Today at Apple Session Tying into Apple TV+ ‘Snoopy in Space’
With the new STEM-fueled Peanuts adventure set to launch, select Apple Stores are introducing a drawing class as part of its series of Today at Apple workshops. The first “Design Lab: Draw Your Astronaut Inspired by Snoopy in Space” is scheduled for November 2. See what sessions are happening near you here.
Grand Opening of Funko Hollywood Set for Nov. 18
Located at 6201 Hollywood Blvd., the 40,000-square-foot shop will be chock full of shareable social media photo ops, including life-size Funko statues and immersive “sets” inspired by major fandoms — and of course, oodles of must-have collectibles. The shopping spree kicks off with a Grand Opening event on Monday, Nov. 18.
2019 CBS Holiday TV Special Schedule
Catch the classic animated adventures Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Robbie the Reindeer and more on your local station and CBS All Access.
CALL FOR ENTRIES: 41st Telly Awards
The world’s largest honor for video and television content across all screens opened its annual call for entries, offering several exciting new categories that signal the continued growth in creative approaches to the rising digital video production, storytelling and distribution landscape: new Immersive & Mixed Reality categories (which embrace media from VR, 360 video and AR), new Social Impact categories, and an expansion of its Diversity & Inclusion categories. The Awards are also rolling out a new campaign this year, dubbed “Telly Award Winners Tell Great Stories”, which celebrates their origins in local and regional commercials, as well as their inclusive, platform-agnostic theme and message. Early entry deadline is December 6, 2019. Winners will be announced May 20.
Created by SVA grad Vivenne Medrano (Vivziepop), the just-debuted adult toon set in ultraviolent, hypersexed and cartoonishly ghoulish underworld has already surpassed 2 million views in just two days. Click through to watch the whole half-hour pilot, or watch the trailer below for a taste of what’s in store.
Follow Charlie, the princess of Hell, as she pursues her seemingly impossible goal of rehabilitating demons to peacefully reduce overpopulation in her kingdom. After a yearly extermination imposed by angels, She opens a hotel in hopes that patients will be “checking out” into Heaven. While most of Hell mocks her goal, her devoted partner Vaggie, and their first test subject, adult film-star Angel Dust, stick by her side. When a powerful entity known as the “Radio Demon” reaches out to Charlie to assist in her endeavors, her crazy dream is given a chance to become a reality.
‘Sarah & Duck’ Returns to the U.S.
The sweetly surreal British preschool comedy from Karrot Entertainment will be available again to Stateside fans with full episodes from Season 1 rolling out on YouTube. The reintroduction begins with a 20-minute compilation featuring “Lots of Shallots,” “Sarah, Duck & the Penguins” and “Cheer Up Donkey,” with fresh episodes uploading every Tuesday and Friday. Watch clips and eps on the Sarah and Duck Official YouTube Channel. BBC Worldwide is series distributor.
Disney Junior’s Puppy Dog Pals has been greenlit for Season 4, just ahead of the third season’s premiere.
Created by comedian Harland Williams, the hit series centers on fun-loving pug puppy brothers Bingo (Issac Ryan Brown) and Rolly (Sam Lavagnino), whose thrill-seeking appetites take them on adventures in their neighborhood and around the globe. Whether helping their owner Bob (voiced by Williams), exploring with their pal Keia (Shiloh Nelson) or overseeing their own Puppy Playcare center, the pugs’ motto is that life is more exciting with your best friend by your side.
The core voice cast also features Tom Kenny as A.R.F. and Jessica DiCicco as Hissy, with recurring cast members Huey Lewis as Bulworth, Patrick Warburton as Captain Dog. Jack McBrayer as Hedgie the Hedgehog, Yvette Nicole Brown as Daisy, Leslie David Baker as Frank Exposition, Cheri Oteri as Esther Exposition, Jill Talley as Cupcake, Mo Collins as Strider and Tress MacNeille as Bob’s Mom.
The third season, which premieres on Friday November 8 at 10 a.m. on Disney Channel, will feature guest stars Darius Rucker as musician Ramblin’ Rhodes; Jennifer Nettles as Capo, a guitar guru dog; Jaime Camil as Hector, a dancer; Bill Burr as Butch, a quirky dog who lives at a tire shop; Stephen Tobolowsky as a worried elf; Chi McBride as Mr. Kimble, the host of the television program “Mr. Kimble’s Community”; and Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Mr. Kimble’s dog, Floyd.
Puppy Dog Pals is executive produced by Sean Coyle, with Williams as consulting producer, Michael Olson as story editor, and Andy Bean as songwriter & composer for the series. The show is produced by Wild Canary Animation in association with Disney Junior.
Kids entertainment streaming platform, Ameba TV has added BMG Global’s charming, endearing animated series Sunny Bank Garden to its growing library of kid’s entertainment content.
Sunny Bank Garden (12 x 11’) follows two young children as they discover how exciting and magical nature and growing your own food can be. Helped along by a host of characters, including a friendly scarecrow, Mr. Robin and other people from the gardening community, Pippa and Barney learn all about plants, seeds and animals in their growing adventures. A family friendly, educational and fun series aimed at preschool children, the TV series will help to answer children’s questions about where their food comes from, as well as helping them to learn and challenge their own imaginations.
“We’re very excited to begin our Ameba TV partnership with our show Sunny Bank Garden. Ameba TV and Sunny Bank Garden are a perfect fit and strengthen the BMG Global commitment to providing kid friendly and family friendly content that educates, encourages and entertains,” noted Steve Bulzoni, VP Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, Bridgestone Multimedia Group.
Established in 2007, Ameba (www.amebatv.com) currently boasts over 8,000 titles in its library (1,300+ hours). Available throughout Canada and the U.S., young audiences and their families can easily access Ameba on smart TVs, set top boxes, mobile, tablet, web and game consoles. In 2019, Ameba became the first and only Canadian-owned Children’s Streaming service to become CAVCO approved.
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, BMG Global has curated and distributed quality, family-friendly entertainment for over 30 years. With a library of over 400 feature films and 500 episodes of series television content, BMG provides worldwide management and distribution of digital, broadcast, physical and public performance rights for content owners. BMG also owns and operates the EncourageTV OTT channel.
