Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
We could not make this stuff up if we wanted to, folks. Mickey’s Inferno. Yes: The scary portion of Dante’s Divine Comedy as re-told in full-color graphic novel format by Mickey and his friends. And Papercutz got Disney’s okay with this! It’s written by Guido Martina (who is a well-known creator of Disney material in Italy), illustrated by Angelo Bioletta, and available in softcover and hardcover editions — on the shelves right now. Gosh, is Purgatory next?
image c. 2017 Papercutz
Our friends over at Cartoon Brew are finishing up the year with an article about 60 (!) animated films scheduled for release in 2017. Some are brand new releases, and some have already made the rounds in other parts of the world but will not be premiering in North America ’till next year. And of course, with a huge set of films like that, more than a fair share of them are definitely going to have some interest for the anthropomorphic fans out there! Taking a quick look ourselves, the upcoming animated films of furry note — some a lot, some a little — include (deep breath…): Animal Crackers, Beast of Burden, Blazing Samurai, Bunyan & Babe, Cars 3, Clara, Despicable Me 3, The Emoji Movie, Ferdinand, Foodiverse, Godzilla (yes, the first animated Godzilla movie!), Here Comes The Grump, Kikoriki — Deja Vu, Kung Food, Lino, Manou the Swift, Mune — Guardian of the Moon, My Cool Dad, My Little Pony — The Movie, The Nut Job 2, Ping Pong Rabbit, Pokemon The Movie — I Choose You, Punyakoti, The Red Turtle, Richard the Stork, Rock Dog, Sahara, Smurfs — The Lost Village, Spark, The Star, Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers, and Underdog. Whew! The article at Cartoon Brew includes several trailers. Of course we’ll be talking a lot more about each of these films as they get closer to release. Happy New Year!
image c. 2016 Studio Canal
Janice Rostenthal is an illustrator and character designer whom we met at the CTN Animation Expo. She describes herself as a “Disney Imagineer, Ringling College of Art and Design illustration & visual development alumna, dog-person.” As you can see from her web site, that seems to cover all the bases! [And with that, we wish you all Happy Holidays and a Blessed Solstice!]
image c. 2016 by Janice Rosenthal
There’s a new full-color trade paperback on its way from IDW publishing, one that brings together comics from several celebrated Disney comic artists — all of them presenting stories set at the Disney Parks! Here’s what they say: “Sixty years of Disney Parks—who knew? Now IDW is celebrating with decades of Disney’s classic Park-themed adventure comics! Carl Barks‘ Scrooge McDuck and Donald travel from the Mark Twain Riverboat to the top of the Matterhorn… then Mickey investigates the strange disappearance of the Country Bear Jamboree. And is that the real Pegleg Pete standing in for the Cast Member who plays him?” Featuring stories and art from Carl Barks, Giorgio Cavazzano, Massimo Fecchi, and Victor “Vicar” Arriagada Rios, Donald and Mickey: The Magic Kingdom Collection comes to comic book stores this January.
image c. 2016 IDW Publishing
Limon and Oli is a CGI animated TV series for young children, created by Salih Memecan. It’s based on a long-running newspaper strip in Turkey, Sizinkiler (“Your Kind of Family”). The cartoon show follows that adventures of two young birds who are best friends — both of them teaming with curiosity about the world. Since 2015 the show has been airing on Disney Junior in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Now thanks to a deal with Netflix the two little birds are set to make their premier in North America and beyond.
image c. 2016 Mart Agency
Speaking of Gaumont Animation, we couldn’t very well pass up on an animated show called Furry Wheels, now could we? “André is a hyperactive young sloth with oodles of drive. He’s the first of his kind to even leave his tree. And he’s not stopping there; he wants to shake the dust of this town off his feet and see the world, but before everything he must pass his driving test. First stop, Racers School to get his diploma, because any herbivore who wants to survive out there needs to learn to drive, fast! Or else you’ll quickly end up as a leopard’s luncheon meat.” Created by Frédéric Martin, Furry Wheels is distributed in Europe by Disney XD — with an eye on international markets of course. TBI Vision has an interview with Pierre Belaïsch of Gaumont about the show.
image c. 2016 Gaumont Animation
Recently the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA) announced the nominees for the Annie Awards of 2016, celebrating the best in animation in all media. Perhaps surprising no one, Zootopia topped the list with 11 nominations in 10 categories — including Best Feature Film, Best Writing, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Character Design, Best Voice Acting, Best Effects Animation, Best Storyboarding, and two nominations for Best Character Animation. The Annies being widely acknowledged as “the Oscars of Animation” means that Zootopia is now considered to be a front-runner for the Best Animated Feature Film at the actual Oscars — if not more categories as well. Interestingly, one thing that was a surprise was that Zootopia’s biggest competition at the Annies is not Pixar favorite Finding Dory (which was nominated in only four categories) but Laika’s most recent stop-motion film, Kubo and the Two Strings — which was also nominated in 10 categories. Other films of Furry interest that received nominations include Kung Fu Panda 3, The Red Turtle, The Secret Life of Pets, The Jungle Book, Sing, and Storks. Over in the TV category the anthro-themed nominees included Bojack Horseman, Peg + Cat, Puffin Rock, Tumble Leaf, Elena of Avalor, and long-running favorites like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Adventure Time, and Wander of Yonder. Plus many other nominees in many categories, including the avian favorite Piper for Best Short. Read all about it over at the Annie Awards site. The awards will be presented at UCLA on February 4th next year. (And don’t forget — soon it will be time to nominate the Ursa Major Awards too!)
image c. 2016 Disney Animation
Now here’s a Donald who hasn’t been as much in the news lately — much to his chagrin, probably! IDW Publishing presents Donald Quest, a new full-color adventure mini-series featuring Disney’s favorite duck. “In the steampunk warrior world of Feudarnia, only the Magnus Malleus can save humanity from marauding Meteorbeasts! It’s an epic weapon for an epic hero… so why is it up to Donald Duck to grab it before Magica De Spell, the Beagle Boys, and the Phantom Blot get there first?” Guess we’ll find out soon enough. Donald Quest is written by Stefano Ambrosio and Pat McGreal, with illustration by Andrea Freccero. Check it out over at IDW. Issue #1 is on the shelves now.
image c. 2016 IDW Publishing
Mysterious Melody, or How Mickey Met Minnie is a brand new take on the world’s most famous mouse, once again brought to us by IDW. “What was life like for Mickey before 1928… before Hollywood stardom struck? In this riveting, phantasmagorical ‘what-if” tale, we follow the Mouse from his humble origins – as Oswald Rabbit’s screenwriter! – through a tangled web of trains, rocket ships, and stolen Shakespeare scripts! Will a haunting tune bring Mickey and Minnie together for the first time? Will Goofy find success as a… ferryboat driver? Or will big boss Mr. Casey and relentless Peg-leg Pete strike again? Award-winning Swiss cartoonist Bernard Cosey (Lost in the Alps) brings us an amazing Mouse adventure with a thoughtful, emotive twist.” According to Previews, it’s coming our way in full color and hardcover this December. Gosh!
image c. 2016 IDW Publishing
