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The Greek Gods may be ancient, but they still got it — FOX reported today that the Sunday night (Sept. 24) premiere of its all-new primetime toon Krapopolis broke several records, as fans flocked to worship at Emmy-winning creator Dan Harmon’s newest animated altar. The broadcast debut delivered a 1.2 Live + Same Day rating among Adults Adults 18-49 and 3.6 million Total Viewers, setting it up with the Olympian level statuses of…
Television’s most-watched animation series to debut over the past decade.
Dan Harmon’s most-watched animated series telecast ever.
The #1 entertainment telecast since the post-Super Bowl Next Level Chef premiere (2/12/23, excluding award ceremonies).
The #1 original comedy telecast of 2023 (beating the debut of the Night Court re-boot, 1/17/23).
The #1 entertainment program among Adults 18-49 for the week of September 18, marking the first time in nearly 25 years an animation series debut was the week’s highest-rated entertainment program (since Family Guy’s series debut,1/31/99; excluding summer premieres).
Set in mythical ancient Greece, Krapopolis tells the story of a dysfunctional family of humans, gods and monsters trying to run one of the world’s first cities, while also trying their best to not kill each other in the process.
The series features the voices of Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) as Tyrannis, the narcissistic King of Krapopolis; Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) as Tyrannis’ mother, the powerful goddess Delira; Matt Berry (What We Do in The Shadows) as his father, Shlub, a mantitaur (half centaur [horse + human], half manticore [lion + human + scorpion]) who is “the life of the orgy”; Pam Murphy (Mapleworth Murders) as his cyclops sister, Stupendous; and Duncan Trussell (The Midnight Gospel) as half-brother Hippocampus, the wet mess son of Shlub and a mermaid.
Season 1 guest stars include Ben Stiller, Susan Sarandon, Joel McHale, Dave Franco, Yvette Nicole Brown, Will Forte, Jane Lynch, Daveed Diggs, Steve Buscemi and Stephanie Beatriz.
Krapopolis is owned by FOX Entertainment and produced by FOX’s Bento Box Entertainment. Dan Harmon (Rick and Morty, Community) is creator and executive producer. Steve Levy is executive producer. Jordan Young is executive producer and showrunner (Season 1). Alex Rubens is executive producer and showrunner (Seasons 2 & 3).
Moonbug Entertainment, a subsidiary of Candle Media, today announced the launch of its Netflix preschool series Little Baby Bum Music Timeand its corresponding soundtrack, which will be available on all music streaming platforms. The Music Time series and soundtrack, which are the latest in a string of the franchise’s expansions including the recent launch of Baby Sensory content on YouTube (2 million subscribers), the Audible podcast Time to Dream, and a Lullabies music collection, are also supported by a fully re-imagined look and a new curriculum developed in partnership with educational non-profit organization Peeple.
Little Baby Bum, Moonbug Entertainment’s first-ever franchise acquisition, has more than 95 million worldwide subscribers on YouTube and has generated more than two billion views across its content so far this year.
“Ten years ago, Little Baby Bum broke the mold in kids’ entertainment and paved the way not only for Moonbug, but countless other brands as well,” said Sylvia Scodro, General Manager for Little Baby Bum at Moonbug. “Throughout this time, the brand cultivated a loyal and passionate parent/child following by providing invaluable support during routine moments of the early stages of childhood. Little Baby Bum is not about music, it is music, and with the Little Baby Bum Music Time series and soundtrack, we are bringing a renewed evolution of the franchise to children and parents everywhere.”
About the show: With a simple narrative format, infectious songs and rich, endearing, character-based stories, Little Baby Bum Music Time combines the most beloved elements of the Little Baby Bum brand with an innovative curriculum to launch a novel and naturally playful, magical music show where children get to experience the joy that is music, while learning to identify and express their emotions. The show uses a music class as a catalyst for kids at home to revel in a sense of accomplishment, as they connect with and learn about their feelings and emotions through instruments.
London actress Hannah Jane Fox, best known for creating the role of “Scaramouche” in Queen’s musical We Will Rock You, voices Music Time’s teacher Timberly Wimberly. Emmy Award winner Ann Austen (Mighty Morphin’ Powers Rangers, Barbie) serves as head writer. Feminist performing artists Leticia Wolf and J Vanyo are responsible for the original music in the series.
As part of the reimagined curriculum, Little Baby Bum’s Baby Sensory effort offers calming, sensorial content created to help parents wind-down with their little ones through its. These episodes feature soothing lullabies paired with low-stimulation visuals to provide an additional resource to parents during one of the most challenging times of their child’s day, the transition from play to rest.
The content is offered through Little Baby Bum YouTube channels, Little Baby Bum Lullabies and Calming Bedtime Songs, and has rapidly increased in popularity since launching earlier this year.
The family podcast Little Baby Bum: Time to Dream is available on Audible and has a focus on sleep and mindfulness. This series is a calming collection of gentle ‘audio guided journeys’ into the nursery rhyme-inspired land of dream time, with episodes featuring a short story followed by a relaxing soundscape. Each 20-25-minute episode has been created for listeners as young as age one and up. It was created with the support of sleep consultants at Sleep Joy to encourage little ones to drift off into peaceful sleep with soothing narration and lulling ambient sounds.
Little Baby Bum Lullabies is a calming collection of gentle songs that soothe little ones into a peaceful sleep. The music collection contains classic and original lullabies and has released eight albums in 2023 including Peaceful Piano Lullabies, Dreamy Piano for Babies and Night Time Lullabies. The next release, Morning Songs for Babies, will be available on September 29, and following that will be Baby’s Lullaby Christmason October 20. The music is available on all music streaming platforms and can also be heard on SiriusXM on Moonbug Radio, channel 307.
Last year, the Little Baby Bum brand completed a creative refresh including animation enhancements, a creative evolution of the characters and new music. At the same time, the brand partnered with educational consultancy Peeple on the curriculum that now supports the franchise. Since then, the brand has seen 30% month-over-month growth across new content on YouTube.
Dr. Sally Smith, CEO of Peeple, said, “We have worked closely with Moonbug throughout the development and evolution of the Little Baby Bum brand, to maintain the strong early learning benefits, and are excited to see the value the show can bring to parents and children around the world.”
Anne de Galard and Eric Garnet’s animation production company GO-N Productions is joining Federation Studios, headed by Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan. Established in 2004, GO-N is internationally recognized for hit animated series such as Simon Super Rabbit, Lou!, Zip Zip and Tootuff, all produced in-house at
the company’s Paris-based studio.
The news follows the most recent edition of Cartoon Forum in Toulouse, where de Galard and Garnet accepted the Cartoons Tributes award for Producers of the Year bestowed on GO-N at the ceremony on September 21.
By joining the group, GO-N Productions becomes part of a federation of 35 production companies in France and globally, each of them spearheaded by independent producers with their own unique editorial direction. These Federation producers all share a common collaborative, creative and international approach to their businesses, while benefitting from Federation’s global reach and reputation thanks to its in-house sales and distribution operation.
With the addition of GO-N’s content (11 animated series totalling 250 half-hours), the Federation Kids & Family division’s catalog now boasts over 730 half-hours of kids’ animation and live-action programming. GO-N’s premium toons join successful series from Cottonwood Media (a subsidiary of Federation Studios, established in 2013 by David Michel, Zoé Carrera Allaix and Cécile Laurenson) as well as numerous third-party acquisitions.
Anne de Galard
Eric Garnet
“GO-N has been creating premium animation for almost 20 years now, and this next stage in our company’s evolution will take things to a whole new level,” comment Garnet and de Galard. “Our main focus has been on content and talent, extending out programs to young audiences worldwide, whilst also highlighting French expertise. In joining the Federation group of companies, we are aligning ourselves with other producers who share the same values and aspirations. This move will bolster our international development, and allow us to produce increasingly ambitious and original content, both in terms of target demographics, formats and animation techniques. We move into this next phase with our entire team, including Emmanuel de Franceschi, Executive Producer and Amélie Oliveau, Digital and Marketing Manager. We very much look forward to working closely with Federation.”
Pascal Breton, CEO, Federation Studios, said, “With the arrival of Anne and Eric, two of Europe’s most talented producers, along with their well-known kids’ brands, Federation is on track to accelerate its investments and attract top talent, IPs and build a true federation of European animation producers, as w’ve already achieved in the field of drama.”
GO-N Productions’s roster of quality animated series projects includes both original productions (Zip Zip, Commandant Clark, Jasmin’s World) and IP adaptations (The Large Family, Tootuff, Simon Super Rabbit, Tib & Tatum) — developing producing or co-producing in collaboration with partners and companies worldwide to deliver hits across multiple platforms. In 2016, Go-N launched a digital strategy, and its YouTube channels now boast over 7 million subscribers worldwide. GO-N’s fully independent Paris animation studio houses 90 workstations and a team of highly skilled artists and technicians.