Disney+ shared on its social media channels Wednesday some first-looks at the Pixar content coming to the service at launch on November 12, including original programming and its collection of library titles from Pixar Animation Studios. Check out the Disney+ Originals trailers below!
SparkShorts. Pixar Animation Studios’ short film collection is designed to discover new storytellers and explore new storytelling techniques from across the studio.
Pixar IRL. In this short-form series, Pixar characters are brought to life, surprising real people on location and viewers at home.
Forky Asks A Question. Forky, from Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 4, is a craft project created from trash, so he has important questions about how the world works, such as: What is love? What is time? He explores all of these questions and more in a collection of 10 shorts.
The titles will join the library of critically-acclaimed and fan-favorite films from Pixar Animation Studios including Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Inside Out and more.
Actor and comedian John Witherspoon, who delighted audiences with his distinctive characters in films and TV series including the Friday movies, The Wayans Bros., The Tracy Morgan Show and hit animated hit series The Boondocks, died Tuesday at age 77. The death was unexpected — the performer had several upcoming stand-up appearances scheduled — and Witherspoon passed at his home in Southern California.
The news was confirmed to Deadline by Witherspoon’s family:
“It is with deepest sorrow that we can confirm our beloved husband and father, John Witherspoon, one of the hardest working men in show business, died today at his home in Sherman Oaks at the age of 77. He is survived by his wife Angela, and his sons JD, Alexander, and a large family. We are all in shock, please give us a minute for a moment in privacy and we will celebrate his life and his work together. John used to say ‘I’m no big deal’, but he was huge deal to us.”
Born in Detroit in 1942 as John Weatherspoon, the comedy legend began in stand-up before edging into acting with TV guest star roles. Witherspoon made his feature film debut in The Jazz Singer in 1980, going on to appear in numerous pictures from Vampire in Brooklyn to The Ladies Man.
He brought to life beloved oddball father figures, like Ice Cube’s dad in Friday (1995) and its sequels (he was expected to reprise his role in the long-awaited final installment, Last Friday), Pops in The Wayans Bros. and Grandad on The Boondocks. Witherspoon followed the cartoon’s creator Aaron McGruder onto his live-action Adult Swim series, Black Jesus.
Witherspoon did not do voice over for animation regularly, but his distinctive voice and energetic delivery — as he pointed out in an interview with Joe Rogan earlier this year, he didn’t change his voice for Boondocks — are recognizable to animation fans. Witherspoon’s animation guest star credits include BoJack Horseman, Animals., Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, Kim Possible, The Proud Family and Bébé’s Kids.
***This article originally appeared in the December ‘19 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 295)***
The hugely loved children’s books of Dr. Seuss (the late Theodor Geisel) have inspired numerous shorts, TV specials, series and feature adaptations. Just last year, Universal/Illumination’s movie about the origins of The Grinch made over $511.6 million worldwide. This month, fans of the good doctor can enjoy a beautifully crafted Warner Bros. Animation/Netflix adaptation of his 1960 book Green Eggs and Ham, which has sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
By many standards, this 13-half-hours adaptation has to be a record-breaking achievement, since it manages to expand upon a source material that is about 50 words long. (In 1973, the book along with The Sneetches and The Zax also inspired the DePatie-Freleng TV special Dr. Seuss on the Loose.) Opening up the story, the series finds Sam I Am (voiced by Adam Devine) rescuing the rare Chickeraffe from the Glurfsburg Zoo and hiding it in his briefcase. That’s when he accidentally switches his briefcase with grumpy inventor Guy Am I (Michael Douglas), and then crosses paths with overprotective mom Michellee (Diane Keaton) and her daughter EB (Ilana Glazer), who falls madly in love with the Chickeraffe!
We also have to mention that they’re pursued by a nefarious bounty hunter, Goat (John Turturro), two professional bad guys (Jeffrey Wright and Jillian Bell) and Snerz (Eddie Izzard), a tiny evil overlord who’s also out to get the Chickeraffe! There’s also Fox (Tracy Morgan), who is torn by his love for a chicken and her tasty green eggs; revolutionary, cheese-loving Mouse (Daveed Diggs); and a rhyming narrator (of course), voiced by Keegan-Michael Key.
Green Eggs and Ham
A New, Colorful World
The show’s exec producer Jared Stern says he remembers the book fondly ,since it was one of his favorites when he was a boy and his grandmother used to read it to him, and he used to read it back to her. “Dr. Seuss created these books to help children books,” he says. “The Cat in the Hat was the first one, and its success led to all the others. When I re-read the book, I was immediately struck by the fact that it was a great buddy story, with the grumpy guy who is closed off to things and the silly character who is open and playful. It also worked as a road trip story — ‘I won’t eat it on the boat, car, etc.’ Just like Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Midnight Run, which I loved. So, we used the book as a jumping off point. We visit lots of locations and meet lots of interesting, colorful characters.”
Jared Stern
Stern, who began his career at Disney Features and worked on Wreck-It-Ralph and wrote the screenplays for Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie and exec produced the animated features Storks and Smallfoot, began working on the project almost 10 years ago. Eventually, the project came to the attention of exec producer Ellen DeGeneres and Netflix became interested. “We put together a pitch that only highlighted three episodes of the show, but they told us they wanted to buy a whole season,” recalls Stern.
Of course, Stern and his team needed the approval of the Seuss estate, so he created huge foam-core poster boards and drove to the late Audrey Geisel’s home in La Jolla to pitch the show to her in person. “I pitched the show to her in Dr. Seuss’ old office, which has a panoramic view of the ocean,” recalls Stern. “I could see these unique curvy tree with floppy leaves from the window, which I thought looked like a perfect Dr. Seuss tree. Audrey was in her 90s at the time, so I gave her the 20-minute version of the pitch, and she said, ‘Wow, you really did it!’ and gave us her blessing. That was about four years ago and that’s how we began our journey.”
Green Eggs and Ham
Stern says he knew that he wanted the show to have a high-quality hand-drawn look to it. “We had a five-and-a-half-hour project on our hand, but we wanted a high level of production value. So that’s why it took a while,” he notes. “We have an amazing crew in Los Angeles, as well as production teams at Snipple (The Philippines), Tonic DNA (Montreal) and Yowza Animation (Toronto). The animation is done using Toon Boom Harmony 14. The show would go from script to storyboard, and then we would do scratch voices and create the reel. Then, we’d watch it and get notes, share with the producers, and iterate at least once per episode. Our story artists were the best, since they mix storytelling, comedy and emotion, and they can draw.”
