The extraordinary new animated film Weathering With You will be available to purchase digitally on August 4, and will arrive on Blu-ray + DVD and SteelBook format on September 15 from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. In addition, a limited edition Collector’s Set will also be released in November.
GKIDS presents the highly-anticipated new film from director Makoto Shinkai and the creative team, including producer Genki Kawamura, behind the critically-acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name. Featuring music from the hit band RADWIMPS and backed by an all-star voice cast including Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hobbit trilogy), Alison Brie (GLOW, The LEGO Movie franchise) and Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Venom), Shinkai has once again brought incredible beauty and a powerful story to the screen.
Synopsis: The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…
Japan’s Official Submission for Best International Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards and a Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection, this magical tale’s awe-inspiring beauty thrilled audiences when the film hit North American theaters in early 2020.
Available on Blu-ray™/DVD combo, DVD, SteelBookTM and on EST/VOD, Weathering With You is now available for pre-order.
Blu-ray and SteelBook Bonus Features:
Talk Show: Makoto Shinkai and Yumiko Udo
“Weather Front” Featurette
Exploring Makoto Shinkai’s Filmography
Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
DVD Bonus Features:
“Weather Front” Featurette
Exploring Makoto Shinkai’s Filmography
Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
Specific details on the Collector’s Edition will be announced shortly.
The suspected arsonist behind last year’s devastating attack on Kyoto Animation has finally been arrested and removed from the hospital to a police station for questioning, according to the Japan Times. He was said by witnesses to the transfer to have severe, visible burn marks.
The gasoline fire ignited on July 18, 2019 claimed the lives of 36 of the estimated 70 people in the studio and injured 33 more, but the suspect — identified shortly after the attack as 41-year-old Shinji Aoba — had been too critically injured to leave the hospital. Kyoto police originally planned to carry out the arrest in January, but concerns over the spreading coronavirus epidemic and Aoba’s bedridden condition interfered.
At the time of the attack, Aoba claimed that the studio had used his writing (possibly submitted to a contest at the studio) without giving him credit, although KyoAni has denied any of its animations are based on his work.
The onset of the COVID-19 crisis has been a secondary blow to Kyoto Animation after the production setbacks caused by the fire. The studio announced earlier this month that its hiatus would continue through the end of May, delaying the release of the highly anticipated second Violet Evergarden movie, originally set to debut in Japan on April 24.
KyoAni’s other well-known projects include the Sound! Euphonium, Free! and K-On! franchises, as well as Liz and the Blue Bird, A Silent Voice and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Gaumont, the world’s first film company and producer of the award winning series Narcos, the forthcoming animated series Do, Re & Mi starring Kristen Bell (Frozen) and Jackie Tohn (Glow) for Amazon Prime Video, and High in the Clouds, an animated feature developed together with Paul McCartney for Netflix, is further confirming its commitment to expanding its global Animation & Family efforts in Europe with the addition of two key executives to the team.
Karen Vermeulen, who will come on board in August, has been appointed SVP, Global Co-Production, Financing & Business Development, based in Gaumont’s London offices. The addition of Vermeulen is part of Gaumont’s continued commitment to create and foster strategic partnerships worldwide as they continue to bolster their Animation & Family slate across all genres. Vermeulen will be working closely with Terry Kalagian, SVP, Creative Development, Animation & Family, and her team to handle funding models/partners for the current development slate and serve to identify new co-pro projects and future opportunities. Courtney Arumugam, VP, Creative Development, also based in London, will report to Vermeulen and continue to develop and produce out of the U.K.
Cyril Le Pesant joined the company this month as the new Head of Animation & Family, Gaumont Animation, Paris. Le Pesant will work together with the Animation and Family teams in the U.S. and U.K. across the sourcing of IP, co-productions, development and production with a primary focus on running the Paris based studio which will report to him directly.
“I can’t begin to express how thrilled we are to have both Karen and Cyril join the Gaumont team. I’ve known Karen for many years and I’ve always wanted to work with her, and Cyril’s energy and passion makes him a perfect fit for our team. Together they bring a new level of creative expertise and technical skills which will further add to the momentum Gaumont continues to build across Europe and around the world. Both will work closely with Terry Kalagian, our SVP of Creative Development, and her talented team,” said Nicolas Atlan, President of Animation & Family to whom they will both report.
“I am absolutely thrilled to join Nicolas at long last, and his amazingly talented team! I am very excited by the diverse development slate, and to be a part of putting together the jigsaw puzzle to drive more global co-productions,” commented Vermeulen.
“I am very happy and proud to join Gaumont, the company whose Marguerite (Daisy) logo rocked my childhood. I am also delighted to work with Nicolas Atlan and Terry Kalagian and their entire team who have done an extraordinary job over the last four years. This is a very exciting time at Gaumont Animation & Family, and I feel so lucky to have been given this opportunity. With so many projects already in production in addition to a robust development slate, we are on an incredible path,” added Le Pesant.
Vermeulen most recently served as Head of Global Content Strategy & Co-production in addition to Managing Director based in the U.K. office of Cloudco Entertainment. During her time at Cloudco, she oversaw the financing and distribution and served as Executive Producer.
Le Pesant most recently served as Co-founder and CEO of KNIGHTWORKS, a production, animation and creative studio based in Paris. Since KNIGHTWORKS debut in 2009, Le Pesant has partnered with a long list of high-profile clients and has produced over a dozen high-quality, award-winning animated and scripted series, films and documentaries.
Formed in France in 1895, Gaumont has offices in Paris, Los Angeles, London, and Berlin, and remains an industry leader after 125 years — producing and distributing high-quality TV programming and films (about 10 a year).
Apple TV+ has struck a deal with The Jim Henson Company to produce a rebooted Fraggle Rock series, bringing the ’80s children’s puppet classic into the 21st century with all-new underground adventures. Apple has also snagged streaming rights to the full 96-episode series back catalog, the tech giant confirmed Tuesday on Twitter.
Attention silly creatures — a reboot of the Emmy Award-winning series #FraggleRock is coming soon to Apple TV+.
Apple TV+ will drop the Fraggle Rock back catalog for subscribers in 100 countries on Wednesday, May 27.