In just a few weeks, fans of Adult Swim’s cult-hit dimension-hopping duo Rick and Morty will get their next dose of wildly irresponsible sci-fi stuff, when Season 7 premieres October 15 ta 11 p.m. ET/PT. The official trailer dropped today — set to hard rock classic “Ace of Spades” by Motörhead — takes us to strange dystopias, charges up the holograms and hints at Jerry’s “rake problem.”
Rick and Morty is an adult animated series that follows a sociopathic genius scientist who drags his inherently timid grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe.
In Season 7, Rick and Morty are back and sounding more like themselves than ever! It’s season seven, and the possibilities are endless: what’s up with Jerry? EVIL Summer?! And will they ever go back to the high school?! Maybe not! But let’s find out! There’s probably less piss than last season. “Rick and Morty,” 100 years! Or at least until season 10!
The seventh season of this global pop culture phenomenon will debut in over 134 countries in 38 languages. In the U.S., new episodes will be available for purchase from digital retailers the day after they premiere on Adult Swim. The new season will also be available to stream in 2024.
Poland will submit the animated feature drama The Peasants for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. The movie, which is directed by DK Welchman (previously known as Dorota Kobiela) and Hugh Welchman, is based on Wladyslaw Reymont’s classic 1905 novel about a brave young woman who tries to forge her own path within the confines of a late 19th century Polish village. The married couple’s previous collaboration was the Oscar-nominated 2017 animated feature Loving Vincent.
The Peasants was one of three popular Polish films vying to represent the country at the Oscar race. Agnieszka Holland’s migrant drama Green Border and Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englerts’ transgender drama Woman Of were also strong contenders.
According to producer Ewa Puszczyńska, who headed up the committee, the deliberations were quite heated and the decision was made on the basis of four votes in favor and two against. She told Deadline the votes had come down on the side of The Peasants for the way the co-directors had further pushed the boundaries of animation.
“In the committee’s opinion The Peasants shows the new dynamic in the world of animation, where the camera is not only an observer, but an active participant,” said a statement from the PFI.“The film deals with important and contemporary subjects that are important socially: oppression against women, their dependence or even “belonging” to men, sexual violence and mobbing. It’s a story that will be understood around the world, across borders and political divide”.
The Welchmans first filmed the movie as a live-action project, and then collaborated with a team of international animators and painters, who worked by hand to paint over film frames and animate the story.
The movie, which is produced by BreakThru Productions, will also compete in the Best Animated Feature Oscar race. Anonymous Content Teams and New Europe Film Sales will handle N. American rights. The Peasants premiered as a Special Presentation at Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month. As they had done with Loving Vincent, the co-directors first filmed the movie as a live-action project, and then collaborated with a team of international animators and painters, who worked by hand to paint over film frames and animate the story in an arduous two-year-long process. No U.S. release date has been announced to date.
Hungary has also submitted an animated feature (Aron Gauder’s Four Souls of Coyote) as the country’s official entry in the Oscar race this year. In 2022, Denmark submitted Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee as its official entry in the Intl. category.
Ryo Orikasa’s Miserable Miracle was the winner of the Grand Prize for Short Animation and director Joel Vaudreuil’s Adam change lentement (When Adam Changes) received the Grand Prize for Feature Animation at the 2023 Ottawa Intl. Animation Festival on Saturday. Canadian animated short, Albums de familles (Families’ Albums) (dir. Moïa Jobin-Paré), received the award for Best Non-Narrative Short.
This year’s DGC Award for Best Canadian Animation winner was Un trou dans la poitrine (A Crab in the Pool) (dirs. Alexandra Myotte and Jean-Sébastien Hamel), while the OIAF’s latest award created in memory of the late Hélène Tanguay, the Hélène Tanguay Award for Humour, was awarded to Pipes (dirs. Kilian Feusi, Jessica Meier, and Sujanth Ravichandran).
Coming off its recent win at the Toronto International Film Festival, Electra (dir. Daria Kashcheeva), a film that blends live-action and stop-motion animation, was awarded the Wacom Public Prize. Best Narrative Short, Zima (dir. Tomek Popakul and Kasumi Ozeki), painted a portrait of a world turned inhospitable leaving audiences to question their perception of self.
The 2023 OIAF jurors were Jessica Borutski (Canada), Xi Chen(China), Joel Frenzer (United States), Alla Gadassik (Canada), Parissa Mohit (Canada), and Matthew Rankin (Canada). Borutski, Frenzer, and Rankin formed the Festival’s Features Jury, while the Shorts Jury was comprised of Chen, Gadassik, and Mohit.
Grand Prize for Short Animation:Miserable Miracle (dir. Ryo Orikasa)
Jury Comment: This film embraces animation as an intoxicating cocktail of image, word, and movement. It activates the spectator’s hallucinatory and synaesthetic sensibilities. For exploring the boundaries of animation and affirming it as a timeless and poetic art form, the jury awards the grand prize to Ryo Orikasa’s Miserable Miracle.
Grand Prize for Animated Feature: Adam change lentement (When Adam Changes) (dir. Joël Vaudreuil)
Jury Comment: This film about an impressionable teenager left an impression on us. For the filmmaker’s skillful walk of the delicate line between irony and sincerity; for his mastery of the absurd; for the detail and precision of his artistic approach; and for authentic heartfelt humor, this year’s Grand Prize winner for Best Animated Feature is Adam change lentement (When Adam Changes) by Joël Vaudreuil.
Wacom Public Prize Electra (dir. Daria Kashcheeva)
DGC Award for Best Canadian Animation Un trou dans la poitrine (A Crab in the Pool) (dirs. Alexandra Myotte and Jean-Sébastien Hamel)
Honorable Mention: La fille au béret rouge (The Girl with the Red Beret) (dir. Janet Perlman)
Honorable Mention: A Bear Named Jesus (dir. Terril Calder)
Hélène Tanguay Award for Humor:Pipes (dirs. Kilian Feusi, Jessica Meier, and Sujanth Ravichandran)
Animated Short Competition – Category Prizes
Best Non-NarrativeAlbums de familles (Families’ Albums) (dir. Moïa Jobin-Paré)
Best Narrative: Zima (dir. Kasumi Ozeki and Tomek Popakul)
Best Commissioned:14th Anibar Animation Festival Trailer ‘Love’ (dir. Sander Joon)
Bento Box Award for Best Student Animation: Cyclepaths (dir. Anton Cla)
NBCUniversal Award for Best Canadian Student: Between You and Me (dir. Cameron Kletke, Emily Carr University of Art + Design)
Animation for Teen Audiences 13+ Competition: Daffy in Wackyland (dir. Max Winston)
Animation for Young Audiences 7+ Competition: The Goose (dir. Jan Mika)
Animated Series Competition:Haha, You Clowns ‘Episode 1: Movie Night’ (dir. Joe Cappa)
Virtual Reality Competition: My Inner Ear Quartet (dir. Koji Yamamura)
Animated Short Competition – Craft Awards:
Best Script: Box Cutters (dir. Naomi van Niekerk)
Best Design:Furrie (dir. Lucie Grannec)
XPPen Award for Best Animation Technique: The Miracle (dir. Nienke Deutz)
Best Sound Design: Eeva (dirs. Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak)
For the complete list of winners and comments from the jury, visit animationfestival.ca.
Currently celebrating its 70th Anniversary, Nippon TV (Japan) announced the company will head to this year’s MIPCOM with a new anime title, The Apothecary Diaries(30 min. eps.), based on a well-known period mystery series that has sold over 24 million copies to date.
Synopsis: Located at the center of the continent is a superpower nation, where one young woman lives with the emperor’s wives in the inner palace. Formerly a pharmacist, obsessed with poisons and medicines who was working at the red-light district, has become a lowly servant. She learns that the emperor’s children are short-lived, and two are getting weaker by the day from illnesses. Out of curiosity, she investigates why. Not one to believe in curses, she is surprised by her findings. There is no shortage of rumors and conspiracies. Follow this extraordinary poison aficionado as she bustles around the inner palace to solve the unanswered mysteries.
Set to debut in October, the series is produced by Toho Animation Studio x OLM. Nippon TV is offering worldwide distribution rights for The Apothecary Diaries, excluding Asia. More info at ntv.co.jp/english.
Princess Sam Entertainment Group and international distribution company Superights are bringing the CG children’s adventure-comedy-fantasy hit Tara Duncan to MIPJunior/MIPCOM. The Superights booth (R7.K28) is the place to find out more about the animated 52 x 13’ series, based on the multi-million-selling publishing property by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian.
Synopsis:Tara Duncan is the exciting story of an ordinary girl from Earth with extraordinary powers who discovers she is heir to the throne of the Meme empire. She soon finds herself on OtherWorld, a magical planet where she makes new friends and tries to thwart the ambitions of the evil Magister who wants to steal her magic and conquer her new home.
The first season launched in 2022 and has sold into more than 80 countries. A second season, with 52 new episodes, is currently in production, with plans to produce two 26-minute specials. Superights will represent worldwide rights distribution, except in Mainland China.
