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Crunchyroll has announced Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO, the newest feature film in the worldwide anime blockbuster franchise, will begin its exclusive streaming run on the platform July 12, in both subbed and dubbed versions. The film was produced with deep involvement from Dragon Ball’s original manga creator Akira Toriyama, who was behind its original story, screenplay and character design.
Synopsis: The Red Ribbon Army was once destroyed by Son Goku. Individuals, who carry on its spirit, have created the ultimate Androids, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. These two Androids call themselves “Super Heroes”. They start attacking Piccolo and Gohan … What is the New Red Ribbon Army’s objective? In the face of approaching danger, it is time to awaken, Super Hero!
Directed by Tetsuro Kodama, Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO was the first truly globally-distributed theatrical release for Crunchyroll, with the film kicking off in more than 100 countries, with 13 dub and 29 subtitled languages. The film also grossed $96 million worldwide, making it the 4th-highest grossing anime film in the U.S. SUPER HERO is the second film in the Dragon Ball Super franchis, following Dragon Ball Super: Broly which was released worldwide in 2018.
The Japanese voice cast includes Masako Nozawa (Gohan, Goku and Goten), Toshio Furukawa (Piccolo), Yūko Minaguchi (Pan), Ryō Horikawa (Vegeta), Mayumi Tanaka (Krillin), Aya Hisakawa (Bulma), Takeshi Kusao (Trunks), Miki Itō (Android 18), Bin Shimada (Broly), Kōichi Yamadera (Beerus), Masakazu Morita (Whis), Hiroshi Kamiya (Gamma 1), Mamoru Miyano (Gamma 2), Miyu Irino (Dr. Hedo), Volcano Ota (Magenta) and Ryota Takeuchi (Carmine).
The English-language dub is voiced by Kyle Hebert (Gohan), Sean Schemmel (Goku), Robert McCollum (Goten), Jeannie Tirado (Pan), Christopher. R Sabat (Piccolo and Vegeta), Sonny Strait (Krillin), Monica Rial (Bulma), Eric Vale (Trunks), Meredith Mccoy (Android 18), Johnny Yong Bosch (Broly), Jason Douglas (Beerus), Ian Sinclair (Whis), Aleks Le (Gamma 1), Zeno Robinson (Gamma 2), Zach Aguilar (Dr. Hedo), Charles Martinet (Magenta) and Jason Marnocha (Carmine).
Crunchyroll recently announced that it will also stream 15 other Dragon Ball movies and two series in July. The Dragon Ball phenomena began in 1984 when Toriyama’s manga premiered in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump, becoming a top-ranked title throughout its 10 and a half years of publication. Since then, the manga’s popularity has continued to grow with a record 260 million copies sold worldwide and counting. The property has expanded beyond manga to include TV animation, movies, games and merchandising.
The latest streaming platform content purge, this time unfolding across Paramount+’s catalog of brands, continues this week with some more quiet removals. After announcing it was cancelling and nixing four series last week, including the animated Nickelodeon series Star Trek: Prodigy, more of Nick’s kids’ and preschool catalog is clicking off.
The purge is also impacting a number of Paramount+ original series and movies.
Nickelodeon animation content removed from the platform includes:
Becca’s Bunch (Nick Jr., 2018), produced by JAM Media, Nickelodeon Animation Studio Europe and 9 Story Media Group
Digby Dragon (Nick Jr., 2016-2019), produced by Blue Zoo Productions
Monsters vs. Aliens (Nickelodeon, 2013-2014), produced by DreamWorks Animation
Peter Rabbit (Nick Jr., 2012-2016), produced by Silvergate Media (now Sony Pictures Television – Kids), Brown Bag Films and Penguin Books
Pig Goat Banana Cricket (Nickelodeons/Nicktoons, 2015-2018), produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Yeson Ent., Anima Estudios
The preschool live-action/puppet series Allegra’s Window and Mutt & Stuff were also cut from the streamer.
Matt Groening and David X. Cohen’s uncancellable animated comedy Futurama is preparing for landing on its new streaming home planet, Hulu. Starting July 24, fans can embark on brand-new, even more future-y adventures with Fry, Leela, Bender and the rest of the Planet Express crew as they encounter contemporary 31st century adventures — which, in the newly unveiled official trailer, include weathering a pandemic, confronting crypto outlaws and getting a little too comfortable with one’s virtual assistant.
Season 11 Synopsis: After a brief 10-year hiatus, Futurama has crawled triumphantly from the cryogenic tube, its full original cast and satirical spirit intact.
The 10 all-new episodes of Season 11 have something for everyone. New viewers will be able to pick up the series from here, while long-time fans will recognize payoffs to decades-long mysteries — including developments in the epic love story of Fry and Leela, the mysterious contents of Nibbler’s litter box, the secret history of evil Robot Santa, and the whereabouts of Kif and Amy’s tadpoles. Meanwhile there’s a whole new pandemic in town as the crew explores the future of vaccines, bitcoin, cancel culture, and streaming TV.
The original cast returns for S11: John DiMaggio as Bender; Billy West as Fry, Dr. Farnsworth, Zoidberg and others; Katey Sagal as Leela, Tress MacNeille as Mom and others; Maurice LaMarche as Kif Kroker and others; Lauren Tom as Amy; Phil LaMarr as Hermes and others; and David Herman as Scruffy and others.
Futurama premiered in 1999 and quickly gained a faithful following and critical acclaim, including two primetime Emmys for Outstanding Animated Program. The series follows Philip J. Fry, a New York City pizza delivery boy, who accidentally freezes himself in 1999 and gets defrosted in the year 3000. In this astonishing New New York, he befriends hard-drinking robot Bender and falls in love with cyclops Leela. The trio find work at the Planet Express Delivery Company, founded by Fry’s doddering descendant, Professor Hubert Farnsworth. Together with accountant Hermes Conrad, assistant Amy Wong and alien lobster Dr. John Zoidberg, they embark on thrilling adventures that take them to every corner of the universe.
After its initial run on the Fox Broadcasting Network, a roller-coaster of cancellations and resurrections ensued. Four successful direct-to-DVD releases in 2007-2009 led to the show’s rebirth on Comedy Central from 2010-2013. Most recently, Futurama re-emerged with a 20-episode order from Hulu.
Mexican animation got a nice shoutout this year at Annecy Festival as the country of honor, and this well-deserved spotlight is happening at the right time in history. In the past 10 years alone, Mexico has produced the same number of animated feature films and TV shows than the total of all the previous 50 years put together. Today, Mexico experiences a healthy combination of original intellectual property, work-for-hire studios, schools and festivals that foster collaboration.
“The goal of the Mexican delegation at Annecy is to display the artistry and capabilities of the Mexican animation industry, to find new co-production partners for the studios and showcase our heritage,” says Jordi Iñesta, co-founder of Guadalajara-based Latin American animation festival Pixelatl.
Among the many examples of the past decade’s exponential growth are studios such as Mighty Animation, which started out as a small venture between six friends and currently employs over 400 artists across multiple projects. Before 2014, only one Mexican short, Hasta los huesos (Down to the Bone) directed by René Castillo, was part of the official selection at Annecy Festival. Since then, we can find dozens of films and projects featured at the event each year.
Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires
Trailblazing Collaborations
This year’s Annecy Festival included a spotlight on Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires, an original animated feature-length film that places the DC superhero against the backdrop of the history of Mexico and immerses fans around the world in the exciting culture of Mesoamerica. The much-anticipated project is produced entirely in Mexico by Warner Bros. Animation, Ánima and Chatrone, and features top local talent that showcases the region’s abundant art.
Juan Meza-Leon
“As a Batman fan, the idea captivated me from the first time I heard the words ‘Aztec Batman,’” recalls the film’s director, Juan Meza-Leon. “It’s a radical and totally original concept. It blends fiction and history in a unique manner that elevates Latin American animation to new heights, and it’s all beautifully crafted with the talent of Mexican artists.”
In addition to Aztec Batman, Annecy presented panels and screenings showcasing Mexico’s animated history and most promising programs, as well as the pitching of projects in development. This year’s event also hosted the largest delegation ever to land at the festival, with an estimated number of 300 delegates including studio heads, artists and students.
Home Is Somewhere Else
A Look Back at History
The history of Mexican animation is rich and complex. The landscape of the past century had been mostly self-taught and artisanal. Up until the late 1990s, there were no college degrees specializing in animation. A few lucky artists got into international programs, including the prestigious CalArts or Gobelins, and some of them would come back to Mexico to establish their own training courses or studios.
Small studios emerged through shorts from artists that came from a fine arts and graphic design background, or computer engineers. On the commercial side, thanks to proximity to the U.S., Mexico has always been an international hub for television networks and related services: voice acting, co-production, PR and marketing offices for Latin America. This phenomenon allowed for the birth of the first major work-for-hire studios.
Feature films were produced through public funding. Government programs allowed studios to subsidize animation short film production, script development and post-production through software development initiatives or The Mexican Film Institute. Aspiring directors would have to wait in line, year after year, in the hope of winning the grants or working outside of the industry and using their income for their films.
Great projects came and went, as most efforts were disconnected from each other. Every time the industry was on pace to become a solidified structure, the lack of consistent funding, studio bankruptcy and “brain drain” phases would make all efforts almost vanish overnight. This left a wave of artists who had to start from scratch — repeatedly.
‘Huevitos Congelados’ (‘Frozen Eggs’), the fifth feature film in Huevocartoons’ successful franchise.
The Economy of Generosity
Although Mexico is one of the major markets in the entertainment industry (highest box office in LatAm and competing with Brazil as the largest video-game market) back in 2010 there was no original intellectual property on Mexican screens. A couple of notable exceptions include Ánima Studio’s El Chavo and the popular Huevocartoon movies. When foreign co-producers started looking for suitable partners, they noticed that the talent was there, but not the production capacity.
Mexico aspired to be a land of creators and original ideas, but the industry quickly learned that to reach that goal the production itself had to be up to international standards. They realized that no studio alone was going to be able to compete or get to work on their own IP with a major network when an opportunity came up.
There are a few key factors that explain the growth of Mexican animation. One is a strong sense of community: Studio heads started reaching out to each other rather than seeing each other as competition and opting to learn from each other and align pipelines. This kept everyone competitive on an international level and allowed studios to hire each other to take on more ambitious contracts.
“Pixelatl might be best known as a festival, but our purpose has been to bring the community together through events,” says Jose Iñesta, director of Pixelatl, the Mexican association founded in 2011 to promote the creation and distribution of animation, games and comic books in the region. “There are now 11 originals in production from Pixelatl alumni, 26 comic books published, 450 jobs connected and over 50 service contracts created in our networking events. We are trying to prove, beyond a doubt, that animation is a medium that our community loves and that we want to see ourselves represented on the screen.”
According to Pixelatl, there are currently 11 features in production, seven in pre-production, three series in production and nine in development in Mexico. Studios such as Boxel, Demente Animation, Mighty, Cinema Fantasma, Aska Animation, Exodo, Anima, Huevocartoon, Fotosíntesis Media, Don Porfirio, Casiopea, Llamarada Animation, Mr. Machin, Gasolina Studios, Viva Calavera!, Banzai, Metacube, AI Animation Studios and Brinca Taller are all creating innovative and original work in conjunction with international partners.
Frankelda’s Book of Spooks
An Era of Auteurs and Opportunities
One of the examples of this new wave of Mexican animation is Cinema Fantasma from Mexico City, founded by Arturo and Roy Ambriz. They started working on their first stop-motion short while in college, setting up a couple of cameras in their childhood home staffed by schoolmates and family. They gained popularity through the years and got to make short format collaborations for popular shows like Rick and Morty and Victor and Valentino. This year, they have eight animation units and have employed over 60 stop-motion specialists, as they are producing the feature film Frankelda’s Book of Spooks for Max. They have also begun production on their second movie and are working on an unannounced series for Hollywood.
Arturo & Roy Ambriz
“Animation in Mexico is at a decisive point,” say the Ambriz brothers. “As the new generation, we are ready to prove that our creativity and expertise are going to make Mexico to be known as a creative and professional powerhouse. Cinema Fantasma is currently the stop-motion studio with the most hours produced in this technique from the country. Despite the obstacles ahead, we feel happy and proud about what we are achieving.”
Last year, Guadalajara’s El Taller del Chucho played an important role in the production of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix. “I thought it was really important for their artistry to be seen in a movie of this caliber,” del Toro told Variety last year. “We needed to segment a section [in the film’s production] that was important to be contained. So, we did the limbo chamber and the funeral procession of the black rabbits [at the Taller]. They created the puppets, the sets, they art-directed and did the cinematography. I also had them animate the puppets Pinocchio and Cricket in one of the longest animation sequences in the entire movie — if not the longest.”
Ana Cruz
Another studio in the wave of Mexican animation is Casiopea, a female-owned animation studio in Mexico City co-founded by Ana Cruz, who started as an intern at Diez y Media studio and learned about the artistry and craft of animation working on short films. In 2022, Casiopea was one of four studios that worked on the production of the animated feature film Home Is Somewhere Else, an Annecy official selection that is an artistic and heartfelt film about migration, directed by Jorge Villalobos and Carlos Hagerman.
“Collective work and strategic production are the key for the Mexican animation industry, which has very limited budgets to work with,” says Cruz. “Our first feature film was possible because of the optimization of resources and pipelines of four different studios.”
Warner Media Latin America has been a main driving force for original ideas in the region. In 2014, Pablo Zuccarino, current General Manager of Kids, and Hernan La Greca, former Senior Director of Original Productions for Latin America, attended Pixelatl Festival and were surprised by the talent pool and met the future creators for their platforms.
Rey Mysterio vs. The Darkness
Inventive Approaches
In recent years, a series of initiatives, pilots and short-format experiments with limited budgets also gained popularity on social media. A popular example is Toontorial, which averages between 1 and 12 million hits per episode on YouTube. Upcoming shows include Villainous and the new Rey Mysterio series, which are set to debut on Cartoon Network soon.
As the acclaimed animator, director, writer and creator Jorge R. Gutierrez, the award-winning director of The Book of Life and Maya and the Three and creator of this year’s Annecy Festival poster artwork, points out, “Mexican animation is always special to me because animation as an art form can do so much with so little. Mexican animation can really showcase the monumental vision and epic ambitions of the brilliant artists and storytellers of our beloved country.”
