Animation Scoop

EVENT: Heritage Auctions Celebrates The Entirety Of Animation History

August 13th, 2024

Lauren Ashton

From August 16 through August 19th, Heritage Auctions will display the incredible progression of animation as a medium, from Gertie the Dinosaur to The Simpsons, and everything else throughout history.

It’s not often that a single event will exhibit the entirety of a subject’s history, but Heritage will present an extraordinary opportunity for visitors to experience just that with The History of Animation: The Glad Museum Collection Signature® Auction. The Glad Museum is a massive collection that one individual curated with an exceptional level of expertise in animation’s worldwide trajectory. Over the course of four days, over 1500 lots will illustrate the sensational trajectory of animation in the 20th century, which was marked by a variety of fluctuations and tumultuous ups and downs. Some of the greatest and earliest titles featured will be Winsor McCay’s beginnings, Ub Iwerks’ introduction of the world-famous Mouse, UPA and Warner Brothers’ vibrant, mod-style works, The Simpsons’, and more. Anything that comes to mind when thinking about animation- no matter how seemingly obscure- will likely be found here.

TRAILER: Netflix Announces Fall Lineup

August 13th, 2024

Lauren Ashton

Netflix has announced an exciting Fall Lineup, releasing exclusive stills from Spellbound, dates for Hot Wheels Let’s Race: Season 2, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory: Season 2, Mighty MonsterWheelies, and more. As students prepare to head back to school, the streaming platform is offering a variety of family-centered entertainment that ranges from series’ to feature-length films.

Ketchup Entertainment Acquires “THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE”

August 9th, 2024

Lauren Ashton

Ketchup Entertainment has officially acquired the North American rights to The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie from Warner Bros. Animation. GFM Animation is overseeing the process of worldwide distribution sales of this enthusiastically well-regarded film that premiered this year at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.

The CEO of Ketchup Entertainment, Gareth West, expressed that “THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP is a historical moment for the Looney Tunes franchise, and we are proud to be partnering with Warner Bros. Animation to bring this film to audiences theatrically. We cannot wait for audiences of all ages to experience one of the smartest animated films in recent years.”

INTERVIEW: Make Way For “Sirocco And The Kingdom Of Winds”

August 5th, 2024

Jackson Murphy

Sisters Carmen and Juliette venture into a world created by someone they love that’s filled with intense weather and strong emotions. What will they discover, and will they make it back home? Find out as GKIDS screens festival award-winning feature Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds in theaters nationwide on Sunday August 11th and Monday August 12th. Here’s my Animation Scoop Q&A with director Benoit Chieux. (This interview was conducted with a translator on Zoom, and it was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: “Sirocco” is about the creativity of writers. Where did your imagination want to go as you were coming-up with this story and envisioning this film?

Benoit Chieux: First, I want to emphasize that the first ideas for the film were with drawings, not with text. And in a way, I worked in reverse order. So in this film, I began with the images and then I went back and did the text. I really wanted to create a universe, and when I had, then I had to find the screenwriters to work with me. I worked a lot with Alain Gagnol, who’s been a friend for a long time. When I had all my images put together, Alain really approached them like pieces in a puzzle. He was able to give them a beginning and an ending in a much more coherent way than it seemed just from the drawings. And he also had some original contributions of his own. One of the most important was this very strong idea he had about the relationships between sisters Agnes and Selma and the disappearance of Selma. That was his contribution to the script.

BETTY BOOP: An Icon Of The Past, Present, & Future

August 3rd, 2024

Lauren Ashton

Last weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con, Animation Scoop had the pleasure of moderating the Fleischer Studios’ panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, but we also had the privilege of visiting the Betty Boop exhibit at the Comic-Con Museum. Aside from discussing the familiar joy of the iconic character’s image, we took an exciting and insightful dive into the cultural significance of the great Betty Boop.

Moderated by Jerry Beck, the panel featured the chairman and CEO of Fleischer Studios, Mark Fleischer (grandson of the legendary Max Fleischer) the Director of Marketing, Kristi Ling Spencer (co-author of Betty Boop’s Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life), the VP of Business Operations, Susan Wilking Horan (co-author of Betty Boop’s Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life), the Creative Director and Cartoonist, Frank Caruso, the VP of Digital Media and Historian, Jeni Mahoney, and the President of Global Icons, Bill McClinton.