Sweet and Whimsical
Sterns says it has been amazing to see the 13 episodes of the show come to animated life to stream in 190 countries. “It’s the work of hundreds of people, and it’s quite intimidating because it takes so many people devoting so much of their lives to bring it all to fruition,” he notes. “You put your all into it. Then it comes back and gets so much better than what you had envisioned in your head.”
The writer and exec producer says he loves the show’s tone and vibe. “There’s a sweetness to it that I really like. It’s funny, silly and whimsical, and hopefully our show stays true to the essence of a Seuss book.”
Green Eggs and Ham
Stern, who also worked on Disney’s Princess and the Frog, says he has equal affection for 2D and CG animation. “I don’t think one is better or worse than the other. I loved Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which had this great graphic style,” he explains. “But I also love 2D animation, which has a unique, wonderful feel to it. In terms of American family entertainment for broad audiences, we haven’t seen much 2D animation in the past 10 years, so we were excited to bring it back. It just felt right to do Dr. Seuss in 2D, although there have been some great CG feature adaptations done in recent years, too. The books lend themselves to 2D very well. I think our particular challenge was to keep the essence of the book’s illustrations and then give them a bit more richness.”
Green Eggs and Ham
He says he also has a wide variety of favorites in the world of TV animation. “I love Disney’s Mickey Mouse show, and I also love adult fare like Rick and Morty. I love family storytelling that is common in feature animation,” Stern explains. “My theory is that everyone is sitting in the theater and sharing popcorn. So the story and jokes have to appeal to everyone. That’s why I would love for the whole family to be able to enjoy our show together.”
The creative team behind Green Eggs and Ham also wanted the series to have an overarching serial storyline. “Every episode ends with something of a cliffhanger,” adds Stern. “I remember I was bingeing Breaking Bad at the time, and loved the fact that it also had elements of a buddy comedy, and each episode felt like great chapters of a novel. So in a way, I sought to do the same thing with Sam and Guy!”
What do Blow Studio, Digic Pictures, Framestore, Mackevision, MPC Film, Pixar Animation Studios, Pixomondo, Rise FX, Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Mill, Scanline VFX and Weta Digital have in common? They are all taking part in the diverse and engaging animago CONFERENCE 2019!
This year’s program will offer exciting presentations on animation business and technology, as well as making-ofs with lots of background information on current cinema productions — over 70 lectures covering a range of topics, tackled by more than 40 knowledgeable speakers. Highlights of the four-day event also include the annual animago AWARD ceremony and a showfloor packed with exhibitors.
Some of the can’t-miss talks on the CONFERENCE schedule:
Tamás Varga (Digic Pictures) talks about the characters of the episode “The Secret War” from the Netflix series Love, Death & Robots
Mohsen Mousavi (Scanline VFX) goes into detail in “Game of Thrones: The extraordinary visual effects of the final season”
Arslan Elver (Framestore) gives unique insights in his talk “Animation for Disney’s Christopher Robin”
El Suliman (Moving Picture Company) takes us through his work on one of the most successful animated films of 2019 in “MPC Film presents animating The Lion King”
The official animago AWARD ceremony will be held on the evening of November 2. This year, the competition received more than 1,100 submissions from 62 countries across the globe. During the gala, animago trophies will be awarded to the creators of the best productions in 10 categories – from feature film productions to motion design.
Last but not least, the animago EXHIBITION features renowned companies and universities like Wacom, Chaosgroup and MD.H with their products, technologies and services, looking forward to numerous guests and questions.
To register and learn more about the event, visit www.animago.com.
WarnerMedia’s HBO Max is busily building up its animation slate, with more exciting announcements for both grown-up fans and kids & family audiences revealed Tuesday during the company’s investor day presentation in Burbank, Calif. WarnerMedia confirmed that the platform will launch in May 2020, priced at $14.99 per month. (Free upgrade if you already have HBO Now.)
The upcoming streamer has scored a library deal for Rick and Morty, which is launching its fourth season on Adult Swim next month. All three seasons which have aired will be available to HBO Max viewers at launch in the U.S. in May 2020. Future seasons (at least 70 episodes, which have been ordered) will continue to premiere on Adult Swim and then stream on HBO Max. The Emmy-winning hit series is created and exec produced by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.
Following an intense bidding war, HBO Max won out to snag Comedy Central’s South Park. The platform has acquired exclusive domestic streaming rights to the series’ 23-season vault. The deal will see Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s beloved Colorado bad boys stream on HBO Max as of June 2020. In addition to the vault, the agreement includes a shared deal with Viacom for three upcoming seasons — HBO Max will stream new episodes 24 hours after their linear premiere. The multi-year deal was completed with South Park Digital Studios, a joint venture of Viacom and series creators Parker & Stone.
On the kids & family programming side, the streamer announced deals with Warner Bros. Animation for the new Looney Tunes Cartoons (which premiered at Annecy) and a series inspired by Hanna-Barbera’s beloved characters, a live-action/animation hybrid project from Robert Zemeckis, and two new titles from Cartoon Network Studios that were originally developed for the cabler.
Looney Tunes Cartoons, an all-new series from Warner Bros Animation starring the cherished Looney Tunes, echoes the high production value and process of the original theatrical shorts with a cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling. Marquee Looney Tunes characters will be featured in their classic pairings in simple, gag-driven and visually vibrant stories. The new series will include 80 eleven-minute episodes, each comprised of animated shorts that vary in length and include adapted storylines for today’s audience. Fans can also look forward to holiday-themed specials. Voice cast includes Eric Bauza, Jeff Bergman and Bob Bergen. Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) and Sam Register serve as executive producers.
Jellystone, a new, animated children’s comedy series from Warner Bros. Animation, welcomes you to the town of Jellystone – a charming place where your favorite Hanna-Barbera characters live, work and play together… but, at the same time, can’t help but stir up trouble for one another. Classic characters such as Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo, Augie Doggie, Doggie Daddy, Ruff, Yakky Doodle, Shag Rugg, Jabberjaw, El Kabong, Top Cat, Captain Caveman, Cindy Bear, Mildew Wolf, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Peter Potamus, Snagglepuss, Magilla Gorilla and more will feature in this new series executive produced by C.H. Greenblatt (Chowder) and Sam Register.
