dino Ranch
Boat Rocker Studios announced that Disney+ U.K., Ireland, Australia & New Zealand have saddled up for Dino Ranch. The 52 x 11’ 3D animated preschool show set in a “pre-westoric” setting where dinosaurs still roam, premiered to great acclaim on Disney Junior and DisneyNOW in the U.S. and CBC (Canada) in January. The series is set to launch on the Disney+ streaming platform in U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand in April 2021.
The latest kids’ hit from creator Matt Fernandes at Industrial Brothers was an immediate success on Disney Junior U.S. ranking as the #1 US cable series among Kids, Boys and Girls 2-5 since launch. Among Disney Junior repeats, Dino Ranch also ranks #1 with Kids, Boys and Girls 2-5. On DisneyNOW and VOD, it has been the #3 Disney Junior long-form series for three consecutive weeks. Two episodes have been posted on Disney Junior’s YouTube channel (“Big Jon, Big Trouble” and “Spookasaurus”) and have amassed over 1.5 million views collectively. In the six weeks since the launch of the official Dino Ranch YouTube channel it has accumulated over 3 million views.
Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy
Genius Brands continues to rapidly populate its digital kids’ platform Kartoon Channel!, now bringing five Scooby-Doo animated movies from Warner Bros. Entertainment to the channel to launch “Friday Family Fun Films” on March 5.
The movie night series will kick off with Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy, to be followed by Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King (May), Scooby-Doo! on Zombie Island (July), Scooby-Doo! & the Legend of the Vampire (October) and Scooby-Doo! and KISS: Rock and Roll Mystery, starring the voice talents of the timeless rock band. Additionally, the channel will feature films from Genius Brands’ library, including Stan Lee’s Mighty 7, Rainbow Rangers special, guest starring Pierce Brosnan, and more titles to be added weekly.
MeteoHeroes
Mondo TV Group announced a major broadcasting agreement withSpanish national broadcaster RTVE: In a deal finalized by Mondo TV Iberoamerica, RTVE will show series one of MeteoHeroes, the popular environmentally themed animated kids’ show co-produced by Mondo and the leading Italian weather forecasting centre, Meteo Operations Italia (MOPI), in a number of its markets, starting with previews in the spring.
The contract covers not only TV broadcasts in Spain on Clan, but also in Latin America on Clan Internacional. This wide international coverage will also play an important part in supporting licensing and merchandising plans under way in these areas. MOPI and Mondo TV have already agreed to co-produce Season 2. The first series has already been sold or confirmed into over 120 countries and was among the biggest hit shows on Cartoonito in Italy last autumn.
Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood
Following the first international distribution deals for its debut Anime Department original TSUKIMICHI -Moonlit Fantasy- , Japan’s multiplatform entertainment powerhouse Nippon TV announced key sales for its Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood (12 x 30′). With Nippon TV and Hulu in Japan maintaining all international rights, the companies have secured sales to Crunchyroll for worldwide distribution excluding Asia, along with TV stations and platforms throughout Asia by Medialink and through its own branded channel Ani-One, and on the Aniplus TV channel / aniplus.tv platform.
In Japan, this series will air on Nippon TV (terrestrial), BS Nippon TV (satellite), and CS Nittele Plus (cable/satellite) starting on April 6, 7 and 13, respectively, and each episode will stream on Hulu one week before Nippon TV.
Produced by Hulu, Bakken Record (Tatsunoko Prod.), Bushiroad Move, Bushiroad Music and Dentsu, Joran is set in 1931 Japan, where 94-year-old Prince Tokugawa Yoshinobu wields absolute power as the last remnants of Meiji culture are edged out by technology, the esoteric cosmology Onmyodo and 20th century modernity. Lurking in the shadows is Kuchinawa, a dissident group planning the assassination of the prince. Tasked to extinguish this threat is a group of secret government killers called Nue — including Sawa Yukimura, who strives to avenge the murder of her family by Janome, the Kuchinawa boss. Directed by Susumu Kudo, written by Rika Nezu.
Las Aventuras del Tio Conejo
J2911 Media has closed a content package deal with the American OTT children’s platform Toon Goggles, for worldwide Spanish and English language rights to a raft of programs. The titles are: Huevokids, Las Aventuras del Tio Conejo, A Vista de Pajaro, Outopus, Maria Perez vs. Los Superheroes, Kozaky Football, Kozaky around the World, Mace-Man and the latest addition to the J2911 catalog, hybrid series STEAM Adventures in ArboTerra.
VlogBox Gusto
Global video content distribution/monetization platform VlogBox has teamed up with Gusto Studios to bring its content — including international hit kids’ show Bommi and Friends, to the CTV universe via apps for Roku and other OTT platforms. Bommi and Friends follows the adventures of five-year-old Bommi from rural India and her animal pals as they explore their world and learn important values and lessons along the way. Bommi and Friends is one of the most popular shows in India for young children, and has been broadcast in 97 countries around the world.