INTERVIEW: Time For “Tales Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”

August 2nd, 2024

Jackson Murphy

New animated series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, starring the voice actors from last summer’s hit movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, premieres next Friday August 9th on Paramount+. Co-Showrunners Chris Yost and Alan Wan share insights on this fresh chapter in the ‘heroes in a half shell’ saga. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: “Mutant Mayhem” was a huge success last summer. What kind of an impact did it have on you as far as making this series, which is set in-between that film and another one we’re gonna get in a couple years?

Chris Yost: I’ve been working on “Turtles” on and off for 20 years. And honestly, I love the movie. It was so much fun and had so much heart. The kids did such a great job, and they felt like real teenagers. In talking to Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg] about the series and what we’d be doing and what we want to do… the movie is kind of our guiding light. That tone, that vibe, that real grounded, teenager first, approach. We keep that going. If you like that in the movie, you’re gonna love it in the show. But there were a few things we wanted to do and bring something new to it — a fresh approach… putting the Turtles in a situation they haven’t necessarily encountered before. And that was breaking them up.

TRAILER: Skydance’s “Spellbound”

July 30th, 2024

Jerry Beck

Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, the tenacious young daughter of the rulers of Lumbria who must go on a daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents into monsters. Directed by Vicky Jenson (Shrek) with original score from EGOT-winning composer Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast) and lyrics by Glenn Slater (Tangled). A Netflix Film from Skydance Animation, Spellbound boasts an all-star voice cast led by Rachel Zegler, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, With Javier Bardem, And Nicole Kidman. Written by Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin and Julia Miranda and produced by John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bruce Anderson for Skydance Animation – the trailer dropped today:

Aubry Mintz Elected New Executive Director For ASIFA-Hollywood

July 30th, 2024

Jerry Beck

Animation educator and professional, Aubry Mintz was recently elected by the ASIFA-Hollywood Board of Directors to serve as its new Executive Director (ED). Mintz held the Interim ED position after Frank Gladstone retired last December. “I look forward to working alongside the prestigious board of directors and staff at ASIFA-Hollywood, and I am honored to be chosen for this role,” said Mintz. “We have already hit the ground running and are working hard developing a strategic plan which includes fundraising for operational costs, growing our staff and supporting our many important initiatives outside of the Annie Awards.”

INTERVIEW: Texas Trip For SpongeBob And Sandy In “Saving Bikini Bottom”

July 29th, 2024

Jackson Murphy

Sandy and SpongeBob head to The Lone Star State in the live-action/CG feature Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie. It premieres Friday August 2nd on Netflix. Executive Producers Vincent Waller and Marc Ceccarelli celebrate 25 years of SpongeBob with a deep dive into the beloved characters and the wild new film. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Happy 25 years! Vincent, can you believe it’s been a quarter century of SpongeBob and his friends?

Vincent Waller: It is hard to believe, but 25 years does go by like that whenever you’re having fun, and we have been having fun.

INTERVIEW: From Blue Sky To “Purple Crayon”

July 23rd, 2024

Jackson Murphy

At Blue Sky Studios, Carlos Saldanha co-directed Ice Age and Robots and was main director on the second and third Ice Age films, as well as both Rio installments and Ferdinand, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. Now Saldanha is the director of a live-action family film featuring some hand-drawn and CG animation. Harold and the Purple Crayon, adapted from the beloved book, opens in theaters nationwide on August 2nd. (This Animation Scoop Q&A with Saldanha was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: I enjoyed this. I know it’s been in the works for a long time. What a career you’ve had in animation and now transitioning into live-action. Was this something you always wanted to do?

Carlos Saldanha: Yes. I always love to learn. I think part of my life at Blue Sky was learning. Every movie that I made was in order to learn something new and to do it. The studio closed down and then what’s interesting is the next day [after] that the studio closed down, I got a call from the producer of Ferdinand, John Davis who told me, “Look, I have this project that I think is perfect for you. It’s live-action, but has some animation. What do you think?” So when I read the script I thought that if I wanted to try to experiment with live-action this would be the perfect one because I’ll be able to to play around with something that I’m used to and at the same time learn to do a new challenge. I love this story. It was about drawing — drawing your life. That’s what I did for 30 years. Drawing my life in animation.

