Berlin children's producer TV Loonland has bought a 65% stake in Seoul distribution firm Saerom Entertainment. Saerom is the third-largest video and DVD distributor in Korea and controls a leading Internet film portal, which it has been leveraging as a new means of distribution. TV Loonland will pay US$9.5 million for its share of the company, which foresees sales of $14 million and profits of $2 million for the year 2000. The move is yet another step in TV Loonland's global expansion, giving the company a strong distribution and Internet foothold in Asia.

The Walt Disney Co. has inked a deal with Japan's second-largest toy maker, Tomy Co. Ltd., to market, produce and distribute its toys and games in Japan. The exclusive deal does allow Tomy to sublicense certain products to other toy producers. The pact takes affect in April 2001. "This agreement completes a restructuring of our toy business that we began in September, when we established licensing arrangements with Hasbro and Mattel," said Andy Mooney, president of Disney Consumer Products Worldwide.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS is still kicking at the international box office, but HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS and DINOSAUR are knocking on the door. The premiere of ANGELS in Germany knocked THE GRINCH out of the top spot with a gross of $4.1 million. THE GRINCH fell to second with a ticket take of $1.98 million, elevating its German cume to $4.58 million. In its third week in Germany, DINOSAUR slipped to third with gross of $1.7 million, advancing its cume to $9.52 million. In fourth, THE CELL captured another $1.58 million, pushing its German cume to $4.52 million.

Numerical Design Ltd. (NDL) and Nintendo of America announced that the NetImmerse game engine is now available to developers creating games for the highly anticipated Nintendo Gamecube. NetImmerse is a multi-platform game development tool that, according to NDL, can save approximately six months of development time and a year or more of engineering costs. It can be used for a wide variety of game genres and platforms.

Lee Lanier is known for his gritty, black-and-white, absurdly surreal short films. Surprisingly, his work is a product of computer animation. Lee worked at Pacific Data Images as a lead lighter and lead modeler on "Antz" and "Shrek." His first short, "Millennium Bug" was shown at numerous festivals and such venues as the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Smithsonian Institution. Lee just completed his second computer animation short, "Mirror." Pramod Sahoo is the creator and founder of www.chachoo.net, India's only site showing Webisodes starting with the "Sandoo" series.

Around the world, moviegoers are being swept up in the sexy, high-kicking, MATRIX-like action of CHARLIE'S ANGELS. The television redux made its nod in the U.K. with an outstanding gross of US$6.74 million. In its sixth week in Britain, WHAT LIES BENEATH sunk to second, grossing $1.12 million, thus escalating its cume to $17.41 million. In fourth, BEDAZZLED possessed another $680,873, lifting its U.K. cume to $4.21 million. PITCH BLACK turned up in fifth, grossing $572,299, thereby pushing its U.K. cume to $3.64 million.

December feature articles are based on the themes of location-based entertainment and anime. Karl Cohen is profiling Imax -- is animation's next frontier in peril? Also, Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman is discussing the past and future of LBE, specifically VR. On the anime side of things Fred Patten is profiling "Vampire Hunter D," the latest anime release to arrive on U.S. soil. Andrew Osmond is interviewing a number of experts and scholars on the stylistic merits of Japanese animation. Be ready to put on your thinking cap before reading this one.

Seoul, Korea's Pix Production Co, Ltd. is looking for 2D/3D ANIMATORS, a BUSINESS MARKETER and a COMPUTER PROGRAMMER. . . Minneapolis, Minnesota's College of Art and Design, an independent, accredited institution, is looking for an ANIMATION INSTRUCTOR to teach all levels of animation. . . Mui Wo, Lantau Island, Hong Kong's STVDIO Media, a cartoon illustration studio branching out into animation, is looking for a CARTOONIST-ANIMATOR to work on cartoon illustration and animation projects. . . JC Pictures, Inc. is looking for a DESIGN COORDINATOR to work on a children's animation TV series. . .

The all new David Fine and Alison Snowden Website features comprehensive information and tons of images of this imaginative couple's work. It includes the TV series, "Bob and Margaret," with an episode guide for the series, a complete list of credits and places where to buy it. The Website also features David and Alison's Oscar winning short "Bob's Birthday," on which "Bob and Margaret" is based, and Oscar nominee shorts, "George and Rosemary" and "Second Class Mail." For a full history, read the Snowden Fine CV!

