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Furry Winners at the Annie Awards

Feb 7th, 2016
by rodney.
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Once again your humble ed-otter was lucky enough to attend the Annie Awards for 2015, presented at UCLA’s Royce Hall on February 6th. Presented by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA), the Annie Awards honor the best of the animation industry — as selected by members of that industry. Surprising no-one, the night belonged to Pixar’s Inside Out. (It has already won almost every major award it has been nominated for, and of course it’s nominated for an Oscar as well.) Inside Out won in the Best Feature categories for Storyboarding, Editing, Character Design, Music, Character Animation, Production Design, Voice Acting (Phyllis Smith as Sadness), Writing, Directing, and (of course) Best Animated Feature. Bing Bong himself even helped to present some of the awards. (*sniff* Bing Bong…) A few other features managed to sneak in awards, and some of them were even for animal characters! The Good Dinosaur won in the category of Best Effects Animation. (It’s been celebrated far and wide for its realistic backgrounds and water effects.) And The Revenant won Best Animated Character In A Live Action Production for the bear that nearly eats Leonardo DiCaprio. Over in the TV and other divisions, furries were well-represented in several award categories. Disney’s new Mickey Mouse Shorts won for Best Storyboarding, Best Music, and Best Editing. ASIFA favorites. Dreamworks TV had two wins, as Dragons: Race to the Edge won for Best Character Animation and The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show won for Best Production Design. Previous Annie favorites Tumble Leaf and Wander Over Yonder won for Best Production for Preschoolers and Best Production for Children, respectively. Psyop (home of those infamous Orangina commercials!) won Best Commercial for their Coca Cola ad Man and Dog, and Best Animated Game went to the monster adventure Evolve from 2K. [To save space, tomorrow we’ll tell you about the special awards presented at the Annies — and why you should care!] You can find out more about all of these and more over at the ASIFA Hollywood web site.

image c. 2016 Pixar

image c. 2016 Pixar Animation

… And He Never Spoke

Dec 24th, 2015
by rodney.
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Anyone interested in animation should know about Depatie-Freleng Enterprises, the birthplace and home of one of America’s iconic animated furries, The Pink Panther. Not to mention cartoons like The Ant and the Aardvark, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Doctor Dolittle, The Fantastic Four, Doctor Snuggles, Baggy Pants and The Nitwits, The Barkleys, The Houndcats, The Grump, The Super Six, Super President, Spy Shadow, Hoot Kloot, Blue Racer, Crazylegs Crane, Misterjaw, Tijuana Toads, The Dogfather, The Oddball Couple, and Charlie the Tuna (whew!). Now animation historian Mark Arnold has chronicled the rise of DFE in Think Pink! a new hardcover book of more than 600 pages (!). “In 1963, Warner Bros. closed down their long-running cartoon facility that had produced such memorable merrymakers as the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Director/producer Friz Freleng and executive David H. DePatie faced unwanted early retirement. A generous parting gesture from a Warner executive allowed Freleng and DePatie to lease the former Warner cartoons studio on California Street in Burbank, complete with equipment and supplies, for a few dollars each year.” The book is available now — find out more at the Bearmanor Media web site, or just head to Amazon.

image c. 2015 Bearmanor Media

image c. 2015 Bearmanor Media

All The Little Horses — All Through The Years

Dec 4th, 2015
by rodney.
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It seems hard to believe that an enterprise as long-lived as My Little Pony hasn’t had a production art book created for it… Thank goodness for Mary Jane Begin, who finally brought us My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria (in hardcover, from Abrams). Rather appropriate that it celebrates (mostly) the latest incarnation of the show: “My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria presents, for the first time, a deep exploration of the art and illustrations from this beloved animated series, Friendship Is Magic. Beginning with the show’s premiere and taking readers through its fifth season, the book offers an amazing collection of the art and design that bring this wonderful series to life. The book takes readers behind the scenes of the show and explores how favorite characters and the landscape of Equestria came to look as they are today. Beyond the television show, My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria also examines the intriguing fan culture—including the fan art movement inspired by Friendship Is Magic. With a rich array of con- ceptual art, episode storyboards, and memorable scenes from the show, My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria is the ultimate guidebook, collector’s item, and fan keepsake.” And you can get it now at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2015 Abrams

image c. 2015 Abrams

Bush Baby Saves the World

Dec 1st, 2015
by rodney.
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Interesting series you probably never heard of. Yoohoo & Friends is both a 2D animated TV Show and a toy line created by Aurora World in South Korea. According to Wikipedia, “Officially developed in 2007, the series was created to educate children about protection and preservation of the environment and encourages parents and their children to appreciate friendship, harmony, honesty and courage.” The star is a young bush baby named Yoohoo, hoo (gotcha!) travels with world having adventures with his young friends — all of them representing endangered species. The series has been picked up for distribution in North America. No sign of it yet — except in Europe and Asia — but you can see episodes (in English no less) on YouTube.

image c. 2015 Aurora World

image c. 2015 Aurora World

I’m Bat Pat!

