A jam-packed virtual comics, entertainment and pop culture smorgasbord was laid out for fan communities of all descriptions during NYCC X MCM Metaverse (www.findthemetaverse.com) this weekend. Here’s a quick rundown of the animation newsmakers.
Miss some of the panels on your list? Not to worry! You can still watch them on YouTube and through the Metaverse portal.
Hulu delved into quite a few of its highly anticipated originals, including two buzzworthy toons. On Friday night, Marvel fans were treated to the first look at M.O.D.O.K., presented by creators Patton Oswalt and Jordan Bloom and voice cast Aimee Garcia, Ben Schwartz and Melissa Fumero. Watch the full panel here.
The streamer also offered a sneak peek at this fall’s reboot of beloved ’90s toon Animaniacs. On Sunday, exec producer Wellesley Wild, co-exec producer Gabe Swarr and voice cast members Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, Jess Harnell and Maurice LaMarche slipped in a clip of the first episode’s “very Spielbergian” cold opening. (“How… zany ARE they?” “…To the max.”) Watch the panel here and look out for our feature story in the December issue of Animation Magazine, coming soon.
Amazon Prime got things moving Thursday by revealing the teaser for Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, which we covered already, but you can watch Kirkman’s intro in full here.
The creative team behind BAFTA-winning graphic novel adaptation Hilda gathered to talk Season 2 and share an early clip (featuring everyone’s favorite deerfox, Twig!) from Hilda’s strange new adventures, coming to Netflix this winter. The panel, which you can watch here, featured creator and co-exec producer Luke Pearson; voice of Hilda, Bella Ramsey; director Andy Coyle; head writer/co-exec producer Stephanie Simpson and producer Emerald Wright-Collie as moderator.
Netflix also gathered the cast and crew of DreamWorks Animation’s Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, which is debuting its third season Monday, October 12. Exec producers Radford Sechrist and Bill Wolkoff, story editors Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco, and voice cast members Karen Fukuhara, Sydney Mikayla and Coy Stewart preview the out-of-this-world series’ epic finale season and the hunt for the evil Dr. Emilia — watch here.
Sunday evening, Crunchryoll offered up a tasty sampler of all the great Crunchyroll Originals for 2020 — plus, a closer look at Onyx Equinox with exclusive content. The presentation also showed off trailers for Tower of God, The God of High School and Noblesse. Watch here and look out for our feature story on Onyx Equinox in the December issue of Animation Magazine!
Learn more about how CBS All Access show teams boldly go where no one has gone before in Starfleet adventures, including animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks, in this packed one-hour panel. Watch here.
What’s it like to have a ghostly companion who can never ghost you? Find out as The Ghost and Molly McGee cast Ashly Burch, Dana Snyder, along with creator/EPs Bill Motz, Bob Roth and exec producers Steve Loter discuss their influences for the show and reveal an exclusive sneak-peek months before it airs on Disney Channel! Watch here.
Return to San Fransokyo with Big Hero 6 The Series stars Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung, Brooks Wheelan, Khary Payton and Lucas Neff and executive producers Mark McCorkle, Bob Schooley and Nick Filippi as they discuss the beloved superhero comedy and share sneak peeks at season 3, coming to Disney XD. Watch here.
VIZ and Powerhouse Animation presented a deep dive into Seis Manos, revealing favorite moment and behind-the-scenes secrets from creatives and cast, including co-creators Brad Graeber & Álvaro Rodríguez, writer Daniel Dominguez, director Willis Bulliner, Jonny Cruz (voice of Jesus) and Angélica Vale (voice of Garcia). Watch here.
Adult Swim offered more insight into the critically acclaimed hit Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal. Tartakovsky and crew took fans on a journey through the show’s creation, from the original ideas through drawings and the evolution of Primal‘s animation, storytelling and music. Watch here.
In the first-ever con panel featuring the four core voices of Mystery Inc., Frank Welker, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard and Kate Micucci joined director/producer/writer Maxwell Atoms and special guest star Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark) to preview the first eight minutes of Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! The all-new seasonal spooktacular is available now on DVD and Digital HD from Warner Bros. Watch here.
WBHE also gave a fascinating look at its first-ever interactive film presentation, Batman: Death in the Family. Producer/director/writer Brandon Vietti, actors Bruce Greenwood, Vincent Martella and Zehra Fazal went in-depth about this innovative film, which anchors an exciting short film anthology being released on Blu-ray and Digital October 13. Watch here.
Fans of classic animation won’t want to miss The Flintstones Take New York!, celebrating the first toon clan of primetime TV’s 60th anniversary. Panelists Tony Cervone (director/producer), Jeff Bergman, Grey Griffin and Eric Bauza (the voices of Fred Flintstone, Betty Rubble and Bam-Bam & Dino, respectively); animation historian & author Jerry Beck and moderator Yvette Nicole Brown discussed the landmark series ahead of the Blu-ray release of the new, fully remastered complete series box set of all 166 episodes and two feature-length films (on digital now, on BD Oct. 13). Watch here.
Need more anime celebrations, revisits to fave series and more animated insights? Check out:
- First Look at Japanese Phenom Anpanman Ahead of U.S. Debut on Tubi
- Batman Beyond Cast Swings Into the Metaverse
- Exclusive Interviews with the Creators of Steven Universe – The End of an Era
- https://youtu.be/gn_pAA237Vk>X-Men | The Art and Making of the Animated Series
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Reunion
- The Best Anime to Watch – Fall 2020
- Animate Africa – Bringing New Voices to the Medium
