Nickelodeon has selected five new participants to join its 19th annual Writing Program, including the program’s first-ever preschool-specific finalist. The Nickelodeon Writing Program offers aspiring television writers with diverse backgrounds from all over the globe the opportunity to hone their skills while writing for both live-action and animated shows. Based in Burbank, participants will develop […]
Archive for October, 2018
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INTERVIEW with “Isle Of Dogs” Stop-Mo Model Maker Andy Gent
October 29th, 2018 
Jackson Murphy Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs is making a live New York appearance (Nov. 8 and 9), in the form of the gorgeous stop motion sets and the creatives who brought Megasaki’s canines and humans to life. This includes an appearance by puppet fabricator/modeler extraordinaire Andy Gent – who works regularly with two of today’s great […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Planetarian”
October 29th, 2018 Charles Solomon The dystopic science fiction tale Planetarian began as a kinetic or visual novel by “Key” in 2004. Twelve years later, it was adapted to five-part ONA (Original Net Animation). The story opens long after a biological/nuclear war devastated most of the Earth; the few surviving humans lead a hardscrabble existence, scavenging the ruined cities for […]
“Star Wars: All-Stars”: New Animated Shorts and Full-Length Episodes To Debut on Disney XD
October 26th, 2018 Jerry Beck LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars, a new animated adventure series that spans all Star Wars eras, will debut beginning Monday, OCT. 29th, on Disney XD YouTube and DisneyNOW. Comprised of eight shorts and four half-hour episodes, the series features LEGO versions of the fresh faces of the Star Wars galaxy alongside iconic heroes including Kylo Ren, […]
Ed Graham Jr. (1928-2018)
October 25th, 2018 Jerry Beck Via an obituary in today’s Chicago Tribune, animation producer Ed Graham Jr. passed away last month – on September 20th. He is best remembered as the producer of the Linus the Lionhearted cartoon show aired by CBS and ABC between 1964 – 1969 After graduating from Dartmouth College, Ed worked as a newspaper copywriter and […]
TRAILER: Dreamworks’ “How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
October 25th, 2018 Jerry Beck What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic adventure spanning their lives. Welcome to the most astonishing chapter of one of the most beloved animated franchises in film history: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. For How to Train Your Dragon: […]
25 Films Qualify for Consideration in Oscar’s Animated Feature Race
October 24th, 2018 Jerry Beck Twenty-five features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 91st Academy Awards. The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are: “Ana y Bruno” “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch” “Early Man” “Fireworks” “Have a Nice Day” “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” “Incredibles 2” “Isle of Dogs” “The Laws of the Universe […]
Sue Shakespeare and Brooke Keesling appointed as VP’s on Asifa-Hollywood Executive Board
October 23rd, 2018 Jerry Beck The International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood recently announced new officer appointments to its Executive Board of Directors. ServIng as Second and Third Vice Presidents, respectively, are Sue Shakespeare, President of the highly successful independent animation studio, Creative Capers Entertainment and Brooke Keesling, former Talent Development Director at Cartoon Network and more recently, Director of Community […]
Guillermo del Toro Set to Direct, Write, and Produce Stop Motion Animated “Pinocchio”
October 22nd, 2018 Jerry Beck Academy Award winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is making his animated feature film directorial debut at Netflix with his lifelong passion project, Pinocchio, which he will also write and produce as a stop motion musical. Pinocchio will be del Toro’s first feature film since The Shape of Water, which garnered four Academy Awards last year, […]
DreamWorks Animation Television Announces Three New Netflix Series
October 15th, 2018 Jerry Beck DreamWorks Animation Television is set to release three new kids series on Netflix in 2019 and 2020, including Archibald’s Next Big Thing from Emmy Award-winner Tony Hale. The new slate was announced during a MIPJr. keynote by Margie Cohn, president of DreamWorks Animation Television. Upcoming series include: DreamWorks Archibald’s Next Big Thing – 2019 Inspired […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Saiyuki Reload Blast”
October 15th, 2018 Charles Solomon Saiyuki is one of several anime series based loosely—very loosely in this case—on Wu Ch’êng-ên’s Ming Dynasty novel “The Journey to the West,” sometimes called “Monkey” in English. The book chronicles the misdeeds of the Monkey King, Son Goku. (Akira Toriyama’s hit series Dragon Ball is also derived from the novel.) Goku’s antics disturb even […]
Animated Spirits Film Festival Returns To New York With New European Animation
October 11th, 2018 Jerry Beck Kicking off with a screening and networking event at the SVA Theatre on Sunday, November 4 at 5 pm, Animated Spirits Film Festival – New Animation from Europe is returning to New York City for its fourth year with recent animated shorts from Europe and especially the Central Eastern European Region. Presented together with the […]
Jackie Chan to produce and voice in “Once Upon A Zodiac”
October 9th, 2018 Jerry Beck Today, Toonbox Entertainment (The Nut Job) and GAMA Entertainment (TMNT) announced that Jackie Chan has been tapped as an Executive Producer and cast to voice in their upcoming production, Once Upon A Zodiac. The film is currently in production. Galen Walker, producer said: “We are proud to have Jackie Chan part of this film as […]
“Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse” – A Recap of the NYCC Preview
October 9th, 2018 Jackson Murphy Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is getting a complete makeover. At New York Comic Con on Saturday, October 6th, Sony Pictures Animation debuted the first 35 minutes from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (it swings into theaters December 14th). A panel Q&A with cast and crew members followed. I attended the presentation, held in a packed Hulu […]
Two Anime Features Make Their Formal Premieres at the LA Femme Festival
October 5th, 2018 Jerry Beck La Femme International Film Festival and festival sponsor ELEVEN ARTS Anime Studio will hold a special screening of the award-winning anime feature Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, Friday, October 12th at 6PM, and a competition screening of Liz and the Blue Bird, Sunday, October 14th at 12PM. Both screenings will be at the Regal […]