Nov 30th, 2015
by rodney.
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Woo! And one more more MIPCOM entry. Bat Pat is a production of Atlantyca Entertainment in Italy. According to Animation Magazine, “The 2D series follows the spooky and comical adventures of a talking bat, Bat Pat, and the [human] Silver siblings… as they unravel mysteries and cross paths with supernatural creatures of the night in the quirky town of Fogville.” According to Atlantyca, “Bat Pat grew up in a dark library in a different town, so he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the various creatures of the night. Bat Pat is like a kid full of wide-eyed wonder, he truly appreciates the little thing daytime offer but nighttime is where Bat Pat really thrives. Despite his initial fears, he’s equally driven to help supernatural creatures in need because Bat Pat shares a common link with them…they’re both creatures of the night and usually misunderstood by ‘normal’ people! Bat Pat is very loyal to the kids and they love him, they consider Bat Pat ‘the flying Silver’.” The show is based on the popular series of young reader books by Roberto Pavanello. Atlantyca has a production web site for the show that includes lots of background notes and a video trailer.

image c. 2015 Atlantyca Entertainment

image c. 2015 Atlantyca Entertainment

Big Sister, Little Brother, Big Planet

Nov 29th, 2015
by rodney.
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And one more from MIPCOM. (Wow, they had a lot of funny animal TV series being plugged this year!). YaYa & Zouk are a pair of little funny animal whatsits in this 2D series for very young viewers, created by Dominique Jolin and produced by ToonDraw Productions in Canada. “Between an active mom, a curious baby, and funny stuffed animals, a big sister named YaYa and her young brother, Zouk, have fun moving back and forth between reality and zany imaginary worlds. Whether it’s through a mirror, borrowing a spaceship, or simply diving into the forest located at the back of the closet, YaYa and Zouk live the pleasure of being two, and being together.” There’s an interactive web site for the series that tells you more about it. Oh, while you’re at it check out ToonDraw’s web site too — they’ve got a new series called Animal Talk in development. It’s about an animal reality show — and we plan to keep our eyes on this one!

image c. 2015 ToonDraw Productions

image c. 2015 ToonDraw Productions

One Day a Little Kitty Went to Camp…

Nov 28th, 2015
by rodney.
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Another MIPCOM find, courtesy of Animation Magazine, called Welcome to Bric-A-Broc. “Mino is a lively city cat: cheerful, crafty and very boisterous. In the hope of calming him down, his parents have sent him to a countryside holiday camp for the summer. Mino can’t think of anything worse! He’s stuck in the middle of nowhere on a dilapidated farm run by an old goat and a scatter-brained giraffe. The manager is a stickler for rules and the instructor keeps organizing loads of outdoor activities to make the most of the fresh air when all Mino wants to do is stay inside where it’s warm and cosy and play computer games. Mino has to learn to make the best of it but his exuberant character turns every episode into an extraordinary escapade.” That’s the official description from Gaumont Animation in France, and you can see more at their web site. Currently they’re seeking distribution for Bric-A-Broc outside of Europe.

image c. 2015 Gaumont Animation

image c. 2015 Gaumont Animation

 

More Cats in More Countries

Nov 27th, 2015
by rodney.
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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

An Indoor Cat Goes Outside

Nov 26th, 2015
by rodney.
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Another MIPCON discovery: Nature Cat, a new 2D animated TV series produced by Spiffy Pictures. “Nature Cat follows Fred, a house cat who dreams of exploring the great outdoors. In each episode, once his family leaves for the day, Fred transforms into Nature Cat, ‘backyard explorer extraordinaire.’ Nature Cat can’t wait to get outside for a day of backyard nature excursions and bravery, but there’s one problem: He’s still a house cat with no instincts for nature. Like many of today’s kids, Nature Cat is eager and enthusiastic about outside activities, but is at times intimidated by them. With the help of his animal friends, Nature Cat embarks on action-packed adventures that include exciting missions full of nature investigation, aha discovery moments and humor, all while inspiring children to go outside and ‘play the show.’ Through Nature Cat co-creators and brothers David Rudman (Sesame Street, The Muppets) and Adam Rudman (Tom & Jerry, Sesame Street, Cyberchase) have teamed up to inspire viewers to get outdoors and develop connections with the natural world.” Good news, everyone! Nature Cat has been picked up for distribution by PBS Kids. They have an interactive web site for the show.

image c. 2015 Spiffy Pictures

image c. 2015 Spiffy Pictures

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