Toonz Animation India has announced that they have signed a production deal with Rainbow Animation Italy on a new animated TV series. The untitled toon tells the story of an 8-year-old boy named Tommy whom, along with his friend Yukari and a nervous alien, uses his uncle’s strange inventions to defeat the evil Caesar. Toonz Animation India CEO Bill Dennis said, "Toonz Animation is very eager to start the new project with Rainbow. The story is very fun and entertaining, but also has many important themes and lessons that are important for younger audiences.

* Friday, January 26 – Saturday, February 3, 2001. Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Turkey's health minister, Osman Durmus, has urged TV stations to remove POKEMON from their line-up in light of two children suffering injuries copying the actions of the cartoon's characters. On Friday, November 24, 7-year-old Seda Aykanat suffered a broken leg when she leapt off the fifth-floor balcony of her apartment. Previously this year, a 4-year-old boy in Turkey also sustained injuries copying the super-powered stunts of POKEMON characters.

December will feature articles based on the themes of location-based entertainment and anime. Karl Cohen is profiling Imax -- is animation's next frontier in peril? Also, Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman will be discussing the past and future of LBE, specifically VR. On the anime side of things Fred Patten is going to review "Vampire Hunter D," the latest anime release to arrive on U.S. soil. Andrew Osmond is going to be interviewing a number of experts and scholars on the stylistic merits of Japanese animation. Be ready to put on your thinking cap before reading this one.

SCARY MOVIE, WHAT LIES BENEATH and CHARLIE'S ANGELS all held strong at the international box office. In Italy, SCARY MOVIE debuted at #1 with a strong gross of US$2.28 million. Dropping a lofty 59%, X-MEN fell to sixth, grossing $466,646, thereby lifting its Italian cume to $4.1 million. In seventh, FREQUENCY channeled $460,570 in its Italian premiere. In France, SCARY MOVIE held onto the top spot with a gross of $2.32 million, raising its cume to $15.24 million. The French debut of SHAFT, therefore, had to settle for second, grossing $1.62 million.

This month we are talking about everyone's pal - television. We are featuring a profile of veteran animation director and producer Eric Radomski. We are also taking a long hard look at primetime animation and trying to figure out what went wrong this year. In addition, we will showcase five shows that are extra special for many reasons. They include France's "Belphégor," Oxygen's "X-Chromosome," the U.K.'s "Butt-Ugly Martians," Tom Snyder Productions and Disney's "Teacher's Pet."

USA Network announced that it would air SINBAD: BEYOND THE VEIL OF MISTS, the first-ever 3D motion-capture animated feature. The movie will premiere on Thursday, November 30, 2000 at 8 pm ET/PT. SINBAD is the tale of the legendary Sinbad and his crew, who are recruited by a beautiful princess to travel beyond the forbidden Veil of Mists in a quest for the cure to an evil spell placed on the King.

Sony Corp. has announced that it's cutting its initial U.K. shipment of PlayStation 2 gaming consoles from 200,000 to 165,000 units. The cut-back is due to a computer chip shortage, which also led to Sony halving its originally projected 1 million unit shipment to the U.S. Arriving in the U.S. on October 26, the next generation console made an estimated $165 million in its first 72 hours of release. In addition, PlayStation 2 has sold approximately 3.5 million units in Japan since its release there in March.

Aaronson Ltd. is seeking an EDITORIAL CARTOONIST for mid distribution start-up newspaper. . . Aileron, Inc. is looking for a CONTENT WRITER for a new Internet site focusing on cutting-edge cartooning technology. . . Sioux Falls, South Dakota's Animation Factory, a leading destination for animated clipart and media for Internet and multimedia presentations, is looking for 3D MODELERS/ANIMATORS. . . Aristocrat, a gaming software industry leader, is looking for a GAME DESIGNER, GRAPHIC ARTIST, SOUND ARTIST and VIDEO GRAPHIC ARTIST at their newest location in Tucson, Arizona. . .

Bill Plympton has updated his appearances page. In the upcoming months, his films will be appearing in various festivals and other events, including the Regensburg Short Film Week in Germany, November 17-25, 2000; Cinanima festival in Portugal, November 6-12, 2000; Puchon International Student Animation Festival, Korea, December 16-24, 2000; and the Animation Cinema Festival in Valencia, Spain, January 16-28, 2001.

* Friday, December 8 – Sunday, December 10, 2000. Bangkok, Thailand.