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How French TikTok Hit ‘Broos’ Is Aiming To Become A Short-Form TV Series
Backed by French-German broadcaster Arte, French Tiktok and Instagram sensation The Broos (Les Gros in French) pitched a longer-form version of the project at Cartoon Forum last month. The project, developed as a 12 x 4.5-minute series, is being adapted, written, and directed by Broos creator David Mirailles and Bobby Prod narrative director Youssef El Kouch. Adapted from the eponymous comics, The Broos turned into a Tiktok hit with nearly six hundred thousand followers.
A Top Pixar And Disney Animator Awaits Trial In France On Child Sex Abuse Charges
AnimatorsLaw Bolhem Bouchiba, a key veteran of Disney and Pixar animation studios, is currently awaiting trial in Paris. He is accused of having ordered the rape of hundreds of young girls in the Philippines through live streaming. Prior to his arrest, Bouchiba, 59, had been a key animator at Disney and Pixar for decades.
A Baby's Late-Night Wandering Causes Parental Stress In The Surreal And Haunting 'World To Roam'
Cartoon Brew Pick In the surreal, haunting, and heartfelt World to Roam, filmmaker Stephen Irwin poignantly explores the challenges of child-rearing through a stunning visual feast that masterfully blends elements of horror, fable, and fantasy. The story centers on a mother and father grappling with their baby son’s late-night wanderings. In a desperate attempt to keep him safe, they tie a piece of string around his ankle, hoping it will help them locate him by morning.
Cartoon Forum 2024: 5 Promising Series Pitches
Attending from all over Europe, producers, investors, distributors and broadcasters gathered in Toulouse, France, last month for the 35th edition of Cartoon Forum. Cartoon Forum is the leading animated tv series pitching event for Europeans, and this year, 485 companies were represented, with 256 buyers (26% of them attending Cartoon for the first time), and nearly one thousand overall participants coming from 42 countries.
Chris Sanders' 'The Wild Robot' Debuts At #1
Box Office Report Universal’s Dreamworks Animation is two for two in 2024, with both of its theatrical releases now having opened at #1 in the U.S. marketplace. Its newest film, Chris Sanders’ heartwarming The Wild Robot, opened last weekend with an estimated $35 million. The film’s audience skewed young, attracting most of its audience (62%) for showings before 5 pm. Additionally, one out of three viewers were under the age of 13.
9 Animated Shorts You Won’t Want To Miss At Ottawa 2024
FestivalsShorts North America’s largest and longest-running animation film festival, the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), starts today in Ottawa, Canada, and as always, its short film selections are an eclectic and intriguing crop of films. Sixty-nine short films are competing across seven categories, selected from a total of 2,308 entries representing 93 countries. Overall, 124 projects are in the official selection, including panorama shorts, feature films, and series.
Japanese Student Film 'Yapolaponky' Is Playful, Thought-Provoking, And Emotionally Resonant
For those who didn’t catch it at Annecy, the Japanese student film Yapolaponky is also available online (watch below) or can be seen theatrically next week at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Yapolaponky is beautifully animated using digital paint and rotoscope techniques and features a minimalist guitar soundtrack, adding to its gentle strangeness. The story is, on the surface, simple: a man who encounters a strange creature in a field.
John Musker, Joanna Quinn, Glen Keane, And Imogen Sutton Are Headlining Kilkenny Animated
Events Kilkenny Animated Festival, set to take place October 4-6 in Kilkenny, Ireland, has announced its programming line-up for its latest edition. The boutique festival punches above its weight due to it being located in the hometown of iconic Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, and this year’s guests are quite an illustrious bunch.
Lightbox Expo Reveals Details For 6th Edition In October
Events Lightbox Expo (LBX) has announced details for its sixth annual edition, to be held October 25-27 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Created by Bobby Chiu and Jim Demonakos, the event brings together thousands of artists who work in entertainment. “The collective inspiration, passion and expertise that blends together under one roof is exactly why we call LBX ‘for artists and by artists,’” said Chiu in a statement.
Disney Announces 'An Almost Christmas Story,' A New Short Directed By David Lowery, Produced By Alfonso Cuarón
Shorts A new animated short, An Almost Christmas Story, will debut this fall on Disney+. Produced by Disney Branded Television, the film is directed by David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, Peter Pan & Wendy) and produced by five-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma). Per Disney, the film follows Moon, a curious young owl who unexpectedly finds himself stuck in a Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Plaza.
