AWN Headline News

SEGA of America Inc. recently released BILLY HATCHER AND THE GIANT EGG, a new platform game exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. Developed by the creator of SEGA's world-famous SONIC THE HEDGEHOG series, BILLY HATCHER AND THE GIANT EGG challenges players to solve puzzles, complete missions and defeat powerful bosses throughout massive, fantastical environments with the help of magical eggs.

Veteran animator and director Carl Urbano died on October 16, 2003 at the age of 94. Starting in 1931, he worked for Winklers, Van Beuren, Harman-Ising, MGM, Hugh Harman, John Sutherland and Hanna-Barbera. He was awarded the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Golden Award in 1981.

In the second half of his career, Urbano, along with Ray Patterson and a few others, formed the directing backbone at the Hanna-Barbera studios for nearly three decades, working on such programs as CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS, POPEYE, SCOOBY-DOO, POPEYE and CASPER specials.

Toon Boom Technologies Opus is the software chosen by Firehorse Films to produce New Zealand's first primetime adult animated series, a non-PC satire called BRO'TOWN.

Watch out Spike TV as Comedy Central delivers what should ultimately satisfy its favorite male demographics with Robert Evans as his animated self in KID NOTORIOUS, premiering Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 10:30 pm on COMEDY CENTRAL. It offers loads of sex, sleaze, drugs, raw language, guns, violence, racial slurs and political satire with an arresting graphic style and sophisticated writing just made for adult men and ladies who like to ride rough with the boys.

Firedog LLC has started pre-production in Los Angeles on its $2 million independent, animated feature film, FIREDOG, with principal production to be carried out at Camp Chaos Studios. Aaron Henry and Eric Treibatch of Ent. Consulting Group and Scott Duthie will produce, Clifford Matthews will exec produce original screenplay by Glen Stephens to be directed by Duthie.

France Animation has signed a deal with Télétoon in France for new series AQUAKIDS. Produced by leading Korean animation company Cinepix, the 26x26 show features a state-of-the-art, dynamic 3D animation style for kids 6-12 that combines kids, robots and underwater adventures.

Set in the near future, the series is based in a fantastic world where humans live at sea and where every child has a cuddly little pet robot that can transform into a powerful diving gear.

Noodlesoup Prods, an animation studio moving up the ranks in New York City, and The Johnson Group, a rapidly growing independent production firm in McLean, Virginia, are developing FRESH SPINS, a direct-to-video childrens series featuring a modernized animated version of favorite fables and fairy tales.