“Annedroids” creator J.J. Johnson talks to Cartoon Brew about science-based kids programming, the challenges of making live-action/animation hybrids, and why not understanding the animation process can work to a producer’s benefit.
Netflix’s slate of original animated programming continues to grow with the recent announcements of three new series: “The Knights of Sidonia,” “Ever After High” and “Dinotrux.”
Just when you thought Netflix was gobbling up all of the high quality kids programming, Amazon Prime Instant Video announces a licensing agreement with Aardman Animations for online streaming in the United States.
To toast the release of “How to Train Your Dragon 2” at a private studio party, DreamWorks commissioned boutique cake maker Fernanda Abarca, who is also an artist at the company, to create this four-foot tall, seventy-pound statute of Toothless the Dragon.
Television execs seems to be stuck in a neverending nostalgia loop. In just the past week, reboots or spinoffs have been announced for “The Lion King,” “The Magic School Bus,” “The Powerpuff Girls”…and now, “Danger Mouse.” The iconic U.K. cartoon series, which was produced by British studio Cosgrove Hall from 1981 to 1992, is returning to the small screen next year with 52 eleven-minute episodes.
In a sign of changing times, animated programming produced for both Netflix and YouTube has begun to earn a significant number of Emmy Award nominations, competing alongside traditional broadcast and cable series.
Last night Adult Swim premiered its first exclusively online animated series “King Star King.” A punk psychedelic space adventure about a He-Man-esque sci-fi figure who works in a waffle restaurant, the show was created by J.J. Villard, a former DreamWorks story artist (“Shrek the Third,” “Monsters Vs. Aliens”) who’s also known for his CalArts student films “Son of Satan” and “Chestnuts Icelolly.”
Just in case you were worried that Netflix’s slate of upcoming animated programming was looking a little too Dreamworks heavy, the streaming site has announced plans to launch an updated version of the Scholastic Media educational series “The Magic School Bus.”
“It’s kind of like “The Lion King” meets “The Avengers,” says Nancy Kanter, general manager of Disney Junior, when describing their upcoming preschool series “The Lion Guard.”
Joanna Davidovich is a freelance animator based in Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, she has been working as an animator, designer, and storyboard artist on commercials, on-air content, and TV shows since 2005. Her animated short film “Monkey Rag”, which debuts online this afternoon, has been making the festival rounds since it was completed last July.
While Fox’s Sunday night lineup was dubbed Animation Domination in May 2005, it did not officially become all-animated until 2010. Now, the announcement of their fall 2014 schedule reveals that the cartoons will be ceding some of their Sunday night territory to live-action comedies “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Mulaney,” which will be taking over the 8:30 and 9:30 time slots, respectively.
Hell hath no fury like a fanboy spurned, but that usually doesn’t occur until after the film in question has been released to theaters. Tired of having their expectations dashed by disappointing news of the long anticipated live-action “Akira” adaptation, fans completed their own live version of a trailer for the popular manga-turned-anime, one that attempts to “do ‘Akira’ justice” by following the source material as closely as possible.
Ralph Bakshi pulled himself away from his drawing desk in New Mexico to chat with Cartoon Brew about his legacy, his latest project “The Last Days of Coney Island,” which he recently funded on Kickstarter, and what he really thinks about the computer’s role in animation these days.
Van Partible, the creator of Cartoon Network’s Nineties series “Johnny Bravo,” is making the rounds with a new third-person video game concept called Dancers of War. In the game, Marine Sgt. Jack Dancer is out to save the world from a maniacal pop star by strapping on an exoskeleton/leotard called “The Exo-Tard 3000.”
Next Friday, April 18th, Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Short Peace” will make its U.S. theatrical debut.
Animator and director Stephan Franck (“Iron Giant,” “Despicable Me”), who was recently nominated at the Annie Awards for his work on “The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow,” premiered a collected paperback version of his adventure comic Silver at the Emerald City Comic Convention last month.
When you think of countries that are known for their animation, Brazil is probably not among the first that comes to mind. However, the country has nearly a century-long history of producing animation, and while historically most of the animation they have made hasn’t been seen outside of its borders, there have been notable contributions to the art form throughout the country’s history. With the animation industry growing quickly in Brazil—they are ranked seventh for countries that visit Cartoon Brew most often—it is a great time to explore the country’s animation legacy.
After three years of tryouts and short runs in a total of four different cities, Disney Theatrical’s version of “Aladdin” finally opened on Broadway March 20th at the New Amsterdam Theatre. So now that it’s here, how does it compare to the animated “Aladdin” we all know and love? After seeing the musical a few days ago, here are my observations.
Next month, IDW, the publishing company that partnered with Cartoon Network last year for the comic book revivals of “The Powerpuff Girls” and “Samurai Jack,” will be adding “Dexter’s Laboratory” to their library of monthly titles.
It was recently announced that, after a nearly four-year hiatus, the Adult Swim animated series “The Boondocks” would be returning on April 21st for its fourth and final season. However, any excitement that fans of the show experienced when hearing the news was cut short when they learned that the show’s creator, Aaron McGruder, would not be involved.