Mighty Animation’s director Luispa Salmón, whose studio produced the Annecy spotlight short Kikiriki, notes, “It’s a challenging time for the global industry as our relationship with content continues to evolve, and production companies are embracing new approaches to content creation. We are witnessing a period of mergers, the rise of artificial intelligence, and even a recent writers’ strike, which calls for a reevaluation of the rules of the game. However, despite these challenges, it also marks a new cycle filled with opportunities, particularly for emerging and dynamic industries like Mexico’s.”
The dream to make it big is alive. What the Mexican studios have learned over the years is that the key to success is embracing their unique Mexican identity. The Mexican way is artistic, inventive and collaborative. The future is full of challenges and as the industry matures new issues will have to be addressed. But now more than ever, you can believe in Mexico and their commitment to animation and the creative industries.
Ithrax Studio’s 2023 movie, ‘Uma & Haggen’.
You can recap the Mexican animation presence at Annecy Festival 2023 with the hashtag #MexicoEnAnnecy on social media.
Christian Bermejo is the program manager at Pixelatl and part of the team of curators for the Mexican animation film retrospective at Annecy Festival 2023. He is a producer, writer and self-described animation, comic-book and video-game industry nerd.
Lion Forge Entertainment, the prodco behind the Academy Award-winning short Hair Love, is partnering with Taylor K. Shaw’s Black Women Animate Studios (BWA) to advance their shared mission of fostering diversity and representation in front of and behind the camera in the animation industry. BWA will work with Lion Forge’s Atlanta-based production studio to recruit a diverse pool of talent for pre-production roles on the Nigerian fantasy series Iyanu, based on the graphic novels by Roye Okupe. The show will air on Cartoon Network and Max.
The partnership is led by Lion Forge Entertainment’s Founder and CEO David Steward II, and aims to further expand access and opportunities for Black and POC animators to train the next generation of creators and producers.
“Lion Forge stands for diverse stories, authentically told,” said Steward. “BWA is one of the organizations leading the effort to open up this industry to new voices and new creators and we are thrilled to join forces with them to provide under-represented talent with the platform they deserve. Together, we will redefine the boundaries of storytelling and inspire a new generation of diverse voices in animation.”
The team-up strengthens Lion Forge Entertainment’s presence in Atlanta’s entertainment hub, and its reputation as the leading Black-owned studio celebrated for empowering underrepresented communities through storytelling. LFE recently expanded its production slate to include live-action as well as animation.
“We are thrilled to embark on this talent pipeline partnership with Lion Forge Animation. We are coming together to hire and train diverse talent for their upcoming series and will continue our efforts through an ongoing equity strategy that will be announced later this year,” said Shaw, Founder & CEO of Black Women Animate.
With a background in original IP development, BWA Studios offers design and animation solutions as well as advisory services for commercial and long-form entertainment. The studio’s production and programming resume spans all platforms, driving equity in the animation industry by intentionally hiring Black women, women of color and nonbinary people of color.
Set against the rich tapestry of Yoruba people of Nigeria’s history and achievements, Iyanu is an adaptation of Dark Horse Comics/YouNeek Studios’ popular graphic novel series Iyanu: Child of Wonder. The 2D animated series takes place in the magical kingdom of Yorubaland and centers on Iyanu, a teenage orphan girl who studies Yoruba history and ancient arts, but yearns for a normal life.
One day, Iyanu unknowingly triggers her divine powers, which have not been seen since the Age of Wonders. With these newly discovered superpowers, she joins forces with two other teenagers on a remarkable journey to discover the truth about the evil lurking in her homeland. Throughout her adventure, she’ll uncover the truth about her past, her parents and her ultimate destiny to save the world.
Last summer, it was announced that Brandon Easton (Transformers: War for Cybertron: Siege, Marvel’s Agent Carter) is spearheading the series writers’ room, with creator Roye Okupe serving as the executive producer, writer and director on multiple episodes. Lion Forge Entertainment’s Saxton Moore (Rise Up, Sing Out), will serve as supervising director, and executive producers include LFE’s Steward and Matt Heath, Impact X Capital’s Erica Dupuis, Forefront Media Group’s Ryan Haidarian and Doug Schwalbe.
Lion Forge Entertainment is represented by Activist Artists Management.
The fall festival season is already getting into gear, as the premiere North American toon celebration Ottawa International Animation Festival (September 20-24) beings its 2023 Official Selections announcements with the reveal of its Animated Series competition.
“This year’s competition features an assortment of works that range from the outrageous (Ballmastrz) and absurd (Little Edy; Haha, You Clowns), to the more thought-provoking (I Am a Robot, Yellowbird) and mesmerizing (The Sandman),” says OIAF Artistic Director Chris Robinson. “If there was ever any doubt that animation isn’t just for kids, this competition should put that tired old cliche to rest once and for all.”
At the time of their selection for the Festival, the Animated Series category includes a number of premieres. Animated Robot will have its world premiere at the OIAF, while Boys Boys Boys “Tristan,” an animated documentary series, will make its North American debut, and The Sandman “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” and Yellowbird will screen for the first time in Canada.
Home audiences will be able to step into a fantastical coming-of-age drama Lonely Castle in the Mirrorthis fall, when GKIDS releases the Keiichi Hara feature on Blu-ray ($22.98 SRP) and all major digital platforms, distributed by Shout! Factory. Pre-orders for the physical release are open now through GKIDS and Shout! Factory, as well as Amazon.
Directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hara (Miss Hokusai, Colorful, The Wonderland) and based on the bestselling novel by Mizuki Tsujimara, Lonely Castle in the Miror is fantasy-adventure anchored in the pains of growing up and the unlikely bonds that can bring people together.
Synopsis: Shy outcast Kokoro has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanted castle where she is joined by six other students. When a girl in a wolf mask explains that they have been invited to play a game, the teens must work together to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them. However, anyone who breaks the rules will be eaten by a wolf.
The English language voice cast features Micah Lin as Kokoro Anzai, Huxley Westemeier as Rion, Giselle Fernandez as Aki, Kieran Regan as Subaru, Zoe Glick as Fuka, Adrian Marrero as Masamune, Riley Webb as Ureshino and Vivienne Rutherford as the Wolf Queen.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror was the first Japanese animated feature to be selected for the Rotterdam International Film Festival, where it had its international premiere, and was nominated for Animation of the Year at the 2023 Japan Academy Film Prize.
Special features for the home release include an art gallery and film trailers.
Sony regained its footing at the top of the domestic box-office charts this weekend, as the critically acclaimed sequel Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse caught a web line back to No. 1 with an estimated $19.3 million take in its fourth week of release. The latest Pixar original, released by Disney, Elementalcame in a close second with $18.463M in its second weekend, after a less than explosive opening.
Across the Spider-Verse brings its domestic gross up to $317.05M, with this weekend’s numbers reflecting a 28.5% week-to-week drop from slightly fewer theaters (3,785). The picture was temporarily knocked out of first place by last frame’s double whammy debuts: animated family flick competitor Elemental (which opened at No 2 with $47.05M) and Warner Bros.’ live-action DC super hero actioner The Flash (No. 1 with $72.4M).
Elemental‘s domestic take stands at $65.5M, with an international total from 23 overseas markets adding up to $55.6M (worldwide: $121.1M). New weekend openings included Colombia and New Zealand, following roll outs across MENA, LatAm and in China earlier this month. The film is due to open in Japan on August 4.
