Sesame Workshop Expands Autism Initiative, Releases ‘Backyard Camping’ Video with Exceptional Minds
‘See Amazing in All Children’ effort helps families build new routines, increase flexibility, and cope with the challenges of change during turbulent times; new animated short features Julia, Sesame Street’s 4-year-old Muppet with autism, written, produced and animated by artists on the spectrum.
‘Wolfboy and the Everything Factory’ Celebrates Wild, Weird and Whimsical
A young boy bullied at school for wearing a wolf mask discovers the power of being different in Toff Mazery’s all-new 2D animated series, now streaming on Apple TV+.
Career Coach: Think
Pamela Kleibrink Thompson reflects on the impact of her father’s wisdom as she notes his recent passing at age 92.
Rob Coleman and Randal Shore Rejoin ILM
Venerable VFX, animation, and virtual production studio bolsters its feature animation team with return of two long-time company veterans.
Pixotope Adds 3 Key Hires to Global Leadership Team
Mixed reality software company taps broadcast and media industry veterans Ben Davenport, David Cheng and Travis Sims as VP for global marketing, VP sales & marketing EMEA, and strategic account manager for North America, respectively.
‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ Heads Exclusively to Prime Video
The fourth film in Sony Pictures Animation’s successful ‘Hotel T’ franchise will bypass theaters, opting instead for a January 14, 2022 premiere in an exclusive global streaming deal with Amazon.
‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’ Creator Launches Substack
Hugely popular Netflix and DreamWorks series’ showrunner and executive producer Noelle Stevenson unveils ‘I’m Fine I’m Fine Just Understand,’ where they’ll share two weekly comics, personal anecdotes and answers to readers’ questions about animation and comics.
SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2021 Schedule Announced
Phil Lord and Chris Miller to be honored for Outstanding Achievement in Animation for ‘The Mitchells vs. The Machines;’ hybrid event runs in-person and virtually October 23-30
Autodesk Shares Vision of Cloud-Based M&E Workflows
Announcements made today, as Autodesk University 2021 begins, outline an industry forward look at Cloud production, open standards, and machine learning; shift to the cloud in response to global pandemic means opportunities to build a more resilient future, unlocking new levels of creator collaboration and efficiency to meet growing content demand.
How ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ Crafts its Message Through the Power of Narration
Narration in film doesn't need to be a context dump; LAIKA’s hit film exemplifies how narration can elevate storytelling in animation and beyond.
Lighthouse Promotes Gilly Fogg to Head Creative
Studio’s new ‘creative guardian’ will oversee all original IP development and service project slates; credits include series director on Amazon Prime Original ‘Bug Diaries,’ ‘Wishenpoof,’ and ‘Space Ranger Roger.’
HBO Max and WarnerMedia Launch Animated Shorts Program
New mentorship and training program seeks to discover artists in underrepresented communities whose style and voice push boundaries in storytelling and animation; up to 7 artists will be selected to participate; applications due by October 24.
See Exclusive Images from ‘The Simpsons’ ‘Treehouse of Horror XXXII’
In the ‘Dead Ringer’ segment from the October 10 episode, Lisa finds out about a party she wasn’t invited to attend, where all the kids who watched a video on their phones die in seven days; also Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite,’ Bambi’s revenge and more in the first of four all-new Halloween-themed episodes.
Blinkink Signs Directors Andy Biddle and Adeena Grub
The directorial duo joins the agency’s stop-motion team; a collaboration born out of the COVID shutdown in March 2020, the pair has created several amusing animated shorts featuring loveable characters with handcrafted techniques.
‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’ Story Arc and Movie NOW Streaming
Crunchyroll surprises subscribers with today’s release of the highly anticipated anime series ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc’ and ‘Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train.’
Nexus Studios Signs Encyclopedia Pictura
Leading indie animation studio inks deal with LA-based directorial collective to expand its work in creative branded content; the group's credits include the ‘Wanderlust’ promo for Björk, the animated short ‘Earth Crisis,’ and ‘Fly Robot Fly’ for Ikea.
HP Finalizes Teradici Acquisition
By year's end, technology giant will offer innovative hybrid computing options featuring enhanced remote services and solutions through integrated subscriptions of Teradici Cloud Access Software and ZCentral Remote Boost.
Warner Drops DC’s ‘Injustice’ Trailer and Images
Releasing October 19 on 4K Ultra HD Combo pack, Blu-Ray and Digital, the 2D animated action-packed adventure follows the Justice League in a dark alternate reality where the man of steel is driven mad and the heroes must pick sides.
See Clips and Images from All-New ‘Rugrats’ Episodes
Charlet Chung, Raini Rodriguez, Henry Winkler, Swoosie Kurtz, and Ben Schwartz guest star in upcoming episodes dropping October 7 on Paramount+.
Puppetworks Blows it Up Good in ‘Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed’ Trailer
The studio collaborates with THQ Nordic on a comically destructive CG animated piece to promote the new game, a parody of Cold War-era alien invasion films; featuring the musical backdrop of Rammstein’s ‘Amerika,’ Crypto wreaks havoc on San Francisco, Tokyo, London, Russia and the Moon.
‘Alma’s Way’ Debuts on PBS Kids
The new 2D animated series, created by Sonia Manzano, features a 6-year-old proud, confident Puerto Rican girl who lives in the Bronx; launching October 4, the show is part of a revamped daytime PBS KIDS SoCal schedule that allows fans more viewing options for series including ‘Arthur,’ ‘Molly of Denali,’ and ‘Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.’
‘Honekami,’ ‘Bob Spit-We Do Not Like People’ Take Top OIAF 2021 Honors
Honami Yano awarded the Grand Prize for animated short; Cesar Cabral awarded Grand Prize for animated feature as the 45th annual Ottawa International Animation Festival concludes.
‘Amphibia’: A Hero’s Journey to a Lesser-Known Los Angeles - with Frogs
Series creator and executive producer Matt Braly talks about the show’s third season, debuting Saturday, Oct. 2, on Disney Channel and DisneyNOW.
Cue the Finger Snaps! ‘The Addams Family 2’ Debuts
Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan return to helm MGM’s CG animated sequel that sees the famously mysterious and spooky family set out on a miserable road trip across the U.S. in an attempt to reclaim its oddly special bond, released today in theaters and via PVOD.
Exclusive Clips: ‘Killers of The Cosmos - The Case of the Death Ray’
“Game of Thrones' star Aidan Gillen takes the audience through the awe-inspiring and sometimes frightening mysteries of space; in the new episode viewers are asked ‘do you feel lucky?’ as the show explores an ominous threat from above – the death of a star likened to a blindfolded sniper with Earth as its target.