Paris-based publisher and co-producer ARTE, along with French co-producer Atlas V, writers and directors Fernando Maldonado and Jorge Tereso (3DAR) and co-writer Santiago Amigorena, announce the upcoming launch of their three-part VR series, Gloomy Eyes. The award-winning project is coming to Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, on February 14 for $14.99.
The animated story, narrated by Tahar Rahim (French version), Colin Farrell (English version), Max Riemelt (German version) or Jorge Drexler (Spanish version), depicts the poetic love story between a zombie boy and a human girl in a sunless town.
When the sun grew tired of humanity, it hid, never to rise again. This darkness awoke the dead from their graves. In the midst of chaos, a zombie kid named Gloomy and a mortal girl, Nena, fall in love and form a deep connection that not even the most powerful man in town can destroy. Together, the star-crossed lovers from different planes of existence may hold the key to bring light to the endless night.
Having won several awards from prestigious interactive and film festivals including Sundance 2019, SXSW 2019, Annecy 2019 and NewImages 2019, Gloomy Eyes is now ready to meet its public on Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Written and directed by Argentinians Fernando Maldonado and Jorge Tereso, co-written by Santiago Amigorena (Ghetto intérieur, The Good Old Daze and Back to Burgundy), co-produced by ARTE France, Atlas V, 3DAR, Ryot, HTC Vive Originals, Viveport, with the support of CNC, Unity, Sacem, Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, Procirep, this poetic and magical 360-degree experience inspired by Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas will immerse you in the very center of the action.
Gloomy Eyes is currently available for Viveport Infinity subscribers and will be released in its 6 DOF version on Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift on February 14. A 360 version of the full experience will also be available on ARTE Cinema’s official YouTube channel without charge.
***This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 298)***
Big names, big budgets, big ideas: the last decade ushered in a new golden age of television, thanks in no small part to the ascendency of streaming platforms. With audiences now accustomed to choosing from a dizzying array of titles at any given moment, both studios and on-demand services have had to adapt quickly to fight for those all-important eyeballs, most noticeably by investing heavily in new content. It’s a strategy that has been welcomed by storytellers and viewers alike, but it remains to be seen whether it represents a sustainable business model. More poignantly, what does the increasing dominance of streaming platforms over both traditional networks and theatrical exhibitors bode for the future of animation?
“Streaming is a more wide-open landscape than linear,” says Billy Wee, SVP of Original Animation at HBO Max. “But the challenge is fundamentally the same: to work with inventive, inspired creators and help them realize the very best version of their creative vision.” Among the titles HBO Max has lined up for the platform’s May launch are Adventure Time: Distant Lands (four one-hour specials based on the beloved Cartoon Network series, which ended in 2018), a new series of Looney Tunes shorts spearheaded by Peter Browngardt, a reboot of Aaron McGruder’s comic strip The Boondocks, and Jellystone, a new Warner Bros Animation show featuring popular characters from the Hanna-Barbera library.
Billy Wee, Senior VP of Animation, HBO Plus Adventure Time: Distant Lands
With so much content now at our fingertips, the nature of animation is also adapting, moving away from trend-based concepts to more experimental offerings, particularly now creators are no longer shackled by the stringent time-keeping of traditional television and theater (a newfound freedom that will no doubt further be cemented with the upcoming launch of DreamWorks Animation co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg’s mobile short-form platform Quibi).
“As there are more and more opportunities for animators, we are going to see a variety in animated content like never before,” says Mike Moon, Director of Original Series at Netflix. “We want to create great, supportive environments for our creators to come and do their best work — when that happens, the sky’s the limit on what is possible for the art form.”
A Wide Spectrum
“I love the range of creative swings that we saw in 2018 and 2019, and the sheer ambition that has come to define the global animation business,” Wee concurs. “It’s hugely inspiring and I expect to see that continue in 2020 and beyond.”
While, unsurprisingly, Disney+ relied on its billion-dollar brands such as Star Wars, Marvel and Frozen to market the November launch of its streaming service – a goldmine of content that quickly reduced any possible disadvantage the company may have encountered in their relatively late entry to the streaming game – Senior Vice President of Content, Agnes Chu, says the platform is equally keen to embrace the new freedoms that streaming can offer. “We have an unparalleled library of iconic animated feature films and series currently streaming on Disney+, and new animated originals provide the opportunity to complement that offer by breaking out of typical formats, durations, genres and target demos,” Chu explains. Exclusive titles on the platform include Forky Asks a Question (featuring Toy Story 4’s popular character), What If…? from Marvel Studios (which re-imagines pivotal moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe), a new season of Star Wars Clone Wars and fresh Pixar shorts. Also in the works are Monsters at Work, Earth to Ned, a Chip ‘n’ Dale series and Muppets Now.
“Disney has long approached animation as a powerful storytelling medium rather than a genre,” adds Chu. “Nevertheless, we are not resting on our laurels, and it’s exciting to explore this new era of animation with our partners and consider audiences and approaches that expand and broaden the scope of the medium to reach new heights.”
Agnes Chu, Senior VP of Content, Disney + Toy Story 4
With Disney+ now the sole recipient of its parent company’s long and prolific legacy in American animation, it’s unsurprising other streaming platforms are re-focusing on international output. Last October, HBO Max stole a march on competitors by announcing they had secured the rights to the entire Studio Ghibli catalog – quite a coup considering it has never before been available digitally – while Netflix has the advantage of being largely unfettered by geo-licensing restrictions, which informs its slate. “Every story we produce we release simultaneously in every language and country we’re in,” explains Melissa Cobb, Vice President of Original Animation at Netflix. “We are growing outside the U.S. at a rapid pace, and it’s a really exciting time for us because animation is a form of visual storytelling that travels so well.”
Global Appetite for Quality
Among the animated features Netflix has snapped up from overseas are French fantasy I Lost My Body and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon from Britain’s Aardman Animations. It has even made incursions into Disney’s traditional territory with last November’s Christmas movie Klaus, a hand-drawn animation produced by Despicable Me creator Sergio Pablos almost entirely in his Spain-based studio. Cobb name checks Klaus and Indian preschool animation Mighty Little Bheem as two animated titles that “travel[ed] the world particularly well on Netflix.” “It’s fascinating to see the universal themes and ideas that resonate regardless of language or country of origin,” says Cobb. “I think we will see more of this due to the global nature of streaming platforms.”