Domestic Weekend Top Five:
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures) — $19.3M
Elemental (Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) — $18.5M
The Flash (DC/Warner Bros. Pictures) — $15.3M
No Hard Feelings (Sony Pictures Ent.) — $15.1M NEW RELEASE
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount Pictures) — $11.6M)
Disney had two other releases in the top 10, the live-action The Little Mermaid ($8.7M) and Marvel threequel Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 ($3.5M). Meanwhile, Universal-released Illumination/Nintendo animated superhit The Super MarioBros. Movie is still hopping around, collecting coins, picking up an additional $360K in its 12th week of release and bringing its domestic total to $527.97M (worldwide, $1.33 billion).
The 2023 Palm Springs International ShortFest announced its Festival juried and audience award winners as part of Closing Night at the Camelot Theatres (Palm Springs Cultural Center). Awards and cash prizes worth $25,000, including five Academy Award-qualifying awards were presented to the winners selected from the 299 shorts films that were part of the Official Selection. The festival took place June 20-26.
The Old Young Crow
Animation was well represented across the festival’s many awards categories, including a Best of the Festival win for Liam LoPinto’s The Old Young Crow, one of the Oscar-qualifying honors and a $5,000 cash prize (courtesy of Harold Matzner, Palm Springs International Film Society’s Immediate Past Chairman). The film centers on an elderly man as he recalls his childhood in Japan, where one day in a graveyard he met an elderly local woman who imparted important lessons to him.
Award-winning animated films listed below, the full roster of award winners and special mentions can be found at psfilmfest.org/shortfest-2023.
Way Better
Oscar-Qualifying Awards
Best of the Festival — The Old Young Crow (Japan/U.S.) Directed by Liam LoPinto
Best Animated Short ($1,000 cash prize) —
Winner:Way Better(Lithuania), Directed by Skirmanta Jakaitė
Special Mention: Ashkaska (Spain/Argentina), Directed by Lara Maltz
Special Mention: Eeva (Croatia/Estonia), Directed by Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov
The Rainbow Dung Beetle
Student Short Awards
Best Student Animated Short ($1,000 cash prize) — The Rainbow Dung Beetle (U.S.), Directed by Ellen Moway and Cole Dupzyk
Local Jury Award
Winner ($1,000 cash prize) — Under G-d (U.S.) Directed by Paula Eiselt
Special Mention — Teacups (Australia/Ireland), Directed by Alec Green and Finbar Watson
Canary
Kids’ Choice Award
Winner ($500 cash prize) — Canary (Canada), Directed by Pierre-Hugues Dallaire and Benoit Therriault
Winner ($500 cash prize) — Mushka(U.S.), Directed by Andreas Deja
Audience Awards
Best Animated Short — Ice Merchants (Portugal), Directed by João Gonzalez
The Freak Brothers are back in action on Tubi, with the first four episodes of Season 2 now available to stream, and the back four due on September 24.
Synopsis:The Freak Brothers chronicles the escapades of a trio of stoner anti-establishment characters and their smartass cat who wake up from a 50-year nap after smoking a magical strain of weed in 1969, and must adjust to life with a new family in present-day San Francisco.
In the second season, the Freaks and Kitty’s Mary Jane-fueled misadventures will take them from their high school reunion to matching wits with Mark Zuckerberg, settling old scores with Mitch McConnell, and battling Seth Rogen in a Pot Brownie Bake-Off contest.
Based on Gilbert Shelton’s cult classic underground comic series The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, the adult animated comedy returns with its all-star voice cast — Woody Harrelson (Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek), John Goodman (Fat Freddy Freekowtski), Pete Davidson (Phineas T. Phreakears), Tiffany Haddish (Kitty), Adam Devine (Chuck), Blake Anderson (Charlie), Andrea Savage (Harper Switzer), La La Anthony (Gretchen Switzer) and ScHoolboy Q as himself.
Season 2 features a special guest appearance by Joe Sikora (Power, True Detective), who will play Louis, a calm but passionate proprietor of a local fried chicken restaurant inspired by Gus Fring in Breaking Bad.
The series is executive produced by Courtney Solomon (AFTER, Mr. Church, Cake) and Mark Canton (PowerUniverse, 300, Den of Thieves), along with award-winning showrunners Alan Cohen and Alan Freedland (King of the Hill, American Dad!). Harrelson, Haddish, Davidson, Devine, Anderson, Gilbert Shelton and Manfred Mroczkowski also serve as executive producers.
The Freak Brothers is produced by WTG Enterprises and distributed by Lionsgate.
One of summer’s most eagerly awaited animated theatrical launches, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, is heating up fan excitement with a spate of brand-new character posters and “Meet the Cast” featurette from Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies. The new CG-animated action-adventure from Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures unleashes its gene spliced action on the big screen August 2.
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.
The set of 17 character spotlight posters features the other mutants lurking in N.Y.C.’S nooks and crannies: Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, John Cena as Rocksteady, Jackie Chan as Master Splinter, Ice Cube as Superfly, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Post Malone as Ray Fillet, Seth Rogen as Bebop and Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko.
These fantastical denizens are accompanied by Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman and Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom.
And, of course, our plucky teen testudines: Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo and Brady Noon as Raphael.
The featurette video includes voice star/executive producer Rogen introducing the voices of Raph, Donnie, Leo and Mikey, as well as director Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs. the Machines), Chan, Edebiri and the whole gang. (Watch it below!)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is co-directed by Kyler Spears from a screenplay by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg & Jeff Rowe and Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit, story by Brendan O’Brien and Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg & Jeff Row, based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. The film is produced by Seth Rogen, p.g.a., Evan Goldberg, p.g.a., James Weaver, p.g.a. Executive producers are Ramsay McBean and Josh Fagen.
Some of our favorite animation superstars and critics pick their favorite features of the past 23 years.
Selecting the best movies of a year, a decade or a century is not for the faint of heart. However, since everyone and their dogs were coming up with top ten lists this year, we thought our readers deserved a similar one devoted to animated movies. The past 23 years have been quite a rich and diverse period for animated features. A passing glance at the lists proves that the animation art form is alive and thriving. We love it when our favorite directors take bold chances and tell original, rewarding stories and push the art form, whether they work in 2D, CG or stop-motion.
Angry Grandpa Simpson (Image courtesy of FOX/”The Simpsons”
How did we compile this very unscientific and totally subjective list? We asked some of our favorite directors, producers and critics to give us their best animated titles of the 21st century. Then, we threw all of them in a blender and came up with an overall list. We also included everyone’s personal lists, so you can see who picked which movies (and who cheated by giving us more than ten or picking movies that didn’t belong to our specified time period (January 2000-May 2023)! (None of this summer’s big features are included, because nobody had seen them by our print deadline, which was mid-May.) Anyway, like all lists, you should definitely take ours with a grain of salt. Everyone has their own personal tastes and guidelines. But we thought this compilation will help you put together a decent must-see list in case you have missed any of these great movies. So, please don’t be upset if your favorites didn’t make it this time. It is highly likely that we’ll put together a “Best Animated Movies of All Time, EVER!” list in an upcoming issue!