Tooned Out, from Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and executive producer/writer Jared Stern (The LEGO Batman Movie, Netflix’s Green Eggs and Ham), is a half-hour, hybrid live-action/animated comedy. Things get a little cartoony for Mac when he starts seeing iconic cartoon characters, but they’re not just there for laughs, they’re helping him get through a very rough patch in his life. From A Stern Talking To Productions and Compari Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Bros. Television. A Stern Talking To’s Stern and Compari’s Zemeckis, Jack Rapke and Jackie Levine are executive producers. Winsor Yuan is overseeing the project for A Stern Talking To.
The Fungies!, a prehistoric comedy from Stephen Neary (Clarence) and produced by Cartoon Network Studios, explores Fungietown through the whimsical quests of Seth, a young student at Fungietown Elementary. Seth loves science and sharing his exciting discoveries with all his Fungie friends. But in his search for the ultimate scientific adventure, Seth often stirs up trouble for Fungietown’s colorful inhabitants leading to hilarious and heartwarming surprises.
Tig N’ Seek is about eight-year-old Tiggy and his gadget-building cat, Gweeseek, as they search for the lost items of Wee Gee City. With Tiggy’s cheerful attitude and Gweeseek’s exceptional inventing capabilities, the duo humorously navigate day-to-day dilemmas at the Department of Lost and Found. Created by Myke Chilian (writer, Uncle Grandpa) the lighthearted mystery-filled show is produced by Cartoon Network Studios.
Netflix has placed an eight-episode order for a new animated action-drama inspired by the Ramayana: Heaven’s Forest. The epic project is written by Warren Ellis, and hails from the Castlevania’s creator, exec producers Adi Shankar (The Grey, Dredd) and Kevin Kolde (Adventure Time, Bee and Puppycat) and studio Powerhouse Animation (Seis Manos, Gods & Heroes).
Set in an “Indo-futuristic” world, Heaven’s Forest features a storyline and characters inspired by the Hindu mythology of the Ramayana. Attributed to Rishi Valmiki and thought to have been written between 500 and 100 BCE, the sprawling Sanskrit epic relates the deity Rama’s quest to rescue his wife Sita from the vengeful king Ravana.
Acclaimed comics writer and author Ellis, who is exec producing alongside Shankar and Kolde, told Deadline: “I am delighted to be partnering again with Netflix, my Castlevania comrades, and the Indian creative community, to create this surreal, mythic narrative filled with life and heart.”
“My whole life I’ve dreamed of seeing Hindu mythology represented in international media,” added Shankar. “My culture’s stories are spectacle-filled fantasy epics in lavish aesthetic and we’re going to bring it to the global stage.”
Presented by Double Fine Productions and iam8bit, Day of the Devs returns to The Midway in San Francisco on November 10 for year seven of epic games, welcoming community, and fun times for all ages — free of charge! In years past, Day of the Devs has hosted breakout indie titles such as Hollow Knight, Everything, Return of the Obra Dinn, Celeste, Into the Breach and Untitled Goose Game.
This year, discerning gamers looking for the next big thing can peruse a line-up of a whopping 70 titles — and be treated to exclusive demos of Psychonauts 2, Shovel Knight Dig, Wattam, Superliminal, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and many more.
To celebrate the 7th edition, Humble Bundle will release their coveted Day of the Devs Bundle, which will include Minit, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove!, Flipping Death, Battle Chef Brigade, Grace Bruxner Presents: The Haunted Island, a Frog Detective game and Art Sqool, as well as a Day of the Devs VIP Ticket. This bundle is now available for purchase here until November 12, and all proceeds raised will be given to gamer charity Extra Life (extra-life.org) in support of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
“We can’t wait to see everyone’s beautiful and talented faces at Day of the Devs,” said Double Fine President and CEO Tim Schafer. “The event has and will always be our opportunity to support indie games while hanging out with all of the massively creative people who make them and enjoy playing them!”
Participating games in alphabetical order (* indicates a title playable for the first time at this event):
Acide Knife
Alt Control
Arise
Arrog*
Black Future ‘88
Bloodroots
Carrion
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Cloudpunk
Consume Me
Cyber Shadow
The Drifter
Eastward
El Hijo
Exhausted Man
Frog Detective 2: The Case of the Invisible Wizard
Gameheads: Uprooted, High Sidin’, The Groundz, 11 Years, Mazmorra, Te Amo, Mama, OakBeats, 2 American, Illuminate, Tri-Ger and Carry On
Gang Beasts – 20 Player Demo
Genesis Noir
Girls Make Games: Interfectorem and BlubBlub: Quest of the Blob
Anime NYC powered by Crunchyroll, New York’s largest dedicated anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture convention, will present three days of entertaining and educational programming about Japanese culture, the anime industry, gaming, and more at NYC’s Javits Center from November 15-17.
Special industry panels from publishers across the anime and manga industry such as Aniplex, Crunchyroll, Eleven Arts, Funimation, Denpa, GKIDS, Kondansha, Sunrise, Square Enix, Vertical, VIZ, Yen Press, HIDIVE, Sentai Filmworks and more will spotlight the most popular titles of the day and preview the next big things.
Over 40,000 fans are expected to convene at Anime NYC to dive into even more exclusive screenings, talks with iconic creators and industry leaders, Japanese games, and incredible concerts than were featured at the inaugural show in 2017. With over 200 hours of programming planned, fans are sure to fill the three days with unforgettable experiences.
Lupin the Third: Goodbye Partner
There will be a wealth of various anime films and television shows debuting throughout the three-day celebration. Audiences will be able to catch Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You, In/Spectre, Fragtime, Somali and the Forest Spirit, A Destructive God Sits Next to Me, Lupin the 3rd Goodbye Partner (dub), Gundam: Reconguista in G Movie and more on the big screen. Full details on screenings can be found online.