Melissa Cobb, VP of Original Animation, NetflixMidnight Gospel
Another area Disney+’s competitors are shrewdly focusing on is adult-oriented animation. Last year, HBO Max emerged victorious in an intense bidding war for the exclusive streaming rights to South Park, while Netflix, following the runaway success of cult cartoon BoJack Horseman, are investing heavily in their adult animation slate, tapping Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward for a new series called The Midnight Gospel (which will be “beautifully surreal” promises Mike Moon) as well as The LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller for basketball-themed show Hoops. Also on tap are two highly anticipated features: an adaptation of Lois Lowry’s The Willoughbys, directed by Kris Pearn (slated for this spring) and Over the Moon, the feature directing debut of veteran Disney animator Glen Keane (Tangled, Beauty and the Beast), scheduled for the fourth quarter.
Returning shows for 2020 on Netflix include Paradise PD, F Is for Family, Big Mouth and, of course, the second part of Bojack’s final season. “What’s really exciting is that we’re seeing stories told in the adult animation space that have never been told before, with more variety and tones than what has preceded,” says Moon. The sheer breadth of output has proved a challenge, however, “as every production is bespoke and is produced in a unique fashion,” Moon explains.
Mike Moon, Director of Original Series, NetflixThe Willoughbys
Equally challenging is keeping up with audiences, who are more spoilt for choice than ever before — not only from their television sets but also their laptops, phones, virtual assistants and video game consoles. “What’s clear to us is that today’s families (the streaming generation) have an evolving set of needs and wishes,” Cobb acknowledges. That includes an increasing focus on diversity and representation. “We’re creating a slate of programming to honor the fact that there is no one type of family,” she explains. “So it’s important that we have a wide range of different kinds of animated characters and stories for kids around the world. We want kids to see themselves on Netflix regardless of their background or ethnicity.” At HBO Max, Billy Wee believes animation fans are looking for something fresh. “I think now more than ever audiences expect to be surprised, and to see blends of genres, styles and ideas that they haven’t seen before,” he says.
Meanwhile over at Apple TV+, fans can enjoy the new adventures of Snoopy in Space (produced with WildBrain), which finds the beloved beagle becoming an astronaut with the help of the team at NASA. The outlet will also feature the new animated movie from Cartoon Saloon, Wolfwalkers (directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart), as well as the new series from Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard titled Central Park. Apple is also offering Helpsters, a new co-pro with the team at Sesame Workshop, which features some colorful Muppets teaching preschoolers about coding.
Snoopy in Space
Amazon Prime, home of acclaimed shows such as Tumble Leaf, Niko and the Sword of Light and Clifford the Big Red Dog, is reportedly moving away from children’s animation, although it has picked up a second season of its cutting-edge, highly acclaimed adult animated show Undone.
Then, there’s Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s shiny new startup, which will offer both animated and live-action short-form content. The new outlet recently announced that it has greenlit four animated shows: Gloop World, a new stop-motion show from Justin Roiland (Rick and Morty), Trill League (based on Anthony Piper’s superhero comic), Your Daily Horoscope and The Andy Cohen Diaries.
Creative Freedom and Diversity
All the executives who spoke to Animation Magazine were optimistic about what the current streaming landscape means for creators of animation, however. “I think the audience for animation has grown and changed over the last several years and that has led to an incredible variety in storytelling and new creators exploring the medium,” says Moon. “For us, since we aren’t beholden to advertisers or time slots, we’re able to really focus on the different creators visions and lean into how these shows are radically different from one another.”
“It’s really exciting for us to be able to work with creators who are exploring and pushing the boundaries of all different forms of animation,” adds Cobb. “When I first got here about two years ago, the question we asked was, ‘What If we took our Netflix values of supporting creators and not micro-managing them, and brought that mindset and practice into animation – to wholly support the artists who haven’t historically received that kind of creative support?’ It’s been so rewarding so far.”
Although the executives who participated in this story declined to give details of their budgets or the kind of deals creators can expect to be offered – for example, whether they offer producers licensing rights (both HBO Max’s Wee and Netflix’s Cobb say “there is no ‘one size fits all’” approach to their deals) – they do have plenty of advice for those hoping to pitch animated content. “Be yourself!” Wee urges animators. “It’s simple and corny maybe, but pitching is stressful and sometimes overcomplicated. What we want more than anything is to understand the vision and ambition of the creator and what compelled them to tell this story in this way.”
Equally, Netflix’s Mike Moon says creators should “bring honesty and passion to every story that you want to tell.” Cobb concurs: “Bring us your passion!” she advises. “We work with creators whose voices, styles and points of view are unique and driven by passion, because the passion comes through on screen. When we’re doing our jobs well we can help our members find and fall in love with all kinds of new stories from around the world, which can open their hearts and minds and make us all feel more connected.”
K.J. Yossman is a British writer based in London and Los Angeles, who covers animation, entertainment and pop culture.
Academy’s Oscar Week Events Revealed
Celebrate the nominated films and filmmakers of the Animated Short Film (and Live Action)race at the Shorts screening and Q&A, hosted by director Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Tale) on February 5 at 7 p.m. Or, enjoy clips and onstage filmmaker discussions at the Animated Features meet up on Feb. 8 at 10 a.m., hosted by producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). Both events will be held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theaters in LA.
NYICFF Industry Forum: Towards an Inclusive Future
The inaugural edition of New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival’s new gathering of business and creative leaders in kids’ content (Feb. 28-29) will feature a keynote by Julie Ann Crommett, VP of Multicultural Audience Engagement at Disney Studios (and Secretary/Inclusion Committee Co-Chair of WIA), followed by insightful panels with Karen Rupert Toliver (EVP Creative, Sony Pictures Animation), Peilin Chou (CCO, Pearl Studio), Daisuke Tsutsumi (Founder, Tonko House), Gerta Zhelo (Dir. of Production, TED-Ed), Jill Culton (director, Abominable) and Camrus JOhnson (director, Grab My Hand: A Letter to My Dad).
Vine Successor Byte Now Live on iOS and Android
From Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann, the new “creativity first” short-form video app allows users to create six-second looping videos and feature ways to discover creators. Unlike Vine, which was axed by Twitter in 2016, Byte will also be introducing a monetization aspect.
Oasis Games Announces Anime-Authentic New Mobile RPG ‘BLEACH: Immortal Soul’
Officially licensed by TV Tokyo and developed by GREE for launch in spring 2020, the game brings the BLEACH franchise to life through dozens of animated chapters where players can collect and train their favorite characters as they step into a Karakura Town game world. The game reconstructs the world of BLEACH so players can meet familiar faces — and hear familiar voices from the anime — as they re-engage with the rich story of a Substitute Soul Reaper. Players will experience the decisions and consequences of Ichigo as they defend Karakura Town with their Zanpakutō blades, build a team, and strengthen their strategy and skills. Pre-registration open on Google Play and the App Store.
