Having just announced the English-language voice cast, GKIDS unveils a new clip from the dubbed version of Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You. The highly anticipated new film from the creators of Your Name. is Japan’s official entry for the Best International Film Oscar, and is set to screen in theaters nationwide starting January 17.
Synopsis: The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka (Brandon Engman) runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina (Ashley Boettcher) on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…
The dub cast features the voices of Lee Pace, Alison Brie and Riz Ahmed.
This spring, the DigiDestined return to the big screen in a final adventure with their Digimon. Toei Animation Inc. and Fathom Events have announced that the new feature film Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna will screen March 25 as a special one-night-only theatrical event across the United States.
Moviegoers will get to experience a 15-minute pre-show that provides an exclusive fan experience that can only be found in theaters. The pre-show will include interviews with the film’s director, Tomohisa Taguchi, and chief animation director, Seiji Tatsukawa.
Beginning Friday, February 7, tickets for will be available for purchase at www.FathomEvents.com and participating theater box offices.
Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna takes place five years after the events of Digimon Adventure tri, the six-part film series released in 2015. Now on the cusp of adulthood, Tai and his DigiDestined friends discover that with age their bonds with each of their Digimon will ultimately break. How does it end for Tai, Agumon and the others?
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Fathom Events and present Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna to U.S. audiences this spring,” said Masayuki Endo, president and CEO of Toei Animation Inc. “This special 20th anniversary feature film is sure to excite the generation of fans who have grown-up watching this beloved anime series.”
“The Digimon Franchise has been a staple in our anime offerings and will continue to be a large draw for fans across the country,” Fathom Events CEO Ray Nutt said. “This event is going to be a great way to kick off a strong 2020 lineup and give audiences an exclusive inside look that they cannot experience anywhere else.”
Synopsis: Tai is now a university student, living alone, studying hard and working every day — but his future is still undecided. Meanwhile, Matt and the others continue to investigate Digimon incidents and help people with partner Digimon. An unprecedented phenomenon occurs, and the DigiDestined discover that when you grow up, your relationship with your partner Digimon will come closer to an end. As a countdown timer activates on the Digivice, they realize that the more they fight with their Partner Digimon, the faster their bond breaks.
Will you fight for others and lose your partner? The time to choose is approaching fast. There is a short time before “chosen children” will become adults. This is the last adventure of Tai and Agumon.
Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna will screen in select theaters on Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. (local time) through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). For a complete list of theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).
Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for upcoming supernatural mystery series Locke & Key, premiering February 7. Created for TV by Carlton Cuse (Lost), Meredith Averill (The Haunting of Hill House) & Aron Eli Coleite (Daybreak), the series follows the dark-tinged discoveries of a group of siblings working to uncover family secrets in their strange ancestral home. The show is based on the best-selling comic book series from IDW by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
Synopsis: After their father is murdered under mysterious circumstances, the three Locke siblings and their mother move into their ancestral home, Keyhouse, which they discover is full of magical keys that may be connected to their father’s death. As the Locke children explore the different keys and their unique powers, a mysterious demon awakens — and will stop at nothing to steal them.
Locke & Key stars Darby Stanchfield (Scandal) as Nina Locke, Jackson Robert Scott (IT) as Bode Locke, Connor Jessup (American Crime) as Tyler Locke, Emilia Jones (Horrible Histories) as Kinsey Locke, Bill Heck (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) as Rendell Locke, Laysla De Oliveira as Dodge, Sherri Saum as Ellie Whedon, Thomas Mitchell Barnet as Sam Lesser, Griffin Gluck (American Vandal) as Gabe, and Coby Bird as Rufus Whedon.
Executive producers are Cuse, Averill, Coleite, Joe Hill and Chris Ryall, with Lydia Antoni and Ted Adams for IDW, Lindsey Springer for Genre Arts, Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, David Alpert and Rick Jacobs for Circle of Confusion, Tim Southam, John Weber and Frank Siracusa for Take 5.
Award-winning French animation studio Xilam Animation has appointed Caterina Gonnelli as EVP, Content for the company’s rapidly growing slate of projects. She is scheduled to join the company January 13, based in Xilam’s head office in Paris and reporting to CEO Marc du Pontavice.
Gonnelli will work alongside Xilam’s EVP, Content Jean Brune to oversee all editorial aspects of Xilam’s content and will be responsible for increasing the company’s slate, as well as conducting development to address the market needs. Formerly Director of Acquisitions and Co-Productions for the Disney Channels EMEA, Gonnelli’s expertise of the fast-changing worldwide market of kids’ content will help Xilam strengthen its reach across all distribution channels and platforms in the five continents.
Prior to Xilam, Caterina Gonnelli joined The Walt Disney Company in 2012 with an initial remit focused on local acquisitions and productions for the French market, which expanded over the years to include multi-territory pre-buys and co-productions across the EMEA region for Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior, from the identification of new third-party content to negotiations. Gonnelli previously held positions including Development Executive and Creative Producer at independent French production companies.
“We are thrilled to add such a remarkable talent to Xilam’s top executives,” said du Pontavice. “Caterina has built a very strong profile over the years from development to production, from acquisition to programming, at one of the world’s most prominent kids’ studios. Such invaluable expertise will boost Xilam’s response to a very fast-growing market towards premium kids’ content.”
