Celebrated Spanish director Pablo Berger will be making his first foray into animation at the helm of Robot Dreams — a new European co-pro based on the popular graphic novel by American author/illustrator Sara Varon. The film is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2023, distributed by BTeam Pictures.
Berger is the director of the multi-award-winning Blancanieves (2012) and Abracadabra (2017), which earned eight Goya Award nominations and was pre-selected to represent Spain at the Oscars. For Robot Dreams, Berger will be joining creative forces with José Luis Agreda (Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles), editor Fernando Franco (Blancanieves), animation director Elena Pomares (Morning Cowboy, The Henhouse), composer Alfonso de Vilallonga (Blancanieves), production manager Julian Larrauri (Mortadelo & Filemon: Mission Implausible) and sound designer Fabiola Odoyo (Abracadabra).
“Many of my favorite films are animated,” Berger shared. “From Disney’s Fantasia, Ghibli’s My Neighbor Totoro, Pixar’s WALL-E or recent European animated films such as Persepolis, My Life as a Zucchini or I Lost My Body. With this film, I want to explore the narrative possibilities of this medium.
Robot Dreams is a charming story about a dog and a robot which demonstrates the power and fragility of relationships. After a trip to the beach leaves his robot friend rusted and immobilized in the sand, the dog must return alone to the life they shared. As seasons pass, the dog tries to fill the emotional void left by this loss with a series of doomed friendships — while the only relief the robot can find is in dreams.
With a budget of more than 5 million euro, Berger intends to transform this poignant story into a sensory experience for the screen, and a love letter to 1980s New York — the city that was the director’s adoptive home in his youth.
Robot Dreams is a production of Arcadia Motion Pictures (Spain), in co-production with Noodles Production and Les Films du Worso (France), with the participation of RTVE and Movistar+ and the support of ICEC-Generalitat de Catalunya, the Basque Government, the CNC – Avance sur recettes program and MEDIA’s Creative Europe.
Award-winning British animation studio Blue Zoo has created a moving new short exploring the struggles of body confidence and self-love, In Shapes. Created and directed by lead animator Zoé Risser, the vertical video was created as part of the studio’s annual in-house opportunity, which gives staff from all departments the chance to direct a short feature.
In Shapes is a mixed-media animation exploring the insecurities of a girl at the swimming pool. Though initially excited to put on her new swimsuit, she finds herself comparing her image to the girls around her. She finds flaws in all areas of her body; reality is portrayed in 3D, with the reflections of herself appearing in hand-drawn 2D.
It’s not until our self-doubting subject sees a confident, self assured woman who struts to the water like a tigress that the beginnings of self love start peering through, in the form of a young cub. Her confidence is in its infancy, but it’s present.
The film is particularly revealing as it touches on the love and acceptance we have for ourselves before society makes us believe otherwise. The girl initially pays no attention to her size, or the amount of leg hair she has, or anything else that could make her insecure, until the other girls at the pool begin laughing at her.
The process of creating a short at Blue Zoo Animation Studio is democratic, encouraging people of all levels and backgrounds to pitch their idea which, if chosen, they can direct themselves. Production began on In Shapes when the studio voted on this concept. Risser’s idea touched the studio not only because of its timely subject matter but the authenticity of the story. It is emotive, capturing the viewers heart, but it’s also relatable — capturing the daily tussles we have with our inner selves.
Risser, who hails from France, is a lead animator at Blue Zoo Animation Studio. In Shapes is her directorial debut.
“This idea came from personal experience. I remember becoming self-aware and anxious of how my body changed and looked when going through puberty when some boys made fun of the hairs on my ankles,” the director shared. “I made this film in hopes of empowering anyone who may feel the same way.”
The film premiered online Thursday as part of Blue Zoo Animation Studio’s 20th anniversary celebrations.
CBS All Access has announced the fourth season renewal for its original, half-hour comedy series No Activity. The live-action show will return with a twist, reintroducing all of its fan-favorite characters in a new animated form.
This season will find Special Agent Nick Cullen (Patrick Brammall) realizing his dream of joining the FBI, but he will soon discover that being an FBI agent isn’t that special after all. After being assigned to a seemingly dull observation detail, he finds a potential career case in the form of an emerging cult. A large scale operation soon takes aim at the cult, but it’s unclear which side will break first. Despite the promotion, Cullen’s path continues to cross with former partner Judd Toldbeck’s (Tim Meadows), who adjusts to life with a new partner of his own.
“We are so excited to welcome back the hilarious team behind No Activity for a fourth season and can’t wait to show fans their favorite mediocre law enforcement agents brought to life in animated form,” said Julie McNamara, EVP & Head of Programming, CBS All Access. “Patrick Brammall and Trent O’Donnell never cease to amaze with their unique wit and ability to make the mundane lives of these cops extraordinarily funny, and we’re thrilled that our long-standing partnership with Funny Or Die and Gary Sanchez Productions continues to grow and evolve. We look forward to the crazy antics and misunderstandings Cullen finds himself entangled in — and with whom — in the series’ fourth season.”
“We couldn’t be more excited for the opportunities animation will open up for the No Activity universe,” said Brammall and O’Donnell. “We love drawing and have always wanted to express ourselves creatively in that medium. Then the network saw our drawings and said they would be more comfortable hiring actual animation people. Our feelings were hurt but we’re still very excited.”
No Activity‘s third season found demoted detectives Cullen and Tolbeck back in uniform with a revolving door of quirky new partners and even quirkier criminals, while robots — and Dylan McDermott — tried to take over Janice and Fatima’s jobs in dispatch. Season three starred Brammall, Meadows and a stellar guest cast, including Beth Behrs, Joe Keery, Keegan-Michael Key, Sunita Mani, Jason Mantzoukas, Dylan McDermott, Paula Pell, Amy Schumer, Amy Sedaris and J.K. Simmons.
No Activity is produced by CBS Studios in association with Funny Or Die, Jungle, and Gary Sanchez Productions, and is based on the Stan original series produced by Jungle. The series is co-developed and executive produced by Brammall and Trent O’Donnell, alongside executive producers Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Joe Farrell, Mike Farah, Joe Hardesty and Jason Burrows. Nina Pedrad, Steve Toltz, and Becca Kinskey serve as co-executive producers. As in previous seasons, O’Donnell will direct all episodes.
Flight School Studio (Creature in the Well, Dan Carlin’s War Remains) serves as the animation studio for the upcoming season. Based in Dallas with locations in Hollywood and Montreal, the animation, VR and games company boasts an Oscar, Emmy, Annie and Cannes Lion-winning team of top creatives — including Chief Creative Officer Brandon Oldenburg, director of the Oscar-winning animated short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.
Leading global anime outlet Funimation is partnering with China’s top entertainment platform, Bilibili, to bring the first-ever Chinese anime (donghua) series Heaven Official’s Blessing (天官赐福) to its streaming service across the world. The anime is based on the wildly popular series of Chinese fantasy novels first published online by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (墨香铜臭) in 2017.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to expose Funimation fans to Chinese animation rarely seen in the West,” noted Asa Suehira, Funimation’s Chief Content Officer. “We’re confident that newcomers and fans of the material will enjoy the series and make it as much of a success in the West as it is in the East.”
Starting October 30, Heaven Official’s Blessing will be available with English subtitles on Funimation platforms in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It will also become available this winter in Mexico and Brazil. An English dub will become available in 2021. The series will simultaneously debut on Bilibili in China.