WATCH: Digital Domain ‘Lost in Space’ S2 VFX Breakdown
The talented team working under VFX supervisor Aladino Debert (Black Sails, Outlander, The Mist) helped bring more incredible adventures of the Robinsons to the screen for the Netflix reboot’s second season.
WATCH: ‘The Call of the Wild’ | Adventure Companions Featurette
Go behind-the-scenes of the upcoming Twentieth Century Studios family movie with this making-of featurette, featuring human star Harrison Ford. The film, which opens in theaters nationwide on February 21, also stars Omar Sy, Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan and Bradley Whitford. Directed by Chris Sanders from a screenplay by Michael Green, based on the novel by Jack London.
Award-winning inclusive family entertainment studio Bureau of Magic Studios (BoM) has signed a deal with Banijay Group’s global indie kids’ entertainment powerhouse Zodiak Kids for its new animated action-adventure comedy series, Save the Legends! The two companies will co-produce, with Zodiak Kids handling international broadcast sales.
Zodiak Kids also handles international sales for the Emmy Award-winning Bureau of Magic-created series, Lost in Oz.
Save the Legends! is a 26 x 22’ episodic action-adventure comedy for kids ages 6-9 and their families, about an amateur search and rescue team of young, totally-in-over-their-heads mythical creatures. Set in a secret and mysterious world of reimagined folklore, the supernatural kid crew consists of four Bairies (short for “Big and Hairy”) and their first official human friend, a young gadget whizz from South America named Alandra. Together, they risk it all to save the day, one legendary mission at a time. The first three episodes of season one will also form an epic, origin story movie event.
True to BoM’s style, the series features cinematic storytelling, tons of humor, lots of heart, and a ubiquitous entry point to a world of totally unexpected imagination.
“We grew up watching stories about unsuspecting young kids thrust into epicadventures. The stakes were always high. The camaraderie was always enviable. And the comedy was so quotable, we’re still referencing it today. That’s what we’re looking to capture with this series,” said Abram Makowka, Executive Producer & Co-Founder, BoM.
Mark Warshaw, also Executive Producer & Co-Founder of BoM, added: “Save the Legends! is an inclusive series designed to incorporate myths from any culture in the world and sets them inside a storytelling universe celebrating the magic of teamwork and the wonder of nature — wrapped up in show that’s big on heart and even bigger on humor.”
“Zodiak Kids is a huge fan of Bureau of Magic’s creative work,” said Zodiak Kids CEO, Benoit Di Sabatino, and SVP Sales, Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Delphine Dumont. “Like Lost in Oz, Save the Legends! is a high-quality comedy series with moving characters exploring an incredible universe. We are looking forward to working with the Bureau team to take the series out to the international market.”
Bureau of Magic is the team behind the Emmy Award-winning Lost in Oz, which aired on Amazon Prime worldwide. The Prime Original special Lost in Oz: Extended Adventure scooped up three Daytime Emmy Awards in 2017 for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program, Outstanding Sound Mixing – Animation and Outstanding Sound Editing – Animation. It was also nominated for the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Animated Series and a 2017 Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production for Children.
An all-new epic animated tale with a fun choose your own adventure twist is coming to Netflix next month, with DreamWorks Animation special Captain Underpants: Epic Choice-O-Rama set to premiere exclusively on the streamer February 11.
Synopsis:
When Principal Krupp has had it with George and Harold’s comics, he threatens to destroy their treehouse once and for all. George and Harold will need to hatch a plan to buy the land before Krupp does, and they’ll need your help to do it in this all new interactive Choice-O-Rama special! With no shortage of imagination and mischief at hand, you’ll be along for every wild twist and turn in George and Harold’s plot to stop Krupp from tearing down their treehouse. Choose fast and choose wisely, as the fate of creativity and comics is literally in your hands!
Based on the epic novels by Dav Pilkey (over 80 million copies in print).
The U.K.’s award-winning visual effects industry could be hard hit by the proposed new post-Brexit immigration system. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its report on minimum visa salary thresholds and a points-based visa system on Tuesday. While some MAC recommendations will help to mitigate the impact of imposing visas on E.U. skilled workers, UK Screen Alliance points out that employers will still have to pay many millions extra in visa costs and increased salaries if they want to attract the best talents from the E.U. and elsewhere.
The film awards season is reaching its climax with the BAFTAs this weekend and the Oscars on the following Sunday. U.K.-based companies will be well represented in the nominations for Best Visual Effects in both ceremonies. Four out of five of the nominated films feature work by U.K.-based VFX companies and two — The Lion King and Avengers: Endgame — have significant involvement. This continues the U.K.’s excellent track record with previous Oscar nominations and wins for VFX on First Man, The Jungle Book, Gravity, Interstellar, Ex Machina and The Golden Compass.
The BFI estimates that VFX generates over £1 billion ($1.3 billion USD) of value for the U.K. economy with a large proportion coming from inward investment from Hollywood studios. However, one in three VFX artists in the U.K. are E.U. citizens and a further 13% are from non-EEA countries. The UK Screen Alliance, the trade body for VFX companies, estimates that there are around 500 new hires from the E.U. each year. Many key VFX roles have been on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) for several years and in October 2019, the SOL was expanded to include virtually all VFX roles.
Visual effects artists are highly skilled. Over 82% have degrees and 29% have post graduate qualifications. As is common in the creative industries, the starting wage for well-qualified emerging talent is below what one could expect in another sector, such as financial services.
The current £30,000 minimum salary threshold for Tier 2 visas therefore almost totally inhibits recruitment of junior VFX workers and animators from non-EEA countries. MAC has confirmed its recommendation that once free movement ends, minimum salary restrictions would also apply to E.U. skilled workers, but it has also proposed a reduction in the threshold to £25,600. This will reduce the potential impact, but the imposition of visa costs and restrictions on E.U. skilled workers are still unwelcome, where hitherto the free movement of people has meant there have been no costs or barriers.
“For VFX, this will reduce profitability and talent availability in a highly competitive global market,” commented Neil Hatton, CEO of UK Screen Alliance. “We estimate that the financial impact of visa applications and salary increases to meet the threshold for European VFX workers will be around £8 million per year across our sector.”
Hatton pegged the Conservative manifesto proposal to increase the Immigration Health Surcharge from £400 to £625 per person per year as “unjust”, citing the fact that “VFX workers pay tax and national insurance contribution just like U.K. workers, so why should they have to pay for the NHS twice.” UK Screen Alliance is also calling for the Immigration Skills Charge to be scrapped as it adds significant cost to the visa application without any evidence of government using the money raised to target skills gaps.