The new series of Fraggle Rock is being produced by The Jim Henson Co. (exec producers Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford) in association with New Regency (exec producers Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer). Long-time Henson collaborator John Tartaglia (Splash and Bubbles, Fraggle Rock: Rock On!) is also executive producing, along with showrunners/writers/EPs Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson (American Dad!). Rita Peruggi (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Yo Gabba Gabba!) is the producer. Harvey Mason Jr. is executive music producer for the series.
Original puppeteers Dave Goelz (Boober/Uncle Traveling Matt) and Karen Prell (Red) are attached.
The winners of this year’s Canadian Screen Awards for Children’s & Youth Programming were presented in a virtual ceremony May 26, with workplace sitcom revival Corner Gas Animated and preschool super hit PAW Patrol sweeping the animation categories.
Hybrid series Dino Dana (Sinking Ship Ent.) was also well represented, winning for Best Performance (Saara Chaudry) and Writing (Christin Simms, Amish Patel & J.J. Johnson).
Presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, in partnership with CBC and CTV and with the support of Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund, the Canadian Screen Awards are held annually as part of Canadian Screen Week, celebrating the best of the nation’s production output in film, TV and digital media. The Academy is the largest non-profit professional arts organization in Canada, with more than 4,500 members.
The animation prizes were awarded as follows:
Best Performance, Animation
Corner Gas Animated | The Comedy Network (Bell Media) (Moving Mountoons II Inc.) Brent Butt
Best Direction, Animation
PAW Patrol – Mighty Pups Super Paws: When Super Kitties Attack | TVOKids (TVO) (Spin Master Paw Productions 6 Inc.) Charles E. Bastien
Best Writing, Animation
Corner Gas Animated – Hedge Your Debts | The Comedy Network (Bell Media) (Moving Mountoons II Inc.) Diana Frances
Best Sound, Animation
PAW Patrol – Mighty Pups Super Paws: When Super Kitties Attack | TVOKids (TVO) (Spin Master Paw Productions 6 Inc.) Richard Spence-Thomas, Kyle Peters, Patton Rodrigues, Ryan Ongaro, Tim Muirhead, Mitch Connors, Luke Dante
Best Original Music, Animation
PAW Patrol – Mighty Pups Super Paws: When Super Kitties Attack | TVOKids (TVO) (Spin Master Paw Productions 6 Inc.) Brian Pickett, Graeme Cornies, James Chapple, David Kelly
Best Animated Program or Series
Corner Gas Animated| The Comedy Network (Bell Media) (Moving Mountoons II Inc.) Brent Butt, David Storey, Virginia Thompson, Leslie Thomas, Jonas Diamond
Best Pre-School Program or Series
PAW Patrol | TVOKids (TVO) (Spin Master Paw Productions 6 Inc.) Jennifer Dodge, Ronnen Harary, Keith Chapman, Ursula Ziegler-Sullivan, Laura Clunie, Toni Stevens, Jonah Stroh, Matt Beatty, David Sharples, Damian Temporale, Sarah Williams
PAW Patrol – Mighty Pups Super Paws: When Super Kitties Attack
Leading India- and Singapore-based animation studio Cosmos-Maya has signed a deal with Arbaaz Khan Productions to adapt its blockbuster Bollywood cop movie franchise Dabangg into an animated series. In a first of its kind animation adaptation of a Bollywood franchise, the lead actor (Salman Khan) will play his adult character, rather than being turned into a child avatar.
Cosmos-Maya is producing two seasons of 52 half hours. Targeted at a kids and family audience, season one will be produced this year with season two in production in 2021.
The three Dabangg films have grossed more than INR 7 billion (USD 92.3 million) worldwide, making it one the most successful Bollywood franchises of all time. The films have also rated well on TV and Digital platforms:Dabangg garnered an astounding TRP of 9.2 when it premiered on TV.
Salman Khan is a popular celebrity around the world, and children are one of the most significant contributors (directly and as influencers) to his box office and TV numbers. The animated series aimed at these young fans promises audiences all-out entertainment, and with action-comedy sequences, larger than life characters, and with gadgets straight out of a Bond movie, there is something for everyone.
The series chronicles the day to day life of Police Officer Chulbul Pandey (Khan). Backed at each step by his entourage, he stands in the face of evil to keep the city safe. Fighting evil is a tough job, but whatever the situation may be, Chulbul always has the time to lighten up the mood with his jokes, limericks and one-liners. Chulbul is joined by his endearing younger brother Makkhi (played by Arbaaz Khan in the films), who is new in the police force and who keeps trying to emulate him.
The Cosmos-Maya adaptation will feature the animated avatars of all the franchise’s iconic characters, including the three antagonists Chhedi Singh, Bachcha Bhaiya and Baali; Rajjo (played by Sonakshi Sinha in the films), Prajapati Ji (played by the late Vinod Khanna in the films) and the “BhaiyaJi Smile” guy.
“Dabangg’s biggest USP is that it is complete family entertainment, and so the next logical step to further grow the franchise was to enter the animation space. The medium offers unparalleled creative freedom with storytelling, and we can focus on shorter standalone stories in lieu of longer, linear narratives,” commented Arbaaz Khan. “Chulbul’s persona is larger than life and in animation his adventures will be showcased as never seen before. We are very happy to be working with Cosmos-Maya on this glorious franchise which has won the heart of millions. The union has been organic in the sense that the franchise and the studio have both captured the pulse of the Indian masses with entertaining grassroots level storytelling and relatable narratives. Exciting times lie ahead.”
Anish Mehta, CEO of Cosmos-Maya, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Arbaaz Khan Productions in this historic merger of Bollywood and animation. As a trendsetter in the industry, Cosmos-Maya is, for the first time ever, bringing a major Bollywood franchise to animation with the adult protagonist being portrayed as an adult. With more and more content viewing platforms shifting their onus to animation, a medium which can adapt itself beautifully to all narrative formats, people of all ages are becoming more accepting of the medium which has traditionally been associated with kids’ viewing. With never seen before animation quality and responsible, Bollywood inspired storytelling, it will be our endeavor to further extend the reach of this iconic brand so that more kids, teenagers and families are engaged and entertained.”
There’s lots of news for Millimages‘ popular marshmallow-shaped bunny Molang across Asia this week. The Molang animated series is making show and season debuts across numerous channels: TVB Hong Kong (S3, on air), PTS Taiwan (S3, on air), RTV Indonesia (S1, on air), Disney Junior Southeast Asia (S4, June), OKTO Singapore (S3, June), ASTRO GO Malaysia (S3, June) and POPs Vietnam/Thailand (S1 & S2, June). Plus, since late April, 290 subway stations around Seoul have welcomed Molang as their new mascot with specially produced safety episodes screening on 25,000 monitors, 40 times a day for 7.5 million commuters to enjoy.