Gonnelli added, “Xilam Animation has established an impressive, diverse and engaging slate of projects for kids and their families. I’m thrilled to be joining Marc and the team at this exciting time of growth as the company gears up for major new series launches, including Oggy Oggy for Netflix, and to continue shaping the company’s vision and content offering.”
As the next step in its indie animation journey, Cinema Management Group (CMG) has hired on Sumedha Saraogi as Head of Business Development. With more than 20 years of experience in product management, international sales and international marketing, Saraogi was previously head of int’l business development at Symbiosys Technologies, and worked with DQ Entertainment International.
CMG currently has six independent animated features in production; Saraogi will be off to a running start representing these projects at Kidscreen Summit in Miami next month. Her priority will then be the marketing and sales of Peru-Netherlands co-production Ainbo – Spirit of the Amazon and Triggerfish Animation’s (South Africa) Seal Team, both set to be delivered later in 2020.
Saraogi will also be handling CMG’s recently announced Panda Bear in Africa (Katuni, A. Films) and Kayara (Tunche FIlm).
The studio will present new footage of Kayara, Seal Team and Ainboat Kidscreen and the European Film Market in Berlin in February.
CROWDFUND: Rally for Blair Kitchen Family
Friends and colleagues of the Canadian animator and comic-book artist, who died unexpectedly on Sunday at just 43 years old, are raising money to help support Kitchen’s wife and children. Organizers have raised just over half of their $10,000 goal.
Snap Continues Acquisition Spree with Video Animation Startup
The popular social app, which has a history of acquiring innovative startups to feed its product development efforts, has taken on AI Factory. The Ukrainian startup worked with Snap on its new deepfake-esque “Cameos” feature that maps selfies onto videos. Snap previously acquired facial feature detection/manipulation tech co Looksery — also founded by Victor Shaburov — which is the base for the apps popular “Lenses”.
Kelly Day No Longer President of Viacom Digital Studios
Following the ViacomCBS conglomeration, Day is stepping away from the post she’s held since 2017 — in which time VDS snapped up major acquisitions VidCon and AwesomenessTV. The outgoing exec will continue to offer support to the VDS team, while Stephanie Schwartz steps in as Exec VP and General Manager of the division.
Seventh Season of ‘The Clone Wars’ Will Arrive on Disney+ February 17
The date drop was included in a video of major Disney updates for 2020 shared by Oh My Disney. It is unclear whether the twice-saved from cancellation animated series headed by Lucasfilm animation maestro Dave Filoni will return with a full season dump on the streaming platform, or one episode at a time.
’Castlevania’ Season 3 Dropping Soon?
Texas-based studio Powerhouse Animation is teasing the highly-anticipated season premiere is on its way… Fangs for the tip-off, friends — we’ll clear our schedules!
Following a Hong Kong awards ceremony on Monday, the winners of the Licensing International Asian Awards 2019 have been revealed. Chinese animation leader Fantawild secured the Entertainment Property of the Year – Animated honors for its franchise feature film Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past. The company was also nominated in three other categories: Asian Property of the Year (Boonie Bears), The Newcomer Award (Boonie Cubs) and Licensee of the Year – FMCG (Master Kong Boonie Bears Bottled Drinking Water).
Allen Lo, Senior Director of International Business at Fantawild, accepted the award on behalf of the company.
“We’re grateful for Licensing International’s acknowledgment, and our many partners’ trust in Boonie Bears and Fantawild,” commented Daisy Shang, Executive President of Fantawild Group & President of Fantawild Animation. “In the future, we’ll continue to innovate and make breakthroughs, work together with more partners to boost the innovation and development of the licensing industry, and create more quality properties that are family-friendly and long-lasting. I’m sure that together, we’ll bring world-class entertainment experience to both Chinese and global consumers.”
Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past is the sixth installment of the Boonie Bears franchise, the most well-known animated brand in China. The film drew in $106 million in box office over its Chinese New Year 2019 opening.
The Boonie Bears brand has been regarded as the most popular licensor among Chinese animated films. Its collaboration with other Chinese leading companies began with earlier installments, and the property now boasts strategic partnerships in brand licensing involving online and offline innovation and collaboration with over 20 industries, 100 renowned brands and 3,000 stock-keeping units.
A first glimpse at an upcoming one-hour special episodic event for Star Wars Resistance has arrived! The back-to-back adventures of Kaz and co in “The New World” and “No Place Safe” will premiere on Sunday, January 12 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Disney XD, and 10 p.m. ET/PT on Disney Channel
In “The New World,” Doza takes the Colossus to a hidden world on the outer rim, only to find it’s inhabited by a race of beings who don’t like them – for a very good reason.
In “No Place Safe,” when Kaz decides to join up with Poe and the Resistance, things go awry when he discovers the First Order has located the Colossus.
The new episodes will also be available on the DisneyNOW app and Disney Channel VOD on Jan. 12 from 12:01 a.m. PT.
Fox is in development on another new animated comedy series, Variety reports. Dubbed Temporary Humans, the show centers on a hapless 20-something named Jake who finds himself with an unusual roommate situation after he rescues naked and amnesiac Sammy from an explosion in a lake.
