Netflix To Showcase New Features and Series at Annecy

Netflix To Showcase New Features and Series at Annecy

April 24th, 2023

Jerry Beck

Following a monumental year for animation at Netflix – with first-ever wins at the Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and the Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Animated Program for Arcane respectively, and a sweep of the animated program categories in the inaugural Children’s & Family Emmys competition – Netflix returns to Annecy International Animation Film Festival with an exciting slate of bold, ambitious films and series. With a continued drive to bring the best of animation and storytelling to its members around the world, the studio will present its “From Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget to Blue Eye Samurai – See What’s Next @ Netflix” panel, a special screening of the highly anticipated animated film Nimona adapted from the New York Times bestselling graphic novel, as well as a “Making Of” Session with the filmmaking team.

On Wednesday, June 14, Annecy will present an exclusive screening of the feature film Nimona at the prestigious Theater Bonlieu at 6:00pm which will include Nick Bruno & Troy Quane (directors), ND Stevenson (creator), Karen Ryan & Julie Zackary (producers), and Aidan Sugano (production designer). Fans will also have the opportunity to join the team at a “Making Of” session on Thursday, June 15 at Petite Salle Bonlieu at 11:30am.

The “See What’s Next @ Netflix” panel, packed with exclusive clips and creator discussions, will take place at the Theatre Bonlieu on Wednesday, June 14 at 1:30pm, and will include:

A special sneak peek at the coming-of-age animated musical comedy Leo starring Adam Sandler;
A conversation with the creative team behind the series Blue Eye Samurai featuring Michael Green (creator & executive producer), Amber Noizumi (creator & executive producer) and Jane Wu (supervising director), discussing their vision for the story of a mixed-race master of the sword who lives a life in disguise while seeking revenge in Edo-period Japan;
An exclusive clip from Exploding Kittens, a new adult animated comedy series starring Tom Ellis and Lucy Liu;
A conversation with the multi-award-winning industry legends Aardman on the eagerly awaited stop-motion film Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget. The creative team led by Sam Fell (director), Peter Lord (executive producer), and Leyla Hobart (producer) will talk about their vision and what the poultry heroes face this time around in the sequel to the highest grossing stop motion animation of all time;
And more surprises and debuts from Netflix’s slate of upcoming animated series and films including The Monkey King

In addition, episodes of Agent Elvis, Mech Cadets, ONI: Thunder God’s Tale and The Sandman will be in competition in the TV Films category.

FILM:

NIMONA
Coming Summer 2023
Synopsis: A knight is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and the only person who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona, a shape-shifting teen who might also be a monster he’s sworn to destroy. Set in a techno-medieval world unlike anything animation has tackled before, this is a story about the labels we assign to people and the shapeshifter who refuses to be defined by anyone.
Directors: Nick Bruno & Troy Quane
Produced by Karen Ryan, p.g.a; Julie Zackary, p.g.a.; Roy Lee
Executive Producers: Megan Ellison, Robert L. Baird, Andrew Millstein, John Powers Middleton n
Based Upon the Graphic Novel by ND Stevenson
Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang

“Leo”

LEO
Coming Fall 2023
Synopsis: Actor and comedian Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania) delivers signature laughs in this coming-of-age animated musical comedy about the last year of elementary school – as seen through the eyes of a class pet. Jaded 74 year-old lizard Leo (Sandler) has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle (Bill Burr). When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside, but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students – including an impossibly mean substitute teacher. It ends up being the strangest but most rewarding bucket list ever…
Directors: Robert Smigel, Robert Marianetti, David Wachtenheim
Produced by: Happy Madison
Cast: Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Heidi Gardner, Nick Swardson, Nicholas Turturro, Robert Smigel, Jo Koy, Stephanie Hsu

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET
Coming Fall 2023
Synopsis: From the multi Academy and BAFTA award-winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep), and Academy Award® and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away, respectively), comes Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved and highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, Chicken Run. Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream – a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk – this time, they’re breaking in!
Director: Sam Fell
Writers: Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’ Farrell, Rachel Tunnard
Producers: Steve Pegram, Leyla Hobart
Executive Producers: Peter Lord, Nick Park, Carla Shelley, Karey Kirkpatrick
Cast: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, David Bradley, Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays and Nick Mohammed

“The Monkey King”

THE MONKEY KING
Coming Summer 2023
Synopsis: The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey’s greatest foe of all —his own ego! Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world.
Director: Anthony Stacchi (The Boxtrolls)
Producers: Peilin Chou
Executive Producer: Steven Chow
Cast: Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong

SERIES
BLUE EYE SAMURAI
Coming Soon
Synopsis: A mixed-race master of the sword lives a life in disguise while seeking revenge in Edo-period Japan.
Creators/Writers/Executive Producers/Co-Showrunners: Michael Green and Amber Noizumi
Supervising Director/Producer: Jane Wu
Executive Producer: Erwin Stoff
Voice Cast: Maya Erskine; George Takei; Masi Oka; Randall Park; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa; Brenda Song; Darren Barnet; Kenneth Branagh

EXPLODING KITTENS
Coming Soon
Synopsis: The eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell reaches epic proportions when both God and the Devil are sent to Earth – in the bodies of chunky house cats.
Showrunners: Shane Kosakowski and Matthew Inman;
Executive producers: Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and Dustin Davis of Bandera Entertainment; executive producers Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping for the Chernin Entertainment Group; and executive producers and creators of the Exploding Kittens franchise, Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman.
Voice Cast: Tom Ellis, Lucy Liu, Ally Maki, Mark Proksch, and Sasheer Zamata

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.