“As the breadth of stories and creators continues to expand, we’re excited to bring this unique anime to more fans around the world,” said Colin Decker, CEO of Funimation Global Group.
Heaven Official’s Blessing tells the story of former Crown Prince Xie Lian, who, after 800 years of “Cultivation,” a practice to attain eternal life, supernatural powers, and incredible levels of strength, finally ascends to heaven. However, he is soon banished back to the mortal realm due to an unfortunate string of incidents. He then runs into San Lang, the Ghost King, who later becomes Xie’s loyal follower. An extraordinary adventure starts as they learn the truth about the gods in heaven.
The 11-episode series is produced by Bilibili and Shanghai-based Haoliners Animation League.
“It is Bilibili’s aspiration to produce and share high-quality Chinese anime with the world,” said Carly Lee, Bilibili’s Vice Chairwoman and Chief Operating Officer. “To that end, we have invested over CNY 1 billion and participated in the production and co-production of over 100 Chinese anime since Bilibili’s IPO in 2018, including The Three-Body Problem anime series.”
Netflix announced Thursday another exciting project in its ever-growing original animation lineup. My Dad the Bounty Hunter is a CGI series, created by Academy Award-winning director Everett Downing (Maya and the Three, Hair Love) and Patrick Harpin (Hotel Transylvania 2, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation).
The action-comedy series follows the toughest bounty hunter in all the galaxy, a man with razor sharp skills but also a secret — his family on Earth has no idea what he does for a living. So when his two kids accidentally hitch a ride into outer space and crash his latest mission, they discover that their average Dad’s job is anything but boring. Dodging dangerous aliens and laser fights galore, this family bonding time goes to the extreme. Wait until Mom finds out…
My Dad the Bounty Hunter
The series will star Russell Hornsby (The Hate U Give), Yvonne Orji (Insecure), Priah Ferguson (Stranger Things), Yvette Nicole Brown (Community), JeCobi Swain (Troop Zero), Leslie Uggams (Deadpool), Rob Riggle (The Hangover) and Jim Rash (Community).
Russel Hornsby, Priah Ferguson, and Yvette Nicole Brown
Downing and Harpin will serve as creators and executive producers. Dwarf Animation Studio (France), which is also working on Netflix’s new preschool seriesTrash Truck, is handling the animation.
“We can’t wait to share our brain child with the world,” the creators commented. “My Dad the Bounty Hunter is a love letter to animation, science fiction, and Black families rolled into a crazy action-comedy. We threw everything we love about sci-fi into this show, but it’s the family at the center of the story that we’re most excited about.”
***This interview originally appeared in the December ’20 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 305)***
One of the animation highlights of the fall season is the arrival of the highly original new series Onyx Equinox. The 2D-animated show, which will premiere on Crunchyroll on November 21, follows the adventures of a a young Aztec boy named Izel who is saved from death by the gods and is chosen to act as ‘humanity’s champion,’ forced to discard his apathy toward his fellow man and prove humanity’s potential on a journey that will take him across ancient Mesoamerica.
The show’s creator, exec producer and showrunner Sofía Alexander was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about her exciting project, which you can read under the new, darker trailer released just in time for Halloween! “Viewers of Onyx Equinox can expect an adult story, both in terms of on-screen action and the themes we tackle throughout the series. We’re going to journey with Izel as he is forced to save a world he doesn’t believe he has a place in, coming face to face with both the darkness in the world and within himself,” says Alexander. Crunchyroll also released new character details, which you can find below.
Animag: Can you tell us the origins of the show and the inspirations behind it?
Sofía Alexander: The concept of Onyx Equinox began in a college assignment. Back then, it was only Izel, Yaotl and Izel’s sister, Nelli. The story began evolving through my time in college, with a concrete story pitch developed for my senior project. There are many inspirations behind the idea. I was born in Quintana Roo, Mexico, a state nearby many Maya archeological sites. My grandfather was proud of our indigenous heritage, and it was important to him we learned and were exposed to it as much as possible. My childhood memories are heavily tied with visiting the sites. It was an obvious choice to tell a story set in such a beautiful time.
When I learned how much history had been lost during Spanish colonization, I found myself wondering what that world looked like, what parts of these huge civilizations were completely wiped away? I loved Lord of the Rings, which of course is inspired by a mix of European mythologies. I started to imagine a Mexico that was just as magical and epic as that. Onyx Equinox is also heavily inspired by my own experiences growing up and figuring out my own perception of the world and society in general.
Sofía Alexander
When did you start working on the show?
Onyx Equinox began as a comic strip, a college assignment back in 2007. Izel and Yaotl looked about the same back then, too. The story went through many concepts and rewrites, redesigns and character development, and then I developed a pitch for my senior project in 2011. I let the story sit for a while, thinking one day I would draw it as a graphic novel. When I came out to L.A. I revisited it, and reworked it into a pitch for an animated series, and through a fortunate series of being in the right place at the right time, we began writing the show in October 2018.
How many people work on the show and where is the animation being produced?
The production studio is located in L.A., but the animation was made at Tiger Animation and DR Movie in South Korea.
Onyx Equinox
Which tools/software do you use to produce the animation?
Everything from concept art, character sheets, storyboards, editing and even writing is all hand-drawn/typed on the computer. We used programs like Storyboard Pro, After Effects and Photoshop in our L.A. studio., but when it came to Tiger and DR Movie, we did have some of the animation process done with more traditional tools.
What would you say were some of your biggest challenges on this project?
Translation between cultures was a big one for sure. Beside language, there’s a lot of culturally different concepts and history to unpack. Mesoamerica doesn’t get as much spotlight as we think, and when we see it in media, it’s depicted through a foreign lens. As a Mexican woman, I had to translate to Americans and then to our South Korean studio. Luckily, we also had the help of an archaeologist/anthropologist who helped keep certain aspects of the world of Onyx Equinox that are inspired from real history as accurate as possible.
Onyx Equinox
How did your experiences on Infinity Train and Powerpuff Girls prepare you for the show?
Infinity Train and Powerpuff Girls were strictly experienced as a storyboard artist and visual storytelling, which does help in board direction. However for the rest, there’s nothing that would train you or give you experience to become a showrunner. This is something you learn on the job, and if you’re lucky you’ll have mentors and team members who will help guide you. I was very lucky in that aspect!
What are you most pleased about in Onyx Equinox and what do you hope audiences take away from it?
I’m very happy that I was able to tell this story in general! I’d say the parts I’m most proud of are the music and the color design, but I think everyone who worked with me on it really put their heart and soul into it, and I hope it shows. I hope the audience is compelled by the story and that it sparks interest in Mexico’s rich culture and history, and that people will want to travel to some of the sites that appear in the show. Most of all, I hope that audiences around the world will be able to love and identify with the characters.
Onyx Equinox
What do you think of the current animation boom and the opportunities available to Latinx talent?
We’re getting there, but it isn’t perfect. It’s wonderful that there are doors being opened for diverse voices, but we’ve got a ways to go when it comes to increasing our numbers, being included in leadership positions and the normalizing of diversity in content instead of considering it a movement or a media phase.