Tickets and more information available at animenyc.com
Friday, November 15
The Z2 Comics Panel Featuring Poppy (1:30PM to 2:30PM – Special Events Hall) Z2 comics is the brand you trust for music comics and graphic novels. Publishing such books as Apocrypha: The Legend of BABYMETAL, Yungblud Presents the Twisted Tales of the Ritalin Club and Genesis One a Poppy Graphic Novel. Come to our panel featuring Poppy herself and a few other creators from the Z2 roster. Poppy made her critically acclaimed studio debut in 2017 with Poppy.Computer, which Rolling Stone dubbed “one of the most surprising albums of the year…”
Yoshiyuki TominoGundam: Reconguista in G
Yoshiyuki Tomino: Celebrating 40 Years of Gundam and Beyond (3:00PM to 4:00PM – Special Events Hall) Yoshiyuki Tomino, original creator and director of Gundam, makes his only U.S. appearance to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam. Mr. Tomino speaks about his career, how Gundam changed the anime industry, and the success of Gundam around the world. Join us for a rare conversation with an anime legend!
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!
BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!Special Talk Stage with Miku Ito (3:00PM to 4:00PM – 1E09) The mobile game from the BanG Dream! universe, BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! is an exciting music rhythm game by Craft Egg Inc. and Bushiroad Inc. featuring five different bands: Poppin’Party, Afterglow, Pastel＊Palettes, Roselia, and Hello, Happy World! Come join us at our special talk stage with Miku Ito, voice of Tsurumaki Kokoro (vocalist for Hello, Happy World!) as we talk about the game and her role in the franchise! There will also be exciting announcements and special giveaways for attendees!
RAKUGO with Katsura Sunshine and Introduction to J-Theatre (3:00PM to 4:00PM – 1E15) Katsura Sunshine is a Canadian-born performer with the distinction of being the first non-Japanese Rakugo storyteller in the bawdy Osaka-based “Kamigata” tradition, and the second Westerner ever who went through the rigorous training required to become a master. He travels the world performing Rakugo, a 400-year-old “sit down” form of dynamic comedic and dramatic storytelling, known in the anime world through Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. This Fall, Katsura Sunshine brings the ancient art form to Broadway and is offering exclusive discounts just for Anime NYC. The panel will begin with an introduction highlighting trends in J-Theatre today.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!Special premiere screening with Guest from Science SARU (5:30PM to 6:30PM – 1E13) Eizouken is one of the most anticipated winter 2020 anime about three ambitious high school girls’ quest to make anime! Join the panel for the world premiere screening of Ep.1 (ANYC edition) with producer Eunyoung Choi from science SARU of DEVILMAN crybaby fame.
Lantis Matsuri 2019 [SOLD OUT] (7:30PM to 10:00PM – Special Events Hall) Anime NYC welcomes the globally renowned Lantis Matsuri concert series to New York City for the first time! This special concert at New York City’s largest Japanese pop culture convention will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Japanese music label Lantis and feature popular anime song or “anisong” performers JAM Project, TRUE, ZAQ, and Guilty Kiss from Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours! A separate ticket is required to attend this event.
Saturday, November 16
VOFAN Live Drawing Panel and Retrospective (10:30AM to 12:00PM – 1E13) Don’t miss this rare chance to see internationally renowned artist VOFAN (the star illustrator of the Monogatari novels by NISIOISIN) drawing his beautiful characters, live on stage! He’ll discuss how he got his start in the industry, talk about how he got involved with the Monogatari series, and maybe even share a few trade secrets!
Dr. Stone
Dr. STONE Panel Presented by VIZ Media (12:00PM to 1:00PM – Special Events Hall) Get ready for a rockin’ time! Join Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi, creators of the hit Shonen Jump manga and anime series Dr. Stone, as they share their marble-ous stories and insightful gems that Shonen Jump fans are 10 BILLION PERCENT certain to enjoy!
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection Panel with Creators and Yukana (2:00PM to 3:00PM – 1E09) Code Geass returned in 2019 with a brand new animated film, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection, which continues Lelouch’s story years after the dramatic end of the television anime. Hear from the Japanese creators about the narrative and production development of the new movie, as well as what it means for the greater Code Geass franchise as a whole for the next phase! With scriptwriter Ichiro Okouchi, character designer/chief animation director Takahiro Kimura and voice actress for C.C., Yukana.
Sunday, November 17
Rie Kugimiya
Rie Kugimiya Spotlight Panel (11:00AM to 12:00PM – Special Events Hall) Known as the “Queen of Tsundere” by her fans worldwide, Rie Kugimya makes her first appearance at a U.S. anime convention at Anime NYC. She has voiced many of the most popular and memorable characters from various hit anime titles such as Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist), Kagura (Gintama), Shana (Shakugan no Shana), Taiga Aisaka (Toradora!), Happy (Fairy Tail), and many more. Come hear the legendary voice actress talk about her life, career, and everything that makes her scream “Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!” You don’t want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Ramen: Illustrated (12:00PM to 1:00PM – 1E13) Anime NYC presents a panel discussion featuring the creators of the newly released comic-book cookbook, Let’s Make Ramen! – chef/author Hugh Amano and illustrator/artist Sarah Becan – alongside home-cook and ramen-educator extraordinaire, Mike “Ramen_Lord” Satinover of Akahoshi Ramen! The panel will break down and demystify the ramen creating process, talk about the gateway pleasures that come with learning how to make this wildly-beloved dish from scratch, and inspire a new wave of passionate ramen-lovers to boldly jumpstart their ramen journey – ultimately creating a movement which will influence the dynamic evolution of ramen in America. Moderator and self-professed ramen-nerd Jamie Li from Ramentality.com will lead this illuminating discussion followed by Q&A. Grab a copy of cookbook and have it signed by the creators at an exclusive book-signing immediately following the panel at 1:30PM in the Anime NYC Autographing Area.
Weathering With You
Weathering With You : East Coast Premiere (3:00PM to 5:00PM – Special Events Hall) GKIDS proudly presents, ahead of its January 17 theatrical release, the highly anticipated new film from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, the creative team behind the critically acclaimed, global smash hit Your Name. The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky.
Animation fans know that Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim late night block is the place to go for edgy, experimental shows — and its sub-brand Toonami is where to find action-packed anime adventures like Naruto and Dragon Ball Super. A fan-favorite since debuting in 1997, Toonami is also known for its animated robotic host, TOM.
TOM has had a few adventures of his own, in a series of Total Immersion Events (TIE) which began with The Intruder in 2000. For the last five years, Portland-based studio Hinge has taken the helm on these events, finding new ways to amplify the action and deliver stellar animation for longtime fans of the character and his sci-fi quest.
