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Comedy

More Cats in More Countries

The Ollie & Moon Show is a new 2D animated TV series, based on a popular children’s book series by Diane Kredensor, “…an Emmy Award-winning artist, director and producer whose credits include Pinky and the Brain and Clifford the Big Red Dog, among others.” [So says Variety]. “In the series, two animated cats travel around the world. teaching viewers about the joy of unlikely friendships and global citizenship… The series will use art that blends live-action with 2D designs.” Ollie is a young cat who likes to plan and schedule his far-flung trips around the world.  Moon… likes to bounce off the walls. Somehow these two get along well enough to travel together and learn as they do. The series has been picked up by NBC’s Sprout Network for broadcast starting in 2017.

image c. 2015 Cottonwood Media

image c. 2015 Cottonwood Media

Danger! Danger!

DHX Media (the production home of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Littlest Pet Shop, and many many more) have recently signed an international distribution deal for a new CGI TV series called Endangered Species. Unfortunately, so far none of those distribution deals include the USA! “The series follows Pickle, Merl and Gull, a bunny, a squirrel and a seagull who might not seem high on the protected species list, but who are constantly on the verge of catastrophic extinction through comical misadventure.” Check out the article over at Animation World Network to find out more.

image c. 2015 DHX Media

image c. 2015 DHX Media

It’s A Catastrophe!

[We are so, so sorry for that one…] Earlier this year you may recall we mentioned an upcoming animated feature called Blazing Samurai. Well now thanks to Cartoon Brew we have a lot more information about it! “Arriving stateside August 4, 2017, from AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment’s Open Road Films, Blazing Samurai stars Michael Cera, Samuel L. Jackson, Ricky Gervais, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Aasif Mandvi, Djimon Hounsou, Michelle Yeoh, Sandra Tsing Loh, Mel B., Heavenly Joy Jerkins, and Mel Brooks himself as a madcap array of cats and dogs comedically battling for samurai supremacy not in the Wild West but the faraway Japanese East. Co-directed by Alvin and the Chipmunks and Garfield animation supervisor Chris Bailey and veteran Disney animator Mark Koetsier, Blazing Samurai also features art direction from New Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show and Steven Universe’s Kevin Dart. Toronto, Canada-based CG animation and visual effects shop Arc Productions (Gnomeo & Juliet) is the lead animation house.” What’s more, Lion King / Mr. Peabody & Sherman director Rob Minkoff is on board as one of the producers. Quite a lot of big names attached to this project!

image c. 2015 Open Road Films

image c. 2015 Open Road Films

This Cat Doesn’t Like You

Few Internet phenomena have grown so huge as the droopy-faced feline known as Grumpy Cat. She is literally everywhere.  Well now, Dynamite Entertainment have brought us what is perhaps inevitable: Grumpy Cat has her own full-color comic book series. “Dynamite proudly presents The Misadventures of Grumpy Cat #1, featuring The World’s Grumpiest Cat and her brother, Pokey! With her ever-present pout and sassy disposition, Grumpy Cat has won the hearts of people everywhere. Grumpy Cat is the perfect combination of unbearable cuteness, instant fan appeal, and established multimedia presence. If you love the memes, the videos, and that irresistible scowl, then get ready for the wildly fun antics of Grumpy Cat and Pokey in Dynamite’s all-new, all-sensational Grumpy Cat comics!” With artwork by Steve Uy and Ken Haeser, and stories by a small army of writers, the first issue is available now. Check out the preview over at Comic Book Resources. Meow.

image c. 2015 Dynamite Entertainment

image c. 2015 Dynamite Ent.

The Red Bird Has Issues

Once again Cartoon Brew provides: This time they have the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Angry Birds Movie, set to hit theaters in May 2016. Based of course on Rovio’s mega-hit downloadable game, the film boasts an impressive voice cast: Among them Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, and Peter Dinklage. “Industry veterans Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, both first-time directors, are helming the project, and Jon Vitti (The Simpsons, The Office, The Larry Sanders Show) wrote the screenplay.” With animation by Sony Imageworks, of course.

image c. 2015 Sony Imageworks

image c. 2015 Sony Imageworks

Cats, then Art, then Back to the Cats!

Janet Lee describes herself like this: “I am an artist, award-winning illustrator, and cat-tamer who may or may not have been raised by gypsies in the Black Forrest…” She is also, if her illustration is any proof, someone who is trying to bring a lot of “funny” back to “funny animals”. See her print below? That’s Ron Weasely. Get it? [And yes, she has a new print of Harry Otter too…] Take a look at her web site to see what else she’s been up to (when her cats will give her time). And don’t forget to look at her Etsy Shop too.

image c. 2015 by Janet Lee

image c. 2015 by Janet Lee

Fight The Pigs!

No matter what it is, you can always take it to a new, higher, weirder level folks. Super Angry Birds is a new full-color on-line comic series from IDW and Rovio Studios, giving us a whole new take on (what else?) the Angry Birds universe. “It’s everyone’s favorite furious fowl as you’ve never seen them before! New Yolk City is your typical bustling metropolis and like every big city it has a dark side. Through lies, deceit and corruption, King Pig and his henchmen have taken over the town and have made life miserable for its citizens. This makes one group of birds angry…Super Angry! This new group of would-be heroes, with powers beyond mortal birds, fight a covert war against King Pig and his minions. They are the Super Angry Birds!” Told you. Two issues are out so far, so check it out over at Comixology.

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

Tooting Panda Toons

The cartoonist known as Linda Panda has a thing for, yes, pandas. Pandas who… fart. Friendly farts that smile and make comments. Seriously. This is the odd world of Linda’s panda cartoons, and she’s been creating them daily and putting them up on the web for some time now. More recently, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, she’s collected hundreds of her daily works (as well as her more “traditional” sketches, perhaps) in book form. Head over to her official web site to find out how to get your own copy — as well as buttons and prints and other such ways you can see farting pandas.

image c. 2015 by Linda Panda

image c. 2015 by Linda Panda

Monkeys… In… Space!

Life is a scary adventure on board Space Base 8. At least from the point of view of Cargo, the base’s resident Rocketship Crash Test Monkey. Cargo, along with a menagerie of aliens and robots, are the “stars” (that’s a joke) of Space Base 8, an on-line comic strip created and illustrated by David Scott Smith. Check out the Space Base 8 web site to see the latest comic and find out about picking up the first compilation book, Blast Off! It’s available as an e-book, in print, and as a special “artist’s edition” which includes a free personalized sketch.

image c. 2015 by David Scott Smith

image c. 2015 by David Scott Smith