Loren Bouchard’s upcoming animated series Central Park took the spotlight at Apple TV+’s TCA press day on Sunday. The new show by Bob’s Burgers creator is set to premiere on the streaming service this summer. A new image from the show was unveiled at the event.
The much-anticipated new series is produced by Bouchard and co-exec producers Josh Gad and Nora Smith, and showcases the voice talents of Gad, Leslie Odom, Jr., Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, and Stanley Tucci. The toon revolved on the adventures of a family of caretakers that live in Central Park and the nefarious heiress, described by Bouchard as a “Leona Helmsley type” during the panel, who wants to pillage the park for funds by turning the iconic NYC location into condos. The series will also have a sneak preview at the SXSW festival in Austin Texas this March.
During the panel, Bouchard was asked by one of the reporters why he uses male actors as female characters in both Bob’s Burgers and Central Park. (In Bob’s Burgers, Dan Mintz and John Roberts voice Tina and Linda Belcher, while Diggs and Tucci also voice female characters in Central Park.)
Bouchard explained, “First, I’ll just speak to the temptation. Animation just makes you want to take this voice and have it come out of this face, (it’s) so delicious I can’t help myself. We knew it was going to be so fun to do it so that’s why we made that choice.
The show creator added that he couldn’t resist the humor of having Stanley Tucci voicing this tiny lady with white hair. “It’s like Margaret Thatcher glued onto a little dog…Here I am, yet again taking away two roles from women,” he added. However, he assured the audience that he’s committed to balancing things out when it comes to casting different genders and races. “To me it’s selfish (it’s not just about jobs) but to keep making your stuff better,” he said.
Here is the show’s official synopsis:
“Central Park is an animated musical comedy about the Tillermans, a family that lives in, and are the caretakers of, Central Park. Owen, the park manager, and Paige, his journalist wife, raise their kids Molly and Cole in the world’s most famous park, while fending off a hotel heiress Bitsy Brandenham and her long suffering assistant Helen, who would love nothing more than to turn the park into condos.”
Marvel fans can find their power and tune in for a special Marvel HQ takeover featuring full-length animated episodes available through January 23, with exciting additional content also available.
Then on January 24, Marvel HQ presents the exclusive debut of the all-new Marvel and Hasbro animated short series Bend & Flex, starring bendable, flexible Marvel action figures. The first episode, “The Lunch Break,” sees Iron Man joining Spider-Man for a well-deserved meal — but their repast is interrupted when a construction site emergency triggers Spider-Man’s Spidey-Sense. The web-slinging hero whips into action … but can he save the day and hold onto his lunch?
More episode highlights of the “Find Your Power” event include:
Guardians of the Galaxy: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun When the Guardians are charged with escorting the young and rebellious Rigellian princess Tana back home, Drax’s hardened heart melts as he is reminded of his own daughter. But nothing is ever easy: there’s Thanos…and then there’s teenagers.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Rock Your Baby The cocoon has opened! Inside is the baby Warlock whom the Guardians must help guide on the path of good to keep his powers in-check. But when Titus becomes the devil on the young Warlock’s shoulders, his destiny could go either way.
Marvel’s Avengers Assemble: Molecule Kid Hawkeye and Black Widow take on a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. mission to bring in the son of a super-villain, but when he’s revealed to have a world-bending weapon, they realize keeping their mission a secret may be a fatal mistake!
Marvel’s Avengers Assemble: The Kids Are Alright Captain America and Iron Man must partner with new and young Inhumans – Goliath, Inferno and Ms. Marvel – to stop another Inhuman, The Ghost, from stealing Friday.
Ultimate Spider-Man: Halloween Night At The Museum It’s up to Spider-Man to save Halloween from Morgan Le Fay and her plans to plunge Earth into eternal night!
With real-time technology growing at an unprecedented pace and shaping countless industries in its wake, the need for a unifying event to bring together the pioneers of today with the leaders of tomorrow has never been more important. The inaugural RealTime Conference will address exactly that on April 6-7, 2020, with simultaneous events taking place in both New York and Paris.
“Real-time technology is having a major impact on several industries, but there is a natural tendency for experts to remain within their own communities – that’s where the RealTime Conference comes in,” said Jean-Michel Blottière, former executive director of FMX and co-founder of the RealTime Conference. “Our goal is to bring together real-time experts, innovators, creatives and decision-makers from these different communities to find unexpected connections and to help shape the industry for years to come.”
Headlining sponsors for the RealTime Conference include Intel, Epic Games, the Museum of the Moving Image and the Forum des images. The conference is organized in cooperation with the Visual Effects Society. Additional sponsors include Adobe, Agile Lens, ASIFA-Hollywood, Foundry, HP, Haivision, Innovate UK, The Mill, Nexus Studios, Rewind, Sony, Territory Studios and The Third Floor, with more announcements to follow in the coming weeks.
The conference will bring together attendees in New York at the renowned Museum of the Moving Image, and in Paris at the famed Forum des images. In both cities, industry experts and innovators will discuss topics ranging from the impact real-time is having on VFX, AEC, automotive, design & manufacturing, artificial intelligence and more, all in a relaxed environment where attendees will be able to discuss these topics with industry leaders. Each city will feature its own speakers and topics, but the two audiences will come together daily with real-time, live demos and performances that will connect the two groups across the Atlantic for a look at how the technology will shape the future.