Molang
Molang is also spreading awareness of good COVID-19 pandemic precautions, such as social distancing and coughing etiquette. More special posts, videos, DIY and at-home activities are updated daily under the My Sweet Quarantine collection.
Monsta
Monsta has blasted past the 10 million subscriber milestone, becoming the first-ever Malaysia-based YouTube Network for kids and families to claim the achievement. First established in 2014, Monsta is now one of the biggest digital networks for kids and families in the region, boasting 12 different channels including Monsta Channel, Mini Monsta, AnimaSEA, Monsta Keren, Monsta Dhamalastic, Papa Pipi, etc. Each channel serves different segments of the audience, with subscribers hailing from South East Asia, the United States, India, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.
In response to the growing demand for free content online, Monsta was created to provide high-quality animated content for kids. It was also the first platform in Malaysia to serve full episodes of its animated shows on YouTube for free,
starting with its original series BoBoiBoy and Apa Kata Yaya. Monsta also spent years negotiating with various content providers from around the region in order to obtain the rights to stream their shows online. Despite some initial hesitance, the YT net is now home to licensed hits Pokémon,Pesanan Papa Pipi, the award-nominated travel show Fly With Yaya, Beyblade Burst, Kamen Rider Zi-O, Zoids Wild, The Oddbods Show and many more.
Monsta YouTube Network reaches more than 30 million unique users monthly, with over 5 billion views across all its channels. The network is growing at a rate of half a million new subscribers every month, with exponential growth expected over the next 12 months.
True and the Rainbow Kingdom
Guru Studio has signed a number of new international deals for its original preschool hits. New broadcast partners for True and the Rainbow Kingdom. include Tiny Pop (U.K.), Discovery Family (U.S.), TV Azteca (Mexico), Canal Panda (Portugal & Spain) and NET (Indonesia). Following the successful launch of season one and two on DR (Denmark), Discovery Frisbee (Italy) and RTS (Switzerland), the three networks have quickly acquired the next two seasons. CBC in Canada which already aired the first three seasons has also acquired the fourth season which is set to air later this year. As part of True‘s global roll out on linear television, Guru is building a full 360-degree marketing program in each territory.
Justin Time has scored key broadcast deals with top partners across Asia, including Tencent (China), Youku (China) and TVB (Hong Kong). AFRTS (U.S. Armed Forces) has also picked up all three seasons. The historical time travelling adventures of Justin and his imaginary friends have aired in more than 138 countries worldwide and has been recognized with multiple award nominations including six Annie’s and two Emmys.
Mini Mind Warriors
Monster Entertainment (Ireland) is launching sales for Mini Mind Warriors, the latest series from Left Pocket Animation Studios, produced in collaboration with Tencent. Aimed at children aged 6-12, the show has proven a hit with both critics and audiences. In 2017, it was selected by MIPTV to be one of the top series pitched in the Digital Short Form category. When it debuted on Tencent in 2018 it quickly became the site’s most viewed program, garnering an astonishing 3.2 billion views. Within China, it has since been broadcast on CCTV, Toonmax, Guangdong Jiajia and 50 other local TV and OTT platforms. It is regularly ranked as the most popular animated series, with garnering a daily viewing figure of 13 million.
Mini Mind Warriors follows the adventures of Dr. She and her two companions, Taffy and Snug, who have to deal with a group of tiny monsters that have invaded earth with the intention of messing with children’s minds to break up their friendships and prevent them from studying for tests. Monster is particularly excited to offer this title as its first Chinese-produced series acquisition. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available.
Riki
RikiGroup (Russia) has launched the first four episodes of a new season of its hit animated series Kikoriki on the Kinopoisk HD SVOD platform. 10 years after the release of its last season, the popular round characters return in their classic 2D style. The SVOD launch will be followed with broadcasts on the leading kids TV channels in Russia and CIS in the fall of 2020. Artistic Director Anatoly Prokhorov, together with the directing team led by Denis Chernov, and composers Marina Landa and Sergey Vasiliev continue to work on the series today.
“The new stories still raise relevant topics for viewers of different ages – about life, friends, mutual understanding,” said producer Julia Nikolaeva. “We call this format ‘double bottom’ stories, when the situations, behavior of the characters and their emotions are clear to both adults and children. Such multilayering reveals different levels of meaning, which is so appreciated by fans of the series. We wanted the new season to be as close as possible to the spirit of the original Kikoriki episodes from our childhood. To do this, a large part of the original team that created the series in 2003 was brought back together. We hope that we have managed to preserve the touching simplicity and sincerity of the project.”
Riki Group has also kicked off an overall rebranding initiative, with changes to its logo, visual design and brand philosophy. The dynamic transformation of the business structure and active development of Riki Group projects in both the Russian and international markets led to this redefinition of the company’s essence, values and mission. The rebranding process is being carried out in stages over the course of 2021-2022 and will eventually cover all aspects of the company’s operations. The new logo was presented during Riki Group’s partners conference on May 21 (supported by Yandex). The rebrand was designed by SKAM.TEAM (Russia).
Kid-E-Cats
APC Kids has inked a deal with RTVE (Spain) which launched seasons one and two of CTC Media‘s hit preschool toon, Kid-E-Cats, on the network’s children’s channel Clan on Monday. Produced by Studio Metrafilms, Kid-E-Cats is one of the leading preschool series in Russia. The third season is completed and S1 & S2 are currently available on Nick Jr internationally in over 170 territories following a deal signed between APC Kids and Nickelodeon International in 2017. The series tells the story of three kittens: Cookie, Pudding and their kid sister Candy who are forever ready to jump into action with endless enthusiasm and energy.
