Midwell – 5
November 17th, 2022 
David Derks 
ANIME TRAILER: Netflix Drops First Teaser For “Record of Ragnarok” Season 3
March 18th, 2025 Haylie Baker The eagerly awaited third season of Record of Ragnarok has been announced, accompanied by teaser art, a teaser trailer, the newly designed Record of Ragnarok III logo, and exclusive illustrations by the manga creators to celebrate the anime’s continuation! Since its serialization in November 2017 in Monthly Comic Zenon, the manga achieved critical acclaim, ranking 5th on the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2019 ranking of the top 20 manga for male readers and the 2nd Manga News Prize. Find details below:
INTERVIEW: Building “BE@RBRICK”
March 17th, 2025 Jackson Murphy A new DreamWorks animated series BE@RBRICK, based on Medicom Toy’s figures, premieres this Friday March 21st on AppleTV+. Showrunner, EP and writer Meghan McCarthy joins me to talk about the show’s vision, themes, music and spirit. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: In addition to this, you have worked on “My Little Pony” animated shows. So how do you feel about having this responsibility to put out great content for families based on these beloved toy brands?
Meghan McCarthy: That’s a great question. I take it very seriously. When I am given these things that I know people really care about, I care about them too. And I want to really bring my best work to them and surround myself with people who feel the same. And I think I’ve been really fortunate that on “BE@RBRICK”, I was able to do that. And hopefully everybody feels that way when they see the show.
Crunchyroll Releases Anime Film “Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon” April 13
March 15th, 2025 Haylie Baker On March 14, 2025, the details for the upcoming release of Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon were announced by Crunchyroll. Teaming up with Sony Pictures Entertainment, the film will debut in theatres on April 13 to 16, 2025, in the United States and Canada. Japanese with English subtitles and its English dub will be available upon release. A stylized action-packed recap of season 1, Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon also includes a brand new original episode, “Hoshina’s Day Off,” ending with a new theme song “Invincible” by One Republic.
ANIME TRAILER: Toho Animation Releases “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes” Teasers
March 14th, 2025 Haylie Baker Earlier this week, Toho Co., Ltd revealed a brand new trailer, key art, and opening theme song for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, a spin-off series set prior to the timeline of the original My Hero Academia anime, both adapted from the manga made by Kohei Horikoshi. The new series will debut only on Crunchyroll starting April 7th, available to stream worldwide except in Asia. New episodes will release on a weekly basis in sync with Japan’s schedule.
“My Hero Academia has captivated fans worldwide for nearly a decade, and now My Hero Academia: Vigilantes offers an exciting new perspective on the world this franchise loves. We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with TOHO and bring this highly anticipated spinoff to audiences around the globe,” Crunchyroll Chief Content Officer Asa Suehira commented.
TRAILER: Disney’s Live Action/CG “Lilo & Stitch”
March 12th, 2025 Jerry Beck Here’s our first look at Lilo & Stitch, the eagerly anticipated live-action reimagining of Disney’s 2002 animated classic, which will open exclusively in theaters May 23, 2025. A wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family. Take a peek:
INTERVIEW: Eric Bauza and Candi Milo on Blowing Up the Earth … Sort of
March 12th, 2025 W.R. Miller One of the remarkable aspects about the new Warner Bros. animated feature, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, is that it has no marquee-value celebrities. No sports stars. No flavor-of-the-month comedians. Just two veteran voiceover actors performing the leads: Eric Bauza and Candi Milo. And both have an impressive array of credits.
Bauza, whom I interviewed five years ago in promoting Looney Tunes Cartoons , began his career as an animation artist but showed he was facile as a vocal performer. His behind-the-mic adventures launched with Dream Street (1999), The Ripping Friends (2001), and as the lead in El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (2007). Years later, he has accrued such major roles as Puss in Boots, Dr. Benton Quest, Luke Skywalker, and a plethora of Looney Tunes characters including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Pie, Elmer Fudd, Marvin the Martian, and Foghorn Leghorn. With Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) he added Porky Pig to his resume. He voices both Daffy and Porky for The Day the Earth Blew Up.
Animated Comedy “In Your Dreams” Unveils Dream Cast on National Dream Day
March 11th, 2025 Lauren Ashton Netflix has officially announced In Your Dreams: a hilarious and heartfelt animated comedy adventure set to premiere this fall. Directed by Alex Woo (Ratatouille, The Good Dinosaur) and co-directed by Erik Benson, the film is produced by Timothy Hahn and Gregg Taylor. The screenplay was written by Woo and Benson, based on a story by Woo and Stanley Moore.