Both the New York and Paris locations currently feature more than 45 speakers from companies like Epic Games, Google, Facebook, Activision, Framestore, Unity and Verizon, with more to come. Topics will touch on everything from real-time in the cloud and big data visualization to preparing for 5G and exploring digital humans, with attendees choosing the sessions most relevant to them. Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.
“Real-time technology has a transformative quality, and in many ways it is still in its infancy,” said Manny Francisco, CTO of the RealTime Conference. “Our goal is to create a forum where pioneers can exchange ideas with peers and help others plan the next two, three or even ten years of their business.”
While the focus is currently on the inaugural event, plans are already underway for 2021, 2022 and beyond. Future RealTime Conferences will continue to embrace the technology on a practical level, with additional cities, countries and even continents playing host to their own events and joining New York and Paris for simultaneous sessions, keynotes and collaborative real-time live talks.
Tickets for both New York and Paris are on sale now, and include single day, full conference, VIP and student passes. Non-student attendees that purchase their tickets before January 31, 2020, will receive the “Super Early Bird” discount, granting 30% off of all packages. Starting on February 1, registrants will receive a 20% discount, which will remain in effect until February 28. Throughout March, registrants will receive a 10% discount.
Single day passes offer access to all sessions – including keynotes, lectures and workshops in either location, as well as the live, real-time transatlantic demos. Full conference passes grant access to all sessions on both days, along with “Meet the Experts” round-tables on topics like virtual production, volumetric capture, metaverse planning, business models and several others.
Limited numbers of VIP passes are available and feature access to private events, including an exclusive dinner for New York attendees and a cruise on the River Seine in Paris. VIP attendees will also be able to meet one-on-one with presenters in the private “Speakers’ Lounge” and continue the conversation.
An exclusive, ecologically-themed animated short film featuring an exceptional voice cast will premiere on AppleTV+ on April 17. Putting down roots timed for Earth Day, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth is a 36-minute CGI adaptation of Oliver Jeffers’ 2017 bestseller of the same name, produced by indie animation shop Studio AKA.
The film follows a precocious seven-year old, voiced by Jacob Tremblay (Room), who over the course of Earth Day learns about the wonders of this planet from his father (Chris O’Dowd) and mother (Ruth Negga), as well as a mysterious exhibit at the “Museum of Everything.” Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep is the Narrator.
Here We Are is directed by Philip Hunt (director of animated shorts Lost and Found, Ah Pook Is Here), who wrote the adaptation with Luke Matheny (live-action short film Oscar winner God of Love). Sue Goffe, Hunt and Jeffers are deceusive producers. Music by Alex Somers (How to Train Your Dragon).
The racial representation controversy dragged into the spotlight by Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The Problem with Apu seems to be in its final throes, with actor Hank Azaria announcing that he will no longer voice the Indian-American Simpsons character after three decades.
“All we know there is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s some way to transition it or something,” Azaria confirmed to /Film. “What they’re going to do with the character is their call. It’s up to them and they haven’t sorted it out yet. All we’ve agreed on is I won’t do the voice anymore … “We all made the decision together. We all agreed on it. We all feel like it’s the right thing and good about it.”
The documentary’s producer, Adi Shankar (Castlevania), said in fall of 2018 that he had heard the character would be dropped altogether from the record-breaking animated series. Simpsons producer Al Jean denied the rumor. The latter had previously defended the show’s treatment of the character on Twitter after the episode “No Good Read Goes Unpunished” was perceived to peg the issues raised by the doc as a matter of political-correctness-gone-mad.
Syfy channel is launching a big push into original animation production, according to Deadline.com. NBCUniversal president Chris McCumber who oversees the cabler, is adding several new projects to its current 90-minute late-night animation block of TZGZ, Alien News Desk and reruns of Futurama, which have been performing well among its young male audience.
The cabler has ordered six 15-minute episodes of a new female-driven anime comedy titled Magical Girl Friendship Squad, which began its life as four-minute episode series. The show follows the adventures of two young women who have to save the universe…as soon as they figure out how to pay their rent.
Also on tap is Wild Life, a 15-minute-long show about animal friends who are trying to avoid being bored to death after surviving the apocalypse, and Devil May Care, which follows the great evildoer as he hires a social media expert to improve his negative image. The pilots will be used as proof of concept and will also air in the TZGZ block so Syfy executives can see what kind of response the shorts get from viewers. McCumber says the block is created for animated comedy, which has some tie to science-fiction, horror, fantasy, something in that world.
According to the article, TZGZ’s content director Jon Cotton and his team are looking at animated content everywhere. “With the original development side of things, there is a lot of the traditional reaching out to agents and managers to identify clients that may have projects that are right for us, but it’s also a lot more legwork that falls outside of the traditional development model, because we are trying to identify emerging talent and unique voices in this space,” Cotton told Deadline. “The agencies no longer are the only place to go to identify really interesting and talented creators and voices. Whether it’s attending smaller comedy or animation festivals, going down YouTube and Vimeo rabbit holes and frankly, wading through a lot of not great content to find those diamonds in the rough.”
