Piney: The Lonesome Pine is a terrific 26-minute special that is currently looking for U.S. distribution. It’s also in the hunt for this year’s Best Animated Short Film Oscar. Directors Todd Edwards (Hoodwinked!) and Timothy Hooten adapt a beloved book into this CG short perfect for the holiday season. Todd Edwards: The story was brought […]
Archive for the ‘Independent’ Category
INTERVIEW: Directors Todd Edwards and Timothy Hooten talk “Piney: The Lonesome Pine”
November 18th, 2019 
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Locksmith Animation Makes Deal To Adapt Richard Curtis’ Books
November 6th, 2019 Jerry Beck Locksmith Animation is creating an animated feature for digital platforms based on a series of Christmas children’s books by writer/director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Yesterday) under the title The Empty Stocking. Veteran producer Bonnie Arnold, (How to Train Your Dragon, Toy Story, Tarzan) will join Locksmith heads Sarah Smith and […]
REVIEW: “Arctic Dogs”
November 6th, 2019 Martin Goodman Twenty minutes after leaving a showing of Arctic Dogs, I remained in a state of disbelief. How could any animated film in wide release this year be so unrelentingly putrid? 2019 has not been a banner year for mainstream theatrical releases, but Arctic Dogs makes any one of them look like candidates for inclusion in […]
INTERVIEW: Bill Plympton Discusses his Animated Features
October 30th, 2019 Jerry Beck Shout! Factory has acquired the film library of independent animator Bill Plympton in a deal that encompasses all seven of the Plympton feature films (The Tune, I Married a Strange Person!, Mutant Aliens, Hair High, Idiots and Angels, Cheatin’, and his latest feature, Revengeance) – as well as over 50 of his shorts, including the […]
INTERVIEW: Richard Rich on the 25th Anniversary of “The Swan Princess”
October 23rd, 2019 Jackson Murphy One of the most beloved animated movies of all-time is getting a new 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray, 4K release on October 29th. The Swan Princess director Richard Rich (who also directed Disney’s The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron) shares his excitement for the special release and reflects on his 25 year legacy with […]
REVIEW: “The Addams Family”
October 23rd, 2019 Martin Goodman The Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles (Chas) Addams, have been hovering around popular culture since 1938. Perhaps the most macabre nuclear family ever created, they were appropriate to their times. The Great Depression had not yet abated. Monstrous dictators were rearing their heads in Europe and Asia. It may be hard to believe today, […]
Laika Sets Oct. 27th For Free Retrospective of Entire Library at Landmark Theatre
October 21st, 2019 Jerry Beck Laika, the stop-motion animation studio whose five films — Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) and Missing Link (2019) — have delighted fans and wowed critics, will present a day-long retrospective of its films at The Landmark in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 27th. Admission is free. In […]
SHORT FILM SPOTLIGHT: Director Amos Sussigan and co-writer Dan Lund on “Coaster”
October 13th, 2019 Jackson Murphy With awards season underway, the contenders for Oscar and Annie Awards Best Animated Short Film honors are emerging. One of them is Coaster, the tale of a young man beginning adulthood. Director Amos Sussigan and co-writer Dan Lund take us on the short’s unpredictable journey. Jackson Murphy: Have you been on a lot of theme […]
Creator Frank Lesser on IMDB’s First Animated Series “You’re Not a Monster”
October 10th, 2019 Jackson Murphy Film database powerhouse IMDb is getting into original, scripted programming. Their first series is the short-form, animated You’re Not a Monster. The first four episodes are now streaming, and the entire season will be available on October 16. Four-time Emmy winning “Colbert Report” writer Frank Lesser is the creator and director, bringing fellow Emmy winners […]
UPDATE on Emily Hubley’s “The Faith Journal Project”
September 16th, 2019 Jerry Beck A update on filmmaker Emily Hubley’s crowdfunding project: The Faith Journal Project, a 3-part undertaking (short film, an installation and an application) related to the 7000+ self-portraits (in 49 journals) created by her mom, artist/filmmaker Faith Hubley, in the final decades of her life. Says Emily, “We have completed scanning all the faces, gathered many […]
Shout Picks Up “Swift”
September 10th, 2019 Jerry Beck Shout! Studios, the multi-platform filmed entertainment distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, and Sola Media GmbH have entered into an exclusive movie deal to distribute new animated family feature Swift (a.k.a. Manou The Swift ) in the United States. Directed by Andrea Block and Christian Haas of LUXX Film, Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet (The […]
TRAILER: China’s “Ne-Zha”
August 29th, 2019 Jerry Beck IMAX will release the record-breaking Chinese animated-feature phenomenon Ne Zha exclusively in select IMAX 3D theatres across North America starting today, August 29th, for a limited time only. Released by Well Go USA Entertainment in North America, produced by Beijing Enlight Pictures and written and directed by first time director Yang Yu (aka Jiao Zi), […]
WOW! Unlimited Media’s “Costume Quest” Returns To Amazon Prime
August 29th, 2019 Jerry Beck Costume Quest, the latest animated series produced by Wow! Unlimited Media’s Frederator Studios, announces the addition of seven brand new episodes that will premiere on October 11. Additionally, a 35-minute holiday special, Heroes on Holiday, will premiere on November 22. Coming off the heels of the series’ highly anticipated release earlier this year, seven half-hour […]
TRAILER: “Playmobil The Movie”
July 24th, 2019 Jerry Beck In Lino DiSalvo’s Playmobil’s animated action adventure, a top secret organization has caused citizens from different lands to vanish from thin air. The dashing and charismatic secret agent Rex Dasher (Daniel Radcliffe) must partner with smooth-talking food truck driver Del (Jim Gaffigan) and Marla (Anya Taylor-Joy) a smart, savvy civilian with her own secret agenda, […]
Shout! Factory Announces Acquisition of Bill Plympton Library
July 10th, 2019 Jerry Beck Shout! Factory has acquired the library of acclaimed animator and cartoonist Bill Plympton. The deal encompasses all seven of the Plympton feature films (The Tune, I Married a Strange Person!, Mutant Aliens, Hair High, Idiots and Angels, Cheatin’, and his latest feature, Revengeance) as well as over 50 of his shorts, including the Academy Award-nominated […]
