Animation Magazine

‘The Wild Robot,’ ‘Dune: Part Two’ Lead VES Award Nominations

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January 14, 2025

‘The Wild Robot,’ ‘Dune: Part Two’ Lead VES Award Nominations

Today, the Visual Effects Society (VES | vesglobal.com), the visual effects industry’s professional global honorary society, announced the nominees for the 23rd Annual VES Awards, recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry and innovation in features, animation, television, commercials, games and new media. Awards will be presented on February 11 at The Beverly Hilton hotel.

The Wild Robot is the top animated contender with five nominations, Dune: Part Two leads the photoreal feature film field with seven nominations. Shōgun and The Penguin each received four nominations in the episodic field.

“The artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world have come together to create remarkable imagery,” said Kim Davidson, VES Chair. “We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and exemplifies the spirit of innovation. The VES Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of our nominees.”

Nominees in 25 categories were selected by VES members at 49 in-person and virtual nomination panels conducted around the world over a 30-hour continuous process. The nominations protocol included a review of each awards submission including “Befores and Afters” by a minimum of three different judging panels. Participating VES members on the panels represented 307 cities in 24 countries.

“Whether it’s through a fully immersive environment, realistic characters, or jaw-dropping action sequences, visual effects artists continue to push the boundaries of creativity and transform the way stories are told,” said Diana Colella, Executive Vice President of Media & Entertainment at Autodesk, sponsor of the VES-Autodesk Student Award. “This year’s student film submissions celebrate the technical talent and creativity of up-and-coming visual effects artists. Congratulations to all the student nominees.”

As previously announced, special honorees this year include: Golden Globe nominee
and Emmy Award-winning actor-producer Hiroyuki Sanada, receiving the VES Award for Creative Excellence; Academy Award-winning director and visual effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki, receiving the VES Visionary Award; and acclaimed virtual reality/immersive technology pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie, receiving the VES Georges Méliès Award.

The nominees are:

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Inside Out 2
Kelsey Mann
Mark Nielsen
Sudeep Rangaswamy
Bill Watral

Moana 2
Carlos Cabral
Tucker Gilmore
Ian Gooding
Gabriela Hernandez

The Wild Robot
Chris Sanders
Jeff Hermann
Jeff Budsberg
Jacob Hjort Jensen

Transformers One
Frazer Churchill
Fiona Chilton
Josh Cooley
Stephen King

Ultraman: Rising
Hayden Jones
Sean M. Murphy
Shannon Tindle
Mathieu Vig

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Inside Out 2; Anxiety
Alexander Alvarado
Brianne Francisco
Amanda Wagner
Brenda Lin Zhang

The Wild Robot; Roz
Fabio Lignini
Yukinori Inagaki
Owen Demers
Hyun Huh

Thelma The Unicorn; Vic Diamond
Guillaume Arantes
Adrien Montero
Anne-Claire Leroux
Gaspard Roche

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Gromit
Jo Fenton
Alison Evans
Andy Symanowski
Emanuel Nevado

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Kung Fu Panda 4; Juniper City
Benjamin Lippert
Ryan Prestridge
Sarah Vawter
Peter Maynez

The Wild Robot; The Forest
John Wake
He Jung Park
Woojin Choi
Shane Glading

Transformers One; Iacon City
Alex Popescu
Geoffrey Lebreton
Ryan Kirby
Hussein Nabeel

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; Aqueduct
Matt Perry
Dave Alex Riddett
Matt Sanders
Howard Jones

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE

Kung Fu Panda 4
Jinguang Huang
Zhao Wang
Hamid Shahsavari
Joshua LaBrot

Moana 2
Zoran Stojanoski
Jesse Erickson
Shamintha Kalamba Arachchi
Erin V. Ramos

The Wild Robot
Derek Cheung
Michael Losure
David Chow
Nyoung Kim

Ultraman: Rising
Goncalo Cabaca
Zheng Yong Oh
Nicholas Yoon Joo Kuang
Praveen Boppana

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Better Man
Luke Millar
Andy Taylor
David Clayton
Keith Herft
Peter Stubbs

Dune: Part Two
Paul Lambert
Brice Parker
Stephen James
Rhys Salcombe
Gerd Nefzer

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Erik Winquist
Julia Neighly
Paul Story
Danielle Immerman
Rodney Burke

Mufasa: The Lion King
Adam Valdez
Barry St. John
Audrey Ferrara
Daniel Fotheringham

Twisters
Ben Snow
Mark Soper
Florian Witzel
Susan Greenhow
Scott Fisher

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Blitz
Andrew Whitehurst
Sona Pak
Theo Demiris
Vincent Poitras
Hayley Williams

Civil War
David Simpson
Michelle Rose
Freddy Salazar
Chris Zeh
J.D. Schwalm

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Jason Neese
Armen Fetulagian
Jamie Neese
J.P. Jaramillo

Nosferatu
Angela Barson
Lisa Renney
David Scott
Dave Cook
Pavel Ságner

Young Woman and the Sea
Richard Briscoe
Carrie Rishel
Jeremy Robert
Stéphane Dittoo
Ivo Jivkov

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

Fallout; The Head
Jay Worth
Andrea Knoll
Grant Everett
Joao Sita
Devin Maggio

House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold
Daði Einarsson
Tom Horton
Sven Martin
Wayne Stables
Mike Dawson

Shōgun; Anjin
Michael Cliett
Melody Mead
Philip Engström
Ed Bruce
Cameron Waldbauer

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 5
John Knoll
Pablo Molles
Jhon Alvarado
Jeff Capogreco

The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Eldest
Jason Smith
Tim Keene
Ann Podlozny
Ara Khanikian
Ryan Conder

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE

Expats: Home
Robert Bock
Glorivette Somoza
Charles Labbé
Tim Emeis

Lady in the Lake; It Has to Do with the Search for the Marvelous
Jay Worth
Eddie Bonin
Joe Wehmeyer
Eric Levin-Hatz
Mike Myers

Masters of the Air; Part Three; The Regensburg-Schweinfurt Mission
Stephen Rosenbaum
Bruce Franklin
Xavier Matia Bernasconi
David Andrews
Neil Corbould

The Penguin; Bliss
Johnny Han
Michelle Rose
Goran Pavles
Ed Bruce
Devin Maggio

The Tattooist of Auschwitz; Pilot
Simon Giles
Alan Church
David Schneider
James Hattsmith

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT

[REDACTED]
Fabio Silva
Matthew Sherman
Caleb Essex
Bob Kopinsky

Destiny 2: The Final Shape
Dave Samuel
Ben Fabric
Eric Greenlief
Glenn Gamble

Star Wars Outlaws
Stephen Hawes
Lionel Le Dain
Benedikt Podlesnigg
Bogdan Draghici

What If…? – An Immersive Story
Patrick N.P. Conran
Shereif Fattouh
Zain Homer
Jax Lee

Until Dawn
Nicholas Chambers
Jack Hidde Glavimans
Alex Gabor

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL

YouTube TV NFL Sunday Ticket: The Magic of Sunday
Chris Bayol
Jeremy Brooks
Lane Jolly
Jacob Bergman

Disney; Holidays 2024
Adam Droy
Helen Tang
Christian Baker-Steele
David Fleet

Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer
Sebastian Caldwell
Ian Berry
Ben Cronin
Alex Grey

Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Greg McKneally
Antonia Vlasto
Ryan Knowles
Fabrice Fiteni

Six Kings Slam; Call of the Kings
Ryan Knowles
Joe Billington
Dean Robinson
George Savvas

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT

D23; Real-Time Rocket
Evan Goldberg
Alyssa Finley
Jason Breneman
Alice Taylor

The Goldau Landslide Experience
Roman Kaelin
Gianluca Ravioli
Florian Baumann

MTV Video Music Awards; Slim Shady Live
Jo Plaete
Sara Mustafa
Cameron Jackson
Andries Courteaux

Tokyo DisneySea; Peter Pan’s Never Land Adventure
Michael Sean Foley
Kirk Bodyfelt
Darin Hollings
Bert Klein
Maya Vyas

Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony; Run
Benjamin Le Ster
Gilles De Lusigman
Gerome Viavant
Romain Tinturier

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Better Man; Robbie Williams
Milton Ramirez
Andrea Merlo
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Eteuati Tema