Ronin Warriors
Indie digital media/entertainment co. DMR (Digital Media Rights) has launched three of its linear channels on VIZIO SmartCast TVs, including cult and genre programming destination Midnight Pulp, classic anime outlet RetroCrush (Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Saint Seiya, Ronin Warriors) and kids’ content hub Cocoro (Kung Food, Om Nom Stories, Pororo: Cyberspace Adventure)
Benesse Corporation, the Japanese education services company, and the name behind the enormously successful preschool character and leading educational property Shimajiro, has announced the imminent launch of a major new SVOD service specializing in children’s programs. The new service, called Meecha!, will be launched in Japan at the end of March.
Meecha! will bring together both programme content from Benesse Corporation, which has been providing early childhood education services for more than 30 years, and also carefully selected programs from a number of major preschool content providers from around the world.
The launch line-up includes CBeebies favourites like Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures, Andy’s Prehistoric Adventures and Yakka Dee; popular ABC Australia shows like Bobbie the Bear, Create and How to Do Stuff Good: and, from Serious Lunch Limited, Tik Tak, a show focused on stimulating perceptual development among toddlers and preschoolers produced by VRT/Ketnet in Belgium that also transmits on CBeebies.
The new service — playfully named similarly to the way small children say “Mi cha o” (“I want to watch this”) — will also stream content featuring Benesse Corporation’s popular preschool character Shimajiro, including a brand-new 3D Shimajiro animated series.
Meecha! will launch as part of Benesse Corporation’s early childhood education service Kodomo Challenge that reaches 800,000 members. It can also be accessed publicly as a subscription service for 660 yen ($6) per month.
“This major new service, addressing the on-demand content that even the youngest audiences have grown to expect, is tailored to deliver great educational programming from around the world,” said Daisuke Tebayashi, Director of Global Business Division, Benesse Corporation. “We believe this service will be popular with Japanese children and, thanks to its educational focus, parents too!”
Two irreverent and otherworldly adult animated original comedies are joining the TZGZ late night lineup on SYFY this month when The Pole and The Summoner get back-to-back premieres on Wednesday, March 17, starting at 11:15 p.m. ET/PT
The Poleis a chaotic political satire show set in Santa’s workshop. The 6 x 15′ series was greenlit in September, from creators Matthew Bass and Theodore Bressman, producer Yeti Farm Creative and exec producer Mark Gordon.
After a scandal involving “Saint” Nick (voiced by Bobby Moynihan) rocks the holly jolly foundations of the North Pole, all hell breaks loose as the future of Christmas turns into a twisted power struggle for the Red Suit. As Nick, the 20th to wear the Suit, struggles with the age-old question of naughty vs. nice, his wife Mrs. Claus, a.k.a. Gretchen (Jillian Bell), works to keep the political machine (toy production) afloat. It isn’t easy as they juggle the factory elves, including Nick’s head elf Matilda (Nicole Byer) and political activist Helenor (Sasheer Zamata), as well as parenting two sons – Nick’s mini-me Harry (Sungwon Cho) and the crown prince, Jack (Timothy Simons), who’s not only next in line for the Suit, but also looking to rebrand it. Reporting on all the drama at the Pole? Cocoa (Colin Jost), host of “Morning Cocoa,” the North Pole news program.
Based on series creator and voice star Charlie Hankin‘s short film, The Summoner was ordered straight to series in August. The 10 x 5′ creature-meets-boy buddy comedy is a 2D project from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, exec produced by Seth Green, Hankin, John Harvatine IV, Matthew Senreich, Eric Towner and Chris Waters.
Rory (Hankin), in his 20s and living on his own for the first time, has found himself in a small two-bedroom with the Summoner (also Hankin), a magical alien with the power to summon any object to his present location. The animated sitcom also voice stars Cree Summers.
***This article originally appeared in the April ’21 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 309)***
A strong, memorable Southeast Asian heroine is ready to make her mark in the Disney animated feature canon this month. The central figure in the studio’s 59th animated movie, Raya and the Last Dragon, is tasked with finding a legendary dragon and uniting the divided people of her land to save the world from an evil force.
Billed as Disney’s first animated feature to have a Southeast Asia-inspired setting, Raya is directed by Oscar-winning studio veteran Don Hall (Big Hero 6, Winnie the Pooh, Moana) and Carlos López Estrada, a Mexican-American director best known for his music videos and the 2018 live-action feature Blindspotting. The lavish pic was produced by Osnat Shurer (Moana) and Peter Del Vecho (Frozen movies, The Princess and the Frog), written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians), and features the voice talents of Kelly Marie Tran (Raya), Awkwafina (Sisu the dragon), Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Benedict Wong and Alan Tudyk.