THE MAIN LIST
Spirited Away (Directed by Hayao Miyazaki) 2001
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman) 2018
The Incredibles (Brad Bird) 2004
How to Train Your Dragon (Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders) 2010
Coraline (Henry Selick) 2009
I Lost My Body (Jérémy Clapin) 2019
Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson) 2009
Your Name. (Makoto Shinkai) 2016
Chicken Run (Peter Lord, Nick Park) 2000
The Secret of Kells( Tomm Moore) 2009
Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” (Studio Ghibli)
INDIVIDUAL LISTS
Bonnie Arnold, Producer, How to Train Your Dragon trilogy
How To Train Your Dragon Trilogy
Over the Hedge
Isle of Dogs
Coraline
My Life As A Zucchini
The Incredibles
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Kung Fu Panda
Despicable Me
Finding Nemo
Jerry Beck, Animation Historian, Author, Teacher
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Incredibles
A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Toy Story 3
Kung Fu Panda
The LEGO Movie
Coraline
How To Train Your Dragon
Frozen
Eric Beckman, Co-Founder, President of GKIDS
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Spirited Away
Wall-E/The Incredibles/Finding Nemo
Paprika
Song of the Sea
Your Name.
Summer Wars/Wolf Children
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Mind Game
The Boy and the World
Ernest & Celestine
Peter DeBruge, Film Critic, Variety
WALL.E
Spirited Away
Inside Out
The Illusionist
Your Name.
I Lost My Body
How to Train Your Dragon
Waking Life
Zootopia
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Sam Fell, Director, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, Paranorman
Chicken Run
The Incredibles
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Monsters Inc
Paprika
Coraline
Spirited Away
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
I Lost My Body
Kung Fu Panda
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Producer, Wendell & Wild
Coraline
Wendell & Wild
Triplets of Belleville
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Iron Giant
The Incredibles
Madagascar
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spirited Away
Finding Nemo
Henry Selick’s “Coraline”
Jorge R. Gutierrez, Director, The Book of Life, Maya and the Three
My 21st Century favorite films, going by how many times I have re-watched them, and in no particular order:
Spirited Away
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Mind Game
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Coraline
The LEGO Movie
Kung Fu Panda
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
The Book of Life (because one must love oneself before they can love others)
Jorge R. Gutierrez’s “The Book of Life” (20th Century Fox, Reel FX)
Ray Laguna, Journalist, Animacion por Adultos
Spirited Away
The Triplets of Belleville
Paprika
Persepolis
WALL·E
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Boy and the World
The Red Turtle
Wolfwalkers
No Dogs or Italians Allowed
Sheri Linden, Film Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
Spirited Away
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Secret of Kells
Anomalisa
It’s Such a Beautiful Day
The Red Turtle
The Breadwinner
My Life as a Zucchini
Toy Story 4
Waltz With Bashir
Tomm Moore’s “The Secret of Kells” (Cartoon Saloon)
Chris Nee, Creator, Doc McStuffins, Vampirina, Ridley Jones
Zootopia
The Triplets of Belleville
Up
Spirited Away
Surf’s Up
Toy Story 3
How to Train Your Dragon
I Lost My Body
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
The Book of Life
Simon Otto, Director, That Christmas
Chicken Run
How to Train Your Dragon
Ratatouille
Spirited Away
Zootopia
The Incredibles
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
I Lost My Body
Shrek 2
Jeremy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body” (Xilam Animation)
Peter Ramsey, Director, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Rise of the Guardians
The Incredibles
Ratatouille
The Red Turtle
Fantastic Mr. Fox
How to Train Your Dragon
Toy Story 3
Spirited Away
Your Name.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Wolfwalkers
Henry Selick, Director, Coraline, Wendell & Wild, The Nightmare Before Christmas
Spirited Away
Ratatouille
The Incredibles
The Secret of Kells
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
The Illusionist
The Book of Life
Isle of Dogs
Coraline
Wendell & Wild
Brad Bird’s “Ratatouille” (Pixar)
Tom Sito, Director, Storyboard Artist, Author, Teacher
Lilo and Stitch
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Persepolis
The Secret of Kells
Ernest & Celestine
How to Train your Dragon
Frozen
Kubo and the Two String
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Charles Solomon, Film Critic, Author, Journalist
Coco. When audiences and artists are calling for greater inclusion, Coco offers not only a heart-warming story, but a model of how to research and respectfully present the traditions of another culture.
Corpse Bride. Mackinnon & Saunders breakthroughs in puppet construction, Carlos Grangel’s inspired designs and Tim Burton’s singular sensibility meld in a colorful tale of the afterlife.
Millennium Actress. A brilliant account of a determined woman who overcomes all obstacles to live the life she chooses. Satoshi Kon’s premature death was a terrible loss to the art of animation.
Ratatouille. Great storytelling, excellent direction and amazing animation: Who could ask for more?
The Secret of Kells. Medieval illuminations and mid-century graphics blend in a strikingly original story that marked the feature debut of Tomm Moore and Cartoon Saloon.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Crackling with energy, Spider-Verse proved animation can still outdo live action when telling stories about comic book superheroes.
Spirited Away. Miyazaki’s masterpiece to date: The only anime feature to win both the Oscar for Animated Feature and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Festival.
Summer Wars. Neither Ready Player One or Ralph Wrecks the Internet can compare with Mamoru Hosoda’s visually imaginative storytelling about the interlocking bonds between the real world and the Web.
Toy Story 3. In the touching conclusion to a ground-breaking animated trilogy, Woody, Buzz and the gang learn, like parents, to accept that a child no longer needs them.
Up. The “Married Life” montage, which could reduce a stone to tears, is a masterpiece of animated storytelling — and cinematic storytelling.
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Innovative stop-motion animation and witty writing create the galloping absurdity only Nick Park can envision.
Your Name. One of most thought-provoking anime features in many years: A teen romcom that subtly morphs into a meditation on the continuing trauma of the Great East Japan Disaster (a.k.a. Fukushima).
Honorable mentions: How to Train Your Dragon 2, Howl’s Moving Castle, The Incredibles, Mirai, Soul, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, Wolfwalkers
Lee Unkrich’s “Coco” (Disney/Pixar)
ND Stevenson, Creator, Nimona
Nimona
The Prince of Egypt (cheating since it came out in 1998, but I can’t not include it)
Lilo and Stitch
The Emperor’s New Groove
Tokyo Godfathers
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Spirited Away
Treasure Planet
Moana
Paranorman
Pirates! Band of Misfits
Arianne Sutner, President of Production, Producer, LAIKA
LAIKA movies (Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link)
Spirited Away
Ponyo
The Incredibles
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Song of the Sea
How to Train Your Dragon
Chicken Run
The LEGO Movie
I Lost My Body
Travis Knight’s “Kubo and the Two Strings” (LAIKA)
Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Director, Kung Fu Panda 2 & 3; Love, Death + Robots
Spirited Away
Incredibles
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Shrek
Isle of Dogs
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
I Lost My Body
Coraline
Your Name.
How To Train Your Dragon
Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders’ “How to Train Your Dragon” (DreamWorks Animation)
An arguing couple are adrift on a log in the ocean and fighting for survival in Levi Stoops’ new animated short, drijf(which translates as float/push). The Belgian artist’s highly stylized short took home the Short Jury Prize the Annecy Animation Festival last week. We had the chance to catch up with the talented Belgian artist right after he took home the big prize. Here is what he told us:
Animation Magazine: Congrats on your big win at Annecy. Can you tell us a bit about the origins of drijf?
