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Television

No More is Need for Sad-Mad

Mar 31st, 2016
by rodney.
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Over at Animation Scoop they have word about a new TV series adapted from Dreamworks Animation’s successful (some might say keester-saving) movie Home. “Developed by Ryan Crego (Sanjay and Craig, Shrek Forever After) and Thurop Van Orman (The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack), and executive produced by Ryan Crego, DreamWorks Animation’s Home: Adventures With Tip & Oh, an all-new Netflix Original Series, answers the question: What happens after a misfit alien conquers Earth, befriends an adventurous teen girl named Tip and together they save the day? Picking up where the hit 2015 animated film left off and building upon their enduring friendship, this animated buddy comedy follows fearless Tip and overenthusiastic alien Oh, as they navigate the combined human and alien culture they live in, finding adventure everywhere they go… The first season will be available exclusively to Netflix members in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the Nordics, Benelux, and France beginning July 29.” Heard it here did you.

image c. 2016 Dreamworks Animation

image c. 2016 Dreamworks Animation

Black Bug Singing in the Dead of Night…

Feb 14th, 2016
by rodney.
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Netflix have recently announced a new CGI animated series, Beat Bugs. Premiering this summer, it’s bug-size stories set to the music of The Beatles. Yes.  According to Animation World Network: “Beat Bugs features original characters and a world created by Josh Wakely, who will direct, write and produce the series… Beat Bugs incorporates songs from the Lennon/McCartney ‘Northern Songs’ catalogue, to tell uplifting and life-affirming stories filled with hope and melody. World-leading artists, animators and writers have come together to work on this extraordinary show. The Beat Bugs are charming, funny, adventurous, and have a knack for getting themselves into mischief and mayhem. Each of the five friends (Jay, Kumi, Crick, Buzz, and Walter) has a distinctive personality, and they display the charm and energy of five knockabout, lovable kids. They are best friends who band together to explore and learn in an overgrown suburban backyard, which to them is their entire universe.” The article also has a teaser trailer for the show.

Image c. 2016 Netflix

Image c. 2016 Netflix

The Annie Awards, Part 2

Feb 8th, 2016
by rodney.
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In addition to the industry-voted honors, each year the Annies celebrate several talented individuals with special honorary awards. This year, all four recipients had a history of anthropomorphic works of one sort or another. The June Foray Award (for service to the community and art of animation) went to veteran Disney producer Don Hahn, who of course helped to shepherd Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King (among many other films) into existence. The Windsor McCay Award went to three individuals for their lifetime achievement in cartoons. Isao Takahata (co-founder of Stuido Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki) is celebrated far and wide for anime films like The Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, but he also directed the tenuki adventure Pom Poko. (And, early in his career, he directed episodes of Panda! Go Panda!) Phil Roman founded his animation studio Film Roman in the 80’s, and they have since become famous as the home of The Simpsons and King of the Hill. But they are also the studio that gave us furrier works like Garfield and Friends, Cro, Mother Goose and Grimm, C-Bear and Jamal, and The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat. Finally, a special posthumous McCay Award was presented to the memory of Joe Ranft, Pixar Studio’s head of Story, who died in a tragic car accident ten years ago. Over the years Joe worked on numerous animated films at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation, but he may perhaps best be remembered as the voice of Heimlich the caterpillar in Pixar’s movie A Bug’s Life.

image c. 2016 Pixar, Walt Disney Company

image c. 2016 Pixar, Walt Disney Company

Furry Winners at the Annie Awards

Feb 7th, 2016
by rodney.
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Once again your humble ed-otter was lucky enough to attend the Annie Awards for 2015, presented at UCLA’s Royce Hall on February 6th. Presented by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA), the Annie Awards honor the best of the animation industry — as selected by members of that industry. Surprising no-one, the night belonged to Pixar’s Inside Out. (It has already won almost every major award it has been nominated for, and of course it’s nominated for an Oscar as well.) Inside Out won in the Best Feature categories for Storyboarding, Editing, Character Design, Music, Character Animation, Production Design, Voice Acting (Phyllis Smith as Sadness), Writing, Directing, and (of course) Best Animated Feature. Bing Bong himself even helped to present some of the awards. (*sniff* Bing Bong…) A few other features managed to sneak in awards, and some of them were even for animal characters! The Good Dinosaur won in the category of Best Effects Animation. (It’s been celebrated far and wide for its realistic backgrounds and water effects.) And The Revenant won Best Animated Character In A Live Action Production for the bear that nearly eats Leonardo DiCaprio. Over in the TV and other divisions, furries were well-represented in several award categories. Disney’s new Mickey Mouse Shorts won for Best Storyboarding, Best Music, and Best Editing. ASIFA favorites. Dreamworks TV had two wins, as Dragons: Race to the Edge won for Best Character Animation and The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show won for Best Production Design. Previous Annie favorites Tumble Leaf and Wander Over Yonder won for Best Production for Preschoolers and Best Production for Children, respectively. Psyop (home of those infamous Orangina commercials!) won Best Commercial for their Coca Cola ad Man and Dog, and Best Animated Game went to the monster adventure Evolve from 2K. [To save space, tomorrow we’ll tell you about the special awards presented at the Annies — and why you should care!] You can find out more about all of these and more over at the ASIFA Hollywood web site.

