Animation Scoop

52nd Annie Award Nominations Announced

ASIFA-Hollywood announced nominations today for its 52nd Annie Awards recognizing the year’s best in the field of animation. For a complete list of nominations, please visit www.annieawards.org/nominations. The 52nd Annie Awards is set for Saturday, February 8, 2025 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Pre-reception and Red Carpet begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by the ceremony at […]

INTERVIEW: David Lowery Presents “An Almost Christmas Story”

David Lowery (director of Pete’s Dragon and Peter Pan & Wendy for Disney) helms the new animated holiday short film An Almost Christmas Story, which premieres this Friday Nov. 15 on Disney+. It’s about an owl named Moon who forms a unique friendship with a girl named Luna in The Big Apple. Lowery shares what […]

INTERVIEW: Looney Lowdown On “The Day The Earth Blew Up”

Long-awaited, fully animated The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie will receive an awards-qualifying run before the end of 2024, ahead of its official theatrical release on February 28th, 2025. I’ve screened the film and spoke with director Peter Browngardt about this sci-fi action comedy starring beloved characters who are true to […]

TRAILER: “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”

Netflix debut the first trailer and announced the release date for the new Aardman new stop-motion animated feature film Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl today. The film will be released on Netflix globally (except in the UK/IE) on January 3rd, 2025 (it will have a limited theatrical run in December to qualify for this […]

TOHO To Acquire GKIDS

Japanese entertainment leader Toho Co., Ltd. announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire a 100% equity share of GKIDS, Inc., the Academy Award-winning North American animation producer and distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed. GKIDS, which maintains offices in New York and Los Angeles, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Los […]

INTERVIEW: Class Is Now In Session With “My Old School”

July 26th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

The riveting, spellbinding new documentary My Old School is now playing in select theaters and will continue to expand to more locations throughout the summer. Director Jono McLeod interviews a group of people who were classmates and friends of Brandon Lee in a Scotland high school in the ’90s. Lee is also interviewed for the film but didn’t want to be shown on camera, so Alan Cumming appears in a classroom and lip-syncs Lee’s audio.

Lee has had an unconventional impact on many lives, and My Old School uses animation as visual aid for the stories we hear and information we learn. Animation Director Rory Lowe gives me a crash course in the making of one of 2022’s best movies. (This spoiler-free interview is edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: When did you first hear the Brandon Lee story, and what were your initial reactions to it?

Rory Lowe: I’m in the same school year as [director] Jono [McLeod] but on the other side of the country. I remember hearing it on the news when we were in school and I was like, “Wow. What was that all about?” Finding out the details of it and what actually happened and hearing the details from Jono’s perspective and from the interviews he’s done… it’s mind-blowing. It’s absolutely mind-blowing.

Masaaki Yuasa: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

July 19th, 2022

Jerry Beck

In celebration of the critically acclaimed new film, INU-OH, the American Cinematheque in Hollywood and GKIDS are proud to co-present this retrospective for one of the most visionary artists in all of animation, Masaaki Yuasa. Yuasa will appear in person for a Q&A during two of his films.

INTERVIEW: It’s “Bugs Bunny Builders” Season With Showrunner Abe Audish

July 19th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

The Looney Tunes star in their first preschool series in over 20 years. Bugs Bunny Builders premieres Monday July 25th at 8am on Cartoon Network (part of the Cartoonito block), and the eight episodes then begin streaming the next day, Tuesday July 26th, on HBO Max. I spoke with showrunner and supervising producer Abe Audish about “what’s up” with the Looney Construction Crew and his enthusiasm for BBB. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Why this show — and why now?

Abe Audish: We have so many iterations of Looney Tunes and the Looney Tunes brand. It’s geared towards an older audience. So we were looking for a way to find an entry way for the brand and for a younger audience. It just kind of made sense that we would take this approach and see if it was do-able.

INTERVIEW: “Farzar” Creators On Futuristic Show Delivering Laughs In The Present

July 13th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Roger Black and Waco O’Guin, the creators of Brickleberry and Paradise PD, have a new adult animated comedy series premiering this Friday July 15th on Netflix. Farzar is a sci-fi show about a recently alien-invaded planet and its outrageous inhabitants, including czar Renzo and his 30-year-old son Fichael. Black and O’Guin take me on a trip down all the avenues of Farzar in this Animation Scoop Q&A. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: I’ve seen the first three episodes. Wow. This show is wacky and wild. Roger, what was the starting point for Farzar?