Hinge
For the upcoming eighth Toonami TIE, The Forge — which premieres November 9 — Hinge has been working on the season with a new kind of tool in its kit, thanks to the Xsens MVN suit. The studio was considering its options, including fixed, camera-based motion-capture systems, but the flexibility of the Xsens technology was very appealing.
“For us, it was the flexibility of having a suit-based system. Instead of just capturing within our theater space here on site in our studio, we could run down the hall in the building and be able to do a run that’s 200 feet, which we could never be able to capture in a 25-foot square space,” says Roland Gauthier, Executive Producer at Hinge.
The Forge
The Xsens MVN suit has allowed Hinge to try new kinds of techniques for The Forge, and attempt shots that previously would not have been possible within the deadline and budget.
“There’s a bunch of shots where we’ve got dozens of characters, and that amount of subtle animation takes a lot of time to animate by hand. Putting on the Xsens suit, you get all of those little nuances that you wouldn’t normally think about,” notes Hinge’s Animation Director, Alex Tysowsky. “Using the suit has allowed us to take on challenges such as those crowd scenes and also non-traditional alien characters that we would’ve had a lot more trouble doing if we didn’t have the suit, or wouldn’t have been able to achieve at the same level within the timeline. That’s been really invigorating in terms of what we can bring to the production of the show.”
The Forge
In addition to the practical and resource-conserving benefits, Gauthier adds that the Xsens suit has also unlocked new creative possibilities: “It gets us a lot closer to that something you get out of a live-action shoot, where the director can direct the talent to try this or try that. In a more standard animation workflow, when you’re doing it by hand or using libraries of animation you created previously, it is more specific and limiting because you don’t get that kind of spontaneous flexibility that you get from the Xsens suit. It’s a lot of fun, and it helps blend the worlds between the live-action that we do otherwise in production and our animation work.”
As Hinge marks 10 years in business and looks forward to what the next decade will bring, Gauthier believes Xsens technology will be key to the studio’s evolution as it co-develops more shows, experiments with fast-turnaround animation for social and innovative distribution channels.
“This is kind of a next chapter that we are starting right now,” Gauthier explains. “Bringing on the Xsens suit about a year and a half ago, that was one of the things that we wanted to do to really help push us into that next chapter: to be able to create content at a much more rapid pace — not only for existing projects like Toonami and commercial work, but also to be able to really approach content creation and animation in a much faster and more streamlined way.”
Hinge
Hinge’s team is currently working on building a complete capture solution by pairing the Xsens suit with an iPhoneX-based facial capture solution, which Gauthier says will further streamline their workflow and enable even more seamless results. The principals are excited by the results using Xsens MVN so far, and see real potential in applying the tech to their ample commercial work.
“We work a lot with Nike, Adidas, Intel, Microsoft, BBDO, Publicis and Saatchi. They’re big brands and agencies, and the production schedules are not getting any longer — they’re getting shorter and shorter. The flexibility of being able to have the Xsens MVN suit on-hand and be able to shortcut the amount of time it takes to get to a realistic performance, and to get that client buy-off on those timelines is huge,” Gauthier continues. “For clients like Nike or Adidas, you get that speed and you get the realism of movements of a sports athlete. It’s all about performance, it’s all about accuracy and realism, and how the shoes or athletic gear is making your sports performance that much more effective. Being able to show that off is key.”
“Xsens has been a great addition to our workflow and our team, and it’s opening up a lot of new horizons.”
With two weeks until Disney+ launches in the U.S. and Canada, the streaming service has released a new blaster-shooting, alien-wrangling, interstellar trailer and character art for The Mandalorian. Lucasfilm’s first-ever, live-action series, debuts exclusively on Disney+ at launch on November 12.
Synopsis: After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.
Executive produced by writer Jon Favreau, director Dave Filoni and Kathleen Kennedy, the series stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Ming-Na Wen and Taika Waititi as the voice of droid IG-11.
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41 Entertainment LLC (41E) announced today a new strategy to expand into YA animation focused on Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy, starting with the best-selling series of books by Jaymin Eve entitled The Supernatural Academy. 41E has secured exclusive, global, multimedia, animation rights to both the Supernatural Academy and Supernatural Prison book series.
The Supernatural Academy is where shifters, vampires, magic users and fey are educated. Where they are taught about their abilities, and how to function in the human world. Maddison James has been living in the human world inhabited by five races, including Vampires, Shifters, Faerie (Fey), Magic User (Witches, Wizards and Sorcerers) and Demi-Fey (mermaids, centaurs, ogres, trolls, Pixies and Harpies). Maddi is completely unaware she’s a supernatural. But her locked away energy flares at times and accidentally alerted the supernatural schools to her presence. Eventually, one night, on her 22nd birthday, Maddi is tracked down by one of them, informed that her powers will continue to grow and told she must learn how to control her abilities. Maddi thinks this is all insane and tries to escape, only to be dragged to the school against her will.
“While we remain very committed to the children’s animated market, we know that this segment is getting younger as older kids are migrating to other media. Based on the continued success of YA live-action series, it is clear that young adults love the genre. With our animation expertise, we are confident that stories about shapeshifters, vampires, witchcraft and magic can best be told in high quality CG animation,” said Kiersten Halstead, Vice President of Acquisitions, Development and Production. “We are thrilled to have secured the animation rights to Jaymin’s Supernatural Academy books, and the related best-selling series entitled Supernatural Prison.”
“Jaymin Eve’s book series, Supernatural Academy, is the #1 best-selling book in the Teen and Young Adult Paranormal and Urban Fantasy ebooks on Amazon and Jaymin Eve herself is the second best-selling author on Amazon for Teen and Young Adults,” added Executive Producer Allen Bohbot. “There are so many stories to be told based on these characters and we want to be true to the huge install base of existing readers and fans. The world-building visuals are going to be amazing!”
“I could not be happier to see my work on the screen in animation and I am thrilled to partner with 41E who have shown such interest in the characters and worlds that I created,” stated Jaymin Eve. “This is very exciting with a new book in the series out next spring and more to follow. I know my fans will love this.”
