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Elephant

How Does An Elephant Sneak?

Sep 21st, 2016
by rodney.
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Out-of-nowhere department… and more of a curiosity than a recommendation. There’s a new DVD out this week: A direct-to-video animated film called Elephant Kingdom. Here’s the tag: “When brave elephant Rock (Cary Elwes) sees his wife, Melody (Alexa PenaVega), kidnapped by the powerful human king (Patrick Warburton), the mighty warrior will need some jumbo-sized help from his friends in order to rescue her. Coming to his aid is a quirky, courageous troop of young elephants, including Rally (Carlos PenaVega), and Pugsley (Mikey Bolts), plus the ever-trusty and wacky Wingman (Garrett Clayton) and the kindhearted human queen (Ambyr Childers)”. Interestingly, other than “Grindstone Entertainment” and Lionsgate (who released it) we know next to nothing about who made this. The IMDB entry does not list any director, writers, or other crew; only the English-language voice actors.  It’s available and on the shelves now, but check out the trailer first.

image c. 2016 Lionsgate

image c. 2016 Lionsgate

Humans are a Distant Memory…

Jan 9th, 2016
by rodney.
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Published at the tail-end (ha ha ha) of 2015 we have Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, the first book in a new series by Lawrence M. Schoen. Here’s the official description from the publishers, Tom Doherty Associates: “In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity’s genius: Animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species, anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets. Surrounded by danger, a Fant historian is ensnared by the past, and a physically challenged child sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds.” It’s available now in hardcover at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2016 Tom Doherty Associates

image c. 2016 Tom Doherty Associates

Animals of a Different Color: Lots of Them!

Nov 23rd, 2014
by rodney.
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MIPCON is taking place in Europe, and that means there are several new animated TV series looking for distribution in, among many other places, North America. And of course many of them are more than a little bit anthropomorphic. One of the ones that is generating a lot of buzz is called Zafari, from Ink Global. This is from Animation World Network: “Zafari is the brainchild of David Dozoretz – an animation visionary who worked alongside George Lucas on the Star Wars prequels and also contributed to major movies such as Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Moulin Rouge, X-Men 3, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. With a multi-million euro budget in place, this sumptuous animation tells the story of a group of animal friends who live together in Zafari – a land that’s home to a collection of unique inhabitants who have all been magically born with the skin of other animals. The series follows the adventures of Zoomba – a little elephant with zebra stripes – as he explores and makes sense of the world. Zafari concentrates on the themes of inclusivity and friendship, inspiring kids that everybody is unique in some way and that our differences should be celebrated.” Currently there isn’t a lot on the Zafari home page, but still if you go there you can see the proposed opening credits.

image c. 2014 Ink Global

image c. 2014 Ink Global

We Should Not Forget the Elephant

Nov 4th, 2013
by rodney.
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Straight from the folks at Animation Scoop: “Gnosis Moving Pictures CEO Darius A. Kamali and Whisper Pictures CEO George Merkert announced today that the companies are partnering on the animated feature film Tusk: Hannibal’s Favorite Elephant. The project, which was co-written and will be directed by Whisper Pictures’ Oscar-winning Chief Creative Officer Tim McGovern (Tron, Total Recall, As Good as it Gets and currently, Sin City 2), is a family-friendly epic adventure that tells the story of legendary military strategist Hannibal and his favorite elephant Surus, as they seek justice from the Romans. The project, set in 218 B.C., follows Surus and Hannibal as they lead an army of men and 37 African elephants over the Alps, and the deep connection that develops between a man and animal bound by shared hope and common loss. ” Really now. No word yet on a projected release date, but keep your ears spread.

image c. 2013 Gnosis Moving Pictures

Michael. Elephant. Detective.

Nov 15th, 2012
by rodney.
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There’s no way we could describe the new graphic novel District 14 any better than the publisher, Humanoids Inc., did in Previews magalog: “Follow Michael the elephant as he arrives to the city known as District 14, a labyrinthine metropolis where humans, animals and aliens all co-exist.  A unique anthropomorphic mystery with an intricate plot and a fantastic cast of characters, this incredible French series is finally making its way across the Atlantic.” It’s written by Pierre Gabus and illustrated in black & white by Romuald Reutimann, and it’s coming out in hardcover this January.

image c. 2012 Humanoids Inc

An Elephant… Forgotten

Sep 10th, 2012
by rodney.
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Word has come out of Florida a few days ago that Digital Domain are closing down their new animation studio, Tradition, effective immediately, and will instead focus their California and Vancouver, Canada studios on movie special effects. Tradition was an attempt by Digital Domain (a well-known special effects house created by Stan Winston, Scott Ross, and director James Cameron) to follow in the steps of another FX house, Sony Pictureworks, into the realm of animated features (as Sony did successfully with Open Season, Surf’s Up, and other films). Now, 300 people have been let go in Florida, and — from a furry fan perspective, perhaps another sad thing — work has stopped on The Legend of Tembo, Tradition’s first film, which would have followed the adventures of a young elephant. Cartoon Brew have been following this story closely, so check it out — but be prepared for some harsh words.

image c. 2012 Digital Domain

That’s One Old Elephant

Oct 14th, 2011
by rodney.
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It seems amazing, but the fact is that this year Babar the Elephant is celebrating his 80th birthday. Yes, the paternal pachyderm first appeared in Histoire de Babar (The Story of Babar) by writer and illustrator Jean de Brunhoff in 1931. Since then there have been numerous books and more than one TV series — perhaps the most famous having been animated by Nelvana back in the 1980’s and 90’s. Now, to celebrate this new milestone, Nelvana has hooked up with The Clifford Ross Company to create numerous celebrations of the royal elephant in the famous green suit. Frankly, there’s too many to even describe here, so we’ll simply direct  you over to Cartoon Brew’s handy News Feed, where you’ll find a detailed listing of it all.

image c. 2011 Nelvana Enterprises

An Elephant in a Fedora

Sep 11th, 2011
by rodney.
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You can’t get much more straight-forward than this description of Big City Otto: Elephants Never Forget. “Otto is a lumbering, sweet-natured elephant who can’t forget his childhood chum Georgie, a smiley-faced chimpanzee who was abducted and shipped away from their forest home by the mysterious and sinister Man with the Wooden Nose. Accompanied by a wisecracking but protective parrot named Crackers, Otto decides to hop a plane and look for Georgie in America. But once they hit the wild streets of the concrete jungle, Otto and Crackers court trouble at every turn — even becoming unwittingly involved in the seedy alligator underworld dominating the city sewers. And little do these out-of-place out-of-towners realize that they, too, are being doggedly pursued across the city — by the local police! Will the authorities catch Otto and Crackers? Will Otto and Crackers find Georgie? Who is the Man with the Wooden Nose? And what’s an elephant doing sporting a trench-coat and fedora?” It’s a brand-new softcover graphic novel written and illustrated by Bill Slavin, and recently published by Kids Can Press.

image c. 2011 Bill Slavin

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