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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.8 - NOVEMBER 1999

Internet & Interactive

J.J. Thudpucker. Notice the Protozoa insignia on his shirt! © and courtesy of Protozoa.

Doonesbury Creator Creates Animated Internet Video For NetAid. San Francisco-based Protozoa, with DotComix, the animation portal at www.dotcomix.com, has produced a 3D animated rock video for Internet broadcast with Garry Trudeau and his JT Thudpucker character from the Doonesbury comic strip for NetAid, a UN sponsored global crusade against poverty. The video features JT singing a NetAid anthem, and debuted on Wednesday, September 29 at www.doonesbury.com. Trudeau has integrated the premiere of the Internet video within the plot of his daily Doonesbury strip. Using their proprietary performance animation technology (also known as motion capture), Protozoa worked closely with Trudeau to produce the streaming 3D animation. NetAid is the first live event to bring together the Internet, television, radio, and online animation to fight poverty. The event took place on October 9 with shows in Geneva, London and New York with live Internet broadcast at www.netaid.org.

The Learning Company Releases Arthur CD-ROMs. Fremont, California-based The Learning Company has released Arthur's Kindergarten, Arthur's 1st Grade and Arthur's 2nd Grade, three CD-ROM titles based on the popular PBS animated series about Arthur, an aardvark, and his friends. Each title comes with two CD-ROMs. Arthur's Kindergarten introduces children to a year of reading, math and kindergarten basics, and the second CD-ROM includes projects that allow children to create songs and design greeting cards; Arthur's 1st Grade, for children ages 5 to 7, provides a full year of 1st grade curriculum, and the second CD-ROM includes activities which allow children to create their own stories, record their own songs and complete dozens of print projects; and in Arthur's 2nd Grade children 6 to 8 can join Arthur and his friends as they visit their parents' workplaces and learn US geography, develop reading skills, learn to tell time, and more. The second CD-ROM includes activities that allow children to make greeting cards, storybooks, and more. All three titles are available now on Windows and Macintosh for US$29.99 each.

Superman: The Menace of Metallo.
© Time Warner.

New Superman Cartoons Are Coming To The Internet. Warner Bros. Online, a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, and Brilliant Digital Entertainment, an Internet content and tools developer, have announced the formation of a co-production and Internet distribution relationship to launch a co-branded 3-D animation channel, the Multipath Movie Channel, on Time Warner's Entertaindom Web site at www.Entertaindom.com. The new channel will be supported by an extensive online and offline marketing campaign by Entertaindom and will feature at least six different Multipath Movie series produced by Brilliant Digital including Superman: The Menace Of Metallo. The Multipath Movie Channel is slated to launch during the fourth quarter of 1999, coinciding with the launch of Entertaindom. Superman: The Menace Of Metallo is also being released on November 2, 1999 as a multi-path interactive DVD adventure. In the game, Superman flies to the planet Cadmus in search of a stolen top-secret piece of technology, where he finds Metallo, a robot with a human brain who is able to bio-mechanically incorporate any technology he touches into his robot body. The retail price is US$17.99.

NewKidCo And Disney Interactive Join To Develop Console Titles. Burlington, Massachusetts-based NewKidCo International Inc., a children's game publisher, and Disney Interactive have entered into a multi-year agreement to develop and publish console video games featuring popular Disney properties. Through the deal, NewKidCo has obtained the rights to publish interactive adventures for various video game platforms, including PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color. As part of the agreement, the first title targeted for release will be Disney's Animated Storybook: Mulan, featuring the spirited girl and other characters from the animated feature, Mulan. Additionally, three games based on Disney's Winnie the Pooh, as well as titles featuring other Disney characters, are expected to be released in 2000.

Camp Chaos Signs Distribution Deal With Honkworm. Seattle, Washington-based Honkworm International has secured a content development, production, and distribution agreement with web animator, Camp Chaos, the first such alliance Honkworm has completed. "We are excited to work even closer with Camp Chaos and broaden our already existing relationship," says Honkworm COO, Dan Pepper. "As we ramp up production, we're continuing to look for more partners like this to add to our portfolio." The co-production structure with Camp Chaos will likely be repeated in future content and production deals. In the deal with Camp Chaos, Honkworm gains first right of refusal in the acquisition of all of Camp Chaos's content. The agreement guarantees Honkworm non-exclusive distribution rights for all Camp Chaos's current and future content. Camp Chaos's deal includes a 4-year renewable production retainer, significantly boosting Honkworm's production capacity. Camp Chaos currently animates Honkworm's Siliconites series with base art, script, and creative direction originating at Honkworm. Honkworm creates original online programming. The company has produced several series such as Fishbar, The Siliconites and Fatman. Honkworm also licenses shows and characters to web sites. Honkworm has licensed content to clients including Budweiser, Macromedia, MTV Networks, Fox Television, Nike, Excite, Lucent, Gibson Greetings, Playboy and RealNetworks. For more information visit www.honkworm.com and www.campchaos.com.

Wat's Pig, one of the films by Aardman Animations that will soon be available on the AtomFilms website. © Aardman Animations.

AtomFilms Signs Aardman. Seattle, Washington-based AtomFilms (www.atomfilms.com), a distributor of short form entertainment, has launched a European branch for its operation, AtomFilms Europe. In conjunction with the European launch, UK-based Aardman Animations (The Wrong Trousers, Chicken Run) has agreed to license the majority of their short form content to AtomFilms for distribution, both online and offline. The first Aardman films will begin to appear on the AtomFilms site in December. In addition to signing with Aardman, AtomFilms Europe closed content deals with UK-based Lough House (The Sid The Sidesplitter Show), BBC 10X10 and Tartan Shorts (a BBC-Scottish Screen joint venture). Films from Lough House are online now, while films from BBC and Tartan will begin to appear online on November 1. AtomFilms also announced an exclusive, online syndication partnership with UPC/Chello. Chello is the largest cable provider in Europe. The Chello Web site (www.chello.com) will deliver short form entertainment from a dedicated AtomFilms channel, making Atom the exclusive provider of short-form entertainment to Chello's online community. Lastly, AtomFilms announced new strategic distribution partners teaming up to bring short films, animations and digital media to the forefront of European programming. FilmFour (UK), ARTE (German/French joint venture), Canal + International (Benelux, Scandinavia, Poland), Multicanal TPS (Spain and Portugal), and SVT (Sweden), all join Atom's existing distribution network. AtomFilms Europe is already selling its world-renowned content to top airline carriers including British Airlines and KLM.


Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.