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GKIDS announced today it will bring The Boy and the Heron, the highly anticipated new film from legendary, Academy Award-winning Hayao Miyazaki, to cinemas nationwide on December 8.
The latest feature from Japan’s celebrated animation house, Studio Ghibli, begins special preview engagements on November 22 before expanding to cinemas nationwide and in Canada on December 8. As with previous Studio Ghibli titles, the film will be released in its original Japanese with English subtitles, as well as a new English language version.
KIDS also released the film’s official teaser trailer, marking the first time footage from the film has been shown outside of Japanese theaters. In an unprecedented decision by Studio Ghibli, no images, trailers, synopses, advertisements, or other information about the film were made available to the public prior to its release in theaters in Japan on July 14. First look images were recently revealed by Studio Ghibli in celebration of the film’s ongoing theatrical release in Japan. Last week, GKIDS released an English language “pre-teaser,” which officially introduced the film’s story.
Synopsis:
A young boy named Mahito
yearning for his mother
ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead.
There, death comes to an end,
and life finds a new beginning.
A semi-autobiographical fantasy
about life, death, and creation,
in tribute to friendship,
from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
The hand-drawn, animated feature — director Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years — is an original story written and directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, produced by co-founder Toshio Suzuki, and featuring a musical score from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. Its theme song, “Spinning Globe,” was penned and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.
The Boy and the Heron makes its international premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival on September 7 as the Opening Night Gala. Tickets to all TIFF screenings sold out in record time. This fall, the film makes its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, its European Premiere as the Opening Night of San Sebastian International Film Festival, and its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
London animation & VFX studio Jellyfish Pictures announced that Archie Donato has joined the Jellyfish Animation Features team as Creative Director of Animation. Donato brings over 30 years of extensive experience to the role, including 17 years spent at DreamWorks Animation. Most recently Head of Visual Effects at DNEG Animation, Donato has worked on blockbuster film franchises including Star Wars, Terminator, Godzilla and Kung Fu Panda, with his most recent credits as VFX Supervisor on Emmy-nominated Entergalactic and Nimona.
In his new role, Donato will work closely with senior creative teams across all of Jellyfish Pictures’ animation productions to deliver artistic excellence and drive creative innovation. This addition to the senior team follows the recent appointment of two other senior executives in the Animation division: Chrissy Metge, who joined as Executive Producer, Animation and Louis Flores as Visual Effects Supervisor.
Jellyfish Pictures is currently in production on an animated series for Netflix EMEA/Lime entitled Wereworld, based on a popular book series by Curtis Jobling, and an adaptation of one of Roald Dahl’s most beloved children’s books for Netflix. It has also recently started production on a new feature animation for a Hollywood studio.
Adrien Moretto
Paris-based Millimages announced the promotion of Adrien Moretto to the position of General Manager. The 29-year-old former Head of Legal and then General Secretary will now head the studio, known for producing international hits such as 64 Rue Du Zoo, Corneil & Bernie, Lascars, Louie and Molang.
Moretto will continue the strategy implemented for 32 years by Millimages’ founder Roch Lener: to transform all studio IP into a transmedia experience for viewers. The studio has successfully implemented this strategy for Molang, with creative content for TV and platforms, viral content for social media and a wide range of derivative products. Moretto plans to intensify the creation of content exclusive to new media, and to continue developing his network of licensees, all the while continuing to develop and produce high-quality traditional productions.
With a master’s degree in business law and an MBA in audiovisual production, Moretto began his career in the world of audiovisual production in the legal department of Cofiloisirs. In 2018, he joined Millimages’ Business Affairs department, before becoming the Group’s General Counsel in 2021, then General Secretary at the end of 2022. Now one of the youngest general managers in the French AV industry, Moretto will be able to draw on the and expertise of each business unit (especially Production & Development, headed by Bonnie Lener; Digital Content Strategy, Kévin Maintrot; Licensing &a Merchandising, Alexandra Algard-Mikanowski and International Sales, Sépideh Shirazi Moayed) to
perpetuate the studio’s global influence.
Safaa Benazzouz
Academy Award-nominated French animation studio Xilam Animation has upped Safaa Benazzouz to the position of EVP Distribution. Previously Deputy EVP Distribution, Benazzouz will replace Morgann Favennec. She will continue to be based in Xilam’s head office in Paris and will now report into the company’s Founder and CEO, Marc du Pontavice.
Benazzouz will lead the worldwide distribution strategies across Xilam’s new and forthcoming productions, including Karate Sheep, Oggy Oggy and Buddybot, and its existing catalog which includes Oggy and the Cockroaches, Zig & Sharko, Where’s Chicky? and Athleticus. Additionally, she will be responsible for driving sales across the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Germany, South Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America; and managing the four teams within Xilam’s distribution department: international sales, digital, licensing and marketing.
Benazzouz first joined Xilam as SVP Media Sales Distribution (Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Southern Europe) in February 2019 from French kids’ distribution company Superights. In January 2022, Benazzouz was elevated to Deputy EVP Distribution and, working alongside Favennec, she helped implement new processes and systems within the Xilam Group. Additionally, Benazzouz participated in the strategic development of the department, including Xilam’s new preschool property Oggy Oggy, which launched simultaneously across Netflix, international broadcasters and social media, alongside a dedicated consumer products e-shop.
Following her departure from Xilam, Morgann Favennec has joined Ellipse Animation — a subsidiary of the Franco-Belgian film and audiovisual production group Media-Participations — in the created the position of VP International Financing. Favennec will take up her position on September 15. She will also will be attending Cartoon Forum (September 18-21) for the presentation of the new series project, Komodo No Chill, with the studio team.
Alongside Managing Director Caroline Audebert (to whom Favennec now reports) and VP Creative Development & Strategy Lila Hannou, Favennec will secure international coproduction and presales agreements for all series and features projects produced by Ellipse Animation (around 20 projects are in progress at different stages of development within the company, such as the series The Marsupilamis, Dreamland, Trotro & Zaza and Komodo No Chill). She will also take part in the international development of the Group’s IPs.
Holder of a DESS in international trade negotiation from La Sorbonne Nouvelle, Favennec has been in key positions in the animation industry over the past 20 years. She was head of acquisitions at The Walt Disney Company from 2004 to 2006, before taking charge of youth programs at M6 Groupe. In 2013 she was appointed Deputy Managing Director at Superights. Since July 2017, Favennec was EVP, Distribution at Xilam, supervising and orchestrating international distribution strategies, contributing to the overall influence of the company’s productions.
Richard Cormier [ph: Pierre-Luc Dufour for NFB]Suzanne Guèvremont, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada, announced the appointment of Richard Cormier as Director General, Programming, Creation, Distribution & Marketing and Head of Programming for the NFB, effective September 11. He will oversee the definition and implementation of the organization’s vision within production, distribution, marketing and business intelligence teams, providing creative leadership and ensuring that the NFB remains a nationally and internationally acclaimed institution.
Cormier has worked for more than three decades in audiovisual production and post-production, content creation and as an innovator in creative technology, both in Canada and the United States. He has experience in senior management and holds an executive MBA from McGill University. At age 24, Cormier co-founded Buzz Image, the first post-production studio in Canada to offer digital VFX. In 1995, he created an innovative product that allowed filmmakers to review several production processes in real time which drew interest from Bell/Téléglobe, and he would later partner with the company.
In 1999, Cormier was recruited by Ascent Media for the Los Angeles-based position of Senior Vice President. He created a financially successful studio dedicated to producing films, ads and TV series. He relocated to New York in 2004, where he joined the post-production group Nice Shoes and made his mark by implementing synergies, cost-saving measures and more efficient processes. In 2005, he moved on to Ringside in Detroit, where he served as President. During his six years with the company, he transformed it from a traditional advertising and digital production and post-production studio to a fully integrated creative-services house. After returning to Montreal, Cormier led the global expansion of Moment Factory’s production services. In 2020, he joined MELS, where he created a virtual production division in addition to heading the company’s digital creative services.