The project comes from writers and executive producers Marc Sloboda, Evan Hill and Nick Bailey. Will Arnett and Marc Forman are exec producing through Electric Avenue (which is under a first-look deal with Sony Pictures TV). Peter Principato and Charlie Sanders are also exec producers. Temporary Humans will be produced by Fox Entertainment and Sony.
The show’s creators originally met in college and have collaborated on comedy shorts ever since. Most recently, their post-apocalyptic comedy Omega House scored the Best Animated Project award in the New York Television Festival’s 2018 pilot competition and scored a development deal with Comedy Central.
Arnett is well known to animation fans, voicing the lead in Netflix hit BoJack Horseman, LEGO Batman in the animated LEGO-verse, and numerous other roles on films and series including The Nut Job 1 & 2, Ratatouille, Horton Hears a Who!, Monsters vs. Aliens, Despicable Me, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies and Sit Down Shut Up, in addition to his many live-action credits. He has also been a producer on BoJack and the Teen Titans GO! Movie. Arnett is set to host and exec produce Fox’s upcoming competition show Lego Masters, and will voice a character in the 2021 monster wrestling movie Rumble.
FOX Entertainment has ordered a stop-motion animated holiday special from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the Emmy Award-winning company founded by Seth Green, John Harvatine IV, Matthew Senreich and Eric Towner. The all-new, irreverent special, written by Emmy Award winner Tom Root (Robot Chicken), will premiere next winter on FOX, as part of its “Not So Silent Nights” holiday-themed programming.
“I truly love this project and we couldn’t ask for a better partner than FOX, since they’ve consistently been a leader in high-quality, provocative and subversive entertainment,” said Green. “We are very excited to make what we intend to be both a nostalgic and modern holiday classic.”
“FOX has a long and valued history with Seth as an actor, due largely to his fantastic voice work as ‘Chris Griffin’ on Family Guy. But Seth and his partners at Stoopid Buddy have created best-in-class stop-motion animation as well, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to grow this relationship,” said Michael Thorn, President, Entertainment, FOX Entertainment. “It also builds on our commitment to create holiday programming, and with Seth’s innate understanding of our company’s irreverent brand, we’re looking forward to a seasonal special that, simply put, could only air on FOX.”
“As kids, we looked forward to holiday programing all year,” added Root. “Our goal is to give grown-ups like us – fans of FOX animated shows with sick senses of humor – a holiday program worth watching after the kids are in bed.”
As told through the twisted filter of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the visceral, action-packed hour of holiday insanity will feature classic holiday icons, including Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, who come together with brand-new minor mascots from Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving and even Daylight Savings Day.
The holiday special will be produced by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and FOX Entertainment. It will be directed by John Harvatine IV. Seth Green, Harvatine, Tom Root, Matthew Senreich and Eric Towner will serve as executive producers.
Netflix is ready to drop viewers into a colorful, crazy world of animated adventure when Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts debuts on January 14 with 10 half-hour episodes. In the freshly dropped trailer, Kipo sings us into this strange, overgrown urban landscape full adorable but deadly creatures. But it’s not all weird bees and pettable mutant pigs. In this land, Kipo must face a power-mad foe — luckily, she’s got a new crew of friends to help!
After spending her entire life living in an underground burrow, a young girl named Kipo is thrust into an adventure on the surface of a fantastical post-apocalyptic Earth. She joins a ragtag group of survivors as they embark on a journey through a vibrant wonderland where everything trying to kill them is downright adorable.
The series is created and executive produced by Radford Sechrist (story artist, How to Train Your Dragon 2) and executive produced and developed for television by Bill Wolkoff (The Man Who Fell to Earth).
The cast features Karen Fukuhara (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) as the enthusiastic and curious “Kipo;” Sydney Mikayla (General Hospital) as “Wolf,” a weapon-wielding survivor who knows the ins and outs of the surface; Coy Stewart (The Blacklist) as the happy-go-lucky “Benson;” Deon Cole (black-ish) as “Dave,” a talking insect who has the jarring ability to suddenly age a full life cycle without warning; and Dee Bradley Baker (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) as the adorable mutant pig “Mandu”.
Also lending their voice talents for season 1 are Sterling K. Brown (Frozen II) as Kipo’s father “Lio Oak;” Dan Stevens (Legion) as the power-hungry “Scarlemagne;” Lea Delaria (Orange Is the New Black) as Timbercat “Molly Yarnchopper;” Joan Jett as rocker snake “Camille;” and John Hodgman and GZA (Wu Tang Clan) as the cosmically-curious wolves “Billions and Billions.”
The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominees for the 18th Annual VES Awards, recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in film, animation, television, commercials and video games, and the VFX supervisors, VFX producers and hands-on artists who bring this work to life. Nominees in 25 categories were selected by VES members via events hosted by 11 of its Sections, including Australia, the Bay Area, Germany, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington.
The VES Awards will be held on January 29 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Alita: Battle Angel and The Lion King snagged the most feature film nominations with five each; Toy Story 4 is the top animated film contender with five nominations; and Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian tie to lead the broadcast field with six nominations each.
“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create truly remarkable imagery in a variety of media,” said Mike Chambers, VES Chair. “We are seeing best-in-class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!”
