The broadcast series Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (2010) is the first animated adaptation of the popular 2008 video game: Additional TV series, two features, an OAV and a manga followed. The adventure begins in 1864, when Japan was facing an uncertain future: The failure of the Tokugawa shoguns to formulate a satisfactory response […]
Archive for January, 2017
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Disney Channel Announces Dates for “Tangled: The Series” and Movie “Tangled Before Ever After”
January 31st, 2017 
Jerry Beck Set between the stories told in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ acclaimed film Tangled and its short film Tangled Ever After, the Disney Channel Original Movie Tangled Before Ever After makes its debut on Friday March 10th (8:00 p.m. EST) leading to the highly anticipated premiere of Tangled: The Series on Friday March 24th (7:30 p.m. […]
Shout! Factory Secures U.S. Rights To Suano Katabuchi’s “In This Corner Of The World”
January 31st, 2017 Jerry Beck Shout! Factory and Animatsu Entertainment (London-based producer, licensor and distributor of anime in the UK and Ireland), have entered into an exclusive film deal to distribute the new animated feature In This Corner Of The World in North America. Based on the award-winning manga by Fumiyo Kouno, the film is written and directed by Sunao […]
INTERVIEW: Gina Shay, Producer of “Trolls”
January 27th, 2017 Greg Ehrbar Producer Gina Shay fell in love with animation not long after she graduated from Pratt Institute, moved to LA and worked on Ralph Bakshi’s Cool World as a PA. Since then, she amassed production credits on features with DreamWorks, Disney, Nickelodeon and others. “For a while, I thought I might take the artist route,” she […]
Academy Award Nominations For Best Animated Feature
January 24th, 2017 Jerry Beck The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that nominations for its 89th Annual Academy Awards. The 5 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their directors: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Laika – Travis Knight MOANA Disney – Ron Clements, John Musker MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI GKids – […]
Interview: Joby Talbot, Composer of “Sing”
January 23rd, 2017 Greg Ehrbar Scoring a film that contains upwards of 100 songs—either in part or complete—in addition to a background score, calls for the kind of composer who can turn with ease from classical to jazz to rock to hip-hop and so on. For Sing director Garth Jennings, the task fell to a longtime collaborator with astonishing versatility […]
TRAILER: “The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature”
January 18th, 2017 Jerry Beck Surly Squirrel (Will Arnett) and his ragtag group of animal friends band together to save their home and take back their park in The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. This American-Canadian-Korean 3D computer-animated feature is directed by Cal Brunker and written by Brunker, Bob Barlen and Scott Bindley. It is a sequel to 2014’s […]
ANNIE AWARDS: Slate of Presenters Announced
January 18th, 2017 Jerry Beck Saturday, February 4th will mark the 44th Annual Annie Awards recognizing the year’s best in animation. This year’s slate of presenters include former Lakers basketball legend, Kobe Bryant; actress Jenna Elfman; animator and film director, Patrick Osborne; Auli’l Cravalho (Moana); animator, author and illustrator, Glen Keane; actor and comedian, Tom Kenny; Paige O’Hara (25th Anniversary […]
GLAS Animation Signal Film by Albert Omoss
January 18th, 2017 Jerry Beck The 2nd Annual GLAS Animation Festival in Berkeley California is fast approaching (it’s March 2nd-5th, 2017) and competition selections, curated programs, special guests, and the complete festival schedule will soon be announced. In the meantime, the absolutely dazzling 2017 GLAS signal film – directed by Albert Omoss, featuring music by San Diego based duo Pal […]
Asifa Hollywood & Animation Educators Forum Accepting Applications for 2017 Faculty Grants
January 17th, 2017 Jerry Beck ASIFA-Hollywood and the Animation Educators Forum (AEF) announce they are accepting applications for the 2017 Faculty Grant program. The Faculty Grant program is designed to provide support for individuals or groups with reasonable expenditures associated with research, scholarly activity or creative projects in the field of animation. Deadline to apply is Monday, February 6 at […]
When Was the Last Time a Western Animated Film Explored Interpersonal Relationships?
January 13th, 2017 Charles Kenny This just popped into my head earlier today: Western films tend to reflect the struggle of the individual. Eastern films in contrast are more likely to use interpersonal relationships as a foundation for the story. There’s a marked difference, and its one that could really enliven western animated filmmaking. There’s no doubt that many western […]
Director Henry Yu Talks “Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania”
January 12th, 2017 Jackson Murphy The animated sequel to Sony Pictures Animation’s Surf’s Up, the 2007 Oscar animated comedy about surfing penguins, will be released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment next Tuesday. Genndy Tartakovsky’s protégé Henry Yu (story artist on Sym-Bionic Titan and both Hotel Transylvania feature films) makes his directorial debut with this project, which is produced by Michelle […]
FIRST LOOK: Ghibli’s Amazon Series “Ronja the Robber’s Daughter”
January 10th, 2017 Jerry Beck Amazon announced the launch date for Ronja the Robber’s Daughter. This is the new epic new series directed by Goro Miyazaki, animated by Polygon Pictures and co-produced by Studio Ghibli, based on Astrid Lindgren’s classic novel. It will start streaming on January 27th. The English adaptation was produced by David Freedman in London with a […]
PGA Nominates Producers of Disney Trio, Kubo and Pets
January 10th, 2017 Jerry Beck The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture nominations for the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards. In the category of Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures: · Finding Dory – Producer: Lindsey Collins · Kubo and the Two Strings – Producers: […]
Setting a New Standard with “Hanazuki: Full of Treasures”
The traditional methods used to get animated content made and broadcast are evaporating in front of our eyes. So far, no particular replacement is obvious, but more than a few industry heavyweights are placing their chips on the table. One of those is Hasbro, and one of its chips is Hanazuki: Full of Treasures. It’s […]