A digital ecosystem is also being developed to expand Tara’s universe and to delight her fans — known as ‘Taraddicts’. A licensing campaign is also under way, overseen by 30-year industry veteran Laurent Tajeb, Head of Licensing for the Princess Sam Consumer Products division. A number of regional agents have already been appointed.
European toon producer-distributor Mondo TV has announced the countdown to some new show launches, the continuing growth of some international hits and a few brand-new titles among an impressive portfolio at this year’s MIPJunior and MIPCOM in Cannes. Highlights of the Mondo TV stand (at a new location, P-1.E73) will include a brand-new series in the production slate, Lola on Board (summer 2024), MeteoHeroes, Agent 203, Monster Loving Maniacs, One Love, The Wee Littles and Grisù.
Lola On Board is a new 26 x 7′, 3D CGI animated adventure, comedy, edutainment show for three- to six-year olds now in co-production with Tile, Digitalcomedia and Toonz Station. It’s about a little girl who spends part of her summer holiday on a cruise ship with her grandmother Agata. The ship’s crew — a friendly but slightly eccentric bunch — all love the resourceful, cheeky Lola, but she also has three very special animal friends she can talk to! While on the Eloise Lola has fun adventures, discovers the world, and learns about the natural world and its creatures. The series is set to complete production in summer 2024.
One Loveis a 26 x 7’, 2D animated series co-produced by Mondo TV S.p.A and T-Rex Digimation Srl. The show takes place on One Love, the planet with a beating heart, where best friends Amo and Ama live adventures full of positivity and vitality and spread a message of sharing love. Emotions and sustainability are central to each episode — and especially colors. When the Baby-Hugs touch each other, they exchange skin colors. The series is set to launch on Rai Yoyo in the autumn of 2023. Mondo TV S.p.A manages the animation and the international distribution of the series for all territories except Italy and the Indian subcontinent.
MeteoHeroes is now in its fourth successful year, with a presence in over 180 countries and 22 languages; the second season premiered on Cartoonito and Canal plus in summer 2023 just after delivery of the last episodes.
Created in partnership with hitmaker Kenn Viselman (Teletubbies, Thomas the Tank Engine), it is the only animated series dedicated entirely to climate and environmental sustainability. The show won the Silver Telly Award in New York, was honored as Best Animated Kids’ Program at the Atlanta Children’s Film Festival, and, at the 2023 Quirino Awards, won a green badge for sustainable production from the Tenerife Film Commission. With Cartoonito, in 2022 it also received a Moige (Movimento Italiano Genitori) Award, a highly coveted award given to family-friendly programs on Italian TV.
Monster Loving Maniacs (52 x 11’, 2D comedy, kids6-10) has been commissioned by Super RTL in Germany (where it is premiering in early October) and DR (Denmark) and pre-sold to Scandinavian public broadcasters NRK and SVT. It’s also showing on CBBC in the U.K. and (in Spanish) on Canela Kids in the U.S. and Latin America. The series, which is part financed by the EU Media Fund, has been sold into almost 90 countries.
The show is about three siblings trained as monster hunters by their tough old grandfather. There’s just one problem: these kids are massive horror fans. Why would they want to hunt their monster idols? They love dangerous paranormal creatures. So they find a way to save the monsters. Monster Loving Maniacs is produced by Ja Film and co-produced by Mondo TV, Belvision and Ginger Pictures. The series is distributed internationally by Toon2Tango and Mondo TV.
Grisù (52 x 12′, ages 4-7) is a new CG-animated series based on the classic property, co-produced by Mondo TV Group, Toon2Tango and ZDF Studios and created by its original authors, Nino and Toni Pagot. The series follows the adventures of Grisù, a brave, positive, determined young dragon — just like the firefighter he wants to be when he grows up. There’s just one problem: he is supposed to be a fire-breathing dragon when he grows up!
The reboot will make its small screen debut in Italy around Christmas 2023. ZDF Studios is responsible for worldwide distribution (excluding Italy, France, Spain and China, which are handled by Mondo TV). Already confirmed are broadcasting agreements with ZDF in Germany and Rai YoYo in Italy. Merchandising plans, also well under way, include publishing and toys.
Agent 203
Toon2Tango GmbH & Co. KG likewise announced its plans for MIPCOM next month, rounding off a busy year for the kids’ and family entertainment venture, with big sales for its leading titles and some promising new projects already in production. The company can be found at the Creative Europe MEDIA umbrella stand in P4, where Toon2Tango will showcase the above-mentioned Monster Loving Maniacs, Agent 203 and The Wee Littles as well as the upcoming Littlest Robot and Pocats.
Agent 203 is a 26 x 22’, CGI adventure-comedy and the world’s first Spy-Fi show, primarily targeted at girls aged 6-10, which has sold to over 100 countries. The series was commissioned by Super RTL, on which it will launch in November, and is a co-production between Toon2Tango, Mondo TV and Cosmos Maya Animation. The show is distributed by Toon2Tango and Mondo TV.
Imagine Zoe Stranek’s surprise when she finds out her dad used to be a secret agent protecting our planet against alien invasions. Together with her new alien bestie Ulav and her best friends Quigley and Rock, she follows in his footsteps, protecting our planet from General Gore, the ultimate badass alien, and hoping to find out what happened to her father.
The Wee Littles is a new 46 x 5’ series for preschoolers (3-6), commissioned by Ireland’s public broadcaster RTE and produced by MagPie 6 Media. The show features a unique style: simulated stop-motion animation using puppets made by leading puppet-making studio Mackinnon & Sunders.
The Wee Littles is about a family of four very small creatures — Mum, Dad, Bitsy and Itsy — living in a great big forest world and working together figuring out how to overcome life’s little obstacles — like raindrops the size of your head! — with imagination, positive support and humor. After a strong response from broadcasters, Toon2Tango and Mondo TV are jointly distributing the show internationally.
Littlest Robot (52 x 11’) is a new series written by Mark Taylor, produced by Toon2Tango and co-produced by North Macedonia’s V House Animation. In the runup to the show’s appearance at MIPCOM, Toon2Tango will present the 3D animated series for kids 4-8 at Cartoon Forum in September.
Littlest Robot tells the story of a newly invented and very small young robot exploring the world, with plenty of adventure and a lot of heart. It is a world filled with glorious new discoveries, based on a social-emotional backbone reconfirming the notion that the more we take the time to understand ourselves and others the better we are all for it and the greater our bonds of friendship become.
Pocats (13 x 7’ episodes already produced, with another 39 x 7’ in development) is based on the popular children’s book series from Hungary by Judit Berg. This animated series is fully self-developed by Ionart Studio in Budapest.
The ‘pocats’ are tiny cats. Adults can only see them as toys, but children know they can do magic. The three main characters in the show are Ciro, Pepe and Lori. They’re a bit naughty and can’t stop doing slightly crazy things, with some unfortunate consequences. But any problems are usually solved by magic trickery — and some help from the kids. However, things are still great for the three buddies until, that is, a mysterious new pocat appears on the scene…
Home audiences will get their first chance to watch the cameo-packed Disney Animation centennial short film Once Upon a Studio next month, when the comically chaotic, nostalgia-filled romp makes its broadcast debut on ABC. The short will premiere October 15 as part of a special Disney100 programming event on the network. An official trailer for the film dropped with the announcement.
From ABC:
ABC is celebrating 100 years of Disney this fall with an evening of magical programming hosted by Kelly Ripa. ABC will begin the evening with an episode of AFV, followed by a lineup that will include exclusive moments featuring Ripa and sneak peeks at upcoming Disney projects. Featuring the broadcast world premieres of Walt Disney Animation’s new animated short film Once Upon a Studio and the beloved film Encanto, The Wonderful World of Disney: Disney’s 100th Anniversary Celebration airs Sunday, October 15 (8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. EDT/PDT).
An all-star ensemble of beloved characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios come together in Once Upon a Studio for a joyful, entertaining and emotional reunion as they assemble for a spectacular group photo to mark Disney’s 100th anniversary. Featuring 543 Disney characters from more than 85 feature-length and short films, Once Upon a Studio welcomes heroes and villains, princes and princesses, sidekicks and sorcerers — in all-new hand-drawn and CG animation — to celebrate 10 decades of storytelling, artistry and technological achievements.
The short is directed by Once Upon a Snowman co-helmers Dan Abraham (Baymax!) and Trent Correy (Zootopia+) and produced by Yvett Merino and Bradford Simonsen.
Bringing their iconic characters to life are original voice stars including Princess corps Idina Menzel (Else, Frozen), Jodi Benson (Ariel, The Little Mermaid), Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana, The Princess and the Frog) and Paige O’Hara (Belle, Beauty and the Beast); Frozen‘s Jonathan Groff (Kristoff), Josh Gad (Olaf) and Santino Fontana (Hans); The Lion King‘s Nathan Lane (Timon); and current voices of classic characters Mickey (Bret Iwan), Minnie (Kaitlyn Robrock) and Goofy (Bill Farmer).
