July 18th, 2016 
Jerry Beck 
Readers of this blog attending Comic Con this week should consult our annual list of two dozen animation panels we highly recommend you try to get into.
Please understand this is not every panel at CCI:SD connected to animation. You will need to consult the program book (or listings online) to research the complete list. These are only my personal picks.
I also highly recommend attending any and all of Mark Evainer’s panels – which are conveniently listed here.
So here is Animation Scoop’s top 24 – in order of their appearance:
THURSDAY
Trolls
DreamWorks Animation invites you to find your happy place with a special Trolls presentation moderated by Chris Hardwick featuring Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, director Mike Mitchell, co-director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay.
Thursday July 21, 2016 10:00am – 11:30am – Hall H
NICKELODEON PANEL
For 25 years, Nickelodeon has produced some of the most innovative and memorable animation in the history of television. Nick Animation podcast host Hector Navarro finds out how and why four of the network’s most influential creators did what they did: Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold), Jhonen Vasquez (Invader Zim), Butch Hartman (Fairly OddParents, Danny Phanton) and Arlene Klasky (Rugrats, Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power), who along with Gabor Csupo and Paul Germain, created Rugrats. Don’t miss the chance to see production art from the upcoming Hey Arnold movie, animation from Hartman’s new Bunsen Is a Beast, and the world premiere of Don vs Raph, a TMNT animated short written and produced by Jhonen Vasquez.
Thursday July 21, 2016 11:15am – 12:15pm
Room 6A
Moana
Legendary directors Ron Clements (Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, Princess and the Frog) and John Musker (Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, Princess and the Frog) lead a panel of artists as they give a behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming animated comedy-adventure Moana, a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. Once on her journey, Moana meets the once-mighty demigod Maui, who guides her in her quest to become a master wayfinder. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, and along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she’s always sought: her own identity.
Thursday July 21, 2016 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Room 6A
VOLTRON
Form Voltron! Executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos, co-executive producer Lauren Montgomery, and head writer Tim Hedrick dive deep into the epic first season of the critically acclaimed Netflix original series Voltron: Legendary Defender. They’ll come ready to answer all your burning questions with an extended fan Q&A and even offer a sneak peek of what’s next for the Paladins of Voltron. All panel attendees will receive an exclusive limited-edition Voltron lithograph.
Thursday July 21, 2016 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Room 7AB
CARTOON CREATIVES: WOMEN POWER IN ANIMATION
While Women in Animation’s initiative strives to have a 50/50 workforce in the animation world by 2025, there are women leading the charge right now, creating, innovating, and guiding cartoons into a future filled with talent that goes beyond gender, and their fans are loving every minute of it. Scheduled to appear are Lauren Faust (creator, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic), Brooke Keesling (director of animation talent development at Disney TV Animation), Lauren Montgomery (co-executive producer, Voltron: Legendary Defender), Stevie Wermers-Skelton (co-director, the upcoming Frozen Holiday Special), Gina Shay (producer, the upcoming Trolls), Katie Krentz (senior director of development: Cartoon Network, Steven Universe), Daron Nefcy (creator/executive producer, Star vs. the Forces of Evil) and Marge Dean (co-president, Women in Animation), talking about their experiences and upcoming projects. Moderated by Leslie Combemale of Animation Scoop.
Thursday July 21, 2016 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Room 24ABC
Sausage Party
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have been the masterminds behind some of the world’s most outrageous, inventive, and hilarious comedies, and now they are going into the world of animation for Sony Pictures and Annapurna Pictures’ Sausage Party: the world’s first R-rated CG animated comedy. The film is about a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they become chosen to leave the grocery story. Not only will you hear all about it as Seth and Evan lead a conversation, you can see the movie for yourself. Following the conversation, attend the pre-party starting at 6PM at the Mad House Comedy Club, Horton Plaza and screening at 8PM at the UA Horton Plaza 8 Theater (attendees at the panel should check in at the theater by 7:45PM for guaranteed screening admittance).