The recommendations of the MAC report will be considered by the government, which may have different ideas, particularly in relation to the Point-Based System on which MAC are decidedly lukewarm but which was a manifesto commitment by the Conservatives. UK Screen Alliance will continue to make representations on behalf of its members and calls on the government to engage in extensive and meaningful consultation with employers before publishing a new Immigration Bill.
The U.K.’s VFX industry is committed to increasing the supply of home-grown talent and has a range of programs to provide opportunities for emerging U.K. talent. Many of these programs pre-date the Brexit referendum, such as the Next Gen Skills Academy network of Further Education colleges now delivering around 250 people a year trained in animation, games and VFX, who can move on to university or VFX apprenticeships. Industry inclusion initiative Access:VFX offers careers advice to give opportunity to minority groups to start on a pathway to jobs in the VFX and animation sectors.
Iranian-British animator Maryam Mohajer’s Grandad was a Romantic is one of the three shorts up for a BAFTA Award in the animated short category. In the beautifully crafted project, a young girl tells the story of her Iranian grandparents’ love and marriage. We recently caught up with the talented London-based director (a Royal College of Art graduate), to find out more about her interesting new project, which has been receiving a lot of attention on the global festival circuit recently:
Animag: Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration for your short? Maryam: I was thinking about the old love stories between our grandparents or great grandparents in Iran. I was fascinated by how passionate and expressive they were. Falling in love at first sight. It’s also based on a few people that I knew or knew of.
When did you start working on it and how long did it take to finish?
I started in October 2018 and finished it in February of last year. It was about four to five months of 15-hour days, no weekends or holidays at my studio (attic room).
What was your budget?
Very, very low! It was a self-funded film.
How many people worked on it?
I did the writing, direction, animation, editing and production. Tanera Dawkins is the music composer. Sue Harding is the foley artist. Fonic [co-founder] Barnaby Templer did the sound mix and sound design.
What animation tools did you use to create it?
It’s a mix of hand drawn, collage, then graphic tablet and TVPaint.
What do you love about working in the short animation format?
I really like the structure of a short film or a short story. I love the concept of timing within a short film.
When did you know you wanted to work in animation?
I think since I was a young girl! Maybe without knowing it; I remember myself as a kid staring at people walking, talking, eating (not very polite, as I was reminded many times); I have always been fascinated by people’s movements and gestures. Animals, too. I’ve always been passionate about storytelling as well.
What are your plans for the future?
My new script for another short animation is finished and I’ll be making my new film.
What do you hope audiences will take away from Grandad Was a Romantic?
I hope they have a good laugh. I hope they see the characters simply as human beings very similar to themselves.
Can you talk about the importance of animation and art in bridging cultures and avoiding the horrible chasms created by governments, politics and religions around the world?
It’s a form of storytelling; when someone tells us a story, we tend to listen more and it’s more interesting. Also in my films, I’d like to show different people from different backgrounds simply as human beings; they fall in love just like everyone else, they may do crazy things for love just like everyone else, and at the end of the day they enjoy laughing at a good joke just like everyone else. At a time when there’s so much talk about “building walls” and “sending people back where they came from,” I think it’s helpful (and necessary) to see how similar we all are no matter where we come from.
Entertainment One (eOne) is suiting up for a fifth series of its global preschool superhero show, PJ Masks, announcing that a fresh batch of 52 x 11′ episodes is slated for delivery in 2021.
Produced by eOne and Frog Box, in collaboration with Disney Junior and France 5, season five will see the show’s brave heroes, Catboy, Owlette and Gekko, explore new locations and take on new villains in fresh adventures that will launch with making the familiar, unfamiliar!
“2020 marks five years since PJ Masks first swooped onto TV screens and we’re absolutely thrilled to be announcing that a fifth series is in production,” said Olivier Dumont, eOne’s President, Family & Brands. “PJ Masks has won a place in the hearts of families all over the world and has created many happy childhood memories for kids who have grown up with the characters. We look forward to bringing brand new adventures to the show’s fanbase and introducing the series to the next generation of preschoolers.”
PJ Masks got off to a flying start when it first debuted on Disney Junior U.S. in 2015. It is now one of the top-rated broadcasts for preschoolers, airing regularly on multiple FTA and VOD platforms around the world. Annual global retail sales now reach over $1.1 billion, with consumer products programs firmly established in 85 markets worldwide and a growing presence in Asia.
As season five soars into production, season four of PJ Masks is poised to launch on Disney Junior globally beginning spring 2020, and in autumn on Okoo, France Télévisions’ kids platform. S4 will kick off with an epic 44-minute special episode giving fans a never before seen exciting introduction to new adventures.
Indie international hitmaker studio ZAG and Playmates Toys, a successful innovator in character licensing for over 50 years, have announced a long-term global team-up to develop, manufacture and distribute innovative toy lines for ZAG’s portfolio of brands, including the company’s animated hit Miraculous™: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.
‘What we love most about Playmates Toys, aside from their fantastic team, is their ability to not only capture the magic of our characters but also bring them to life. Their ability to tackle any and all production challenges inspires us to further push the envelope and continue to innovate. We couldn’t ask for a better partner,” said Jeremy Zag, Chief Executive Officer, ZAG.
“We’re thrilled to enter into an enduring partnership with such a high caliber entertainment studio,” said Karl Aaronian, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Playmates Toys. “We continuously strive to create unique product lines for kids that are entertaining, innovative and high-quality, and ZAG is the perfect partner as we look to the future, sharing the same values as us. This is truly a new way of doing things. Working hand in hand with Jeremy and his team from the IP inception right through to having toys on shelves allows for a truly unique creative approach that will lead to incredibly innovative entertainment content and toy product.”
ZAG is led by founder and CEO, Jeremy Zag, one of the hottest young talents in the entertainment industry. After founding the company in France in 2009, he has since expanded the company and operations to the United States. With a stunning new corporate headquarters in Santa Monica, California that has recently expanded to include the Global Brand Franchise office, ZAG has become a beacon of creative collaboration. ZAG prides itself on delivering the most beautiful computer animated shows ever produced, delivering theatrical quality on all platforms. The company’s first entertainment property, Miraculous™: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, has become an international phenomenon, with new and upcoming titles Power Players and Ghost Force already creating significant buzz.
Miraculous™: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, which airs in over 120 countries worldwide, continues on a rapid growth path, with new seasons in production, movies, a major worldwide theatrical release and more.