Levi Stoops
Levi Stoops: In an early version of this project there were a lot of things going on with a lot of different characters. There was this Island on the verge of extinction with cannibals and then a couple that fled the Island with the last tree that was left. Eventually I started honing in on this couple because that was the storyline with the least external circumstances. It forced me to really flesh out the characters and tell something relevant about them. In the final version of Drijf there’s still some residual elements of the former idea, like the tree bark. I kept the tree bark because that way they are floating on an amputated object from the beginning of the movie.
drifj
What was your inspiration for your short?
I’ve obviously drawn inspiration from survival movies for the action sequences, but I don’t think that’s the most important part of the film. What the film is really about is this couple and the dynamics between them. When I started working with Anemone Valcke, a very good friend of mine and very talented writer and actor, we realized that we should make something about our own relationships. We were both going through similar things with our partners. What we ended up doing is writing from our own toxic behaviors. For me that meant being passive, entitled, emotionally lazy. For Anemone it meant taking the lead, and by doing that, doing the work instead of the other person. It became a story about people who expect different things from each other but never really talk about it. And about how modern, non-macho men exercise power over women. I think for both of us it was an introspective process, and it brought us really close together as friends. In the end we had to take some distance from the characters, to make them go a lot further than we ever would ourselves, and let the fiction take over again.
When did you start working on it and how long did it take to make?
I never wrote full time and I took many breaks, but I think I started writing seven years ago. When production started it took about nine months to complete it, post-production included.
An arguing couple find themselves stranded in the ocean in Levi Stoops’ prize-winning short, “drijf.”
Which animation tools did you use to produce it?
TVPaint only, frame to frame animation. And then some light compositing in After Effects.
What were the hardest part of the job?
Definitely the writing. I think it’s funny, of all the directors, producers and authors I met over time, absolutely no one could explain to me how to write a story. And I don’t think I could explain it to someone myself. It was a difficult process of working hard, getting stuck and then letting go for a while, getting to know myself and trying to be really honest about what I’m trying to convey. And then having some luck finding good and funny ideas, and using those to bring the story further. And then getting stuck again.
What do you love most about the final results?
The way I worked together with other people. I’m really proud of the team. And myself. I tried to be on the floor every day during the production, trying to create a culture with everyone in the team. We really valued the input of everyone who worked on the film, from animator to sound designer. I worked with some of my best friends, and made new friends along the way. We didn’t do unpaid overtime, and adapted the layout and storyboard to the possibilities of the animators with the budget we had. I didn’t want to push the team for excellence and attention to detail at the cost of people getting stressed out or over-worked. It made some parts of the animation really crude, but we found a way to make it work with the humor and the content. That’s what I love the most about the final results. The fact that it turned out great without squeezing the shit out of people.
Levi Stoops’ “drijf”
What would you like audiences to take home for your short?
I would like for them to think about what they expect from their loved ones, and why they do, and have uncomfortable conversations about it. And to not mistake codependency for love. Also, pack sunscreen when you go out to the open sea.
Who are you animation heroes?
David O’Reilly and Don Hertzfeldt. When I start to write a story, I always feel like I am trying to make a Don Hertzfeldt movie. And Nicole Van Goethem. She’s the only Belgian filmmaker to ever win an Oscar (for the short A Greek Tragedy, 1987) but no one in Belgium knows who she is. She made a great short about three women, tired of carrying the crumbling remains of the old world. When it finally falls apart they dance off into the sunset, freed of their burden.
What’s next for Levi?
I’m writing a new short about the difficult connection between men. And after that I would love to write and direct an animated series for adults.
Connoisseurs of quality, meticulously crafted animation are familiar with the wonderful, award-wining specials produced by U.K.-based Magic Light Pictures. Beginning with The Gruffalo in 2009, the boutique production company has been delivering top-quality animated productions for the small screen with astonishing frequency.
Chico and Rita (2010), The Gruffalo’s Child (2011), Room on the Broom (2012), Stick Man (2015), Revolting Rhymes (2016), The Highway Rat (2017), Zog (2018), The Snail and the Whale (2019), Superworm (2021), Pip and Posy (2021) and The Smeds and the Smoos (2022) are among Magic Light’s charming projects. We had the chance to chat with the company’s talented founders and managing directors Martin Pope and Michael Rose about the work of their Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning company:
Can you tell us about the history of Magic Light Pictures?
Michael Rose
Martin: Michael and I became friends in the early 1990s when I was producing my first feature film and Michael was a program buyer at Channel Four. While I continued running my own business making feature films and tv dramas, including the BIFA and Evening Standard award-winning Lawless Heart and the Sundance hit Touch of Pink, Michael joined Aardman in Bristol as Head of Development before becoming joint producer of the third Wallace & Gromit short film A Close Shave, and setting up Aardman’s feature film arm, executive producing Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Wererabbit.
In 2002, Michael moved back to London and saw my film The Heart of Me at the Closing Gala film of the London Film Festival. We got back together over coffee, and realized the possibilities of working together.
Michael: We talked a lot about what we wanted to do. We realized that we had very different skill-sets and experiences, but by joining forces we could build something really special. We were sufficiently different that we’d complement each other. And we shared the belief that what matters is not the technique you use, whether animation, live action or any kind of hybrid, but the stories you tell and the passion they’re told with.
Martin: I think we were standing on Wardour Street when we came up with three ideas which formed the bedrock of our business plan: make live action films first, develop animation, and if we could find the right property, build that into a lasting brand. So even at the beginning and even though we didn’t know our exact next steps (or even sometimes where the rent was coming from) we already had the idea of a trajectory and where we wanted to go.”
Can you take us through the process of finding The Gruffalo and securing the rights for it please?
Michael: Night after night, at home I was reading The Gruffalo to my daughter, and it was brilliant. Martin was feeling it as well.
Martin: I remember when Michael first came in and said, have you been reading this? We’d both been reading it to our children, and we were able to think about how absolutely loved it was.
Michael: We were sure it was the ‘one’ and that we could create a classic special. We also felt that the story and character had sufficient richness and depth to launch a wider brand, but inevitably it took a long time to get the rights, four years in all from 2003 to 2007. The Gruffalo was already a huge publishing success and we had to convince Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler and publisher Macmillan that we were the best partners to bring it to screen.”
Martin: Many companies wanted it, some as a series, others as a feature film, but we wanted to stay true to the book and determined that it was perfect as a half hour Christmas special. There are various moments where I can remember Michael saying confidently, “we’re going to produce it for BBC1 on Christmas Day” and my heart was pounding, thinking, how on earth are we going to pull that off?” Happily from my time working at the BBC we managed to find the right way to reach that vital Christmas Day slot.
Based on the book by Julia Donaldson, “The Gruffalo” was directed by Max Lang and Jakob Schuh and was nominated for an Oscar.he 2012 special “Room on the Broom” was also nominated for a Best Animated Short Oscar.
Looking back, what might you differently with the benefit of hindsight?
Michael: I often wonder if there were opportunities when we could have gone a bit faster, whether it’s in developing a project or a series. But we’ve always been focused on doing the right thing and staying true to our values. We want The Gruffalo to be seen in half a century’s time as a classic brand, like Beatrix Potter or Paddington. So, everything we’ve done has i always been with the long-term interests in mind. The Gruffalo occupies such a special pace in the hearts and minds of our young audience; if we are sometimes cautious, it’s because we needed to get it right.
