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Internet

Lizard Latin Lover

Merry Christmas! Recently we stumbled across a new Internet star known as Tito Lizzardo, an animated lizard singer who pals around with a sexy feline dancer named Catty Baby (aka Catty B). Virtual Humans (a site we also just discovered!) has this to say about them: “Tito is a lizard that likes to dress in his school jacket. Catty Baby is a cat that rocks her sporty looks every day. Their TikTok account is exploding with the couple’s dance moves next to the beach and the palm trees in Miami. Tito and Catty are a couple of artists doing remixes of famous Latin songs like ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ or ‘Hey DJ’. Their gang is completed with Juan Gato, Catty’s brother who is always wearing a Miami Heat shirt. All together they create amazing videos of their song remixes, targeting very young audiences with their cute, animalistic appeal.” Tito and crew first appeared in a series of short, at times rather risque dance videos on TikTok. Since then, they’ve released several much-more-family-friendly music videos on their YouTube channel. Who’s behind all this? We don’t know! But we’d love to meet them!

Image c. 2022 Tito Lizzardo

They Do Anything. Really.

We stumbled across an ad for Lee’s Detective Agency, a new anime mini-series that’s a spinoff of the popular Arknights smart-phone game and anime series. Set in the same multi-species dystopian world, if follows the exploits of “…an odd jobs business in guise of a private investigation firm based in [the city of] Lungmen that is run by the namesake Mr. Lee and his personal, close-knit ‘family’.” We’re not sure how it works either, but it’s coming soon (December 23rd) on Crunchyroll, and they’ve got the trailer up for you to see.

image c. 2022 Yostar Pictures

The Internet Is For… Cats

Recently got this from Animation World Network: “Disney Branded Television and Emmy Award-winning Baobab Studios have begun development, with award-winning screenwriter Pamela Ribon, on Intercats, an animated sitcom set in a cat workplace… Baobab’s co-founder and chief creative officer, Eric Darnell (Baba Yaga, Madagascar, Antz), is the creator and executive producer on Intercats…  Jony Chandra (Nimona, Spies in Disguise) will direct… Told through the big reflective eyes of cats, Intercats is a four-quadrant animated workplace comedy about the cats who produce the hysterical cat videos that go viral on the Internet. It features a ragtag team of cats aspiring to get what all cats want: their independence. But, to do so, they must first learn to navigate their own internal relationships and build upon their success as the premier studio for viral cat videos.” Interestingly, Pamela Ribon is also the writer of My Boyfriend Is A Bear, which we’ve talked about previously here.

image c. 2022 YouTube

Strength From Within — And Puppets

Animation World Network let us know about Slumberkins, a new TV series that recently started streaming on Apple TV+. “Based on the plushie and book series line of the same name from Thrive co-founders and CEOs Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen, AppleTV+’s Slumberkins series features characters Bigfoot, Unicorn, Sloth, Yak, and Fox as they explore a world of feelings in this puppet/2D animation show that empowers the emotional wellness of children through supportive storytelling. Slumberkins brings to life characters from Oriard’s and Christensen’s books who all experience a diverse range of emotional explorations, discovering that awareness of their own feelings and the ability to sort through those emotions lead to blossoming relationships and unwavering self-confidence. This was the main concept behind the original Slumberkins plushies, each with its own book series that includes interactive questions to support emotional growth.” And with puppets created by The Jim Henson Company no less.

image c. 2022 Apple TV+

The Chicken Go Book Book Book

And yet more animated book adaptations. We got this from Animation World Network: “Apple TV+ just released a trailer for its newest animated series, Interrupting Chicken, based on the 2011 Caldecott Honor-winning book series written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein. The preschool series introduces children to the joy of creative writing – starting with a little young chicken named Piper, who has a habit of interrupting story time! Every time Piper hears a story, she can’t help but jump in, ask questions, and let her imagination run wild.” The new series premiers on November 18th, and the trailer is up on line.

image c. 2022 Apple TV+

Witch Way to Go

Another professional character designer we met at Lightbox last month was Ainsworth Lin. Their personal animation project is called The Hedge Witch, and it goes like this: “The Hedge Witch follows the adventures of Adam, Misha, and Butters as they slowly unravel the mysteries in and around the sleepy town of Flatroot, Washington. Together, they investigate cold cases, encounter mythological creatures, and fight off supernatural entities.” Many of them not human but so, so interesting. Visit the web site to find out more about it — and other projects and designs they’ve worked on too.

image c. 2022 by Ainsworth Lin

Truly Independent Animation

Happy Halloween — and blessed Day of the Dead! At Lightbox this year we came across a new animated project called Stormfellers, created by professional character designer Brookes Eggleston. At their web site there’s a YouTube video detailing the genesis of the story, and the world, and most importantly the characters. Stormfellers are “A rough and tumble gang of misfits protect their island from the ravages of constant monster-like Storms. There’s Aecious the Storm Conduit, Quilver the Quilled Marksman, Glangor the Heavy, and Biko the Field-Medic.” Brookes has even created a plushie toy of Biko the healer. There’s also a whole gallery of character designs from this and other projects.

image c. 2022 by Brookes Eggleston

Helping Real Animals in the Real World

Expedition Art is an art group on a mission. Here’s how they describe themselves: “Expedition Art is a global collaborative of artists who have joined together to raise awareness for wildlife and nature conservation through art. Our company works with other non-profit organizations focused on conservation and helps them educate others through the power of visual communication.” To those ends they sponsor illustration contests, wildlife art workshops at conventions and other events, and even real-life drawing field trips into the wild. Their web site has lots of art examples, as well as instructional videos.

image c. 2022 by Ester Conceicao

First Nation Furries

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Netflix recently premiered an interesting new animated TV series for young viewers. “Spirit Rangers explores the beauty of nature through the eyes and adventures of half-Chumash, half-Cowlitz siblings Kodi, Summer, and Eddy Skycedar, who all share a secret: They are ‘Spirit Rangers’ who help protect the land and spirits of the national park they call home in California. Taking on new perspectives as a grizzly bear cub, red-tailed hawk, and spunky turtle, the Skycedar kids face every challenge — from helping a lost thunderbird to waking a sleepy sun — with courage and compassion.” The series is created by Karissa Valencia, herself a member of the Samala Chumash tribe. Animation World Network has an extensive article.

image c. 2022 Netflix