New title Power Players, currently airing on Cartoon Network, is an all-new action-comedy animation series with real stakes, large laughs and over-the-top action. One of the most realistically animated, episodic shows ever produced, this heroic fantasy follows a young boy Axel as he transforms into a living action figure with a wild new perspective on the world.
Ghost Force, an upcoming CGI-animated series, follows a group of junior high school friends who form a secret superhero team dedicated to protecting New York City from spectral villains, large and small.
Miraculous™: Tales of Ladybug & Cat NoirPower Players
The Animation Show Of Shows, a curated selection of some of the most recent and vital animated short films created by students and professionals from around the world, returns to the Bay Area for its 21st installment with multiple screenings in February. Curator Ron Diamond will be in attendance, hosting Q&As and introducing the following events:
February 8, 6:30 PM – Lark Theater, Larkspur
February 9, Noon – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema-San Francisco
February 10, 6:30 PM – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema-San Francisco
February 14, Time TBD – New Parkway Theater, Oakland
Featuring 10 films from seven countries, the 2020 edition of the program offers an array of thought-provoking and moving works that reflect the filmmakers’ unique perspectives and their relationship to the world.
“Animation is a versatile medium that allows artists to explore ideas that you won’t see anywhere else,” said Diamond. “From political and philosophical concerns, to the complexities of individual identity and personal relationships, animated shorts are uniquely able to capture the many facets of human experience.”
Personal relationships are also at the heart of several films in this year’s program.
The total Animation Show Of Shows running time is 84 minutes; the 2020 film selection includes:
Kids – Michael Frei, Mario von Rickenbach; Switzerland
Rubicon – Gil Alkabetz, Germany
Portrait of Gil Alkabetz (Rubicon) – Marta Trela, Germany
Five Minutes to Sea – Natalia Mirzoyan, Russia
Récit de soi (Self-Narrative) – Géraldine Charpentier, Belgium
Le jour extraordinaire (Flowing through Wonder) – Joanna Lurie, France
Hounds – Amit Cohen, Ido Shapira; Israel
Portrait of Amit Cohen and Ido Shapira (Hounds) – Shlomi Yosef
The Fox and the Bird (Le renard et l’oisille) – Sam & Fred Guillaume, Switzerland
Daughter (ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE) – Daria Kashcheeva, Czech Republic
Digitoonz Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., a world class animation company based in Noida (Delhi NCR), has opened the doors of a second full-fledged production studio in Salt Lake, near Kolkata, India.
Established in 2009, Digitoonz is one of the most well-regarded animation companies in India. A full-service animation production outfit, specializing in producing 2D and 3D animation for TV and feature film projects, Digitoonz has worked on several series and movies for various audiences and genres, including children, adults, pure entertainment and education content.
Considered a major creative and cultural hub in India, Kolkata was primed for the establishment of a reputed animation studio. Likewise, Digitoonz can tap into the high demand for creative animation from major international players, creating an ideal blend of business acumen and a pool of local creative talents in the new studio.
Digitoonz Kolkata is headed by Mantosh Kumar, a well-known creative player with years of experience in television, feature film and web series production. Kumar served as Head of Production in the Delhi studio, and will report to CEO Vikas Kumar in his new role with expanded responsibilities. He leads a team of about 100 mostly local artists and animators.
Recently, Digitoonz Kolkata has started working on Hollywood based 3D feature film projects under the supervision of prominent Hollywood producers and supervisors. At present, 11 productions (TV/web series and feature films) are underway — four in Kolkata and seven in Delhi. The Kolkata studio is providing end to end solutions, from pre-production to post-production. The studio uses a Toon Boom Harmony 2D pipeline and Maya 3D pipeline.
The Kolkata studio started its business officially last year and has slowly built its teams with the best in the industry. Vikas Kumar notes that Digitoonz anticipates more than 200% growth in the Kolkata team by the end of 2020
Having recently set the voice cast for M.O.D.O.K., Marvel Television has confirmed that two of its planned four adult-targeted animated series for Hulu have hit a wall. Tigra & Dazzler, which suffered a mass exodus of writers with showrunner Erica Rivinoja in December, and Howard the Duck are no longer in the works. M.O.D.O.K. and Hit Monkey are still moving forward, though the halving of the slate means that the planned The Offenders crossover event is scrapped.
Howard the Duck had Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats) and Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Squidbillies) attached to write and executive produce.
Variety confirmed the decision, which came after it was announced that Jeph Loeb’s Marvel Television division was shutting down. A planned live-action Ghost Rider series for Hulu was axed in September and The Runaways ended with its third season in December, while Marvel-Hulu’s Helstrom is still in the works. The last remaining Marvel Television show is ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which will wrap with its seventh season this spring.
Marvel Cinematic Universe mastermind Kevin Feige is now Chief Creative Officer of Marvel. The Disney-owned studio has a number of major Marvel series slated for its Disney+ platform, including Falcon & Winter Soldier, WandaVision and Loki.
Swiftly following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, which was completed in March 2019, the Mouse House made a successful push to take full control of Hulu. This was accomplished in May 2019 when the studio behemoth reached an agreement with Comcast to buy NBCUniversal’s third of the streamer.
Yeti Farm Creative is partnering with Chopped Canada’s award-winning Chef Pierre A. Lamielle on its second independently produced, digital-first preschool series, Munchy, Munchy. Based on Chef Lamielle’s The Munchy Munchy Cookbook for Kids” and Alice Eats: A Wonderland Cookbook and Kitchen Scraps: A Humorous Illustrated Cookbook, which won best illustrated cookbook in the world at the Gourmand cookbook awards, the 12 x1-minute series explores the cool, fun and quirky attributes of food.
Yeti will debut the new series at Kidscreen 2020.
“I am very excited to partner with Yeti Farm on these digital shorts to bring to life the amazing cast of characters in the Munchy Munchy bunch and for kids and families to learn all about cooking and eating tasty food,” said series creator Chef Lamielle.
Yeti is actively scaling up its digital first model with more announcements to come.
“Our goal is to constantly be thinking ahead and at the forefront of new and innovative ways to launch and leverage brands with digital audiences. We are so excited to be partnering with Pierre, who is a passionate culinary visionary and artist,” said Yeti CEO, Ashley Ramsay.
Yeti Farm is producing and distributing the series of shorts with Daniel Ingram (My Little Pony) set to cook up original songs.