Mocap & performance capture specialist The Imaginarium Studios announced three key appointments, all of whom will report to CEO Matt Brown:
Working out of both company facilities at Pinewood Studios and Ealing, new Business Development Manager for gaming Alex Hill‘s immediate focus will be to strategically strengthen and further position the studio to service existing and new gaming clients. He will also partner with existing film & TV clients to provide them with top quality services while procuring new clients and identifying fresh business ventures and opportunities.
Prior to joining The Imaginarium Studios, Hill was a Lead Producer in the central Zynga creative Marketing team, managing asset creation for games such as Star Wars Hunters, Game of Thrones, Words with Friends, CSR2 Racing and FarmVille 3. Before this he was the Senior Manager of Creative Services at Activision Blizzard, delivering localized artwork assets in 15-20 languages for all AAA Franchise titles globally on PlayStation, XBOX, Nintendo, PC and mobile.
Dan Baybutt returns to The Imaginarium Studios as Post Production Supervisor, having originally started his career with the company back in 2015. In between, he worked at Wētā FX, where he was a motion editor, prior to this he worked at ILM as a mocap TD. Throughout his career, he has played a pivotal role in bringing memorable performances to films that have heavily relied on motion and performance capture, such as Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Batman and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. He’s also been instrumental in many gaming productions and virtual concerts like ABBA Voyage.
As Operations Manager, Lucy Pennington will be based at Pinewood and the company’s offices in Ealing, she’ll be responsible for all aspects of logistics and planning support to the production clients before, during and after their residency at the studio. Pennington is on familiar ground, having joined the company from Pinewood Studios where she worked as a receptionist providing excellent customer service as the first point of contact welcoming Visitors, Productions, Tenants and Staff.
L-R: (top) Margherita Premuroso, Élodie Friess, Hugo Brochard, (bottom) Sean Sotaridona, Jeremy Robert, Francois Lambert, Jake Morrison
More Hirings, Promotions & Signings:
Studio AKA announced accomplished animator and character designer Margherita Premuroso as the latest addition to its director roster.
Superights has reorganized its sales team, upping Hugo Brochard to International Sales Manager and hiring on Élodie Friess as new Sales Coordinator, both reporting to Nathalie Pinguet, Deputy MD Sales & Acquisitions.
Framestore has welcomed two seasoned VFX Supervisors to its Montreal Team: Francois Lambert and Jeremy Robert.
DNEG has forged a new creative partnership with BAFTA-nominated VFX Supervisor Jake Morrison.
Tokido announced the appointment of magician-influencer Sean Sotaridona (Sean Does Magic) as global brand ambassador for its in-house IP Piñata Smashlings.
Pixotope virtual production platform solutions company is bolstering its outreach to broadcast and Asia-Pacific markets, naming Phil Ventre VP of Strategy & Global Business Development and Vivian Yu Marketing Director, APAC and Global Sales Enablement Lead.
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of Japan’s powerhouse animation studio Polygon Pictures, best known in the U.S. for producing stellar productions such as Knights of Sidonia, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea, the hot new Netflix series Mech Cadets and providing animation for shows as wide-ranging as My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Transformers Prime and Lost in Oz. We recently had the pleasure of interviewing the studio’s rockstar CEO Shuzo John Shiota, who brought us up to date on his company’s past and future.
Shuzo John Shiota
Animation Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about the history of Polygon?
Shuzo John Shiota: Toshi Kawahara founded the company in 1983. It was quite rare for an individual without significant funding to start a CG animation company back then, given that SGI’s were quite expensive at the time. In fact, even though Toshi touted the studio as a CG studio, we didn’t have a graphic workstation until about five years after its founding.
In 1988, Polygon started the Big Bang Project, which aimed to develop a fully-rounded application called Mesozoic, capable of modeling, animating and rendering a dinosaur. This was quite audacious, given the CG at the time could only express hard surface objects like cars and cans. The final output apparently impressed James Cameron and ILM, who were seeking solutions to animate shape-shifting Terminator, T-1000.
In 1995, Polygon created Rocky and Hopper, two rockhopper penguin brothers, which starred in a hair mousse commercial for Shiseido. The brothers eventually sold 150 million USD worth of merchandise, raking in royalties for Polygon.
Since the early 2000s, Polygon has sought opportunities in the U.S., as CG animation was not well regarded in Japan back then. After landing production for Disney TV’s My Friends Tigger & Pooh in 2005, Polygon has been a regular in episodic television production, getting multiple Emmys for programs such as Transformers Prime and Lost in Oz.
Since 2014, Polygon has returned to Japanese domestic market by producing anime programs such as Knights of Sidonia, BLAME! and, more recently, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea.
Knights of Sidonia
Can you tell us how you became involved with the studio?
It was purely accidental. I quit my job with Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steel manufacturer in 1996, and a friend of mine who had quit the same company prior, invited me to consult for Polygon. I had no prior knowledge (frankly, nor much interest) about CG or animation, but I was in need of a job, and was impressed with what Toshi and the company were doing at that time — setting up a joint venture between Namco and Sony Computer Entertainment to create an $80 million dollar feature film.
What do you think is the secret to the studio’s success over the years?
We’ve been true to our mission statement, which is “To do what no other has done, in unparalleled quality, for the world to see and enjoy,” and we’ve been very lucky with the people we’ve worked with over the years.
Tron: Uprising
What is your take on the animation scene today?
Frankly, with the slowdown of the North American market since last year, this year has definitely been exciting, but in a bad way. I do think that the tides will turn, and as with all challenges, it will create new opportunities in the long run.
I am also very encouraged by the huge interest in all things Japanese (like manga, anime, games and J-pop) — and since we’ve always been in the middle, connecting the west with Japan, we are in an advantageous position.
How many people are currently employed at Polygon?
About 400 including our sister companies, Polygon Pictures Malaysia and Polygon Studios India.
Transformers Prime
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
My Friends Tigger & Pooh
What is one thing the animation community (our readers) don’t know about Polygon?
We have nearly 20 translators and interpreters in house, as more than 15 percent of our staff is from non-Japanese speaking countries and about 50 percent of our clients are overseas.
What are some of the challenges ahead?
Per above, the slowdown of the North American animation market, coupled with the writers’ strike continues to be a challenge. But as mentioned, all challenges present us with new opportunities.
Mech Cadets
What is our take on the global animation scene in 2023 and beyond?
The viewing behavior for animation is rapidly changing, perhaps benefiting those of us who have been producing in Japan, as animation is becoming more and more for older skewing audiences, and the look and style is getting much more diverse. I think we are in an advantageous position in this change of tide.
What are some of your proudest moments throughout the years?
I guess being awarded the Emmy: The jubilation felt at the ceremony is one of my proudest.
For more information about Polygon Pictures, visit ppi.co.jp.
The suspect in the deadly 2019 arson attack at Kyoto Animation’s No. 1 studio in Japan, Shinji Aoba, admitted setting the fire that killed 36 of the 70 people in the building (and injured 32 more) during his first lay judge trial hearing on Tuesday, September 5. Despite these comments, the defense team for the 45-year-old man are requesting leniency, and intend to argue that Aoba was either mentally incompetent or experiencing diminished mental capacity when he carried out the attack.
“I have done [what I have been accused of],” Aoba told the judge. “That was the only way [I could get myself heard] at the time. I didn’t think so many people would die. Looking back, I’d gone too far.”