Roger Black: We’re huge sci-fi fans and we had actually come-up with this idea before Paradise PD and we were shopping it around. We love that world. We love the world building. You can do anything in sci-fi, especially in animation. We were super excited to do it.

INTERVIEW With The Masters Of “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight”

July 11th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Po the Panda is back! And so is Jack Black. He reprises the role of the beloved DreamWorks character in new animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, premiering this Thursday July 14th on Netflix. I spoke with executive producers Peter Hastings and Shaunt Nigoghossian about the next chapter in the action and comedy packed saga. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Peter, when and how did it click for you that [you] can continue the iconic Po the Panda story with this new show?

Peter Hastings: It basically comes down to the fact that when you have a really, really strong lead character, you can keep telling stories with them because they have an interesting take. They have a funny take. It’s an opening to do a lot of stuff. James Bond or Austin Powers — and Po is one of those strong personality characters who can just keep telling more and more stories. And coming in with an angle to do something a little different in terms of the story, which is how we ended-up with our set-up for our current series.

Nickelodeon Announces Comic Con Panels Showcasing SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar, Rugrats and More

July 8th, 2022

Jerry Beck

Nickelodeon will invite fans to dive into an immersive experience at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2022, showcasing the depths of Bikini Bottom, imaginations of babies, a new generation of Transformers robots, the hallways of Monster High, the elements of Avatar and more. Headquartered at its 1,800 square-foot booth (#4113) on the convention center floor, Nickelodeon will celebrate fan-favorite characters and shows with one-of-a-kind panels, talent signings, activations, exclusive products and interactive design elements featuring: SpongeBob Universe (SpongeBob SquarePants and its two original spinoff series, The Patrick Star Show and the Paramount+ Original series, Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years), the Paramount+ Original series Rugrats and Transformers: EarthSpark, plus Monster High: The Movie, Avatar: The Last Airbender and more.

INTERVIEW With “The Deer King” Director Masashi Ando

July 8th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Masashi Ando, animator on such iconic Japanese animated films as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, now directs his first feature, The Deer King. This R-rated movie coming to theaters nationwide through Fathom Events this Wednesday and Thursday July 13th and 14th (with a regular release on Friday July 15th) is about a mysterious disease killing many, the search for a cure and the man and young girl who seem to be immune. Ando joined me for an insightful Animation Scoop Q&A all about The Deer King. (This interview was conducted over Zoom with a translator and was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: There is so much power to this film. Because it’s about a disease, finding a cure and survivors — and you made this movie before and during the COVID pandemic — what kind of impact does that have on you?

Masashi Ando: When we started the production, it was pre-COVID. By then, the story and the overall scheme of what’s going to happen was already decided. In that sense, COVID didn’t really influence that.

NEW TRAILER: Skydance’s “Luck”

July 7th, 2022

Jerry Beck

From Apple Original Films comes the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world, who when she stumbles into the never-before-seen Land of Luck, sets out on a quest to bring some good luck home for her best friend. But with humans not allowed, her only chance is teaming up with the magical creatures who live there to do it. “Luck” is produced by Skydance Animation. Here’s a new look:

REVIEW: Pixar’s “Lightyear”

July 6th, 2022

Martin Goodman

We all remember that 27 years ago, a boy named Andy received a futuristic spaceman action figure as a gift. As he was known, Buzz Lightyear joined a coterie of toys, completing the main cast of Pixar’s Toy Story franchise. Although Buzz seemed to come complete with a background story as a stalwart Space Ranger, it has only now been revealed that he was the star of a movie that was seen by Andy (his favorite one) that spawned the line of toys. Lightyear purports to be that movie.

TRAILER: Mo Willems “Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience”

June 24th, 2022

Jerry Beck

Warnermedia dropped the trailer for Mo Willems’ Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience which will be premiering Thursday, June 30th on Cartoonito on HBO Max. Willems and Mr. Warburton co-wrote the script with original tunes by Willems (lyrics) and Deborah Wicks La Puma (music). Willems and Mr. Warburton executive produce alongside Stampede Ventures’ Greg Silverman and Jay Judah, with OddBot Animation Studios serving as animation house. Megan Alrutz is producer on behalf of the Mo Willems Workshop. Songs are produced by Dan Petty, Doug Petty, and Michelle Lewis.