Munchy, Munchy comes on the heels of the success of Yeti’s first original digital preschool property, Sweet Tweets, with its 32 x 1-minute songs garnering millions of views across YouTube, Roku, and various other OTT and streamer platforms worldwide. The property has also been adapted for digital books and soon will be launched as a second series of short stories and songs for both digital platforms and linear broadcast.
Yeti Farm Creative has built a world-class reputation as one of North America’s premiere 2D, CGI animation and post-production service studios. In 2020, the studio experienced a 300% growth spurt to its services division to accommodate its robust slate of clients and partners. Yeti is also nurturing a growing roster of ambitious animated and live-action original IPs for broadcast and digital platforms. Operating out of its expanded 11,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility in Kelowna, BC, the studio provides script-to-screen production services to leading global studios and iconic brands including Amazon Prime’s Pete The Cat and Sony’s Hotel Transylvania for Disney Channel WW. Other Clients include Corus/Nelvana, DHX and Sega.
As the annual film gold rush rolls on toward the Academy Awards, we thought it would be interesting to see which of the major movie honors — the Golden Globes, Producers Guild Awards and Annie Awards — have had the strongest correlation with Oscar’s animated feature pick over the years.
The Academy and ASIFA-Hollywood synced up for the first five years of the Animated Feature Oscar. However in 2007 — the Academy chose George Miller’s musical comedy Happy Feet (Warner Bros./Animal Logic) while the three other ceremonies crowned Pixar’s Cars. The Oscars and the Annies have disagreed five times so far; twice being the only standout, in 2009 with Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks) over WALL-E (Pixar), and in 2011 with How to Train Your Dragon (DreamWorks) over Toy Story 3 (Pixar). The Annie winner for 2020, revealed Saturday night, is Klaus.
Presenting its first award for animated feature at the 2006 ceremony (to Oscar and Annie-winning Aardman Animations flick Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), the Producers Guild Awards has a slightly higher rate of picking the Oscar winner, with four divergences over the years. In 2012, PGA sided with the Globes on Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin (Paramount) over Gore Verbinski’s Rango (ILM/Nickelodeon/Paramount); agreed with the Annies’ on Wreck-It Ralph (Disney) over Brave (Pixar) in 2013; and stood on its own in favor of The LEGO Movie (WB/Animal Logic) in 2015, when Big Hero 6 won the Oscar and How to Train Your Dragon 2 scored the Golden Globe and Annie Award. PGA’s 2020 pick is Toy Story 4 (Pixar/Disney).
Joining the animated feature fray most recently, the Golden Globes started out with the Oscar-opposing Cars sweep in 2007, but has since been the most closely correlated award on our chart with just two additional differences so far: Tintin in 2012 and How to Train Your Dragon 2 in 2015. This year’s Golden Globe results were an exciting change-up, as stop-motion feature Missing Link scored the first win for LAIKA — the studio had been nominated three times previously, and each of its six features has been nominated for the Oscar.
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature nominees for 2020 are How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (DreamWorks/Universal), I Lost My Body (Xilam/Netflix), Klaus (SPA Studios/Netflix), Missing Link (LAIKA/United Artists) and Toy Story 4 (Pixar/Disney).
The new Netflix comedy series The Healing Powers of Dude, an emotional support dog helps an 11-year-old Noah (played by actor Jace Chapman) with social anxiety disorder deal with the daily challenges of his life. The show, which is created and exec produced by Erica Spates and Sam Littenberg-Weisberg, makes clever use of visual effects to illustrate how Noah sees the world and how his anxieties alter the reality around him.
“When we were creating this world, we thought about our friends, and both kids and adults who deal with disabilities,” says Spates (Victorious). “On the show, our character Amara, who is played by Sophie Kim, uses a wheelchair, and she is very confident, while Noah doesn’t seem to have any disabilities on the surface, but he has tremendous anxiety all the time. We wanted to visualize what was going on in his head, because we didn’t want to show a kid looking nervous all the time. We wanted to come up with creative ways to depict what was happening in his head.”
That’s why the writer-producers incorporate clever visuals such as Noah’s head ballooning to an abnormal size or being surrounded by zombies in a video game throughout the show’s eight-episode first season. “We had a lot of discussions about whether to use CG or practical effects through the show, and one thing we had to consider was that we didn’t have a lot of time, and had to work with child actors,” says Littenberg-Weisberg. “We wanted to make every anxiety fantasy feel different. For example, we wanted a cartoony look for the episode where Noah’s head blows up look a balloon or another one where the floor changes into a quicksand had to feel more realistic, so we used more practical effects and lowered a platform in a hallway to visualize the sequence.”
The Healing Powers of Dude
The show’s VFX was handled by Company of Science and Art (CoSA), which has locations both in North Hollywood and Vancouver, where the series was shot, under the direction of VFX supervisor Michael Adkisson (Vancouver) and Christopher Lance and Serena DeLeon (L.A.). “Our needs for each episode varied, but the CoSA team were fantastic about giving us the best and most economical solution for each episode … One of the most challenging sequences was the quicksand scene, where we had to create ripple effects on a normal floor,” recalls Littenberg-Weisberg. “We did most of the 2D elements in Vancouver and had to create the CG 3D visuals in Los Angeles. Our budget was about $300,000 per episode, but the Vancouver house was really helpful in telling us how to create the shots for the right amount of money.”
The Healing Powers of Dude
Spates says it definitely helps when the team plans out their visual strategy and step-by-step approach to creating the effects in advance. “You definitely need to have a detailed plan going in, even before storyboarding it,” she offers. “Visual effects added so much to our show, and allowed kids to be more excited and involved with the storylines.”
The producers mention that the show has opened up a floodgate of support and positive feedback from both parents and their kids. “This has been such a personal story for Sam, because he dealt with social anxiety himself. Viewers told us that the show has helped them communicate how they were feeling. They said that they don’t feel like they’re the only ones dealing with this issue. Older audiences tell us that they wish the show had been around when they were young. It has also been wonderful to be able to have an actress like Sophie Kim on our show, who is someone who is in a wheelchair. It’s so important to have representation and be able to show a great, supportive friendship between the characters on the show.”
The first season of The Healing Powers of Dude is currently streaming on Netflix.
The Healing Powers of DudeThe Healing Powers of Dude
Leading European animated entertainment company Cyber Group Studios (Gigantosaurus, Sadie Sparks, Taffy) has grown its talented family by hiring on four seasoned executives for its Licensing, Media Sales, Digital and Marketing departments both in Paris and Los Angeles, aiming to increase its presence in international markets and develop new brands. The company has also announced an internal promotion to a newly created brand management role.