Martin: Maybe sometimes we were a bit cautious. Maybe we could have managed the risks and the worry about those risks differently. But actually it all paid off — as we’re still here, celebrating our 20th anniversary and growing the company with a wonderful team and hopefully still delighting our audiences.
“Revolting
What is the best advice you can offer for people starting out in animation?
Michael: Think about the audience. If you want to make something, who are you making it for? Who’s going to watch it and where are they going to be watching? It can be something commercial, it can be something avant-garde, but you have to set off knowing your audience.
Martin: Yes, and it’s such a long process and so complicated, you have to think about why you’re doing it. What is the thing that gets you up every morning? Will making this animation reach the people you want and make them feel and understand what you’re expressing?
The BAFTA and Annie Award-winning “The Snail and the Whale” (2019) was directed by Max Land and Daniel Snaddon.
When you look back on the past 20 years, what are you proudest of?
Michael: I’m proud that we’ve built a business that is known for wonderful films, which have an incredibly high-quality threshold. Some of them are enduring classics, viewed again and again, which deliver an incredible pleasure to our family audiences. But above all, I’m proud that we’ve built a company with wonderful values underpinned by integrity and quality and desire to delight audiences. I feel those values cascade through our work and through all the people who work with Magic Light.
Martin: I’m very proud of our team. I think there are people here who are doing great work. Also, of course it makes me proud when we get comments from parents who are happily amazed their kids have watched one of our films every day for two months, or where a film has really helped and connected with a child. It’s just amazing to be making things which families really embrace. Even just this weekend I was looking at my local cinema, thinking, what shall I go and see? And there is The Gruffalo and Zog playing as a double-bill in my local cinema, every day of the weekend. How great is that?
Directed by Sean P. Mullen, “Zog and the Flying Doctors” was released in 2020.
Two animated movies will be fighting for the top box office spot on this final weekend of June. Disney/Pixar’s Elemental and Sony Picture Animation’s blockbuster Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse both have a good chance of landing at the No. 1 spot, with Friday estimates of $5.4 million each leading up to weekend totals in the $18 million range.
Although Elemental had one of the the lowest openings for a Pixar movie in recent years with $29.6 million, it’s expected to take in about $65 million for its first 10 days at the box office in 4,035 theaters, which is still $5 million higher than the 2020 release Onward. Meanwhile, Sony’s Across the Spider-Verse is expected to finish with a dazzling $315 million at 3,785 theaters nationwide this weekend. The film already hit the big $500 million mark worldwide on Wednesday.
Animation fans are also likely to check out Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, which had a $1.1 million take from 1,400 theaters on Thursday night previews. Although the movie is live-action, Anderson is hugely admired by animation and art professionals because of his impeccable attention to beautiful camera shots and meticulously designed productions. The film expands to 1,675 locations in L.A. and New York City today. Last weekend, the movie had a healthy opening of $140,000 in select theaters.The movie has had a 74% rating on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” will play in more theaters this weekend.
According to Deadline.com, the summer box office total from May 1 to June 19 is about $1.52 billion from 11 wide releases, which is 2.3% ahead of last summer, which counted $1.49 billion from six wide releases. However, the 2023 summer box office is still 11% less than pre-COVID 2019, which brought in $1.7 billion for the period of May 1-June 19 with 17 wide releases.
Inspired by the colorful fiesta of food seen in Pixar’s Coco, Insight Editions is serving culinary creators of all abilities a delicious new cookbook loaded with more than 50 traditional recipes perfect for celebrating the Day of the Dead and honoring departed relatives.
Coco was directed by Lee Unkrich with Adrian Molina and released by Pixar Animation Studios back in late 2017 to great critical and financial success, raking in $814 million off a reported $200 million budget. With its all-Latino vocal cast and charming fable of a young boy named Miguel who dreams of becoming a famous guitarist and his exploits into the netherworld of the deceased during Día de Los Muertos, Coco was a certified crowd pleaser that begs for a sequel.
Now Coco: The Official Cookbook arrives on July 11, 2023 as a savory 128-page hardcover stuffed with sweet snacks, satisfying salads, quick appetizers, hearty main courses, sugary desserts, and thirst-quenching beverages with step-by-step instructions and full-color images to concoct authentic Mexican meals for any occasion.
Author Gino Garcia is a well-known chef, researcher, writer, recipe developer, and food blogger based in Seattle, Washington and his expertise in the kitchen has curated these Coco-themed recipes and time-honored dishes to offer living loved ones or close family on the other side.
Each hunger-inducing chapter reveals pages adorned with simple guides to whip up celebratory food and drink like Strawberry Tamales, Mexican Street Corn, Grilled Steak Tacos With Chorizo Pinto Beans, Chicken Barbacoa, Oaxaca Corn Flan With Berry Sauce, Deviled Shrimp, Black Bean-Filled Masa Cakes, Hibiscus Flower Water, and Corn-Thickened Mexican Hot Chocolate.
Coco: The Official Cookbook arrives from Insight Editions on July 11, 2023.
Before we say good-bye to June, here’s one last chance to review some of the great new animated DVD/Blu-Ray and animation-related books that caught our attention this month. We’ll have a brand new “Summer Reading” edition for you in a couple of weeks.
Unicorn Wars
From the brilliantly bizarre mind of celebrated Spanish comic artist and animator Alberto Vázquez comes a twisted, technicolor takedown of militarism and zealotry, told as a black comedy about a war between bellicose teddy bears and their unicorn foes. The Goya Award-winning feature comes home with a director interview, feature-length animatic and “Working in Blender” featurette. [Shout! Factory | $23 BD]
Looney Tunes Collector’s Choice Vol. 1
Celebrate hare-raising highlights of Warner Bros.’ 100-year history with this collection of animated gems. Restored, remastered and uncut, Vol. 1 features 20 golden toons from 1945-1959, featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote, Foghorn Leghorn and more — including some classics that have never before appeared on home video. [Warner | $22 BD]
The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series
For the first time ever, the bombastic heroes and outrageously outré super villains of Doc Hammer and Chris McCulloch’s Adult Swim fan-favorite come home in a comprehensive set, collecting all seven seasons (82 episodes) on 14 discs. From “Dia de los Dangerous” to “The Saphrax Protocol,” relive the show’s 20-year journey ahead of the new movie debut later this year, complete with all previously released special features. [Warner | $130 DVD | June 13]
The Art of Disney-Pixar Elemental
Take a virtual stroll down the fantastical streets of Element City and explore the behind-the-scenes artistry of Pixar’s newest super-ambitious animated world. Over 170-plus pages, soak up exclusive production artwork, making-of details and stories from the artists and creative leads bringing this ultimate opposites attract tale to screens. Featuring a foreword by Pixar CCO Pete Docter and introduction by director Peter Sohn. [Chronicle Books | $43]
Pore over the artistic details of the high-flying “variable fighters” from the hit franchise, offering a master class in vehicle and mech design from the longtime Macross illustrator. The hardcover features more than 140 pages of Tenjin’s hyper-realistic work for model kits, magazines, promotional materials and other content for the anime classic, which made its television debut in 1982. [Udon Ent. | $50]
Marvel HQ
An edutainment hub has launched for true believers in training! The new app from Team17 Group’s Story Toys and Marvel Ent. offers kids 4-7 a place to connect with their favorite superheroes through fun activities, image archives and fun facts, digital comics and stories, coloring tool and drawing tutorials, plus videos related to popular Marvel toons like Spidey and His Amazing Friends and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur [Available from the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.
