There’s a new CGI animated series coming soon, according to Animation World Network: “Apple TV+ just released a trailer for Eva the Owlet, a new animated kids and family series based on the New York Times bestselling Scholastic book series Owl Diaries by award-winning author Rebecca Elliott. The series premieres globally on Friday, March 31. The show follows Eva, a creative, cheeky owlet who lives next door to her best friend, Lucy, in the woodland world of Treetopington. With big ideas and an even bigger personality, Eva goes on high-flying adventures, expressing herself in her journal along the way!” The article has a link to the show trailer on YouTube as well.
Television
The Annie Award Winners for 2022
This past Saturday the gala ceremony for the Annie Awards was held at UCLA in Southern California — the first time in three years the ceremony has been held live! The “Oscars of animation” are presented every year by ASIFA Hollywood (a division of the International Animated Film Society). This year, surprising no one at all, the stop-motion film Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was the big winner of the night, winning in five categories including the top prize, Best Animated Feature. (Might be time to admit it — the film’s pretty much got a lock on the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at this point). Pinocchio also won in the Feature Film categories for Best Character Animation, Best Direction, Best Production Design, and Best Music. More surprising perhaps (at least to those of us who were behind the curve on the meme!) was this little film called Marcel, The Shell With Shoes On, which took home three Feature awards: Best Writing, Best Voice Acting (for Marcel’s voice and creator, Jenny Slate (Zootopia)), and the coveted Best Independent Feature. It was a complete sweep for these two though — some other (furry!) films of note were award-winners too. Over at Dreamworks, The Bad Guys got the award for Best Character Design, while Puss In Boots: The Last Wish was recognized with awards for Best Storyboarding and Best Editing. (All for features, of course.) Over in the TV categories, Dreamworks won Best TV For Children with their show Abominable and the Invisible City. Meanwhile, one of the big winners of the night was the animated video special The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse, which took four Annies home to the U.K., including Best Special Production. It was not a great night for Disney, but there was one great furry note: Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain) won Best Voice Acting in TV for his portrayal of Mr. Big in Zootopia+. Cartoon Brew has a good article about the awards and a full list of the winners. (And now we get to remind you that voting for the Ursa Major Awards opens up this week!)
Go Team! Rawr!
Okay, this is different… Here’s the press release we just came across from IDW Publishing: “IDW is fielding both its Publishing and Entertainment operations to kick off development of Team Spirit, an original comedy for kids 6-11 created by Tshepo Moche (Mama K’s Team 4, Kizazi Moto), Raffaella Delle Donne (Mama K’s Team 4, Pearl of the Sea graphic novel) and Marc Dey. In partnership, the concept will be produced as both a graphic novel and an animated series. The trio of Cape Town, South Africa-based writer-producers have gained industry recognition for handling the creative for an array of global animated hits… Team Spirit follows the comedy adventures of a middle school girl who also happens to be a were-hyena and her best bud — a hulking dancing demon — who form their own cheer squad to show that despite their typical teen angst (and atypical supernatural oddities) they have enough Team Spirit to just about raise the dead.” You heard it here. We’ll let you know when there’s a release date!
Celebrate Diversity — All Around You
Right on time! A couple of years ago we told you about a new animated TV series headed to the Disney Channel in 2023 — and now here we are. Animation World Network has this news: “Disney-Branded Television announced that Kiff, their nutty new animated buddy-comedy about optimistic squirrel Kiff and her chill bunny bestie Barry, will premiere Friday, March 10, on Disney Channel and Wednesday, March 15, on Disney+. Kimiko Glenn (Orange Is the New Black) stars in the titular role of Kiff, whose thirst for life takes her on countless adventures through their city alongside Barry, voiced by H. Michael Croner (Craig of the Creek). From creators and executive producers Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal, the series follows Kiff and Barry as they navigate school, relationships and their often-eccentric community in Table Town, a world where animals and magical oddballs tackle day-to-day life together.” We’ll see it all this spring!
Bear With Him
This is a bit complex, so we’ll let Animation World Network explain it: “Nickelodeon has released a handful of first look images for Bossy Bear, the new animated preschool series from husband-and-wife team David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim (UglyDolls, Tea Time Cats), based on the Korean / U.S. pop culture blend book series by Horvath. The series follows the misadventures of unlikely besties Bossy Bear (an overly enthusiastic extrovert) and Turtle (a thoughtful introvert) in their Koreatown-inspired city of Pleasantburg.” Look for the show on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. in 2023. [And have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve!]
Multi-Species Messaging
Somehow we missed The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and the Horse when it was an illustrated book sensation three years ago. But now it’s been made into a new 2D-animated film, directed by the book’s author Charlie Mackesy with the help of animator Peter Baynton (The Tiger Who Came To Tea). “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse features traditional hand-drawn animation to tell a heartwarming tale of the unlikely friendship between the title characters as they journey in search of the boy’s home. Yet, as simple as the story is, the film, like the book, contains deep and profound insights into the things that matter most in life, offering a sorely needed message of hope in a troubled time.” Animation World Network has a detailed article about the film, which premiered on Apple TV+ at Christmas. Interesting to note: Idris Elba, Chief Bogo himself, voices the Fox.
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.
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.
Cute and Courageous
And another new furry animated series for young folk, coming next year to Disney Junior. “Disney Junior released a trailer for its new 3DCG animated series, SuperKitties, premiering this coming January. The action-packed show follows four fierce and furry superhero kittens — Ginny, Sparks, Buddy, and Bitsy — on a mission to make Kittydale a more caring and ‘pawesome’ place. The heroic kitties defeat villains while imparting important messages of kindness, empathy, friendship, resilience, and problem-solving.” Animation World Network has more.