The new TZGZ lineup includes Purgatony, Cyanide and Happiness,Alien’s Guide To Earth, Don’t Feed the Humans, Brogan: Master of Castles, Gary and His Demons, Hell Den, Science! and Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins (the short-form version).
Here are the official credits and loglines for the new Syfy pilots:
Wild Life
Produced by Alex Plapinger, Valparaiso Pictures and Octopie
Synopsis: A show about animal friends just trying to stay alive after the apocalypse. Together, they come up with elaborate schemes to entertain themselves and pretty much just keep from going insane.
Devil May Care
Produced by PSYOP
Creator/exec producer: Doug Goldstein (Robot Chicken)
Synopsis: The Devil hires a social media coordinator to rebrand Hell as the ultimate place to live, and the two form the most unlikely of friendships.
Hulu announced that it will premiere several new DreamWorks animated titles at the TV Critics Association press event today. As a new streaming home to future slates of DreamWorks Animation feature and library films, as well as brand-new original series, Hulu said the first three premieres to be Hulu Originals in 2020: Madagascar: A Little Wild, TrollsTopia and The Mighty Ones.
Here are the official descriptions of the shows:
Madgascar: A Little Wild. Loveable foursome Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo steal the show in Madagascar: A Little Wild, executive produced by Johanna Stein (Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny). Capturing the iconic personalities of each of the four dynamos, Madagascar: A Little Wild showcases the team as kids residing in their rescue habitat at the Central Park Zoo. They might be small, but like everybody who lands in New York City, these little guys have big dreams and Madagascar: A Little Wild will follow all of their adventures.
TrollsTopia will be a new original based off the famous Trolls franchise following Poppy and other enchanting characters from the upcoming feature film Trolls World Tour.
The Mighty Ones. In every backyard, a secret world exists filled with tiny creatures. The Mighty Ones, follows the hilarious adventures of a group of creatures: a twig, a pebble, a leaf and a strawberry. These best friends, self-named The Mighty Ones, live in an unkempt backyard belonging to a trio of equally unkempt humans whom they mistake for gods. Despite their diminutive stature, The Mighty Ones are determined to live life large and always have fun in their wild world. The series is executive produced by Sunil Hall (Pickle and Peanut) and Lynne Naylor-Reccardi (Samurai Jack).
Solar Opposites. The streaming service will also premiere the new adult animated series Solar Opposites, which is co-created by Justin Roiland (Rick & Morty) and Mike McMahan (Rick & Morty, Star Trek: Lower Decks). The showcenters around a family of aliens from a better world who must take refuge in middle America. They disagree on whether Earth is awful or awesome. All eight episodes of the series will debut on Hulu on Friday, May 8. Solar Oppositesstars voice actors Justin Roiland, Thomas Middleditch, Sean Giambrone and Mary Mack. It’s executive produced by Roiland and McMahan alongside Josh Bycel and is produced by 20th Century Fox Television.
***This article was written for the March ‘20 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 298)***
When the ninth and final chapter of the core Star Wars saga, The Rise of Skywalker, arrived on the big screen this December, fans were expecting to see state-of-the-art visual effects created by the visionary craftspeople at ILM, and they weren’t disappointed. The film, which made over $820 million worldwide during its first two weeks in theaters, marked the reunion of director J.J. Abrams and VFX supervisor Roger Guyett, who collaborated on 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens as well as the two most recent Star Trek features (2009, 2013).
The bulk of the film’s 1,900 visual effects shots were handled by the team at Industrial Light & Magic, with additional support provided by 32TEN Studios, Base FX, Exceptional Minds, Hybride Technologies, Important Looking Pirates and Stereo D, with previz work from The Third Floor.
“Philosophically, what we were trying to do with The Force Awakens was to make the worlds we took the audience to as real and immersive as possible by using any technology that we could,” notes five-time Oscar-nominee Guyett. “What was gratifying to me was that people didn’t realize how much digital technology was used to create those worlds.”
Roger Guyett
Four years later, the CG environment toolset has been greatly improved, as seen in the film’s speeder chase during which a Stormtrooper gets catapulted into the air. “For a chase sequence like that, your hero actors are shot against greenscreen or bluescreen and you’re trying to create the background behind them. In truth, it’s not a simple thing to do, especially with someone like J.J. who likes to move the camera. We spent an enormous amount of time scanning and photographing the desert, and were able to cherry-pick the best version of that world without making it look too contrived.”
A signature lightsaber duel between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) takes place on top of the destroyed Death Star II in the middle of a turbulent ocean. “The idea of doing that two or three years ago would have sent a shiver down my spine as well as given me heart palpitations!” laughs Guyett. “It’s a completely rewritten water-solver tool, and the level of detail that you get in those moments is more realistic.”