As previously announced, the VES Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Academy, DGA and Emmy Award winning director-producer-screenwriter Martin Scorsese. The VES Visionary Award will be presented to acclaimed director-producer-screenwriter Roland Emmerich. And the VES Award for Creative excellence will be presented to acclaimed visual effects supervisor Sheena Duggal. Award-winning actor-comedian-author Patton Oswalt will once again host the VES Awards.
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL Richard Hollander, Kevin Sherwood, Eric Saindon, Richard Baneham, Bob Trevino AVENGERS: ENDGAME Daniel DeLeeuw, Jen Underdahl, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Daniel Sudick GEMINI MAN Bill Westenhofer, Karen Murphy-Mundell, Guy Williams, Sheldon Stopsack, Mark Hawker STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Roger Guyett, Stacy Bissell, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy THE LION KING Robert Legato, Tom Peitzman, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones
Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature FROZEN 2 Steve Goldberg, Peter Del Vecho, Mark Hammel, Michael Giaimo KLAUS Sergio Pablos, Matthew Teevan, Marcin Jakubowski, Szymon Biernack MISSING LINK Brad Schiff, Travis Knight, Steve Emerson, Benoit Dubuc THE LEGO MOVIE 2 David Burgess, Tim Smith, Mark Theriault, John Rix TOY STORY 4 Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen, Bob Moyer, Gary Bruins
Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode GAME OF THRONES; The Bells Joe Bauer, Steve Kullback, Ted Rae, Mohsen Mousavi, Sam Conway HIS DARK MATERIALS; The Fight to the Death Russell Dodgson, James Whitlam, Shawn Hillier, Robert Harrington LADY AND THE TRAMP Robert Weaver, Christopher Raimo, Arslan Elver, Michael Cozens, Bruno Van Zeebroeck LOST IN SPACE; Ninety-Seven Jabbar Raisani, Terron Pratt, Niklas Jacobson, Juri Stanossek, Paul Benjamin STRANGER THINGS – Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum Paul Graff, Tom Ford, Michael Maher Jr., Martin Pelletier, Andy Sowers THE MANDALORIAN; The Child Richard Bluff, Abbigail Keller, Jason Porter, Hayden Jones, Roy K. Cancion
Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL; Alita Michael Cozens, Mark Haenga, Olivier Lesaint, Dejan Momcilovic AVENGERS: ENDGAME; Smart Hulk Kevin Martel, Ebrahim Jahromi, Sven Jensen, Robert Allman GEMINI MAN; Junior Paul Story, Stuart Adcock, Emiliano Padovani, Marco Revelant THE LION KING; Scar Gabriel Arnold, James Hood, Julia Friedl, Daniel Fortheringham
Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature FROZEN 2; The Water Nøkk Svetla Radivoeva, Marc Bryant, Richard E. Lehmann, Cameron Black KLAUS; Jesper Yoshimichi Tamura, Alfredo Cassano, Maxime Delalande, Jason Schwartzman MISSING LINK; Susan Rachelle Lambden, Brenda Baumgarten, Morgan Hay, Benoit Dubuc TOY STORY 4; Bo Peep Radford Hurn, Tanja Krampfert, George Nguyen, Becki Rocha Tower
Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project LADY AND THE TRAMP; Tramp Thiago Martins, Arslan Elver, Stanislas Paillereau, Martine Chartrand STRANGER THINGS 3; Tom/Bruce Monster Joseph Dubé-Arsenault, Antoine Barthod, Frederick Gagnon, Xavier Lafarge THE MANDALORIAN; The Child; Mudhorn Terry Bannon, Rudy Massar, Hugo Leygnac THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY; Pilot; Pogo Aidan Martin, Craig Young, Olivier Beierlein, Laurent Herveic
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the Motion Pictures and Television nominees for the 31st Annual Producers Guild Awards. Winners in these categories will be announced at the PGA awards ceremony on January 18 at the Hollywood Palladium.
The nominees in the Children’s and the new Innovation category were announced last month.
Up for the Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures are the people behind some of the most spectacular studio feats of the year:
Abominable (DreamWorks/Pearl) Suzanne Buirgy
Frozen II (Disney) Peter Del Vecho
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (DreamWorks) Bradford Lewis, Bonnie Arnold
Missing Link (LAIKA) Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight
Toy Story 4 (Disney-Pixar) Mark Nielsen, Jonas Rivera
Peter Del Vecho previously won the category for Frozen and was nominated for The Princess and the Frog. Bradford Lewis previously won for Ratatouille. Bonnie Arnold has won for Toy Story and been nominated for the first two Dragon movies. Arianne Sutner and Travis Knight have been twice nominated, for Kubo and the Two Strings and ParaNorman; Knight was also nominated for The Boxtrolls. Jonas Rivera has won for Inside Out and Up — the latter was also nominated in the main Theatrical Motion Picture category.
The Producers Guild Awards are often a bellwether for the Oscars. Since its inception, the PGA has predicted 21 of the 30 winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture. This year’s contenders are 1917, Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Knives Out, Little Women, Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and Parasite.
At the awards ceremony this month, the Guild will present special honors to powerhouse producers and leaders who have left their indelible mark on the entertainment industry. The 2020 honorees include Ted Sarandos (Milestone Award); Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures); Marta Kauffman (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television); Octavia Spencer (Visionary Award); and the Lionsgate film Bombshell (The Stanley Kramer Award).