Aoba attended court pushed in a wheelchair and bearing facial scars. He had been severely burned in the KyoAni fire himself, and was not physically stable enough to be arrested for the crime until May 2020. This was followed by six months of psychiatric evaluation of his fitness to stand trial before his December 2020 indictment, due to his history of mental health issues and psychiatric hospitalizations.
As has been previously reported, Aoba allegedly set the fire because he believed that the studio had “stolen” material he submitted to the company in a writing contest. Prosecutors at the trial further revealed that Aoba has specifically fixated on one female director he had formerly admired, whom the suspect believed stole one of his works, and he envied her success. The prosecutors argued that this “unreasonable grudge” was the motive for the crime, and that “[Aoba] may have had delusions, but the criminal acts were not based on that” and he “was completely mentally competent” when he instigated the attack.
Prosecutors also averred that the suspect had previously planned a mass stabbing at Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture about one month before the KyoAni attack, entering the the station with six knives, but decided not to go ahead with that plan at last.
Roughly 500 people, including many anime fans showing their support for the studio, waited in line at the Kyoto District Court for a chance to snag one of the 35 public seats in the courtroom. Tuesday’s opening session will be followed by 23 further hearings, which Japanese papers note is an exceptionally long span for a lay judge trial. A verdict is scheduled to be released on January 25, 2024.
Ahead of the trial, a documentary about Takahiro Ueda — the doctor tasked with treating Aoba for the second- and third-degree burns covering 90% of his body after the attack — aired on Kansai Television Broadcasting on September 1. In a promo clip from the special, the doctor shared how the mental anguish of the situation weighed on him, saying: “I was worried that if I let him die, I would disappoint the bereaved families and victims.”
Titled The Document: Beyond the Blaze ~ The Kyoto Animation Incident and the Woman Who Was Set on Fire 29 Years Ago (part of the KTB series The Document) also featured a segment on Masumi Okamoto, who was burned when a man attacked her in her workplace in 1994 and is now an advocate for victims of violent crime.
Founded in 1985, Kyoto Animation is the studio behind successful anime television and film franchises such as Clannad, K-On!, Free!, Sound! Euphonium, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Tsurune and Violet Evergarden, as well as the critically acclaimed feature films The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, A Silent Voice and Liz and the Blue Bird. While the tragic attack traumatized the studio and community and caused production delays, the KyoAni team has made a remarkable comeback and has released several new shows and movies since — including Violet Evergarden: The Movie, Free! The Final Stroke and Tsurune: The Movie — The First Shot.
Angel Studios is looking to follow the success of The Wingfeather Saga with another crowdfunded animated series — this time, a Hebrew scripture-inspired, anime-style fantasy adventure titled Gabriel & the Guardians. The projected was debuted at GalaxyCon in Austin on Friday, giving attendees a first glimpse at the world of Ara, where “Celestial beings, mortals and dark giants collide in a battle for destiny and light.”
The announcement at GalaxyCon also unveiled the series’ lineup of recognizable voice actors signed on to the project: Johnny Yong Bosch (Trigun, Bleach, Persona 4, Power Rangers) will star as Gabriel, with James Arnold Taylor (Ratchet & Clank, Final Fantasy X, Star Wars:The Clone Wars) as Malachros and Matt Lanter (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ultimate Spider-Man), as Nok.
“Anime is a growing market around the world, and the Angel Guild has expressed incredible excitement about this series,” said Jeffrey Harmon, Chief Content Officer at Angel Studios. “We are excited to step into this market, bringing what we believe to be the first equity crowdfunded anime series to life.”
Series creator Jason Moody commented, “Just like Tolkien’s Middle-earth is influenced by Northern European mythos, our fantasy world of Ara is shaped by the lore and mythos found in ancient Hebrew writings and Mesopotamian cultures.”
Synopsis:Gabriel and the Guardians is an epic fantasy series that tells the journey of Gabriel, a Celestial being from an unseen realm. With unyielding optimism, Gabriel never backs down and inspires his friends through enchanting adventures of truth and self-discovery.
Angel Studios is currently polling interest from potential investors via its crowdfunding platform. More information about the project is available at angel.com/Guardians.
On the heels of the debut success of Nimona, Annapurna Animation is ramping up its creative leadership team and feature slate, bringing on the film’sdirector Nick Bruno and producer Julie Zackary on board. The division is set to expand its feature development slate with an adaptation of the acclaimed video game Stray. Also in development is Foo, the next project from renowned director Chris Wedge.
Nick Bruno is already on tap to develop and direct an untitled original feature film, and he is actively developing several new original ideas under Annapurna Animation. He made his feature film directorial debut as a Director on Spies in Disguise. A few of Bruno’s additional credits include Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, Rio, The Peanuts Movie and the Oscar nominated short, No Time for Nuts.
Annapurna Animation’s development slate will also include a feature adaptation of Annapurna Interactive’s multi-million unit selling, award winning video game, Stray, developed by BlueTwelve Studio. The award-winning title casts the player as a stray cat as it seeks to untangle an ancient mystery and escape from a decaying, forgotten cybercity with the help of a small flying drone. Annapurna plans to adapt more titles from their extensive Annapurna Interactive library.
Chris Wedge is an Oscar-winning film director, producer and co-founder of Blue Sky Animation Studios. Wedge wrote and directed Blue Sky Animation’s first film, Bunny, garnering an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. He went on to direct the highly touted and Oscar-nominated feature film, Ice Age. Wedge is currently developing his next animated feature film, Foo, for Annapurna Animation.
Former Blue Sky Studios executive Julie Zackary is joining Annapurna Animation as Head of Animation Production. Zackary will oversee all aspects of production throughout Annapurna Animation’s division. Zackary served as VP of Production Management at Sony Pictures Imageworks before joining Blue Sky Studios as Vice President of Production.
Also joining the division is Erica Pulcini as Creative Executive. In her new role, she will help curate, develop and further define Annapurna Animation’s feature film slate.
In December 2022, Annapurna announced the launch of its Animation division being led by former Disney Animation Executives Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein. Annapurna Animation’s debut project, Nimona, premiered on June 14 at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and released globally on Netflix June 30.
Feathering the nest for the arrival of Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget on Netflix December 15, the streamer today unveiled the official teaser trailer, key art and freshly hatched catching announcement for the eagerly awaited Aardman sequel.
In the new preview, fans can catch a first glimpse of Melisha Tweedy (a.k.a. Ginger’s arch nemesis, Mrs. Tweedy), voiced by accomplished stage, film and television actress Miranda Richardson, who has refashioned herself for a new era of fowl-play in the teaser trailer out today. Also joining the cast is British actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, Peter Serafinowicz, who voices Reginald Smith — a humorless businessman who along with Tweedy poses a new and bigger threat to chicken-kind.
“They say a movie is only as good as its villain, and Ginger’s nemesis, Mrs. Tweedy, is one of the all-time greats. Now she’s out to take industrial-scale revenge on all chicken-kind with the Dawn of the Nugget,” said director Sam Fell. “We’ve had so much fun working with Miranda Richardson to transform Melisha Tweedy into the ultimate 1960s super-villain. Miranda has a unique understanding of drama and comedy, making you laugh while scaring the pants off you in the exact same moment. Also rounding out our fantastic cast is Peter Serafinowicz playing Reginald Smith, a slightly bemused businessman visiting Mrs. Tweedy’s giant nugget factory. It takes a particular kind of comic genius to play the foil to Miranda Richardson’s hilariously frightening archvillain. Peter pulls it off with effortless finesse.”
Synopsis: From the multi Academy and BAFTA award-winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep), and Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away, respectively) comes Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved and highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, Chicken Run.
Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream — a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!