The film’s practical water effects were produced by special effects supervisor Dominic Tuohy (Solo: A Star Wars Story). “Dominic went through 100,000 gallons of water a day creating splashes and spray. The problem is that sometimes they’re physically not the right kind of splashes and sprays, because he’s firing water which has a slightly different feeling than water coming off of a wave. But it does create this tumultuous environment for the actors to react to — and they get soaking wet. This was November in England, and it was unbelievably cold. We built a limited set that was about 60 feet long off the top of the pier and had all of these wind machines, water cannons and spray devices.”
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Resurrecting the Past
Various callbacks to the previous Star Wars movies have been incorporated into the imagery such as shots of the Death Star II from Return of the Jedi (1983). “We went up to Skywalker Ranch, which has an archive of Star Wars models and various references of the stuff that they built for the original movies,” recalls Guyett. “We photographed a lot of stuff, studied them and had a look at the way that they constructed some of those miniatures. This was true for The Rise of Skywalker in general. We used some old matte paintings that [original trilogy concept artist] Ralph McQuarrie had done of the planets. We photographed those designs and put them in as textures on background planets.”
Also resurrected was Emperor Sheev Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) — last seen being flung to his death by Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi — who is commanding the Final Order from the Sith planet of Exogol. “I love those monolithic graphic worlds,” says the VFX supervisor. “The lightning coming out of the cracks in the planet enabled us to light in a dramatic way. We built mock-ups in the art department when we were talking about Exogol, but essentially, it’s a digital world.”
Palpatine lives underneath a monolithic structure in a Sith Sanctuary surrounded by massive statues. “Neal Scanlan [Rogue One] was the creature supervisor on the show and he used some of the original prosthetic makeup techniques on Ian McDiarmid,” says Guyett. “We also did a lot of CG work on Ian to enhance his eyes and face, as well as messed up his hands. There was a lot of collaboration in our approach to him as a character.”
According to Guyett, there are more practical creatures in The Rise of Skywalker than in any of the previous Star Wars movies. “Babu Frik is a rod-puppeteered, tiny character with an animatronic head,” he explains. “What that gives you is a look which is appropriate for Star Wars. We had a big festival scene in the desert where Neal built 700 Aki-Aki prosthetic masks for the actors to wear, from hero animatronic heads to background type of stuff. Klaud had an animatronic head and was operated from inside by someone. Maz Kanata is the most advanced real-time animatronic puppet we have used.”
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
When CG Heals
A critical story point is the healing capability of the Force. “When Rey stabs Kylo Ren with her lightsaber and then heals that wound, we’re doing some complicated CG work to go from something gnarly to back to his skin again,” explains Guyett. “The trick with those wounds is to always give them some kind of dimension so you’re seeing that the surface is actually changing form, which makes it look a lot less like a dissolve.”
The film also builds on the practical lightsaber technology developed for The Force Awakens. “The technology is essentially the same on this one but there have been a number of improvements to the lighting,” says Guyett. “One of the issues that you have on film is the understanding of color temperature is more critical than with digital photography.”
Complicating matters was the unexpected death of Carrie Fisher before the completion of The Last Jedi (2017), as Princess Leia Organa was to have a pivotal role in The Rise of Skywalker. A hybrid approach was adopted for the final cinematic appearance of Fisher, as opposed to the controversial digital recreation of Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One (2016). “Obviously, we wanted to have the integrity of the character being played by Carrie Fisher,” explains Guyett. “J.J. was sensitive to any idea of it being a digital representation of her. We created her performance out of unused footage. It was done in an interesting way, by taking Carrie’s facial performance and creating a digital version of her blending out of the live-action element of her face. In other words, we were digitally fixing the issue that no one is looking at, which is her dress. I’m hoping that people just watch the movie and believe that she’s really there. That’s the idea, ultimately. It was a complicated thing to do.”
Another interesting development: the traditional technique of placing greenscreen or bluescreen outside of the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit and flashing lights to simulate space travel has been replaced with LED screens and pre-rendered content. “The lighting is so much more dynamic, because you can playback some complicated stuff that looks more exciting and energetic,” remarks Guyett. “You see that in the lightspeed skipping scene where they are jumping between different environments. For the exterior shots, we tried wherever possible to have a real piece of the Millennium Falcon, such as the ramp, and extended it digitally.”
Historically, the Star Wars franchise has showcased a wide range of pioneering visual effects shots and techniques. “We did throw in a couple of nods to the original technology, like a forced perspective miniature,” says Guyett. “For example, when we blew our planet up, it was a practical explosion. The water sequence is an incredible improvement of water technology. To see it used in this way, as a character, was fabulous. Having to deal with 16,000 galaxy ships in the end battle was a key technical challenge. However, in terms of making our work invisible in places, like the desert or the festival, I am hoping that people don’t realize the fact that they’re digital.”
Disney’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently playing in theaters worldwide.
A loving cartoon family reconnects this month, when Nickelodeon debuts the brand-new, hour-hour The Casagrandes special “Operation Dad” on Monday, January 20 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. In this outing, Ronnie Anne tries to convince her visiting father Dr. Santiago (voiced by Eugenio Derbez of Overboard) to move to the city — and, with the help of Sid, devise a plan that seems too good to fail!