Additionally, the winner of the Innovation Award and the winner in the Short-Form category will be announced at a PGA nominees event on January 16 at the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles. The winners in the Children’s and Sports categories will be announced at a nominees celebration in New York on January 13 at the Ascent Lounge.
See the complete list of Motion Picture and TV nominees on the PGA website. Missing Link[/caption]
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden WorldFrozen 2Abominable
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced the nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2020. The awards ceremony on Sunday, February 2 will be held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, hosted by Graham Norton, and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One and BBC One HD in the U.K. and in all major territories around the world.
Four movies are vying for the Animated Film prize:
Frozen II (Disney) Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
Klaus (SPA Studios/Netflix) Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (Aardman) Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
Toy Story 4 (Disney-Pixar) Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen
The Irishman Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
The Lion King Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
And vying for British Short Animation honors are:
Grandad Was a Romantic Maryam Mahajer
In Her Boots Kathrin Steinbacher
The Magic Boat Naaman Azhari, Lilia Laurel
A total of 39 feature films were recognized in the list; Joker received the most nominations with 11, followed by The Irishman and Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood (10) and 1917 (9).
Fred Rogers Productions favorite Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is kicking off the new year with tigerrific new episodes debuting this week on PBS KIDS. These outings will introduce some fresh strategies for preschoolers to try out in 2020, including ways to stay calm at a restaurant and what’s neat about playing your own way! And in one of the premieres, Daniel and his friends take an exciting trip to the Crayon Factory – a nod to a fan-favorite Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood episode – and Daniel remembers ways he can manage his mad feelings.
New episodes debuting Jan. 6-8 on PBS KIDS:
413A Daniel’s Tiger Twirl
At the Neighborhood Carnival, Miss Elaina shows off her cartwheel trick, but when Daniel tries, he can’t do a cartwheel like the one Miss Elaina did. Dad Tiger teaches Daniel that he can do a trick his own way, the Daniel way!
413B You Can Play Your Own Way
Daniel is playing school with Miss Elaina and Jodi, but Miss Elaina gets upset when Jodi keeps copying everything she does. The friends help Jodi realize that she has great ideas of her own, and that she should play her own way. Strategy: You can do things in your own special way!
417A Calm at the Restaurant
The Tiger Family goes to the restaurant for taco night with Jodi and Dr. Plat. Daniel and Jodi find out that there are times to be silly and times to be calm.
417B Calm in Class
Music Man Stan comes to school for a special musical story with the class. Daniel, Katerina and Miss Elaina learn to be calm so that everyone can enjoy the story. Strategy: Give a squeeze, nice and slow, take a deep breath…let it go.
418A Mad at the Crayon Factory
Daniel returns to the Crayon Factory with O the Owl and Jodi. When Daniel gets mad that he doesn’t get a crayon box right away, he takes a deep breath and realizes there are plenty of boxes for everyone.
418B Mad at School
Daniel and O are building a cardboard car contraption at school, but when it breaks, they get mad. Once they take a deep breath and count to four, they’re able to fix their contraption together. Strategy: When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four.
The Sketchboard Pro, an iPad stand designed specifically with artists in mind, will make its debut at the 2020 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Created by a studio of artists at Braintreehouse (braintreehouse.com) with backgrounds in game development, comics, animation and product design as a solution for professional artists using an iPad as their main tool, the Sketchboard Pro provides a totally flat drawing surface for a seamless and comfortable creative experience – the benefits of digital drawing with the familiarity and feel of drawing on paper.
Artists of all ages and backgrounds are transitioning to the iPad to create their work, due in large part to the release of the Apple Pen and Apple’s integration of Photoshop on the device. The Braintreehouse artists quickly realized they couldn’t use the iPad and Apple Pencil without experiencing discomfort and difficulty holding the device, so they set out to design a solution. Sketchboard was created for artists, but is already gaining attention in other areas — even Egyptology! — and use cases, including students taking notes in class and those with muscular control limitations.
“We are so excited to show off Sketchboard Pro at CES this year – it was created by artists, for artists,” said JJ Harrison, Founder of Braintreehouse, “I kept getting pain in my hands and my neck and I knew it was caused by my excessive use of my iPad. After I started using our prototypes in all my work, that pain disappeared. From then on, I knew this product was one that we had to share with everyone in our industry.”
Modeled after traditional illustration sketch boards, the Sketchboard Pro cradles your iPad to create a totally flat drawing surface around the screen. This smooth workspace allows for more comfort and support while drawing and was designed to fit into most artists’ working environments. Fold-out legs make it possible to work comfortably at a drawing desk, table, couch, or even in bed.
Sketchboard Pro has already caught the attention of professional artists using the Apple Pencil and iPad in their daily workflow, including DC Comics artist Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman), who used the Sketchboard Pro to draw an entire issue of Batwoman.
“Drawing for hours on my iPad caused a lot of discomfort in my hand and arm,” said Hardin, “but after drawing on the Sketchboard Pro, I was much more comfortable even drawing for days on end. It puts the artist back to their natural drawing state.”