Pluto TV
Pluto TV Latin America, the leading free, ad-supported, streaming television service, announced six new channels: Pluto TV Anime Acción, Pluto TV Animales, Los Archivos del FBI, Pluto TV Cine Romance, Pluto TV Cine Suspenso, and Babar, available via web browser at www.pluto.tv, Apple TV, Android TV and mobile device apps for iOS and Android. The new slate of channels reinforces Pluto TV’s kids, curiosity, movies and entertainment categories with content tailored to Latin America with hit series and award-winning movies, across a variety of genres including reality, anime, lifestyle, reality competitions, nature, true crime and kids’ content
Pluto TV LATAM now has 36 channels in 17 Latin American countries and continues to strengthen its Spanish-speaking content catalog with partners like Sony, Lionsgate, Paramount, A2 Films, Leda Films, BlueAnt Media, Viz Media, Beverly Hills Entertainment, DRG, Off the Fence, Oh My Pet, New Dominion Pictures, Leda Films, Nelvana, Polar, Kinpil, and CDC.
Gaelstone Media Group, the studio known for the upcoming Amazon Prime Original Series Action Mice, announced its full acquisition of the classic ’80s character Panda Khan — well-known to nostalgia lovers who remember him as a regularly featured character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book crossovers. Toy collectors will recall that Panda Khan also made an appearance as an action figure in Playmates original TMNT toy line back in 1990.
While Panda Khan is thoroughly recognizable to Turtles fans and toy collectors of the ’90s, he was never featured in the highly popular Ninja Turtles cartoon. Now, Gaelstone is preparing the beloved character for a pop culture resurgence with the newly developed comic-book and animated adventures.
“We at Gaelstone were so very fortunate to meet Dave Garcie and Monica Sharp, the amazingly kind and generous creators of such a timeless character,” said Jon Robert Bryans, CEO, Founder and Co-Creative Director of Gaelstone Media. “It was enormous for us, and we worked so hard to make it happen.”
“I wanted to grow the brand of Panda Khan into something it wasn’t the first time around, but deserved to be,” Bryans continued. “Panda Khan does come with pre-existing lore in the comic books, but we will be taking him in a slightly different direction with the animated series. We at Gaelstone Media have created a universe (not unlike the MCU Marvel Cinematic Universe), and Panda Khan was a perfect addition to our universe, The Anthroverse.”
This fall, TidalWave Productions (TekWar Chronicles, Wrath of the Titans, The Mis-Adventures of Adam West) has announced it is developing a fiction comic-book series with headline maker Stormy Daniels: Stormy Daniels: Space Force.
The comics will follow Captain Stormy Daniels as she commands the Helix, a starship serving the United Republic of Earth and its leader, “very stable genius” OrDon. Daniels and her crew – capitalists at heart – are for hire. TidalWave describes the concept’s blend of racy comedy, action and adventure as “Barbarella-meets-Star Trek-meets-Stripperalla.”
Created by Daniels and Darren G. Davis (head of TidalWave Productions), with art by Pablo Martinena, the comic-book series is written by Michael Frizell and Amazing Race alumnus Andrew Shayde. The series will also feature special covers by famed comic artist Bill Walko and Agung Prabowo.
“I have joined forces with [Davis] to create this comic, and TidalWave has been so generous with allowing my input,” said Daniels. “I could not be happier with the outcome. Bonus is, I get to add ‘badass comic-book character’ to my resume.”
“We are excited to be teaming up for this far out adventure with Stormy,” said TidalWave publisher Darren G. Davis. “We have not just created a fun comic book but a brand that will include action figures and an animated series.”
The animated series’ development is being entrusted to Bohemia Group Originals — the recently formed production arm of 25-year-old talent management company Bohemia Group.
“Working with Darren is always an adventure and this one may be one of my favorites. How often do you get to turn a situation like what happened with Stormy Daniels into a superhero! I am very excited to see where this one goes and happy to have Bohemia Group a part of it!” said Susan Ferris, CEO, Bohemia Group.
Last week, TidalWave released a new and updated comic book-biography on Daniels. Female Force: Stormy Daniels was created in conjunction with Daniels, who wrote the foreword to the book and edited the story herself. The book features new material, bonus images and an ending that is sure to please those who love stories written to empower and inspire. Print copies are available on Amazon. Digital versions are available from iTunes, Kindle, Nook, ComiXology, Kobo and wherever e-books are sold.
Seven works produced or co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) have been selected for We Are One, an unprecedented online film festival streaming across the globe on YouTube from May 29 to June 7. More than 20 of the most prestigious festivals in the world — including Venice, Berlin, Cannes, Annecy, Tribeca and Toronto — are joining forces to present We Are One, which will also provide ways for viewers to donate to COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.
The NFB titles selected are the acclaimed animated shorts Shannon Amen by Chris Dainty — which unearths the frantic, passionate and pained expressions of a young woman as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith — and The Procession by Pascal Blanchet and Rodolphe Saint-Gelais — about a woman who talks her husband through enduring the family funeral from beyond after her fatal car accident; and the VR animation work Minotaur by Munro Ferguson.
Shannon Amen, The Procession as well asNFB co-productions Léon in Wintertime, Molly in Springtime, Bonifacio in Summertime and Poppety in the Fall — a series of four enchanting, family-friendly animated films co-directed by Pierre-Luc Granjon and Antoine Lanciaux (Folimage/NFB/TPS Teletoon Divertissement Subsequence) — are making their World Online Premieres are part of the panoply of 13 shorts for a range of audiences curated by France’s esteemed Annecy Festival for We Are One.
“More than ever we need a sense of solidarity and sharing. More than ever we must celebrate the cinema and all those that make it possible. Annecy was immensely proud to be a part of We are One,” said Mickaël Marin, CEO of CITIA. “Thanks to Tribeca for conjuring up this wonderful joint adventure between festivals and thanks to the rights holders for answering our call. We hope that the public will discover or rediscover works and artists that we admire and that constitute the richness of our art. Long live the cinema, long live animation film!”
The Annecy selection — presented with the permission of the producers and distributors — also includes:
Shorts for Adults:
Black Barbie by Comfort Arthur, produced by Bluemoon Productions – Online Premiere
The Battle of San Romano by Georges Schwizgebel, produced by Studio GDS – Special Presentation (behind a paywall, special free screening for We Are One)
The One-Minute Memoir by Joan Gratz, Christopher Hinton, Paul Driessen, Theodore Ushev, Dennis Tupicoff, Janet Perlman, Marv Newland, Jim Blashfield, Bill Plympton and Diane Obomsawin, produced by Gratzfilm – World Premiere (never been seen)
Dew Line by Joanna Priestley, produced by Priestley Motion Pictures
Shorts for Families/Kids (all Online Premieres):
Bird Karma by William Salazar, produced by DreamWorks Animation
Bilby by Liron Topaz, Pierre Perifel and JP Sans, produced by DreamWorks Animation
Marooned by Andrew Erekson, produced by DreamWorks Animation
Guru Studio’s hit preschool series True and the Rainbow Kingdom is returning to Netflix on June 2 with True and Bartleby’s next magical adventure, TRUE: Rainbow Rescue. (Available here.)