DirecTV Enlists A New Ally In Its War With Disney: Public-Domain Mickey Mouse
Cartoon CultureClassic Now that the 1928 version of Mickey Mouse has entered the public domain, the character can be used for any purpose, even to criticize The Walt Disney Company. That’s exactly what Directv has started doing in a series of new digital ads that attack Disney. The ongoing carriage dispute between the two companies has led to Disney channels such as ABC, Disney Channel, and ESPN being made inaccessible to Directv’s 11 million satellite tv customers.
Israeli Filmmaker Asaf Galay Wins $200K Documentary Prize For Fleischer Studios Documentary 'Cartooning America'
AwardsClassicDocumentary The animation history documentary Cartooning America has won the sixth annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. The director Asaf Galay will receive a $200,000 cash prize. Since 2019, the award has been given annual to exemplary documentary films that tell compelling stories about American history. The annual prize for documentary is presented by the Library of Congress, The Better Angels Society, Ken Burns, and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation.
'Inside Out 2' Surpasses 'The Lion King' Remake, Becomes Highest-Grossing Animated Feature Of All Time
Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out 2 has surpassed The Lion King 2019 remake to become the highest-grossing animated feature of all time. This weekend, the Kelsey Mann-directed IO2 grossed $9.8 million globally ($2.7m in the U.S. and $7.1m abroad) for a grand total of $1.66 billion, pushing it past the $1.65 billion global take of The Lion King.
Canadian Generative AI Animation Start-Up Viggle AI Raises $19 Million
BusinessTech While much of the animation industry remains deeply concerned about the use of generative AI in the field, tech investors continue to pour money into the burgeoning sector. Toronto, Canada-based start-up Viggle AI, which is focused on character animation through generative AI, announced today that it has raised $19 million in Series A funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from additional investor Two Small Fish.
YouTube Becomes First Streaming Platform To Break 10% Of Total TV Viewing
StreamingTV Last month marked a new milestone for streaming services, according to newly-released Nielsen viewing data. In the month of July, Youtube became the first streaming platform ever to exceed 10% of total tv usage. Month-to-month, usage of Youtube went up 7%, accounting for 10.4% of all of the month’s tv usage. Overall, streaming continues to show remarkable strength, accounting for 41.4% of tv viewing, while broadcast and cable viewing continues to decline.
Vancouver Animation School Launches Production Management Course
Schools There are plenty of educational programs that teach people how to create animation, but far fewer that teach how to produce animation. That’s the value proposition of Vancouver Animation School’s new Production Management in Digital Entertainment course. The new one-year online program specializes in learning how to oversee an entire production for animation, visual effects, and video games.
'Hai Yorokonde' by Kazuya Kanehisa
Cartoon Brew PickMusic Videos In just under three months the retro-styled music video “Hai Yorokonde” has amassed over 67 million views. Let’s see what all the buzz is about. Japanese animator Kazuya Kanehisa has created a vibrant vintage design that captures the essence of a lost animated VHS tape from the 1970s/1980s.
Cartoon Brew Celebrates Inaugural Power List With Los Angeles Reception
Cartoon Brew celebrated the publication of its inaugural U.S. Animation Power List with a reception on July 31 at the Tam O’Shanter. The star-studded event brought together many of the 60 power players who are being honored on this year’s list, as well as other invited guests. It also marked the launch of the first print edition of Cartoon Brew, which is now available for free to workers at most of the major animation studios around Los Angeles.
Viva Pictures To Release Aniventure's 'Hitpig!' In November
DistributionFeature Film Viva Pictures has signed on as the U.S. distributor of Hitpig! and will release the film theatrically on November 1, 2024. The film, adapted from characters first introduced in the children’s book Pete & Pickles by Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed, is from British production company Aniventure, which has previously completed Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Riverdance: The Animated Adventure.
Paramount's Comedy Central Strikes Licensing Deal To Air Disney's 'Family Guy'
DistributionSeries Comedy Central has licensed the rights to library episodes of the Seth MacFarlane series Family Guy, marking the first-time ever that the series has aired on a Paramount-owned platform. The series will launch on Comedy Central with an all-day marathon on Labor Day (September 2), and will join the primetime lineup starting on Tuesday, September 3.