Fell directs from a screenplay by Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’Farrell and Rachel Tunnard. Producers are Steve Pegram, p.g.a. and Leyla Hobart, p.g.a., with Peter Lord, Nick Park, Carla Shelley, Fell, Paul Kewley and Kirkpatrick as executive producers. The film also features music by Harry Gregson-Williams.
A dozen companies from ten countries have been nominated for the Cartoon Forum Tributes 2023, which recognize the leading names in European animation over the previous year across three categories: Broadcaster, Investor/Distributor and Producer of the Year. These awards will be voted by around 1,000 professionals attending Cartoon Forum, the European co-production forum for animated TV series that will be held in Toulouse, France from September 18-21.
Organizers of the event point out that the diversity of this year’s Cartoon Forum Tributes nominees, regarding both their profiles and the countries from which they hail, reflect the forward momentum of the animation industry across the continent.
This edition of Cartoon Forum will present 77 TV series from 16 European countries, totaling a €398 million budget and 479 hours of content. Besides the pitching sessions, this year the event will be host to Animated UK Meets Europe, an initiative to encourage co-productions between European and U.K. producers.
Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT offers a wide range of content both through its free-to-air channels and its FVOD platform. Specifically aimed at preschoolers and school children, weekly programming block Vaiku sekmadieniai broadcasts animated and live-action series. LRT also supports the up-and-coming domestic animation production by co-producing series such as BFF and Babookums.
Owned by AMC Networks International, Budapest-based Minimax is a pay television channel broadcasting in five languages throughout 11 Central and Eastern Europe countries. Launched in 1999, this 24/7 channel offers mostly non-violent programs for preschoolers and children.
Portuguese public broadcaster RTP offers content aimed at preschoolers and children under Zig Zag, a programming space 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.
RTL Group’s Super RTL is the leading content provider for kids in Germany. Aimed at 3-5 preschoolers and 6-10 kids, Super RTL’s umbrella brands — Toggo and Toggolino — feature their content via linear TV channels, streaming service, digital radio and a variety of online platforms.
Investor/Distributor of the Year
Co-production and distribution company APC Studios’ APC Kids features a growing portfolio of high-profile children’s and family properties, including animated series Kid-E-Cats, DinoCity, Galactic Agency and Fox and Hare, among others. APC Kids also houses its own production company, Zephyr Animation.
Barcelona-based DeAPlaneta Entertainment – Kids & Family acquires, produces and distributes internationally recognized brands, including Miraculous Ladybug, Milo and Gormiti. The company’s catalog features everything from films, series and licensed products to live shows, sports competitions and, more recently, NFT development.
With a catalog ranging from preschool to adult animation, Dublin-based Monster Entertainment distributes its titles in more than 180 countries. Tiny Toot, Fia’s Fairies and Ollie are some of the newest series in their line-up. The company is also involved in content production.
London-based distributor Serious Kids holds a high-quality IP portfolio featuring animated and live-action series for preschoolers, children and family audiences. Established in 2011, this company distributes acclaimed series such as Gigglebug, Messy Goes to Okido, Tulipop, Best & Bester, Flix and Girls of Olympus.
Producer of the Year
Based in France and Canada, Blue Spirit Productions develops and produces original projects and adaptations for television and theatrical release. With a slate featuring over 80 hours of programming, the company has been involved as a producer in remarkable series as Arthur and the Children of the Round Table, as well as in award-winning films as My Life as a Zucchini. At Cartoon Forum 2023, they will be presenting Gisele and Her Little Monsters.
Founded in 2013, Gigglebug Entertainment is an animation studio based in Helsinki that creates, develops and produces children’s content. The preschool series Gigglebug and the animated comedy Best & Bester are two of its most acclaimed titles. As for this year’s Forum, they will be pitching the in-development series A Super Epic Tadpole Journey to the Surface of Croak Creek.
Paris-based animation producer and distributor GO-N Productions was established in 2004. Globally renowned both for its own productions and for its co-productions with renowned partners worldwide, the company is dedicated to the creation of high-quality animation for kids. Simon Super Rabbit, Zip Zip and Jasmin’s World are some of the series by this company, that this year will be presenting Annette, Apprentice Witch at Cartoon Forum.
Launched in Belgium in 2008, Thuristar is a production company and creative studio that develops, finances and produces animated content. Mush-Mush and the Mushables — currently airing in 150+ countries — was their first global success. At Cartoon Forum 2023 they will be presenting the series Luce in the Lovely Land in co- production with France’s La Cabane.
Luce in the Lovely Land
Annette, Apprentice Witch
Gisele and Her Little Monsters
A Super Epic Tadpole Journey to the Surface of Croak Creek
Star Trek continues its salute to the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Animated Series with the launch of STAR TREK: very SHORT TREKS, five all-new animated promotional shorts from CBS Studios, and the new comic book Star Trek: The Animated Celebration Presents The Scheimer Barrier, both debuting on Friday, September 8 as part of the annual Star Trek Day global celebration.
Star Trek: Very Short Treks is a series of all-new animated promotional spots in the style of Star Trek: The Animated Series. The shorts will feature previously announced fan-favorite characters voiced by cast members from across the Star Trek universe, including icons Jonathan Frakes as Will Riker, Doug Jones as Saru and Armin Shimerman as Quark, and a line-up of new voices, including Ethan Peck as Spock, Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher, Celia Rose Gooding as Uhura, Connor Trinneer as Trip Tucker, Bruce Horak as Hemmer, Noël Wells as Tendi and the legendary George Takei as Sulu.
Star Trek: Very Short Treks comes from creative consultant Casper Kelly, best known for the viral smash hit Too Many Cooks and his work on Star Trek: Short Treks and Adult Swim. The first animated spot will launch on Star Trek Day, September 8, exclusively on StarTrek.com and the official Star Trek YouTube channel, with four additional animated spots rolling out weekly on Wednesdays through October 4 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. Titles and release schedule include:
Sept. 8 – “Skin a Cat”
Sept. 13 – “Holiday Party”
Sept. 20 – “Worst Contact”
Sept. 27 – “Holograms, All the Way Down”
Oct. 4 – “Walk, Don’t Run”
Kelly will also release a new comic book with IDW Publishing, Star Trek: The Animated Celebration Presents The Scheimer Barrier. The first chapter of the comic will debut digitally on September 8 on StarTrek.com with physical copies available at New York Comic Con in October. Additional chapters of the comic will drop weekly on Wednesdays on StarTrek.com at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET.
Previously announced Star Trek Day programming and events can be found at StarTrek.com/Day.
Formative Greek society and its fictional pantheon of gods, goddesses and monsters might seem like a curious arena for a new animated TV series. But this month, Dan Harmon, the man who gave us Community and Rick and Morty, is traveling back in time to channel the ancient age of Greek civilization with their new FOX series, Krapopolis.
Kicking off its 13-episode debut season after FOX’s NFL doubleheader broadcast on Sunday, September 24, Krapopolis is set roughly 5,000 years ago during the primitive Bronze Age and chronicles the lives of a dysfunctional family of flawed humans, lofty deities and beastly creatures trying to keep order in one of the Earth’s first cities without strangling each other.
The stellar main voice cast includes Hannah Waddingham (Deliria), Richard Ayoade (Tyrannis), Matt Berry (Shlub), Pam Murphy (Stupendous) and Duncan Trussell (Hippocampus). Guest stars appearing this season are Ben Stiller, Joel McHale, Susan Sarandon, Dave Franco and Chris Hardwick.
Popular Gods and Monsters
The buzz around this new show, spawned from the twisted minds of Harmon, executive producer Steve Levy and supervising director Pete Michels, is quite high, as evidenced by a sneak peek screening at San Diego Comic-Con in July that was forced to turn away more than 500 disappointed fans.