Sketchboard Pro recently closed a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $100k and is now available for pre-order for $50. The team will be at CES 2020 and available for demonstrations at booth 53361 in Eureka Park.
For more information, visit www.sketchboardpro.com.
GKIDS has announced the English-language voice cast for Weathering With You, the new film from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura — creators of the animated film Your Name., which broke box office records worldwide and is currently getting a live-action remake from JJ Abrams.
The new dubbed version of Weathering With You will feature the voices of Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hobbit trilogy) as Suga, Alison Brie (GLOW, The LEGO Movie franchise) as Natsumi, and Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Venom) as Takai.
Brandon Engman voices Hodaka, Ashley Boettcher is Hina, Emeka Guindo is Nagi, VinniePenna is Kimura, Mike Pollock is Yasui and Barbara Goodson is Tachibana.
GKIDS will theatrically release Weathering With You nationwide on January 17, following special nationwide fan preview screenings through Fathom Events on January 15 and January 16 (tickets available online).
The film has already become the #1 local film at the Japanese box office for 2019, and was Japan’s official selection for the Best International Feature category at the Academy Awards, the first time the country submitted an animated feature for consideration since Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke.
GKIDS and NYAV Post produced the English-language dubbed version of Weathering With You, and it was directed by Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh — who previously directed and starred in the English-language version of Your Name.
With music-packed animated adventure Trolls World Tour ready to drop some fresh beats from DreamWorks Animation on April 17, Hasbro is helping bring the magical worlds of the sequel home with a new line of toys which capture the colorful, creative vibe of the Trolls.
In the movie DreamWorks Trolls World Tour, Queen Poppy and her friends go on an epic, Trolls-tastic journey to save all music. Now kids can go on their own journey of imagination with DreamWorks Poppy with the DreamWorks Trolls World Tour Pop-to-Rock Poppy Doll. This musical toy has 2 different looks and 2 different sounds: pop and rock. Hand Poppy her ukulele and push the button, and kids will hear a pop version of the song “Trolls Just Want to Have Fun” from the movie. But when they put the rock ‘n roll outfit on Poppy and hand her the electric guitar, they’ll hear a hard rock version of the same song! Kids can pretend that Poppy is performing for her friends and sing along! Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.
Trolls World Tour
Bobble Set Assortment
(Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $9.99 /Available: Spring) The
DreamWorks Trolls World Tour Bobbles feature 2 different figures inspired by the movie Trolls World Tour, one adult and one kid. The kid figure has a bobble head, so kids can pretend he’s moving to the beat of the music. The set also includes a base inspired by the location in the movie. Put the kid figure on the base and touch a button, and the base wobbles to make his head bobble. Kids can imagine they’re visiting different musical lands on an epic adventure to save all of music with this toy. There are two Trolls World Tour Bobbles for kids to collect. Rock City Bobble features Poppy in a Hard Rock outfit, and a Hard Rock Kid. Techno Reef Bobble features Techno Reef’s Mermaid Trolls leader and a Mermaid Kid. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.
With all-new silhouettes that make it easier to dress up these DreamWorks Trolls fashion dolls, each one features a stylish dress with a hook and loop closure. The dolls also feature rooted hair so kids can have fun styling and decorating their hair with the included hair accessory. Little ones can dress up these dolls, style their hair, and recreate favorite scenes from the movie or imagine that they’re joining them on their own adventures. Kids can collect Stylin’ Barb, Stylin’ DJ Suki and Stylin’ Poppy. Sold separately. Subject to availability. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.
Kids can pretend to be their favorite characters from the movie by putting on these fun character sunglasses. With lenses in fun shapes and a wild tuft of hair, these roleplay shades are inspired by Poppy’s and Tiny Diamond’s looks in the movie. Kids can recreate favorite scenes or make up their own new adventures, and they can be part of a Trolls Halloween costume, too! Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.
Trolls World Tour
Superstar Poppy
(Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $19.99 /Available: Spring) Sing along with DreamWorks Trolls World Tour Superstar Poppy! This delightful doll stands nearly 12 inches tall from her toes to the top of her hair. Push the button on the front of her dress and she sings “Trolls Just Want to Have Fun,” as heard in the movie DreamWorks Trolls World Tour. The doll’s arms and head can be posed for more ways to play. Makes a great gift for girls 4 years and up, or any fan of DreamWorks Trolls. Available at most major toy retailers. Not available in the US.
Kids can have the fun of singing along with Poppy and her friends with Poppy’s Microphone. This musical toy features 5 different songs from the movie, each from one of the Troll’s sequel’s musical lands, including “Trolls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Good Times” and “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” The microphone lights up when the music plays, pulsing to the beat as kids sing these fun songs. Available at most major toy retailers. Not available in the U.S.
Tiny Dancers are little figures that shimmy and shake. These collectable toys take favorite characters from Trolls World Tour and turns them into fun collectables that kids can play with or wear! The Tiny Dancers Friend Pack includes 2 Tiny Dancers figures, plus 2 bracelets and 10 charms inspired by the movie, so kids can customize their look. Wear one on each wrist or share with a friend! Swap out the included figures with ones from other Tiny Dancers toys. Sold separately. Subject to availability. There are 6 different combinations of figures and bracelets, so everyone is a delightful surprise to open. Put ’em on and make ’em wiggle! Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.