“I am extremely pleased to welcome and promote so many talents into our company, at a time when our growth, challenges and opportunities in developing creations and brands are unique,” said Chairman & CEO Pierre Sissmann. “I know that they will contribute to Cyber Group’s culture with their various experiences to enable us collectively to forge new grounds. I wish all of them the best moving forward.”
Bruno Danzel d’Aumont
Bruno Danzel d’Aumont, former Director of Licensing and Consumer Products EMEA at the Walt Disney Company for 17 years, has been appointed as International Licensing & Marketing Vice President. Based in the Paris office, he will manage the licensing and marketing departments. As a licensing and marketing specialist, he joins Cyber Group Studios at a time when these business sectors are at the heart of the company’s current and future interests. The company’s licensing division is developing a strong global program for its hit property Gigantosaurus and many other intellectual properties of its catalogue such as Droners, Taffy and Zou. Danzel d’Aumont will report to Pierre Sissmann, Chairman and CEO of Cyber Group Studios.
Esther Kim
Esther Kim joins the company in a newly created position as Coordinator, Consumer Initiatives for Cyber Group Studios USA LLC. She will report to Richard Goldsmith, President and CEO Cyber Group Studios USA LLC, and work closely with Bruno Danzel d’Aumont in Paris, strengthening Cyber Group Studios’ marketing and licensing operations worldwide. Before joining the company, Kim was a Licensing Coordinator at Pinkfong USA, where she managed multiple licensees for their “Baby Shark” brand and distributed their digital content.
Mickael Frison
Mickael Frison joins the company as Senior Digital Manager in charge of the company’s overall development. In particular, Frison will be leading Cyber Group Studios’ digital operations, running and growing its YouTube channels, in which he helped generate over 1 billion views in 2019. He will also oversee the creation of digital native content to increase Cyber Group Studios’ exposure. Frison joins Cyber Group Studios from Europe 1, the leading French radio-broadcaster, where he was Social Media Manager for the past seven years.
Jessica Laloum
Jessica Laloum is joining the company’s international sales department as International Sales Executive in charge of Asian and Latin American territories. Laloum started her career at Endemol Shine France and National Geographic. For the past three years, she worked as a Sales Manager at Glance (Mediametrie), where she provided content and channels strategy to global media professionals based in the EMEA region. By joining Cyber Group Studios, Laloum brings to the company a wealth of market research and insights into broadcasters. Mickael Frison and Jessica Laloum will both report to Raphaelle Mathieu, Senior Vice-President of Sales Acquisitions and New Media.
Gaelle Cotton
Gaelle Cotton, formerly a creative artist within the Licensing and Marketing Division, has been promoted to the newly created position of Manager Creative Services. She is supervising the company’s brand management of highly acclaimed series such as Gigantosaurus and Atomic Cartoons’ The Last Kids on Earth. She will report to Bruno Danzel D’Aumont, International Licensing & Marketing Vice President.
Netflix has inked a multi-year production commitment overall deal with award-winning animation studio Titmouse to produce multiple original adult animated series. Under the terms of the deal, Netflix will also have a first look at adult animated series developed and created at Titmouse.
This team-up marks an expansion of the relationship between the two companies, which have partnered on several adult animated series, including critically-acclaimed and Emmy-nominated Big Mouth from Brutus Pink, and upcoming series The Midnight Gospel from Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussell.
“When Netflix asked if we wanted to go steady, we were thrilled. When we asked if it could be an open relationship, they said, ‘Yeah, of course. It’s the 21st century, kid. That’s the only way we’ll have it.’ Now we are friends with benefits and I couldn’t be more stoked,” said Chris Prynoski, Titmouse President & Founder. “This new and exciting relationship will help quench our relentless thirst for producing animated cartoons. Excuse me, I’m gonna go carve NF+TM on a tree now.”
“Titmouse has been at the forefront of the evolving animation industry and is the creative force behind an impressive variety of projects, including our very own Big Mouth and The Midnight Gospel,” said Mike Moon, Head of Adult Animation for Netflix. “We’re thrilled to expand our collaboration with Chris, Shannon [Prynoski, Founder], and the entire team at Titmouse as we continue to develop and produce bold original animation together.”
Titmouse (titmouse.net) is an award-winning, independent animation production company which employs 700 talented creatives across its artist-run studios in Los Angeles, New York City and Vancouver. Established in 2000 by Chris and Shannon Prynoski in LA, the envelope-pushing toon shop has delivered adult-targeted favorites such as Venture Bros., Metalocalypse, Superjail!, Black Dynamite and Tigtone.
Sports icon Kobe Bryant, an 18-time NBA All Star who helped the Los Angeles Lakers to five championship wins, died Sunday morning in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. There were no survivors of the tragic accident, which claimed the lives of eight others on board, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna (Gigi); Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa. Bryant was 41 years old.
The crash was reported at 9:47 a.m.; the craft was reportedly flying to Gigi’s basketball game in Thousand Oaks. Bryant coached Gigi, who had aspirations of carrying on his sports legacy, as the proud father told Jimmy Kimmel in a 2018 interview.
Kobe and Gigi Bryant are survived by wife and mother Vanessa, and by daughters and sisters Natalia, Bianca and Capri.
Bryant was born in Philadelphia, the third child of former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Byant. While his 20-year career made him a household name, the sports hero made a surprising entry into animation when he teamed up with director Glen Keane to produce a short based on his impactful retirement poem, Dear Basketball. Written and produced by Bryant, the hand-drawn short captured audiences and earned a number of awards, including the Oscar for Best Animated Short, short subject Annie Award and a Special Jury Award from the World Animation Celebration.
Keane was one of the many to express shock and sorrow over social media as the news broke Sunday: “Our hearts and prayers go out to Vanessa and her family. Kobe and Gianna were the most beautiful picture of a father’s love for his daughter. We were so honored to work with Kobe and even rom time to time be surrounded by his wonderful family while making ‘Dear Basketball,’ the animation veteran posted to Twitter.
Fans have been gathering with flowers and mementos near the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Bryant played for many years. The LAPD cautioned mourners via Twitter that the area around the arena is closed due to the Grammy Awards, blocking access.
“He will live forever in the heart of Los Angeles, and will be remembered through the ages as one of our greatest heroes,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement to ABC. “This is a moment that leaves us struggling to find words that express the magnitude of shock and sorrow we are all feeling right now, and I am keeping Kobe’s entire family in my prayers at this time of unimaginable grief.”
