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International production and distribution giant TV-Loonland has again joined forces with German broadcaster ZDF for two new co-production ventures, SOMETHING ELSE and RUDI (working title). This partnership follows the previous TV-Loonland/ZDF co-production of the animated series PETTSON AND FINDUS and the upcoming LITTLE GHOSTS.

Vancouver animation studio Atomic Cartoons is in Las Vegas for NATPE 2002 with a collection of proprietary properties. Their catalogue includes the original program ATOMIC BETTY and the Internet show DOG IN A BOX WITH 2 WHEELS, an offbeat animated comedy series about a randy little dog with wheels for hind legs. Dog has devoted his life to vigilante justice after a senile geriatric ruined his life in a freak oxygen tank/cigarette-smoking accident. The series is geared towards an older audience, teens and young adults, in an 11 x 26 format.

Ontario, Canadas Sheridan College is now offering Writing for Animation through the Program for Continuing Education. The object of this course is to teach the principles of animation writing for short films (both commercial and personal), television series and feature films. Through lectures and guest speakers, group discussions and one-on-one critiques, students will explore such principles as writing for movement, creating believable animated characters -- human, animal and object -- and building a consistent world.

After reigning at number one for four weeks, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, with primary visual effects by WETA, took a tumble to third place in the face of two new flicks released this week. LOTR took in $13M for a cume of $245.9M. War drama BLACK HAWK DOWN, with visual effects by The Mill, made a stellar showing in wide release, earning $29M this weekend for a total of $30.8M and the top box office spot. In second place was the family-friendly comedy SNOW DOGS, with $17.5M. A BEAUTIFUL MIND, with primary visual effects by Digital Domain, was fourth, with $11M for the weekend and $73.9M to date.

Game developer THQ Inc. and Motorola, Inc. have teamed to develop a suite of games for Motorola's current and next-generation handsets. As a result of this agreement, the companies will introduce new wireless games for Motorola mobile phones with Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) technology. The first four games, WWF MOBILE MADNESS, TETRIS, INTELLIVISION'S ASTROSMASH and MOTOGP will launch in North America in mid-January 2002 with worldwide distribution to follow throughout the year.

Cartoon Network UK has appointed Richard Kilgarriff as channel manager and vice president of Cartoon Network UK. Richard Kilgarriff is an award-winning producer with experience in television, film and radio production, marketing and program sales. Previously, he held the position of director of programs for Rapture TV, launched an Internet TV channel, made and sold a variety of television and radio shows and was digital consultant to Microsoft and Channel 5.

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.

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.

The December Acrobat issue of Animation World Magazine is now online! This issue is all about feature films. Rick DeMott reports on the 10th anniversary re-release of a large-format version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST to see how it measures up to the original, and he also charts the rise of box office hit JIMMY NEUTRON. Kumi Kaoru takes a look at Hayao Miyazaki's Japanese blockbuster SPIRITED AWAY. Andrew Osmond talks to Jimmy Murikami about his five decades in animation.

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include:

It looks as though audiences will finally get to see the animation Todd McFarlane created for the Jodie Foster-produced film THE DANGEROUS LIVES OF ALTAR BOYS. The film was completed in 2000 and set to debut at Sundance 2001, but the premiere was delayed because the animated sequences were not finished. The film will now debut on January 18 at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Peter Care directed this Southern Gothic drama set in the 70s, which centers on the efforts of Catholic schoolboys to retrieve an obscene comic book they've drawn.