ANIME TRAILER: “One Piece” Returns From Hiatus On Crunchyroll
March 10th, 2025 Haylie Baker Exciting news for One Piece fans, as Toei Animation and Crunchyroll have announced the date of the beloved series’ return since its hiatus last October. The Egghead Arc resumes next month on April 6, 2025. For more information on what’s to come, read below.
ANIME TRAILER: Crunchyroll Reveals Theatrical Release Dates For “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle”
March 6th, 2025 Haylie Baker Yesterday, on March 5, 2025, Crunchyroll revealed the North American and international theatrical release dates for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle. The eagerly awaited film from the renowned studio Ufotable will premiere in North American theaters starting September 12, 2025, in IMAX and other formats. Audiences can enjoy the film in Japanese or English, with English subtitles or the English dub available. The announced international release dates can be found below:
REVIEW: “Ghost Cat Anzu” Blu-Ray Released From GKIDS
March 5th, 2025 Haylie Baker Following its debut on streaming services on January 28th, GKID’S Ghost Cat Anzu made its way to home entertainment on March 4th! The newly released Blu-ray includes the film’s original teasers and trailers as special bonus features—plus, of course, the visually stunning film in high-definition quality. Ghost Cat Anzu is a heartwarming story, featuring endearing and relatable characters, with a style reminiscent of Studio Ghibli.
ANIME TRAILER: Official Trailer Released For “LAZARUS” From Adult Swim
February 28th, 2025 Haylie Baker Yesterday, on February 27, 2025, Adult Swim debuted the official trailer for Lazarus, the eagerly awaited anime series from the legendary Shinichirō Watanabe. The new series is set to premiere next Saturday on April 5th during Adult Swim’s Toonami action/anime block.
“We’re talking Watanabe here – this show is an amazing mix of great characters, super fun high-stakes, brilliant directing, and of course, some pretty great music,” Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen stated. “We are all so lucky to be able to watch this genius do his thing.”
Van Eaton Gallery Auctions “The Bob Clampett Collection” March 22nd and 23rd
February 28th, 2025 Jerry Beck Announcing Van Eaton Galleries’ Bob Clampett Auction, a once-in-a-lifetime two-day event featuring the collection of one of animation’s most influential pioneers! Over 950 lots are live including original animation art from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies classics, original puppets from “Time for Beany,” Beany and Cecil merchandise, a Charlie McCarthy stop-motion armature, and even rare photos of Walt Disney.
PREMIERE: Animation+ to debut original feature film “The Full Fungus”
February 28th, 2025 Lauren Ashton Streaming Ink Media and celebrated indie animator Jim Lujan are gearing up for the premiere of The Full Fungus, a highly anticipated, genre-bending animated feature. The film debuts exclusively on Animation+ on March 21, 2025, at 10 PM EST / 7 PM PST, marking a major milestone as the platform’s first-ever original independent animated feature.
ANIME TRAILER: New Clip Released For “Devil May Cry”
February 28th, 2025 Haylie Baker This Wednesday, February 26th, 2024, Netflix treated fans to a new clip from their highly anticipated anime series, Devil May Cry. With this exciting update, fans can look forward to the opening of the Gates of Hell on April 3rd, 2024. Based on the vision of Adi Shankar and the popular Capcom game, this anime adaptation has been brought to life by Studio Mir, the renowned studio behind The Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. Devil May Cry features a talented cast, with Johnny Yong Bosch voicing Dante.
INTERVIEW: The Winning Formula For “Plankton: The Movie”
February 28th, 2025 Jackson Murphy New SpongeBob spinoff feature film Plankton: The Movie debuts next Friday March 7th on Netflix. Director Dave Needham (The Loud House Movie) and stars Mr. Lawrence (Plankton) and Jill Talley (the voice of Karen) join me for a deep dive into the latest Bikini Bottom adventure. (These interviews were conducted separately. This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: Last time we talked about “The Loud House Movie”. Do you go right from that to “Plankton: The Movie”?
Dave Needham: Yeah, I did. I was at Nickelodeon and they asked me if I was interested in working in the “SpongeBob” world. I love villains. I thought this could be so much fun — getting to do a “SpongeBob” movie that’s a little bit different. I always pitched it as, “You know what a “SpongeBob” movie is. He’s the happiest character in the world. It’s sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. My movie’s just gonna be a little bit off to the side of that, being a little bit weirder.” It was a privilege to get to play in that world.
