DNEG Animation Names Tom Jacomb President
Previous managing director will now oversee the studio’s worldwide expansion efforts; five new senior hires include VFX supervisors Freddy Chaleur and Yancy Lindquist, animation director Jay Boose, head of look development Sonja Burchard, and producer Audrey Ford.
Re-VIEW: ‘Vivo’ – the Magic of the Mambo
Fueled by a cascade of original Lin-Manuel Miranda songs, Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix’s animated musical adventure is a celebration of life and love powered by energetic music and dance.
Disney Channel Renews ‘The Ghost and Molly McGee’ Ahead of Season 1 Premiere
Trailer also dropped for the 2D animated comedy that just snagged second season greenlight ahead of October 1 series debut; first season guest stars include Kelsey Grammer, Natasha Rothwell, Greta Gerwig, Yvette Nicole Brown and Jane Lynch.
Michaela Pavlátová Talks ‘My Sunny Maad’
The legendary award-winning director discusses her jump from animated shorts into feature films with the poignant tale of a Czech woman who marries an Afghan man with no idea what her life will be in post-Taliban Afghanistan.
Netflix Launching Animation Foundations Mentorship Program
Kicking off next month, the program will broaden opportunities for underrepresented talent and bring new voices and stories to the animation space; creatives in both the Latinx and neurodiverse communities have been selected by program partners to participate in the inaugural Fall 2021 group.
‘Octonauts: Above & Beyond’ Coming to Netflix
Silvergate’s global hit eco-series spins-off an all-new CG animated show extending the team’s adventures beyond the sea and onto land; Season 1 hits the streamer on September 7 with Season 2 coming in 2022.
Riki Group’s ‘The Fixies’ and ‘Kikoriki’ Open New CTV Audience Frontiers with VlogBox
Leading edutainment studio is moving quickly to tap into growing international and US appetite for streaming kids’ content through new connected TV channels outside the Google-owned platform world.
DreamWorks Drops Trailer and Images for ‘The Croods: Family Tree’ Series
Coming to Peacock and Hulu on September 23, the new CG animated comedy, inspired by the hit film, ‘The Croods: A New Age,’ follows the Croods and the Bettermans as they learn to live with each other on prehistory’s most idyllic farm.
Legendary NFB Pinscreen Animator Jacques Drouin Dies at 78
For more than 30 years, the filmmaker and editor championed use of the unique, legendary animation tool; for years, he was the only person in the world using it to animate, a skill pioneered by famed Russian animator Alexandre Alexeieff, in turn passed on by Drouin to filmmaker Michèle Lemieux.
Seven-Time Emmy Award-Winning Actor Ed Asner Dies at 91
The prolific actor, best known for his role as Lou Grant in ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ also voiced scores of animated characters including the beloved, curmudgeonly Carl Fredricksen in Pixar’s Oscar-winning feature, ‘Up.’
Blinkink Signs Director Renee Zhan
Sundance-winning animator joins Soho-based studio's commercial production roster; Zhan’s films have been screened at Annecy, TIFF, Edinburgh, Encounters, and Doc Leipzig.
VIEW Conference 2021 Welcomes Aardman’s ‘Robin Robin’ Creative Team
Special panel guests, writers/directors Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, executive producer Sarah Cox, and studio co-founder and creative director Peter Lord, will discuss their upcoming Netflix stop-motion musical special, starring Gillian Anderson, Richard E Grant, Bronte Carmichael and Adeel Akhtar, debuting November 24.
Nickelodeon Names Sabrina Caluori Senior VP Brand and Content Strategy
Former HBO marketing executive will oversee the launches of all original shows and movies, brand strategy and execution, media buying and marketing analytics.
New Episodes of Apple Original ‘Stillwater’ Now Streaming
Apple TV+ has released 5 new episodes and bonus shorts of the Peabody Award-winning animated kids’ series; Apple Original ‘Doug Unplugs’ returns for Season 2 on September 17.
Fox Renderfarm’s FGT3D Hunter Challenge Winners Revealed
3D artists were challenged to create their own ‘hunter;’ 3 professional and 3 student works were awarded a variety of prizes from event sponsors.
‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Arrives on Digital September 3
The animated/live-action hybrid comedy stars basketball legend LeBron James in an epic adventure to save his kid; 4K, Blu-ray and DVD releasing October 5.
Beau DeMayo Talks Blood, Guts and Honor in ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’
For the writer and producer of Netflix’s new anime feature about the life of Geralt’s grizzled mentor, Vesemir, viewers hopefully grapple with the moral dilemma of whether sometimes dark and horrible ends justify the means.
Exclusive Clip: ‘Duncanville – Witch Day 2’ Season 2 Finale
In this season's final episode airing August 30 on FOX, at the annual Witch Day Festival, Jing becomes possessed when Kimberly’s magic potion actually works, while Duncan and friends enter a haunted Circuit City and Jack tries to finally win Annie a stuffed animal at the milk bottle toss.
Xmas is Coming Early in Toonz Media Group and K6 Media Group Deal
The companies have teamed up on ‘Li’l Santa,’ a brand-new series that follows the adventures of a pint-sized, modern day Santa eco-warrior; the show, slated for release in October, will culminate with a special Christmas episode.
Beyond Rights Inks Deal with YouKu to Bring ‘Turbozaurs’ to China
The preschool CGI animated series features very special dinosaurs that can transform instantly into amazing machines; new set of dino adventures will debut on Chinese streamer in November.
Warner Bros. Animation Drops ‘Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs’ Trailer
New kids’ comedy features Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm from the stone age world of the iconic ‘Flintstones;’ series hits HBO Max September 30.
‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Nabs its Villains
John Noble and Jimmi Simpson are welcomed aboard as the show’s bad guys, joining the cast that includes Kate Mulgrew reprising her role from ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ on the upcoming CG animated ‘Star Trek’ series; show debuts on Paramount+ later this year.
Designing the Infinite Possibilities of Marvel Studios’ ‘What If…?’
Executive producer Brad Winderbaum knew right away that the limitless creative canvas his new anthology series needed to explore any story, at any place in time, could only be achieved in animation.
Have Another Slice of ‘Cake’ on September 30
FXX returns with Season 5 of its innovative, short-form live-action and animated comedy anthology on FXNOW and Hulu; look for more ‘Poorly Drawn Lines’ featuring the fantastical misadventures of Ernesto, and Branson Reese’s ‘Swan Boy,’ an animated short based on the comic of the same name.
Sky Kids Greenlights ‘The Brilliant World of Tom Gates’ Season 2
Based on the enormously popular book series, the show features live-action along with 2D and stop-motion animation; currently in production the new episodes will hit Sky Kids and NOW in early 2022.