'Solo Leveling' Producer And Action Director Discuss The Breakout Hit
AnimeInterviews First a light novel and a webtoon, Solo Leveling has been on every anime fans’ lips this year, as its first season produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex rolled out globally on Crunchyroll in January. While working on the second season and in the midst of their world tour going from one anime expo to another, the creative team stopped in Paris a few weeks ago for Japan Expo 2024, providing a rare occasion to dive deeper into anime production.
Netflix Releases Teaser Trailer For Skydance Animation's 'Spellbound'
Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for Spellbound, the new animated feature from Skydance Animation and director Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Tale). The film is set to release on the streamer November 22, 2024. The film follows the adventures of Ellian, the young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria, who must go on a quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents into monsters.
First-Time Showrunner Natasha Kline On Creating Disney's Latest Series 'Primos'
InterviewsSeriesTV Natasha Kline has the perfect summer show for kids and families, and truth be told, it’s really an autobiographical taste of her own childhood growing up in Southern California. Primos, which debuted this week on Disney Channel, is Kline’s first original animated children’s series. It captures the whimsical and maddening fun of trying to co-exist inside a large extended family, under the same roof, all summer long.
'JJ' Music Video By Vernon Chatman And Lilfuchs Is A Dreamy And Serene Animated Journey
JJ is a dreamy and serene music video for the band Wand. JJ, a red, hairy, armless creature, gallops along a barren landscape and shits out a blue creature, who then pukes out a green creature, and on it goes until there’s thousands of colorful creatures trekking along the landscape. JJ, meanwhile, is alone, adrift from the community he created.
'The Time Masters' Receiving Restored 4K Release
Janus Films has restored French animation director René Laloux’s striking animated feature The Time Masters (Les maîtres du temps) and will give a theatrical run to the new 4K restoration. The film, in original French with subtitles, will open in New York on Friday, July 26, followed by a national rollout.
Ottawa Int'l Animation Festival 2024 Lineup Announced – Full List
Feature FilmFestivalsSeriesShortsStudent The Ottawa International Animation Festival, North America’s largest animation festival, has announced the line-up for its 2024 edition. Founded in 1976, it is the world’s third-oldest animation festival, after Annecy and Zagreb. The festival, known for its bold programming and filmmaker-friendly vibe chose a total of 124 projects across all categories, including shorts, features, and series.
Warner Bros. Discovery International Kids Team Gets Major Leadership Reshuffling
Warner Bros. Discovery’s international kids content team is getting a major organizational chart overhaul including a promotion for Pablo Zuccarino and the exit of APAC chief Christopher Ho. The changes were revealed in an internal memo from Vanessa Brookman, gm of kids, global streaming and international networks, that was reported by Kidscreen and Deadline.
The Mainstream Media Is Paying Attention To The Success Of Theatrical Animation In 2024
Feature FilmIdeas/Commentary We’re only a little more than halfway through 2024, but a clear trend is emerging. Not only are animated features performing better than ever before, but they are carrying the entire film industry on their backs. It’s a not unfamiliar position for the animation industry, which also propped up Hollywood through the covid pandemic when live-action production shut down and entertainment companies relied on the continuous production of animation to fill up their slates.
A Handcrafted Stop-Motion-Inspired Video Game
Harold Halibut is an unusual fellow. The lanky figure, with an aquiline nose, suspenders, and janitorial toolbelt is an unassuming hero on board the Fedora – a giant spaceship, controlled by an officious All Water Corp., submerged since crash-landing in an alien ocean 250 years ago. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Slow Bros.’ computer game Harold Halibut is, for its 12-18-hour running time, the world is populated by what appears to be a cast of animated puppets in miniature settings.
‘Minions’ Studio Chief Chris Meledandri To Produce ‘Shrek 5’
Universal has set a release date for Dreamworks Animation’s long-awaited Shrek 5: July 1, 2026. If the date holds, it would be just 12 days after Disney’s planned release of Pixar’s Toy Story 5. In today’s announcement, Dreamworks revealed that original Shrek voice actors Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz were all returning to the project. The new film is to be directed by Walt Dohrn, who also helmed Trolls World Tour and Trolls Band Together.
