[Hello there! Back from Further Confusion 2020 with lots to talk about. First a little catching up to do though…] Last fall brought us the very first graphic novel adaptation of George Orwell’s famous barnyard allegorical novel Animal Farm — illustrated in full color by Odyr. From the New York Times Book Review: “Animal Farm has previously appeared accompanied by drawings, by famous illustrators…But Odyr, using a bright palette, has fully adapted what Orwell called ‘a fairy tale’ satirizing Stalin — and the result is elegant and heartbreaking… Instead of a reduction of the original, Odyr’s imagined barnyard world adds to the depth of the characters…” It’s available now in hardcover from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Fantasy
She Returns To Help The Dragons
In the past we talked about Katie O’ Neill, and we briefly mentioned her award-winning graphic novel The Tea Dragon Society. Well now she’s back with a brand new sequel, The Tea Dragon Festival, that’s available now in hardcover from Oni Press. “Rinn has grown up with the Tea Dragons that inhabit their village, but stumbling across a real dragon turns out to be a different matter entirely! Aedhan is a young dragon who was appointed to protect the village, but fell asleep in the forest eighty years ago. With the aid of Rinn’s adventuring uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel, they investigate the mystery of his enchanted sleep… but Rinn’s real challenge is to help Aedhan come to terms with feeling that he cannot get back the time he has lost.”
Back The Rainbow
This last summer brought as a brand new Care Bares series on Boomerang, Care Bears: Unlock The Magic — and to go with it, a brand new tie-in comic book series from IDW. “Welcome to the Silver Lining, a mystical realm full of mirth and magic! The Care Bears, along with their pals the Whiffles, protect this realm from the negative influence of the mischievous Bluster and his Bad Crowd! With engaging, unique characters and an irreverent and heartwarming sense of humor, this new series is perfect for anyone looking for more magic in their lives!” Featuring art by Agnes Garbowska of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fame. All three issues of the comic mini-series are available now.
Feed That Monster — Or Else!
Drew Brockington, creator of the CatStronauts series of books (which we talked about!) has returned with a brand new full-color graphic novel called Hangry for younger readers. “When a young lizard monster gets a hankering for his favorite hot dog spot, he takes the train all the way to the city — only to find that the place is closed for vacation. But when this little monster gets too hungry, he starts to get angry. And when he gets hangry, this poor city is at risk of a full-scale monster attack. As his rage swells, so does he, until he’s the size of a skyscraper, and it falls to the citizens to find him some food — and fast!” Look for it in hardcover from Little Brown Books.
Quest of Bat and Lizard
Hey, remember that game we talked about called Yooka-Laylee? Well recently D.M. Cumbo and the folks at Dreamprism Press completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for Yooka-Layle and the Kracklestone, a new hardcover full-color graphic novel. “The story sees Yooka and Laylee plunged into a brand new secret tome world in a race against the evil Capital B to reach the legendary ‘Kracklestone’, an ancient artifact fabled to grant its holder invincibility. To reach the treasure, they’ll run, swim, trip, tumble, and fly through nine distinct, character-filled landscapes. They will encounter friends, foes, and some in-between… including plenty of fan favorites from the game!” The Kickstarter page is still up, and it features lots of art and background materials.
Kawai Ponies!
We didn’t even know they did this — My Little Pony: The Manga. “The world of My Little Pony comes alive in this distinctive manga series that spotlights each of the Mane 6 and a host of other characters from the land of Equestria! When Pinkie Pie lends a hoof to help Twilight Sparkle and Spike clean up the castle Library, she discovers a mysterious mirror with the power to gaze into alternate realities. Upon entering the portal-like mirror, Pinkie Pie sets off a chain of events that could spell doom for Equestria! Follow this adventure–and many more–in this hilarious new manga series for fans of all ages.” Written by David Lumsdon, illustrated by Shiel, and published by Seven Seas, it’s available now in paperback.
We Wish You A Yippy Christmas
We came across this… at International House of Pancakes, of all places. Seems that they’re a co-sponsor for Elf Pets: A Fox Cub’s Christmas Tale, a new animated holiday special from the Elf on the Shelf toy line that’s out now on DVD. It turns out that arctic foxes’ ability to disappear into the snow is vitally important to the magic that helps Santa Claus deliver his toys around the world in one single night. How does that work? Find out…
Looking Forward to 2020
The latter part of ye ed-otter’s presentation on Furry Movies took a look at titles of “anthro interest” coming up in 2020. So here’s the list of movies that we’re following, along with when they’re scheduled to be released:
- Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon (imdb, January)
- The Big Trip (imdb, January)
- Doolittle (imdb, January)
- Spycies (imdb, January)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (imdb, February)
- Call of the Wild (imdb, February)
- Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (imdb, February)
- Onward (imdb, March)
- The Queen’s Corgi (imdb, March)
- Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (imdb, April)
- Trolls World Tour (imdb, April)
- Un rescate de huevitos (imdb, April)
- Scoob! (imdb, May)
- Minions: The Rise of Gru (imdb, July)
- Dragon Rider (imdb, August)
- The One and Only Ivan (imdb, August)
- The Croods 2 (imdb, December)
- Raya and the Last Dragon (imdb, December)
- Wish Dragon (imdb, no release date yet)
- The Fandom (YouTube, no release date yet)
So! Know of anything we’re forgetting? Let us know!
Furry Movies of 2019
Just returned from Midwest FurFest outside Chicago. GOODNESS what an impressive event! Among many other things there, your ever-lovin’ ed-otter presented a lecture called Furry Movies of 2019 — mostly as a way to remind people about some of the anthropomorphic items (very broadly defined!) which are eligible for the 2020 Ursa Major Awards. At the end of it, some folks in the audience asked if there was a version of the list up on line. Well guess what? Now there is! Furry movies (and movies with interesting anthropomorphic characters in them) this year have included:
- A Dog’s Way Home (imdb)
- The Underdog, from Korea (imdb)
- Sheep & Wolves: Pig Deal, from Russia (imdb)
- Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past, from China (imdb)
- The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (imdb)
- How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World (imdb)
- Manou the Swift, from Germany (imdb)
- Dumbo (imdb)
- Missing Link (imdb)
- Avengers: Endgame (imdb)
- Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (imdb)
- Ugly Dolls (imdb)
- Wonder Park (imdb)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (imdb)
- Secret Life of Pets 2 (imdb)
- Toy Story 4 (imdb)
- The Lion King (imdb)
- The Banana Splits Movie (imdb)
- The Angry Birds Movie 2 (imdb)
- Abominable (imdb)
- The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily, from France & Italy (imdb)
- Arctic Dogs (imdb)
- Lady and the Tramp (imdb)
- Frozen 2 (imdb)
- Togo, coming on December 13th (imdb)
- Cats, coming on December 20th (imdb)
- Spies in Disguise, coming on December 25th (imdb)
- Hayop Ka! aka You Son of a Bitch!, from Korea — coming soon (YouTube)
And also coming soon: Look for a run-down of anthropomorphic movies to look forward to in 2020!