WATCH: Adult Swim’s Season 3 ‘Final Space’ Trailer
Keep an eye out for asteroids and black holes; new season hits March 20.
Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Live-Action Manga Adaptation Still in the Works
Showrunner Steven Maeda assures fans that despite the show’s COVID-19 hiatus, his team ‘hasn’t stopped working’ on the highly anticipated series.
The Carlyle Group and Epic Games Take Equity Positions in xR Leader disguise
Investment firm and Unreal Engine creator become stakeholders in extended reality technology company; partnerships will accelerate growth, with focus on international expansion, continued innovation, and enhanced support and product offerings for its customers.
‘Nuevo Rico’ Wins Best Animated Short at 2021 SXSW Film Festival
Kristian Mercado Figueroa’s dystopian tragedy takes top animated film honors; ‘KKUM’ recognized for innovation and “Your Own Bullshit” for storytelling.
VFXRIO Live Kicks Off March 21
Free digital event opens with ‘Digital Humans’ keynote by Pinscreen founder Hao Li, a leader in deepfake art and technology, who will discuss the evolution of virtual living triggered by the global pandemic.
New ‘Rugrats’ Series Fills Out Voice Cast
Tony Hale, Natalie Morales, Anna Chlumsky, and Michael McKean among actors joining the original voice cast on Nickelodeon’s reimagined CG show, premiering this Spring on Paramount+, with a network release planned later in the year.
Nickelodeon Greenlights ‘ZJ Sparkleton’ and ‘The Hamster Show’
Produced by Nelvana, the two new 2D series get 2022 U.S. premieres, with international markets to follow.
Nickelodeon Announces Its Biggest Animation Slate in 40 Years
Network unveils aggressive set of greenlights and new series announcements at virtual upfront show, as it continues to expand across the kids and families entertainment space.
KingstOON Virtual 2021 Generates Record Number of Submissions
The free virtual event received over 2,100 entries from more than 100 countries, the largest numbers in its history; conference and festival runs April 21-25.
DI4D Launches PURE4D Facial Capture Pipeline
New system combines proprietary technology with machine learning; performance is realized without animation rigs, creating a realistic animated digital double ready for in-engine use.
HBO Max Drops Trailer for ‘The Infinity Train: Book Four’
In series’ final season, launching April 15, two old friends need to overcome obstacles to journey home – together.
ITFS21 Online and Onsite Coming May 4-9
Highlights for this year’s Stuttgart Animation Festival include the international competition for short films; German premieres of ‘Wolfwalkers’ and ‘Josee, the Tiger and the Fish;’ ‘Creating*Diversity and Pandemic Animation’ film compilations hitting on current social and political topics; and ‘Wonderwomen – Women in Games & Animation.’
CAF and CTIAF Hosting Joint Online Festival April 12-18
Cardiff Animation Festival and Cape Town International Animation Festival are collaborating on a virtual event that features a week of curated screenings, workshops, and Q+As; programs will feature Welsh and African animated shorts previously screened at the respective festivals over the past 5 years.
See Bill Plympton’s New ‘The Simpsons’ Couch Gag
To celebrate the show’s 700th episode airing March 21, the indie animation legend lends his unique, hand-drawn 2D flair to the ‘Homer’s Family’ intro.
Submit Your Pitch to KingstOOn Virtual 2021 and Sesame Workshop
Jamaican animators are invited to submit pitches for animated and mixed media shorts for consideration on ‘Sesame Street’s Season 52; proposals must be received by March 31.
Principal Photography Begins on ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’
The ‘Pete’s Dragon’ team of David Lowery and Jim Whitaker will direct and produce the star-studded live-action remake of Disney’s 1953 animated classic; film to premiere on Disney+ in 2022.
40th ANIMA BRUSSELS ONLINE 12 – 21 February 2021 Brussels, Belgium
Anima Brussels had a year to prepare its online edition and all of their hard work paid off...
‘TrollsTopia’ Season 2: Jazz Troll Tropes, Hairicanes, and Runaway Trains
Executive producer Matthew Beans builds on Season 1 themes of harmony and positivity to explore issues of vulnerability, perfectionism… and what a jazz troll’s lair looks like; a new season of DreamWorks Animation’s ‘hair-raising’ adventures premieres today on Hulu and Peacock.
More Speakers Confirmed for FMX 2021 Open Source Track
The upcoming conference program, in partnership with the Academy Software Foundation, highlights cross-industry efforts to develop shared technology for VFX, animation and sound; additional confirmed speakers include Pixar’s technical director Markus Kranzler and Inda Barnardo, director of ‘Cat and Moth.’
Netflix Drops Trailer and Images for ‘Arlo the Alligator Boy’ Animated Musical
Coming to Netflix April 16, the 80-minute 2D film launches Arlo’s journey that lands him in New York City; soundtrack gets Capitol Records release the same day; ‘I Heart Arlo’ animated series will continue his adventures as he and his newfound crew setup shop and bring a neighborhood back to life.
How Musa Brooker Animated ‘Waffles + Mochi’s Wondrous Culinary World
For the Six Point Harness creative director, producing hundreds of animated segments for Michelle Obama and Netflix’s new live-action series meant bringing a fun, colorful, and meaningful world of food and nutrition to kids and families.
DreamWorks’ ‘The Bad Guys’ and ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Get Release Dates
Adaptation of Aaron Blabey’s book series about notorious bad guys going good debuts April 15, 2022; Antonio Banderas reprises his role as the suave feline outlaw in the new sequel premiering September 23, 2022.
Foundry Releases Nuke 13
New version introduces flexible machine learning toolset, Hydra 3D viewport renderer and extended monitor out functionality, enhanced workflows for collaborative review, and Python 3 support.
Mike and Sulley Return in ‘Monsters At Work’ Disney+ Series
Kid’s laughter, not screams, now fuels Monstropolis; Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Bonnie Hunt, and Mindy Kaling lend their voices to characters old and new in the highly anticipated show, which premieres July 2.
Everyday Family Dysfunction Heads North in SYFY’s ‘The Pole’
For series creators Matthew Bass and Theodore Bressman, druggie penguins, workshop politics, and a ‘dick pic’ scandal are mere foreplay in the twisted power struggle over the Red Suit; their new animated comedy about an extremely flawed Santa premieres tonight on SYFY.