The genesis of Krapopolis’ hilarious chaos occurred five years ago while FOX was undergoing a regime change and they were shifting personnel around. Discussions arose concerning who they’d like to work with in the near future and Rick and Morty’s crew came up.
“They wanted to try moving in a different direction in animation and were tired of the same old development cycles,” Levy tells Animation Magazine. “Fortunately, we were on their list to meet with [FOX Chief] Michael Thorn, who had worked with Dan 10 or 15 years ago developing a project. He always enjoyed working with Dan and thought he was brilliant.”
“So, he brought us in and we all had a very holistic conversation about how we could work together,” says Levy, who has two Emmy nominations for his work on Rick and Morty. “Then, they made us an offer for an exclusive primetime animation deal. Out of that we started development with FOX and we had four or five ideas we went in with. Michael was the one who said, ‘Dan — Way back when, you’d pitched me this crazy idea for a show about people in ancient Greece. Would you ever be willing to unearth that dinosaur of a project and figure out a way to make it work for FOX Animation?’”
Steve Levy [ph: Cassandra Church]
‘Playing in ancient Greece and mythology was always something Dan [Harmon] wanted to do so badly, but just couldn’t figure it out. He’d sold multiple projects through the years taking place in ancient Greece, but nothing ever took foothold.’
— Executive producer Steve Levy
According to Levy, Dan Harmon has always been mildly obsessed with Greek mythology and the teachings of famed author Joseph Campbell and his story structure models. “Campbell and his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, is all derivative in studying mythology,” says Levy. “Playing in ancient Greece and mythology was always something Dan wanted to do so badly, but just couldn’t figure it out. He’d sold multiple projects through the years taking place in ancient Greece, but nothing ever took foothold.”
Besides an old Jay Ward segment of Peabody’s Improbable History and the 2020 Netflix adult toon Blood of Zeus, few animated series have explored the rich world of Greek history. The element that attracted the Krapopolis team most was that these Greek legends and lore are universal. It may not be a religion that people regularly subscribe to anymore (not that we know of!), but it’s certainly one that’s still studied internationally by scholars, historians and artists.
“It’s everywhere,” Levy adds. “It’s referenced casually in regular television or books. There are plays still based on ancient Greek mythology or are contemporary tellings of old myths. Something that’s important to us as creatives is focusing on character and humanity. And I think you see that a lot in Rick and Morty and is the reason why that show is so successful.”
He adds, “Even though we go to crazy places much like Krapopolis with all the gods and monsters, there’s still that humanity that grounds us. It’s entirely relatable whether it’s thousands of years ago or today. People are still people and they’re still going to be petty or selfish or still trying to make the world a better place. We just felt like it was a very evergreen playground to do a lot of cool commentary on contemporary times through the ancient Greek myth.”
Another Toon Veteran
Supervising director Pete Michels (Family Guy, The Simpsons, Inside Job) had collaborated with Dan Harmon before on Rick and Morty, so he was intimately familiar with his work and has always been a great admirer.
“I’m also a history buff and when they said it was ancient Greece and it’s a historical comedy, I told them I’m on board,” Michels recalls. “I’m always watching archaeology shows and reading archaeology books. I think it’s ripe for storytelling and it fits perfectly with animation. Everybody knows about Zeus and Athena from studying mythology in high school. Doing a modern spin and giving them a certain personality that we’re familiar with today is fun. I mean they’re all pretty self-centered and narcissistic, and they have all these weird hang-ups.”
Being that Rick and Morty is untethered by traditional network television restrictions airing on cable’s Adult Swim, there were subtle content guidelines and restrictions for Krapopolis.
“It’s funny because both shows are TV-14,” Levy explains. “You’d think that Rick and Morty is TV-MA, but it’s actually not. The difference is Adult Swim is cable and FOX is network. So, there’s a bit more restriction, and also Rick and Morty airs past a certain hour, whereas Krapopolis is airing in primetime.”
“We certainly wrote a lot of stuff that S&P and FOX had to say, ‘Ohhh, I don’t know,’” notes Levy. “We absolutely can’t show nudity or say certain words. But they don’t want us to sacrifice any joke or creative endeavor because they’re having to tell us not to do these things. They find a way to work together to make it palatable for both sides so that no jokes are lost. Which is great because we’re playing in an incredibly violent world where incest existed more prevalently and all these crazy things. We want to be true to what the mythology was telling us and not shy away from any of the unfortunate taboos of the time. To shine a light on them and show the world how far we’ve come, or how we’ve not come. Not very far at all, as a people.”
As supervising director and bona fide ringmaster of the entire Krapopolis production, Michels and his creative unit were dedicated to delivering a certain unique animation style and tone.
‘We knew we wanted to make it look different than other shows on FOX. Since it was a Dan Harmon show we didn’t want it compared to Rick and Morty. We wanted to have textured backgrounds but also wanted to have a shorthand.’
— Supervising director Peter Michels
“We knew we wanted to make it look different than other shows on FOX,” he reveals. “Since it was a Dan Harmon show we didn’t want it compared to Rick and Morty. We wanted to have textured backgrounds, but also wanted to have a shorthand. Like with The Simpsons and Family Guy it’s a little bit more flat color. It takes less time to do but we wanted something easy like that without getting too crazy. The look of Disenchantment and Adventure Time was something we all liked.”
“For the characters themselves, since it was an adult show, you don’t want to make it too cartoony or round and bouncy. We wanted it to be more like a sitcom; more like these are real characters and real existing people. The animation style is not very squashed and stretched. Kind of like what we did with The Simpsons Halloween shows where you can take liberties with the characters and morph them and change them and do different things with them.”
Concerning the actual animation duties, season one is being done by Saerom and NE4U, two acclaimed animation studios in Seoul, South Korea.
“It’s hand drawn. Even though we’re using Storyboard Pro for storyboards and Photoshop for the background and character designs, it’s being animated in Harmony,” Michels says. “They’re not rigged 2D characters. They’re all being drawn by hand. It’s not the same studio that Rick and Morty are using in Vancouver. Title sequences are done by Dublin, Ireland animators and we also had Toon City in the Philippines do an episode. So, we’re kind of all over the place.
He adds, “Animation is tedious in its details — looking for those little moments, making sure the visual gags are playing. Because you can easily lose a gag if you’re not staging it right or timing it right. We do have a great team of board artists, designers and editors and we make sure everybody is on the same page and up-to-date with the newest changes.”
Levy says he’s very pleased with all the support the show has received from FOX. “Their belief and passion in Krapopolis led to them pushing hard for the show to get one of the best time slots, which obviously comes after Sunday night football,” he notes. “So, for Krapopolis to air after the NFL is a huge honor that says so much to us as creators. Our network really believes in this show. That gives us wind beneath our wings.”
With the Labor Day Weekend officially in gear, we take a look back at the first eight months of the year to see which animated movies were the most successful titles at the box office. It’s obvious by now that Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie was the blockbuster animated pic of 2023. The well-received pic, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, with a script by Matthew Fogel, first debuted domestically on April 5 and ruled the box office until the arrival of Sony Pictures Animation’s sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on June 2nd. The Nintendo classic game-inspired title has had a great run with $574.876,710 box office gross domestically and a super impressive global haul of $1,359,686,799 worldwide. Meanwhile Spider-Verse, which will begin its DVD/Blu-ray run on Sept. 5 (Tuesday), became the second-place champ with a worldwide gross of $689,342,516 and a U.S. total of $381,210,457.
Despite a lukewarm start, the Peter Sohn-directed Pixar summer release, Elementalproved that sometimes a slow and steady performance can translate to big numbers at the box office as well. The movie, which had a $29.5 million opening weekend, has been able to draw family audiences to theaters consistently over the past three months. This past week, Elemental’s worldwide totals reached $469.5 million , which beat Pixar’s own 2006 pic Cars ($462 million worldwide) and the original 1995 Toy Story ($394 million worldwide).