image c. 2016 Pixar

image c. 2016 Pixar Animation

All The Little Horses — All Through The Years

Dec 4th, 2015
by rodney.
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It seems hard to believe that an enterprise as long-lived as My Little Pony hasn’t had a production art book created for it… Thank goodness for Mary Jane Begin, who finally brought us My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria (in hardcover, from Abrams). Rather appropriate that it celebrates (mostly) the latest incarnation of the show: “My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria presents, for the first time, a deep exploration of the art and illustrations from this beloved animated series, Friendship Is Magic. Beginning with the show’s premiere and taking readers through its fifth season, the book offers an amazing collection of the art and design that bring this wonderful series to life. The book takes readers behind the scenes of the show and explores how favorite characters and the landscape of Equestria came to look as they are today. Beyond the television show, My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria also examines the intriguing fan culture—including the fan art movement inspired by Friendship Is Magic. With a rich array of con- ceptual art, episode storyboards, and memorable scenes from the show, My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria is the ultimate guidebook, collector’s item, and fan keepsake.” And you can get it now at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2015 Abrams

image c. 2015 Abrams

People Are Strange, When You’re A Vixen

Dec 3rd, 2015
by rodney.
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According to Cartoon Brew, Yoyotoki is a young vixen who “…was raised with cell phones, computers, and all of the other gadgets and trappings of modern life, but her parents soon got tired of the rat race and decided to move to the countryside, where they encountered a tornado and found themselves in a strange land called Mytholopia, a beautiful world filled with waterfall farms, rainbow forests, and desert canyons.” So says Niki Yang, creator of Yoyotoki: Happy Ears!, a new proposed animated TV series. Ms. Yang is known in animation circles for her work on shows like Fanboy and Chum Chum, Family Guy, Gravity Falls, Clarence, and Adventure Time. Now she’s brought us the adventures of Yoyotoki (and her friends, “…a fantastically elastic gummy bear named Steak and a sloppy pig named Hotwings…”) as her bid to be the next pilot show that’s picked up for production by Amazon Studios. Check out the Cartoon Brew article to find out more about the show and how to vote for it. You can also check out the pilot itself over at Sidereel and see for yourself.

Image c. 2015 Titmouse

Image c. 2015 Titmouse

I Take A 7-1/2…

Dec 2nd, 2015
by rodney.
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This is direct from Animation Magazine’s web site: “Brown Bag Films and Cyber Group Studios have launched production on Gilbert & Allie, a new animated series that has been acquired by Disney Channel EMEA. Created and directed by Bronagh O’Hanlon, Gilbert & Allie is an odd-couple supernatural comedy about the sparks and spells that fly when a teenage girl discovers she has wizardly powers. Unfortunately, those powers can only be harnessed in partnership with an ancient and extremely grumpy magical rabbit that just wants to retire. Produced in France and Ireland, Allie’s adventures as a wizard-in-training facing the everyday challenges of a teenage girl will be animated in CG, while her visits with Gilbert to the magical realm will be created in 2D. Aimed at ages 8-11, the series will launch on Disney Channel in Europe in 2017.” Aw, those European kids, they get everything! We’ll let you know if we hear any word of Gilbert & Allie being released in North America between now and then.

image c. 2015 Brown Bag Films

image c. 2015 Brown Bag Films

Bush Baby Saves the World

Dec 1st, 2015
by rodney.
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Interesting series you probably never heard of. Yoohoo & Friends is both a 2D animated TV Show and a toy line created by Aurora World in South Korea. According to Wikipedia, “Officially developed in 2007, the series was created to educate children about protection and preservation of the environment and encourages parents and their children to appreciate friendship, harmony, honesty and courage.” The star is a young bush baby named Yoohoo, hoo (gotcha!) travels with world having adventures with his young friends — all of them representing endangered species. The series has been picked up for distribution in North America. No sign of it yet — except in Europe and Asia — but you can see episodes (in English no less) on YouTube.

image c. 2015 Aurora World

image c. 2015 Aurora World

I’m Bat Pat!

Nov 30th, 2015
by rodney.
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Woo! And one more more MIPCOM entry. Bat Pat is a production of Atlantyca Entertainment in Italy. According to Animation Magazine, “The 2D series follows the spooky and comical adventures of a talking bat, Bat Pat, and the [human] Silver siblings… as they unravel mysteries and cross paths with supernatural creatures of the night in the quirky town of Fogville.” According to Atlantyca, “Bat Pat grew up in a dark library in a different town, so he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the various creatures of the night. Bat Pat is like a kid full of wide-eyed wonder, he truly appreciates the little thing daytime offer but nighttime is where Bat Pat really thrives. Despite his initial fears, he’s equally driven to help supernatural creatures in need because Bat Pat shares a common link with them…they’re both creatures of the night and usually misunderstood by ‘normal’ people! Bat Pat is very loyal to the kids and they love him, they consider Bat Pat ‘the flying Silver’.” The show is based on the popular series of young reader books by Roberto Pavanello. Atlantyca has a production web site for the show that includes lots of background notes and a video trailer.

image c. 2015 Atlantyca Entertainment

image c. 2015 Atlantyca Entertainment

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