In the 22-minute special, True and Bartleby must travel to the other side of the Neverending Rainbow to rescue Rainbow King’s friend, the brave explorer Dillydally!
Last month, the franchise launched its fairy-tale inspired collection TRUE: Terrific Tales. The eight shorts which are now streaming on Netflix include “Three Little Yetis”, “Grizeldalocks, “The Fishy Poof Touch”, “Little Red Riding Mila”, “Bartleochio”, “Cat and the Poofstalk”, “Rock Critter Prince” and “Rainbowella.”
The series was recently nominated for a 2020 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing For a Preschool Animated Program.
More True and the Rainbow Kingdom content is rolling out later this year. Consumer products including storybooks, activity books, costumes and plush are all available now on Amazon.
True and the Rainbow Kingdom is produced by Guru Studio (PAW Patrol, Abby Hatcher, Justin Time, The Breadwinner), based on the artwork of FriendsWithYou, and is executive produced by world-renowned artist Pharrell Williams.
Genre filmmaker Scott Derrickson has reportedly passed on returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe just yet to direct Doctor Strange 2, instead opting to enter a different otherworld as the director of TriStar Pictures’ sequel of Jim Henson ’80s cult classic Labyrinth.
Derrickson — whose directing credits also include horror flicks Deliver Us from Evil, Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the 2008 remake of sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still — will work with a script by Maggie Levin, who wrote and directed the “My Valentine” chapter of Hulu horror anthology Into the Dark and wrote for the Verizon Go90 original sci-fi/comedy Miss 2059.
Originally released by TriStar in 1986, Hensons’ Labyrinth is a musical fantasy film starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly and, of course, plenty of puppets.
Synopsis: Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah (Connelly), a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from Jareth the Goblin King (Bowie). Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers. To get through it in time to save Toby, Sarah befriends the Goblins, in hopes that their loyalty isn’t just another illusion in a place where nothing is as it seems!
“Toby” was played by the infant son of Henson creature designer Brian Froud and puppet-maker/sculptor Wendy Midener. Toby Froud has grown up to carry on the family trade, working as a puppet-maker on The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Netflix).
Aardman and Fictioneers have revealed the first Wallace & Gromit animation from their new venture, teasing the duo’s first foray into augmented reality. For the first time ever, the beloved claymation characters will bring fans directly into their adventures via The Big Fix Up: a first of its kind, story-driven experience that promises to bring together these globally iconic characters and state-of-the-art technology.
Partnering with multi award-winning animation studio Aardman, Fictioneers — a consortium of British companies including Potato, Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games — with research support from the University of South Wales, is producing an exciting augmented and mixed reality experience featuring Wallace & Gromit and backed by funding from UK Research & Innovation (UKRI).
Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up is a new, augmented reality story, which will bring Wallace & Gromit alive in an entirely new way, while creating a cutting-edge new platform for storytelling. Rendered in CG using the latest technology, fans will be able to interact in a host of new ways and get closer than ever to the iconic duo. The experience will be rich and multi-layered, realised through innovation and technology.
Later this year, fans can join the addled inventor and his faithful hound as their latest business venture, Spick & Spanners, takes on the contract of a lifetime: to “Fix Up” Bristol. Fans will be invited to download a free app and play along at home, as an employee, and for the first time ever, be able to step directly into the world of Wallace & Gromit.
The story will play out in a variety of different types of media, to tell the beats of a story: multi-user AR gameplay, new CG animations, in character phone calls, comic strips, Extended Reality (XR) portals and more. All brought together in a mobile app, used as a “window” into their world.
The new Wallace & Gromit story is an entirely home-based experience, meaning it is accessible to all with a recent smartphone. The Big Fix Up is set in the city of Bristol, the home of Aardman, but people from all across the U.K. will be able to take part in the full end-to-end adventure, which will see Wallace, Gromit, and an exciting cast of new characters appear in their very own homes!
In addition, thanks to 3D mapping platform Fantasmo, Fictioneers will bring together an unprecedented city-scale augmented reality experience, which will see Bristol city center come to life at home.
Chosen by UKRI as part of its Audience of the Future program, which is a key part of the Government’s Creative Industries Sector Deal, announced in March 2018, Fictioneers was awarded a multimillion-pound R&D grant to explore and pioneer cutting-edge immersive experiences. And now, working hand-in-hand with Aardman, will bring a brand-new Wallace & Gromit augmented adventure to fans.
“We’re thrilled to be working with our friends at Aardman to deliver the first augmented Wallace & Gromit story,” said Susan Cummings, Co-Founder of Fictioneers and Managing Director of Tiny Rebel Games. “We at Fictioneers are on a mission to innovate storytelling with our groundbreaking methodology. It is a rare privilege to be able to do so with some of the most beloved animated characters in the world and to give fans the first opportunity to join in Wallace & Gromit’s story.”
Aardman’s Merlin Crossingham, Creative Director of Wallace & Gromit, commented: “Aardman is a multi-faceted creative studio and is just as happy with classic film making as it is with new and emerging technologies. Wallace and Gromit’s heart and soul is in stop motion, but they have often dabbled in the cutting edge of tech, and this is one of those occasions. We are delighted to join forces with the amazing folk at Fictioneers to take Wallace and Gromit on a new adventure in such a groundbreaking way.”
With a heavy focus on R&D, Fictioneers has sought out the most cutting-edge AR technologies and partners to realise its ambitions. This includes working with Unity Technologies, which powers more than 60 percent of the world’s AR and VR content, with its new MARS product and AR Foundation toolkit, giving creators the power to build mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR) applications that interact with any real-world environment. The Unity team’s technology and support have enabled Fictioneers to bring contraptions and environments to life and give them intelligent, dynamic behavior.