Paramount’s inventive new take on the The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem came out of its shell on August 2, and has had a great run at the box office as well. The film, which was directed by Jeff Rowe (with a script by Rowe, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit) has made over $139.7 million worldwide and should continue to perform well until the fall crop of family pictures hit the big screen.
Animation fans will have several hot new titles to look for in the months ahead:
Sept. 15The Inventor (Blue Fox Ent.), Director: Jim Capobianco
Sept. 22PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Paramount), Director: Cal Brunker
Oct. 13.Inspector Sun & the Curse of the Black Widow (Viva Kids) Dir: Julio Soto Gurpide
Oct. 20 My Love Affair with Marriage (8 Above), Director: Signe Bauman
Nov. 17Trolls Band Together (DreamWorks/Univ.), Director.: Walt Dohrn
Nov. 21Leo (Netflix), Directors: Robert Smigel, Robert Marianetti, David Wachtenheim
Nov. 22Wish (Disney), Directors: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn
Dec. 15Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (Aardman/Netflix), Dir.: Sam Fell
Dec. 22Migration (Illumination/Univ.), Director: Benjamin Renner
Release Dates to Be Announced:
The Boy and the Heron (GKIDS), Director: Hayao Miyazaki
They Shot the Piano Player (Sony Pictures Classics), Directors: Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba
The Peasants (Breakthru Productions),Directors: DK Welchman, Hugh WelchmanGKIDS will release Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” in time for this year’s awards season consideration.They Shot the Piano Player (Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics, Trueba PC, Mariscal Studios)
Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, an international producer and distributor of children’s animated and live-action content, recently shared an inside look into the studio for 2023’s Canadian Children’s Media Day, with President Pam Westman. The pre-recorded “20 Questions” interview is now available to watch on YouTube.
In the interview, animation enthusiasts, fellow industry leaders and Nelvana fans can gain insights direct from Westman, explore the inner workings of the studio’s creative process, get a behind-the-scenes look at beloved Nelvana shows and more. Watch the video below!
Entertaining kids for over 50 years, Nelvana produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands that focus on comedies, preschool and action series, and ancillary consumer products programs. Nelvana’s content airs on Corus Entertainment’s kids channels in Canada and in over 180 countries around the world. The studio’s library has well over 4,700 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards, including Emmys and Canadian Screen Awards.
Actors’ guild SAG-AFTRA’s National Board has voted unanimously to send a strike authorization vote to SAG-AFTRA members in preparation of the union’s forthcoming bargaining dates with signatory video game companies, which include:
Activision Productions, Inc.
Blindlight, LLC
Disney Character Voices, Inc.
Electronic Arts Productions, Inc.
Epic Games, Inc.
Formosa Interactive, LLC
Insomniac Games, Inc.
Take 2 Productions, Inc.
VoiceWorks Productions, Inc.
WB Games, Inc.
It has been nearly a year since SAG-AFTRA’s video game contract, the Interactive Media Agreement, was extended beyond the original expiration date as the union negotiated with the companies for critical terms. Now, the negotiating committee and National Board have unanimously agreed to have a member-approved strike authorization in hand when bargaining resumes on September 26.
Although key issues like wages that keep up with inflation and protections against unrestrained use of artificial intelligence are common sticking points in negotiations, the Interactive Media (Video Game) Agreement is a separate contract from the TV, theatrical and streaming contracts against which SAG-AFTRA members are currently striking.
“Here we go again! Now our Interactive (Video Game) Agreement is at a stalemate, too,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “Once again we are facing employer greed and disrespect. Once again artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work. And once again, SAG-AFTRA is standing up to tyranny on behalf of its members.
“The overlap of these two SAG-AFTRA contracts is no coincidence, but rather a predictable issue impacting our industry as well as others all over the world. The disease of greed is spreading like wildfire ready to burn workers out of their livelihoods and humans out of their usefulness. We at SAG-AFTRA say no! Not on our watch!”
Work under the Interactive Media Agreement also includes a great deal of performance capture, where trained professionals, many of whom are stunt performers, provide digitally captured performances used to give expressive movement to video-game characters. SAG-AFTRA points out that unregulated use of AI destabilizes these established professions.
“The voice and performance capture artists who bring video-game characters to life deserve a contract that reflects the value they bring to the multibillion-dollar gaming industry,” explained SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “Voice and performance-capture AI are already among the most advanced uses of AI: the threat is here and it is real. Without contractual protections, the employers are asking performers to unknowingly participate in the extinction of their artistry and livelihoods.”
In addition to AI protections, SAG-AFTRA is seeking the same wage increases for video-game performers as for those who work under the film and television contracts: 11% retroactive to expiration and 4% increases in the second and third years of the agreement — necessary for members’ wages to keep up with inflation.
The union is also asking for on-camera performers to have the same five-minutes-per-hour rest period that off-camera performers are entitled to. Also needed: a set medic present when stunts or hazardous work is performed, just like on a film or television set; prohibitions against stunts on self-taped auditions; and vocal stress protections.
A successful strike authorization vote does not initiate a strike, but permits the National Board to declare a strike if the video-game companies fail to negotiate terms deemed fair to members of SAG-AFTRA. The union’s demands include protective language in the contract that will require informed consent and appropriate payment for the creation and use of digital replicas and for training AI systems with our members’ performances.
Voting information postcards will be mailed to eligible voters on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. Voting will close at 5 p.m. PT on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Members are also invited to learn more at informational meetings set for Thursday, Sept. 7 and Tuesday, Sept. 12, both from 6-8 p.m. PT / 9-11 p.m. ET. For voting instructions, meeting information and more, visit sagaftra.org/videogames2023.
Director André Øvredal’s (Trollhunter) summer horror movie The Last Voyage of the Demeter fleshes out the chapter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula that plays out unseen aboard a London-bound merchant ship. This “Alien set on the high seas” tale follows a mysterious terror that decimates the ships crew of the ship. Days are safe, but sundown brings the terrorizing thirst of the vessel’s vampire stowaway, who emerges in darkness to bite a few necks before retiring to his makeshift cargo coffin.
As expected, not all the visuals could be achieved practically in this supernatural Gothic tale. This resulted in approximately 1,000 shots being digitally augmented by MPC and RISE under the supervision of Brad Parker (Loki, Ad Astra).
After principal photography, the original look of the iconic vampire went through an additional conceptualize phase. “We worked with Aaron Sims Creative, the ILM [Visual] Art Department and a number of other people to create various images that represented what André had in mind and wanted to do in terms of the various stages of Dracula throughout the story,” explains Parker. “There were no new magical elements added to him, but at the same time some creative liberties were taken. We put a lot of effort into this creature that starts out emaciated and humanoid. But then as he feeds, Dracula gets stronger, bolder and transforms into his winged self.”
Bloodsucking Features
Performing the role of Dracula on set was Spanish actor Javier Botet, who is 6’7” tall. “He gave us a great foundation for what Dracula’s locomotion could be and his basic attitude throughout these various stages in the film,” says Parker. “There was also a great prosthetic suit and face. We rifted off of that and ended up designing something that went a lot further. So, in most cases we ended up replacing what was there, but it was fantastic reference.”
Nosferatu/Dracula concept by Mike Hill
Motion tests were conducted at Mr. X which has been rebranded as MPC. “André would describe to me certain feelings or motions that he had about a scene. Then, we would look at what the actor had done and then talk about how things could be improved or tweaked or milk every ounce of drama and terror out of a moment,” explains the VFX supervisor. “We let the animators run free and shoot tests of themselves on video cameras, which were then cut together and laid over the edit of the film to see how those performances played.”