The Tiny Dancers Greatest Hits pack includes 6 collectible figures, a necklace, two bracelets, 5 charms inspired by the movie, 4 rings and 4 barrettes so kids can customize their look. Attach figures and wear them everywhere or share with a friend. Swap out the included figures with ones from other Tiny Dancers toys. Sold separately. Subject to availability. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.
Trolls World Tour
Tiny Dancers Series 1
(Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $2.99 /Available: Spring)
Series 1 features 12 different fun, stylized Tiny Dancers characters inspired by the movie Trolls World Tour, and each package is a surprise! You don’t know which one you’ll get until you open it. Maybe it’s the V.I.T. (Very Important Troll)! Attach the figure to the included ring and barrette and make them dance. Wear them everywhere or share with a friend. Kids can collect all the Tiny Dancers. Each sold separately. Subject to availability. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide.
Upcoming mobile-first media technology platform Quibi announced it has greenlit clay stop-motion series Gloop World, from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios. The show is created by Justin Roiland (Rick and Morty), who developed the project alongside John Harvatine IV (Crossing Swords) and Eric Towner (Buddy Thunderstruck). Harvatine will direct.
Gloop World chronicles the absurd — but strangely relatable — lives of anthropomorphic blobs and roommates, Bob Roundy and Funzy. Viewers will follow the pair as they navigate a malleable, clay-mated suburbia and the outskirts of Gloop World.
“Gloop World has been a dream of mine to make for almost seven years,” said Roiland. “A tactile clay animation show with a mysterious, weird and expansive world and really fun characters, fingerprints and all. I couldn’t have done this without the folks at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, who understood exactly what I meant when I wanted the clay animation to have an imperfect approach, where you can see the animators in the work. I want the Gloop characters to feel like you can reach into your phone and gram them yourself. Can’t wait to share this weird, silly show with the world!”
“Ever since I first saw Gumby, I was fascinated with clay as a medium,” said Harvatine. “Gloop World is funny, and it’s innovative, and Quibi is the perfect home for this show.”
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios’ Seth Green, Harvatine, Matthew Senreich, Towner and Chris Waters will serve as executive producers on the project.
Quibi is set to launch in the U.S. on April 6. Visit www.quibi.com for up to date series announcements for the platform, including Gloop World and animated superhero series Trill League, produced by Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) and based on the graphic novel by Anthony Piper.
In 2020, the Los Angeles-based Secret Movie Club is hosting screenings of some of the most beloved anime of all time, as part of their Anime Buffet programming slate, which will run from January through April.
The Anime Buffet is scheduled to include groundbreaking films such as Ghost in the Shell, Perfect Blue, Paprika, Millennium Actress, Metropolis (2001), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Vampire Hunter D, Grave of the Fireflies and Tokyo Godfathers. Screenings will alternate between two different locations: the Vista Theater in Los Feliz, the historic single screen theater built in 1922, and the Club, Secret Movie Club’s new downtown location (1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor).
“Secret Movie Club loves to make new discoveries with its programs. Japanese anime is so big and complex, so we wanted to do a series that showcases how diverse these movies are,” said Secret Movie Club Founder Craig Hammill, “As programmers, it’s easy to get lazy and just show the great Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki films, which we love, but we wanted to go deeper. This series gives us the chance to do a mini-retrospective of the work of anime legend Satoshi Kon, as well as a screening of Vampire Hunter D, an early anime masterpieces that pushed the artform with adult content, and the emotionally profound film Grave of the Fireflies and the popular Cowboy BeBop (which is almost sold out already). We look at these series as journeys. And really look forward to going on this anime journey with our audience.”
COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE
(2001, Sony, dir. by Shinichiro Watanabe, 35mm, 115 min.)
Friday, January 10 @ 11:59 p.m., The Vista
In 2071, Earth has been ravaged by catastrophe. Humans have colonized other planets and the universe is a new Wild West. A group of Bounty Hunters travel on the spaceship BeBop in search of quarry and rewards. When a contagion gets released in a truck disaster on Mars, our heroes-Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed and Ein (a dog with human-grade smarts due to artificial enhancement) go off in search of the culprit and the reward that goes with it.
“One of the great things with Japanese anime, as with all cinema and art, is how each set of creators imbue the genre with their own personal style and stamp,” said Hammill. “Cowboy BeBop, as its title itself implies, is a mashup of sci-fi, westerns, Hong Kong action movies, and an improvisatory iconoclastic jazz rhythm that make the viewing experience a total blast and totally singular.”
VAMPIRE HUNTER D
(1985, Sentai Filmworks, dir. by Toyoo Ashida, 80 min.)
Friday, January 17 @ 7:30 p.m., The Club
The movie centers on Doris Lang, the daughter of a werewolf hunter, who gets bitten by 10,000 year old Count Magnus Lee one night. She then meets a strange vampire hunter, who only goes by the name D, and employs him to take on the long-lost vampire lord and try to help her from becoming a vampire herself.