The all-CG animation series, envisioned with toon-shading, will target females 16-34 years of age and launch in fall 2021.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is introducing one of the landmark Dark Knight animated series to a new generation of fans with a remastered, first-time Blu-ray presentation for Batman Beyond: The Complete Series Limited Edition — available now on Digital ($49.99 USD/$59.99 CAD) and in a bat-tastic box set Tuesday, October 29 ($99.99 USD / $119.99 CAD). Get a peek at the LE box set (with Pop! figure) in voice star Will Friedle’s unboxing video below.
Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series Limited Edition features approximately 1,500 minutes of entertainment spread over four Blu-ray discs, plus two bonus discs of enhanced content. In addition to a newly-remastered Blu-ray presentation of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, there are 15 featurettes on the bonus discs, highlighted by two new inside looks at the beloved TV series, led by Nostalgic Tomorrow, a gathering of Batman Beyond production talent and cast led by executive producer Bruce Timm and actors Kevin Conroy and Will Friedle, the voices of Batman and Terry McGinnis, respectively. The bonus discs also spotlight four episodes with audio commentary from Timm and select members of the production team.
Collectibles within the stunning packaging include an exclusive chrome Batman Beyond Funko POP, and four beautifully-designed lenticular art cards produced especially for Batman Beyond: The Complete Animated Series Limited Edition. This ultimate collectors Blu-ray box set will be individually numbered for a Limited Edition release of 50,000.
Of the 52 original Batman Beyond episodes, 41 have been fully-remastered from either their original 35mm film source or the uncommon format “OCND,” the original camera negative digital (a digital scan of original negative). Lines and resolution have been enhanced, and dust and dirt have been removed – however, cel dirt remains to not disturb the original picture. Included in the remastering was the removal of grain, resulting in enhanced colors. The remastering process does cause a slight aspect ratio change (approximately 3% loss of screen image). Due to time-worn irreparable damage, the remaining 11 episodes were “Smart Rezzed” from standard definition Digibeta video — “Eyewitness,” “Final Cut,” “The Last Resort,” “Armory,” “Sneak Peek,” “The Eggbaby,” “Zeta,” “Plague,” “April Moon,” “Sentries of the Lost Cosmos” and “Speak No Evil.”
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Batman Beyond premiered on January 10, 1999 to instant ratings and critical success. The series ran for three seasons, covering 52 total episodes and a full-length animated film, Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker. Nominated for nine Emmy Awards, Batman Beyond took home two Emmys – including Outstanding Special Class Animated Program in 2001 – as well as three Annie Awards.
To mark International Animation Day (Oct. 28), software giant Adobe decided to shine a light on a brilliant baker’s dozen of animation artists utilizing its tools to create entertaining, impactful and creative works around the world. Meet them below!
Jim Tews is a comedian who works animation into his act — both by turning his jokes into cartoons for social media, and by performing live as an animated avatar. He also created an animated music video for Weezer.
Dave Waite and his colleagues at animation and branding studio Zookeeper recently completed an animated music video for singer-songwriter Clare Means, “Danger.”
Seth Zeichner utilized Character Animator, After Effects, Photoshop, Audition and Premiere Pro to bring comics illustrator Pat Moriarty’s distinctive artwork to life in their black-and-white short The Realm Beyond Reason — inspired by The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. Moriarty drew everything on paper with nibs to create a classic hand-drawn comic look; the drawings were scanned in and animated with Character Animator.
David Dodds recently started using Character Animator, though he has plenty of experience as a 10-year motion graphics freelancer and Adobe Educator. Dodds, author of Hands-On Motion Graphics with Adobe After Effects CC, creates videos to capture the goals of major clients like Disney, Netflix, Marvel, Xbox and more.
Conall Pendergast works in post-production, while pursuing a passion for animation with independent shorts. Pendergast most recently completed The Cyclops Diet and is working on a third monster-themed film, Self-Actualization of the Werewolf Woman.
“It’s great how quickly you can put things together,” Pendergast said of using Character Animator. “I like the use of live-capture for movement (whether it’s for a character or background element or whatever). For TCD, I gave the Cyclops’ belly its own head movement that went in the opposite direction of my actual head, so it would sort of swell out when he moved — doing things like that is fun.”
Lynne Mitchell is another recent convert to animation, having worked in printing and publishing and written/co-authored several books (including the Halloween crafting How to Haunt Your House series). Mitchell has many artistic pursuits, including photography, digital painting and 3D modeling, which she applies to creating unique Character Animator puppets.
Emily Watts is a graphic designer and animator who has created the YouTube show The Weather Girls, and uses Adobe tools to create the Instagram animated series Jokes Bayou — transforming cute jokes told by kids into short toons.
Imari Childress is a substitute teacher and children’s programming developer who, with no formal animation training, the Character Animator toolset and help from a class of first graders in seattle, created an 8-minute animated short: Tishliddlebudu.
“After telling them the story, I had them create artwork which I told them would be included in the cartoon (which was not even started at the time). I received over 60 pictures from the students. I had to scan them all and dissect them in Photoshop. Every student that drew something has at least one pic in there,” Childress shared. “I have been holding this character and his stories in my heart and mind for nearly 15 years and can’t say how fun it is to finally see him come alive as I’ve imagined. No way this could have been possible in this time frame, with only one creator with no formal animation training without Character Animator.”
Ryan Griffin uses Adobe Illustrator and Character Animator for game streaming on Twitch, but has also started creating puppets for others to use in their streams — and made this animated ode to Aretha Franklin.
Jen Chiu is Founder of Motion Sickness, where she produces animation and VFX-driven digital content. She started her entertainment career as a broadcast designer after graduating from New York University. On her downtime, she produces comedy sketches and “animated mischief” — she co-created Critically Awkward, a live streaming animated Twitch channel, co-hosts the show as “Chewy” and serves as exec producer and animation director.
Kevin McMahon is an award-winning character designer, illustrator, motion graphics artist and web designer whose clients include Stanford University, Trader Joe’s and USA Track and Field. McMahon also creates content for Design Dojo, a design education initiative serving educators and students worldwide with posters, videos, and other resources, and built free “Heads of Curriculum” Character Animator puppets to help educators bring their lessons to life.
Kt Isabelle Weber is an animator and creative director with over a decade of experience in broadcast and commercial design. She has applied her knick for storytelling and creative problem solving to a variety of projects , from feature documentaries to Clio-winning advertising ideas, and event the “Aske Sherlock Anything” Facebook Live event for Sony’s Sherlock Gnomes, powered by Character Animator.