The short also makes use of archived recordings of Verna Felton and Barbara Luddy (Flora and Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty), Bobby Driscoll (Peter Pan) and Sterling Holloway (Winnie the Pooh). In addition to the animated stars, Once Upon a Studio features interview footage with Disney Legend animator Burny Mattinson, who passed away earlier this year just months before what would have been his 70th anniversary of working with the studio — a Disney record.
Once Upon a Studio premiered at the Annecy Festival in June, and is scheduled to screen in a Disney studio spotlight at Animation Is Film in Los Angeles (Oct. 18-22).
The Kaji family’s Sunlight Entertainment and pocket.watch are launching their first feature film collab, Ryan’s World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure. The live-action and animated film is an independent production targeting a theatrical and streaming release for Fall/Holiday 2024. This will mark the first feature-length project from the popular kids’ brand Ryan’s World.
Synopsis: Ryan takes to the big screen for his most epic adventure yet! When his twin sisters, Emma and Kate, get sucked into a mystical comic book, Ryan has no choice but to rise up as the great big brother he is and jump in after them. Adventures, battles, and hilarious debacles ensue, as Ryan and his friends navigate the Titan Universe and bring everyone back home safely before his parents catch on.
“We’re excited to continue our successful partnership with pocket.watch and extend the beloved Ryan’s World franchise with our first feature film,” said Shion Kaji, Ryan’s father and CEO of Sunlight Entertainment. “This further opens the door for opportunities to connect with audiences in a whole new way on the big screen.”
The film features the Kaji family, playing themselves: Ryan Kaji, Shion Kaji, Loann Kaji, Emma Kaji and Kate Kaji. The film also stars other popular kids’ and family pocket.watch creators, including:
20-year-old British magician-superstar Dan Rhodes, playing himself. Rhodes has 35.8M followers across TikTok and YouTube, he has garnered 17.5B views on YouTube alone and has become the most viewed magician channel of all time.
YouTube star and comedian Evangeline Lomelino of GEM Sisters as Aiden. GEM Sisters has 1.3M subscribers on YouTube and 700M+ lifetime views across GEM channels.
Top-performing kid-favorite Stella Wallace of The Stella Show as the voice of Rylexa. The Stella Show has 1.8M subscribers on YouTube and 1B+ lifetime views.
“Ryan Kaji’s talent and the broad family appeal of Ryan’s World are a dynamic combination in this fast-paced anime action, superhero adventure,” said Albie Hecht, Chief Content Officer at pocket.watch. “Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of working with many super talented young stars and Ryan’s authenticity, intelligence and ability to instantly connect with audiences offer unlimited possibilities and create a strong foundation for his ever-growing success.”
Ryan’s World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure is produced by Sunlight Entertainment’s Shion Kaji and Loann Kaji, along with pocket.watch’s Albie Hecht, who also serves as director. The film is executive produced by pocket.watch’s Chris M. Williams. Diondra Meravi serves as supervising producer. Chase Landau and Rose Frankel from pocket.watch are co-producers. Screenplay by Rose Frankel, with story by Shion Kaji and Rose Frankel. The animation was produced by Shin-Ei Animation (Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan).
While Ryan’s World content is available on over 40 platforms in 80 countries, the Ryan and Friends channel is one of the most distributed kids and family FAST channels in the U.S., and Ryan and Friends Plus is the largest independent kids and family SVOD. Ryan’s World is the top YouTuber for kids ages 3-9, with 56M subscribers and over 76B lifetime views across his channels.
Pocket.watch’s full roster includes 47 creators who have garnered 806M subscribers and over 544B views on YouTube alone.
Paramount Animation and Temple Hill are joining forces to bring the heroic world of husband-and-wife animation alums Yarrow and Carrie Cheney’s book, Superworld: Save Noah. The illustrated story was published by Random House Children’s Books in November 2022, and will be followed by a sequel, Superworld: Destructo World, in early 2025.
In Superworld, a strange meteor impact has imbued everyone on Earth with superpowers — except, that is, for one young boy. After tween years spent feeling left out because his tinfoil super hero costume deflected the power-inducing energy and left him the only normal person on the planet, 12-year-old Noah becomes its savior: His lack of powers means he’s the only one who can steal the Super Stone that keeps the planet-ruling supervillain in control.
The adaptation will be overseen by Paramount & Nickelodeon’s VP of Animated Features, Brad Butler, according to Deadline.
The Cheneys met as freshman cubicle mates in CalArts’ animation program in 1992. After working in the L.A. industry for several years, they moved to Paris, where Yarrow Cheney worked on Illumination blockbusters; as a production designer on Despicable Me 1 & 2 and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, co-director on The Secret Life of Pets and lead director on The Grinch.
Currently living in Ojai, California, the Cheneys are represented by UTA.
A chameleon learns to live by his own rules and be true to his own colors in writer-director’s Alex Ross’s charming new short The Social Chameleon. We had the chance to ask the first-time filmmaker a few questions in a recent e-mail interview:
Animation Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about the origins and genesis of your short?
Alex Ross
Alex Ross: I’ve always been pretty adept at blending in, but I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Nobody ever called me a “social chameleon” (to my face at least), but the saying always struck a chord with me. I think because it has such a negative connotation, I wanted to flip the expression on its head and give it an alternative interpretation. The story follows a chameleon named Cosmo who tries to blend in with the other animals, because he doesn’t know how to be himself. He doesn’t change colors, or even know that he can, until he meets another chameleon who shows him what it means to live by his own colors.
It’s a story I struggled to complete for some time. I knew the beginning and middle, but hadn’t figured out the end. Despite wanting to be an artist, I didn’t know how to be one. All the creatives I knew and admired were so confident and comfortable in their own skins; something I was not. I hadn’t figured out who I was, so I had little hope for my chameleon.
Fortunately, a good friend, a bit of psilocybin and a chameleon episode of Planet Earth allowed me to revisit the story with a new perspective. It might sound obvious or cliché, but I realized that art is putting vulnerability on display. The vulnerability I was feeling was not only good, but it was the secret sauce. The pain, the fear, the shame — all of it ended up being what allowed my story to connect with a much more universal audience than I expected.
It was a pretty beautiful first film to start my writing and directing career. It’s definitely informed my approach to story, and I’ve never felt more confidently myself.
What are some of your animation inspirations?
I grew up on a lot of Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. My dad wasn’t the biggest fan of modern cartoons when I was growing up, so my Saturday morning cartoons ended up being Golden Age Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and other classics. I also grew up on the rise of the Pixar short. I loved those short but sweet, heartfelt films at the beginning of the Pixar movies. With this film, I aimed to combine the shiny, polished look and heart of Pixar, with the score-driven, pantomime fun and games of older cartoons.
When did you start working on the short and how long did it take to make?
I drew the original (very crude) storyboard on index cards and did some preliminary character sketches in 2018. It wasn’t great, but it was enough to get the story across. It wasn’t until my producer, Andrew Austin, started bringing on our extraordinarily talented team of seasoned veterans that it really started to hum to life. After pre-production, we had some trouble finding the right studio to produce the 3D animation, but fortunately met an extremely devoted and passionate match with Citrus Ink Studios.
What was your ballpark budget?
More money than I would have liked, and much less than it should have cost.
How many people worked on it with you?
About 120 people from around the world. We did all our creative development, pre-production and post with Paper Anvil in Los Angeles, our 3D animation in New Delhi, India with Citrus Ink Studios, our orchestration in Budapest, Hungary with the Budapest Art Orchestra, and our very lovely and talented editor Romana Cicova was based in the U.K.
Which animation tools did you use?
Pre-production: Storyboard Pro and Harmony. Production: Primarily Maya for the 3D animation, but the 2D animation was done in Harmony. Also big shout out to Frame.io for making the time zones much more manageable for notes / draw-overs.
Why did you decide to go the dialog-free route?
Letting the music and sound design drive the acting and emotion was always my plan. I wanted the full soundscape of classic cartoons, and the heart of a Pixar short. It’s a story that lends itself to showing instead of telling.
Looking back, what would you say were your biggest challenges?
Finding the right studio was an enormous challenge. Originally, we had a studio that promised us the world, and then completely disappeared on us. I was pretty disheartened, to say the least. Fortunately, Andrew introduced me to Vrinda Sood over at Citrus Ink Studios, and we were not only able to move forward, but they truly poured their hearts and souls into the film.
Beyond that, the music was definitely a big challenge to get right. Fortunately, our extremely talented composer, Logan Stahley, knocked it out of the park. It took us a bit to find the right tone, but after I asked him to binge Tom & Jerry he came back with a perfect fit.
We had many road bumps along the way, but I’m incredibly grateful to have had such an amazing team behind me throughout the entirety of the project. Everyone really believed in it and gave it their all.
Which aspect of the short are you happiest with?
There’s no single piece that I’m more proud of than the rest, and this film wouldn’t exist without many of the people I’ve already mentioned. However, I think this story works because of the acting, and that specific and very large part of it is owed to Larry Scholl. Larry is an incredibly talented storyboard artist who is able to imbue such compelling emotion into his drawings. He laid the foundation of the acting in our reel and boards, and Andrew helped me to realize it in actual production.