52nd Annie Awards ‘Call For Entries’ Begin Today!

July 22nd, 2024

Jerry Beck

ASIFA-Hollywood today announced its Call for Entries for the 52nd Annie Awards set for Saturday, February 8, 2025 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Honoring excellence in the field of animation, the 52nd Annie Awards cover 37 categories including Animated Feature, Animated Feature-Independent, TV/Media Production, Sponsored Production, Short Subject, and Student Films, along with Achievement and Honorary awards.

To review this year’s rules and submit your projects, please visit https://www.annieawards.org. Entries submitted for consideration will be from animated productions that were released in the United States between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. Exceptions, which can submit with or without a U.S. release are short subjects, special projects, sponsored productions, student films and films in competition from Annie Award qualifying festivals.

INTERVIEW: “Primos” Is For The Whole Family

July 22nd, 2024

Jackson Murphy

Natasha Kline is the talented creator of the new Disney animated series Primos, which is inspired by her childhood growing up in Los Angeles. Tater, who’s about to turn 10, has a memorable summer at home with her 12 cousins. Primos premieres this Thursday July 25th at 8pm on Disney Channel and Friday July 26th on Disney+. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: This is your passion project. This is inspired by your true life story. How does it feel at this point to get your show, your passion project, on the air?

Natasha Kline: Oh my gosh, it’s been really surreal. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been wanting to make this show since I was a little kid. So it’s a dream come true. Disney making dreams come true. (laughs)

MeTV Toons Panel at Comic Con July 26th; “Bugs Bunny Bash” airs on July 27th

July 18th, 2024

Jerry Beck

MeTV Toons is set to make its San Diego Comic-Con debut on Friday, July 26th, 2024. Bob Bergen, the celebrated animation voice actor and the official voice of MeTV Toons, will be joined by animation historian Jerry Beck, 2x Emmy-Award winning voice actor Eric Bauza, plus renowned voice actors Jeff Bergman and Candi Milo, and Weigel Broadcasting’s Vice Chairman Neal Sabin in a lively conversation, moderated Variety’s Michael Schneider.

The panel will explore, discuss and celebrate some of the greatest classic animation series and characters, now featured on their new TV home, MeTV Toons, which launched on June 25. Attendees will get an exclusive first look at the network’s plans to celebrate Bugs Bunny’s 84th birthday on Saturday, July 27, and receive a collectable MeTV Toons giveaway item. Be there, Friday, July 26 from 1-2 pm at San Diego Convention Center, Ballroom 6A (111 W. Harbor Dr., San Diego 92101). More info CLICK HERE.

INTERVIEW: Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond: Beating the Odds

July 17th, 2024

W.R. Miller

With the narrative portion of The Dragon Prince drawing to a close, Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond reflect on their achievement. After all, it’s rare for a made-for-streaming series to last seven seasons, with untapped potential for more. What are the odds of that happening, and how did the Wonderstorm producers beat those odds?

“In the days of network TV, something got put on for a couple of seasons, and if it did well and caught fire, they gave it more and more seasons—seven, eight or nine seasons. Those days are gone,” Ehasz says. “In the modern mediascape, most series are going to be for one, two, or three seasons maximum. The viewing pattern is not that it builds steam over time and then grows, which was when you have these weekly shows. They start to build an audience, they build an audience, and now it’s worth doing more and more and more seasons. Well, that’s not really how it’s working with streaming.

Mickey & Friends Release First Single From Upcoming Album “A Whole New Sound”

July 15th, 2024

Lauren Ashton

“A Whole New Sound” is an upcoming album from Mickey & Friends that will feature covers of beloved Disney classics. Some iconic alternative, rock, and pop-punk bands have contributed their work to the project. In honor of The Lion King having its 30th anniversary, Disney released the first single from the album: Simple Plan’s rendition of “Can You Feel The Love Tonight.”