Animation Scoop

TRAILER: Netflix Announces Fall Lineup

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”

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 […]

TRAILER: DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot”

DreamWorks Animation has released a new trailer for the studio’s upcoming feature, The Wild Robot. Based on Peter Brown’s #1 New York Times bestseller, The Wild Robot is an epic story of “a bond like no other”.

INTERVIEW: Cartoon Curator Bill from MeTV’s “Toon In With ME”

Since January 4th, the cable network (and over-the-air broadcast sub-channel) MeTV has been running a weekday hour of classic cartoons from the MGM, Warner Bros. and Paramount Popeye and Betty Boop libraries. Telecast at 7am and formatted as a vintage kids show, hosted by “cartoon curator” Bill Leff and his puppet companion “Toony, the Tuna”, […]

Going-In-Depth: Adult Swim’s “Smiling Friends”

March 8th, 2022

Neal Patten

For Smiling Friends co-creators Zach Hadel, 31, and Michael Cusack, 34, the animated sitcoms they watched growing up in the 1990s played a significant role in shaping their sense of humor and their animation sensibilities.

“I grew up with ‘Beavis and Butt-Head,’ ‘South Park,’ ‘The Simpsons,’ – they’re pretty much ingrained in my DNA,” Cusack told Animation Scoop. “It’s pretty much a subconscious thing at this point, they’re always there when I’m thinking about comedy and writing and animation. Old school 90s story arcs and big storylines are what I grew up on and are a big inspiration for me. I thought it was a real golden age of cartoons.”

TRAILER: Netflix “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood”

March 7th, 2022

Jerry Beck

One of the most anticipated animated features of 2022 is Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood – and today Netflix dropped the trailer. The film tells the story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 from two interwoven perspectives – the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and through the eyes of a kid growing up in Houston, Texas who has intergalactic dreams of his own. Take a look:

INTERVIEW: Turning “Turning Red” From Concept To Reality

March 7th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Academy Award winning director Domee Shi (short “Bao”) and producer Lindsey Collins team-up for Pixar’s new feature Turning Red. It debuts this Friday March 11th on Disney+ and in **three** select U.S. theaters. Shi and Collins discuss this, as well as specific scenes and core themes in this Animation Scoop Q&A.

Jackson Murphy: Domee, congratulations on the film not only being on Disney+ but in theaters at the El Capitan in Hollywood and the AMC Empire 25 in NYC. How does that feel?

Domee Shi: Wahoo! Yes. I’m so excited. If there’s any way you can watch it on the big screen, please do, especially the last third of the movie. It’s epic.

Lindsey Collins: It’s also playing for one week in Oakland, CA, which is kind of our home town at Pixar. So it’s super fun that we’re gonna get to go and watch it with friends and family. The actual fact that so many people are gonna have the opportunity to watch it in their homes right away is equally exciting.

Diving Into Adult Swim’s “Blade Runner”

March 5th, 2022

Neal Patten

For a full two decades, there were no new visual media installments in the Blade Runner franchise. Following the well-received 1997 point-and-click computer game for Microsoft Windows, there were only some novels and comic books set in the universe established by the seminal 1982 film, but nothing new for the screen until 2017 – which saw the release of the feature-length sequel to the original film in Blade Runner 2049, as well as three short films – one of which was anime.

But in November 2021, the next visual installment of the franchise hit small screens everywhere with “Blade Runner: Black Lotus,” an anime television series. The series follows a woman in Los Angeles in 2032 who seeks revenge on those that have wronged her while also trying to uncover the mystery of her past, with only a locked data device and a tattoo of a black lotus as clues to guide her.

INTERVIEW: Suit Up For “The Boys Presents: Diabolical”

March 2nd, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Live-action superhero series The Boys has been a massive success for Amazon since its Summer 2019 debut. Now there’s a new eight-episode spinoff show premiering this Friday March 4th on Prime Video. The Boys Presents: Diabolical consists of eight distinct 12-15 minute stories involving characters in and around The Boys universe. Each episode showcases a different hand-drawn animation style. Executive Producer Simon Racioppa joins me for a super Animation Scoop Q&A. (This interview was edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: My uncle is a HUGE fan of The Boys. These are eight episodes — all distinct storylines that really celebrate the art of hand-drawn animation. How did you see that power of hand-drawn animation firsthand as you were making these episodes?