Timex X Peanuts
Celebrate a timeless comic strip classic with a classic timepiece! This fresh collection offers a wide range of colors, characters and themes, from sporting hobbies to holidays and beyond, with new designs on the way. Prices range from $65 (like the charming Charlie Brown 38mm Fabric Strap Watch) to $109. [timex.com]
Draw Chibi Style
A beginner’s guide to adorable mini characters and effects drawing in 62 lessons, created by popular Vietnamese artist Piuuvy. [Quarry Books | $20]
Shonen Baby
Given the prompt “platinum-selling rapper Lil Baby and AXE body spray have a new collab,” you might not immediately guess it’s an exclusive digital manga for Walmart — but it’s true. It happened. Featuring artwork from Passion Pictures and Future Power Station, can you afford to miss out on this piece of pop culture history? [Available with proof of AXE purchase from Walmart from March 1-June 15, 2023]
Crunchyroll is making the summer of Dragon Ball fans a lot more exciting. The anime streamer will be offering 15 beloved movies in the franchise in three batches, beginning June 22, and following up on June 29 and July 6. The marathon streaming will begin with the first Dragon Ball movie, Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989) and wrap with the 2019 blockbuster, Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2019)
The thirteen Dragon Ball Z movies releasing on June 22 and June 29 will stream with English, Brazilian Portuguese, and Latin American Spanish subtitles in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F and Dragon Ball Super: Broly will stream with English, German, and French subtitles, and English, German and French dub audio in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, German-speaking European countries, French-speaking European countries, and Africa.
The anime series: Dragon Ball (153 episodes subbed and dubbed), Dragon Ball Z (291 episodes subbed and dubbed), Dragon Ball GT (64 episodes subbed and dubbed), and Dragon Ball Super (131 episodes subbed) are all also available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F (Directed by Tadayoshi Yamamuro). Even the complete obliteration of his physical form can’t stop the galaxy’s most evil overlord. After years in spiritual purgatory, Frieza has been resurrected and plans to take his revenge on the Z-Fighters of Earth. (Official Trailer)
Dragon Ball Super: Broly (Directed by Tatsuya Nagamine). Goku is back to training hard so he can face the most powerful foes the universes have to offer, and Vegeta is keeping up right beside him. But when they suddenly find themselves against an unknown Saiyan, they discover a terrible, destructive force. (Official Trailer)
Dragon Ball was created by Akira Toriyama in 1984 as a manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995. The series follows the adventures of protagonist Son Goku from childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts. After meeting a teenage girl named Bulma, he is encouraged to join her quest in exploring the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls, which summon a wish-granting dragon when gathered. The franchise inspired six different anime series. To date, there have been 21 Dragon Ball animated features and one live-action feature. The most recent Dragon Ball movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was released last year and became a global hit, with a worldwide box office of $86.6 million.
Travis Knight, president and CEO of Portland-based animation studio LAIKA, has been appointed to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Board of Trustees.
The museum has also appointed producer and former chair of the Academy Museum Inclusion Advisory Committee, Effie T. Brown, as an honorary trustee.
“As the governing body of the Academy Museum, the Board leads the museum toward a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, in addition to securing adequate resources to advance the museum’s mission. Knight and Brown will help continue the success of the museum and its social impact for audiences worldwide,” reads the release.
The Academy Museum’s Board of Trustees has also re-elected Patricia Bellinger Balzer, Arnaud Boetsch, Olivier de Givenchy, Ray Halbritter, Ryan Murphy, Regina Scully, whose current terms end June 30, 2023, for another three-year term.
Ted Sarandos, board chair and co-CEO of Netflix, noted, “We are thrilled to welcome Travis Knight to the Board of Trustees. He is an extraordinary leader who has already made such an impact on the industry at large through his groundbreaking advancements in the art of stop-motion animation and live-action moviemaking. We are also proud to recognize Effie T. Brown, a talented producer who has been a crucial voice for diversity and inclusion at the museum, with this lifetime honorary position.”
As president and CEO of LAIKA, Knight has led all key creative and business decisions at the studio since its founding in 2005. He was lead animator on Coraline (2009), producer on ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), and Missing Link (2019), and he won the BAFTA Award for directing Kubo and the Two Strings (2016). Every LAIKA film has been nominated for an Animated Feature Film Oscar. Knight made his live-action directorial debut with Paramount’s hit film Bumblebee (2018). He is directing LAIKA’s next animated feature film Wildwood, which is the most ambitious stop-motion animated film ever attempted. Knight also sits on the boards of LAIKA and Nike.
Crunchyroll, in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, has just served up a fresh English-dub trailer for Psycho-Pass: Providence, a new sci-fi crime thriller anime headed for North American theaters beginning on July 14, 2023.
Directed by Naoyoshi Shiotani based on original story concept by Gen Urobuchi and a screenplay from Makoto Fukami and Tow Ubukata, Psycho-Pass: Providence boasts original character designs by Akira Amano and Naoyuki Onda, with a kinetic Yugo Kanno techno score to accentuate the frenzied action.
Here’s the official synopsis:
January 2118. Chief Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department, Akane Tsunemori, receives a report of an incident on a foreign vessel – the body of Professor Milicia Stronskaya has been discovered. Behind the incident is a group known as the Peacebreakers, a foreign paramilitary organization and a new outside threat who are targeting the professor’s research papers known as the “Stronskaya Document”.
Reunited with Shinya Kogami, a former fugitive from the Criminal Investigation Department, Akane grapples with a case that quickly escalates beyond their expectations. The Stronskaya Papers could reveal a truth that would shake Japan’s government, and even the Sibyl System, to the core. It is in this untold story that the missing link is revealed.
“Psycho-Pass Providence” officially arrives in theaters in N. America on July 14, but advance sneak peeks are also offered on July 11 and 13. [Image: Crunchyroll]Per the official press release, the Psycho-Pass franchise relates to something called The Sibyl System, an authoritarian construct that measures human personality traits. Sibyl’s analytical results dictate all aspects of a citizen’s future. In exchange for Sibyl’s role, inhabitants experience a placid existence. With mental states being fully recorded and scrutinized, the potential of a person’s soul is a measurement known as the Psycho-Pass. Special detectives armed with weapons called Dominators collaborate with enforcers who track down would-be criminals prior to engaging in illegal activities. Think Blade Runner meets Minority Report!
Psycho-Pass began life as a cyberpunk anime series broadcast on Japan’s Fuji TV from 2012-2013. This upcoming feature film serves as a bridge between the Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System – Case 3: On the Other Side of Love and Hate mini-film and the Psycho-Pass Season 3 TV series to complete the entire saga.
This new English dub cast includes Kate Oxley (Akane Tsunemori), Robert McCollum (Shinya Kogami), Jessie James (Nobuchika Ginoza), Cherami Leigh (Mika Shimotsuki), Mike McFarland (Teppei Sugo), Z. Charles Bolton (Sho Hinakawa), Lindsay Seidel (Yayoi Kunizuka), Lydia Mackay (Shion Karanomori), Erin Kelly Noble (Frederica Hanashiro), Bruce DuBose (Arata Shindo), Eduardo Vildasol (Kei Mikhail), and Stephanie Young (Dominator).
Psycho-Pass: Providence strikes North American theaters on July 14, 2023.