For example, it was wonderful to have my show greenlit knowing that an underrepresented population would be getting exposure, but it was more difficult to find Indigenous and Latinx talent than I thought it would be. My background is in art, so there were plenty of artists from all walks of life that I knew I wanted for my team, but for other departments like writing and acting, I didn’t know anybody personally, so I had to rely on agency connections to find people.
But things are changing, and I know that there are programs that are already out there and that are being developed that are designed to find those talents in places outside of expensive art schools. I have high hopes that between elevating those voices that are already in the animation industry and seeking out talent from other areas than the usual ones, we will be seeing some positive changes very soon. (And hopefully, there will be more interest in coming onto Onyx Equinox for a possible Season 2!) I also hope that Indigenous and Latinx people who see the show can see themselves reflected in a way that they identify with, and that by feeling seen, they will know that their stories and content are valuable and wanted, and that they can and should tell their stories, whatever they may be.
What kind of advice can you give newbies who want to thrive in the animation business like you did?
Make genuine connections with your peers and help each other out. Accept others’ kindnesses and pay it forward when you can. Tell the story you want to tell instead of the one you think studios will buy, because if you’re going to be running a show, you’ll have a much better time if you love it every step of the way! I almost didn’t pitch Onyx Equinox when I had the chance, because I didn’t think any place would consider it “marketable.” But it was a story I told from my heart and I hope that shines through.
Onyx Equinox
New Character Details:
Izel: [ eats – zell ] – Humanity’s reluctant hero. Tasked with closing the five gates of the underworld.
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthday: March 13th
Height: 5’1″
Blood Type: O
Zyanya: [ ziannia ] – A warrior with a powerful ability, seeks to restore her destroyed city.
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthday: September 4th
Height: 5’10
Blood Type: A
Xanastaku: [ sha – NAS – tah – coo ] – A priestess in Izel’s party. Desires to redeem her dark past.
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthday: November 10th
Height: 5’4″
Blood Type: A
Yun: [ june ] – K’in’s more individualistic twin. The emotional core of Izel’s group.
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthday: June 6th
Height: 5’7″
Blood Type: AB
K’in: [ kinn ] – Yun’s mischievous, risk-taking twin who often takes jokes too far.
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthday: June 6th
Height: 5’7″
Blood Type: AB
Onyx Equinox premieres on Crunchyroll on Saturday, November 21. The series will be dubbed in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German at launch.
Baobab Studios, creator of acclaimed VR animations Asteroids!, Invasion! and Bonfire, has offered up a first shadowy teaser for its next ambitious experience, Baba Yaga. The trailer walks us into the foreboding woods, conjuring a perfectly suspenseful spell ahead of Halloween.
Directed and written by Baobab Studios co-founder Eric Darnell (Madagascar franchise, Antz) and co-directed by Mathias Chelebourg, Baba Yaga stars Oscar winner Kate Winslet (The Reader, upcoming film Ammonite), Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Ophelia), Oscar and three-time Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls, upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect) and three-time Golden Globe winner and seven-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close (The Wife, Albert Nobbs).
The VR immersive experience is a contemporary portrayal of the Eastern European legend brought to life with illustrative 2D pop-up animation, as well as hand-drawn and stop-motion styles, creating a modern visual language for VR inspired by classic animation. Leveraging the studio’s award-winning animation pioneers and interactive gaming veterans, Baba Yaga blends theater, cinema, interactivity, AI, and animation into a unique experience that explores themes of empowerment and environmentalism.
Baba Yaga is executive produced by Jennifer Hudson, Maureen Fan, Larry Cutler, and Kane Lee.
Baobab Studios will release Baba Yaga on Oculus Quest in early 2021.
Netflix has unwrapped the trailer for Alien Xmas, an homage to classic Rankin/Bass stop-motion holiday specials with a sci-fi twist, based on the 2006 picture book by the Chiodo Bros. The comical story of “the first ever alien Christmas” premieres November 20.
The trailer promises a cheerful family-friendly romp, complete with rocket-powered sleigh, freeze rays and weaponized snowmen as the North Pole experiences a Close Encounter!
Synopsis: When a race of kleptomaniac aliens attempts to steal Earth’s gravity in order to more easily take everything on the planet, only the gift-giving spirit of Christmas and a small alien named X can save the world.
Alien Xmas is directed by Stephen Chiodo and produced by Edward Chiodo. Exec producers are Jon Favreau, David Ellender, Sander Schwartz, Karen Gilchrist, Charles Chiodo. Stephen Chiodo, Edward Chiodo and Jim Strain.
Stephen Chiodo, President & Creative Director of Chiodo Bros. Productions, has established himself as a highly creative special effects director with an expertise in stop-motion animation. Stephen perfected his animation and directorial skills at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was awarded “Best Young Director” at the Cannes Film Festival for his 10-minute short Cricket. In the early ’80s, he collaborated with Tim Burton and Rich Heinrichs as a Technical Director and Animator for the acclaimed animated short Vincent.
Alien Xmas
Stephen’s directing credits include the first feature length clay animated film I Go Pogo and the cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space. He also delivered the stop-motion animation for New Line Cinema’s Elf and created the cast of marionettes for Paramount’s Team America: World Police. Stephen has directed pilots for CNN, ShowTime, Relativity Media and the Disney Channel. He has also been sharing his experiences and knowledge by teaching stop-motion animation at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts.
Alien Xmas is one of several brand-new standalone specials and themed episodes of favorite animated series debuting on Netflix this season. Read more about the slate here.
This Halloween, stay up late with Adult Swim for some spooked-out treats beginning Friday, October 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The evening starts with a marathon of themed episodes that lead to the Adult Swim Smalls premiere of Jack Stauber’s OPAL at midnight ET/PT, followed by Smalls-O-Ween at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT. The fright fest continues on Halloween as Toonami fans will be treated to a season one marathon of the suspenseful thriller The Promised Neverland, starting at midnight ET/PT.
Jack Stauber’s OPAL is a new animated special by creator Jack Stauber (SHOP: A Pop Opera, Now and Then). Using a unique blend of stop-motion, 2D animation and musical elements, Jack Stauber’s OPAL tells the story of a curious girl who investigates the cries she hears coming from a forbidden house across the street. The quarter-hour special is executive produced by Dave Hughes (Off The Air, Adult Swim Smalls), Matt Harrigan and Keith Crofford, and produced by Williams Street Productions.
Smalls-O-Ween are bite-sized shorts for your Halloween haul of previously released shorts that match the evening’s genre.
Adult Swim Smalls cultivates original short-form content by emerging animators and diverse comedic voices from around the world. With free, global availability across all Adult Swim Digital, Social and Linear platforms, the program has amassed more than 40 million views and a rapidly growing fanbase.
***This article originally appeared in the December ’20 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 305)***
In another example of how inspiring animated projects can lift spirits even during the darkest years, Cartoon Saloon’s much-anticipated feature Wolfwalkers arrives in select theaters via GKIDS in November, and will be available for streaming via Apple TV+ in December. This third offering in Tomm Moore’s Irish folklore triptych (which includes The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea) is astounding both in terms of its inventive storyline and characters and its creative use of the medium.
The film’s narrative takes us back to Kilkenny, Ireland in the mid-17th century, where we meet Robyn, a young English apprentice hunter who comes to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last pack of wolves in the country. Her life changes after she saves a native girl named Mebh, who leads her to the discovery of the magical “wolfwalkers” and her transformation into the very thing her father (voiced by Sean Bean) is tasked to destroy.
