Annecy 2022 Looks at Immersive Realities
Official selections in VR works revealed, WIP XR 2022 line-up to showcase two VR narratives, and the Immersive Reality Conferences tackles the future of creation; festival runs June 13-18.
Final FMX 2022 Program Additions Update
With the conference starting next Tuesday, a final selection of new program highlights includes a showcase of an LED Wall and Unreal Engine in a virtual production stage, ‘Real vs. Unreal’ real-time graphics panel, and The World to Come - A look ahead at Metaverse.’
‘Samurai Rabbit:’ A Futuristic Take on Bushido and Stan Sakai’s Hit Comics
Premiering today on Netflix, the new CG animated series, based on the five-time Eisner winning comic ‘Usagi Yojimbo,’ pits the cotton-tailed warrior, Yuichi, and his team of fighters against monsters, ninjas, and evil aliens threatening the city of Neo Edo.
ITFS 2022 Announces More Festival Highlights
Nominees revealed for the Trickstar Business Award, the German Animation Screenplay Award, and the Animated Games Award Germany; 29th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film runs May 3-8, onsite and online.
Trioscope Greenlights ‘Takeover’ Animated Feature Starring Quavo
Studio behind ‘The Liberator’ is teaming up with Quality Films on feature-length action-thriller, to film in Atlanta, that will dive into the hotbed of street takeover car culture.
A Little ‘Short’ Slice of Stuttgart
AWN’s Animation Pimp and Ottawa Animation Festival artistic director Chris Robinson takes a close look at six ‘under the radar’ animated shorts in competition at next week’s hybrid Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film – ITFS – running May 3-8.
Universal Pushes Animated ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Movie into 2023
Game creator Shigeru Miyamoto announced the schedule change on Twitter; DreamWorks’ ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ will take over its December 21, 2022 theatrical release date.
HBO Max Orders ‘Harley Quinn’ Spinoff Series ‘Noonan’s’
The adult animated show promises dive bar-bound hijinks with the ‘Hell yeah!’-shouting Kite Man at its center.
‘Attack on Titan’ Director Uses Parkour to Illustrate Love in ‘Bubble'
Tetsuro Araki, known for often violent, action-filled anime, shifts gears to tell an emotional coming-of-age story set in a mostly underwater Tokyo encased in a large bubble and cut-off from the outside world; film hits Netflix April 28.
SCAD GamingFest 2022 Returns Online April 28-29
Two days of streaming conversations and panels led by industry leaders and SCAD alumni include ‘Industry Insights: The ABCs of NFTs,’ ‘Building the Metaverse,’ ‘Alumni Voices,’ and ‘In Conversation: Inclusive Character Design in Gaming.’
Disney+ Drops ‘Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers’ Trailer and Poster
Our animated heroes return to real-life modern LA in the hybrid live-action/CG animated action-comedy starring John Mulaney as Chip and Andy Samberg as Dale; the crazy duo’s new outing hits the streamer May 20.
Disney Artists Share Their Stories and Creative Secrets in ‘Sketchbook’
In the new six-part series premiering today on Disney+, artists who’ve helped bring some of Disney’s most iconic animated characters to the screen, such as the Genie in ‘Aladdin’ and Young Simba in ‘The Lion King,’ offer an in-depth look at how the ‘magic is drawn one line at a time.’
LAIKA and ‘Ozark’ Creator Bill Dubuque Teaming Up on ‘The Night Gardener’
Studio CEO and president Travis Knight will direct the stop-motion feature, a gritty neo-noir folktale centered on a young man in rural Missouri fighting to keep his family together in the wake of a tragedy.
Studio Ghibli Fest 2022 Returns to Theaters this Spring
The animation slate features classic films including the 20th anniversary screening of ‘The Cat Returns,’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Ponyo;’ tickets are now on sale for screenings through Fall 2022.
Dell Reveals New Latitude 9330 and Precision 7000 Series Machines
Powerful new reimagined computers, designed with a small, thin form factor for hybrid workplaces, include Dell Optimizer that uses AI to automatically improve application performance, battery run-time, audio settings, and privacy.
‘Aladdin’ Animator Eric Goldberg Says Disney Plans Return to 2D Features
The famed artist is one of six subjects in the upcoming documentary series ‘Sketchbook,’ which champions the process of hand-drawn character art in animation.
Watch and Listen: ‘Avatar: Braving the Elements’ Season 2 Trailer
Nickelodeon and iHeartRadio’s companion podcast continues its exploration of the Avatarverse; hosted by voice actors Janet Varney and Dante Basco, the new weekly episodes kick off May 3.
‘Conductor’ Now on Google Cloud Marketplace
The audit-compliant cloud-based rendering solution that promotes remote collaboration across 3D graphic production pipelines is now part of the Google Cloud ecosystem.
Digital Gravy Announces Salt Lake Animation Expo
The in-person/virtual hybrid event features presenters, panels, and Q&A sessions with a focus on the future of animation; confirmed guests include Toon Boom wizard Matt Watts and VFX artist Ron Friedman – the event runs May 20-21.
Kartoon Channel! Heads to Roku
Genius Brands’ popular kids’ animated series such as ‘Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten,’ ‘Rainbow Rangers,’ and ‘Baby Genius’ will now be available to millions more U.S. households.
‘Charlotte’: Painting Life, Love, and Loss During the Holocaust
Hitting theaters April 22, the 2D animated film tells the true story of German-Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon, who over 18 months, completed more than one thousand gouaches depicting the lives of her family, friends, and lovers, before her 1943 murder in Auschwitz.
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Pushed to 2023
Sony Pictures delays – and renames - its highly anticipated ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel as it revises its theatrical release calendar, which also now includes an official opening date for the third ‘Spider-Verse’ film and third ‘The Equalizer’ offering.
Foundry Reveals FMX 2022 Program Line-Up
Presentations will showcase creative techniques and technologies including best practices, tips and tricks, and a look at the future of VFX; topics include grading and compositing with NukeX, workflows with Mari, and using Katana in feature animation.
Podcast EP 158: How Christian Haynes is Creating Indie Series ‘Zach in Time’
The artist and animator shares how he got his original series off the ground, thoughts on self-taught learning vs. animation school, and how to improve your own art.
DreamWorks Animation Shares ‘Dragons: The Nine Realms’ Season 2 Trailer
Set 1,300 years after the events of the ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ franchise, the series follows a group of misfit kids who must protect the secret of where dragons have been hiding; all new episodes stream on Hulu and Peacock May 5.
