Jackson Murphy

Editor

Jackson Murphy is an Emmy-winning film critic, content producer, and author, who has also served as Animation Scoop reporter since 2016. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio over the past 20 years.

Articles By Jackson Murphy

Short Film

A Bear Named Wojtek is a new dramatic, hand-drawn animated short vying for awards consideration this year. It’s inspired by the life of a real, large, Syrian brown bear, who was adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II. His significant, remarkable accomplishments and lasting impact are chronicled in the film, from director Iain Gardner. […]

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Paramount

Academy Award nominee Jeff Fowler (of the animated short “Gopher Broke”) directed the blockbuster first two installments in the “Sonic the Hedgehog” film franchise. He returns for “Sonic 3” (in theaters this December) and also serves as executive producer and director of the first episode of new spinoff series Knuckles. The six-episode event, with the […]

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Netflix

Vicky Jenson co-directed the first Best Animated Feature Oscar winner, DreamWorks’ 2001 Shrek. She followed that up with 2004 nominee Shark Tale. 20 years later she’s helming the new Netflix animated musical Spellbound, debuting tomorrow. It’s about 15-year-old princess Ellian, whose parents have been cursed for a year. They were transformed from humans to monsters. […]

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Janus Films

Five years after he made an animated feature by himself (Away), director Gints Zilbalodis is back with a new animated movie — Flow. It’s about a cat on the journey of a lifetime… or maybe nine. Flow opens in select theaters this Friday Nov. 22, with a nationwide expansion set for Dec. 6. Zilbalodis shares […]

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Disney

Last month I visited Pixar Animation Studios to screen the first half-hour of the highly-anticipated Inside Out 2 and interview the film’s makers. Ahead of the sequel’s June 14th release date, I’ll have three Animation Scoop Q&A pieces. This first one is with director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielsen. (The first question was asked […]

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INTERVIEW: Younger Heroes In A Half Shell On “Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles”

Eliza Hart, VP of Preschool Development at Nickelodeon Animation, joins me to talk about the new CG family series Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles, centered on the eight-year-old versions of the beloved brothers.