Wolfwalkers
The exquisitely crafted film has been a labor of love for the team at Cartoon Saloon for many years. Moore says Ross Stewart, who co-directed the movie with him, recently found a notebook where they had taken down notes and ideas about Wolfwalkers some seven years ago. “The story has evolved so much since then,” says Moore. “The production officially began about three and half years ago. We had a much bigger budget, which was a lot more than what we had for Song of the Sea.That’s why we were able to incorporate some of the ideas that we had for the first two movies, but weren’t able to execute them at the time due to budgetary limitations.”
“Ross and I were inspired by the legends of wolfwalkers in Kilkenny, which we learned about when we were kids,” says Moore. “It’s basically the Irish version of a werewolf story, where they would leave their bodies and traverse the forests as wolves, while the human bodies would be asleep back at home.”
Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart
The Rigid vs. the Organic
One of the cleverly executed ideas that echoes throughout the film is the way the characters and environments related to the forest are distinguished from those associated with the rigid human world and the English arrivals. “Those stylistic differences were baked in from the beginning when we were developing the story,” explains Moore, who was the art director on Moore’s two previous movies. “We wanted to explore this visual contrast between the organized, straight lines and confined world of the city and the free-flowing organic world of the Irish forests. We looked at woodcut prints from the 1650s, German Expressionism and anything where we could use a lot of shadows, ink and geometry to make everything quite squared off to symbolize the oppressive feeling. Then, as we journey more towards the forest, we wanted things to feel more organic psychologically. So we were thinking about [Isao] Takahata’s Tale of Princess Kaguya and illustrations by Emily Hughes, pushing into these really organic, flowing look for the forest.”
Wolfwalkers
The directors add that they were excited about introducing more elements from the world of comic books and illustration to their movie. “This is something that we’d talked about before but never managed to achieve in our films,” says Moore. “When we have Mebh arrive from the forest into town, she doesn’t have that thick outline around her that the other characters do. Instead she has a pencil-scratched line around her so we can clearly see that she’s from a different world, without it being completely mismatched. That’s something that you would find in a comic book, where you see a character look different in each panel. When Mebh is angry you can see the lines fire up and pop up around her.”
Wolfwalkers
“We used lots of shape, design and color languages and basically use all the tools in our toolbox to tell our story as expressively as possible,” says Moore. “One of the things about hand-drawn animation that differentiates it from other movies is that you can use the whole language of drawing, the history of painting and representation visually. You can use the space to compose in a very painterly way or very abstractly, depending on what you want audiences to feel during a specific scene.”
Wolfwalkers
Running with the Wolves
One of the standout innovations of the movie is the use of VR, CG and frame-by-frame animation to visualize the world through the POV of the wolfwalkers. Created in collaboration with Dublin-based animator Eimhin McNamara (The Bird and the Whale), the system involved building the environments in VR and CG, and then printing those pages, and rendering them in charcoal and pencil.
“We reverse engineered the process so that every single page has a totally rendered background,” says director Ross Stewart. “We used dynamic camera moves, natural media, mixed with previz that was done with 3D software to create this ‘wolfvision,’ so audiences can see how the world looks from the point of view of the wolves as they run and roam the natural world. We achieved this by using computer technology that we’d never used before. We were able to make the regular world look monochromatic, while their senses were glowing and phosphorescent.” Adds Tomm Moore, “It feels like a rollercoaster ride. When we showed it to the audience, it made people in the cinema really perk up!”
Wolfwalkers
About 200 people worked on the project at Cartoon Saloon’s Kilkenny studio, and they were assisted by about another hundred based in Mélusine Production in Luxembourg and Folivari in France. With the exception of the film’s innovative “Wolfvision” sequence, the backgrounds were done in paint and paper using Photoshop and the animation was done in TVPaint. They also used the Moho software to bring the props to life. “Moho acts as a rigged Toon Boom software, which allows us to tackle some of the smaller things and the crowds,” says Stewart. “Everything else is hand-drawn by TVPaint. With Moho, we can move some of the background elements so that we avoid the old Scooby-Doo TV show effect.”
As challenging as the technical and the labor-intensive nature of the hand-drawn production were, Moore says the toughest part to get right was the story. “This was my third time directing a movie, and the story is always the most challenging part. At one point, we thought we had it all down, and then we ended up rewriting the first act!”
Wolfwalkers
Moore says he and his team were thrilled to bring their co-production partners from France and Luxembourg to Kilkenny. “We love showing them bits of Ireland that have influenced our work,” says the director. “Song of the Sea’s dominant colors were blues and purples, while The Secret of Kells was mostly green. For Wolfwalkers, we have the green of the forest, and the orange colors of the trees in the fall and the wolves’ magic, and some greys as well.” It can’t be a coincidence that the colors of the Irish flag are also green, white and orange!
Stewart adds, “We were lucky as the COVID-19 lockdown happened right toward the end of the production. We got the news in February, and managed to get the music recorded two weeks before the lockdown, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get the orchestra to record Bruno Coulais’ music.”
Wolfwalkers
The directors are grateful that they were able to screen their movie in their hometown at a special premiere, where people got to enjoy the movie with a live audience. Artwork from the movie has also been featured in a special gallery exhibit in the city, and special illuminations featuring scenes from the movie were projected on the walls of Kilkenny Castle last month as well. As the movie gets a limited release in the U.S. and will debut on Apple TV+ next month, they hope audiences will take the positive messages of the movie to heart. As Moore puts it, “There are lots of themes running through the movie that deal with species extinction and environmentalism, but I think the heart of the movie is that Robyn and Mebh manage to be friends despite the fact that they come from wildly opposing backgrounds.”
Stewart notes, “The movie also has a nice little message about the way Robyn ends up being true to herself as it takes a lot of bravery for a young person to come to terms with who they are and say it loud, despite what society has to say.”
GKIDS releases Wolfwalkers in theaters on November 13. The film will premiere on Apple TV+ on December 11.
Former Nickelodeon and Netflix top executive Jenna Boyd has partnered with The Cartel to launch Field Day Entertainment, a talent-centric production company that focuses on creating premium kids & family content for streaming platforms. Through the relationship with The Cartel, where Boyd will also serve as a manager, Field Day Entertainment will leverage a deep roster of talent to develop and create enduring stories for a global audience.
“Field Day Entertainment was born out of the desire to amplify the voices of emerging artists, writers and directors whose stories have the power to bring families together in front of one screen,” said Boyd. “I have deep respect for the team at The Cartel, and am excited at the prospect of working together to build a company that reimagines family entertainment for the streaming era.”
“Having Jenna join The Cartel team and being able to help launch Field Day Entertainment is a huge honor and we couldn’t be more excited as we continue our expansion in the family entertainment space,” added Bradford Bricken, Partner, The Cartel.
Field Day Entertainment will be headquartered out of The Cartel’s studio complex in Hollywood, where Boyd will work closely with The Cartel’s existing partners, managers, executives and clients to identify new IP, develop original content and sign new and established clients in the kids, family and animation space.
Boyd, who spent nearly two decades at Nickelodeon and more recently led kids and family original series at Netflix, has built her career at the epicenter of kids’ media. At Netflix, Boyd oversaw a slate of 30+ original series, simultaneously fostering numerous live-action projects such as the award- winning teen comedy Alexa & Katie and The Babysitters Club adaptation, while also building the company’s animation pipeline with projects like the adaptation of New York Times bestseller Last Kids on Earth and upcoming series Maya and the Three from filmmaker Jorge Gutierrez.
Prior to Netflix, Boyd spent 18 years at Nickelodeon during a time in which the network defined kids programming for an entire generation. She ended her tenure there as the senior vice president of animation, where she developed beloved properties including the global hit series The Loud House and oversaw fan-favorite Avatar: The Last Airbender, which went on to win a Peabody Award.
The Cartel is a feature film and television management, production, financing company and studio, representing top-tier showrunners, show creators, writers, directors, producers, artists and production companies in film, TV and new media. The Cartel has been involved in producing more than 100 movie and television productions since inception, including the hit series Creepshow for Shudder, the animated GLAAD Award-nominated series Twelve Forever for Netflix, and the upcoming series Day of the Dead for Syfy.
SMF (Soyuzmultfilm) Studio, Russia’s oldest and most prestigious production company, has signed up with global animation leaders Toonz Media Group for a strategic partnership to co-produce a brand-new animated series: Aliens in My Backpack.
Aliens in My Backpack comes from Rob Lee and James Driscoll — the creators of global franchise Fireman Sam and the BAFTA-nominated, World Award-winning animated children’s series The Shoe People.
This new CGI series brings to life a family of characters from a distant planet with perfect ecological settings, who are on a mission to share their secrets with Earth and make our planet greener.
Production will be handled by Toonz and Soyuzmultfilm Studios, with the partnership responsible for video distribution and licensing and merchandising. The deal was negotiated by former Disney Executive and EVP at Toonz Media Group, Paul Robinson.
“Partnering with Toonz is a significant milestone for SMF Studio growth, as one of our strategic goals is to establish our company in the international market,” said Yuliana Slascheva, Chairman of the Board of SMF. “Both our companies have powerful creative potential and Toonz has an undoubted experience in the global promotion of content. The defining reason for this partnership are, of course, the values that the animated series introduces to the audience: animation is the best way to convey to children complicated issues in a simple language.”
P. Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media Group, said, “We are delighted to partner with a studio of such deep heritage as Soyuzmultfilm. For Toonz, this is a very exciting project as it upholds the universal value of environment conservation, which would appeal to kids and families across the world.”
Production of the 52 x 11′ CGI series will start late in 2020 and the first episode will be available to show to potential media and broadcast partners by mid/late 2021.
HBO Max and Cartoon Network have greenlit Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, a unique, animated-action series helmed by Emmy Award-winning creator Genndy Tartakovsky.
Inspired by myths and lore from across the globe, the show will follow a team of ancient teen heroes as they work together to protect the world from an unforeseen omen. With themes of the supernatural weaved with adventure, the series captures fun yet mysterious character-based storytelling for kids, teens and parents alike. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is currently in production for HBO Max and Cartoon Network.
Unicorn: Warriors Eternal follows a team of ancient heroes protecting the world from an ominous force. Throughout history, unicorns have symbolized the virtuous, appearing to ensure that goodness reigns. When the reawakening of our heroes comes too early, they find themselves in the bodies of teenagers. Damaged as a result, their memories of who they are and the history of the unicorn over the centuries have been lost, with some of their magical abilities weakened and fragmented. Not only do they have to protect the world against the prevailing darkness, they have to do it while navigating the unexpected laughs and humor that come with teen angst and emotions.
“Welcoming Genndy back to Cartoon Network, and now HBO Max was the perfect opportunity to introduce a new generation of fans to his visionary work and this one-of-a-kind series that offers something for everyone in the family,” said Tom Ascheim, President, Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC). “Genndy is a deeply respected creator whose visceral storytelling has inspired our audience and the artist community. We are honored to go on this next epic adventure with him.”
Tartakovsky added, “Twenty-five years ago, Dexter’s Laboratory was Cartoon Network’s first original series. It launched an incredible creative relationship that continued to prosper throughout the years. Today, I am so proud and honored to be able to create an animated series for HBO Max and Cartoon Network, and start a new relationship, fostering more bold and original storytelling. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is going to be crazy cool and I can’t wait for people to see it!”
Critically acclaimed and multiple Emmy Award-winning Tartakovsky has created other projects within the Warner Bros. GKYAC portfolio, including Adult Swim’s Emmy Award-winning Primal and Samurai Jack, and other notable Cartoon Network legacy series including Dexter’s Laboratory and Sym-Bionic Titan. Tartakovsky also directed the original Star Wars: Clone Wars series. In 2012, he made his feature directorial debut with Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania and continued to direct its next two sequels, Hotel Transylvania 2 and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.
They’re tiny, they’re toony — they’re back for a reboot-y! HBO Max and Cartoon Network are returning to Acme Acres with a series order for Tiny Toons Looniversity, an all-new half-hour animated comedy series featuring characters from the Emmy Award-winning Tiny Toon Adventures from Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Amblin Television.
Under the two-season straight-to-series order, Steven Spielberg will return as executive producer, with Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, and Amblin Television Co-Presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank also serving as executive producers. Erin Gibson (Throwing Shade podcast) will serve as showrunner and co-executive producer. Nate Cash (Adventure Time) is also on board as co-executive producer.
Babs, Buster Bunny and the rest of the gang follow their comedic ambitions all the way to Acme Looniversity, the esteemed institution of higher hijinx learning, where young dreamers become professional toons. Here they form long-lasting friendships with one another and perfect their cartoony craft while studying under the greatest cartoon characters in history, the Looney Tunes.
“Tiny Toons Looniversity will capture all the clever, subversive and smart humor that made Tiny Toon Adventures such a standout series,” said Tom Ascheim, President, Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics (GKYAC). “Fans old and new will love to laugh at and with these characters all over again.”
Register commented, “For many kids, Tiny Toons was their introduction to the world of Looney Tunes and, over time, Buster, Babs, Plucky and all the characters grew to be just as beloved by an entirely new generation. The continuation of our great creative partnership with Amblin Television will bring these characters back for fans of all ages to enjoy.”
Amblin’s Frank and Falvey added, “These smart, hilarious and cheeky characters have left an indelible impression on the childhoods of so many. We’re thrilled to be able to continue our relationship with Warner Bros. Animation, HBO Max, and Cartoon Network to reimagine the Tiny Toons for new audiences, and we know that fans of the original series will be just as excited to share the show with their children as they will be to revisit a childhood favorite.”
Tiny Toons Looniversity is produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation. Clint LaVigne, VP of Television at Amblin Television and Audrey Diehl, Senior Vice President of Series at Warner Bros. Animation will oversee day-to-day creative affairs of the series.
HBO Max and Cartoon Network announced three new projects today with New York Times best-selling children’s book author, illustrator and playwright Mo Willems: greenlights for a hilarious animated series Unlimited Squirrels!; CGI-animated special Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Special; and a pilot order for a live-action immersive series, Cat the Cat’s Show the Show Show with YOU the YOU! These projects are designed for unlimited fun and laughter, while encouraging kids (and former kids) to feel comfortable in their own skin.
Joining the most recent live-action special, Mo Willems and The Storytime All-Stars Present: Don’t Let the Pigeon Do Storytime!, and a collection of Weston Woods Studios animated films adapted from his award-winning books, Mo Willems Storytime Shorts!, the new orders, which will be executive produced by Greg Silverman’s Stampede Ventures, will expand an innovative content slate that is part of the streamer’s multi-year deal with Willems.
“Mo’s creative vision and profound legacy is a remarkable force that has the power to shape the future of kids and family programming,” said Tom Ascheim, President of Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics at Warner Bros. Entertainment. “This collaboration is integral to reaching children and adults simultaneously in different and unique ways that are also incredibly fun for everyone.”
“Thanks to my pals at Stampede Ventures and HBO Max I have been given an exciting opportunity to innovate with spectacular creative teams. It’s a joy collaborating and discovering how to bring these characters to the screen in fun, new ways,” said Willems. “While each of the upcoming projects is different in scope and approach, they all focus on my guiding principle to always think of my audience, but never think for my audience.”
In collaboration with Stampede Ventures as his producing partner, Willems signed on with HBO Max to create live-action Storytime Specials and multiple animated and live-action series based on his wildly popular children’s books, which are adored by kids and adults alike. His beloved characters have garnered three Caldecott Honors, two Theodor Geisel Medals and five Geisel Honors between them. Willems began his career as a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards for writing. He is the most produced children’s playwright in America and his art has been exhibited in major museums across the country. Willems is also the education artist in residence at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he is developing multidisciplinary performance projects with the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Dance, Jazz, Comedy and Theatre for Young Audiences.
“Mo is an unparalleled talent and his ability to connect with kids and parents alike has been our great pleasure to support. We are thrilled to deepen our relationship with HBO Max as we help Mo bring to life three exciting worlds brimming with characters that will delight audiences of all ages,” said Greg Silverman, Founder/CEO of Stampede Ventures.
Zoomy the Squirrel
Newly announced projects:
Unlimited Squirrels! Based on Mo Willems’s New York Times best-selling books for early readers, Unlimited Squirrels! centers around Zoomy and an unlimited ensemble of Squirrel Friends who help Zoomy navigate new encounters and learn cool things along the way. Each episode will feature big stories, big facts, squirrely songs, and acorn-y jokes to keep young kids amused and stocked with an unlimited supply of fun, facts, and giggles.
Tim McKeon, who is attached as showrunner, will co-write with Willems. Willems is also executive producer with Stampede Ventures’ Greg Silverman and Jay Judah.
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Special. Based on Mo Willems’ New York Times best-selling book and the sold-out theatrical rock experience, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is a CGI animated rock music special that wears its heart on its sleeve. Wilbur Mole Rat and all his Fellow Mole Rats in the Tunnel have always been, well … naked. But when Wilbur discovers clothing and a love for style, the Tunnel turns upside down! An animated hour of “underground” music and comedy about being comfortable in your own skin, this adaptation of the popular theater experience will knock your socks on!
Willems and Mr. Warburton (Codename: Kids Next Door, Muppet Babies) co-wrote the script with original tunes by Willems and composer Deborah Wicks La Puma. Willems will executive produce alongside Stampede Ventures’ Greg Silverman and Jay Judah, with OddBot Animation Studios serving as animation house.
Cat the Cat
Cat the Cat’s Show the Show Show with YOU the YOU! This live-action, immersive performance series is for the very young and the very, very curious. Based on Mo Willems’ New York Times best-selling CAT the CAT book series, this show introduces Cat the Cat and her friends as they create, rehearse and perform with YOU the YOU! A show that is focused on the performers at home, as well as on the screen, Show the Show is a chance for YOU to show how special YOU are!
Daytime Emmy-winning producer Kristen McGregor (Giver, Sunny Side Up) is showrunner, and also co-writer with Willems. Willems is executive producing alongside Stampede Ventures’ Greg Silverman and Jay Judah.
Mo Willems and The Storytime All-Stars Present: Don’t Let The Pigeon Do Storytime! and Mo Willems Storytime Shorts! are available now on HBO Max.
Women in Animation (WIA) announced the fourth annual WIA Diversity Award recipients, presented in partnership with the Spark Computer Graphics Society (Spark CG). The recipients of this year’s awards are: Kyoto Animation, Laurence Ralph for his animated short The Torture Letters and María Trénor’s animated short Where Were You? The awards are being given by WIA President Marge Dean with a taped presentation made available online from the first day of SPARK ANIMATION 2020, which runs virtually from October 29 – November 8 out of Vancouver, Canada.
The WIA Diversity Awards were established to recognize and honor individuals, films and organizations that have made a significant impact in expanding the diversity of voices in the art and industry of animation, either through their own creative work, by fostering the work of others, or by leading diversity initiatives that enrich our industry and society.
“It is important that we recognize and celebrate the courageous efforts and forward progress for diversity that is happening in the world today. The WIA Diversity Awards is our way of shining a spotlight on some of the success stories, and having them stand as inspiration to others,” said Marge Dean, President of WIA.
Kyoto Animation’s Violet Evergarden I (2019) was the feature directorial debut of series helmer Ms. Haruka Fujita
Voted on by the WIA Board of Directors, the 2020 WIA Diversity Award for Corporate Achievement is being given to Kyoto Animation for their ongoing work to create an inclusive studio that is based on the principle of creating a gender-balanced workplace. Co-founded and run by married couple Hideaki and Yoko Hatta, the studio has long supported and encouraged women to enter the animation field in Japan, offering salaried positions and in-house training to help staff develop their skills. These practices encourage employees to focus on frame quality rather than production quotas. Additionally, this studio model also gives many women the ongoing security that they need to justify a commitment to working in the animation industry.
“It is our honor to award this important award to Kyoto Animation,” said Jinko Gotoh, Vice President of WIA. “As a Japanese producer myself, I’m particularly proud of the way Kyoto Animation shares WIA’s inclusive principle of hiring female artists, as well as their commitment to training artists. They have also displayed tremendous courage in the face of terrible tragedy.”
The Torture Letters
Also voted on by the WIA Board of Directors, the 2020 WIA Diversity Award for Individual Achievement is being awarded to Laurence Ralph, particularly for his powerful animated documentary short The Torture Letters. Ralph is a filmmaker and Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, whose research explores how police abuse, mass incarceration and the drug trade make disease, disability, and premature death seem natural for urban residents of color, who are often seen as disposable. The Torture Letters illustrates one of Ralph’s first memories of the police, when a plainclothes officer harassed his family. Looking back, Ralph traces his story to the entrenched practices of torture by the Chicago Police.
“I want to thank Marge Dean and the entire Women in Animation organization for expanding the diversity of voices in the industry of animation. This recognition means that my voice and vision as a storyteller deserves to be seen. I’m humbled that such an amazing organization believes in me and I’m honored to be a part of this community,” said Ralph.
Dean added, “It is our honor to award Laurence Ralph with this award. The Torture Letters uses the medium of animation in the best way possible by telling a story that is not often heard but critical for the advancement of humanity. Additionally, Ralph’s academic work in medical and political anthropology is broadening the discussions and understanding of the changes needed for social justice in the United States.”
Where Were You?
A juried award given by the Spark Computer Graphics Society, the 2020 WIA Diversity Award for Short Film is being presented to María Trénor’s Where Were You? The film challenges us to reflect on the transversal and universal reality that is violence against women. Giving witness to everyday violence that can be subtle or brutal by experiences told in different languages and from different countries, Where Were You? harmonizes the authenticity of real life testimonies with the evocative and visual power of animation, imploring its viewers that “wherever you are, do not let it happen.”
Upon receiving the award, Trénor said, “It is an honor to accept the WIA Diversity Award. It also belongs to all the brave women from the Philippines, Spain and Mozambique who made this short film possible. All of them were victims of gender violence. While making it, I could feel more than ever the solidarity that exists among women regardless the age, ethnicity or nationality. This award will contribute to the visibility and denunciation of the universal violence against women. The best prize to be won is to save lives.”
Marina Antunes, Festival Director of Spark Animation 2020 and the Spark CG Society, added, “The festival jury was very taken with María Trénor’s Where Were You?, which tackles the sad, universal reality of violence against women and challenges us to face not only brutal physical violence but also the daily, often subtle, indiscretions that affect more than half of the world’s population. It’s a beautiful, powerful, and necessary piece of work.”
Cartoon Network has debuted a new series of anti-racism PSAs, developed by Emmy-nominated Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey, creator of O.K. KO! Let’s Be Heroes. The animated shorts are aimed at providing kids and families with productive ways to disrupt common narratives about racism.
The first of four PSAs, titled “Don’t Deny It, Defy It,” premiered on Tuesday, Oct. 27 and features Steven Universe Crystal Gem hero Garnet (voiced by Estelle). A new PSA featuring a different Steven Universe character will roll out every other month across Cartoon Network’s YouTube channel and all of the network’s social media platforms.
Created in partnership with Dr. Allen Lipscomb, who is a specialist in providing anti-oppressive, inclusive mental health services to individuals and families of color, the PSA discusses the importance of understanding how racism affects individuals and encourages audiences to not be racist.
Viewers of all ages can continue the conversation by visiting www.crystalgemsspeakup.com, where they can find links to social justice organizations, additional tools and more information as well as new Be Anti-Racist animations as they arrive.
***This article originally appeared in the December ’20 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 305)***
For those of us who lived through the ’90s, the popular Warner Bros. toons Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain were two of the seminal pop culture phenoms of the decade. The good news is that show, which was created by Tom Ruegger and ran for five seasons on Fox Kids and Kids’ WB From 1993 to 1998, is being revived and rebooted on Hulu this month thanks to the team at Warner Bros. Animation.
Animaniacs’ original exec producer Steven Spielberg and principal voice actors Rob Paulsen (Yakko), Jess Harnell (Wakko), Tress MacNeille (Dot) and Maurice LaMarche (Brain) are also back for the revival which is also exec produced by Sam Register, and showrunner Wellesley Wild (Family Guy, Ted and Ted 2) and Gabe Swarr (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Penguins of Madagascar, El Tigre). This time around, the show’s music is composed by Steven and Julie Bernstein, protégés of the original composer, Richard Stone.
Animaniacs
One of the revival’s biggest hat tricks is that it’s still fresh and relevant today, and the character designs and animation are remarkably faithful to the original show, while keeping up with the look and technology we expect to see in 2020. As Swarr explains, “When you see the new designs, they instantly feel familiar to the fans of the original show, but there are some big changes in how the characters are drawn. It’s kind of like the designs you remember them looking like, not so much what they actually look like.”
The team at Warner Bros. Animation Burbank handles all of the show’s pre- and post-production work, while the animation production is aided by teams at Yowza! Animation (Toronto), Tonic DNA (Montreal), Titmouse (Vancouver), Snipple (Manila) and Digital eMation, Tiger Animation and Saerom Animation (Seoul).
Animaniacs
Not Your Typical Process
Wild says Spielberg and Register wanted to take the reboot in an interesting direction since most children’s and family shows are storyboard-driven, while adult animation projects have a showrunner and a co-head of animation, with a writers’ room. “They wanted to set the show up like an adult series, and I was tapped as the showrunner because of my background in shows such as Family Guy and the Ted movies,” recalls Wild. “Steven wanted a very thorough look into what I was going to shape the show as, and I was very honest about what I was going to do. So, after lots of back and forth, he ended up picking me.”
Soon after, the show found its head of animation in Swarr, who has decades of experience in TV animation. “I remember I was working at Nickelodeon at the time I was first approached,” says Swarr. “I was so worried about ruining the original show that I said no. There are some die-hard Animaniacs fans out there, and they have such hardcore ideas of the what the show was, that I hesitated. But then after meeting with Wellesley at Amblin in late 2017, we hit it off and realized that we had the same idea for the show.”
Wellesley Wild and Gabe Swarr
Wild says he loves working with Gabe because they are open-minded about each other’s suggestions and ideas. “We have an excellent working relationship,” says Wild. “In a way, I’m in charge of what the characters are saying and Gabe is in charge of what they look like. So, the key is to be open-minded and respect each other’s opinion and consider each other’s thoughts and ideas.”
Both the producers admit that working with someone as iconic as Spielberg on such a popular franchise was a bit daunting at first. “You have to put yourself on the spot,” says Wild. “Steven has very specific ideas about what he wants in all of his projects, and Gabe and I were there to meet those specific needs. Neither Gabe or I are schmoozy types, so we just went in as ourselves and said, ‘This is what we do!’”
Swarr says he and his team had a very broad approach at first. “We presented Steven with a bunch of different looks and gradually narrowed it down to find out what he was looking for,” says the animation director. “The trick was, how to modernize it without departing too much from the original? The big thing was cracking that code.” Wild adds, “The goal was to take the best DNA from the original and plus-ing it by using the latest developments in animation technology to bring the property up to the 21st century.”
Animaniacs
Yes, Mister Spielberg!
As expected from a perfectionist auteur like Spielberg, the two-time Oscar-winning director was very involved at every step of the show’s production. “He looks at everything … every outline, pitch, script, animatic, design,” says Wild. “My initial outlines and scripts were the ones that went through the gauntlet, so it was a little bit of a learning curve. Soon, trust was developed, and we got to a place where he said he was going to pull back.”
Swarr adds, “He is a filmmaker and not animator, so he has a live-action approach to animation. I had to be very specific about what we could do and couldn’t. I had to reboard the first eight episodes to make sure we got what he wanted. We showed him the first episode last year, and he told us that he thought we had a very strong start.”
“When he likes a script, he always says, ‘Now, we’re really cooking!’” shares Wild.
Animaniacs
The showrunner and his team tried very hard to hit the ground running from that very first episode. “We wanted to let the fans know from the very first lines that came out of the Warners’ mouths that this is the show that they’ve been waiting for and wanted almost 20 years after the original aired on TV in 1993. We wanted fans to know immediately that we wanted to retain the nostalgia, the meta humor and social commentary, and that we were continuing that tradition by making fun of reboots in that first episode. That self-awareness is the trademark of the original show.”
Of course, one of the big challenges of the show is to remain topical while serving up unexpected storylines, great slapstick humor and showcasing hilarious songs that stay with the audience long after they’ve seen the show. “It’s hard to believe, but we wrote the first episode about two years before it’s airing,” says Swarr. Wild adds, “It’s really hard to be timely and topical since we send our show overseas and it takes about 12 months to make an episode. We had the same situation with Family Guy.”
What Wild and his writers did was take a look at the calendar and see what was coming up in 2020-2021. They had no way of predicting the surreal turns the world took this year, but they were able to pin down election-year humor. “Some of those events, like the Olympics, were derailed by the coronavirus. Occasionally, we can also sneak in something toward the end of the development process, and we can dub a line or two about four months before the show airs. So that all helps.”