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Noa
Rachael Dunk
Andrei Coval
John Sore
Niels Peter Kaagaard

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Raka
Seoungseok Charlie Kim
Giorgio Lafratta
Tim Teramoto
Aidan Martin

Mufasa: The Lion King; Taka
Klaus Skovbo
Valentina Rosselli
Eli De Koninck
Amelie Talarmain

OUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Secret Level; Armored Core: Asset Management; Mech Pilot
Zsolt Vida
Péter Krucsai
Ágnes Vona
Enric Nebleza Pañella

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred; Neyrelle
Chris Bostjanick
James Ma
Yeon-Ho Lee
Atsushi Ikarashi

Disney; Holidays 2024; Octopus
Alex Doyle
Philippe Moine
Lewis Pickston
Andrea Lacedelli

Ronja the Robber’s Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen Harpy
Nicklas Andersson
David Allan
Gustav Åhren
Niklas Wallén

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Civil War; Washington, D.C.
Matthew Chandler
James Harmer
Robert Moore
Adrien Zeppieri

Dune: Part Two; The Arrakeen Basin
Daniel Rhein
Daniel Anton Fernandez
Marc James Austin
Christopher Anciaume

Gladiator II; Rome
Oliver Kane
Stefano Farci
John Seru
Frederick Vallee

Wicked; The Emerald City
Alan Lam
Steve Bevins
Deepali Negi
Miguel Sanchez López-Ruíz

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Dune: Prophecy; Pilot; The Imperial Palace
Scott Coates
Sam Besseau
Vincent l’Heureux
Lourenco Abreu

Dune: Prophecy; Two Wolves; Zimia Spaceport
Nils Weisbrod
David Anastacio
Rene Borst
Ruben Valente

Shōgun; Osaka
Manuel Martinez
Phil Hannigan
Keith Malone
Francesco Corvino

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Doomed to Die; Eregion
Yordan Petrov
Bertrand Cabrol
Lea Desrozier
Karan Dhandha

OUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHY

Better Man
Blair Burke
Shweta Bhatnagar
Tim Walker
Craig Young

Dune: Part Two; Arrakis
Greig Fraser
Xin Steve Guo
Sandra Murta
Ben Wiggs

House of the Dragon; Season 2; The Red Dragon and the Gold; Battle at Rook’s Rest
Matt Perrin
James Thompson
Jacob Doehner
P.J. Dillon

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Egg Climb
Dennis Yoo
Angelo Perrotta
Samantha Erickstad
Miae Kang

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT

Alien: Romulus; Renaissance Space Station
Waldemar Bartkowiak
Trevor Wide
Matt Middleton
Ben Shearman

Deadpool & Wolverine; Ant-Man Arena
Carlos Flores Gomez
Corinne Dy
Chris Byrnes
Gerald Blaise

Dune: Part Two; The Harkonnen Harvester
Andrew Hodgson
Timothy Russell
Erik Lehmann
Louie Cho

Gladiator II; The Colosseum
Oliver Kane
Marnie Pitts
Charlotte Fargier
Laurie Priest

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE

Dune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and Wormriding
Nicholas Papworth
Sandy la Tourelle
Lisa Nolan
Christopher Phillips

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; Burning Village, Rapids and Floods
Alex Nowotny
Claude Schitter
Frédéric Valleur
Kevin Kelm

Twisters
Matthew Hanger
Joakim Arnesson
Laurent Kermel
Zheng Yong Oh

Venom: The Last Dance; Water, Fire & Symbiote Effects
Xavi Martin Ramirez
Oscar Dahlen
Hedi Namar
Yuri Yang

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT

Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legends; Koizilla
Ioan Boieriu
David Stopford
Per Balay
Saysana Rintharamy

Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Dominic Tiedeken
Heinrich Löwe
Charles Guerton
Timmy Lundin

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Pilot; Spaceship Hillside Takeoff
Travis Harkleroad
Xiaolong Peng
Marcella Brown
Mickael Riciotti

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Season 2; Shadow and Flame; Balrog Fire and Collapsing Cliff
Koenraad Hofmeester
Miguel Perez Senent
Miguel Santana Da Silva
Billy Copley

Three Body Problem; Judgement Day
Yves D’Incau
Gavin Templer
Martin Chabannes
Eloi Andaluz Fullà

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE

Better Man
Mark McNicholl
Gordon Spencer de Haseth
Eva Snyder
Markus Reithoffer

Dune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final Battle
Christopher Rickard
Francesco Dell’Anna
Paul Chapman
Ryan Wing

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Joerg Bruemmer
Zachary Brake
Tim Walker
Kaustubh A. Patil

The Wild Robot
Sondra L. Verlander
Baptiste Van Opstal
Eszter Offertaler
Austin Casale

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE

Shōgun; Broken to the Fist; Landslide
Benjamin Bernon
Douglas Roshamn
Victor Kirsch
Charlie Raud

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew; Episode 6; Jaws
Rich Grande
Tomas Lefebvre
Ian Dodman
Rey Reynolds

The Boys; Season 4; Life Among the Septics
Tristan Zerafa
Mike Stadnyckyj
Toshi Kosaka
Rajeev BR

The Penguin; After Hours
Jonas Stuckenbrock
Karen Chang
Eugene Bondar
Miky Girón

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL

Virgin Media; Walrus Whizzer
Sebastian Caldwell
Alex Grey
Kanishk Chouhan
Shubham Mehta

Coca-Cola; The Heroes
Ryan Knowles
Alex Gabucci
Jack Powell
Dan Yarcigi

Corcept; Marionette
Yongchan Kim
Arman Matin
Yoon Bae
Rajesh Kaushik

Disney; Holidays 2024
Christian Baker-Steele
Luke Warpus
Pritesh Kotian
Jack Harris

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT

Blitz
Hayley Williams
David Eves
Alex Freeman
David Watson

Constellation
Martin Goeres
Johara Raukamp
Lion David Bogus
Leon Mark

The Penguin; Safe Guns
Devin Maggio
Johnny Han
Cory Candrilli
Alexandre Prod’homme

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Dune: Part Two; Nuke CopyCat
Ben Kent
Guillaume Gales
Mairead Grogan
Johanna Barbier

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Artist-driven Machine Learning Character
John Bastian
Ben Ward
Thomas Rowntree
Robert Beveridge

Here; Neural Performance Toolset
Jo Plaete
Oriel Frigo
Tomas Koutsky
Matteo Oliviero Dancy

Mufasa: The Lion King; Real-Time Interactive Filmmaking, from Stage to Post
Callum James
James Hood
Lloyd Bishop
Bruno Pedrinha

The Penguin; Phase Synced Flash-Gun System
Johnny Han
Jefferson Han
Joseph Menafra
Michael Pynn

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT

Dawn (ESMA – École Supérieure Des Métiers Artistiques)
Noah Mercier
Apolline Royer
Lorys Stora
Marie Pradeilles

Student Accomplice (Brigham Young University)
Spencer Blanchard
Lisa Bird
Anson Savage
Kiara Spencer

Pittura (ARTFX – Schools of Digital Arts)
Lauriol Adam
Lassère Titouan
Vivenza Rémi
Marre Helloïs

Courage (Supinfocom – Rubika)
Salomé Cognon
Margot Jacquet
Nathan Baudry
Lise Delcroix

Animator Files $10 Billion Lawsuit Over Disney’s ‘Moana’ Franchise

Animation Magazine

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January 13, 2025

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Animator Files $10 Billion Lawsuit Over Disney’s ‘Moana’ Franchise

A lawsuit has been filed against Disney over claims that Walt Disney Animation Studios lifted elements of another project pitch to create Moana and the recent sequel Moana 2. Claimant Buck Woodall is seeking at least $10 billion in damages, saying that materials created for his original project Bucky were coopted by the entertainment giant.

The suit states that Woodall produced a screenplay and trailer for Bucky and shared details of the project with Jenny Marchick, then the director of development for Mandeville Films, in 2003, when the studio had a first-look deal with Disney. Marchick, who is now head of feature film development at DreamWorks Animation, allegedly requested additional materials including character designs, storyboards and production plans in a bid to greenlight the film.

The complaint reads: “Disney’s Moana was produced in the wake of Woodall’s delivery to the Defendants of virtually all constituent parts necessary for its development and production after more than 17 years of inspiration and work on his animated film project.”

The similarities which the suit puts “could not possibly have been accidental” between Bucky and 2016’s Moana include the key plot following a teenager who sets off on a dangerous voyage in Polynesian waters to save an endangered island, as well as recurring themes based on Polynesian beliefs (particularly the incarnation of spiritual ancestors as animals), a plot involving a necklace, a protagonist encountering a tattooed demigod toting a giant fish hook, and a giant creature inside a mountain.

The plaintiff also alleges similarities between his original project and Moana 2, pointing out the sequence where Moana’s crew are sucked into a watery portal, described as “another dramatic and unique device-imagery found in plaintiff’s materials that could not possibly have been developed by chance or without malicious intentions.”

Woodall had previously attempted to sue over the issue, but a U.S. district judge ruled in November last year that the suit had been filed too late. The release of the sequel sparked an opportunity to try again.

Ron Clements, a Disney veteran who directed (with John Musker and Don Hall) and wrote (with Jared Bush and Musker) Moana, said in a court statement pertaining to the first suit: “Moana was not inspired by or based in any way on [Woodall] or his Bucky project, which I learned of for the first time after this lawsuit was filed.”

So far, Moana 2 has earned over $990 million in box office worldwide. The first film grossed $643.3M and received Oscar nominations for Best Animate Feature and Best Original Song. The franchise has also spawned major consumer products programs.

[Sources: Sky News, The Hollywood Reporter]

Berlinale Announces Short Film Program

Mercedes Milligan

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January 13, 2025

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Organizers of the Berlin International Film Festival (or Berlinale) have announced the lineup for the 2025 Berlinale Shorts program. The selection features 20 shorts from 18 production countries, including 15 World Premieres. (See the full lineup at berlinale.de)

“This edition is rich in portraits of varying kinds, both in the documentary works and in the fiction and animated films. We encounter individuals who will stay with us for a long time,” says Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck, head of Berlinale Shorts.

To celebrate the festival’s 75th anniversary, Berlinale Shorts is also screening six gems from the festival archive. In the short film compilation “You and I Are Not Alone – Berlinale Shorts Revisited,” audiences can rediscover an array of films and filmmakers who have made an impact on past editions, including the enchanting mythical creatures of Japanese animator Akihito Izuhara’s hand-drawn Vita Lakamaya (2016).

In the land of Vita Lakamaya, resting is the most important pastime of all. A procession goes by. The year draws to a close. The creature sleeps.

Other animated highlights of the 2025 Berlinale Shorts program include:

Mother’s Child | Naomi Noir | Netherlands | International Premiere

Being a loving mother and full-time carer for her mentally and physically disabled son is Mary’s daily struggle. The authorities are anything but helpful and she is in danger of drowning in a sea of bureaucracy.

Stone of Destiny (Kámen Osudu) | Julie Černá | Czechia | World Premiere

The Stone of Destiny longs for freedom and wants to overcome its self-doubt. So it embarks on a journey and meets strange creatures in strange places. An animated musical.

Ordinary Life (Futsu no seikatsu) | Yoriko Mizushiri | Japan | France/Japan | World Premiere

A breath of air, a movement, a touch and, in between, a dissolution. Gestures of everyday life in variation, sensual, floating in pastel colors.

How Are You? (Comment ça va?) | Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel | France | World Premiere

A group of animals live on a wild coastline and try to heal the ills caused by the contemporary world. A kind of rehab.

Animated Box Office God ‘Nezha’ Returns in New Sequel Trailer

Mercedes Milligan

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January 13, 2025

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Animated Box Office God ‘Nezha’ Returns in New Sequel Trailer

The sequel to breakout Chinese animated blockbuster Nezha (2019), which broke ticket sales records and was submitted as the first animated feature to represent China in the Academy Awards race, is hitting theaters in the Middle Kingdom on January 29. A trailer was recently debuted ahead of the Lunar New Year release. (Movies in China are often not previewed until shortly before they launch.)

The description of the official Nezha 2 trailer posted to Bilibili reads:

I am Nezha the Third Prince, and I am back with the first trailer! The four sea dragon kings are approaching Chentang Pass, and millions of monsters are approaching. I must protect my homeland! On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I will celebrate the New Year with you in the sea!

Inspired by the tales of the 16th century novel Investiture of the Gods, Nezha 2 is again directed by Jiaozi (Yu Yang).

The first film in the franchise was produced by Chengdu Coco Cartoon and released in China by Beijing Enlight Pictures. The CG-animated mythic adventure soared to $725 million worldwide, became the highest-grossing animated film in China and the highest-grossing animated film not produced in the U.S. that year, as well as the fourth highest-grossing animated film worldwide in 2019 and the fourth-highest grossing Chinese film of all time.

A second film in the Investiture of the Gods universe, Legend of Deification (known as Jiang Ziya in English-speaking markets), premiered in October 2020 after a delay from COVID-19.

Both Nezha and Jiang Ziya received limited theatrical and IMAX releases in the U.S. and Canada through Well Go USA Entertainment. The English dub cast featured Jordan Cole, Aleks Le, Vincent Rodriguez, Stephanie Sheh and Mike Pollock.

[H/T Catsuka]

Gallery: New ‘Flow’ Images Set Sail

Animation Magazine

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January 13, 2025

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New images have been released for Gints Zilbalodis’ Golden Globe-winning animated feature Flow. Released theatrically in the U.S. by Sideshow and Janus Films, the critically acclaimed, dialog-free CG adventure is now available to own or rent on VOD.

Synopsis: A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet.

Flow premiered in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar last summer before screening at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where it won four awards. In addition to the Golden Globe, Flow has won the European Film Award and National Board of Review Award for Best Animated Feature. The film is currently nominated for four Annie Awards and two Critics Choice Awards, and is under consideration for Academy Awards nominations for Animated Feature and International Feature (representing Latvia).

Zilbalodis (Away) directed the film, wrote the screenplay with Matiss Kaza, created the original score with Rihards Zalupe and served as producer alongside Kaza, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman. Flow is produced by Zilbalodis’ Dream Well Studio (Latvia), Sacrebleu Productions (France) and Take Five (Belgium).

Classic ‘Macross’ Anime Titles Land at Hulu U.S.

Mercedes Milligan

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January 13, 2025

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Classic ‘Macross’ Anime Titles Land at Hulu U.S.

A major drop of Macross anime episodics and movies are available today (January 13) on Hulu in the U.S., offering American fans a binge destination for the sci-fi classic. Placeholders on the streamer were spotted by a fan last week.

Included titles are:

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers, Again
Macross Plus
Macross Plus: Movie Edition
Macross Delta
Macross Delta: Passionate Walküre
Macross Delta: Zettai LIVE!!!!!!
Macross Zero
Macross 7
Macross Dynamite 7
Macross 7: The Galaxy Is Calling Me!
Macross Fb7: Listen to My Song!
Macross Frontier
Macross Frontier: The False Songstress
Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell
Macross Frontier: Labyrinth of Time

Macross (as well as Robotech) content is distributed through a partnership established in 2021 between the franchise’s representative owners Big West (Japan), co-creators Studio Nue and Harmony Gold USA.

In other territories, Macross titles stream on Disney+ Canada and globally licensed by the platform’s Star brand.

You can keep up to date on the Macross universe through macross.jp.

[Source: Anime News Network / @jskenda]

Academy Updates 97th Oscar Season Dates

Animation Magazine

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January 13, 2025

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The Academy announces updates to its 97th Oscars key dates and schedule of events due to the impact of the Los Angeles-area fires.

Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang said in a statement:

“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community. The Academy has always been a unifying force within the film industry, and we are committed to standing together in the face of hardship.

Due to the still-active fires in the Los Angeles area, we feel it is necessary to extend our voting period and move the date of our nominations announcement to allow additional time for our members.

Additionally, as we want to be sensitive to the infrastructure and lodging needs of the region in these next few weeks, it is imperative that we make some changes to our schedule of events, which we believe will have the support of our industry.

Our members always share how important it is for us to come together as a community, and we are determined to use this opportunity to celebrate our resilient and compassionate industry. We also look forward to honoring our frontline workers who have aided with the fires, recognizing those impacted, and encouraging people to join the Academy in supporting the relief efforts.

We will get through this together and bring a sense of healing to our global film community.”

Updates (all dates are subject to change):

Oscars nominations voting period is extended through Friday, January 17, at 5 p.m. PT.
Oscars Nominations Announcement is rescheduled for Thursday, January 23, at 5:30 a.m. PT. The live announcement will be a virtual event without in-person media coverage.
Oscars Nominees Luncheon, scheduled for Monday, February 10, will not be held this year.
Scientific and Technical Awards, scheduled for Tuesday, February 18, will be rescheduled to a later date yet to be determined.

The 97th Oscars will still be held on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC, streamed live on Hulu and air live in more than 200 territories worldwide.

Aussie Animated Indie ‘Lesbian Space Princess’ Blasts Off with Blue Finch

Animation Magazine

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January 13, 2025

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Aussie Animated Indie ‘Lesbian Space Princess’ Blasts Off with Blue Finch

The 2D animated adult comedy-adventure Lesbian Space Princess has been acquired by U.K.-based Blue Finch for global distribution (excluding Australia and New Zealand). The pic was greenlit by South Australia’s Film Lab: New Voices program in 2023 and will make its world premiere in the Panorama program at Berlin International Film Festival (Feb. 13-23). Blue Finch will launch sales at the concurrent European Film Market (Feb. 13-19).

An anxious space princess is thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens. Along the way, a problematic spaceship and a runaway gay-pop idol join her hazardous encounters with blade-wielding maniacs, dangerous dick turrets and the scariest thing of all: her own self-doubt.

Lesbian Space Princess s the debut feature film by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, and has been picked up by Umbrella Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand. Umbrella’s Ari Harrison has also boarded the project as an executive producer alongside Cam Rogers. Tom Phillips (We Made a Thing Studios) is producer and executive producer.

Written and directed by Hough Hobbs & Varghese, the film features the voices of Shabana Azeez (Birdeater), Gemma Chau-Tran (Mustangs FC), Kween Kong (Drag Race Down Under), Madeline Sami (Badjelly, Our Flag Means Death) and surrealist comedy trio Aunty Donna.

Film Lab: New Voices is an initiative co-funded by the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC), Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) and Screen Australia, which sees three South Australian filmmaking teams mentored through a 12-month skills development program to develop their first low-budget feature film script. At the completion of the lab, each team can apply for $600,000 in screen production grant funding.

Lesbian Space Princess previously held a Work-in-Progress screening at Adelaide Film Festival.

[Sources: Variety, Blue Finch]

Watch: Bathory Bites Back in New ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Trailer

Mercedes Milligan

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January 13, 2025

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Watch: Bathory Bites Back in New ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Trailer

A new era of vamp-battling action is about to unfold on Netflix, when the streamer debuts Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 on January 16. In anticipation of the new 8 x 25′ season, fresh images and an otherworldly hype trailer have risen from the crypt!

Synopsis: Now joined by the legendary Alucard, Richter Belmont and his band of vampire hunters are in a desperate race against time. Erzsebet Báthory, the Vampire Messiah, who already seems invincible, seeks the full power of the goddess Sekhmet so she can plunge the world into endless darkness and terror.

S2 features the voices of Edward Bluemel as Richter Belmont, Pixie Davies as Maria Renard, Thuso Mbedu as Annette, Sydney James Harcourt as Edouard, Nastassja Kinski as Tera Renard, Zahn McClarnon as Olrox, Franka Potente as Erzsebet Bathory, James Callis as Alucard, Richard Dormer as The Abbot, Iain Glen as Juste Belmont, Elarica Johnson as Drolta Tzuentes and Aaron Neil as Mizrak.

Creator Clive Bradley and Kevin Kolde return as showrunners, and executive produce alongside Adam Deats, Sam Deats, Fred Seibert and Adi Shankark. Sam and Adam Deats serve as series directors. Bradley also wrote multiple episodes, with more screenplays by Testament, Temi Oh and Zodwa Nyoni.

Castlevania: Nocturne is produced by Project 51 Productions for Netflix, with animation produced by Powerhouse Animation.

‘Moana 2’ on Course to Hit $1 Billion; ‘Mufasa’ & ‘Sonic 3’ Reach Milestones

Animation Magazine

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January 12, 2025

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‘Moana 2’ on Course to Hit $1 Billion; ‘Mufasa’ & ‘Sonic 3’ Reach Milestones

Animation had a boffo international box office weekend, with the fully-animated Disney pic Moana 2 on track to pass $1 billion this week. The seafaring sequel helmed by Jason Hand, David Derrick Jr. and Dana Ledoux Miller added $11.1 million to its overseas cume of $554.9M, bringing its worldwide total to $989.8M. Moana 2 will mark Disney’s third 2024 release to hit the billion-dollar mark, as the only studio with any big B movies for the year.

Notably, Moana 2 is the second-highest grossing animated movie ever in Brazil and France, and the highest-grossing Disney Animation release of all time in France, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Latin America, Greece, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey, U.A.E., New Zealand, Peru, Chile, Central America, Ecuador, Bolivia and Uruguay.

The sequel’s top markets to date are France ($60.6M), U.K. ($49.7M), Germany ($41.7M), Mexico ($30.2M) and Australia ($29.5M).

Mufasa: The Lion King ©The Walt Disney Studios

The CG stars of hybrid movies boosted the global box office as well. Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King picked up $27.9M this weekend for an international total of $350.9M and $539.7M worldwide (the No. 9 release of 2024. Top international markets so far are France ($33.7M), U.K. ($29.9M), Mexico ($24.6M), Germany ($24M) and Italy ($21.8M).

And Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is no slowpoke for the blockbuster SEGA-inspired film series. The Blue Blur collected another $20.3M from 62 overseas markets this weekend, racing to an international cume of $180.3M and $384.8M worldwide.

Top markets are the U.K. ($25.9M), Mexico ($18.8M), France ($15.8M), Australia ($13.2M) and Brazil ($9.2M).

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 [Paramount Pictures/SEGA]

[Source: Deadline]

Numerous Fundraisers Set Up for Animation Professionals Who Lost Their Homes in the L.A. Fires

People

Ramin Zahed

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January 11, 2025

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Numerous Fundraisers Set Up for Animation Professionals Who Lost Their Homes in the L.A. Fires

This past week’s Los Angeles County fires have taken a huge toll on the lives of many of the members of the animation and vfx community. Many have lost their homes, belongings and lifetimes of memories in the devastating fires that have scorched over 36,000 acres (56 square miles), an area about the size of Miami, according to Cal Fire. While firefighters are making some progress, more wind and dry conditions are in store for later this weekend early next week, and the Palisades Fire that devastated coastal communities is moving east.

We’d like to extend our deepest sympathies to all of them and invite everyone to lend a helping hand to help them rebuild and recover. The Animation Guild has compiled a helpful list of online fundraisers set up to collect donations for those who were impacted directly by the fires. Please let us know if you know of any other GoFundMe accounts set up for our community, and we’ll add them to this list:

[Updated Sunday, Jan. 12]

Marike Anderson-Dam
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-marike-and-bodhi-rebuild-after-the-eaton-fire

Hillary Bradfield and Christopher Heckey
https://www.gofundme.com/f/christopher-and-hillary-rebuild-after-the-eaton-fire

Ashley Bradley
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ashleys-family-recover-from-the-eaton-fire

Harry Butler
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-vanessa-and-harry-rebuild-after-the-eaton-fire

Anthony Chun
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-anthony-chun-and-his-family-rebuild-after-la-wildfires

Kristen and Ryan Cummings

https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-hope-for-kristin-ryan-and-family-after-wildfire

Jeff Dixon
https://www.gofundme.com/f/hope-home-for-amy-dixon-jeff-dixon

Renee Faundo
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-renee-and-erica-rebuild-after-the-eaton-canyon-fire

Bill Flores
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-claudia-bill-and-cairo-rebuild-after-the-eaton-fire

Susane Fitzer Geiger and Peter Geiger
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-fitzergeiger-family-rebuild-after-fire

Kristina and Matthew Giblin
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/kgiblin?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US

Adriana Gonzalez and Sabino Vasquez
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-adrianas-family-rebuild-after-eaton-fire

Jinko Gotoh
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-jinko-gotohs-fire-recovery-efforts

Tim and Joanna Heitz
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-tim-joanna-heitz

Traci Honda and Erik Martin
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-two-talented-animators-rebuild-after-the-altadena-fire

Tiffany Hunter
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-tiffany-and-daughter-after-fire-loss

Amber and Rob Ingram
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-amber-ingrams-family-postfire

James Jackson
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-jackson-family-rebuild-after-eaton-fire

Delaney Januzzi
https://linktr.ee/delaneyjanuzzi

Levon Jihanian
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-lila-and-her-family-rebuild-after-the-eaton-fire

Vanessa Kale and Simon Brown
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Help-The-Kale-Browns

Erika Lahey
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-lahey-family-rebuild-after-the-eaton-fire

Kelli and Tim Lamb
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-kelli-tim-lamb

Steve Lowtwait and Family
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-steve-leslie-rebuild-after-the-la-fires

Evan and Jeffrey Mather
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-evan-jennifer-and-eleanor-rebuild-home

Malerie and Mitch
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-malerie-and-mitch-after-tragic-loss

The Martinez Family
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-martinez-familys-new-beginning

Chris McCord
https://www.gofundme.com/f/la-hurst-wildfire-relief-for-chris

Ben Mekler
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ben-and-kirby-lost-everything-in-the-eaton-fire

Dutch and Sigma Merrick
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sigma-and-dutch-rebuild-after-california-wildfire

Corey Miller
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-cory-and-olivia-rebuild-after-wildfire

Jordan Mitchell
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jordan-rebuild-from-eaton-fire-after-familys-passing

Meghan and Ryan Mulloy
https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-hope-for-meghan-ryan-milo

Chuck Peil and Family
https://gofund.me/86cc507b

Yung Pham
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-yung-and-audrey-rebuild-after-fire

Jeremy Polgar
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-clara-jeremy-rebuild-from-the-eaton-fire

EBill Reiss
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-bill-reiss-after-losing-everything

Vanessa Salas and Osiris Perez
https://www.gofundme.com/f/perez-salas-family-fire-recovery-fund

Shannon and Johnny
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-shannon-johnny-rebuild-after-fire

Leticia Silva and Dustin James
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-lele-and-dustin-after-losing-their-home-in-eaton-fire

Tim Snyder
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-sam-tim-rebuild-from-altadena-fire

Shannon Soule
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-shannon-johnny-rebuild-after-fire

Clayton Walker and Karen Davison
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-clayton-and-karen-rebuild-after-fire

Ellen Wang
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ellen-and-daughters-rebuild-after-fire

Dave Wasson
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-dave-wasson-rebuild-after-fire

Jason Warnesky
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-jackson-family-rebuild-after-eaton-fire

Jeff and Laura Wheeler
https://www.gofundme.com/f/aid-jeff-and-laura-after-home-loss

Rachel Wiggins and Family
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-randy-and-melinda-wiggins-recovery-journey

Sadly, Animation Magazine’s longtime employee Jan Bayouth’s daughter Chelsea and her family also lost their home in the Altadena fires. You can donate to her fundraiser here
https://www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-hope-for-chelsea-tommy-and-valentine

Our hearts go out to everyone who was impacted by these terrible fires and hope we can all help a little bit to restore their lives back to normal.

To find out more about disaster resources available for animation industry employees and their friends visit https://animationguild.org/disaster-relief-resources

Disney Renaissance Animator Mike Toth Has Died

Animation Magazine

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January 10, 2025

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Disney Renaissance Animator Mike Toth Has Died

Mike Toth, a character and effects animator whose career spanned many iconic television and film productions including classics of the Disney Renaissance, died December 29, 2024. The news of his passing was announced by his daughter, Christine Vergara, to the Cartoon Research Facebook page.

Vergara shared that Toth’s death was attributed to a long battle with alcoholism, which led to many challenges in his life. The artist had relocated to New Mexico, where his daughter lives, after years of struggling to secure housing in Los Angeles.

“My dad was the most generous, loving, kind hearted person I knew. He loved everyone he met, treating them as though he had known them his whole life. He loved God, and kindly spread the word when given a chance,” Vergara wrote in the post, where she shared pieces of his artwork as well as family photos.

“… I just wanted to share my dad’s story, and awareness to those struggling with alcohol or substance abuse. My dad was a wonderful man, and alcohol cut his time short.”

According to The Magpie Agency, Toth grew up admiring the Warner Bros. cartoons of the 1940s, and began his dream career as an animator in 1978 at Filmation Studios, where he worked on iconic Saturday morning cartoons including He-Man and She-Ra, Fat Albert, Tarzan, BraveStarr, Ghostbusters and New Adventures of Tom & Jerry. He also freelanced for Bill Melendez on the Peanuts projects Snoopy’s Reunion; This Is America, Charlie Brown and It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown.

When Filmation shuttered in 1988, Toth moved on to Baer Animation Studios, working on commercials for brands like Green Giant and Chevy. The end of the ’80s brought him into the Disney fold, working on the theatrical Roger Rabbit short, Tummy Trouble, and the Mickey Mouse take on The Prince and the Pauper.

Toth began working at the Walt Disney Feature Animation studios in Burbank in the mid-1990s, where he helped bring to life many beloved movies, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan and Tarzan to Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Home on the Range — one of the last handful of hand-drawn movies released as the studio phased out 2D productions. Toth also worked on Disney’s Oscar-nominated short film, The Little Matchgirl. The studio laid off the majority of its 2D animators in 2013.

In his latter years, Toth continued to share his love for animation, appearing at local comic-cons across the country.

Mike Toth Donald Duck (image provided by Christine Vergara)

Mike Toth Roger Rabbit (image provided by Christine Vergara) — Images courtesy of Christine Vergara

Universal Sets New Dates for ‘Shrek 5’ & ‘Minions 3,’ Conrad Vernon Boards the Shrekquel

Mercedes Milligan

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January 10, 2025

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Universal Sets New Dates for ‘Shrek 5’ & ‘Minions 3,’ Conrad Vernon Boards the Shrekquel

Universal Pictures has announced updates to its animated features slate, as well as a key creative appointment to the next chapter of fan-favorite franchise Shrek.

DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek 5 has been pushed back from July 1, 2026 to Wednesday, December 23, 2026 for wide release.

Meanwhile, Illumination’s Minions 3 has moved up from June 30, 2027 to Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Universal also revealed that an Untitled Illumination Event Film will move from March 19, 2027 to Wednesday, June 30, 2027.

For audiences’ return to the land of Far, Far Away, longtime DreamWorks Animation collaborator and animation veteran Conrad Vernon has returned to the studio to helm Shrek 5 alongside Walt Dohrn. Together, they will bring to the big screen the next installment of everyone’s favorite ogre in time for his 25th Anniversary.

Dohrn most recently directed the latest installments of the Trolls franchise, Trolls Band Together and Trolls World Tour, and served as co-director on Trolls. He also served as head of story on Shrek Forever After and voiced the co-starring role of Rumpelstiltskin.

Vernon was a member of the directing team on the Academy Award-nominated film Shrek 2. He most recently directed the MGM animated features The Addams Family 2 and The Addams Family. Vernon’s additional directing credits for DreamWorks Animation include Monsters vs. Aliens and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. He has also provided the voice of Shrek fan-favorite Gingerbread Man, a.k.a. “Gingy,” across all titles in the Shrek Universe.

Shrek 5 will be produced by returning producer Gina Shay (Trolls franchise, Shrek Forever After) and by Illumination CEO and Academy Award nominee Chris Meledandri (Despicable Me and Minions franchise, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Sing and Secret Life of Pets films). The film will be co-directed by Brad Ableson (Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Simpsons).

Comedy legends Mike Myers (Austin Powers films, Bohemian Rhapsody), Oscar nominee Eddie Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop franchise, Dreamgirls) and Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels franchise, Bad Teacher) return to their signature roles as Shrek, Donkey and Fiona.

Based on the book by William Steig, the franchise launched in 2001 with Shrek, the winner of the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The four Shrek films have earned more than $2.9 billion worldwide, spawning a global live-touring show, an award-winning Broadway musical that earned eight Tony nominations and 12 Drama Desk nominations, plus an immersive, top-tourist destination in London and a popular events and attractions across Universal Studios Parks worldwide.

Despicable Me 4 [ Illumination & Universal Pictures] — Despicable Me 4 [Illumination / Universal Pictures]

Fresh off the worldwide blockbuster success of Despicable Me 4, Illumination expands its joyful animated universe with a sensational new chapter in the biggest global animated franchise in history: Minions 3.

Written by Brian Lynch (Minions, The Secret Life of Pets films), Minions 3 will be directed by Academy Award nominee Pierre Coffin, a director of the first three Despicable Me films and the first Minions film. Coffin has also provided the voice for the Minions since their film debut in 2010. The film will be produced by Illumination’s founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and by Bill Ryan (executive producer, The Super Mario Bros. Movie).

More than 10 years after their creation, the popular Minions characters have helped propel Illumination’s Despicable Me and Minions franchise to a box office milestone of $5 billion, as the first animation film series to do so.

The franchise includes Minions, one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, as well as the Academy Award-nominated Despicable Me 2 and Despicable Me 3, which each made more than $1 billion at the global box office. In 2022, Minions: The Rise of Gru shattered box office records with the highest grossing July 4 opening weekend in U.S. history and became the #1 film internationally and worldwide.

2024’s Despicable Me 4 confirmed that the Minions continue to rule the July 4 holiday weekend, with the film opening to $230 million worldwide.

‘Magic Candies’ Producer Takashi Washio Shares the Sweet Surprises of His Oscar-Shortlisted Short

Ramin Zahed

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January 10, 2025

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‘Magic Candies’ Producer Takashi Washio Shares the Sweet Surprises of His Oscar-Shortlisted Short

A loner kid opens up a new social reality when he discovers that the colorful candies he has bought give him the ability to talk to animals and even (formerly) inanimate objects in Magic Candies, the clay-textured CG short from two longtime Toei Animation talents: director Daisuke Nishio (Dragon Ball & One Piece franchises) and producer Takashi Washio (PreCure, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon & One Piece franchises).

Animation Magazine caught up with Washio to learn more about the storybook inspirations and creation of the short, which made the Academy Awards shortlist after winning the Animated Short Jury Award at the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Animation Magazine: Can you tell us how you came to create this short based on Heena Baek’s charming books?

Takashi Washio: The Japanese publisher of Magic Candies first introduced me to the original book, and it left a profound impression on me. It was my first experience with a Korean picture book, and I was captivated by its peculiar story of tasting a mysterious candy ball that lets the protagonist hear the thoughts of objects, animals, and people. The unique clay animation-like art style perfectly complemented the whimsical narrative, bringing the characters to life with striking vividness. I had never encountered such a technique in picture books before, and it sparked my passion to create an animated film based on this enchanting story.

What did you love about the original premise?

In the original book, I especially loved the scene where Dong-Dong gets to talk to his dog, Gusuri, and have a heart-to-heart. I think this is the dream of everyone who owns a pet. And when I read I Am a Dog, the prequel to the story of how Gusuri came to his house, came up with the idea to combine these two books into a single film, as it would create a wonderful story.

How long did it take to make the short and where was the animation produced?

We started preparing for production after meeting Ms. Heena Baek, the original author of Magic Candies, in 2019 and it took four years to complete the film. I asked Dandelion Animation Studio in Japan to produce the film because they are a CGI production with very talented crews. The finished film turned out to be outstanding, exceeding my expectations.

Can you discuss the beautiful animation style and how you achieved it?

Ms. Baek carefully supervised the characters, including facial expressions, standing postures and textures. The characters’ movements are very lively because their facial expressions are rich and their gestures are natural. I believe this is the result of the staff’s patient work in response to the director Daisuke Nishio’s detailed requests. For the study of art direction, we traveled to South Korea and worked hard to fully capture the environment and atmosphere in which Dong-Dong lives. The beauty of this film is the result of the staff’s uncompromising and meticulous work until the very end.

What were your biggest challenges?

One of the biggest challenges for us Japanese staff members was how to express the atmosphere that is uniquely Korean. The director Daisuke Nishio, in particular, places great importance on the atmosphere of his films. While we’re in Seoul, we had a chance to visit the room where a young boy of about Dong-Dong’s age was living. To recreate this atmosphere, we paid attention to the details of the room interior, the desk, the posters on the wall, the photos, and the textbooks, including the parts that will not be shown on the screen.

How many people worked on the short and how long did it take to make?

Including cast and crew, nearly 100 people were involved in this project.

It took three years to complete the film. Including the preparation period, the entire project took about four years.

What has been the most memorable reaction to the short?

The memorable moments were to see children laughing at film festivals overseas. I guess many kids can relate to Dong-Dong; like how he gets nagged by his father. I was also impressed by their parents. They were so moved by the scenes of Dong-Dong interacting with his father and Gusuri that they let their voices drop.

What do you love people to take away from Magic Candies?

Each audience can empathize with the different moments in the story by overlapping with their own experiences. However, the importance of taking a step forward on your own is a theme that impressed me strongly from the original book, so I would be more than happy if the audience could take that away.

Magic Candies is produced by Dandelion Animation Studio and presented by Toei Animation. Learn more at toei-anim.co.jp/movie/magic_candies.

Creative Arts Emmys Move Dates in Award Schedule Revamp

Animation Magazine

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January 10, 2025

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The Television Academy has shifted dates for some of its specialty awards ceremonies, including the Creative Arts Emmys which present the juried awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation.

The 46th News & Documentary Emmy Awards will move from September to June, and the Daytime Emmys are moving from June to October. As part of the cascade, the two-night 52nd Creative Arts Emmys will now be held in October instead of in September.

The 3rd Annual children’s & Family Emmy Awards, which spun off with animation-related categories previously nested with the Daytime Emmys, are scheduled for March 15.

[Source: Deadline]

The ‘Gleeful Beasts’ Team Discusses Their Chimeras of Sketch Comedy, CG Puppetry & Pure Joy

Ramin Zahed

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January 10, 2025

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The ‘Gleeful Beasts’ Team Discusses Their Chimeras of Sketch Comedy, CG Puppetry & Pure Joy

Is the world ready for a new group of hilarious animated monsters? The team behind the new short-form comedy series Gleeful Beasts hope so. The CG-animated show, which is produced in Unreal Engine, is the brainchild of U.K.-based Sparklegoose (headed by Natt Tapley and Joel Veitch, the writing and performance team behind the recent Netflix series Bad Dinosaurs) and U.S.-based animation house, Sans Strings Studio (led by Ryan Corniel and Sébastien Deguy, Adobe’s head of 3D and Metaverse).

We were fortunate enough to catch up with the team to find out more about the new show, which was recently launched on YouTube. Here’s what they told us:

Animation Magazine: Congrats on the arrival of your new show. Can you tell us a bit about how this new venture started?

Joel Veitch: When Natt Tapley and I finished on Bad Dinosaurs, we decided to set up a partnership to develop comedy projects together. Thus was Sparklegoose born. We were absolutely blown away by the work Ryan Corniel and Seb Deguy at Sans Strings are doing with real-time CGI puppetry in Unreal so we reached out to them about a possible collaboration.

The format that we settled on is essentially short-form sketches. This works for us for a number of reasons. Firstly, we love sketch comedy and there has been a real dearth of this on broadcasters for some years now. The internet has made it difficult to produce TV sketch comedy that really cuts through. Rather than trying to fight this battle, we want to do two things: firstly, work with the new media world rather than against it and secondly, to reinvent sketch comedy in a way that can cut through in this new landscape. This project allows us to do all of that.

We wanted to think in a digital-first way that would allow us to push forward without having to wait for a broadcaster to give us permission. We also wanted to be able to capitalize on the benefits that taking this approach provides in terms of flexibility and fleet-footedness to react to audience feedback.

Our intention is to build this as a series of sub-one-minute shorts that can live in a vertical format on TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels and work natively with the huge audience that lives there. We can then cut compilations of these together into a more conventional sketch show format for YouTube. We’ve tested this out and we are really excited by the results, it’s such a great show! We are making ourselves laugh and that is always the most important thing in any creative endeavor — you have to believe that what you are doing is funny, first and foremost.

Our intention is to reach out to commissioners with the sketch show format in the new year, but vitally, we are not dependent on them to begin work. We all know that times are hard in animation at the moment, and so we need to be able to find our own paths to getting things made. I find long periods of talking about ideas without making any of them terribly frustrating. We need to be making!

Beasty Boys: The “Gleeful Beasts” team includes (clockwise from top left, Natt Tapley, Joel Veitch, Sébastien Deguy and Ryan Corniel.

Bad Dinosaurs began life as a series of YouTube shorts called Dinosaurs: Terrible Lizards, and it is very clear that the advantage of being able to point to something that already exists and say “this is the idea” was a huge piece of the puzzle in getting it commissioned for Netflix. We are building on this experience, learning lessons and bending with the wind of change.

The fantastic creations that Ryan and Seb are producing are immediately evocative for us, and conjure up characters, worlds and possibilities galore. We have a backwards production pipeline where Ryan sends us the characters moving and we then invent the audio to explain what is happening. This is an absolute blast, and the creative restrictions it places us under are proving to be fabulous drivers of fun. It’s also remarkably efficient, enabling us to push ahead and create content at a surprising rate.

Natt Tapley: Also, we’re firmly of the opinion that the world needs more glee, more joy, and a little bit more nonsense. My background is in topical comedy and political satire, so Bad Dinosaurs was a revelation to me in its freedom to revel in silliness and character. We’re a world that seems to be deficient in delightful idiocy at the moment, so this is a chance to bring some of that back to people everywhere.

What were some of the inspirations behind these fun monsters?

Ryan Corniel: I’ve always been inspired by fun character designs, and the most enjoyable characters I’ve seen have been puppets — whether from the Henson Studio or other studios with a passion for handcrafted characters. While I’m not the most crafty individual when it comes to making physical puppets, I know tech, and I love pushing character designs that are a little unusual.

Joel: All of our work is driven by our reactions to the material Ryan sends us. A lot of these pieces are in a mockumentary format, and this is something that we dearly love; the original shorts that became Bad Dinosaurs were mockumentary. Sometimes we lean more into character comedy, often driven by a monologue. These are always driven by our reaction to the characters but our comic sensibilities are shaped by the huge history of sketch comedy (particularly British sketch comedy) which we grew up with.

The third category we have are pieces that are just a delightful moment in time, often dominated by a music bed. These pieces have an ethereal and joyful feel and we have tried to translate that fundamental nature of the characters into music. I feel that the old 2000s animated sketch show Monkey Dust is generally at the back of my mind with these things, it did a wonderful job of conjuring up a mood with the music it used.

Natt: Seeing Ryan’s work, doing silly voices and always, always David Attenborough.

When did you start working on the show?

Joel: We (Sparklegoose) teamed up with the Sans Strings guys in the late summer of this year and we have spent the fall beavering away on an initial batch of material to launch with. Ryan and Seb have been developing their technology for a good while before we teamed up!

Where is the animation done and which animation tools are used?

Ryan: Animation is done at Sans Strings Studio, based in the Bay Area, California. Tools used for modelling include ZBrush, Adobe Substance 3D Modeler, Adobe Substance 3D Painter, Houdini (for grooms and skeleton binding) and Cinema 4D (for grooms). The animation itself is handled through real-time animation within Unreal Engine 5. All animations are live-action performances, screen-captured in real time and puppeteered using Valve Index Controllers.

Can you tell us about your plans for the show and why you opted for a soft-launch?

Joel: We are soft-launching the project for a number of reasons. The main one is that we want to be able to get material out and start to gauge reactions before we have spent an overwhelming amount of time producing work. This will enable us to tailor our output as we move forward, building on success and dropping things that are not resonating so well. It is a key advantage of working digital-first and forms a key part of our content strategy. It also allows us to gamble on ideas that might or might not be worthwhile, to take risks and allow some things to fail.

It also allows us to start releasing things early. As we are doing this ourselves, we do not want to be beavering away for years before we start getting material out into the world, we want to be releasing work. The main reason, though, is absolutely that we want to be malleable in terms of what we are doing and allow some ideas to fail.

Natt: We’re very aware of the opportunities the internet brings to iterate on both ideas and execution. By staggering the various releases of what we put out and where, we can discover exactly what works, and which of our marvelous doofuses (doofi?) the audience wants more of.

Are there plans for new episodes of Bad Dinosaurs? Will we see crossover episodes?

Joel: We are not currently planning any more Bad Dinosaurs, I am sad to say. Netflix declined to renew the show so, absent a miraculous rebirth, that will be all there is.

What do you love about this new project?

Joel: I love everything about Gleeful Beasts! Sorry, that is not a very useful answer let me be more specific. Working with Ryan and Seb at Sans Strings is wonderful. Ryan’s genius creations are such delightful material to work with. Every time we hear that something new is coming across we get a thrill of excitement, and they never, ever disappoint.

I love the backwards pipeline we are working with because it gives Natt and I a whole new game to play, making up characters, worlds and situations to fit these fantastic visuals we are receiving. The whole process is utterly joyful.

I love that we are doing something so fleet-footed and quick. There is a place in the world, obviously, for really intensive production, but the ability to capture a magical character in real time, and then find the comedy to bring it to life, then get it out into the world and get reactions immediately, is a real breath of fresh air. It’s good to be able to find space for both approaches.

Natt: Its deep silliness. These are moments to enjoy, to bring a bit of light, a laugh, something you can share with a friend. There’s a purity to that aim — to delight in silliness — that is very appealing.

Biggest challenges ahead?

Joel: For us, the main thing is going to be to build a production business with an eye on innovative ways of building and monetizing IP. The animation industry will still be facing challenges, and so we will be working with new technologies and new media to make sure that we can produce content that is both making us laugh and financially viable.

Why should everyone check out these clever new shorts?

Joel: Because they are funny! Hopefully we are making something different to what you have seen before. The visual wizardry that Ryan performs makes it feel unlike any other animation product out there. We think we have found a synergy of visual and writing approaches that should make you laugh, but also really draws you in with the immediacy of the characters’ performance.

Natt: You’re going to see unbelievably cute and strange creatures doing funny stuff. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

What do you think Sir David Attenborough would think of Gleeful Beasts?

Joel: I am sure he would love them! He has always had a soft spot for the less competent creatures of the world, and our beasts certainly lack competence! Honestly, I’d love to show him a few of these pieces and get his reaction, that would be wonderful!

Natt: I imagine he’ll find them as funny and joyous as we do. If not, we’ll just write a voiceover that implies he does and stick it on one of the videos…

Learn more at gleefulbeasts.com and follow the toons on YouTube (@gleeful.beasts), TikTok (@gleeful.beasts) and Instagram (gleeful.beasts)

Toho Reveals Promo & Cast Additions for New ‘Rose of Versailles’ Movie

Animation Magazine

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January 10, 2025

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Toho Reveals Promo & Cast Additions for New ‘Rose of Versailles’ Movie

Staff working on the new animated feature film The Rose of Versailles, based on the classic manga by Riyoko Ikeda, have been sharing new info and promotional materials, including a new sneak-peek video and additional voice stars, ahead of the film’s January 31 release in Japan through Toho.

The theatrical debut will be preceded by free streaming of the anime series cross Japan, with five episodes dropping each week from January 17 to March 7.

Beginning in the court of Marie Antoinette on the cusp of the French Revolution, Ikeda’s “story of love and intrigue” (originally serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Margaret from 1972-73) centers on a young woman raised as a boy, serving as a palace guard.

Film Synopsis: Oscar François de Jarjayes is the heir of a general’s family — a beautiful woman who dresses as a man and was raised as their “son.”

Marie Antoinette is a noble and elegant queen who came from neighboring Austria.

Andre Grandier is a commoner, who is Oscar’s servant and childhood friend.

Hans Axel von Fersen is a handsome and intelligent Swedish count.

They meet in the glorious court of Versailles, France in the late 18th century — and, despite being at the mercy of the times, they each live out their own beautiful destinies.

The newly announced voice cast additions are Fumi Hirano as Madame Noailles, Hōchū Ōtsuka as Louis XV, Saori Hayami as Rosalie, Jin Yamanoi as Colonel d’Agout, Akio Ōtsuka as General Bouille, Sumi Shimamoto as Madame Jarjayes and Kenshō Ono as Robespierre.

They join previously announced voice stars Miyuki Sawashiro as Oscar, Aya Hirano as Marie Antoinette, Toshiyuki Toyonaga as André, Kazuki Katō as Hans, Shunsuke Takeuchi as Alain de Soissons, Takuya Eguchi as Florian de Gerodelle, Miyu Irino as Bernard Châtelet, Fukushi Ochiai as Louis XVI, Banjō Ginga as General Jarjayes and Mayumi Tanaka as Maron Glacé Montblanc.

The new film is produced by MAPPA and directed by Ai Yoshimura (Daily Lives of High School Boys, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU) and written by Tomoko Konpanu (Ashita no Nadja, Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 1000%), with character design by Mariko Oka (First Love Monster, Hell Girl) and music by Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan) and Kohta Yamamoto (Kaina of the Great Snow Sea). The theme song, “Versailles,” is performed by Ayaka.

The Rose of Versailles manga is available in English from Udon Entertainment, and the 40-episode anime most recently received a U.S. release remaster from Discotek in 2021. The story has also inspired a prior animated movie in 1990 as well as musicals staged by the all-female Takarazuka Revue, a live-action French/Japanese film in 1978 and a 2019 video game.

verbara-movie.jp

[Source: Anime News Network]

Spain’s DeAPlaneta Ent. Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Mercedes Milligan

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January 9, 2025

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Spain’s DeAPlaneta Ent. Celebrates 25th Anniversary

This year, Barcelona-based DeAPlaneta Entertainment is marking its milestone 25th anniversary since launching through Grupo Planeta and De Agostini. To commemorate the event, DeAPlaneta Entertainment launched a new logo that will accompany the productions and new releases for 2025.

In the last quarter century, the company has seen success with its distribution business — handling Oscar-winning films like The Pianist, The King’s Speech and 12 Years a Slave and box-office hits including Saw, The Invisible Guardian and Girl on the Train — as well as production efforts including the animated kids’ hit Milo, and more recently in the universe of gaming and immersive content with IP like Magic Lilly.

In recent months, DeAPlaneta has enjoyed the success of its distribution titles Longlegs and Conclave, which won the Golden Globe for best screenplay. Upcoming titles on its slate include Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe and Rami Balek; How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (shortlisted for the International Film Oscar); Jason Statham thriller Mutiny and The Physician 2 starring Tom Payne.

2025 will also see the release of DeAPlaneta-produced series Love You to Death, joining previous popular offerings such as etective Touré and What Are You Waiting For?and family comedy movie Who Is Who?

DeAPlaneta Entertainment’s 25th anniversary will coincide with the half-century commemoration of the creation of Maya the Bee, an animation classic owned by DeAPlaneta Kids & Family, which will be celebrated with a series of special actions and events for its fans.

The company’s kids and family content branch will also begin production of new series, such as Magic Lilly and Karters, and the third season of Milo, a global phenomenon among preschool audiences that debuted in the United States on PBS Kids in 2024, adding new fans to an audience that spans more than 170 countries on four different continents. Also making an impression is U.S. brand WonderPals, whose relaunch by DeAPlaneta Interactive has established it as one of Web3’s most recognizable brands.

This global reach attests to the performance of DeAPlaneta Kids & Family’s international offices in Italy, France, Germany and CEE, managing successful IPs such as Miraculous Ladybug, Gormiti, David the Gnome, Heidi, The Smurfs, Care Bears and Unicorn Academy in a multitude of territories.

“2025 will give us the opportunity to look back and review the path that DeAPlaneta Entertainment has traveled for a quarter of a century hand in hand with the public,” said Ignacio Segura de Lassaletta, CEO of DeAPlaneta Entertainment. “If today we have their trust, as well as the respect of the entire entertainment sector, it is because we have been faithful to the purpose of offering a diverse, innovative and carefully curated catalog, always with the viewers as our priority. But this is not a nostalgic occasion: we will celebrate both the milestones we have achieved and those that promise a very promising future for our company.”

DeAPlaneta is planning an anniversary for the spring, gathering the company’s clients and collaborators to celebrate in the heart of Madrid. Details will be announced at a later date.

deaplanetaentertainment.com

L.A. Fires: Resources, Closures & Event Cancellations

Top Stories

Animation Magazine

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January 9, 2025

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L.A. Fires: Resources, Closures & Event Cancellations

As multiple fires rage across the Los Angeles area with limited containment, the animation industry is affected by studio closures and event cancellations. More than 27,000 acres have burned as of Thursday morning and thousands of structures have been destroyed, with close to 180,000 people under evacuation orders across the county and nearly another 200,000 under evacuation warning according to LA County Sherriff Robert Luna.

To report updates, please contact edit@animationmagazine.net.

Resources for Evacuees

The Animation Guild Disaster Aid guide: animationguild.org/disaster-aid
Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network (@mutualaidla) live updating resources list: MALAN Fire & Wind Storm Resources
DONATE: Charity Navigator: Los Angeles Fire – highly rated organizations providing assistance

Studio & Event Space Closures

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (L.A.) – Closed
Dolby Theater (Hollywood) – Mandatory evacuation
Paramount Pictures (Hollywood) – Employees encouraged to work from home.
- Studio lot tours canceled
Sony Pictures (Culver City) – Optional in-office for employees
Universal Studios (Universal City) – Open to essential employees only
- Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and Universal CityWalk also closed
Walt Disney Studios (Burbank) – Lots and offices closed
- All offices in L.A. and Ventura counties closed thru Friday, Jan. 10
Warner Bros. Studios (Burbank) – Lots and offices closed

Awards & Events Cancellations

Academy Awards – Nominations announcement postponed until Sunday, Jan. 19
- Nominations voting extended thru Tuesday, Jan. 14
AFI Awards – Annual luncheon canceled, to be rescheduled
Critics Choice Awards – 30th awards ceremony postponed until Sunday, Jan. 26
Netflix Live: In Conversation with Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl directors Nick park and Merlin Crossingham – Canceled, to be rescheduled
Producers Guild Awards – Nominations announcement postponed until Sunday, Jan. 12
Writers Guild Awards – Nominations announcement postponed until Monday, Jan. 13

A Day in The Life: Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal

Animation Magazine

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January 9, 2025

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A Day in The Life: Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal

This article was written for the
February ’25 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 347).

This month, we have the pleasure of tagging along with Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal, the charming and brilliant creators of Disney’s popular animated series Kiff (which premiered last March). The new full-length Kiff special Lore of the Ring Light premieres on Jan. 21 (National Squirrel Day) on Disney Channel (and streams the next day on Disney+):

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Lucy and Nic arrive at Titmouse studio in Burbank for a hard day making a cartoon.

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It’s time to plan new episodes for the second season of Kiff.

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Here we are knuckling down in the writers room.
From left: Shannon Whalen (script coordinator), Nic Smal,
Quinn Scott (ass. story editor) and Lucy Heavens.

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We’re checking in with the exacting and scrupulous design team!

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Nic had to rush home to write a song!

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Let’s all get into the recording booth. From left: Nic Smal (Principal Secretary), Lucy Heavens (Helen), Kimiko Glenn (Kiff), Kent Osborne (Sweepy Steve and Doctor Lyon), H Micheal Croner (Barry and the show’s voice director!)

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7

Getting the energy up for a spectacular episode of Kiff!

‘The Wild Robot,’ ‘Dune: Part Two’ Lead VES Award Nominations

Animator Files $10 Billion Lawsuit Over Disney’s ‘Moana’ Franchise

Berlinale Announces Short Film Program

Animated Box Office God ‘Nezha’ Returns in New Sequel Trailer

Gallery: New ‘Flow’ Images Set Sail

Classic ‘Macross’ Anime Titles Land at Hulu U.S.

Academy Updates 97th Oscar Season Dates

Aussie Animated Indie ‘Lesbian Space Princess’ Blasts Off with Blue Finch

Watch: Bathory Bites Back in New ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Trailer

‘Moana 2’ on Course to Hit $1 Billion; ‘Mufasa’ & ‘Sonic 3’ Reach Milestones

Numerous Fundraisers Set Up for Animation Professionals Who Lost Their Homes in the L.A. Fires

Disney Renaissance Animator Mike Toth Has Died

Universal Sets New Dates for ‘Shrek 5’ & ‘Minions 3,’ Conrad Vernon Boards the Shrekquel

‘Magic Candies’ Producer Takashi Washio Shares the Sweet Surprises of His Oscar-Shortlisted Short

Creative Arts Emmys Move Dates in Award Schedule Revamp

The ‘Gleeful Beasts’ Team Discusses Their Chimeras of Sketch Comedy, CG Puppetry & Pure Joy

Toho Reveals Promo & Cast Additions for New ‘Rose of Versailles’ Movie

Spain’s DeAPlaneta Ent. Celebrates 25th Anniversary