LightBox Expo Online to Host 3rd Annual Concept Art Awards
The virtual event celebrates visual arts with a focus on animation, illustration, and concept art; this year LBXO expands to six days, running September 7-12.
HBO Max Orders ‘Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake’ Series
Streamer moves ahead with all-new animated show featuring the hugely popular ‘Adventure Time’ characters; Adam Muto will showrun and executive produce for Cartoon Network Studios.
DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Spirit Untamed’ Arrives on Digital
The studio’s epic animated adventure about a headstrong girl who discovers a kindred spirit when her life intersects with a wild horse, is now available on Digital, with Blu-ray and DVD releases coming August 31; each version includes bonus footage, deleted scenes, special featurettes, how to videos and sing-a-longs.
Blue Zoo and Plug-In Media Partner on Regional Animation Hub
Animation studios join forces to shake up the industry in the South of England; with two greenlit projects and commitment to flexible work models born from the pandemic, the joint venture hopes to spark new regional opportunities and growth in animation.
Is ‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ Heading Straight to Amazon?
Sony is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to bypass theaters and stream the upcoming hit franchise sequel exclusively on Prime Video for a whopping $100 million.
League of Villains Gets its Day in Funimation’s ‘My Villain Academia’
Multi-episode arc, beginning August 21, is dedicated to the bad guys, old and new, of ‘My Hero Academia.’
Cinesite Montreal Adds Four New Senior Hires
Studio brings on VFX supervisors Dottie Starling, Damien Hurgon, Ellen Poon and FA Head of Production Nathan Santell to service growing slate of VFX and feature animation projects.
‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ First Look Posters Released
Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as Marvel’s lethal protector in Columbia Pictures’ action thriller sequel; the highly anticipated and previously delayed movie is pushed once again, coming exclusively to theaters October 15.
Netflix Reveals ‘Ada Twist, Scientist,’ First Look Episodes, Trailer and Images
Two full episodes of the brand-new CG animated series from Chris Nee and Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions now available on the Netflix Jr. YouTube Channel; first season kicks off with a boom on September 28.
Wyatt Cenac Inks Deal with Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios
The Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, and performer signs exclusive development and production agreement to create original animated programming for all WarnerMedia platforms.
BIEN Animates the Excitement Paralympians Bring to Sports
New spot from inclusive motion design studio highlights both the athletic prowess of Paralympic athletes and the thrill of watching their performances.
Neil Gaiman’s ‘The Sandman’ Wraps Filming
The illustrious author reveals principal photography of Netflix’s new series is complete; he assures it ‘feels like’ the original comics.
Cartoonito Preschool Block Launch Set for September 13
WarnerMedia’s all-new kids’ animation programming, including ‘Little Ellen,’ ‘The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo,’ and ‘Bing,’ is coming to HBO Max and Cartoon Network next month.
DreamWorks Drops New ‘Fast & Furious: Spy Racers’ Trailer
Season 5 of the action-packed animated series follows the Spy Racers speeding to yet another perilous mission, this time to the South Pacific; get a glimpse of the latest episodes, now streaming on Netflix.
Nickelodeon Releases ‘The Smurfs’ Teaser Trailer
The iconic gang of little blue Smurf Village inhabitants – including Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, and Hefty - return in an all-new 'Smurf-tacular' CG animated series premiering Friday, September 10.
BOXX Releases New APEXX Matterhorn High-Performance Workstations
System design maximizes productivity and ROI with a platform optimized for rendering and simulations; supporting four NVIDIA RTX GPUs, it’s ready for a variety of workflows, including NVIDIA Omniverse.
Kimberly Em-‘Braces’ Great Change as ‘Duncanville’ Returns with New Episode
Riki Lindhome co-writes (with her ‘Garfunkel & Oates’ co-star Kate Micucci) and performs the show’s first ever production number as her character finds new popularity after finally getting her braces removed; ‘Off to the Braces’ airs this coming Monday, August 16 on FOX.
New Tech and No Boundaries in ‘Fast & Furious: Spy Racers’ Season 5
For series co-creator Tim Hedrick, underwater missions, spy plane dogfights, and AI cars created from someone’s mind are just a few of the wild rides viewers will enjoy on the new season of DreamWorks Animation’s Annie Award-nominated CG series, premiering today on Netflix.
Cast Revealed for Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Series
The age appropriate, Asian and Indigenous cast for Netflix’s adaptation of Nickelodeon’s beloved animated series includes Gordon Cormier as Aang, the eponymous Last Airbender, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, and Dallas Liu as Zuko.
VIEW Conference 2021 Reveals New Speakers
Kirk DeMicco, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Tim Miller, and Everett Downing Jr. join growing list of industry leaders and experts who will lead a variety of sessions at Italy’s premiere animation, VFX and CG conference, taking place online and in-person October 17-22; early bird tickets are now on sale.
Chaos Launches V-Ray 5 for Unreal
Update allows users to explore V-Ray scenes in real-time, render high-quality lightmaps for light baking, and render photorealistic and ray-traced images and animation.
Idris Elba to Voice Knuckles the Echidna in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’
‘The Suicide Squad’ star joins Ben Schwartz as Sonic, James Marsden as Tom, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik in the CGI/live-action hybrid caper set to release in theaters on April 8th, 2022.
MELS Post and VFX Studio Awarded Epic MegaGrant
Grant will be used by Montreal-based studio to further the company’s virtual production initiatives; their technology replaces greenscreens with a virtual set, offering producers creative flexibility and freedom.
Mike McMahan Talks ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Season 2 Debut
With a Primetime Emmy nomination in hand, the ‘Star Trek’ franchise’s first adult animated comedy launches its sophomore season on Paramount+ with a fresh set of sci-fi adventures often overshadowed by nerve-wracking crew discoveries of their own inner hopes and dreams.
Call for Entries: West Lake International Animation Festival 2021
Taking place this November in Hangzhou, China, IAF looks at ‘Chinese Independent Animation in the 21st Century;’ submissions are now open for international animated films, research papers, and proposals focused on Chinese animation; entries must be received by September 30.