Raya and the Last Dragon
Hall, who has worked with Disney since the days of Tarzan, The Emperor’s New Groove and Brother Bear, says this movie allowed him and his team to explore the concept of unity to fight for a common cause. “There had been some great exploration by the team into the concept of unity and togetherness,” says Hall, “but Carlos and I felt that honing in on the trust required to achieve unity would lay a firm groundwork from which to make every decision in our lead character’s journey. This is Raya’s journey of learning to trust after her trust was so deeply broken when she was a child.”
The director says that, like Big Hero Six, Raya touches upon how a big loss affects its main character. “They’re both about a deep subject. But in Raya’s case, it’s about trust. I think that where they differ is the world, actually, to be honest with you, and how I think we approached the world. The world of Raya is a world under duress. It’s a world that’s under a considerable amount of existential pressure from these creatures called the Druun. It is a broken world that these characters are trying to put back together.”
Directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada
Hall adds, “We had no real way of knowing that during the making of the film that our own world was going to be put under an incredible amount of existential pressure with the pandemic. It came by surprise with all of us. But how the film kind of mirrors our own experiences in the real world right now has been nothing short of extraordinary, actually.”
In Hall’s opinion, the animation in Raya is some of the best the studio has delivered to date. “It’s a testament to the skill sets of our animation department across the board,” he notes. “Of course, story happens on the page before it goes to storyboard form. The level of subtle acting that we feature in this movie is quite impressive. We have several really broad characters, but we also have these subtle, dramatic performances, so they function on both ends of that spectrum. Overall, the visual style of this film is unlike anything we have ever seen in film animation.”
A Cultural Tapestry
While Raya’s world is a magical, fantasy-laden realm, the filmmakers strove to bring as much cultural authenticity as they could to Kumandra. In fact, many of them were inspired by their own family heritage and countries of origin. As Estrada points out, “We’re making a movie that is inspired by the cultures of Southeast Asia, and we want to make sure that when people from the region see this, although Kumandra (Raya’s land) is a made-up place, they can feel the love and respect the team had for the incredible real places that inspired us. We worked hard to make sure that this world we created feels dynamic, that the inspirations affecting the story really come through and that nothing is lost. We want to pay tribute to these cultures that inspired the story and the world of Kumandra.”
In fact, several key members of the film’s creative team traveled through Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore to immerse themselves in these cultures and to reflect their first-hand experiences in the film’s sights and sounds. As co-director Paul Briggs recalls, “I saw, from the people we met and the families we were with, this level of trust — to a person, everyone was so welcoming. They expected us to be there to learn and be respectful, and we were so deeply honored by everyone’s openness and welcoming spirit.”
Raya and the Last Dragon
“Of the people we met, everyone had such a deep connection to their village and to their culture,” notes the film’s production designer, Paul A. Felix. “They knew all the old legends and what, aesthetically, everything means, and that’s layered into everything from fabrics to how food is created to how flowers are arranged. There’s a deeper meaning relating to their culture and their village, which ties into everything that they do.”
To make sure they were on the right path, the filmmakers sought insights from a group of anthropologists, architects, dancers, linguists and musicians. According to the producers, these consultants offered assistance to the entire production team to ensure that Raya was grounded in respect for the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia that inspired the film.
“Time of Day” color script, Raya and the Last Dragon (courtesy Walt Disney Animation Studios)
As Shurer explains, the production team looked for commonalities and recurring designs and themes within the various cultures. “The design of a building or of anything is often reflective of the point of view of the people who are living in the country,” she says. “Many of these things are common to many of the Southeast Asian cultures. It is such a diverse and big and beautiful and rich world that in finding our connection to each area, we leaned very heavily on our Southeast Asia Story Trust, on some of our experts, to help find those connections. In the key creative room itself, we had someone from Malaysia, someone from Thailand and somebody with a very strong connection to the Vietnamese heritage. We also have a lot of crew from various parts of the region.”
“Dad Wisdom” storyboards by Fawn Veerasunthorn, Animag Rising Star 2020 (courtesy Walt Disney Animation Studios)
Shurer says the filmmakers also paid special attention to the cuisine and regional food of each of the countries they visited. “Food is something that everyone comes together around. And we realized how visual that is, and how we could lean into it in the movie,” says the producer, who brought the same attention to regional and cultural authenticity to her previous Disney feature, Moana.
Hall adds, “When connecting with those within our team who went on the research trips, it was evident that food had to be a fundamental element in the film. As we looked at our film’s theme of trust, we looked at how food is often a way of building trust and togetherness, and how that could be utilized as a thematic through-line.”
Producer Osnat Shurer | Screenwriters Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim
Shurer concludes, “The need to come together for the greater good, despite our differences, is something that is top of mind for so many of us. We all are excited to bring out a film that provides a space for that conversation.”
