Geographical Region: Europe

7th International Bitfilm Festival for Digital FilmHamburg, GermanyNovember 2006Deadline: June 1, 2006

Carrere Group has obtained the international distribution rights to COTOONS. This animated series of 26 episodes is produced by Zone 3 in Canada and Film en Stock in France. Carrere Group will handle all television sales in the world, excluding the co-production territories Canada and France.

Dargaud Distribution has signed a deal with French production company Croqueplume to represent CANOPUS (52x4:30), a new 2D/3D cartoon about tolerance. Dargaud has acquired television, home entertainment and licensing rights to the show.

Based on an original idea by Jacqueline de Rosnay, developed by Francis Nielsen and designed by Valerie Rindoff Petroff, CANOPUS is a Martine Ventura and Helene Fatou animated series co-produced by France 5, Croqueplume and Spirit Prods.

This week in AWN's Forums, the members are abuzz with the release of THE SIMPSONS MOVIE teaser trailer. In more SIMPSONS debate, theres a poll asking whether the Simpsons kids should grow up. A member needs soft shading help. A CG fan is looking for the name of an elusive CG film. A member from Europe is curious about the 2D prospects in the U.S. Theres also a thread collecting the worlds funniest cartoon quotes.

Nicktoons Network and MTV Networks International announced plans to secure 26 additional episodes of Animation Collectives property KAPPA MIKEY, which became the networks first-ever global acquisition when it was originally commissioned in 2005.

Cartoon Network U.K. is producing SKATOONY, the worlds first animated game show with real life kid contestants. It is scheduled to premiere in October 2006.

Hosted by animated characters Chudd Chudders and The Earl, the 13x30 series is animated entirely in-house by the Cartoon Network team at its London headquarters. Each week real-life and cartoon contestants will play each other through three rounds of challenges, with the final contestant taking everything in an against-the-clock challenge.

Naked Sky Ent. announced that it has licensed Allegorithmic's ProFX procedural texture authoring and rendering system for its upcoming title ROBOBLITZ, expected to be one of the first Unreal Engine 3 titles to ship on Xbox 360 Live Arcade and the PC.

Capcom released MEGA MAN POWERED UP for the PSP. The original MEGA MAN, which was originally released on the Nintendo Ent. System, undergoes a complete transformation in MEGA MAN POWERED UP. The title features a totally redesigned look and feel, combined with new gameplay options. MEGA MAN POWERED UP is rated E for everyone by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) and is now available at retailers across North America.