Animation World
Magazine, Issue 3.4, July 1998
Television
Toons From Planet Orange.
© Nickelodeon. |
Toons From Planet Orange is the name of a new half-hour special featuring eight
animated short films commissioned by Nickelodeon and directed by artists
in Australia, Germany, Latin America, U.K. and the U.S. It is the first
animated project by Nickelodeon's Worldwide Development Group (WDG). "The
mission of WDG is to discover fresh talent from around the globe and provide
[them] the opportunity to develop and produce their innovative, irreverent
ideas," said Albie Hecht, president of Film and Television Entertainment
for Nickelodeon, "[as well as] a chance to develop their characters
into future Nickelodeon toon stars." The shorts are: Agent Green
and Ego From Mars by Kapow Productions, Snout by Fudge Puppy
Productions, Helmmut and the Killer Nose by Anton Reidel, La
Hora de Hombre Cacto by Darío Adanti and Bárbara Perdiguera,
Vida De Sapos by Metrovisión Post Producción, Spider
and Fly by Elm Road on the Box and Hector the Get Over Cat by
John R. Dilworth. Toons From Planet Orange will air simultaneously
on August 22, on Nickelodeon channels around the world, in several different
languages.
Nick Turns Off In Germany. Citing weak advertising sales and increased
competition for viewers, Nickelodeon has ceased broadcasting its channel
in Germany. The channel, launched nearly three years ago, was challenged
by the launch of Kinderkanal, a new advertising-free cable channel launched
last year by German broadcasters ARD and ZDF. Nickelodeon hopes to regain
its presence in Germany by licensing programming to native broadcasters
in the future.
Sony Launches Anime Channel. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE),
in partnership with Japanese animation studios Toei Animation, Sunrise,
Kyokuichi Corporation and Nippon, launched ANIMAXthe first 24-hour satellite
channel devoted to animein Japan on June 1. Masao Takiyama, a former executive
at Fuji Creative, has been named general manager and CEO of the channel,
which will be headquartered in Tokyo. ANIMAX will be one of 171 channels
on the new digital platform, SkyPerfecTV!, which aims to reach two million
subscribers by the year 2000. Programming will consist of animation produced
by founding companies.
Fox Animating `99 Line-Up. Hoping to expand on the success it's
had with The Simpsons and King of the Hill, The Fox Broadcasting
Company will add three new animated series to its prime time schedule in
mid-season (early 1999): Simpsons creator Matt Groening's Futurama
[AF 4/14/98], Eddie Murphy and Will Vinton Studios' stop-motion The
PJs [AF 2/17/98] and newcomer Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy.
While Futurama and The PJs were planned and in production
well before this announcement, Family Guy is a relatively unplanned
pilot by MacFarlane, a 24-year-old graduate of Rhode Island School of Design
who was recently discovered by Fox executives. MacFarlane's student film
first brought him to Hanna-Barbera's attention where he made Larry and
Steve, a What A Cartoon! short for Cartoon Network in 1995. Specific
nights of the week on which the three new series will air have not yet
been announced. In a related move, Fox will relocate King of the Hill
from its post-Simpsons Sunday slot to an 8:00 p.m. Tuesday slot,
preceding a new live-action series, Costello, starting in fall `98.
The Simpsons, entering its 10th season in fall `98, will stay put
on Sunday, but will be followed by another new live-action comedy, Feelin'
All Right, set in the 1970s.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World
Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
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