A new animated series called THE KANGAROO CREEK GANG is bouncing into production. Based on the books and comic strip of the same name, the 26 x 12’ animated series is an international co-production between production and distribution outfit Southern Star Pacific, the Shanghai Animation Studios (China) and Australian-based company The Kangaroo Creek Gang. The series is scheduled to air in Australia on the Nine Network and will be sold internationally by Southern Star Kids.

STVDIO Media, an American-run animation house based in Hong Kong and specializing in 2D character animation, has been awarded a grant by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council to develop THE FENG SHUI DETECTIVE. Based on characters from author Nury Vittachi's book, a bestseller in Australia and Hong Kong, the animated version has already generated interest from regional media companies. The FENG SHUI DETECTIVE follows the adventures of a Chinese feng shui expert and his Australian teenage girl assistant who travel across Asia assisting the police with their investigations.

Pepper’s Ghost Productions’ CGI-animated series TINY PLANETS has been licensed to Germany’s Super RTL network and ITV1 in the U.K. The show recently received two BAFTA Interactive awards nominations and is scheduled to debut in the U.K. and Germany in the first quarter 2002.



French children’s cable and a satellite channel Canal J has partnered with Nickelodeon U.K., Spain, Australia and Latin America and acquired Japanese anime series YU-GI–OH, which will be broadcast in France in spring 2002.

Animindia is looking for an ANIMATION DIRECTOR and KEY ANIMATORS for its Hyderabad, India-based studio . . . Detroit, Michigan's BIG GAME PRODUCTIONS is looking for a WRITER . . . Portland, Oregon's cartoonmonkey studio is looking for a ANIMATION AGENT . . . Melbourne, Australia's Glen Art Productions, a stop-motion animation studio, is looking for an AGENT / REPRESENTATIVE . . . Detroit, Michigan's KPC ANIMATION STUDIO is looking for a 2D/3D ANIMATOR and a STORYBOARD/ILLUSTRATOR . . . The Ninjai Gang, an online & offline content creation group is looking for a KEY ANIMATOR . . .

Margaret Loesch, founding president and CEO of Crown Media U.S., will be departing the company next month at the conclusion of her contract. On leaving her post at Crown, Loesch said “I'm very proud of the many accomplishments made by the team that I've helped build. But, while the experience has been exciting, it has also been all-consuming personally and professionally. As I near the end of my contract, it seems like an ideal time to take a much-needed break and put some focus on my family, and then begin to pursue my other career goals.'' She will be replaced by Lana E.

The Sharpe Company has appointed Italy’s BIC Licensing and Australian apparel company Barrymore’s Pty. Ltd., as licensing agents for Great Britain’s popular pre-school program HUMPHREY’S CORNER. These agents join the HUMPHREY’S CORNER licensing team headed by Charles Day, president of The Sharpe Company, worldwide licensee of the elephant character. HUMPHREY’S CORNER is based on characters created and written by Sally Hunter in a series of books for preschool children about an elephant named Humphrey.

Jim Russell, artist for Australia's THE POTTS comic strip, passed away on August 15, 2001. He was 92 years old. Russell held the world record for the longest running comic strip done by one artist unaided. For 62 years, he drew THE POTTS, which was created in 1920 by Stan Cross and was handed over to Russell in 1939. In the 1950s, Russell decided to liven up the series with the creation of Uncle Dick, who became the star of the series and is widely regarded as Russell's alter ego. He was a member of the National Cartoonists' Society in the U.S.

* 2nd Annual Festival of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction: Friday, August 03 - Sunday, August 26, 2001, Los Angeles, California USA.

Anima Mundi has released the winners for its 2001 festival, which took place from Friday, July 13 – Monday, July 23, 2001 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil then moved to São Paulo, Brazil from Wednesday, July 25 – Sunday, July 29, 2001. The festival is the major animation festival in South America. The festival included a wide range of open activities, including workshops, lectures and exhibitions. The winners were chosen by a panel of 26 animation industry professionals from around the world. Below is a complete list of winners.



BEST FILM:

Ubi Soft Entertainment generated consolidated sales of US$53.2 million (60.39 million euros), up 162.5% for the first quarter of 2000/2001 ended June 30. Without taking into account the acquisition of 3D Planet (Italy), Sinister Games (U.S.), Red Storm (U.S.), and Blue Byte (Germany), and the assets of TLC's Entertainment division, consolidated sales for the quarter were $32.44 million dollars (36.81 million euros), up 60%. Highlights of the quarter were the release of MYST III: EXILE, launched in the U.S. and Australia in May.