Paramount And Skydance Are Merging
Paramount Global is being acquired by Skydance Media. The complex deal, worth over $8 billion, will happen in a two-step transaction that involves Skydance first acquiring Paramount’s controlling company, Shari Redstone’s National Amusements, and then merging Skydance and Paramount. The deal will have huge ramifications for the animation industry, including a major new role for Skydance’s head of animation, John Lasseter.
Mercury Filmworks And Blue Spirit Are Partnering To Produce High-End Films And Series
Ottawa, Canada’s Mercury Filmworks (The Bob’s Burgers Movie, Hilda, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse) and France and Canada’s Blue Spirit Studios (Blue Eye Samurai, What If…?), are partnering to launch Seraphim, a new animation pipeline that combines their strengths to produce “high-end” animation that blends 2d and 3d techniques and “blurs the line” between concept art and production.
'Washing Machine,' A Sly Commentary On Relationships, Debuts Online
Washing Machine (Pračka), directed by Alexandra Májová, is a visually scrumptious and hilarious piece of domestic appliance erotica that finally arrives online for your viewing pleasure. A didgeridoo-playing bachelor is having problems with his laundry machine. The machine is lonely and feeling rather amorous. It craves his attention — his clothes, his everything — but he’s too busy with his own instrument to notice. When the machine begins to act erratically, the man calls in a handyman.
'Inside Out 2' Ties 'The Lion King' For Fastest Animated Film To Reach $1 Billion Box Office
Inside Out 2 has become the first film of 2024 to reach $1 billion at the global box office. The film achieved the feat in just 19 days, tying the cg remake of The Lion King for fastest animated film to reach the milestone. Just 12 animated films have ever reached the billion-dollar milestone. Nine of them are Disney or Pixar films, while the other three are Illumination titles.
Interview With 'The Wild Robot's Chris Sanders, Jakob Hjort Jensen, Heidi Jo Gilbert, And Raymond Zibach
At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Dreamworks Animation’s The Wild Robot was among the most anticipated sneak peeks, and audiences who attended the event were well rewarded with emotionally resonant footage from the film. Written and directed by the three-time Oscar-nominated Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon), Wild Robot also marks his first animation directorial effort in over a decade.
'Check' Is An Elegant Abstract Representation Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Check is a short film that represents the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) cycle of obsession, anxiety, compulsion, and (temporary) relief. Directed by London-based animator and director Anita Gill, Check uses an assortment of shapes, lines, and textures to capture the chaotic and repetitive nature of OCD. The film begins with a minimalist stove knob rotating. This leads to a pattern of repeating actions and the animation soon expands to include other household objects.
Disney-Themed Snow White Cafe In Hollywood Shutters After 78 Years
Snow White Cafe, a kitschy Disney-themed diner and dive bar located at 6769 Hollywood Boulevard, has abruptly shuttered. It had been in business for 78 years. Its interior, which was decorated with murals of characters from Disney’s first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, has been gutted. There is plenty of lore surrounding the Disney murals. Some say the artwork was drawn by Disney artists who worked on the original feature — and it may have been, though there’s no way to prove it.
Laika To Adapt Susanna Clarke's Novel 'Piranesi' Into An Animated Feature
Despite not having released a film in over five years, Portland area stop-motion studio Laika remains active behind the scenes. This week the Travis Knight-run operation added a new title to its upcoming slate. The company announced that it has acquired rights to Susanna Clarke’s fantasy novel Piranesi. The project aligns nicely with its other announced films, and seemingly points to a new era of mature and challenging work from the boutique studio.
How Framestore's VFX And Animation Supervisors Collaborated To Create The Tangible World Of 'IF'
In October 2019, the media announced two of Hollywood’s most amiable leading men, actor and filmmaker John Krasinski and superstar Ryan Reynolds, were joining forces to create an ambitious fantasy feature. Now, more than three years later, Paramount Pictures has released the film as IF – uppercase acronym for ‘Imaginary Friends’ – featuring more than 40 fanciful creatures animated at Framestore.
Animation+, A Free Channel Focused On Adult Comedy Content, Launches In U.S. And Canada
Animation+, a new streaming service and studio focused on adult comedy content for millennial and Gen Z audiences, has launched in the U.S. and Canada. Its first consumer offering is a free ad-supported tv channel, currently available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus.