AR elements in The Big Fix Up were developed using Project MARS from Unity. Jamie Innes, Product Lead at Fictioneers will be sharing the latest project details and a first look at the gameplay as part of Unity Technologies’ keynote at Augmented World Expo on May 27 at 4:20 U.K. BST. (Find out more.)
In a press conference held at the Cabildo de Tenerife May 25, the third edition of the Quirino Awards for Ibero-American animation — to be held in a digital format this year — was officially kicked off. The presentation headed by Pedro Martín Domínguez, President of the Cabildo de Tenerife; José Gregorio Martín Plata, Insular Advisor of the Area of Territory Planning, Historical Heritage and Tourism; and José Luis Farias, Coordinator of the Quirino Awards, who analysed the role of the island in the construction of a common space for Ibero-American animation, in addition to offering details of the program of activities organized throughout the newly dubbed “Quirino Month.”
Martín noted that “at a time when we recognize that tourism will be the great lever to recover, we also have to remember that we must look for alternatives. And this is an opportunity, backed not only by the place that Tenerife represents, but by the enormous tax incentives, both for being a ZEC area, and for the incentives inherent in the audiovisual sector and which place us in a privileged position for the location of companies in the sector.”
“The Quirino Awards are a catalyst for the Ibero-American animation industry and Tenerife has become a key piece in this bridge that unites Europe and Latin America,” he added. “Celebrating these awards is a brave bet, a bet for the present but also for the future. And there the Cabildo de Tenerife will be to corroborate it.”
Martín Plata commented on the differential value of Tenerife’s commitment to animation: “Currently, there are seven companies installed on our island — the last two started their activity this year — and more than 300 workers, with qualified jobs, working here.” Helso stated that in 2019, only the animation “generated 7.2 million euros, 40% of the total income of the audiovisual sector in Tenerife.”
Farias, spoke about the challenges of organizing the event in the current emergency situation. “Celebrating Quirino this year is an act of resilience. With the hashtag #yovoyaquirino we want to highlight Ibero-American animation and send a message to all that despite the difficulties of this crisis, the great animation family continues to move forward with force and determination. But this act of resilience would not have been possible without the support of many sponsors and collaborators, but fundamentally because of the trust of the Cabildo de Tenerife and Tenerife Tourism through the Tenerife Film Commission. On behalf of Ibero-American animation, thank you. In this unique edition, we reinvented ourselves by organizing different online activities, from Tenerife to the world, that will take place throughout what we have called the Quirino Month,” he declared.
The presentation also announced the call for the “Animated gifs competition with images from Tenerife”, which will award two prizes of 500 euros for the best gif made by a Tenerife creator and 500 euros for the best Ibero-American gif. The rules and regulations can be found on the website.
Quirino Month has the main sponsorship of the Cabildo de Tenerife through the Tenerife Film Commission and includes in its program different activities aimed at both professionals and the general public. The event will culminate on June 27 with the awards ceremony and the animated photocall in which the winning works in the nine categories of the awards will be announced.
Animation on “Isla Cartoon”
The animation sector continues to gain an international foothold in Tenerife, an island that maintains a firm commitment to the sector and that seeks to strengthen itself as a place for making animated films and series with the Tenerife Isla Cartoon brand. In recent months La Casa Animada has been nominated in the Pulcinella Awards (Italy); B-Water Animation Studios has developed with Unity a hybrid pipeline unique in the world in its latest production the series Treasure Trekkers; Mondo TV Producciones Canarias will participate as co-producer in the Italian animation series Nina & Olga; In Efecto is working on the series Tara Duncan; and 3 Doubles Producciones recently released their series Momonsters on Clan TV, with which they signed distribution with the French PGS in the last edition of the Quirino Co-Production Forum.
In addition to the participation of professionals and the general public in the several activities of the Quirino Awards this year, the big presence of Tenerife professionals stands out among the finalists and selected projects for this edition.
The Momonsters series, produced by Big Bang Box, KD Toons & Games, TVE, Antaviana Films and the companies from Tenerife 3 Doubles Producciones and Vitotito Animation, is a finalist in the Best Ibero-American Animation Series category.
The animation director of the video game Gris, finalist in the category of Best Ibero-American Animation for Video Game, is Adrián Miguel Delgado from Tenerife, a graduate of the University of La Laguna.
Winnipeg, the Ship of Hope was named the winning project of the La Liga special call, and will be presented at the Annecy Festival. The film is a co-production between Chile (El Otro Film), Spain (La Ballesta and 3 Doubles) and France (Marmitafilms). In addition to the participation of 3 Doubles in the production, the film will feature the soundtrack by Tenerife composer Diego Navarro.
The island and the Tenerife studios will also be present at the conference “Sustainability in animation,” in which representatives of the Tenerife Film Commission and the Tenerife animation production companies will participate.
A Month of Online Activities
The Quirino Month activities begin May 26 with the third edition of the Co-Production and Business Forum of the Quirino Awards, in which more than 90 companies from 19 countries will participate. Throughout the month, representatives of channels, distributors and producers will have the opportunity to know, through online meetings with Ibero-American professionals, different projects from the 23 countries of the Ibero-American region. The Forum has the collaboration of ICEX, Animation From Spain and PROEXCA.
For its part, on the same day that the Forum begins, a meeting will be held between the authorities of the Ibermedia Program and representatives of different sectoral associations that will count with the participation of the Animar Cluster and APA (Association of Animation Producers from Córdoba) — both from Argentina, Red Bolivian Animators, ABCA (Associação Brasileira de Cinema de Animação), ANIMACHI (Chile), Animation Costa Rica, Group of Animators from Ecuador, DIBOOS (Spain), ACDMX (Association of Digital Creatives of Mexico), Jalisco Creativo, Pixelatl (Mexico), Paraguay Animation, Peru Animation, Casa da Animaçao (Portugal) and SAVE (Tenerife). Representatives of the Tenerife Film Commission will also participate in this meeting, which will analyse the state of production in different regions, the impact of COVID-19 and the latest call for the Ibermedia Program.
On May 28, La Liga, the Ibero-American Animation League, will announce news about this alliance of Ibero-American events made up of Animation! Ventana Sur, Quirino and Pixelatl Awards. In the second part of this conference, the Chilean Catalina Fontecilla and Javiera Risco will present Firsts (Typpo Creative Lab), a series project in development that won the award given by La Liga at Ventana Sur 2019, and which implies participation in Pixelatl and Quirino Awards with the aim of accelerating its production and promoting its internationalization.
