The Christmas cartoons start arriving way early this year as Cartoon Network fills almost the entire month of December with holiday programming. Cartoon Network brings new and favorite holiday specials every Sunday-Friday at 7:30 pm all month long, beginning Thursday, Dec. 1, 2005. Highlights of Cartoon Networks holiday programming schedule are as follows, all times ET/PT:
The undercover exploits of Nickelodeons THE XS, an animated family of world-class super-spies who live incognito in suburbia, unfold in nail-biting and funny fashion on the original new Nicktoon series, premiered with a triple lineup of episodes on Nov. 25, 2005, at 8:00, 8:30 and 9:00 pm. These oddball operatives thwart dangerous evildoers without upsetting the neighbors, in this cloak-and-dagger comedy from Annie Award-winner Carlos Ramos (OH YEAH! CARTOONS). The series airs regularly on Fridays at 8:30 pm.
YTV and Treehouse in Canada have a month-long lineup of holiday programming to help every member of the family ring in the festive season.
IDT Ent. will celebrate the holidays with its first CG-animated special, THE HAPPY ELF, featuring narration and all new original holiday songs written by Grammy and Emmy winner Harry Connick Jr., which airs Dec. 2, 2005, 8-9:00 pm on NBC. THE HAPPY ELF tells the story of Eubie the Elf, one of Santa's helpers whose enthusiastic, rose-colored view of the holiday season is tested when he sets out to save Christmas for an entire town of naughty children in a sad little place called Bluesville.
Promax/BDA Arabia Dubai, IndiaMarch 14 15, 2006Deadline: January 20, 2006
The Promax/BDA Arabia Awards are part of the Dubai conference, awarding Gold and Silver trophies in more than 21 categories. Promax/BDA is the association for those working in broadcast promotions, marketing and design. At the conferences leading figures from around the world, as well as experts from the Arabia region, share their secrets and keep you up to date with the latest advances within the industry.
Topics include:
The 10th British Academy Children's Film and Television Awards in association with Time Warner were held on November 27, 2005 at the London Hilton.
The Animation Award went to THE LITTLE REINDEER from Millimages UK and CiTV. The Pre-School Animation Prize went to Nickelodeon UKs PEPPA PIG.
In the first part of his in-depth report on the fourth Harry Potter blockbuster, Alain Bielik discusses several of the eye-opening vfx performed by various companies.
SCI, the computer games company that owns Lara Croft, along with the TOMB RAIDER franchise, has begun talks with Paramount Pictures to venture forth with a third installment in the movie franchise, reports The Business Online. Angelina Jolie is expected to return as Lara Croft, the English archaeologist/adventurer. The previous two movies have grossed more than $450 million at the box office.
Director Tim Burton and star Jim Carrey are partnering for BELIEVE IT OR NOT!, an action/adventure loosely based on Robert Ripley, reports the trades. Alphaville's Jim Jacks and Sean Daniel will produce alongside Ken Atchity and exec producer Chi-Li Wong. Richard Zanuck, who worked with Burton on CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, BIG FISH and PLANET OF THE APES, is also in talks to produce.
On the promotional trail in Europe for the LAND OF THE DEAD DVD, George A. Romero has been talking up the possibility for a sequel to his 2005 zombie epic. After a lackluster performance in the U.S. this summer, the prospects for a follow-up looked dim. However, U.S. DVD sales as well as big theatrical receipts in Europe and Japan have spurred Universal Pictures to start talks with Romero on a follow-up. The father of the modern zombie picture will pick up the story where the original left off with the survivors heading to Canada.
Digital-Tutors announced the availability of INTERMEDIATE: REALFLOW AND MAYA INTEGRATION training kit, a comprehensive video-based training guide for RealFlow and its integration with Maya. INTERMEDIATE: REALFLOW AND MAYA INTEGRATION marks the second RealFlow training title and the latest release in a growing library of popular training resources for emerging digital artists. INTERMEDIATE: REALFLOW AND MAYA INTEGRATION provides four hours of project-driven training for creating photorealistic liquid and dynamic simulations using a variety of timesaving techniques.
ABC has pulled sci-fi/drama THRESHOLD from its sweeps lineup, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The freshman series began its run on Fridays at 9:00 pm and was later moved to the 10:00 pm slot with mild improvements. The Paramount Network TV show, which stars Carla Gugino, will be replaced by a repeat of CBS' promising new crime drama CRIMINAL MINDS for the November sweeps week.
IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE and THE POLAR EXPRESS: AN IMAX 3-D EXPERIENCE registered the highest grossing weekend ever at IMAX theaters, with combined grosses of $3.1 million, each on 66 screens over the three-day period from Nov. 25-27.
Stan Berenstain, who along with his wife created the popular BERENSTAIN BEARS children's books, died on Nov. 26, 2005, reports CNN. He was 82 and lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
THE INCREDIBLES meets X-MEN and more in SKY HIGH (Buena Vista Home Ent., $29.99), which debuts on DVD Nov. 29, 2005. Kurt Russell stars in a cute throwback to his old Disney movies in this superhero riff (look out for Lynda Carter as the principal). Contains lots of vfx from Asylum VFX, Furious FX, Lola Visual Effects and Realscan 3D.
Bonus features include:* Alternate opening that many will find too over-the-top* Welcome to Sky High featurette
Monster Distributes has been busy closing sales following a successful MIPCOM, including two sales to Animania HD, a high-definition channel solely dedicated to animation, which has taken both PICME (104x5), from Irish production company Jammedia, and JUNGLE BEAT (13x5), from Zimbabwean production company Sunrise Media for U.S. high-definition broadcast.
A group of seasoned gaming veterans have formed Hyboreal Games as a new development studio on Nov. 28, 2005. Hyboreal Games was founded by Eric Sexton, Michio Okamura and Steven Woo, all industry veterans and former developers for Blizzard North, where their contributions were essential to the success of the highly acclaimed DIABLO franchise, which has sold well over 13 million copies worldwide. The Hyboreal Games mission is to make best-selling game franchises by applying the proven formula of mass accessibility, addictive game play and longevity through re-playability.
In anticipation of next weeks release of the live-action AEON FLUX movie with Charlize Theron, AEON FLUX: THE COMPLETE ANIMATED COLLECTION (Paramount Home Ent., $38.99) recently made its DVD debut. The futuristic cult series from creator Peter Chung, which began on MTVs LIQUID TELEVISION, was a very sophisticated and adult series that didnt shy away from sex and violence. The provocative DVD cover image alone, revealing Aeons eye with a fly caught between the lashes, is enticing enough. One wonders how the live-action version will achieve a comparable impact.
Innoventive Software, Llc. announced that its previsualization and storyboarding software, FrameForge 3D Studio, is now available for Windows fully localized in French with a French Installation and Getting Started Manual included.
Instead of David Beckham, the first 3D football animation produced in Singapore has the likes of characters with nicknames like Gangsta and Gorilla, reports YAHOO! NEWS SINGAPORE. But the creators of the series at Intense Animation Studios are confident it will score globally.
Produced by a Singapore company, the content will be distributed worldwide on broadband and even television.
The 12-minute pilot will be ready by early 2006 and is part funded by the Media Development Authority to be distributed by broadband and broadcast television.
PBS KIDS Sprout, a new television and online provider of content devoted to preschool children and their parents and caregivers, has appointed Sandy Wax president of the network and Andrew Beecham has joined svp of programming. In addition, Diana Kerekes, vp/general counsel of content development for Comcast Corp., assumes a seat on the PBS KIDS Sprout board of directors after serving as acting gm for the network during its development and launch.
THQ Inc. announced it has been named interactive game licensee for Columbia Pictures' next performance-capture film, MONSTER HOUSE from award-winning exec producers Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. The film is directed by Gil Kenan, produced by Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey and is also exec produced by Jason Clark. THQ's worldwide agreement with Sony Pictures Consumer Products includes videogames for console and select handheld gaming systems. The MONSTER HOUSE videogames are slated for release in conjunction with the film release in summer 2006.
Baraka Post Production was appointed by Miami-based advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Outsider director James Rouse to provide pre-production expertise, on-site location advice, post production and 3D animation effects for a series of five commercials for Slim Jim.
The Algoma, Canada city council will look into the feasibility of building an adjacent Animation Centre to the Art Gallery Of Algoma, reports LTV.com. Gallery curator, Michael Burtch has championed the idea of a gallery of donated animation cels worth several million dollars from several cartoon series including SUPER DAVE OSBORNE and other successful Canadian productions. A study conducted in March said that a center of sufficient size and scale could draw tourists to the city. Councilor Steve Butland has put forth a resolution to create a task force to help develop a plan for the center.
Taylor Jessen takes a look at the anime feature that got away named My Life As McDull.
