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Awards Headline News

‘The Boy and the Heron,’ ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Take Home Oscar Gold

By Dan Sarto | Sunday, March 10, 2024 at 9:03pm

The two films finish out the 2024 awards season with wins for Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects, respectively, on a night that also saw ‘WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko’ win for Best Animated Short Film and ‘Oppenheimer’ take home 7 statues, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography. 

Health Care in Space! ANIMATIONWorld

‘The Second Best Hospital In the Galaxy’: Tentacle Hair, Beak Kisses and Chronic Anxiety

Creator Cirocco Dunlap and EPs/stars Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne talk about their new adult animated comedy that follows Dr. Sleech and Dr. Klak - aliens, best friends, and intergalactically renowned surgeons - as they tackle anxiety-eating parasites, illegal time loops, and deep-space STIs; premieres February 23 on Prime Video.

And the Winner Is... Headline News

'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Leads All Winners at 51st Annie Awards

By Dan Sarto | Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 10:50pm

In what may serve as a prelude to the Oscars, Sony Pictures Animation's hit 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' sequel, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, took home 7 awards, including best animated feature; Netflix's 'Blue Eye Samurai' took home six, including best TV/Media - Mature, while Pablo Berger's 'Robot Dreams' snagged best indie feature, and Dave Mullins' 'WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko' won for best animated short. 

We Want More Snoopy Presents! ANIMATIONWorld

‘Welcome Home, Franklin’: How the First Black ‘Peanuts’ Character Came to Town

By Dan Sarto | Friday, February 16, 2024 at 1:17pm

Executive producer Craig Schulz, director Raymond S. Persi, and co-writer Robb Armstrong discuss the latest ‘Snoopy Presents’ special in the storied franchise, which tells the backstory of one of the most beloved members of the “gang;” the show debuts February 16 on Apple TV+.

New Voices in Animation Headline News

2024 Stories x Women Applications Now Open

The FIAPF and WIA program provides mentoring and coaching from industry experts to prep women animators from emerging animation communities in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America to pitch projects at the Annecy Festival and Market; deadline to apply is March 17, 2024.

The Best in U.K. Animation Headline News

2024 British Animation Awards Finalists Announced

Aardman and Netflix’s ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ and Sky Cinema’s ‘The Amazing Maurice’ among the selections in the Best Feature Film category; winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on March 7.

The Best in Kids’ Entertainment Headline News

2024 Kidscreen Awards Winners Announced

The annual awards recognize the best in children’s TV and digital media; Disney nabs 20 trophies including three for ‘Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.’

Facing Your Fears ANIMATIONWorld

Tim Lamb and Christine Bian Talk ‘MacGyvering Our Way to Survival’ on ‘Orion and the Dark’

The production designer and art director approached the challenging, ‘scrappy indie project’ by honoring the hand-painted, watercolor feel of Emma Yarlett’s original book; written by Oscar-winner Charlie Kaufman, the DreamWorks’ and Mikros Animation film debuts on Netflix February 2, 2024.  

People Headline News

William Shatner to Receive VES Award for Creative Excellence

By Dan Sarto | Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 8:16am

The acclaimed actor-producer-director, famed for his portrayal of ‘Star Trek’s James T. Kirk across numerous TV and film projects, will be honored at the 22nd Annual VES Awards on February 21.

Awards Headline News

Nominations Announced for the 96th Academy Awards

By Dan Sarto | Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 7:10am

‘The Boy and the Heron,’ ‘Elemental,’ ‘Nimona,’ ‘Robot Dreams,’ and ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ nab noms for best animated feature, while ‘The Creator,’ ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,’ and ‘Napoleon’ take the top spots for best visual effects.

The Annies are Coming! Headline News

51st Annual Annie Award Nominations Announced

Best Animated Feature nominees ‘Nimona,’ ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ ‘Suzume,’ ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,’ and ‘The Boy and the Heron’ top the expansive list of category nominations; animation’s biggest awards ceremony is scheduled to return live on Saturday, February 17 at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

Grrrrrrrr! Headline News

Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz Join Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’

Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, and Christian Convery are also added, joining Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth on the live-action Netflix flick based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel.

