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Another Brick at the Mall

If you’re not big on collecting exclusive toys, you might not be familiar with the Be@rbrick series of collectible anthro-bear figurines, created by the MediCom Toy Company of Japan. Well now, they’ve stepped things up even further by teaming with Dreamworks Animation to bring us the new Be@rbrick CGI series, which premiered on Apple TV+ this month. According to Animation World Network, “Be@rbrick follows Jasmine Finch and her bandmates as they pursue their dreams and inspire others to do the same. But it won’t be easy to do when living in a world where everyone’s role is chosen for them and where the painted-on look you receive when you graduate from high school determines who you’ll be for the rest of your life. Jasmine realizes that in order for her world to change, she and her friends will have to make it happen themselves.” More interesting stuff: “Meghan McCarthy (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Centaurworld) serves as developer, showrunner, executive producer, and writer. Alex Almaguer (TrollsTopia) is the supervising producer, with Taylor Orci (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) serving as story editor, and Athena Hofmann (Amateur) serving as line producer. Timbaland serves as executive music producer.” That’s a serious line-up of experienced talent for a new show. Check out the article over at Billboard, which includes an interview with Ms. McCarthy and an exclusive trailer.

image c. 2025 Dreamworks Animation

Little Girl, Big World, Lots of Animals

We’ve been missing out on the TV series Jane over on Apple TV+, but now thanks to Animation World Network we’ve found out Season 3 is coming soon — April 18th. “The mission-driven series for kids and families is inspired by the work of ethologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Ava Louise Murchison (Reacher) stars as Jane Garcia, a nine-year-old budding environmentalist on a quest to save endangered animals. Using her powerful imagination, Jane takes her best friends David, played by Mason Blomberg (Shameless), and Greybeard the chimpanzee on epic adventures to help protect wild animals all around the world.” Take a look at the trailer over on YouTube also.

image c. 2025 Apple TV+

Warrior Tails

For fans of Nimona, here comes The Fox Maidens, a new fantasy graphic novel (based on Korean myths and legends) by Robin Ha. “Kai Song dreams of being a warrior. She wants to follow in the footsteps of her beloved father, the commander of the Royal Legion. But while her father believes in Kai and trains her in martial arts, their society isn’t ready for a girl warrior. Still, Kai is determined. But she is plagued by rumors that she is the granddaughter of Gumiho, the infamous nine-tailed fox demon who was killed by her father years before…” Take a look for yourself over at Harper Collins.

image c. 2025 Balzer & Bray

Changing The Guard

Quite a while ago we learned about the Wereworld series of young adult dark fantasy novels by Curtis Jobling. Well, now Netflix has just dropped a trailer for Wolf King, the brand new animated series based on those very same books. “In a land once subjugated by werelords, sixteen-year-old Drew Ferran realizes he is the last member in a long ancestral line of werewolves. Drew must confront and overthrow the tyrannical rule of the Lionlords and take back the throne as the statutory wolf king.” The series is set to premier on March 20th.

image c. 2025 Netflix

Monstrous Meows

As if taking care of an “ordinary” cat weren’t enough trouble… what if they were more than that? Find out in Monster Cats  Volume 1, a graphic novel written and illustrated by Pandania. “Is it a banshee, a yeti, a gorgon, or… a cat? Monster Cats are a purrfect new breed of familiar furry friends crossed with freaky fun! If you think life with regular cats can get complicated, wait ’till you see what it’s like for people who live with these charming supernatural pets.” Oo, pretty scary kids! It’s available now in paperback from Square Enix Books.

image c. 2025 Square Enix Books

The Annie Awards for 2024 are Totally Wild

This year the Annie Awards (the annual “Oscars for animation”, presented by ASIFA-Hollywood) were utterly dominated by two works: Arcane from Netflix in TV/streaming, and Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot in Feature Films. Both of them won the award for 2024 in each and every category they were nominated for. Obviously the more “furry” of the two, Wild Robot won for Best Character Animation, Best Character Design, Best Production Design, Best Voice Acting (Lupita Nyong’o as Roz the robot), Best FX Animation, Best Music, Best Editing, Best Direction (for Chris Sanders), and Best Feature Film. Meanwhile, Gintz Zilbalodis’ blender-animated film Flow took home Annie Awards for Best Writing (Feature) and Best Independent Feature. (More than one person commented that it’s interesting the film that won Best Writing has not one word of spoken dialogue in the entire movie…) Now the big question is whether the Oscars will follow the Annies and award The Wild Robot, or follow the Golden Globes and award Flow. In other news of interest to furry fans, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur won Best TV for Children, and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes won Best Character Animation in a Live Action Feature. Among the Special Awards categories, ASIFA gave the Windsor McCay Award (a lifetime achievement honor) to Aaron Blaise, one-half of the directing team of Disney’s Brother Bear (among many other films that he’s worked on). You can see the complete list of Annie Awards for 2024 over at Animation Magazine. (And don’t forget: Nominations are open now through the end of this month  for the 2024 Ursa Major Awards too!)

image c. 2025 Dreamworks Animation

It Helps, At Least

The simple summary for Ai Shimizu’s new manga Breakfast With My Two-Tailed Cat goes like this: “A talking supernatural cat rescues a man from loneliness as they enjoy a peaceful country life and delicious food.” Okay. A little more detail, please? “Souichiro’s wife’s wanted to retire to the countryside, but soon after they achieve this dream, she dies. So he won’t be left alone, their pet cat Nii turns into a talking nekomata, a two-tailed yokai cat. Together they share a heartwarming slow life, cooking and eating delicious food surrounded by nature. Enjoy freshly baked bread, handmade jam, fluffy omelets, and seasonal vegetables with the members of this unusual household.” Better! And it’s available from Seven Seas.

image c. 2025 Seven Seas Entertainment

She-Wolf and Friends

It’s nowhere near Halloween, but let us introduce you to the star of the Olivia Wolf series of graphic novels, written and illustrated by Jose Fragoso. The first book is called Olivia Wolf and the Moldy Sandwich. “It seems like just another ordinary day in Monstrocity, where monsters and humans live peacefully side by side. But when a teacher goes missing at school, it’s up to Olivia, a brave werewolf girl, together with her friends Bela the vampire, Fred the fly, Sam the invisible man, and Elliot the human, to save the day! Where could Professor Swamp be? And could Fred the fly’s missing moldy cheese sandwich have anything to do with his disappearance?” Look for it over at NubeOcho.

image c. 2025 NubeOcho

Call The Baker?

Here’s an origin story for a group known as The Fluffle: Three bad bunny crime lords. “This story starts, as stories often do, with a tragedy. Three bunnies are left without their mother when she goes off to Brazil to learn jiujitsu. The bunnies, Flop, Biggie, and Boingie, learn some hard truths about life pretty quick: Squirrels will take over your cozy nest as soon as you leave and refuse to give it back, dogs are to be avoided at all costs, and raccoons will believe anything you tell them. With quick thinking, ingenuity, and maybe a little bit of raccoon manipulation, these three buns will take on all comers to be the rulers of the park. Will they win? Well, this is an origin story . . .” Buns Gone Bad is the first book in the Fluffle Bunnies series of graphic novels for young readers, written by Anna Humphrey and illustrated by Irma Kniivila. Look for it in hardcover from Penguin Random House. (Oh, and the sequel is called Big City Buns.)

Image c. 2025 Penguin Random House