Julia Young is a designer who has project-managed RTS and BAFTA-nominated series, as well as finding the time to work on her own projects. Young’s credits include the hit TV toons Mr. Bean and Danger Mouse as well as web series Simon’s Cat.
This Saturday, November 2, The Animation Guild will host the 2019 Golden Awards luncheon (11 a.m.-4 p.m., Pickwick Gardens Magnolia Terrace in Burbank). This unique event celebrates animation artists, writers and technicians who have dedicated more than 50 years to the craft. The 2019 event marks 35 years since the first Golden Awards ceremony was held.
This year, TAG will present Golden Awards to 26 honorees:
Robert Alvarez
Dale Baer
Jane Baer
Sandra Benanati
David Brain
Jan Browning
Dale Case
Vicki Casper
Phil Cummings
Barbara Donatelli
Jerry Eisenberg
William Exter
Karl Fischer
Bob Foster
Milton Gray
Bill Hutten
Sylvia Keulen
Larry Leichliter
Mircea Mantta
Floyd Norman
Philip Phillipson
Bob Richardson
Kitty Schoentag
Eric Semones
Marianne Tucker
Dennis Venizelos
Tim Walker
Carla Washburn
The Animation Guild, also known as Local 839 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), was founded in 1952. As a labor union, TAG represents more than 5,000 artists, technicians and writers in the animation industry, advocating for workers to improve wages and conditions.
Big Bad Boo Studios (The Bravest Knight) has partnered with popular children’s media brand Highlights for Children, Inc. to collaboratively develop, finance, produce and distribute some of Highlights most popular characters and properties as animated series.
Big Bad Boo will be putting a fresh spin on many of Highlights’ best-known segments, giving new and old fans alike an original experience with a purpose. The Vancouver-based studio will draw upon their pool of talented cast and crew from many of their previous successful shows to bring these stories to the screen.
“At Highlights, we view our mission as creating content and experiences that help children navigate an increasingly complex world. We are excited about the opportunity to reach more children, working with partners like Big Bad Boo, who can help us leverage both our long-held values and our brand reach in new media,” said Kent Johnson, Highlights CEO.
Big Bad Boo Co-Founder, Shabnam Rezaei, noted both companies share the same values and dedication to creating quality content for children.
“We are thrilled to partner with such a beloved household name like Highlights,” said Rezaei. “For decades, Highlights has engaged kids across the country with the goal to inspire curiosity, creativity, caring and confidence — values that Big Bad Boo infuses in all its properties. Together, we hope to introduce a new generation to classic brands like Who & Coo and Top Secret Adventures.”
Highlights (highlights.com) reaches millions of children 0-12 with popular magazines including the flagship Highlights Magazine, Highlights Hello, Highlights High Five and Highlights High Five Bilingüe (English/Spanish), multi-platform digital experiences, digital apps, books, toys/games, and a podcast incorporating classic favorites. Through stories, poems, puzzles, jokes/riddles, science, art, and more, kids are encouraged to think, problem solve, and build their literacy skills while having fun.
Based in New York and Vancouver, Big Bad Boo Studios (www.bigbadboo.com) is dedicated to producing and distributing quality family programming that is entertaining and educational. Shows include 16 Hudson, Lili & Lola, Mixed Nutz and 1001 Nights, which was nominated for 14 LEO awards with five wins. Big Bad Boo is currently producing The Bravest Knight as a Hulu Original and developing Judge Jodhi as well as a series of digital games and apps. The company’s own streaming channel Oznoz (www.oznoz.com) provides cartoons in 10+ languages.
YouTube sensation Studio Killers — the anonymous Europian electropop collective whose wild animated music videos have collected over 120 million views — is on track for total screen domination, having successfully funded their Kickstarter campaign for animated series Studio Killers 404. Describing the concept as “Sailor Moon meets Rick and Morty,” the campaign reached its $115,000 goal in just three days.
Blending influences from the contemporary pop art, bubblegum-colored magical girl cartoons, sci-fi and video games, Studio Killers is a four-person audio-visual group of three musicians and one visual artist who brings their animated avatars — femme boss frontwoman Cherry, keytarist Goldie Foxx and DJ Dyna Mink — to life. Since their music and video projects are largely self-funded, the group is hoping to grow their audience and tap new resources with the animated series: a futuristic, shojo-parody with queer positive messaging.
The Kickstarter funds will go to producing an 11-minute pilot.
Studio Killers 404 synopsis: Thrown into cyberspace and left fending for their very existence, Cherry and the Studio Killers are building an army of LGBTQ+ positive, misfits and outliers, on a quest to overthrow the Evil Algorithm, a deepstate-like organization that is destroying the internet and erasing all it’s weird wonders. Style battles, a war between cats and porn, a whole planet dedicated to taco memes – there’s so much to explore and save! Cherry’s using her unique power of style to bring the ‘love’ back!
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The neighborhood gang is coming together for 13 all-new episodes of DreamWorks Animation’s Harvey Girls Forever when Season 3 debut November 12, exclusively on Netflix. And bougie boy genius Richie Rich is the affluent new kid on the block who’s going to shake things up for the gals! The character is voiced by Jack Quaid (The Boys), as announced during DWA’s Comic-Con panel this summer.
In the new season of Harvey Girls Forever — from exec producer Brendan Hay (Dawn of the Croods) and supervising producer Aliki Theofilopolous (Descendants: Wicked World) — child millionaire Richie Rich arrives in style and is unimpressed by the quirky, nonsensical fun that childhood on Harvey Street has to offer. As Richie, who has always been an entrepreneur first and kid second, joins the Harvey Girls on their adventures, he’ll learn the true meaning of “being a kid” through the magic of imagination and friendship.
Quaid joins the talents of Lauren Lapkus (Crashing) as “Lotta,” Stephanie Lemelin (Dawn of the Croods) as “Audrey” and Kelly McCreary (Grey’s Anatomy) as “Dot;” Atticus Shaffer (The Middle), Danny Pudi (Community), Utkarsh Ambudkar (The Mindy Project), Grey Griffin (Fairly OddParents) and Cree Summer (The SpongeBob Movie). Season 3 guest stars include Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), Kristen Chenoweth (Wicked), Academy Award winner Nat Faxon (The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants),and Davey Havok (lead vocalist of AFI).