On June 2, the online round table Women in Ibero-American Animation will take place, in which they will analyse the situation of women in the sector. Moderated by Silvina Cornillón (Animation! – INCAA), the table will be attended by representatives of RAMA – Argentine Women of Animation Group, MIA – Women in the Animation Industry (Spain) and MUMA – Women in the World of Animation (Mexico).
A week later, the conference Sustainability in animation will be held. The Tenerife Film Commission, Quirino Awards and Welaw will make an introduction about the measures that can be carried out to make a production sustainable. Then the production companies from Tenerife will tell us about the projects they are currently developing and how the animation has not stopped during the state of alarm by COVID-19.
Sponsored by HP, the conference New technologies applied to animation production will be held on June 10, which will analyse the tools and processes related to new technologies that have influenced the evolution of animation since the remote team management, crowdsourcing, new VR tools or video game technologies applied to animation.
Between June 1 and 14, the Retina Latina and Filmin platforms will have a special on the finalists in the school short film category, in addition to the winners of this section in the 2018 and 2019 editions. With the aim of bringing creations to the audience, the organization also foresees the development of several participative talks with those responsible for the finalist works.
All online conferences will be free and freely accessible through the Facebook Live of the Quirino Awards channel.
The complete program with all the details of speakers, dates and times can be found on https://premiosquirino.org/
A new film from the Pixar Animation Studios SparkShorts program of home-grown, experimental storytelling (Purl, Kitbull) has bowed on Disney+ and broken through a fresh barrier for the studio, featuring a gay main character for the first time. Released on Friday, Out is a nine-minute piece written and directed by animator Steven Hunter (Finding Nemo, WALL-E) and produced by Max Sachar (Coco, Toy Story 3), which presents a coming out story imbued with a touch of body-swapping enchantment.
On an average day, Greg’s life is filled with family, love and a rambunctious little dog — but despite all of this, Greg has a secret. Today is different, though. With some help from his precocious pup, and a little bit of magic, Greg might learn that he has nothing to hide.
“The SparkShorts program is designed to discover new storytellers, explore new storytelling techniques, and experiment with new production workflows,” read a quote from Pixar President Jim Morris on the program’s webpage. “These films are unlike anything we’ve ever done at Pixar, providing an opportunity to unlock the potential of individual artists and their inventive filmmaking approaches on a smaller scale than our normal fare.”
Both Disney and Pixar have taken flack from conservative viewers, critics and action groups in recent years for the studios’ tentative steps to present LGBTQ+ characters — however fleetingly. Brief sightings of a presumed lesbian couple in Toy Story 4, Pixar’s first official openly gay character — cyclops cop Officer Spector (voiced by Lena Waithe) — in Onward and Violet’s super supportive dads in Disney Channel’s DuckTales have all drawn ire, calls for boycott and even screening bans.
Out debuted on Disney+ on May 22. It joins the ranks of SparkShorts alongside Kristen Lester’s SIGGRAPH Best in Show winner Purl, Brian Larsen’s Smash and Grab, Rosana Sullivan’s Humanitas Prize-winning and Oscar-nominated Kitbull, Bobby Rubi’s Float, Edwin Chang’s Wind and Erica Milsom’s Loop, which centers on a non-verbal girl with autism — all available to stream on the platform.
CalArts animation student Jonah Primiano’s beautiful pet dog passed way only a few months before he started school. So, when the time came for him to work on his own animated project, he chose to pay homage to the memory of his four-legged friend, Abe. The result is a beautiful, poetic short titled Driftless, which explores the possibilities of rotoscopy while offering glimpses of the time he spent with his canine companion. He was kind enough to answer a few of our questions:
What prompted you how to pay tribute to your beautiful dog?
My dog Abe had died only a few months before I started school at CalArts, so it was still pretty heavy on my mind and it was hard for me to imagine making a film about anything else. I had been pretty curious about how animation could visualize memory for a while as well, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to harness my personal experience and a broader artistic exploration.
When did you start making the short?
I created this short during my first year as an MFA student at CalArts in the Experimental Animation program. I started developing it during the fall of 2018 but finished it in the spring of 2019.
Which tools did you use to create it and how long did it take to make?
The film is pretty simple in terms of materials. I set a rule for myself to work only on paper with graphite, so that means no post-production compositing. That being said, the film is completely rotoscoped, so I utilized a library of old home videos as source footage. From concept to the final product it took me roughly eight months to make, but the majority of actual animating and production took place in the last three months of that.
What are you working on next?
I’m going into my final year in the MFA program at CalArts, so I’ll be completing a thesis project over the course of the next year. COVID-19 put the breaks on the semester and complicated school life massively, so things feel a bit up in the air, but I’ve been interested in the potential of the Still Life as a means of exploring perspective, memory, and point of view. I’m also working on a few smaller projects that I started this semester.
Beyond schoolwork, I run an animation publication called Mostly Moving (mostlymoving.com) where I interview animators and have them write short personal essays, so I’m continually working on new issues of that. Additionally, friends of mine and I started a Vimeo Livestream channel called Channel 8 (vimeo.com/channeleight) where we host live broadcasts. Some of the shows are live performances, and others are curated blocks of films.
Who are your animation inspirations?
For this project, in particular, I was really inspired by animators Mary Beams and Robert Breer. Both pioneered alternative forms of rotoscoping which were much more about impressions of the source and focused on formal visual concerns. After being exposed to their work I became really inspired to try rotoscoping out for myself, the result of which is Driftless.
How has the response been to your project thus far?
I’ve been fortunate enough to show the film at a few great festivals over the last year. Slamdance here in the states was a really great experience and I was very flattered to be included in the documentary block at Animateka in Slovenia.
What would you say was the biggest lesson you learned from the experience?
I learned to allow the visual look to come from experimentation. I tend to over plan and structure myself to the point of being far too rigid. This process broke me free of that and allowed me to find the best possible technique and visual language to match my concept.
Director Kris Pearn and the team at Netflix and Canada’s Bron Studios got some great news just in time for the Memorial Weekend holiday. According to the streamer, the charming family animated feature The Willoughbys was watched by over 237.6 million viewers in its first month of release. Based on Lois Lowry’s children’s book, this colorful, yet offbeat movie follows a family of children who come up with a plan to get rid of their neglectful parents.