Animaniacs
Both Wild and Swarr say they love the way the show continues to maintain its anti-authoritarian voice. “Smartasses are always funny,” says Swarr. “That counterculture voice always feels young and fresh. The show has Marx Brothers’ comedies in its DNA. That’s what Steven was drawn to.”
The producers also believe that this 2020 version of Animaniacs is the perfect antidote to our cynical, troubled times. “There is something inherently funny about baloney in your pants or genetically altered mice taking over the world, especially during these troubled, polarizing times. What better time to deliver jabs to the establishment?”
Wild says the show’s music and its catchy songs continue to be a huge part of the equation. “There is one episode that you will see in about a month and a half, and I’m not going to spoil anything for you, but I really love one of the songs, because it has a great mix of warm comedy and a plot about an alien trying to destroy Earth. I just think it all worked out really well, and the voiceover work is really wonderful.”
Animaniacs
Heirs of Looney Tunes
“I like to think of Animaniacs as the heir of Looney Tunes,” adds Wild. “The slapstick, the self-aware comedy and the hand-drawn feeling are all part of the staying power of the show. Gabe and his team of animators work so hard to make it feel fresh and new, and we feel like we’re being taken back to the old days of the Warner Bros. cartoons.”
“The thing that I like is the diversity of the looks,” says Swarr. “You have these segments with Pinky and the Brain or the Warners, and the animation is done so well that they really feel like real characters. You don’t see that very often in small-screen projects, because you don’t have as much time to produce the animation as you do in features.”
Both the producers hope a new generation of fans will fall for the mad antics of Yakko, Wakko and Dot (and Pinky and the Brain, too). “We hope we can capture that lightning in the bottle again and recreate the feeling the original audience felt when they watched the show in the ’90s,” concludes Wild. “I hope they will have fun and be surprised,” adds Swarr. “I hope we keep them guessing and that they are always surprised but what comes next!”
The all-new Animaniacs premieres on Hulu with 13 episodes on Friday, November 20.
Multi-award-winning VFX and animation studio, Jellyfish Pictures, today announced the strengthening of its Leadership Team, with the promotion of Matthew Bristowe to Managing Director and Sarah Tanner to Director of Operations. To support them in their roles, the company has made two key appointments in Infrastructure and HR. The move is in line with the company’s rapid global growth and access to talent, utilising the firm’s innovative virtual technology.
Bristowe joined Jellyfish in 2019 as Director of Operations, following over two decades in the VFX industry, including senior roles at MPC, DNEG, Technicolor and One of Us. His new role will see him tasked with the day to day management of the company as well as growing revenue across Jellyfish’s VFX, Art Department and feature animation businesses.
Joining the company in 2017, Tanner has led Jellyfish’s human resources and talent strategy as HR Director over the past three years. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in the successful expansion of the company’s animation business, opening of new studios and the move to remote working during COVID. The new role recognizes these duties in an official capacity. Tanner will now oversee all operations and resources in addition to her HR responsibilities.
Reporting to Jellyfish founder and CEO, Phil Dobree, both Bristowe and Tanner will play a key role in the company’s ongoing global expansion. To support Bristowe and Tanner in their new roles, the company has hired new Head of Infrastructure, Martin Weaver, to oversee Jellyfish’s ongoing drive for technical excellence and innovation in virtual tech and global working. He will be reporting into Jellyfish CTO, Jeremy Smith, as well as working closely with Tanner. Weaver boasts 30 years of industry experience, having held senior positions at MPC, ILM and Technicolor.
Jellyfish has also appointed new HR Manager, Eva Kilikitas, who will fulfill Tanner’s day to day HR duties. Kilikitas brings over 10 years of HR experience from across both the public and private sector. In her new role she will implement HR and recruitment strategies to support the influx of new hires, whilst ensuring Jellyfish’s values and culture are maintained across the globe.
“I am very proud to have a first-class leadership team around me, and the new roles given to Sarah and Matthew are in recognition of the stellar work they have been doing over the past year. I have full confidence in their ability to work with me and the leadership team to deliver the next stage of our growth strategy,” Dobree commented. “They, and our entire management and leadership team, embody our company values, which are enabling our talent to stay at the top of the Animation and VFX business. This roster of new appointments signifies the next step in the Jellyfish journey and the commitment to our future growth.”
Jellyfish Pictures, founded in 2001, is an Emmy, BAFTA, RTS and VES Award-winning visual effects studio with credits including Star Wars episodes Solo, The Last Jedi and Rogue One and TV’s Watchmen. Since launching Jellyfish Animation in 2014, the U.K.-based operation has also produced high-quality CG for How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming, Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed and Floogals, and has now embarked on developing and producing its own animated children’s content through Jellyfish Originals.
Leading Nordic animation IP studio Gigglebug Entertainment today announced two key new appointments of Lucy Pryke as Creative Producer and Jarkko Nordlund as board member/special advisor. The appointments come after a period of rapid growth, which has seen two exciting new shows with major broadcasters starting production, and represents a strengthening of the team as Gigglebug’s ambitious international expansion plans continue apace.
Pryke, who joins Gigglebug as a creative producer, has a wealth of experience in developing and producing children’s animation, including more than three years as a senior manager in animation at Disney EMEA – where she worked on Sadie Sparks and with Gigglebug on 101 Dalmatian Street. Prior to that, she spent seven years at the BBC as a development producer for CBBC, where her credits include Shaun the Sheep, Scream Street and Zig and Zag. Most recently she worked at King Bert Productions with a focus on developing ideas for children’s animation.
Nordlund joins Gigglebug as a board member and special advisor to assist the flourishing company with growth management. A prominent figure in Nordic media for more than 20 years, his vast experience includes stints as CEO for MTV Oy and as MD for Universal Music Finland & Baltics, Viasat and Canal+. A seasoned board professional, he has brought his expertise to several leading firms in the region over recent years to support their development, including TV3 Media, Kaleva Media and Oomi Energia.
The appointments follow the recent commissions by leading international broadcasters of two shows based on original ideas and development from Gigglebug. The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti has been commissioned by Disney EMEA and Nordic broadcasters YLE (marking the first-ever co-commission between the two), DR, NRK and SVT for a 50 x 11’ series plus 11 x 2’ shorts. Co-produced with Zodiak Kids, the off-beat comedy for 6- to 10-year olds, set in a quirky little town above the Arctic Circle, follows the unexpected adventures of an unlikely trio of friends: no-nonsense Rita, her newly-arrived surfer cousin Osmo and the enormous, unstoppable Yellow Yeti.
In February, Best and Besterwas green-lit by Nickelodeon for a 52 x 11’ series – the broadcaster’s first-ever Finnish show. A buddy comedy for kids aged 7-11, the wacky and energetic series, co-produced with Eye Present takes the idea of choices and comparisons to ridiculous heights with two twins (and best friends) who can transform themselves into whatever they want, once per day… if only they could figure out what the best thing to be is!
“A huge welcome to the brilliant Lucy and Jarkko!” said Anttu Harlin, Co-Founder of Gigglebug. “They are wonderful additions to the super talents and world-class creativity here at Gigglebug. It’s an exciting time for us and their vast experience and knowhow will play a key part in our ambitious plans for international growth and our aim of becoming a leading European animation studio that spreads joy around the world.”