Screenwriter Qui Nguyen reflects, “For me, being Asian American with a Southeast Asian background, it was an opportunity to write a hero that my kids could look at and see that she looked like them, and she looked like their grandparents and their aunts and uncles … and me. It is a positive influence in their lives, especially in these very formative years where their self-esteem is being built.”
Estrada believes that the film is much more than a fantasy adventure. “It has so much comedy to offer. It has so much action and so many thrills. We really wanted the movie to be unexpected and we really wanted the movie to feel like a breath of fresh air within the genre — and even within Disney Animation.”
Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon premieres in select theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access on March 5.
Raya and the Last Dragon
Summoning Sisu
The legendary water dragon Sisu (voiced by Awkwafina), who is at the heart of the film’s central drama, plays a big role in Raya’s journey of self-discovery. Nguyen explains, “The East has a very strong love and affection for dragons, but these dragons are very different from what you see in Game of Thrones, for example. They mean luck. They signify life-affirming powers and fortitude, and those aspects were important to expand on since Raya is a Southeast Asian-inspired hero. Sisu is highly revered and super powerful, but at the same time, we wanted to subvert our expectations of what a dragon could be like. So she’s funny. She’s goofy. She trips on herself. She’s new to the world. She’s new to what life is like now. There’s something charming and fun about her, and I think that she’s just a really fun comedic character to follow.”
Hall points out, “The importance of water was a huge visual thematic in the film. In terms of Sisu being a water being, a water dragon based on the Nāga, water just became this recurring motif in the film that was extremely important.”
“Awkwafina fit the dragon that we were looking for — some combination of wisdom, emotion and humor,” adds Shurer. “She brings all those three things together in some magical potion!”
Gitanjali Rao’s poetic animated feature offers a complex view of the world through a complex and insightful feminist lens.
There is an idea posited by many philosophers that women think through their bodies. Filmmaker Gitanjali Rao explores this idea and others in her debut animated feature Bombay Rose, which tells a story of forbidden love between young dancer Kamala and Salim, a Kashmiri orphan on the streets of Bombay.
The power of the female gaze is evident throughout the film, and it is this that enables Rao to represent the mechanics of the world from a sensual, feminist perspective. For example, when Salim is bathing or dancing, we are aware that we are seeing him through Kamala’s watching eyes. Rao plays constantly with point of view, notably when she tells her story from the perspective of a rose – which itself represents Kamala, thematically.
Bombay Rose offers not only multiple viewpoints, but also a complex vision of reality itself through the hybrid use of different visual styles. Further, it fragments time, taking us from the linear reality of the everyday world into a space of dreams – into a stream of consciousness, you could say. Anything can happen in this realm of myth. Most critically, it is the one place where Kamala and Salim are able to express their love.
Bombay Rose
Through its rich visuals, the film reminds us that reality is vibrant and complex – in particular the city of Bombay, with its busy markets filled with intense colors. Bombay Rosefurther explores the plurality of India. On the surface, the film shows how women have been traditionally considered as commercial transactions between men – Kamala was sold in marriage, for example. When we dig deeper, however, we realize that Kamala, Tara and Miss D’Souza – three generations of resourceful, powerful, imaginative women – are the characters who actually advance the story of Bombay Rose. These are Indian women who have agency, and who have a voice.
Rao adds yet another layer of richness through her careful and effective use of music, most memorably when the story culminates in a tragic and sacrificial death, accompanied by the heart-wrenching Mexican song “Cucurrucucú paloma” – a song guaranteed to reduce me to tears at the best of times!
Bombay Rose
Above all, Bombay Rose deals with people in poverty. However, when tackling this subject, Gitanjali Rao refuses to adopt a nihilistic stance, unlike many other filmmakers. In Luis Buñuel’s Los Olvidados, for example, or in a lot of neorealist cinema, there is no redemption, only tragedy. Poverty brings fragility – it is part of being poor, a tragic dimension that you cannot escape from. But, even though Bombay Rose presents have-not characters from the poorest parts of the city, the film ultimately delivers a wonderful catharsis – a moment of rebirth, really. The final images are of an emancipated Kamala striding towards the camera, powerful and beautiful and assertive.
The Brazilian author Jorge Amado wrote: “Sadness is a plant which is omnipresent in the garden of the poor.” There is sadness in Bombay Rose, but the film’s greatest strength is that, even in the face of death, it exists in celebration of life.
Bombay Rose will be released on Netflix on March 8, International Women’s Day.
Dr. Maria Elena Gutierrez is the CEO and executive director of VIEW Conference, Italy’s premiere annual digital media conference. VIEW Conference is committed to bringing women’s voices to the forefront in animation, visual effects and games. For more information about the VIEW 2021 program of events, visit http://viewconference.it.