Dr. Santiago is amicably divorced from Ronnie Anne’s mother Maria, and he is a physician living and working in Peru. He works with Physicians on Missions, an organization that cares for children, and provides vaccines and health care in clinics throughout the world. Like his daughter, Dr. Santiago is adventurous, funny, kindhearted and charismatic. He and Ronnie Anne share a special bond despite the distance. They regularly catch up via video chat, and she’s always excited to receive care packages from his world travels.
The Casagrandes tells the story of Ronnie Anne who moves to the city with her mom and older brother to live with their big, loving family, the Casagrandes. A spinoff of The Loud House, the series showcases the culture, humor, and love that’s part of growing up in a multigenerational Mexican-American family. New episodes continue to premiere on Nickelodeon.
The CasagrandesThe CasagrandesThe CasagrandesThe Casagrandes
Multi-award-winning animation studio Aardman and environmental organisation, Greenpeace have launched a powerful new animated film, highlighting the plight of the world’s oceans. Turtle Journey, directed by Aardman’s Gavin Strange, tells the heartbreaking story of a turtle family heading home through an ocean that is under increasing pressure from climate change, plastic pollution, oil drilling and overfishing.
Aardman uses its skills in storytelling, humor and creativity to communicate Greenpeace’s urgent message with a mix of CGI and stop-frame animation. Physical puppets were created to portray the turtle family, whilst the underwater environments are detailed in CGI.
“I wanted to tell a personal yet universal story of family, loss and hope to best connect with audiences around the world,” said Strange. “It was an absolute dream to work with such a talented crew of animators, artists and creators here at Aardman, manipulating clay and pixels to make such a nuanced and delicate piece of animation. Brought to life by a stellar cast of world-class voice talent, topped off by a simply sublime score from Arthur Jeffe’s Penguin Cafe, I am immensely proud of what we’ve all made together.”
“We felt that Aardman’s global popularity and distinctive blend of humor and emotion could help us to reach new audiences with a strong but simple message – our oceans are in crisis and we must act now to protect them,” said Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace U.K. “Six out of seven sea turtle species are threatened with extinction. Governments have an opportunity to take bold action at the United Nations this year when they meet to agree on a new Global Ocean Treaty. A strong treaty would pave the way for a global network of fully protected ocean sanctuaries, placing 30% of the world’s oceans off-limits to exploitation by humans and giving marine species such as turtles a chance to recover and thrive.”
Characters in the film are voiced by Academy Award-winning actors Olivia Colman and Dame Helen Mirren, along with Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey, Stranger Things’ David Harbour, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter, and comedian Ahir Shah.
“I’m thrilled to have worked on this heartbreaking film with Greenpeace and Aardman – it’s so important. Our oceans face so many threats, some I wasn’t even aware of before this, and sadly the story of this turtle family trying to get home in a damaged and changing ocean is a reality for so many marine creatures that are having their habitats destroyed by human activities. I hope this film inspires more people to take action to protect our oceans.”
— Olivia Colman (mother turtle)
“During my lifetime, I’ve seen nature being destroyed on an unimaginable scale by human activity. I’m saddened that our generation will leave to future generations a damaged planet, which has already lost so much of the biodiversity that makes it special. However, we have a chance to do something now and leave a legacy of properly protected oceans to all the people who come after us. We can’t bring back what we’ve already lost, but we can protect what we still have. I hope this film will help to make more people realise the ocean is worth protecting, and inspires us to act before it’s too late.”
— Dame Helen Mirren (grandmother turtle)
“This heartbreaking story of a turtle family trying to get home through an ocean in crisis should resonate with anyone watching it. We all live in a world that has been changed enormously by human activity, and this reality is as true for marine animals like the turtles in Turtle Journey as it is for us humans on land.”
— Jim Carter (grandfather turtle)
“When I’m older, what will the oceans look like? I want my generation and every future generation to experience healthy, thriving oceans that are full of life and are a safe home for beautiful and important creatures like turtles. But I’m worried this won’t be possible. In my short lifetime, our ocean has already been damaged on a scale many people didn’t think possible when I was born.”
“We need to act, or it will be too late. Future generations will be living out the consequences of what we do, or don’t do, right now. Will governments sit idly by while our oceans are destroyed, or will they leave a legacy of healthy, protected oceans that can be admired by all, now and in the future? The eyes of the world and of all our descendants are on our governments. We, individually, need to play our part but they, collectively, must act now to create positive, lasting and dramatic change. Don’t just listen, do something about it.”
Award-winning French animation studio Xilam Animation has secured a deal with DreamWorks Animation’s Classic Media for its hilarious new animated series Mr Magoo, based on the hugely successful classic cartoon of the same name. DreamWorks has exclusively picked up all U.S. TV, home video and VOD rights to season one (78 x 7’). Mr Magoo will be available from January 17 on the CBS All Access streaming service.
“Since debuting in fall 2018, Mr Magoo has drawn strong ratings and captured the hearts of kids and their families around the world,” said Marc du Pontavice of Xilam. “The original version of Mr Magoo was first created in the U.S. so we’re delighted DreamWorks has now come on board to introduce local audiences to our fresh take on this wonderfully candid and optimistic character, back where it all began 70 years ago.”