Netflix says almost 38 million individual accounts logged in to watch at least two minutes of the movie. This number doesn’t include the number of Netflix accounts and profiles in a single household, and doesn’t account for repeat viewing.
The movie, which was released on April 20 features the voices of Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Jane Krakowski, Martin Short, Terry Crews and Ricky Gervais. Pearn’s pic received a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which puts it up there with Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep: Armageddon, another Netflix debut, which received 96% on the website.
Here is how the other animated movies of 2020 have fared with critics so far:
Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon 96%
Pixar’s Onward: 88%,
DreamWorks’ Trolls World Tour: 70%,
Warner Bros’ Scoob!: 53%
Netflix’s first original animated feature was Sergio Pablos’ Oscar-nominated holiday release Klaus which was watched by 40 million Netflix accounts in its first 28 days.
You can read our interview with director Kris Pearn here.
While the Studio Ghibli library movies have been available on Netflix outside the U.S. since February, the film collection will officially debut on the new streaming service HBO Max on Wed., May 27, Stateside.
The beloved Studio Ghibli catalog includes 21 classic titles:
Castle in the Sky The Cat Returns From Up On Poppy Hill Howl’s Moving Castle Kiki’s Delivery Service My Neighbor Totoro My Neighbors the Yamadas Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Ocean Waves Only Yesterday Pom Poko Ponyo Porco Rosso Princess Mononoke The Secret World of Arrietty Spirited Away The Tale of The Princess Kaguya Tales From Earthsea When Marnie Was There Whisper of the Heart The Wind Rises
Founded on June 15, 1984 by visionary directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli’s classic 2D-aniamted features have captured the imagination of animation lovers during the past three decades. Studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki received an Honorary Academy Award in 2015. The Academy Museum of Motion Picture plans to pay a tribute to his artwork with a special exhibit later this year when the Museum opens its doors in Los Angeles.
In related news, Toshio Suzuki offered his take on the current animation slate at Ghibli and its new stance towards streaming its movies in a new interview in Entertainment Weekly.
Suzuki told the publication, “I’ve been working in films for a long time. I always believed that films should be seen in movie theaters. We were very hesitant about expanding that even further [beyond] physical packages. What changed my mind was seeing Woody Allen make a film [Café Society, 2016] specifically for a streaming platform.”
Commenting on Miyazaki’s upcoming movie How Do You Live?, Suzuki noted, “Hayao Miyazaki is currently making a movie, but that takes a lot of time. And, of course, money. I actually said that’s not a great idea because he’s achieved so much already. You can’t come back and do something that you’ve already done in the past, you have to do something different…One of the ideas that came out from that was, why not spend more time and spend more money [to make a film]? So, that’s one of the new approaches.”
How Do You Live? (Kimi-tachi wa Dou Ikuru ka) is inspired by the early 20th century book by Genzaburo Yoshino about a young boy experiencing a spiritual journey when he goes to live with his uncle after the death of his father. “[For] the current film that Hayao Miyazaki is working on, we have 60 animators,” Suzuki said, “but we are only able to come up with one minute of animation in a month. That means 12 months a year, you get 12 minutes worth of movie. Actually, we’ve been working on this film for three years, so that means we have 36 minutes completed so far. We’re hoping it will finish in the next three years.”
The producer said he’s very pleased with the Ghibli library debuting on HBO Max as he has always been a fan of Warner Bros. properties. “Whenever I watch a Clint Eastwood film it says ‘Warner Bros…So, I’ve always wanted to work with Warner Bros. for a long time. The person in charge at GKIDS [CEO Eric Beckman] was very excited about this offer from HBO Max, especially them being the last to approach us. They sounded very enthusiastic and we felt that these guys would really appreciate our films and do great work with it.”
Suzukii also noted, “What’s unique about Ghibli films is they have this atmosphere of reminiscence. When you try to capture that with computer-generated animation, it’s going to look new and loses that sense of warmth, reminiscent atmosphere the film should have. I think with hand-drawn animation, it captures that. The animation technique actually connects with what’s captured in the story.”
Suzuki believes that the future of his studio is really dependent of How Do You Live? performs. “We’re looking at how people all around the world respond to this new work that he’s working on at the moment, and then the further future would all depend on that. However, at this point, my way of thinking is that I want to make films for theaters.”
You can currently watch the four-part NHK documentary Ten Years with Hayao Miyazaki streaming for free here:
U.K.-based. Indie house Kelebek Media is developing a new animated series based on Harriet Muncaster’s popular Isadora Moon series, published by Oxford Univ. Press. The 52 x 11 2D-animated show will center on the adventures of the a girl whose mother is a fairy and father is a vampire—and she is a little bit of both! The series will feature fairies, vampires, witches and wizards, all of whom are part of Isadora’s extended family of magical beings, and will promote self-acceptance, diversity and not being afraid to be different from others.
“I fell for Isadora Moon the minute I saw her,” says Kelebek Media founder Deborah Thorpe. “The books are beautifully and distinctively illustrated and the stories are full of charm, heart and humour. I am thrilled that Harriet has entrusted us with making these gorgeous books, so loved by their audience, into an animated series. Isadora’s unique and magical cultural heritage makes her universally relatable so anyone anywhere in the world can see themselves reflected in her. I think that’s part of her significant global appeal with our target audience.”
Author and illustrator Harriet Muncaster adds: “I’m so excited that Isadora is being brought to life in animated form! I absolutely love everything that the wonderfully talented team at Kelebek have done so far and I know they will make Isadora sparkle on the screen.”
Isadora Moon books have sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide in 30 different languages, and the character has a huge global following among children aged 5-9. This year in the UK, 300 bookshops and libraries took part in an “Isadora Moon Day” in February. The 13th book in the series will be published in October 2020.
If you need some moments of serenity and peaceful meditation—accompanied by some of your favorite Disney characters, you will need to check out the new short-form series Zenimation, which debuts on Disney+ today.
Billed as “animated soundscape experience,” the series showcases classic Disney movie scenes (such as baby Moana being called by the ocean, Anna and Kristoff walking through an icy forest, or Baymax and Hiro Hamada flying over San Fransokyo) accompanied by the sounds of ocean waves, an icy forest and soaring flight. Zenimation is creatd and edited by David Bess and exec produced by Amy Astley.
To whet your zen appetites, check out the trailer:
