French producer Alphanim will be bringing several programs from their distribution slate to NATPE 2002 including SPACED OUT (26 x 26'), X-DUCKX (78 x 8'/26 x 26'), ROBOT BOY (52 x 13'), POTATOES & DRAGONS (78 x 8'), DELTA STATE (26 x 26') and RALPH THE RECORD RAT (104 x 1').
Alphanim's Julie Fox visited MILIA 2001 to report on the shifting sands of the Internet animation economy.
KidsWebTv, a kids' entertainment content provider, will present the Flash-animated Web series, EDDY THE ECO-DOG UNLEASHED! at NATPE 2002. Aimed at tweens, the cartoon features the silly antics of Eddy and his pals on the planet Chachachawowa.
A&S Animation, Inc. is presenting their animated short series, TIMMY'S LESSONS IN NATURE at NATPE 2002. In the dialogue-free series, disaster prone Timmy demonstrates basic rules of nature. The one-minute shorts have won awards at six international film festivals including ASIFA-East's Excellence in Writing award.
Fremantle International Distribution (FID) will be launching a second series of the animated adventures of BILLY THE CAT at NATPE 2002. Based on the books created by Stéphane Colman and Stephen Desberg, BILLY THE CAT is the story of a boy who is transformed into a cat as punishment for being cruel to animals. BILLY THE CAT has already been well-received by broadcasters worldwide, with sales of the first series to the U.S., the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, Benelux, Australia, Latin America, South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Animated pre-schooler WHY? has been awarded a production loan by the Irish Film Board, who is co-financing the series with Monster Distributes and Brown Bag Films. The new series goes into production in January 2002 and will be presented at NATPE. Monster Distributes will also be introducing new animated Christmas specials, THE LEGEND OF THE CANDY CANE and THE LEGEND OF THE THREE TREES, as well as selling its 13 x 30 award-winning series STORYKEEPERS, directed by Jimmy Murakami. STORYKEEPERS presents stories from the life of Jesus within an adventure story context.
Defiance Distribution and Screen Ventures are bringing their new childrens animated series MUCHIKKO - KID BUGS to NATPE 2002. The series is produced by POKEMON creator Shogakukan, SME and New Kids. Featuring 88 characters, such as Hanako the ladybug, inchworm brothers Tanaka and Endo, Yabe the water bug, Hamada the honeybee and 83 others, the MUCHIKKO characters use special skills and teamwork to overcome obstacles. Already popular with television audiences in Japan, the show has been supported by a successful merchandising campaign.
Indias Pentamedia Graphics Ltd. will present a slate of animated movies, home videos and series at NATPE 2002 including the new 3D animated feature ALIBABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES. The company is currently in production on SINBAD AND THE SECRET OF COLONIS, the 3D animated sequel to SINBAD: BEYOND THE VEIL OF MISTS.
Read about the making of SINBAD: BEYOND THE VEIL OF MISTS, Pentamedias first foray into 3D animation features.
Egmont Imagination will bring its interactive mystery series, SOLVE THE MYSTERY WITH INSPECTOR MCCLUE, to NATPE 2002. This 2D Flash animated family series is a television and Internet based crime-puzzle where the viewer watches a mystery unfold on television, and must then try and solve the mystery themselves by going online and using the clues provided. Created by Werner Wejp-Olsen, SOLVE THE MYSTERY WITH INSPECTOR MCCLUE combines interactivity with engaging stories.
4Kids Entertainment will launch the Japanese animated series KINNIKUMAN at NATPE 2002. The 52-episode series combines comedy and super hero action with the flair of pro-wrestling. As a baby, Kinnikuman was accidentally displaced as prince of his home planet. Now, to prove himself worthy as heir to the throne of Kinniku, he must compete in the ultimate intergalactic tournaments. As a result, Kinnikuman confronts hundreds of the most diverse and powerful superhero wrestlers that the world has to offer.
Another Japanese import comes to NATPE via Nelvana. BEYBLADE is a 51-episode animé series acquired from D-Rights, Inc. BEYBLADE tells the story of a boy who learns to harness the power of his ancestors to perfect his technique in the sport of Beyblade. The heroes bond as they battle their way to the world championship. Nelvana will be located in Booth #3025.
* NATPE Content Marketplace: Monday, January 21 - Thursday, January 24, 2002, Las Vegas, Nevada USA.
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This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes: RMCAD And ASIFA-Colorado Present PJ's Director Sean Burns: Thursday, July 26, 2001, Denver, Colorado USA. Ed Hooks' Acting Class for Animators: Saturday, August 4, 2001 and Monday, August 13 - Wednesday, August 15, 2001, Stanford, California USA. They Shoot Animators, Don't They? An Animation Marathon: Friday, August 10 - Monday, August 13, 2001, London, UK. ASIFA-Hollywood Presents A Book Signing With Leslie Iwerks, Co-Author Of "The Hand Behind The Mouse:" Wednesday, August 22, 2001, Burbank, California USA.
March is technology month. In this issue we will be discussing what the future will be like for the high-end computer hardware/software companies. Have their glory days passed? Are they just releasing new software versions to release new product or are these true advancements? Do studios need all of these versions? Due to previous advancements are studios now comfortably doing more with less due to the high-end/low-end technology blur and proprietary software? How does the cost of retraining factor into these decisions?
* Monday, January 22 Thursday, January 25, 2000. Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
* Tuesday, September 12 Thursday, September 14, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Digital Coast 2000 will explore the digital transformation of entertainment and Southern Californias ever expanding Internet economy. Presented in association with the Directors Guild of America and NATPE, the event will bring together Southern Californian senior executives, artists and technologists to discuss the evolution of entertainment in the digital age. For more information: Tel.: (800) 628-7346; or Web: www.natpe.org.
Dusan Vukotic, Croatian animator, director, artist and former head of the animation unit of Duga Film, known as the Zagreb Animation Studio, passed away two years ago at the age of 71. He directed films such as "The Playful Robot" (1956), "Concerto for Sub-Machine Gun" (1959) and "Substitute/Ersatz" (1961), the first non-U.S. animated film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Another of his films, "The Game" was nominated for an Academy Award in 1964.
For the first time, Zagreb studio's library was offered for international
distribution at NATPE a year ago. The library offered all of Zagreb's
award-winning short films, including the works of such masters as Zlatko
Grgic ("Devil's Work") and Dusan Vukotic (his short "Ersatz" was the first
non-U.S. animated film to receive an Academy Award). Since then, Rembrandt
Films and Image Entertainment have released on video five hours of
animation from Zagreb Film. This is just another distribution deal, and
NATPE is one of the leading television markets and conferences in the
world. The event in New Orleans offers animation and special effects
companies a rare opportunity to showcase their work to a global audience.
NATPE 2000 will offer a vast array of exhibitors gathered in pavilions such
as Animation/Licensing sponsored by KidScreen; Cable sponsored by ATVC
(Asociacion Argentia de Television por Cable); HDTV/Visual Effects
sponsored by SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers);
Animation World Network will be publishing a special NATPE
edition of our weekly E-mail newsletter, Animation Flash,
on January 18, 2000. To insure all your NATPE-related news
is printed in the Flash please submit press releases to
rick@awn.com by January 14, 2000. Please put "NATPE News"
in the subject area of your e-mail.
The deadline to register your film for competition at the 24th
International Festival of animated film is January 15, 2000. Entry
forms are available on the festival web site. For its 40th
anniversary, the festival is hosting triple Oscar-winning animator
Richard Williams, who will offer a three-day Animation Masterclass on
the principles of animation, June 3-5, 2000. The MIFA expo will be
open June 7-10, 2000, and feature a sizable new technologies area.
The 24th International Festival of animated film will be held in Annecy,France, June 5-10, 2000. The festival is now accepting entries for animatedshort films, television series, commissioned films and student films. Thedeadline to register your film for competition is January 15, 2000. Entryforms are now available on the festival web site. The three selectioncommittees will gather in Annecy March 2-12, 2000 in order to choose the 5features and 10 programs of shorts which will compose the official
In last week's edition of the Spotlight, we mentioned that theInternational Festival of Animated Film will be present at NATPE, in NewOrleans, January 24-28, 2000, booth #2276. The festival booth will be #2976(and not 2276) located in the Animation Pavilion. For more information onAnnecy 2000, visit http://www.annecy.org or call (+33.4).50.10.09.00 (phone); (+33.4).50.10.09.70 (fax).
The fledgling Fox Family Channel has added ten new animated series to its kid and teen-targeted daytime lineup for the 1999-2000 season. The lineup represents a major investment from Fox Family in creating original and entertaining animated programming. Animation World Network spoke to Joel Andryc, Senior Vice President, Programming & Development about this lineup and how they're working to create a unique identity in the already overcrowded world of cable.
GoodTimes Entertainment announced that "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Movie," made its Latin American debut this Christmas on Cinecanal and Sky. This marked Cinecanal's first acquisition of an independently-produced animated feature and was the first time Cinecanal ran two versions of a single animated feature: neutral Spanish dubbed version for children and the original, English-language version with Spanish subtitles for family audiences.
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