Originally commissioned by France Télévisions, Mr Magoo currently airs on Turner’s Boomerang channel in France, Africa, the Middle East, Israel, Turkey and Nordics, Cartoon Network (Asia), Discovery Kids (Latin America), Super RTL (Germany), VRT and RTBF (Belgium), SIC K (Portugal), RTVE (Spain), RTS (Switzerland), CITV (UK), Discovery and DEA Kids (Italy), among other channels.
Synopsis: In the neighborhood, everybody loves Mr Magoo — a lively, kind-hearted and cheerful guy always happy to give a helping hand. But beware — he also causes disasters! Without his glasses, he mistakes his surroundings for other places, gets people mixed up, and wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. All his neighbors have kindly adjusted to his uniqueness… except for one: a megalomaniac hamster by the name of Fizz, whose sole goal is to have all of humanity recognize his tremendous genius. He’s determined to leave his mark on history, but somehow Magoo always interferes, forever thwarting Fizz’s crazy plans!
Mr Magoo has been adapted by Olivier Jean-Marie and Xilam’s Hugo Gittard from John Hubley’s original series, created in 1949. Hugo Gittard is also showrunner of the new series.
This latest deal expands Xilam’s U.S. footprint, building on its recently announced Netflix commission for CGI animated preschool series Oggy Oggy, based on the company’s hit global franchise Oggy and the Cockroaches, and Netflix’s acquisition of worldwide rights to the studio’s critically acclaimed first adult animated feature I Lost My Body, which launched in November 2019 and received the International Critics’ Week Grand Prize at Cannes Film Festival, Cristal for a Feature Film and Audience Award at Annecy and Grand Prize at the Animation Is Film festival last year. I Lost My Body has also just been nominated in the Animated Feature Film category for the Academy Awards 2020.
Additionally, Xilam is in production on Disney+ original Chip ‘n’ Dale, which will feature the return of Disney’s much-loved chipmunk troublemakers in a non-verbal, classic style comedy.
A brand-new, one-hour musical Arthur special is arriving this month! “The Rhythm and Roots of Arthur” is premiering on PBS KIDS on Monday, January 20.
Young viewers are invited to pack their bags, buckle their seatbelts, and get ready for an Arthur road trip to the Read family farm! Arthur’s Great-Grand Uncle Theo is celebrating his 85th birthday, so the Reads (plus Buster) are off to join in the festivities. With the help of Cousin Miles, some llamas, and a little bit of music, they all discover what it truly means to be family.
Check out the highly relatable road-tripping tune “Are We There Yet?” from our pals at PBS KIDS!
Based on the best-selling books by Marc Brown, Arthur is television’s longest-running children’s animated series. The iconic, multiple Emmy-winning show for kids ages 4-8 continues to touch audiences young and old with its heartfelt and humorous stories about family, friends, and the challenges of growing up.
NBCUniversal is ready to ruffle feathers in the streaming game with the launch of its Peacock service this summer. The company announced Thursday that the platform will be available nationwide on July 15 (with an early offer for Comcast customers) at tiered subscription levels allowing viewers to access Peacock across web, mobile and connect TVs.
The service will be available as Peacock Free, a free, ad-supported option with more than 7,500 hours of programming; and Peacock Premium, an ad-supported option that will additionally include full-season Peacock originals and tentpole series, next-day access to current seasons of returning broadcast series (bundled at no additional cost to 24 million Comcast and Cox subscribers — additional partners TBA). Premium customers can upgrade to ad-free for an additional $5/mo, while other customers can get the ad-free experience for $9.99/mo.
Xfinity X1 and Flex customers will have early bird access to Peacock Premium on April 15.
“This is a very exciting time for our company, as we chart the future of entertainment,” said Steve Burke, Chairman of NBCUniversal. “We have one of the most enviable collections of media brands and the strongest ad sales track record in the business. Capitalizing on these key strengths, we are taking a unique approach to streaming that brings value to customers, advertisers and shareholders.”
“Peacock will provide consumers with a destination that goes beyond movies and television, aggregating a variety of content that fans want on one service,” said Matt Strauss, chairman of Peacock and NBCUniversal Digital Enterprises. “By delivering timely and topical content like breaking news, live sports, and watercooler moments from late-night, Peacock is uniquely bringing a pulse to the world of streaming that does not exist in today’s marketplace.”
In addition to hit dramas like Dick Wolf’s Law and Order and Chicago series, classic comedies including 30 Rock and The Office, and new originals from Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud, Tina Fey and Sky Studios, Peacock will offer Tokyo Olympics coverage, and hold exclusive streaming rights for the 2020 Universal film slate — including Fast & Furious 9and Jurassic World 3.
Animated offerings will be rich on the kids & families side of Peacock, thanks to Universal’s DreamWorks Animation and Illumination Entertainment studios. Peacock will have access to the first pay window for DWA’s Trolls World Tour, The Boss Baby 2 and The Croods 2, and will be the exclusive streaming home to new episodes of kids’ classic Curious George. DWA is also preparing original series for Peacock, inspired by hit franchises and all-new concepts. These include TrollsTopia, Madagascar: A Little Wild, Where’s Waldo:?, The Mighty Ones and graphic novel adaptation Cleopatra in Space. Plus, fans can relive their Dreamworks, Illumination and Universal Kids favorites, including hit flicks Shrek and Despicable Me.
Peacock has also added a fun fantasy-comedy toon project to its development slate: The Adventure Zone, inspired by the McElroy Family’s super popular Dungeons & Dragons podcast and No. 1 New York Times best-selling graphic novel series. The hilarious, heart-felt adventure will follow a trio of poorly equipped, unlikely heroes and their long-suffering Dungeon Master as they reluctantly embark on a quest to save the world. Adam Higgs (Orphan Black, Legacies) serves as series writer and exec producer. Geek podcast icons Clint, Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy also exec produce.
The Jim Henson Company has expanded the responsibilities of long-time executive Anna Moorefield, Vice President, Global Distribution, to head all content distribution strategies for the Company across all platforms. Moorefield’s new scope of responsibilities include overseeing sales of all forms of media across TV, cable, home video, and theatrical in all territories.
The announcement was made today by Chris Lytton, COO & Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Affairs, to whom she directly reports.
Based at The Jim Henson Company headquarters in Hollywood, Moorefield oversees the distribution of current preschool hits like Dinosaur Train, Dot., Doozers, Splash and Bubbles and Word Party, as well as classic favorites like Fraggle Rock and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. Moorefield also manages the distribution of primetime fantasy/sci-fi properties, including Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Storyteller and Farscape.
Most recently, Moorefield was responsible for the launch of numerous Jim Henson Company classic and award-winning properties on Prime Video. Through Amazon Prime Video Direct, a service that enables filmmakers and studios to reach Amazon’s global audience, she spearheaded the creation of a one-stop destination for viewers to enjoy and rediscover many of the Company’s most beloved specials and series on the popular streaming service.
“Anna joined us with a strong background in digital distribution, and her efforts have made a tremendous impact on our overall digital strategy, including the roll-out of new brands as well as re-introducing our revered catalog of classics to existing fans and new audiences,” commented Lytton. “Anna is deeply passionate about our content, and her dedication and enthusiasm make her especially well-suited to take the reins of our global distribution business.”
Before joining the Company in 2015, Moorefield served as an account manager for the International Television and Digital Distribution team at Lionsgate. In addition to building partnerships with platforms like Netflix, iTunes, and Google Play, she also worked closely with her counterparts in linear and digital distribution to develop and execute broader sales strategies in the Latin American and Asian markets. Prior to joining the Lionsgate team in 2011, Moorefield worked as a freelance writer for marketing, arts and entertainment companies. Moorefield is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and the Affiliate Program at University College, London.
Anima, The Brussels International Animation Film Festival (Feb. 21-March 1) will kick off its program selection for children on Saturday, February 22 with a preview screening of the latest Disney-Pixar feature, Onward.
Directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters, Inc.), this latest original takes viewers into an urban fantasy world populated with trolls, centaurs and unicorns. The action follows Ian and Barley, two teenage elves who have lost their father, on an extraordinary quest to discover if there’s still a little magic left in the world. (In theaters from March 4). The film will be screened in French and Dutch.
Anima will also be showing several new feature films, including the Franco-Belgian feature SamSam (ages 5+) that follows the adventures of the smallest of big heroes in search of his superpower, along with Spycies (7+), about an offbeat duo of secret agents made up of a demanding cat and a clumsy rat, who are brought together to save the planet from a climate threat.
Aside from feature films, youngsters will have the chance to preview a charming, painterly new show, Shoom’s Odyssey (4+), and take in two other programs bringing together some of the best international short films: The Kite and Other Stories (4+) and My Life in Versailles (6+). All the shorts from these three programs will make up the international competition for children. The best Belgian shorts for children (national competition) can be seen in the The Cherry on the Cake (5+) program.
Every morning, from Monday to Friday, Coline and Séverine from ASBL Bah Voyons! will not only present the films in the Animatins screenings, but also some optical games to delight both the children and their parents.
This is just a small taste of the 22 features and short screenings, including new films and familiar favorites, that will make up Anima 2020’s children’s programming.
In addition to the films, the Festival offers daily introduction to animation workshops, coordinated by the Zorobabel association, and open to children from 6 to 12 years old. There will also be daily entertainment in the Flagey hall, before the two afternoon screenings, from super street artists such as Alessandro Carrocci or Peter Lein. Kids can also enjoy a traditional giant pancake between screenings!
The full Anima program will be online January 30. Learn more at animafestival.be/fr.
Screenwriter John August (Frankenweenie 2012, Corpse Bride, Titan AE) has been tapped to bring a fresh Oz adventure to the screen in Warner Animation Group’s musical animated feature Toto. The project is based on acclaimed author Michael Morpurgo’s book Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz, illustrated by Emma Chichester, which retells L. Frank Baum’s classic adventure from the little dog’s POV. Jared Stern’s A Stern Talking To is attached to produce.
August’s most recent hit was Disney’s billion-dollar live-action remake of Aladdin last year, which he co-wrote with director Guy Ritchie. In addition to animated titles, he also worked with Tim Burton on live-action films Big Fish and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He is currently in development on another high-profile musical project, the Grease prequel Summer Nights (Paramount Players).
He earned a BAFTA nomination for the adapted screenplay for Big Fish, and an Annie nom for writing Frankenweenie; August and Danny Elfman were also nominated for a motion-picture song Grammy for “Wonka’s Welcome Song” (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). He was the recipient of the Writers Guild’s Valentine DAvies Award in 2016.
The writer has also authored a trilogy of best-selling middle-grade fantasy novels: Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire, Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon and Arlo Finch in the Kingdom of Shadows. He is represented by Verve and Hansen Jacobson.
The end of an equine era is approaching, with the final eight episodes of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated animated dark comedy BoJack Horseman set to debut on the streaming platform on January 31. “See how it all ends,” the finale season 6 trailer invites, teasing fans with more of the poignant existential moments, whiplash twists, descents into surreality and sharp laughs they’ve come to expect from the show.
BoJack Horseman was created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The series is executive produced by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Steven A. Cohen and Noel Bright. Voice stars Will Arnett (Flaked, Arrested Development) and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) also serve as executive producers. BoJack was designed by graphic artist Lisa Hanawalt (Tuca & Bertie) and animated by L.A.-based ShadowMachine. The show is a Tornante Production, brought to life by Michael Eisner’s The Tornante Company.
Showtime has stepped up to the podium to present the key art for season 3 of irreverent White House comedy Our Cartoon President, created by Stephen Colbert. The poster spotlights an unphased POTUS taking the debate stage opposite a snarl of tussling Democratic candidate hopefuls — looks like this animated lampoon is about to get real.
The new season premieres January 26, and will touch on all the major points of the upcoming U.S. Presidential election: The race for the Democratic nomination, Trump’s impeachment trial, and the billionaire bids for conrol of the election. Our Cartoon President utilizes super-fast, state-of-the-art animation techniques to keep up with the latest political plot twists each week — the team writes, records, animates and edits cold opens in a matter of hours — making it one of the fastest-turnaround animated series on TV.
S3 also welcomes exciting new voice talent on board to bring the 2020 contenders to life: Jon Glaser (Conan) and Jim Downey (SNL) join Jack McBrayer, Tim Robinson, Matt Rogers, Gabriel Gundacker, James Adomain (who pulled out a colorful Conan appearance as Bernie Sanders-turned-Brony last summer) and more.
Skydance Animation has brought in Disney direct-to-video veteran Peggy Holmes to helm its first feature film project, Luck. The co-director of Disneytoon’s Secret of the Wings and The Pirate Fairy takes over from Alessandro Carloni (co-director, Kung Fu Panda 3), who was to have made his solo directing debut on the project but has left due to creative differences.
Produced by Skydance and Paramount Pictures with Ilion Animation Studios (Spain), Luck is a comedy that pulls back the ancient curtain between the force of good luck and bad luck which secretly affect our daily lives.
Holmes joined Skydance Animation last year under a development deal. Introduced to the world of animation through her choreography work on home movie sequels including The Jungle Book 2, The Lion King 3 and Kronk’s New Groove, she made her directorial debut with The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning (2008) before helming two of the most successful Disney Fairies flicks mentioned above. Prior live-action choreographer credits include Newsies, Hocus Pocus and A Very Brady Sequel.
“Peggy is an incredible creative talent and has already been a huge asset to our growing animation studio over the past year,” Skydance Animation President Holly Edwards told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re so happy to have her leading the team creating Luck. She has the perfect mix of experience and artistic vision to bring this exciting project to the screen.”
HBO Max announced Wednesday at the WarnerMedia Television Critics Association day, a greenlight for a three-part animated mini-series Aquaman: King of Atlantis that will be executive produced by James Wan (Aquaman and the upcoming Malignant) through his Atomic Monster production company. Based on the classic DC character created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris, each of the standalone episodes will have a unique storyline following the adventures of Aquaman as protector of the deep.
Aquaman: King of Atlantis joins HBO Max’s powerhouse animation line-up that includes Looney Tunes Cartoons, Jellystone, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Little Ellen, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Rick and Morty, The Boondocks and more.
“This DC property is a fan-favorite rich with well-known characters and dynamic storylines,” said Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max. “On the heels of Warner Bros. Pictures’ box-office smash hit, we are certain Aquaman: King of Atlantis will be an exciting addition to our already robust slate of kids and family programming.”
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series begins with Aquaman’s first day on the job as king of Atlantis … and he’s got a lot of catching up to do. Luckily, he has his two royal advisors to back him up – Vulko, the scholar, and Mera, the water controlling warrior-princess. Between dealing with unscrupulous surface dwellers, elder evils from beyond time and his own half-brother who wants to overthrow him, Aquaman is going to have to rise to the challenge and prove to his subjects, and to himself, that he’s the right man for the trident!
The series is executive produced by James Wan, Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear (Annabelle Comes Home), Rob Hackett (Swamp Thing) and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!). Victor Courtright (ThunderCats Roar!) and Marly Halpern-Graser (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) will serve as showrunners and co-executive producers.