A Different Type of Criminal Headline News

Eisner-Winning Graphic Novel ‘Criminal’ Gets Prime Video Series Order

Creator Ed Brubaker and Jordan Harper will co-showrun the interlocking universe of crime stories from Legendary Television and Amazon MGM Studios.

Holy Frack Headline News

Derek Simonds Boards ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Reboot as Showrunner and Writer

‘The Sinner’ creator will also executive produce alongside Sam Esmail for UCP and Chad Hamilton; Michael Lesslie was previously attached to write and executive produce.

Going Rogue Headline News

Did ‘Andor’ Season 2 Premiere Get Pushed into 2025?

While the ‘Star Wars’ sci-fi franchise boasts many upcoming offerings, including ‘The Acolyte,’ ‘Skeleton Crew,’ and ‘The Bad Batch Season 3,’ Disney’s release slate for 2024 has one notable omission… 

Marvel Looks to Get it Write Headline News

Matthew Orton Joins ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ As Writer

Although principal photography was completed before both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, additional shoots have been expected, delaying the film multiple times with the premiere now set for February 14, 2025.

See it on Xmas Day Headline News

Nickelodeon Sets ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ Series Launch

New show, developed from the first short in Nick’s Intergalactic Shorts Program ever picked up for series, will debut February 12, 2024; it follows best friend and roommate trio Rock, Paper and Scissors, who compete over everything in hilarious and wildly absurd ways; watch the short first on Xmas day.

She Stands Alone ANIMATIONWorld

The Quiet, Uncomfortable, and Darkly Funny ‘Carol & The End of The World’

By Dan Sarto | Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 1:30pm

Debuting December 15 on Netflix, Dan Guterman’s new adult animated limited series, which he calls ‘a meditative, character-driven dramedy,’ follows a woman who can’t shake her meek, depressed existence, though surrounded by hedonistic excess, in the face of humanity’s impending extinction from a mysterious planet hurtling towards earth.

Love Can Overcome ANIMATIONWorld

‘Aikane’: An Eclectic Love Story Highlighting Cultures Around the World

In the new short from Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, and Daniel Sousa, the team behind the award-winning ‘Kapaemahu,’ an island warrior who descends into a strange underwater world after being wounded in battle falls in love with the shapeshifting octopus that saves his life. 

He Animated Tigger! Animated Short Films ANIMATIONWorld

Disney Legend Andreas Deja Talks ‘Mushka’

By Dan Sarto | Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 11:28am

The famed animator, who brought to life iconic animated characters - villains and heroes - like Gaston, Jafar, Scar, Hercules, and Lilo, talks about his time at the studio as well as the challenge of directing his first film, a beautifully hand-drawn short that tells of a young girl who must save the tiger she has raised from a cub.

indie animation ANIMATIONWorld

Oscar-Qualified ‘Dragonfly’ Recounts the Devastating 1945 Tokyo Firebombing

For filmmaker Julia Morizawa, learning about her grandparents she’d only seen in a black and white photo meant coming face-to-face with the horrors of the single most destructive bombing raid in human history, and how asking questions and confronting the past is the only way to keep tragic events from being lost to history and possibly happening again.

animated shorts ANIMATIONWorld

Filmmaker Janice Nadeau and NFB Producer Marc Bertrand Talk ‘HARVEY’

A conversation between the director and National Film Board of Canada producer takes us inside their collaboration on the award-winning NFB/Folimage animated short that examines bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent through the imaginative eyes of a child.

Awards Headline News

81st Golden Globe Awards Nominations Announced

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ and ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ lead the Best Motion Picture – Animated category while also getting nods in ‘Cinematic and Box Office Achievement’ and ‘Best Original Score - Motion Picture;’ winners will be announced at an awards ceremony January 7, live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

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