Simon Racioppa: Oh my God. We brought on eight incredible directors — a different director for every episode — and an incredible supervising director, Giancarlo Volpe, who came from the world of Avatar and The Dragon Prince. And so many of the artists, like the artists who worked on our Looney Tunes style episode come from that world of loving fine, hand-drawn art. You should see some of the design work. We could publish a book with all the design work that went into this series. And maybe we will.

INTERVIEW: ShortsTV CEO On 2022 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts

February 28th, 2022

Jackson Murphy

Carter Pilcher is the founder and CEO of ShortsTV — the premiere outlet for short film content. I’m a frequent viewer of the popular TV channel, and since 2009, I’ve gone to a local movie theater to see the Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films on the big screen. Each year, ShortsTV presents the Animated, Live-Action and Documentary Short nominees in select theaters across the country, so movie fans can get to see them before Oscar night.

All three 2022 presentations opened this past Friday February 25th to a respectable box office gross (with one of the weekend’s higher per screen averages), and they will remain at cinemas through Oscar Sunday March 27th. In this Animation Scoop Email Q&A, Pilcher shares insights on this year’s Best Animated Short Film nominees and the success of the theatrical presentations.

Jackson Murphy: What stands out about this year’s group of Best Animated Short Film Oscar nominees?

Carter Pilcher: This year’s group of Best Animated Short Film Oscar nominees is truly a big standout from years past. Audiences will love their variety of techniques and styles, the mastery exhibited in each film, and the range of emotions experienced across the release. For instance, this year we have a few beautifully executed stop-motion films, but one is a short biopic and the other is a family musical; we have three beautiful hand-drawn 2D animations – masterpieces really — with completely different styles and storytelling techniques. Seeing these films on the big screen will be such a treat for audiences this year!

Going For The Gold: Cartoons That Celebrated The Winter Olympics

February 25th, 2022

Michael Lyons

The Winter Olympics have just past, but excitement of winter sports go on forever – at least in cartoons. In fact there is much comfort to be had during uncertain times and we thought it would be worth looking back at some of the classic cartoon shorts that celebrate many of the sports featured in the winter games.

TRAILER: Nickelodeon’s Reboot “The Fairly Oddparents: Fairly Odder”

February 23rd, 2022

Jerry Beck

Paramount+ today released the official trailer and key art for its upcoming original series The Fairly Oddparents: Fairly Odder. All 13 episodes of the debut season will be available to stream beginning Thursday, March 31, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Nordics and Latin America. Combining live action and animation, The Fairly Oddparents: Fairly Odder will pick up years after the original ended by following Timmy Turner’s cousin, Vivian “Viv” Turner, and her new stepbrother, Roy Raskin, as they navigate life in Dimmsdale with the help of their fairy godparents, Wanda and Cosmo.

Midwell – 5

November 17th, 2022

David Derks

Midwell – 4

January 8th, 2024

David Derks

Midwell – 3

January 9th, 2024

David Derks

Midwell – 2

January 15th, 2024

Jerry Beck

Midwell #2

December 1st, 2023

Jerry Beck

Tonight’s Premieres on Nickelodeon

February 25th, 2022

Jerry Beck

Tonight on Nickelodeon: The all-new Rugrats series is making its linear debut on Nickelodeon starting at 7:30PM (ET/PT). in “One Big Happy Family,” Angelica takes advantage of a family problem to make Tommy and Chuckie play a game of house. Then, in “The Last Balloon,” Tommy and the babies help Chuckie take care of what he thinks is the last balloon in the whole wide world. Episodes will continue to air every Friday night at 7:30PM (ET/PT). Additionally, Del the Funky Homosapien has a guest starring role in Middlemost Post airing on Nickelodeon at 8:30PM. (ET/PT). Here’s a sneak peek:

Salute to a Seasick Sea Serpent: The 60th Anniversary of “Beany & Cecil”

February 18th, 2022

Michael Lyons

“So come on, kids, let’s flip our lids
Higher than the moon
‘Cause now here’s Beany and Cecil in…
(a whole half hour)
Bob Clampett Cartoo-ooooooon!”

– The opening theme song for the Beany and Cecil show.

So began the popular animated television series, created by legendary Warner Bros. director Bob Clampett. Created for kids, Beany and Cecil was a favorite among adults. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Beany and Cecil is now remembered as one of the unique television offerings in animation history.