Overall, I’m just thrilled with how well it’s been received around the world. We’ve played in 55 festivals around the world, won eight awards, and I’ve met so many wonderful new friends and colleagues.
What’s the best advice you can give newbie short filmmakers?
Don’t stop. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to take longer than you want, you’re going to doubt yourself, but if you keep pushing you’ll get to the finish line.
What are you working on next?
I’m producing a couple of animated shorts with Andrew through Paper Anvil that I’m excited about. We have a really strong 3D animated short in pre-production, directed by long-time Disney animator Marlon West. We’re hoping to begin production on that later this fall.
We also have a really touching 2D animated short in pre-production, directed by a talented Spanish director named Nicolas Solé that I met during my festival circuit.
The Social Chameleon will wrap up its global festival tour at Hamptons International Film Festival in East Harrington, New York, screening on October 9. Post-production profits from the film will go to conservation non-profits Madagascar Wildlife Conservation and Centre ValBio. Follow Cosmo’s next adventures on Instagram @thesocialchameleon.
The film has also inspired a storybook written by Ross and illustrated by Dani Pendergast, available at socialchameleonbook.com.
In 2019, Matthew A. Cherry’s Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love offered a beautiful snapshot of a Black father learning to fix his young daughter’s hair while his wife was away at the hospital. Now, the beloved project has inspired Young Love, a charming new series that premiered on Max on Sept. 21 and continues to air new episodes throughout October. The show offers a comedic look at the lives of Black millennial parents Stephen Love (voiced by Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi) and Angela Young (Issa Rae). It also highlights how this tight-knit Chicago family juggles careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues and multi-generational dynamics while striving to make a better life for themselves.
Matthew A. Cherry
‘It’s true that the more specific you are, the more universal the whole project becomes. Obviously, our show is centered on a Black family, but we hope it’s something that people of all ages and backgrounds can see themselves in.’
— Series creator Matthew A. Cherry
Cherry, who has also directed popular live-action shows such as Abbot Elementary, Ghosts and Black-ish and was a production consultant on Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, says the journey of making his new show has been one full of happy accidents.
“I think what started it all was working with Vashti Harrison, who illustrated our original Hair Love book,” he says. “She had done an illustration for a friend of mine, and the hair looked so realistic that we just went from there. Now she has five books on the New York Times Best Sellers list. When I started working with her, we thought, ‘Wow, maybe one day we can have a TV show.’ So early on in the process, we were trying to figure out the right format, and we realized a TV series would make the best sense. We pitched the show a month before the Oscars to take advantage of the short’s momentum, and Max became a great partner from the very beginning.”
Ties That Bond: ‘Young Love’ centers on the daily adventures of a tightly-knit Black millennial family who are trying to realize their dreams in Chicago.
A Family Affair
Cherry says one of the advantages of basing a series on the short was they had already done a lot of deep development on the characters and their world. “We knew from the outset that they lived in this brownstone building on the West Side of Chicago,” he notes. “The series happens about two months after the events of the short, so there aren’t too many dramatic changes. We knew their personalities, and the fact that Zuri (voiced by Brooke Monroe Conaway) was a very outspoken six-year old. She’s aged up a bit and is slightly taller from the short.”
Zuri’s dad, Stephen, is a music producer who doesn’t like conflict very much, so he just kind of goes along with everything, explains the show creator. He adds, “Angela is coming out of that health scare that she had in the short. She has a day job at a natural hair salon, and a big arc in the first season is her getting back to herself. She has a renewed sense of purpose, while also wanting to be there for her kid.”
Cherry also mentions that the series format allowed them to include new characters like Angela’s parents, played by Loretta Devine and Harry Lennix. “We were lucky to have these great actors voice them and showcase their great personalities,” he notes. “We get to understand their great dynamic with Zuri, and also explore Stephen’s job as a music producer and Angela’s world with the co-workers at the shop, as well as Zuri’s friends at school.”
The production team put on a nationwide search to find the perfect young girl to voice Zuri. “We were initially debating whether it should be an adult or a real kid voicing the character, because it just feels more organic,” recalls Cherry. “Eventually, it just felt right to have a real kid representing Zuri. We wanted her to be a real kid, so we were very excited when we found Brooke Monroe Conaway, who is from Baltimore and is very grounded. To me, she is one of the best parts of the show, because she’s having these very adult conversations but she still has this very cute quality in her voice. I think both kids and adults can really connect to her scenes, as we were trying hard to make it a great co-viewing experience for the entire family.”
The talented showrunner says he loves working in animation because it’s the first form of filmmaking that kids are oftentimes exposed to. “We have real opportunities to help shape how children see themselves,” he points out. “This wasn’t as apparent when we were kids growing up, right — but hopefully children can see somebody like Zuri who looks like them and acts like them. In general, animation is so universal; you can fall in love with inanimate objects and characters that don’t talk in real life.”
“There’s something about animation that makes diversity feel more universal,” Cherry adds. “It’s true that the more specific you are, the more universal the whole project becomes. Obviously, our show is centered on a Black family, but we hope it’s something that people of all ages and backgrounds can see themselves in. We are also trying to showcase a world that we haven’t seen in animation before, depicting these young millennials trying to reach their dreams in a city, but also trying to be present for their kid as well as dealing with their parents and peers.”
Lighting the Way
The reception of the Hair Love storybook and the short has definitely been a rewarding and eye-opening experience for Cherry. “We were in this really unique position where we had both the short and the book come out around the same time, so it was wonderful to see how it has been used in schools around the country.” he notes. “Often, teachers would show the short film and have the kids read the book as well. Some schools had ‘dress like your favorite character’ days, and you’d see kids dress like Zuri. Seeing that and watching babies on social media watching the short — those were some of the best parts of the whole experience.”
However, Cherry has also witnessed the book being banned in some parts of the country due to the anti-critical race theory laws. “You see this happening to books like Hair Love, which basically exists only to help kids with their own self-confidence, being banned in some places,” he says. “But it’s been great to see people making sure that kids get their hands on the book.”
He adds, “Shorts and series like this are so important because they can showcase empathy for other experiences that are different from our own. I think that’s the really cool part of the show.”
Young Love is produced in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation. It is executive produced by Matthew A. Cherry, Monica A. Young, Karen Rupert Toliver, Carl Jones, David Steward II and Carl Reed, and produced by Karen Malach. The first season is currently streaming on Max.
WildBrain has a fresh serving of licensing deals, brand activations and content distribution deals to share with fans of Strawberry Shortcake, leading into the October 2 premiere of the new CG-animated special Strawberry Shortcake and the Beast of Berry Bog on Netflix. Produced by WildBrain Studios, the new Halloween-themed special is the first of four seasonal specials coming to Netflix in 2023 and 2024.
Synopsis: It’s the Berry Scary Fright-Fall Carnival, and someone — or something — is trying to ruin the fun for everyone! Strawberry Shortcake and her friends must sleuth out clues to discover the truth, so that “everyberry” can enjoy the carnival without fear. Despite the scary situation, Strawberry faces her fears and stands up to the monster causing chaos in Big Apple City.
Sure to delight fans of WildBrain’s original animated series, Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City — the third season of which is now streaming on YouTube — the new special joins a wave of brand activity and product launches set to roll out into 2024 — which will also mark the 45th anniversary of Strawberry Shortcake.
“The World of Strawberry Shortcake continues to soar in popularity. Our innovative licensing program, extensive distribution partnerships and multiple brand activations are a testament to Strawberry’s enduring appeal as a much-loved brand,” commented Elizabeth Litten Miller, VP, Franchise Strategy at WildBrain. “With the first of four new Strawberry Shortcake CG-animated seasonal specials premiering on Netflix on October 2, we’re excited that partners and fans are embracing Strawberry Shortcake to celebrate her message of diversity, creativity and friendship in so many imaginative and inspiring ways.”
Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City (120 x 4’) is continuing to roll out to new territories, with Amazon Kids+ acquiring Seasons 1 & 2 for the U.S., while Stan in Australia and Spacetoon in MENA have also taken the first two seasons. Edye in Latin America & Caribbean has picked up Season 1 and TVNZ in New Zealand Season 2, while TV2 signed a deal for the first three seasons for Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Also in the U.S., NCircle Entertainment has signed for home entertainment rights for Seasons 1-3.
In addition to dropping on Netflix this fall, Strawberry Shortcake and the Beast of Berry Bog will have its linear broadcast premiere on WildBrain’s Family Jr. channel in Canada on Friday, September 22 at 7 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, international broadcasters Gulli (France) and TV2 (Hungary, Romania, Slovakia) have snapped up all four specials, with NCircle Entertainment acquiring home entertainment rights for the specials in the U.S.
