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Animation

This Comic Should Not Be Left Behind… Or Forgotten

Turns out the re-invention of Disney properties continued this year with the new Lilo & Stitch comic from Dynamite — the first continuing comic for them in English, actually. “Life seems to have calmed down for Experiment 626 and his new family on Earth – at least until evil aliens come hunting for everyone’s favorite blue-furred troublemaker. The kicker? They’re using giant robots that are powered by Stitch’s own DNA! Will Lilo’s beloved pet be able to take on these villains and lead them away from his adopted planet and loved ones? And even if he succeeds, will he be able to find his way back home?” It’s written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Giulia Giacomino, and issues are still on the shelves.

image c. 2024 Dynamite Comics

Keep Trying ‘Till You HIT!

And speak of the Devil… Here’s another bit of Viva Pictures news we got (again from Cartoon Brew): “Viva Pictures has signed on as the U.S. distributor of Hitpig! and will release the film theatrically on November 1, 2024. The film, adapted from characters first introduced in the children’s book Pete & Pickles by Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed, is from British production company Aniventure, which has previously completed Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Riverdance: The Animated Adventure. The animation provider is Cinesite (The Addams Family 2, Iwájú, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem).” Here’s the official synopsis: “Hitpig is a clever bounty hunting pig who catches escaped animals and returns them to their owners. His next job is his biggest yet: return a dancing elephant named Pickles to a maniacal Vegas showman, for a million bucks. The mission quickly escalates into a wild adventure around the world. When danger looms, it is up to Hitpig to save the day but he can’t do it alone.” As you can see, there’s a lot of “professional furry” experience behind this film, and we’ve been talking about it for a while now. See the trailer, too!

image c. 2024 Viva Pictures

Race to the Rides

More interesting news from Cartoon Brew: “Viva Pictures has picked up North American rights to the animated feature Grand Prix of Europe. The story of the film revolves around Edda, a racing car-obsessed young mouse, who must disguise herself as her idol, Ed, and take his place to compete in the Grand Prix to save her family’s amusement park. The film is a tie-in for the German theme park Europa-Park, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. The theme park has won the Golden Ticket Award eight times for being the best park worldwide.” Viva Pictures is also making quite a name for itself for distributing more obscure animated feature films. After finding success with The Amazing Maurice, they went on to bring us Dragonkeeper and the upcoming 200% Wolf.

image c. 2024 Viva Pictures

Brave Cat in a Big World

Thanks to Cartoon Brew we’ve learned about Brave Cat, the first animated feature film by Gabriel Osorio, Chilean director of the Academy Award-winning short film Bear Story. “The new cg film, which is currently in production, follows Kona, a teenage forest cat who decides to face her fears and search for her missing mother, who was kidnapped by the circus long ago. She is joined on her journey by Colin, an abandoned guard dog pup, and Bernard, a runaway old circus bear, who are also searching for their own families.” Like Bear Story, much of this new film is an allegory for the struggles of ordinary people in Chile. Check out the teaser trailer too. The film is in production and seeking distribution.

image c. 2024 Punkrobot

Islands in the Streaming

Recently Animation World Network told us about Tumble Leaf: The Movie, an upcoming feature film based on the multi-award-winning stop-motion animated series for kids created by Drew Hodges — who will also direct the feature version. “When everyone on the island of Tumble Leaf gathers at the Finding Ceremony, a momentous coming-of-age celebration, only Fig the Fox resists because it threatens to upend his perfect life. Suddenly, the ceremony is interrupted when the island mysteriously breaks apart due to a long-hidden ancient entity. With Tumble Leaf lost, Fig and his friends must lead their eclectic community as they set sail on an epic, quirky, and hilarious quest across the vast unknown to find a new home and their place in a bigger, wilder world.” No word yet on a release date, but the film-makers are seeking out distribution.

image c. 2024 Bix Pix Entertainment

The Cat Carries On

One of the surprise hits at this year’s Cannes Film Festival was an animated film called Flow. It’s a CGI feature written and directed by Gints Zilbalodis, which features no humans and no dialogue. The synopsis goes like this: “The world seems to be coming to an end, teeming with the vestiges of a human presence. Cat is a solitary animal, but as his home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. In the lonesome boat sailing through mystical overflowed landscapes, they navigate the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.” And now, Cartoon Brew have let us know that Sideshow Pictures and Janus films have picked up Flow for distribution in North America.

image c. 2024 Sideshow / Janus Films

Where’s Kuzco When You Need Him?

It’s always fun to come across a skilled artist with a unique and readily identifiable style. Sita Cardenas (or Retronerd as they call themselves) certainly fits that bill. We met them at WonderCon last month. Their specialty is fan art of gaming, anime, and comic book characters drawn in a distinctive style based on classical Aztec art. You’ve never seen the like! Look at their web site to see what we mean. They offer their art on pins, stickers, coffee mugs, and other cool items — not to mention they sell originals too.

image c. 2024 by Sita Cardenas

Two for Survival

Fresh back from WonderCon in Anaheim, and there was so much interesting stuff to see there! Like… Chuck Grieb is an art instructor at Azusa Pacific University, but he worked for years in animation production as well. Now he’s expanded his resume to include “author” with his illustrated fantasy novel The Goblin Twins — the first book in his Garden Clan series. It features more than 100 black & white and full-color illustrations. “Running for their lives from an evil shaman, The Goblin Twins Bela and Vuto flee to the far side of the enchanted Thicket. But the shaman has not given up, and the Goblin Twins’ escape to the Faerie Garden Clans sparks a confrontation which could lead to a Goblin-Faerie war.” Check out the official web site to find out more, including the author’s other projects.

image c. 2024 C and W Creative, Inc.

New Adventures in Redwall

Thanks to Animation Magazine we learned about some new games coming to Steam, based on Brian Jacques’ world-famous Redawall series of anthropomorphic fantasy books. “The Scout Anthology, available now for PC, PS5 and X|S on Steam, is a narrative puzzle-driven action-adventure in three acts following young mouse recruits in Mossflower on a mission to save their home from pirates. For the cute and cozy casual gaming crowd, Feasts & Friends (for the PC, coming soon) savors the peaceful town of Lilygrove as players forage for ingredients, craft recipes, and meet charming characters.” Both of them were created by Forthright Entertainment and Soma Games.

image c. 2024 Forthright Entertainment