“Vampire Hunter D is one of the earliest examples of Japanese anime that was made explicitly with teenagers and adults more in mind than children,” said Hammill. “Made for the then emerging direct-to-video market, Vampire Hunter D had a smaller budget than its feature film peers. But in a strange way, this freed up director Toyoo Ashida to make a more exciting, violent, sensual animation. Ashida has gone on the record as saying his intent with the movie was to make something thrilling that tired students could enjoy during study breaks rather than make an anime that further exhausted them. Full of genre mash-ups, amazing art and design, and storytelling, Vampire Hunter D definitely serves as a prototype and torch in the darkness for future directors like Satoshi Kon, who will take anime into ever more complex, adult, shadowy realms.”
GHOST IN THE SHELL
(1995, Lionsgate, dir. by Mamoru Oshii, 85 min.)
Saturday, January 18 @ 11:59 p.m., The Vista
Often the cyberpunk genre, which would come to full flourish here in the United States with the Wachowski’s The Matrix, can be traced most directly to two Japanese anime parents: 1988’s Akira and 1995’s Ghost in the Shell. Often considered one of the greatest Japanese anime movies of all time, Ghost in the Shell dives head-first into the darker, deeper waters of more adult sci-fi.
It’s 2029 and the human body can be augmented with “smart” prosthetic cybernetics. The most recent innovation, and the most terrifying, is a cyberbrain, which allows humans to now go online/get hooked into the internet, straight through their neural pathways. Our hero, Motoko Kusanagi, is part of an elite squad that fights crime in “New Port City” in Japan. Currently, they are kept busy by an arch criminal known as “The Puppet Master” who appears to have the ability to hack into these “cyberbrains” and get folks to assassinate, kill, commit crimes. As Motoko further explores what’s going on with both the Puppet Master and the innovations in cybernetics, she stumbles across a revelation that goes to the very heart of our philosophical understanding of what makes us unique individuals: what constitutes our “soul”.
PAPRIKA
(2006, Sony Pictures Classics, dir. by Satoshi Kon, 35mm, 90 min.)
Friday, January 31 @ 11:59 p.m., The Vista
If Hayao Miyazaki is synonymous with a kind of all-ages wildly imaginative Japanese anime, then director Satoshi Kon is synonymous with a Japanese anime that dares to go to the very limits of what any kind of cinema can explore in terms of human psychology, fear, desire, imagination. And he does it in the most creative and miraculous of artistic ways. Paprika is one of his wildest mind-bending creations of all.
In the near-future, there is a device called the “DC Mini” which allows Dr. Atsuko Chiba to enter the dreams of her patients (using her alter-ego “Paprika”) to help try to discover the root of their fears, anxieties, and hang ups. But the problem is that the “DC Mini” is still in prototype mode with no restrictions or safety barriers whatsoever. And if it gets into the wrong hands (which of course it does), it allows the thieves to enter dreams for more sinister and nefarious reasons.
METROPOLIS
(2001, Sony, dir. by Rintaro, 35mm, 113 min., Japanese with English subtitles)
Saturday, February 1 @ 10:45 p.m., The Club
Written by Katsuhiro Otomo (writer/director of the classic anime Akira), Metropolis shares much of its DNA with that seminal anime classic including a central character who is rocked to their psychological core by the realization of their “super human” abilities and an impending apocalypse that threatens the entire foundations of a huge city.
MILLENNIUM ACTRESS
(2002, ELEVEN Arts, dir. by Satoshi Kon, 82 min., Japanese with English subtitles)
Wednesday, February 12 @ 8 p.m., The Club
Millennium Actress tells the emotional story (in a decidedly surreal and modernist way) of famous actor Chiyoko Fujiwara, who tells her life story to documentarians and explains she only ever became an actress in the hopes of being recognized by an artist/political rebel she fell in love with as a teenager and never saw again. As Chiyoko tells her story, it becomes hard to tell what’s her real life, what are movie scenes she starred in, and where fiction/reality meet and diverge.
Special Note: There will be three originally written 3-4 minute monologues performed by three actresses ahead of the screening running a total of 10-12 minutes.
PERFECT BLUE
(1997, GKIDS, dir. by Satoshi Kon, 35mm, 81 min.)
Friday, February 21 @ 11:59 p.m., The Vista
Kon fully commits to an anime that is as rich, dark, and complex as any Scorsese, Kubrick, Lynch or Bergman movie. But with the added benefit of being able to cinematically represent psychological states of mind in a way that is often impossible in live-action cinema.
“If you want to see anime that absolutely succeeds in expanding the playing field of what cinema can do, come join us for Perfect Blue,” said Hammill.
THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME
(2006, Funimation, dir. by Mamoru Hosoda, 98 min.; English dubbed version)
Saturday, March 14 @ 10:30 a.m., The Vista
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time tells the story of young teenager Makoto Konno, who discovers a magical object in her high school that allows her to leap through time and prevent situations that caused her great embarrassment. This premise, as with all good premises fully explored, deepens into a meditation on wish fulfillment versus reality. Makoto, first using the device for frivolous things, comes to realize that the device has its price. And that she is not the only one using it…
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
(1988, GKIDS, dir. by Isao Takahata, 90 min.; Japanese with English subtitles)
Saturday, April 4 @ 10:30 a.m., The Vista
One of the absolute greatest animes ever made, Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata, deals with siblings Seita and Satsuko, who have to rely on each other to survive after they’re separated from their parents during the American fire-bombing of Tokyo in the late stages of World War II.