The classic Strawberry Shortcake content library also remains popular worldwide. Season 1 of the series Berry Bitty Adventures(65 x 22′) has been picked up by Viaplay (Nordics), Edye (LatAm & Caribbean) and Semillitas (U.S. & Central America). Further new deals include Amazon Kids+ (U.S.) for Seasons 3 and 4, Stan (Australia) for Season 4 and Jim Jam (MENA) for Seasons 1-3. Additionally, Amazon Kids+, Stan, Edye and Jim Jam have acquired the animated movie Strawberry Shortcake: Sky’s the Limit (70’), with Stan also picking up Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie (83’).
WildBrain CPLG has lined up an exciting roster of new licensees and activations for Strawberry Shortcake, including a deal with global retailer MINISO as part of a wider partnership which also includes WildBrain’s Teletubbies and In the Night Garden. Additional new partners include The Knot Churros, who held a delicious nine-week summer pop up at two London stores, featuring menu items flavored around the characters of Berry in the Big City.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Spacetoon has developed a live show for Berry in the Big City that will also feature costume characters for meet and greets. The first performance took place at Qatar Toy Festival in July.
In the digital space, Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City will feature in a new mobile gaming app launching this September from TapTap Tales, which will immerse players in Big Apple City with a host of educational games featuring Berry and all her friends. Also in digital, Baretree Media have launched themed mobile sticker packs on both Android and iOS, with other digital goods coming soon globally.
In early fall 2023, Vampyre Cosmetics are launching a range of Strawberry Shortcake-inspired make-up palettes, lipstick, lip glosses, makeup bags, eyeliner, mascara and eyelashes. The products will be available in Canada, Denmark, Eire, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, U.K. and U.S. Goose Creek Candles will also be expanding their scent collection for this winter and for Valentine’s Day 2024, after their first Strawberry Shortcake range sold out within two weeks. Meanwhile, fashion label Cakeworthy is preparing to debut a
Strawberry Shortcake capsule apparel collection plus accessories, stationery and homewares in the U.S., Canada and U.K. from March 2024.
Pop culture retailer FYE, For Your Entertainment, has signed a direct-to-retail deal to create sweet treats for Spring/Summer 2024 in a range that includes confectioneries, jewelry, home decor and gift items.
WildBrain CPLG will be showcasing The World of Strawberry Shortcake at Brand Licensing Europe in London, October 4-6, at stand B171, as well as the China Licensing Expo in Shanghai (October 17-19).
How do you say resilient and productive during a tough period in the animation industry? That was the timely topic of a panel discussion held at The Animation Conference program of the Ottawa Intl Animation Festival on Thursday. Moderated expertly by animation industry veteran Archita Ghosh, the session featured Atomic Cartoons/Thunderbird Ent. CEO Jennifer Twiner McCarron, Guru Studio’s president and exec creative director Frank Falcone, Nelvana/Corus Kids VP Athena Georgaklis, Squeeze Studio CFO and co-owner Francois Houde and Jam Filled Entertainment senior VP of production Tori Coulthart.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the panel:
1. The Pendulum Will Swing Back … Slowly. Many of the panelists said they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Although the hey days of streamers commissioning shows in great numbers are behind us, there will always be a need for animation and children’s content. “Our industry went through a major shift when Netflix began decommissioning shows last year,” said Frank Falcone. “We are in a place right now that we’ve had to regroup as an industry and find our way forward. One of my favorite quotes that I read I believe came from the head of FX who said, ‘The mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray.’ At the end of the day, we have to make things that people are going to want to watch. At one one point during the boom, we all felt that there were so much content being made and we asked ourselves, ‘Who is going to watch this stuff?’ Because there are only so many hours in a day. I believe that now we are at the end of that pendulum swing. We are going to see things coming back, but slowly, not at the rate we saw a few years ago.”
2. Flexibility Is Always an Asset. According to the panelists, the Covid pandemic opened new doors of opportunity for animation professionals who were able to use online technologies to work from home. However, it exposed them to more competition. As Squeeze CFO Francois Houde pointed out, “Working from home also expanded our competition so we had to find new ways to compete globally. In addition to developing our own IP, we provide service work for animation studios, as well as offering game cinematics and theme parks gaming industry and theme parks. One of our core values is flexibility and that’s how we’ve been able to survive the challenging times.’
3. Canada’s Bill C-11 Might Help! A new bill known as Bill C-11 aims to bring foreign online streaming platforms under the country’s broadcasting act. Also known as the Online Streaming Act, it sets out to create a framework to regulate digital streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify, and would require them to contribute to the creation and promotion of Canadian content. However some are concerned that it would create a two-tiered system that would require Canadian broadcasters to be held to higher standards than foreign streamers.
As Nelvana’s Athena Georgaklis pointed out, “The financing model for Canadian content used to rely on broadcasters to put about 35 percent of their advertising revenue back into content production. But they’re not getting the revenues they used to get, that means less money is being put into the business. Streamers and other platforms are taking away that viewership so this bill seeks to bring that investment back to the business. We still have to be a global player, and not just make content for Canada. The hope is that this bill will help guide us through.”
4. Looking for the Bright Spots. Among the examples of silver linings mentioned by the panelists was that more companies are sharing content across different platforms. More exposure in various outlets means more eyeballs for the producers. Also, the decrease in budgets has resulted in some creative invention on behalf of the creative teams at the studios. In addition, the execs also pointed out that successful platforms cannot survive without offering solid children’s content. “Kids’ content is the stickiest content because audiences are less likely to unsubscribe from services if they have families watching,” said Atomic Cartoon’s Jennifer Twiner McCarron.
5. A Good Time to Be Creative. Jam Filled Entertainment’s Tori Coulthart said it has never been a better time for a creative or an artist to have their work accessible to an audience. “Individual creators without the overhead of a studio are in better position to utilize things like YouTube or social media platforms.,” she said. “Artists can generate an incredible following on TikTok and and then can leveraging that on YouTube. That offers a great opportunity to test animated content online, and then if it sticks, you can go to a bigger studio and try to develop the brand.”
Georgaklis added, “What we always come back to is make sure you get to know your audience. Kids are constantly evolving. You need to get to know what kind of content they are consuming and why they are consuming it. You need to do your best to evolve and be creative about how to put yourself out there.”
6. Offering Comfort and Meaningful Entertainment. The panelists were quick to point out the positive aspects of working in the animation business, despite all the challenges and difficulties in finding the resources to produce new content. As Twiner McCarron noted, “Animation content is here to say. It provides a happy escape for everyone. My dad worked for Robin Hood Flour, and he used to say that he loved the recession because people stayed home, baked and watched TV. Our industry makes people happy and provides comfort. The silver linging was that during Covid, we had a boom in animation, and more audiences discovered animation as a great storytelling medium and realized that it wasn’t just for kids.”
As Falcone concluded, “It’s so important to focus on making meaningful content for kids and making things that resonate with them. That is the hardest thing. Sometimes we tend to strive for things that look cool or are hooky, but I think right now is a good time to go deeper and make things that resonate deeply.”
The Ottawa Intl. Animation Festival and The Animation Conference continue through Sunday. For more info visit animationfestival.ca
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) announced it has greenlit 16 more productions and co-productions between January and June 2023. The slate includes nine feature-length documentaries and seven animated shorts, which are now underway at studios across the country.
The animated works are:
Bread Will Walk
Bread Will Walk
Director: Alex Boya
Producer: Jelena Popović | Animation & Interactive Studio | 100% NFB
In a world confronted by climate change and food shortages, a mysterious agrochemical corporation produces engineered synthetic bread — which accidentally turns the hungry into slow, non-violent, zombie-like creatures made of loaves of freshly baked bread.
Les gens dans l’armoire
Les gens dans l’armoire
(People in the Closet)
Director: Dahee Jeong
Co-producers: Dahee Jeong (Between the Pictures) and Christine Noël (NFB) | French Animation Studio
In a strange world of people who have clothes but no bodies, the arrival of a little girl made of flesh and blood shakes things up.
Imprint
Imprint
Director: Duncan Major
Producer: Maral Mohammadian | Animation & Interactive Studio | 100% NFB
Imprint is an experimental animated short about creativity and loss. It’s inspired by the relationship between filmmaker Duncan Major and his friend and mentor, who passed away, leaving him a collection of rare printing presses.
Paradajz
Paradajz
Director: Matea Radic
Producer: Jelena Popović | Animation & Interactive Studio | 100% NFB
After 25 years, filmmaker Matea Radic returns to Sarajevo and tells a hopeful tale of survival and self-discovery that reinforces the importance of “home” when one is searching for paradise.
Parandeh is about the power of stillness. Its premise is simple and stands out in the blur of modern life. A bird is trapped in a cage. Only when it stops struggling does it find itself free.
Piluk
Piluk
Directors: Elisapie Isaac and Marc Séguin
Producer: Marc Bertrand | French Animation Studio | 100% NFB
A poetic meditation on identity, attachment to the land and the power of art as a source of human and spiritual guidance. Piluk leaves her remote world to join another: the world of the South and the city.
Something Over There
Something Over There
Director: Arash Akhgari
Producer: Jelena Popović | Animation & Interactive Studio | 100% NFB
An endless parade of fragmented mass media and the audiences compulsively consuming them. A hypnotizing mix of collage, ink and paint becomes a space for introspection and reflects our viewing and reading habits.