Thursday July 21, 2016 5:45pm – 6:30pm
Horton Grand Theatre
FRIDAY
STEVEN UNIVERSE PANEL
Cartoon Network is bringing together the talents of Steven Universe for a first-of-its-kind live musical experience for fans at San Diego Comic-Con! The series cast and musical minds behind Steven Universe will give a never-before-seen performance of the series’ critically acclaimed music, as well as exclusive previews from upcoming episodes and an extended Q&A. Scheduled to appear are Steven Universe gems Rebecca Sugar (creator), Jeff Liu (writer and storyboard artist), Zach Callison (voice of Steven), Estelle (voice of Garnet), Michaela Dietz (voice of Amethyst), Deedee Magno Hall (voice of Pearl), Charlyne Yi (voice of Ruby), and Ben Levin (writer), accompanied by series composers Aivi Tran and Steven “Surasshu” Velema and moderated by former supervising director Ian Jones-Quartey.
Friday July 22, 2016 10:15am – 11:45am
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
CARTOON LEGENDS SPEAK: DIVERSITY IN THE HISTORY OF ANIMATION
A panel featuring great artists including Disney Legend and first African American animator hired at Walt Disney Studios, Floyd Norman (The Jungle Book, Monsters, Inc), first African American animator to get a screen credit and award-winning illustrator Ron Husband (The Rescuers, The Little Mermaid), Japanese American and Inkpot winner Willie Ito (Lady and the Tramp, The Flintstones) and Jane Baer (Sleeping Beauty, Roger Rabbit). They’ll discuss their careers, their futures, and how diversity has played a role in their artistic lives. Moderated by Leslie Combemale of Animation Scoop.
Friday July 22, 2016 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Room 24ABC
SAMURAI JACK PANEL
Creator/director Genndy Tartakovsky, head writer Darrick Bachman, art director Scott Wills, storyboard artist Bryan Andrews, and character designer Craig Kellman give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming revival of hit animated action-adventure series Samurai Jack. Moderated by Tom Kenny (Samurai Jack, Spongebob Squarepants).
Friday July 22, 2016 3:15pm – 4:00pm
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
SPOTLIGHT ON MICHAEL BARRIER
Author Mike Barrier (Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books) will talk about the challenges and rewards of pursuing an interest in comic books that bypasses superheroes in favor of artists like Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, and John Stanley. Randy Duncan (author of The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture) will moderate, with PowerPoint visuals.
Friday July 22, 2016 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Room 9
REVENGENCE With Bill Plympton & Jim Lujan
Voice actors Geo Brawn, Lalo Alcaraz, Sara Ulloa, Keith Knight and Ken Mora join two-time Oscar-nominated director Bill Plympton and writer Jim Lujan to preview their new animated feature, Revengeance, with finished clips from the film and a discussion of the production process, from raising funds via Kickstarter to the plans for distribution. Revengeance is set in the seedy underworld of L.A., with biker gangs, bounty hunters, and strange cults. Bill will also screen some recent shorts and a clip from his controversial new mockumentary, Hitler’s Folly, plus a few surprises. Bill and Jim will take questions from the audience about their films, plus all attendees will receive a free Bill Plympton sketch.
Friday July 22, 2016 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Room 23ABC
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: 25th Anniversary.
Oscar-nominated producer Don Hahn, directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and an all-star panel of filmmakers discuss the making of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.
Friday July 22, 2016 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Room 5AB
Archer: Screening and Q&A
Archer is an animated half-hour comedy that revolves around a former spy agency turned private investigation firm and its employees, who use every seedy surveillance of a suspected adulterer or investigation into insurance fraud as another excuse to undermine, sabotage, and betray each other for personal gain. See an exclusive new video and then join the voice cast of H. Jon Benjamin (Sterling Archer), Aisha Tyler (Lana Kane), Jessica Walter (Malory Archer), Chris Parnell (Cyril Figgis), Judy Greer (Cheryl/Carol Tunt), Amber Nash (Pam Poovey), and Lucky Yates (Dr. Algernop Krieger), plus creator/executive producer/writer Adam Reed (Ray Gillette), executive producer Matt Thompson and co-executive producer Casey Willis as they discuss bringing this animated series to life. Moderated by Leanne Aguilera (ET Online).