The director would then pick and choose which tests he liked best. “Once we honed in on what that performance could be, the team was able to do motion capture to get the general gist of the motion,” adds Parker. “But at a certain point, Dracula starts to move in a way that is beyond what a human being can do without incredible stunt rigs; that’s where hand animation would takeover. It was an iterative and creative process all along the way. Every step we were adding and adding.”
The fateful merchant ship travelling from Varna, Bulgaria to Whitby, England is a character in its own right. “The interiors and exteriors of the boat set were gorgeous,” states Parker. “We worked with the team at RISE and they created most of the digital set and ship extensions, the water and storms. It’s safe to say that 95 to 98 percent of what you see on the ship other than the deck is digital. The way this was shot there wasn’t much bluescreen and we didn’t have anything to pull keys off of. When I came aboard the show, I looked at it and there were two paths we could take: We could either roto everything and then put the CG world behind it or obliterate the whole top of the deck, most of rigging and just keep the deck of the ship and the performers; that [second path] gave us the best look and was also the most economical.”
Director André Øvredal on set with Dracula actor Javier Botet.
Only three shots in the oceanic horror tale utilized practical water. “Things needed to be heavily art directed,” remarks Parker. “They weren’t able to shoot at the time of day they wanted to. The ocean surface didn’t have the attitude or feel that André was necessarily after. At the end of the day, replacing everything was the best place to go to create a fully art directable environment for this film to live in.”
“If you compare the basic tank work to where we ended up, the film is so much more dynamic because we’ve got these massive storms and waves,” he says. “They weren’t able to agitate the water in the tank, so it was mostly calm and there were some reflections issues.”
Brad Parker [ph: Steven Squall]
‘RISE did one shot in particular that is phenomenal, where the boat is literally crashing ashore. It’s 100 percent digital … there are no cheats in the way those things were put together.’
— VFX supervisor Brad Parker
Parker believes that RISE has taken the water rendering and simulation technology to a whole new level with The Last Voyage of the Demeter. “Not only are there beautiful simulations of the water surface and spray off of cresting waves and full interactivity of that spray, but there is also on the surface sea foam and that is fully independently simulated as well as a subsurface level of sea foam and dimensionality to the water,” he says. “Often digital water is about reflecting the light and the world down onto the surface; however, this you can actually see depth. That helped the believability.”
Avoiding the size and scale issues that would make the Demeter appear as a miniature was extremely difficult. “We went through a trial-and-error phase on the size of wavelets on top of big waves,” reveals Parker. “We had LiDAR of the ship so we knew how large that was and had a general sense of the size of the storm and the big rolling waves that we might create. But it comes down to the wavelets and micro wavelets within those that give you a sense of true scale of water. We came up with this recipe that in most cases would make it look believable. It’s the same thing with atmosphere in a big open world like that. When you have a set and then the entire world around it is this massive overcast environment, playing with the density of fog and how much you see through it, how far it transmits light and any kind of interactivity of that fog, contribute to making something feel real or not.”
In Ship Shape: The talented team at RISE had the challenging task of digitally creating the merchant ship on which most of the film’s events take place as well as the storm and the ocean waves.
From Digital Port to Doomed Destination
Being on land for Varna was the most straightforward aspect of the job. “There was a great set which was heavily extended by RISE and all of the other ships were added in along with the port and water,” states Parker. “In this day and age recreating or extending something like that is simple in comparison because you’ve got this great basis for lighting and a real environment that you can rift on and extend.”
At the conclusion of the journey, the Demeter is on fire, shipwrecked off the English coastline. “A portion of that wreck was built on location, and we ended up extending quite a bit of that, but it gave us incredible reference for what the wood looks like when it’s wet, broken and in the rain at night. Leading into that, RISE did one shot in particular that is phenomenal where the boat is literally crashing ashore. It’s 100 percent digital and has full on water simulation pushing a wake forward over the sand. The boat starts to shatter as it crashes against rocks, the sails are rippling, and rain is falling. Everything is fully and truly interactive. There are no cheats in the way those things were put together.”
Universal Pictures released The Voyage of the Demeter in theaters on August 11. The R-rated film is currently playing in territories worldwide and has generated $19.8 million in box office so far.
In 2019 in Beijing, I delivered what I thought was a forward-thinking presentation on artificial intelligence (AI). My predictions on the disruptive potential of AI nearsightedly targeted bank tellers, insurance agents and truck drivers, but reassuringly dismissed the impact on content creators until decades later.
Cut to today, as AI disrupts virtually every industry — including creative fields previously thought untouchable. It’s understandable that artists and writers, the historical purveyors of human emotion and intuition, may be skeptical of a technology seemingly poised to eat their lunch.
However, forward-thinking creators need to view AI not as a threat, but as a tool that can enrich the artistic process. As a classically-trained artist and storyteller who has recently incorporated AI into my workflow, I’d like to share some firsthand insights on the technology’s benefits.
I believe that AI’s capacity for assistance and augmentation outweighs its potential for our replacement. Contrary to alarmist clarion calls, AI isn’t designed to consume creative roles, but to complement them. For writers, AI functions as a digital assistant, providing suggestions on grammar, tone, style and content. AI can be used to brainstorm, outline, expand, analyze and polish — much as one does with a writing partner.
Helpful Machines? The author suggests artists and executives should view AI simply as a tool to further enhance creativity.
This doesn’t diminish the voice or the originality of mindful storytellers. Rather, it facilitates more fruitful brainstorming, drafting and editing, with the human author as the creative driver and decision-maker in the story development process.
AI can furthermore inspire creative innovation and help overcome creative blocks, as noted by Neil Tennant of British pop band Pet Shop Boys, who is using the technology to complete unfinished songs. AI’s ability to process vast datasets exposes artists and writers to new ideas while generating unusual art or writing prompts based on patterns unseen by the human eye. In experienced hands, this infusion of unexpected inspiration can foster unique, boundary-pushing work that is a far cry from the mind-numbing, phone-thumbing crap most people currently associate with AI.
AI’s capability to simulate different narrative structures and artistic styles offers new creative sandboxes for writers and artists to play with. For visual artists, AI serves as a collaborative partner by suggesting content, composition, color and combinations. Those concerned about the ethics of “data scraping” can choose to feed AI platforms exclusively with their own creative input, as many of my colleagues and I do. The potential of any technology should not be judged or diminished based upon the lowest form of application. You can use a blade to murder someone or to perform a triple bypass.
“Skepticism towards AI among creatives is understandable given current media fear-mongering. But it’s more practical and beneficial to regard AI as a tool that can complement your unique human abilities and personal expression.”
Another beneficial aspect of AI is its potential for personal development. AI can analyze your creative work over time — highlighting trends, strengths and areas for improvement much as a career coach or mentor might. This objective analysis can guide your growth as an artist or writer — helping you understand your style and providing insights into your evolving creative voice.
Ultimately, artificial intelligence is a tool, and you’re free to determine how much influence it has over your creative process. While AI may offer suggestions or insights, the final decision always rests with you. Embracing this empowered perspective allows you to maintain your creative sovereignty while benefiting from AI’s capabilities.
And for those who have objections or misgivings about the fact that AI platforms are trained on the work of others, I offer this gentle reminder: so were you.
Illustrations by Kevin Geiger
Skepticism towards AI among creatives is understandable given current media fear-mongering. But it’s more practical and beneficial to regard AI as a tool that can complement your unique human abilities and personal expression. By viewing AI as a partner in your creative journey, you can leverage its potential to enhance your work, inspire innovation, overcome creative blocks, and drive personal growth.
As with any tool, the creative magic truly lies in the hands of the user. The brush alone doesn’t make the painting, nor does the pen craft the story. It’s human intention and expression that brings art to life. The mindful application of AI can help, not hinder, that process.