“Oddballs” To Premiere on Netflix

June 23rd, 2022

Jerry Beck

Netflix today announced a new animated comedy series from YouTube creator James Rallison. Inspired by Rallison’s popular YouTube channel, The Odd 1s Out (17.8M subscribers), Oddballs is created by Rallison and Ethan Banville, who serve as executive producers alongside Carl Faruolo and Michael Zoumas, in partnership with Atomic Cartoons. Here’s a special introduction they released today:

INTERVIEW: Much To Tell About “Marcel The Shell”

June 22nd, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Dean Fleischer-Camp directs and co-stars in new feature Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which takes the beloved animated character from the popular online shorts (voiced by Jenny Slate) and brings him to the big screen. Studio A24 (which acquired the film from its Toronto premiere last September) hopes families enjoy this journey of Marcel looking for his family. It opens in New York City and Los Angeles this Friday June 24th and expands nationwide on July 15th.

Fleischer-Camp shares some exclusive moviemaking secrets, from the stop-motion and voice work, to a “60 Minutes” producer convincing him to appear on-camera. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: You and Jenny Slate made these Marcel the Shell online shorts that were such big hits. When and how did you decide you can make a feature-length movie out of this character?

Dean Fleischer-Camp: The plan was always to make a feature. I went to film school, and Jenny and I always wanted to make this into a feature film. It just took a while to figure out how to expand the story in a way that felt good to us and holistic to what I had created in the shorts. And it took a while to find the right partners to do it with.

“Spellbound” Casting adds Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem

June 21st, 2022

Jerry Beck

Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation revealed today that Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem have joined the cast of the star-studded animated musical feature, Spellbound. Kidman will be voicing the role of ‘Ellsmere,’ the kind and just, yet hyper-precise Queen of Lumbria; and Bardem will voice ‘Solon,’ the boastful yet big-hearted King of Lumbria. Together, they are the parents of ‘Princess Ellian’ (voice by Rachel Zegler), who they join on her daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms them into monsters and threatens to cover Lumbria in darkness forever.

“Spellbound” is directed by Vicky Jenson (“Shrek”) and written by Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin and Linda Woolverton. The original score and songs for the film hail from Academy Award-winner Alan Menken, with song lyrics by Glenn Slater. Chris Montan serves as executive music producer. John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and David Lipman are producing for Skydance Animation.

INTERVIEW: “Eureka!” Creators On The Idea Of Celebrating Ideas

June 20th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Eureka! comes from creators Niamh Sharkey and Norton Virgien. This new animated series, about an ambitious, genius child inventor, her family and human (and animal) friends, premieres Wednesday June 22nd at 7:30pm on Disney Junior, with new episodes also available on Disney+. Eureka! is packed with positivity, creativity and imagination, thanks to Sharkey and Virgien. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity).

Jackson Murphy: Niamh, what was your “Eureka!” moment when it came to coming up with this series?

Niamh Sharkey: (laughs) I’m a children’s book illustrator, and myself and Norton worked on another show together based on one of my books, “Henry Hugglemonster”. We had such a good time working on “Henry” that we wanted to cook up another idea. So we are working at Brown Bag Films in Dublin. We would go to a local coffee shop and were just brainstorming ideas. I had an idea called “Ugg and a Kiss”. It was about a prehistoric couple and we were like, “What if they had a kid? What if this kid was a really smart kid?” That was our “Eureka!” moment together. “What could she be called?” “Eureka!”

Norton Virgien: She invented the wheel! What’s better? The first big invention.

Black Animation Pioneers Gather for Historic Photo Shoot on the Paramount Lot

June 17th, 2022

Jerry Beck

Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Pictures hosted a photo shoot celebrating the diversity and impact of Black Animation professionals in our community. The picture above was inspired by Art Kane’s iconic 1958 photo, “A Great Day in Harlem,” and shines a light on 55 outstanding creators, story artists, animators, directors, and executives who have devoted their careers to this craft and made long lasting impressions within our industry. It was a truly historic gathering that took place on the legendary Paramount backlot on Sunday, June 5, 2022.