For more information on these and other projects currently in the works across NFB studios, visit the NFB Production webpage.
Companies from Portugal and France have been recognized with this year’s Cartoon Forum Tributes, awarded annually to honor the outstanding work of broadcasters, investors/distributors and producers in the promotion and development of European animation. Winners were voted on by the 1,051 professionals from 37 countries attending Cartoon Forum, the pitching and co-production forum for animated series wrapping up today in the French city of Toulouse.
The winners are:
Broadcaster of the Year — RTP (Portugal)
Portuguese public broadcaster RTP – Rádio e Televisão de Portugal offers content aimed at preschoolers and children under Zig Zag, a programming block broadcast daily through RTP’s free-to-air channels and streaming platform Zig Zag Play. Largely focused on European content, RTP also plays an active role as co-producer in series developed by Portuguese animation studios such as Mr. Passenger, Crias and duArte, a Piece of Art.
Distributor of the Year — APC Kids (France)
APC Kids is the children’s entertainment arm of leading co-production and distribution company APC Studios. The company has a growing portfolio of high-profile children’s and family properties including animated series Kid-E-Cats, DinoCity, Galactic Agency, Jade Armor and Tinka, which have been broadcast in more than a hundred countries worldwide.
Producer of the Year — GO-N Productions (France)
Paris-based animation producer and distributor GO-N Productions is globally renowned for both its own productions and its co-productions with partners worldwide. Simon Super Rabbit, Zip Zip and Jasmin’s World are some of the works by this company, which this year presented its latest series at Cartoon Forum: Annette, Apprentice Witch.
Companies from Germany, Belgium, Spain, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania and the United Kingdom were also shortlisted for the Tributes.
Courtesy of Cartoon.
Cartoon Forum 20232 Highlights
In summarizing this year’s Toulouse toon gathering, Cartoon’s General Director, Annick Maes, pointed out pan-European diversity represented in the “colorful, sensitive and powerful selection of projects”:
“A Nordic wave has reached Cartoon Forum: with two projects each, Finland, Norway and Denmark, left a mark in this year edition. Central and Eastern Europe established their own presence with nine projects in total (two for Ukraine, two for Bulgaria, two for Czech Republic, two for Poland & one for Estonia). We also saw interesting French projects in crowded rooms: Erica & Trevor vs Spooky Monsters (Cyber Group Studios); Dungeons & Kittens (Watch Next Media); Annette, Apprentice Witch (GO-N Productions); Hold on Gaston! (Dandelooo), What’s Up Eesha? (TeamTO); Filip & Fairy (Normaal) and Gisele and Her Little Monsters (Blue Spirit Productions).
We were delighted to welcome 270 buyers on site in Toulouse, including 10.5% new buyers such as LooLoo Kids (Mora TV, Romania), Light Lab (Latvia), Anime Digital Network (ADN, France), Ribka Publishing (Bulgaria), Carlsen Verlag (Germany), Kidstream (U.S.A.), Immersiva (U.S.A.), With Bells On Entertainment (Canada), TV Nova and Markiza Groups (Slovakia), Jungler (France), among others.”
In addition to the above-mentioned attendee numbers, Cartoon Forum counted 505 companies participating. The 2023 event also achieved gender parity amongst its toon pros, with 51% women, 49% men and 0.1% nonbinary registered attendees.
Within the special Animated UK Meets Europe initiative, 41 production companies from 12 countries participated at the one-to-one meetings discussing coproduction possibilities with producers from all five U.K. projects.
Top 10 ♦ European co-productions
(Order reflects the number of participants in the pitching room for projects co-produced in at least two European countries.)
1. Luce in the Lovely Land– Thuristar (Belgium), La Cabane Productions (France) 2. Littlest Robot – Toon2Tango (Germany), V House Animation (North Macedonia) 3. Aquila– Zodiak Kids & Family (France), Tiger Aspect Kids & Family (United Kingdom) 4. Baby’s First Crime Spree– Cardel Entertainment (Ireland), Snafu Pictures (United Kingdom) 5. Moka Mera & Atlas – Anima Vitae (Finland), Moilo (Finland), Animoka Studios (Italy) 6. Stage Struck! – Lighthouse Studios (Ireland), Dog Ears (United Kingdom) 7. My Baby Crocodile – Take Five (Belgium), Sacrebleu Productions (France) 8. Happily Never After– Heliumfilm (Czech Republic), Reynard Films (Germany) 9. Nip & Lena. Fin Friends– Lynx Multimedia Factory (Italy), Telegael (Ireland) 10. The Princess and the Nightingale – La Boîte… Productions (Belgium), Les Films du Nord (France)
Baby’s First Crime Spree
Top 10 ♦ Buyer attendance
(Order reflects the percentage of buyers in the pitching room.)
1. Baby’s First Crime Spree – Cardel Entertainment (Ireland), Snafu Pictures (U.K.) – 52% 2. Littlest Robot – Toon2Tango (Germany), V House Animation (North Macedonia) – 48% 3. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – bigchild Entertainment (Germany) – 47% Annie Melting Heart Cake– Sacrebleu Productions (France) – 47% 4. Pig & Andersen – Fleng Entertainment (Denmark) – 46% Delivery Dan – JAM Media (Ireland) – 46% 5. Ray & Ruby – Creative Conspiracy (Belgium) – 45% Freddie – Little Chopin – Letko (Poland), The Fryderyk Chopin Institute (Poland) – 45% 20 Dance Street – Cottonwood Media (France) – 45% 6. SuperBikes– Beta Film (Germany), Carlsen Verlag (Germany), Ulysses Filmproduktion (Germany) – 44% Mavka– Animagrad Studio – FILM.UA Group (Ukraine) – 44% 7. Pil’s Adventures – TAT productions (France) – 43% Dougie Dolittle – Caligari Film- und Fernsehproduktion (Germany) – 43% 8. Boule & Bill– Elliott Studio (France) – 42% 9. Gisele and her Little Monsters – Blue Spirit Productions (France) – 41% Crazy Inventions – Badi Badi (Poland), Beat Shop Sound Studio (Poland) – 41% 10. Stage Struck! – Lighthouse Studios (Ireland), Dog Ears (U.K.) – 40% Monsterberry Jam– Yarki (Ukraine) – 40% Space Aged– Studio Meala (Ireland) – 40% Ursa – The Polar Bear – Fabelaktiv (Norway), Ulvenfilm (Norway) – 40% Mortina – Cartobaleno (Italy) – 40%
You can read more about select projects at Cartoon Forum in our preview from the September/October issue of Animation Magazinehere.
Just One Day
Trendspotting in Toulouse
Young talents and new companies. Young protégés from Cartoon Springboard made their debuts at the audiovisual market with projects 9 Million Colors, Apocalypse Mojito, Exit Tales, Happily Never After & Toko Loko. Britt Raes (director/illustrator), who pitched Luce in the Lovely Land, participated in Cartoon Springboard 2018 with Petlovers, and has made two successful short films. Verena Fels, who pitched Just One Day, was nominated for a Cartoon d’Or in 2011 with her first project, MOBILE, based on a children’s book that she designed.
Cartoon Forum also welcomed several companies pitching at the event for the first time, such as: Darjeeling (France), Have a Nice Day Films (France), Fleng Entertainment (Denmark), _Dept. (Norway), Ahoifilm (Germany) and Scared Ghost (Spain), among others.
Adult animation is still on the rise. With 14% (compared to 10% in 2022) of the selected projects being targeted at Young Adults/Adults, it is evident that adult animation is definitely consolidating its position. Cartoon Forum 2023 attendees were introduced to B.A.D’s Agents, Iren the Siren, Pixie Pollux and Starpets, to name a few.
Moka Mera & Atlas
Multi-layered projects. Seventeen projects (23% of the selection) take a crossover approach: The SuperBikes TV series will become a game and will be adapted into a book series. Super Epic Tadpole Journey to the Surface of Croak Creek has been produced simultaneously for linear (horizontal format) and for mobile phone (vertical format). Lingokids Adventures with Baby Bot the TV series is based on an award-winning learning app. Moka Mera & Atlas is also adapted from educational apps (about languages & emotions). And The Invisibles creators are also planning a book series.
Local support. In this year’s selection, two projects are supported by the Occitanie Region:
Pil’s Adventures from TAT Productions, adapted from the feature film Pil and following the success of the studio’s latest theatrical release, Jungle Bunch 2 (740,000 tickets sold).
School Monitors from Xbo Films.
Save the date! Cartoon Forum 2024 will return to Toulouse from September 16-19 next year. Registration will open in April. More information available at cartoon-media.eu/forum.
Blue Fox Entertainment and Shout! Studios will deliver a modern take on a classically creepy tale to U.S. theaters next month, announcing the Stateside release of The Canterville Ghost just in time for Halloween! The CG-animated Oscar Wilde adaptation out of the U.K. will arrive October 20.