Kevin Geiger is an award-winning creator, producer and entrepreneur with over three decades of innovation in arts & entertainment — including 15 years with The Walt Disney Company as an animation supervisor and creative executive. For more info, visit kevingeiger.com.
Signature Entertainment has acquired rights to the CG-animated sequel The Jungle Bunch World Tour from M6 Group’s SND, and will be bringing the family adventure to theaters in the U.K. and Ireland in early 2024. The film is produced by TAT Productions in Toulouse, France (Terra Willy, Pil’s Adventures, upcoming Netflix Asterix series).
Synopsis: When a mysterious super-villain covers the jungle with a toxic pink foam that explodes on contact with water, the Jungle Bunch is called to the rescue. They must race around the world in search of an antidote, heading to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and more.
Based on the popular kids’ series and its 2017 feature film The Jungle Bunch (Les As de la Jungle), the second film is directed by Laurent Bru, Yannick Moulin and Benoît Somville from a script written by franchise creators David Alaux, Eric Tosti and Jean-François Tosti. The first movie earned $12.4 million at the worldwide box office and was picked up in more than 70 territories.
The Illuminated Film Company (U.K.) has launched the official trailer for its upcoming half-hour animated special A Bear Named Wojtek, inspired by the true story of a unique human-animal bond forged amid the violence and chaos of the Second World War. Co-produced by Warsaw-based independent prodco/sales agent Filmograf, the film is brought to life in an illustrative blend of hand-drawn 2D, CGI and rotoscope.
A Bear Named Wojtek
Synopsis: A half hour animated film, A Bear Named Wojtek is essentially a love story for one’s homeland — an important subject in times of refugees, nationalism and xenophobia. It relates the experience of the Polish people during World War II through the true story of Wojtek and his friend Peter Prendys, a driver in the 22nd Artillery Corps of the 2nd Polish Army.
The story begins with a platoon of Polish soldiers, exiled in the Persian Desert, trading rations for a small orphaned Syrian bear cub that Peter names Wojtek — ‘the happy warrior’. To Peter, the bear comes to represent his lost homeland, needing protection and care to become strong and independent again. To Wojtek, Peter and the soldiers become his only family. Peter and Wojtek’s journey through the war is epic, and the film explores the mythical tales of Wojtek’s alleged drinking and wrestling; becoming an enlisted soldier of the Polish Army, not to mention the famous story of Wojtek helping to fight in the Battle of Monte Cassino; and the soldier’s hope for independence.
Tragically, the realpolitik of the War’s outcome force Peter and Wojtek to become refugees in Scotland. Peter’s experience echoes the majority of the Polish people, who would become the biggest losers of the War as their land is bargained off to the Soviet Union. Despite feeling abandoned and betrayed, the Polish fortitude continues today via Wojtek, where he is still a celebrated legend — and symbol of hope. The film ends with Wojtek confined in the Edinburgh zoo, visited by his Polish friends. While they do not have the freedom they once did, the soldiers salute, and the bear salutes back – brothers until the end. (From Flickers Film Festival)
The film is directed by Scottish animator Iain Gardiner, who previously directed the shorts The Tannery, The Loch Ness Kelpie and Akbar’s Cheetah and has worked on acclaimed animated indies Ethel & Ernest, The Willows in Winter and The Thief and the Cobbler. Wojciech Lepianka wrote the pic, which features a score composed by Normand Roger. Co-producers are Iain Harvey and Wlodzimierz Matuszewskii.
The voice cast features Bill Paterson as the Zoo Director, Shauna MacDonald as Beryl, Michael Golab as Maciej, Tomek Borkowy, James Sutherland as the Chairman, Piotr Baumann as Piotr and Remi Rachuba as Jan.
Director Iain Gardner’s concept artwork of Wojtek’s retirement in ‘A Bear Named Wojtek.’
“Whilst based on true events, our film is not an animated documentary,” Gardiner explained to Skwigly. “I am interested in how within our cultures and traditions we create mythologies in nature to reflect our human experience. Wojtek becomes a metaphor for the refugee.”
The film is production of Wojtek Animation Limited and Polish/U.K. co-production between Illuminated Film and Filmograf, with production finance from the Polish Film Institute, Screen Scotland and the U.K. Government-supported Young Audience Content Fund (managed by the BFI), with TV Poland and BBC ALBA (with funding from MG ALBA) the commissioning broadcasters. Illuminated Films is handling international rights.
A Bear Named Wojtek recently premiered at Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival, and is due to screen at Anima – Córdoba International Animation Festival (Oct. 4-6 | Córdoba, Argentina) and Aesthetica Short Film Festival (Nov. 8-12 | York, U.K.). Follow ABearNamedWojtek on Instagram for the latest updates.
Apologies for ruffling feathers, as the introductory video released today by GKIDS still does not reveal any actual footage from the highly anticipated and much speculated new Hayao Miyazaki movie The Boy and the Heron — but at least we have an official mini-synopsis and drop date for a first look!
Backed by otherworldly music (the film features a score by long-time Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi), the video explains:
A young boy named Mahito
yearning for his mother
ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead.
There, death comes to an end
and life finds a new beginning.
A semi-autobiographical fantasy
about life, death and creation,
in tribute to friendship,
from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
The hand-drawn, animated feature film — Miyazaki’s first feature film in 10 years, and reportedly his last — is an original story written and directed by the Studio Ghibli co-founder and produced by his longtime company partner/co-founder and Academy Award nominee Toshio Suzuki. Hisaishi handles the musical score, and the film’s theme song, “Spinning Globe,” was penned and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.
A first-look teaser will be released on September 6, ahead of the film’s international premiere Opening Night Gala screening at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, September 7.
Tickets to all festival screenings for The Boy and the Heron at TIFF sold out in record time. This fall, the film makes its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival, its European premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and its U.K. premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
GKIDS will release the film across North America later this fall.
Today, Black Women Animate Studios (BWA) and The Titmouse Foundation announced their plan to support BWA’s goal of hiring 200 diverse animation professionals by the end of 2025. To reach this goal, the pair will introduce BWA’s new Equity Excelerator, a talent development program consisting of a series of events, content creation, online learning and visibility opportunities for historically underrepresented and diverse talent.
BWA Studios is a Black female-owned animation house that creates and produces programming and content for all platforms. The studio consciously hires Black women, women of color and nonbinary people of color to build equity in the industry. In its five years in business, BWA has fast-tracked diversity in animation, already having met 20% of its hiring goal.
The studio has offered production services to leading entertainment companies including Hulu, Netflix, Mattel, A&E, Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO, TBS, TNT, TruTV), Paramount and more. BWA’s forte is training, developing and employing diverse talent, and its methodology empowers artists to create premium content and advance their careers.
“Our Equity Excelerator is a tested, multi-pronged approach at solving for the lack of inclusion of Black and diverse talent in animation,” says Taylor K. Shaw, BWA’s Founder & CEO. “We remain at the forefront of creating access, and we’re excited for the continued innovation and opportunity our commitment to championing new voices will bring with the Equity Excelerator and The Titmouse Foundation.”
Talent selected from the Equity Excelerator will be utilized to help support BWA Studios in its mission to continue telling meaningful stories within the branded content and advertising space.
“It’s about time to start helping more Black women get in the door within the animation industry, and hear their stories,” says Shannon Prynoski, President of The Titmouse Foundation. “I am excited to make this a reality with the visionary Taylor K. Shaw, and her leadership team Fatimah Abdullah and JLove Calderón.”
Founded in 2020, The Titmouse Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity run by artists. Its goal is to share the growth and success of the Titmouse animation studio by providing opportunities for students who have been historically underrepresented.
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