'Memoir Of A Snail,' 'Percebes,' 'Flow' Lead List Of Winners At 2024 Annecy Festival
While Hollywood glitz and glamour has taken over France’s Annecy’s Int’l Animation Film Festival in recent years, the heart of the 64-year-old festival remains its film competition programs, which honor productions that are often far removed from commercial sensibilities. The winners of this year’s festival were revealed tonight in Annecy, France.
Studio Ponoc's 'The Imaginary' Gets First English Netflix Trailer
Netflix has unveiled its first trailer for the hotly anticipated The Imaginary, the first film to be released as part of the streamer’s exclusive streaming deal with Japanese producer Studio Ponoc. The film will debut on Netflix worldwide, bar Japan, on July 5. Described as “an unforgettable adventure of love, loss, and the healing power of imagination,” the film is adapted from the novel of the same name written by A.F. Harrold and illustrated by Emily Gravett.
New Versions Of 'Adventure Time,' 'Regular Show,' And 'Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends' Get Greenlights
Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe announced three new series greenlights during their Studio Focus presentation at Annecy. The studios also previewed a slate of projects currently in development. All three greenlights are based on existing IP: a preschool-targeted reboot of Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, an Adventure Time spin-off series, and a reboot of Regular Show.
'Big Hero 6' And 'Raya And The Last Dragon' Director Don Hall Moves To Skydance Animation
Skydance Animation has closed a deal with veteran Disney director Don Hall to join the company’s growing ranks of creative talent. Hall will create, develop, and produce an original animated feature for the studio. No further details about the project are being offered at this time. At Disney, Hall directed four features – Winnie the Pooh, Big Hero 6, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Strange World.
10 Shorts You Won't Want To Miss At Annecy 2024
It’s that time of the year again when the animation world descends upon the picturesque French Alps for the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The soul or heart of the festival is the competition for short animation films. This year there are 67 films competing across the various short competition categories. In the main shorts competition, there is a record low of 31 competition films, which reflects the disturbing trend towards longer short films.
Adult Swim To Premiere 'Common Side Effects,' New Show From 'Scavengers Reign' Co-Creator
EventsSeries Adult Swim’s expanded presence at Annecy this year is a sign of the brand’s growing success, as well as the growing demand for adult animated offerings in the United States. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Adult Swim posted greater growth in primetime among adults 18-49 than any other major cable network. It also finished out last year as a top five cable network among adults 18-34 and 18-49 — and as a top 10 cable network among adults 25-54.
Pixar Layoffs, AI In Animation Studios, and 'Course Correction' Needed At Disney?
Cartoon Brew Livestream As many are certainly aware by now, we’re doing a weekly livestream every Friday morning. On this week’s livestream, we tackled a number of major recent stories, including the mass layoffs at Pixar, new AI standards in animation production, and John Musker’s comments about the need for a “course correction” at Walt Disney Animation Studios. You can watch the entire discussion below with Cartoon Brew’s publisher Amid Amidi and Animator’s Breakfast host Cole Delaney:
Pixar Undertakes Biggest Layoffs In History, Hundreds To Be Let Go
Artist RightsBusinessStudios The biggest layoffs in the history of Pixar Animation Studios have begun. The studio will lay off around 14% of its 1,300-person workforce. The Hollywood Reporter and Reuters news service both put the approximate number of layoffs at 175 people. THR additionally reported that “top leadership isn’t impacted” by this restructuring.
Annecy Festival Responds To Criticism Of Selecting Film Made In Part With AI Technology
Feature FilmTech This year’s Annecy animation festival is getting some heat for accepting a Japanese feature into its competition that uses generative AI software as part of its production process. The festival has released a statement defending the inclusion of the film in its programming. The 68-minute film, Who Said Death is Beautiful?, directed by Ryo Nakajima, will debut in the festival’s Midnight Specials selection.
The Cartoon Brew Livestream
Cartoon Brew’s new livestream show airs every Friday morning on our Youtube channel. Feel free to participate in the live chat on Youtube, where you can discuss and ask questions: VIDEO Relevant links to items discussed on the show will be posted here after the show. The chat history on the Youtube link is archived, however, it takes a couple days for it to appear, so please be patient.
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