Jeffrey Katzenberg has been immersed in the world of animation for much of his career. He helped usher-in some of the most beloved Disney animated films of all-time in the late ’80s and early ’90s. And he was instrumental at DreamWorks Animation for more than two decades. Now Quibi takes center stage. Katzenberg’s streaming service […]
Archive for April, 2020
ANIME REVIEW: “RobiHachi”
April 30th, 2020 
Charles Solomon The outré sci-fi adventure-comedy RobiHachi (2019) presents the future as a tourist trap. Tall, lanky, and self-indulgent, Robby Yarge is a shameless if unsuccessful skirt-chaser and ne’er-do-well. After a series of get-rich-quick schemes crash and burn, he’s left owing a fortune to Mr. Yang. To collect the debt, Yang sends bright, eager Hatchi Ika. Hatchi […]
Pop TV Will Air Animated Episode of “One Day at a Time” This Spring
April 29th, 2020 David Derks Due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, the live-action multicam show One Day at a Time was put on hold. However, the show’s producers found another way to produce a new, original episode in this time of quarantine: animation. The original idea was to film the episode traditionally as live-action with instered fantasy elements. When the […]
ASIFA-Hollywood Announces its Animation Educator’s Forum 2020 Faculty Grant recipients
April 28th, 2020 Jerry Beck ASIFA-Hollywood announced today its Animation Educator’s Forum (AEF) fourth annual Faculty Grant recipients: Zoya Baker (New York University), Mindy Johnson (CalArts), Nazil Eda Noyan (Bahcesehir University, Istanbul/Turkey), Jack Parry (Deakin University, Australia) and Kevin Sandler (Arizona State University). The AEF faculty grants are designed to provide support for individuals or groups with expenditures associated with […]
REVIEW: Netflix “The Midnight Gospel”
April 27th, 2020 Martin Goodman If you were wondering what Pendleton Ward has been up to since his cult hit Adventure Time aired its final episode, wonder no more. Ward has teamed up with podcaster Duncan Trussel to create The Midnight Gospel, a new animated series streaming on Netflix. All eight episodes extant are currently available. This is not your […]
REVIEW: “The Willoughbys”
April 24th, 2020 Martin Goodman After placing two films in Academy Award contention last year, Netflix served notice to the major animation studios that it was going to be a player and a force to be reckoned with in future competition for audiences. Although Pixar took home the award, Disney saw Frozen 2 shut out from finalist consideration. For Netflix, […]
Creator N.D. Wilson Talks Netflix’ “Hello Ninja”
April 22nd, 2020 Jackson Murphy Author N.D. Wilson’s picture book Hello Ninja became an instant success when it was released in 2013. Season 1 of the Netflix animated series adaptation debuted to big ratings in November. Season 2 premieres this Friday, April 24th. Wilson shares details on the new episodes and how (to quote his Twitter bio) he went from […]
TRAILER: The New HBO Max “Looney Tunes Cartoons”
April 21st, 2020 Jerry Beck WarnerMedia has just set the launch date of May 27th for their new streaming service HBO Max. That will also be the release date for the first batch of Looney Tunes Cartoons from Warner Bros. Animation. The first season will include 80 episodes, each 11-minute “episode” will be comprised of cartoon shorts that vary in […]
Posted in HBO Max, WB Animation (TV) 
Tags: HBO Max, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Warner Bros. Animation 
No Comments » ANIME REVIEW: “Fire Force”
April 21st, 2020 Charles Solomon Fire Force is set in a future Earth that was ravaged by The Great Disaster decades earlier, when much of the planet was rendered uninhabitable by terrible conflagrations. Many survivors took refuge in the Tokyo Empire. The Tokyo Emperors brought together personnel from the Holy Sol Temples, the Fire Defense Agency and armed forces to […]
Director Kris Pearn on Netflix “The Willoughbys”
April 20th, 2020 Jackson Murphy Two-time Annie Award nominee Kris Pearn co-directed 2013’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 for Sony. Now he’s the director of the new star-studded Netflix animated feature The Willoughbys, debuting this Wednesday April 22nd. Jackson Murphy: Kris, you’re in an interesting position right now. You and everyone who made the movie and everybody at […]
Gene Deitch (1924-2020)
April 19th, 2020 Jerry Beck Animator Gene Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) passed away Thursday (4/16) of natural causes (unrelated to the current corona virus pandemic). For the last 25 years (or so) I was very proud to have been his friend. His life’s work and his personal journey was quite incredible. Luckily he documented much of […]
Animator Philip Hunt and Producer Sue Goffe on “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth”
April 17th, 2020 Jackson Murphy Just in time for Earth Day, AppleTV+ is debuting a new animated short film on their streaming service today. Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth is a gentle and moving 36-minute CG adaptation of the 2017 book by Oliver Jeffers. It’s about a boy named Finn who discovers all that our planet […]
Duncan Trussell on Netflix “The Midnight Gospel”
April 13th, 2020 Jackson Murphy Duncan Trussell, the host of the long-running Duncan Trussell Family Podcast, is also the co-creator and main voice actor of the new adult Netflix animated series The Midnight Gospel (premiering Monday April 20th). It’s about a space podcaster named Clancy who travels to different worlds interviewing all kinds of people and creatures. The show is […]
REVIEW: “Trolls World Tour”
April 11th, 2020 Martin Goodman I am continually amazed that recent animated films, even ones with five screenwriters (which Trolls World Tour has) continue to be so derivative, thematically redundant, and prone to replace originality with CGI eye candy. So far, in 2020, Pixar’s Onward has bucked this unfortunate trend. Now, Onward may not be a landmark film in that […]
“The Simpsons” Animated Short “Playdate with Destiny” Starts Streaming on Disney+
April 9th, 2020 Jerry Beck Today Disney+ set a playdate with the Simpsons. The streaming service has announced that the short film Maggie Simpson in ‘Playdate with Destiny will begin streaming globally on the service beginning tomorrow, Friday, April 10th. Originally released in theatres before Disney and Pixar’s Onward, Maggie Simpson in ‘Playdate with Destiny’ builds on the success of […]
