Two weeks after winning for best short film at the Cannes Film Festival,
Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis' short film, WHEN THE DAY BREAKS (The
National Film Board of Canada), has won the Grand Prix for best animated
short film at Annecy '99, which concluded on Saturday, June 5. The film is
about a pig whose world shifts after a car accident kills a stranger (a
chicken) on her block. The complete list of award winners is as follows:
The special Jury Prize went to AU BOUT DU MONDE/AT THE END OF THE EARTH by

In March, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd said it was interested in participating in a proposed project to build a Disney theme park in Hong Kong, but it depended on the outcome of talks between the government and Walt Disney Co. . . In Orlando, Florida, Walt Disney World officials said they expected more people than ever to flock to its sprawling Orlando theme park complex, after a 1998 performance that many industry analysts described as mixed. Year in and year out, Disney World proves to be the most popular tourist attraction on the planet.

Manga Video will release BLACK JACK in the US on June 29, 1999. Directed by
Osamu Dezaki, this 1993 direct to video release from Japan is based on a
manga by Osamu Tezuka that was first serialized in Japan from 1973-78.
Tezuka is known as the father of animation and comic books in Japan, and
specifically as the creator of such TV series as ASTRO BOY and MARINE BOY,
as well as award-winning shorts such as JUMPING. In BLACK JACK, Dr. Black
Jack, an unlicensed but extremely successful surgeon, is a lone wolf who

Don Spielvogel, President of VirtualMagic Animation, Inc., and Jeffrey
Harrison, Chairman/CEO of ImagineAsia Studio, announce the formation of
VirtualMagic ASIA, a new digital ink, paint and compositing service in the
Philippines that will operate as a subsidiary of VirtualMagic Animation,
Inc. headquartered in North Hollywood, California. VirtualMagic ASIA is a
corporate venture between two animation and digital service studios,
VirtualMagic Animation, Inc. and ImagineAsia Studio, of Manila.

The 26th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced on May 21st at New
York's Madison Square Garden Theatre. ARTHUR won Outstanding Children's
Animated Program; Rob Paulsen, the voice of "Pinky" on STEVEN SPIELBERG
PRESENTS: PINKY AND THE BRAIN, won for Outstanding Performer in an Animated
Series; PINKY AND THE BRAIN won for Outstanding Special Class/Animated
Program; VOLTRON won for Outstanding Sound Editing; THE NEW BATMAN/SUPERMAN
ADVENTURES won for Outstanding Sound Mixing - Special Class; STEVEN

Animation company Film Roman has announced that due to production
differences Fox will take over production responsibilities on June 1 for
Family Guy, which is currently in production on its second season. The
primetime show Family Guy airs at 8:30 pm on Sunday in the coveted spot
after The Simpsons and has been a hit with biting, racy humor. While Fox
spokespeople say that it will be handled "in-house," a specific division or
Fox-owned company has yet to be named. Film Roman, which produced 15

Iwerks Entertainment Inc. continued its improved operating performance in
fiscal 1999 by reporting revenues of $10,423,000 for the third quarter
ended March 31, 1999, representing a 133 percent improvement over the same
period last year when it reported revenues of $4,483,000. The third-quarter
net loss of $389,000, or 3 cents per share, compared favorably with the
prior year's net loss of $5,077,000, or 42 cents per share. EBITDA
[earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, depletion, amortization and

A BUG'S LIFE, a Walt Disney Pictures presentation of a Pixar Animation
Studios film, has climbed to $358 million in worldwide box office receipts
to become one of the top-grossing animated films of all time. With its
domestic gross of $163 million, the film has already become the fourth
biggest animated feature released in the United States (behind THE LION
KING, ALADDIN and TOY STORY). Internationally, A BUG'S LIFE has a
gross-to-date of $195 million and has set records in the United Kingdom,

The Kushner-Locke Co. has announced that they have entered an agreement
with Toei Animation to license Toei's animated product. Toei has one of
the largest animation libraries in the world. K-L plans to use the newly
acquired product to launch its own Spanish language animation channel in
Latin America. The deal gives K-L 1400 half-hour episodes, in the first
three years, of Toei animated product including the popular series
SAILOR MOON and DRAGON BALL Z. Toei is one of the leading animation

MIP TV, the international television programme market, where sellers and buyers from all over the world exchange product, takes place April 12th to 17th in Cannes, France. This year’s MIP is expected to reflect a rebounding international TV market. More than 100 TV series from around the world we be offered at MIP, such as DARIA, FAMILY GUY, FUTURAMA, and NORMAN NORMAL. The calendar of events include the following animation related programmes:


MONDAY APRIL 12TH