Friday July 22, 2016 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront
South Park: Season 20
With South Park’s 20th season premiering this September, Comedy Central is kicking off the global celebration here at Comic-Con! The South Park 20 panel will celebrate all 267 episodes (and counting) with moderator Chris Hardwick and guest panelists who are sure to excite! Panelists will discuss the evolution of South Park over the last two decades, take questions from fans and give an exclusive sneak peek of South Park’s highly anticipated next-gen video game from Ubisoft, South Park: The Fractured But Whole.
Friday July 22, 2016 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Hall H
The State of the Industry: Animation
What do the pros think of the animation scene today? Is hand-drawn and VFX gone for good? What will be the impact of VR? How do I get a job? This panel will explore how animators fit into current business models of animation studios and the ever-changing landscape of motion pictures, television, and new media. Moderator Tom Sito engages in a lively discussion with Bill Plympton (Hitler’s Folly, Cheatin’), Careen Ingel (The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show), Peter Ramsey (Tank Girl, Rise of the Guardians), Ken Duncan (Tarzan, Coca-Cola Man and Dog), and Camille Kanengiser (Freeform VR Labs, Elementerra).
Friday July 22, 2016 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Room 28DE
She Made That: Nickelodeon Women in Animation
A group of innovative and pioneering female cartoon creators discuss their careers and the opportunities for women in animation today. Panelists include women responsible for the original Nicktoons from the 1990s and others who are making some of today’s best animation for TV and the web. Hosted by Laura Prudom (Variety) and including panelists Lauren Faust (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic), Mary Harrington (The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko’s Modern Life), Vanessa Coffey (Rugrats, Doug), Rikke Asbjoern (Pinky Malinky), Margaret Dean (Women in Animation), and Maija Burnett (California Institute of the Arts).
Friday July 22, 2016 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Room 24ABC
The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows
Ron Diamond (founder and curator of the Animation Show of Shows and Acme Filmworks) presents a curated program of new animated shorts including Don Hertzfeldt’s Academy Award-nominated animated short film World of Tomorrow, John Lewis and Janette Goodey’s The Story of Percival Pilts, Amanda Palmer and Avi Ofer’s Behind the Trees, and Lynn Tomlinson’s The Ballad of Holland Island House. Diamond will moderate a Q&A with the audience.
Friday July 22, 2016 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Room 6BCF
WORST CARTOONS EVER!
For the 14th year, Jerry Beck (Animation Scoop) has once again compiled a selection of the most terribly written, ugliest drawn, and unintentionally funniest animated films ever made. Cartoons include Mighty Mr. Titan (a physical fitness superhero) and Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero (a one-man weapon of mass destruction). Be sure to enjoy some of the worst there is out there in this hilarious salute.
Friday July 22, 2016 8:15pm – 9:15pm
Room 6BCF
Floyd Norman: An Animated Life Documentary Release
Filmmakers Michael Fiore (producer and 2nd unit director, Sony Screen Gems’ Keep Watching) and Erik Sharkey (director, Drew: The Man Behind the Poster) will show clips from their original feature-length documentary, announce upcoming release dates, and reunite animation’s “troublemaker” Floyd Norman (legendary Disney animator and story artist) with many animators and producers he worked with over his storied 61-year career. Panelists will include notables featured in the documentary, including Don Hahn (producer, Maleficent), Gary Trousdale (co-director, Disney’s animated Beauty and the Beast), Leonard Maltin (film critic and historian), Ken Mitchroney (writer, director, and story artist), Tom Sito (animator and professor of animation, USC), and Leo Sullivan (animator, producer, and publisher). The documentary also features interviews with Whoopi Goldberg (actress), Sergio Aragonés (cartoonist), Richard Sherman (Disney music composer), Scott Shaw! (cartoonist), and Ralph Guggenheim (former Pixar VP of animation). The documentary is supported with a wonderful jazz music score by Ryan Shore (composer, Disney’s Penn Zero, WB’s Scooby-Doo!, and The Oscars) and original animation by up-and-coming artist and animator Nirali Somaia. The filmmakers will moderate a Q&A session and give away exclusive SDCC miniposters designed for the documentary by legendary illustrator Drew Struzan.