Dear BasketballKobe Bryant, winner of the Best Animated Short Film award for ‘Dear Basketball,’ poses in the press room during the 90th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
The creative stars, aspiring talents and industry gurus of animation gathered at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday evening for the 47th Annie Awards. Presented by ASIFA-Hollywood, the annual black-tie affair celebrated the greatest animated achievements in feature film, episodic, short film, commercial, VR, games and VFX, with 32 awards categories.
The 2020 ceremony was a knock-out for Netflix — the streamer was well rewarded for its aggressive investment in animated originals across all target audiences and genres, with its titles taking home 19 awards. A good chunk of these went to the Awards’ biggest winner: Sergio Pablos’ much-lauded traditionally animated holiday feature, Klaus, which won seven awards including Best Animated Feature and Directing in an Animated Feature. Another highly praised European 2D picture on the platform, I Lost My Body directed by Jeremy Clapin, won the Best Animated Feature – Independent, Music in an Animated Feature and Writing in an Animated Feature.
Netflix also triumphed in the TV categories: Adult anthology series Love, Death & Robots took home four awards, Carmen Sandiego took two, BoJack Horseman won the General Audience category, and Ask the Storybots won Preschool.
Disney’s Mickey Mouse was crowned in the Children’s TV category — the popular cartoons starring the studio icon also scored a TV Directing win for Alonso Ramirez Ramos. Additional key category winners were Regina Pessoa’s Uncle Thomas (Best Animated Short Subject), DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (Best Animated Special), Baobab Studios’ Bonfire (Best VR) and Michelle Chua’s The Fox & The Pigeon (Best Student Film).
As previously announced, the 2020 Winsor McCay Award recipients were Satoshi Kon (posthumously), Henry Selick and Ron Clements & John Musker; the June Foray Award was given to Jeanette Bonds; and the Ub Iwerks Award went to Jim Blinn.
And the winners are…
Best Animated Feature:Klaus (Netflix Presents A Production of The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine)
Best Animated Feature – Independent:I Lost My Body (Xilam for Netflix)
Best Animated Special Production: How to Train Your Dragon Homecoming(DreamWorks Animation)
Best Animated Short Subject: Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days (Ciclope Filmes, National Film Board of Canada, Les Armateurs)
Best Virtual Reality Production: Bonfire (Baobab Studios)
Best Animated Television/Media Commercial: The Mystical Journey of Jimmy Page’s ’59 Telecaster (Nexus Studios)
Best Animated Television/Media Production for Preschool Children:Ask The Storybots, “Why Do We Have to Recycle?” (JibJab Bros. Studios for Netflix)
Best Animated Television/Media Production for Children: Mickey Mouse, “Carried Away” (Disney TV Animation/Disney Channel)
Best General Audience Animated Television/Media Production:BoJack Horseman, “The New Client” (Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix)
Best Student Film: The Fox & The Pigeon, Michelle Chua (Sheridan College)
Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Media Production: Love, Death & Robots, “The Secret War”, Viktor Németh, Szabolcs Illés, Ádám Sipos, Vladimir Zhovna (Blur for Netflix)
Animated Effects in an Animated Feature Production: Frozen 2, Benjamin Fiske, Alex Moaveni, Jesse Erickson, Dimitre Berberov, Kee Nam Suong (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production: His Dark Materials Ep. 7, Aulo Licinio (Character: lorek) (BBC Studios)
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus, Sergio Martins (Character: Alva) (Netflix Presents a production of The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine)
Character Animation in a Live Action Production: Avengers: Endgame, Sidney Kombo-Kintombo, Sam Sharplin, Keven Norris, Tim Teramoto, Jacob Luamanuvae-Su’a (Weta Digital)
Character Animation in a Video Game: Unruly Heroes, Sebastien Parodi (Characters: Heroes Kid version, Underworld NPC), Nicolas Leger (Characters: Wukong, Kihong, Sandmonk, Sanzang, Enemies and cinematics) (Magic Design Studios)
Character Design in an Animated Television/Media Production: Carmen Sandiego “The Chasing Paper Caper”, Keiko Murayama (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing and DHX Media for Netflix)
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus, Torsten Schrank (Netflix Presents a Production of The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine)
Directing in an Animated Television/Media Production: Mickey Mouse “For Whom the Booth Tolls”, Alonso Ramirez Ramos (Disney TV Animation/Disney Channel)
Directing in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus, Sergio Pablos (Netflix Presents a production of The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine)
Music in an Animated Television/Media Production: Love, Death & Robots “Sonnie’s Edge”, Rob Cairns (Blur for Netflix)
Music in an Animated Feature Production: I Lost My Body, Dan Levy (Xilam for Netflix)
Production Design in an Animated Television/Media Production: Love, Death & Robots “The Witness”, Alberto Mielgo (Blur for Netflix)
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus, Szymon Biernacki, Marcin Jakubowski (Netflix Presents a production of The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine)
Storyboarding in an AnimatedTelevision/Media Production:Carmen Sandiego “Becoming Carmen Sandiego, Part 1”, Kenny Park (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing and DHX Media for Netflix)
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus, Sergio Pablos (Netflix Presents a production of The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine)
Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Media Production: Bob’s Burgers “Roamin’ Bob-iday”, H. Jon Benjamin (Character: Bob) (20th Century FOX / Bento Box Entertainment)
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Frozen 2, Josh Gad (Character: Olaf) (Walt Disney Animation Studios)
Writing in an Animated Television/Media Production: Tuca & Bertie “The Jelly Lakes”, Shauna McGarry (Tornante Productions, LLC for Netflix)
Writing in an Animated Feature Production: I Lost My Body, Jérémy Clapin, Guillaume Laurant (Xilam for Netflix)
Editorial in an Animated Television/Media Production:Love, Death & Robots “Alternate Histories”, Bo Juhl, Stacy Auckland, Valerian Zamel (Blur for Netflix)
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus, Pablo García Revert (Netflix Presents a production of The Spa Studios and Atresmedia Cine)
Ask The StorybotsBoJack HorsemanBonfireCarmen SandiegoHow to Train Your Dragon: HomecomingI Lost My BodyKlausLove, Death & RobotsMickey MouseThe Fox & The PigeonUncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days
The 47th Annual Annie Awards are taking place tonight at UCLA’s Royce Hall, but you can watch them here right on our website:
Tune in to find out who is going to win the big Annies for Best Animated Feature (studio and indie)… as well all the other categories. Netflix leads all the race with 37 nominations, followed by Disney with 28 and DreamWorks with 19 nominations.
You can read our story about this year’s Annie race here.
Good luck to all the nominees, and no matter what happens tonight, you’re all winners in our book!