Synopsis: As the 19th gives way to the 20thcentury and scientific invention brings forth new ways of traversing and seeing the world, a modern American family moves into their recently purchased, country home, Canterville Chase, in England, only to find it is haunted by a ghost. Sir Simon de Canterville has been haunting the grounds of Canterville Chase successfully for over three hundred years, but he meets his match when he tries to scare out the new arrivals.
Directed by Kim Burdon (Stressed Eric) and Robert Chandler (The Amazing Maurice, The Deep) from a screenplay by Giles New & Keiron Self, the film stars actor, writer and television host Stephen Fry (The Hobbit films) as the put-upon specter of Simon de Canterville.
The voice cast also features Fry’s longtime collaborator, Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie (House, Stuart Little), Golden Globe nominee Freddie Highmore (The Good Doctor, Bates Motel), Emily Carey (Wonder Woman, Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon), Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake, The Crown), Miranda Hart (Spy, Call the Midwife) and Golden Globe nominee Toby Jones (The Girl, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).
Co-director Chandler also serves as producer through his Space Age Films banner, alongside Gina Carter of Sprout Pictures (co-owned by Fry), P. Jayakumar of Toonz Media Group and Nadia Khamlichi & Martin Metz of Align. Executive producers are Fry, Jerry Hibbert, Bob Benton, Hilary Strong, Edward Noeltner, Nessa McGill, Khamlichi, Jayakumar, Paul Cummins, Paul Grindey and Charles Moore.
Adult Swim today debuted the official trailer for FLCL: Shoegaze — the fifth season in the cult-hit FLCL anime series. The new storyline will premiere Saturday, September 30 at midnight ET/PT on the network’s anime block, Toonami. Directed by Yutaka Uemura, the Shoegazei trailer features a soundtrack from The Pillows.
Logline: FLCL: Shoegaze picks up after the events of the third season, FLCL: Alternative. While everyone returns to their ordinary lives, two frustrated teenagers concoct a plot to destroy the Tsuganei tower in the hopes that it will incite change.
“Coming off of his terrific work on FLCL: Alternative, we are so excited to have director Yutaka Uemura return to the world of FLCL,” said Jason DeMarco, SVP, Head of Anime and Action Series at Adult Swim. “After a long wait, we are so thrilled to welcome back FLCL. We hope you enjoy it!”
The latest installment arrives on the heels of the fourth season, FLCL: Grunge, which is premiering new episodes every Saturday at midnight ET/PT.
FLCL: Shoegaze is animated by Production I.G x NUT. It is executive produced by DeMarco and produced by Maki Terashima-Furuta (Production IG USA).
Animation Is Film (AIF) has announced the lineup for the 6th edition of its animated cinema festival, featuring a slate of theatrical presentations, special events and shorts screenings taking place over five days, October 18-22, in Hollywood. Organizers also unveiled the official 2023 poster, designed by artist Sophia Du.
AIF’s Opening Night on Wednesday, October 18 launches with a GKIDS presentation of Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron, the latest film from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX. This marks the first time the festival will host a premiere in IMAX at this Hollywood landmark.
Closing Night celebrates the Los Angeles Premiere of Aardman’s Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, presented by Netflix and followed by a Q&A with Oscar-nominated director Sam Fell and executive producer and Oscar-nominated director of the original Chicken Run (2000), Peter Lord.
This year, AIF continues its mission to champion animation as a cinematic artform, while recognizing and acknowledging the importance of curating successful and critically-acclaimed films from around the world. As part of the feature film lineup, two prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival prize winners, Neon’s Robot Dreams (Spain / France) and GKIDS’ Chicken for Linda! (France / Italy) will make their West Coast and U.S. debuts, respectively. Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower (Japan) will make its theatrical North American Premiere, and DreamWorks Animation will host a special presentation of its latest film, Trolls Band Together.
Other highlights are the North American Premiere of Sony Pictures Animation/Sony Pictures Imageworks’ The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story, the debut short film created as part of the LENS storyteller development program, and a special theatrical presentation of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ narrative short, Once Upon a Studio, featuring iconic voices from Disney Animation’s past, including Dwayne Johnson, Paige O’Hara, Jodi Benson and Josh Gad.
Trolls Band Together (DreamWorks/Universal)
“‘Animation Is Film’ is not just the name of our festival, it is its mission,” said Matt Kaszanek, Executive Director of AIF. “New films from Studio Ghibli and Aardman are seismic cinematic events, and a reason for movie lovers of any medium to rejoice. Joining these titles is a collection of some of the most audacious, genre-defying, and critically acclaimed films of the year. We are so proud to present them in Los Angeles.”
This year’s AIF also features a “Work-In-Progress” sneak peek at Walt Disney Animation’s upcoming feature release Wish, centennial celebrations of Walt Disney Animation and Warner Bros. Animation, the festival’s popular shorts showcase presented in partnership with Annecy and Women In Animation highlighting the best of female-directed animated films, the annual student film program and an Aardman Animations-hosted workshop where kids can make their own clay models.
“For its sixth edition, Animation Is Film is back with a great program featuring the films who received the main awards in Annecy last June,” said Annecy Festival artistic director Marcel Jean and CEO Mickael Marin. “Chicken for Linda! (Cristal for a feature film), Robot Dreams (Contrechamp Award) and 27(Cristal for a short film) are among a great selection of films and again we are proud to be associated with this celebration of the best in animation.”
Industry organizations returning as Animation Is Film Sponsors and partners for the 2023 film festival are: ASIFA- Hollywood, Cartoon Network Studios, Crunchyroll, Dreamworks Animation, ELMA, Fathom Events, Illumination, LAIKA, Locksmith Animation, Netflix, Nickelodeon, Paramount Animation, Pixar Animation Studios, Shout! Factor, Sony Pictures Animation, UniFrance, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Warner Bros. Animation. Animation Is Film, founded by GKIDS and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, presents a selection of new animated feature films from Asia, Europe, South America and North America, with both juried and audience prizes.
AIF will post their full schedule of films and programs to their website, AnimationIsFilm.com, and will be adding additional films, programs and sneak peeks ahead of the festival.
Read more about this year’s inspiring edition in the November ’23 issue of Animation Magazine, available soon.
Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower (Japan / North American Premiere)
Robot Dreams (Spain / France | West Coast Premiere)
Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds (Belgium / France | Los Angeles Premiere)
The Summer (South Korea | North American Premiere)
Conjuring Nightmares: SPA released a new, pensive image for ‘The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story’ timed to the short’s Annecy World Premiere. The film explores mental health and different perspectives on Miles Morales’ heroic alter ego. [Sony Pictures Animation]SPECIAL EVENTS:
Special Screening of DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls Band Together
Director Walt Dohrn, co-director Tim Heitz and producer Gina Shay in-person
North American Premiere of Sony Pictures Animation/Sony Picture Imageworks’ The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story
Panel with Jarelle Dampier (director), Khaila Amazan (writer), Clara Chan (VFX supervisor),
and Joe Darko (animation supervisor), moderated by Michelle Raimo-Kouyate and David Schulenburg
(Producers/LENS Program Creators)
Special Screening & Panel of Wal Disney Animation’s Once Upon a Studio and early footage of Wish
Filmmaker in-person
Warner Bros. 100: A Special Celebration of Warner Bros. Animation
Q&A with Looney Tunes Cartoons series creatives and screening of never-before-seen shorts
Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli is set to become a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network both companies have announced. In a joint statement both companies noted that succession worries regarding current president Hayao Miyazaki who is 82 and producer Toshio Suzuki who’s 75 had been a cause for concern.
The boards of both companies agreed on Thursday that the major commercial broadcast network will become Studio Ghibli’s top shareholder, with a 42.3% stake. Exact financial details were not revealed. According to Nippon TV, it will send executives to support Ghibli’s management, while honoring its creative independence so it can focus on animation and other artistic projects.
“At Studio Ghibli, director Miyazaki Hayao is now 82 years old, and producer Suzuki Toshio is also 75 years old, and the issue of succession has been a problem for a long time,” Studio Ghibli said in a statement. “Miyazaki Goro, the eldest son of founder Miyazaki Hayao and an animation film director himself, has been mentioned several times as the successor to Studio Ghibli. However, Miyazaki Goro himself firmly declined, believing that it would be difficult to carry Ghibli alone, and that it would be better to leave the future of the company to others.”
In the past, Studio Ghibli and Nippon TV have worked on joint projects such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind which aired on TV in 1985. Nippon TV has also helped produce several Ghibli projects including Miyazaki’s 1989 movie Kiki’s Delivery Service and was also behind the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo.
Miyazaki’s latest movie, which is said to be his last one The Boy and Heron has been performing very well in Japan since its debut in July. The acclaimed feature which won the second prize at the recent Toronto Intl. Film Festival earlier this month has grossed over $53.830 million in Japan. The film will be released by December by GKIDS in the U.S.. Miyazaki won an Oscar for his much-loved 2001 masterpiece Spirited Away.
Succession concerns regarding Miyazaki, who turned 82 in January, were cited as one of the reasons for the acquisition.
