Jerry Beck’s Animation Scoop has an interesting article about a pair of independent animation projects in the works — both of which just happen to be very furry. First up is Ghost of a Tale, a new video game designed by Lionel “Seith” Gallat. Lionel has worked as a supervising animator at Dreamworks on movies like The Prince Of Egypt, The Road to Eldorado, Spirit, Sinbad, SharkTale, and others. More recently he’s been a director for Illumination on films like Despicable Me and The Lorax. Ghost of a Tale follows the adventures of a medieval mouse battling rat zombies on a mysterious island. In a very different vein is Dogonauts by Shel and Justin Rasch. “Mortal enemies, a Dogonaut Pilot and a Space Flea, shoot each other down only to awake, marooned side by side on an alien desert planet.” Justin is a stop-motion animator known for films like Paranorman. He and his wife Shel completed Dogonauts in their garage, all the while both of them working full-time jobs. Both of these projects are seeking crowdfunding help to move from their current levels of production up to the next, and hopefully get them out into the world. The Scoop article features trailers as well as the official pitches for each of these projects. Check ’em out.
Games
Furry Lego??
Where have we been? Looks like even classic toys are taking on a furry angle. Legends of Chima is a new line of Lego toys the world-famous plastic brick system introduced this year. From the Wikipedia entry: “Chima is a land where anthropomorphic animals lived in peace with one another until a conflict caused a civil war with the eight animal tribes: Lion, Eagle, Raven, Wolf, Gorilla, Rhino, Bear, and Crocodile. The members of the factions fiercely battle over a powerful natural resource called Chi, which could allow its possessor to create or destroy.” The toy sets are already available — and a TV series based on the line has already been produced by Prime Focus for the Cartoon Network. Later this summer, a free MMORPG of Chima will be available on line as well.
Ratchet & Clank: The Movie
After a wildly successful run of Ratchet & Clank releases for the Sony Playstation, Insomniac Games have announced they are teaming up with Sony Computer Entertainment, Rainmaker Entertainment, and Blockade Entertainment to bring the planet-hopping lombax and his little robot companion to the big screen in a brand-new CGI animated film — set to be released in 2015. According to an article in Forbes, Insomniac’s own TJ Fixman will be lead writer on the film, and voice talent will feature James A. Taylor as Ratchet, David Kaye as Clank, and Jim Ward as the lumbering human Qwark — all of whom are well-known from the game series. The article on-line also features a new teaser-trailer for the upcoming film.
This Book is for the Birds!
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya, everyone! A belated Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
First off, a quick note: Voting for the 2013 Ursa Major Awards — celebrating the best in Anthropomorphic Everything from 2012 — has just opened, and will remain open until May 15th. Visit the Ursa Major web site to see the nominees and sign up to vote. Then come check out the winners at a special ceremony at this year’s Anthrocon!
Now, on to more Furry Stuff. Here’s a brand new book coming out for folks who are really, really into the game Angry Birds. “In 2009 little-known Finnish video game company Rovio Entertainment wowed the world when it unleashed an unlikely gaming phenomenon: Angry Birds. Ingeniously simple and highly addictive, the game’s initial success led to a number of bestselling sequels and in 2012 the franchise reached a staggering landmark with its one billionth Angry Birds download. For the first time, this stunning coffee table book goes behind the scenes of Rovio’s success to deliver in-depth insight into the remarkable artistry that goes into creating each Angry Birds game. Featuring exclusive conceptual artwork and revealing interviews with the game’s creators, Angry Birds: Hatching a Universe is a must read for fans.” Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. This hardcover book is edited by Danny Graydon, and according to Amazon it’s coming from Insight Editions this June.
Epic Mickey 2 Fizzles
Disney Interactive’s Epic Mickey video game was pretty popular — it even won an Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Game. Admittedly, some folk complained about the fact it was only available for the Nintendo Wii system, but it sold well enough to be considered a moderate success in the gaming world. The follow up, Epic Mickey 2? Not so much, in spite of the fact that 2 was made available for many game platforms. Now comes the word (according to various articles) that sales of Epic Mickey 2 since its November 2012 launch were poor enough that Disney has decided to shutter Junction Point, the Texas-based game design firm that Disney purchased in 2007 to develop both the Epic Mickey games. From this point forward, Disney Interactive will instead focus their attention on Disney Infinity, the new figurine-based multi-character game (similar in some ways to Skylanders) which will premier in June.
Pi-Rats (and Others) in the Sky!
Pirate 101 (from Kings Isle, the same creators as Wizard 101) is an on-line multi-player role-playing system of pirate adventure and battle — in the sky, no less. Yep, flying pirate ships. It’s a decidedly family-friendly game throughout, though it has “adult” and “child” areas as part of it. The interesting thing is this: As you can see from the preview trailer, and in the picture below, there are plenty of anthropomorphic player characters to be had and played, as well as the more traditional human sort. Visit www.pirate101.com to find out how to get started with the game.
Animal Companions from Small to Scary
If you play the FRP game Pathfinder, don’t go it alone: Bring along one of many new animal companions to help you out. “It’s time to level up every adventurer’s best friend with Pathfinder Player Companion: Animal Archive. This player-focused guide to animal allies, steadfast steeds, and fearless familiars unleashes a host of options for everyone’s favorite companion creatures. Take your pick of new options for heroes, including new opportunities to give any class access to animal allies, new tricks to teach all manner of beasts, and a host of savage new archetypes, spells, equipment, and magical items. Or take your pick from any of a variety of new creature compatriots, whether it be one of Golarion’s numerous native animals, a choice from the comprehensive list of animal familiars, or one of an assortment of new creatures specifically designed as adventuring companions. An assortment of feats and archetypes for animals also gives your ally the edge over every other bestial bumpkin in the wider wilds. Don’t let druids and rangers be the only ones with an advantage, adopt your perfect furred or feathered, tailed or scaled ally with Pathfinder Player Companion: Animal Archive.” Look for this new illustrated trade paperback in January, or pre-order it at Amazon.
Battle Bears Coming to a Bigger Screen
We’ve mentioned before about Battle Bears, the popular mobile-device video game created by Ben Vu of Sky Vu Entertainment. In case you need a refresher from the source: “Battle Bears is a tongue-and-cheek action comedy featuring Oliver Bear and his friends who are charged with saving the world from the Huggables, a possessed horde of enemy pink bears out to hug you to death, unless you fend them off with an arsenal of unusual artillery that includes anything from the Unicorn Horn Crossbow to the BearZooka.” Well now Sky Vu Entertainment have inked a deal with Wildbrain Entertainment to create a Battle Bears TV series as well as an extensive consumer product line. Wildbrain is a division of DHX Media Ltd, which is not only the home of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic but also “one of the world’s foremost producers of animation and family entertainment”. Read all about it at Cartoon Brew.
New Game from the Geeks
We found this, once again, thanks to our friends over at CartoonBrew.com: An independent game development crew from Australia known as The League of Geeks have announced their first game, Armello. Described as a “natively-digital card and board game set in a fairy-tale animal kingdom”, it’s scheduled to be released for tablet devices in 2013. In the meantime though, the League of Geeks collaborated with the Melbourne-based animation house known as 12 Field to create an animated teaser trailer for the game. Check this thing out on Cartoon Brew, or visit the Armello web site to get updates about the game’s development and release.