Friday July 22, 2016 9:00pm – 10:30pm
Room 9
SATURDAY
Starting and Sustaining a Career Writing Animation
Want to write for animation? How do you break in? What’s it take to get that first job? After that, how do you get a second gig? And a third? What are the skills and secrets of maintaining a career in the field, including becoming a story editor/showrunner, and perhaps creating and selling your own show. Craig Miller (Curious George, Beast Wars) leads a panel of animation writers with extensive careers and others who have recently broken into the field, including Kaita Mpambara (Ultimate Spider-man, Elena of Avalor), Steve Melching (X-Men: The Animated Series, Star Wars Rebels), Nicole Dubuc (Young Justice, Transformers: Rescue Bots), Dean Stefan (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, CatDog), and Rachel Vine (Rainbow Brite, Wander Over Yonder) who will share their knowledge and answer your questions.
Saturday July 23, 2016 10:00am – 11:00am
Room 9
Disney XD’s Pickle and Peanut & Future Worm
Join the creators and stars of Disney XD’s animated series Pickle and Peanut and upcoming series Future Worm! Panelists include show creators Noah Jones and Joel Trussell (Pickle and Peanut) and Ryan Quincy (Future Worm!). See exclusive clips from the shows, as well as sneak peeks of new animated shows coming soon.
Saturday July 23, 2016 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Room 5AB
Oddball Comics Live!
Cartoonist Scott Shaw! (Captain Carrot And His Amazing Zoo Crew!, Sonic The Hedgehog, Simpsons Comics, Annoying Orange) once again presents his uniquely hilarious slideshow of “the craziest comic books ever published!” Once you’ve seen this mind-roasting presentation-which has played to standing room only crowds in San Diego for the better part of four decades-you’ll never forget such covers as those of the “crotch-centric” issues of Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane, those with someone getting slapped with a “fish-in-the-face,” and those Silver Age issues of Batman and Detective Comics with “Robin-in-the-corner”! Scott promises, “My hilarious presentation is for everyone who’s enjoyed reading a comic book, whether as an avid collector or as a young patient in a dentist’s office-in fact, even for people who have never read a single comic book in their life to join me for a trip through the secret history of comic books, using the most outrageous and bizarre covers of all time. Even if you’ve seen my acclaimed slideshow presentation many times before, when you see their covers blown up to the size of the side of a barn, you’ll be amazed and delighted at the unbelievable imagery that’s revealed!” See for yourself why Marvel Comic’s Stan Lee calls Scott’s show “the wildest, wackiest exposé of some of the craziest comic books I’ve ever seen!”
Saturday July 23, 2016 4:00pm – 5:30pm
Room 7AB
Scooby-Doo and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon
Icons of entertainment reunite as the Mystery Inc. gang and WWE Superstars team-up for their second animated adventure, Scooby-Doo and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon. Be among the first public audience to see footage from the sequel to one of the best-selling films in Scooby-Doo history. WWE Superstars Sheamus and Paige join the longtime voice of Daphne, Grey Griffin (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated), along with producer Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood, Young Justice), director Tim Divar (Young Justice), WWE Studios President Michael Luisi, Warner Bros Animation Senior Vice President Jay Bastian – and a few mystery guests – for an in-depth discussion about this all-new animated film. IGN’s Eric Goldman will moderate the festivities.
Saturday July 23, 2016 2:45pm – 3:45pm
Room 6BCF
Warner Archive’s Toonstock: The Return of the Music Meister Sing-Along
Back for a fifth helping is Warner Archive’s tribute to some of the finest cartoon music ever produced, including a reprise of the immensely popular sing-along with the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode, “Mayhem of the Music Meister.” Join some special guests alongside Warner Archive podcast hosts Matt Patterson and DW Ferranti and moderator Gary Miereanu for a toe-tapping, floor-stomping tour of cartoon music from the past half-decade, featuring the first-time-on-DVD Histeria! and such old favorites as Where’s Huddles, The New Adventures of Gilligan, Jonny Quest, The Herculoids and Devlin!
Saturday July 23, 2016 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Room 6A
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