On October 18, 2024, Crunchyroll’s Industry Panel was held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center at New York Comic Con (NYCC) in New York City, the largest pop culture convention on the East Coast. During this event, Crunchyroll revealed several exciting titles set to arrive on its streaming service worldwide. These titles include:
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 […]
ANIME TRAILER: New Anime Series “LAZARUS” From Legendary Shinichirō Watanabe
October 21st, 2024 
Haylie Baker On October 19, 2024, at New York Comic Con, fans were treated to a screening of the full premiere episode of “Lazarus,” a new thriller anime from Adult Swim by the legendary Shinichirō Watanabe, best known for his work on the iconic “Cowboy Bebop.” In addition, Adult Swim released a first-look trailer of the eagerly awaited series.
Lazarus marks Watanabe’s return to the sci-fi action anime genre, set in a futuristic 2052 where humanity teeters on the brink of extinction after a revolutionary drug “Hapna” turns out to have lethal side effects. As a result, the secret agent task force Lazarus is formed, tasked with finding a cure to save humanity before it’s too late. The anime’s Japanese voice cast has also been revealed, featuring Cowboy Bepop stars Koichi Yamadera and Megumi Hayashibara. Produced by Sola Entertainment and animated by Studio Mappa, fans can look forward to Lazurus airing on Adult Swim in 2025.
INTERVIEW: Buckle Up For Rockin’ Ride “HITPIG!”
October 21st, 2024 Jackson Murphy Cow and Chicken creator David Feiss and Open Season senior animator Cinzia Angelini are the directors of the new energetic animated action comedy HITPIG!, starring Jason Sudeikis and Lilly Singh, which opens in theaters nationwide on November 1st. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity. Images Credit: Viva Kids)
Jackson Murphy: David, I love the well-defined lead character that you have here in Hitpig, a bounty hunter pig. What were your goals with defining this character so well for families to enjoy?
David Feiss: That’s something Cinzia and I discussed early on. It was trying to make a gritty guy likable. So that was the trick. That was the fine line. How do you make this guy have a bit of an arc where he starts off one way but you have to like him in the beginning too. Otherwise I don’t think you could earn it at the end because he is such a likable guy, really. What really helped ultimately is Jason Sudeikis. He has a likeable voice. He is so friendly, no matter what, even when he’s saying something aggressive. You got, “Oh, come on, Jason you’re Ted Lasso, right?”
NY COMIC CON: Checking Into “Hazbin Hotel” Panel
October 20th, 2024 Jackson Murphy Prime Video adult animated musical comedy series Hazbin Hotel debuted in January and quickly developed a large and loyal fanbase, which was well-represented at Thursday’s New York Comic Con panel. Creator Vivienne Medrano explained to panel moderator Perri Nemiroff and the audience the origins of her love of animation. “I was piecing together what animation was at a very young age.” She often paused movies at specific moments to study how they looked. Her third grade art teacher Mr. Springer was also an inspiration.
Medrano was a freelance artist before becoming involved in both Hazbin Hotel and fellow animated series Helluva Boss, though she had many friends who were in the business. Her best advice for those looking to get into this space: “I had such a specific vision of the show. It’s very important to collaborate. But if you have a vision, know what you’re not willing to bend on and stick with that.”
NY COMIC CON: The Highly Anticipated Return Of “Phineas And Ferb”
October 19th, 2024 Jackson Murphy One of the biggest New York Comic Con 2024 panels was a showcase of the return of legendary Disney animated series Phineas And Ferb. The characters are a year older in the new season, premiering in 2025 on Disney Channel and Disney+. The spirit, music and humor that made the previous seasons so beloved are back and, according to the makers, better than ever.
Co-creator Jeff “Swampy” Marsh was emotional in front of a packed crowd on Thursday. He’s thrilled to share more of P&F with the world and having the “freedom to explore characters more freely.” It all kicks-off with a musical sequence (shown exclusively to the NYCC audience) in which Phineas, Ferb and their friends are celebrating the final moments of the school year and half a day before their next 104 days of summer vacation begin. Fellow co-creator Dan Povenmire has been working hard with some original and new writers coming-up with storylines, admitting that in order to not repeat themselves, “Sometimes we have to look it up on Wiki.” He loves being able to “try new things.”
ANIME TRAILER: Tickets for “Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom” Now Available
October 18th, 2024 Haylie Baker Today, in Culver City, California, Crunchyroll (widely recognized as the industry’s leading anime brand) made the announcement that tickets for OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom are now available for purchase in the United States and Canada. Brought to audiences by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures, the film will be in theaters on November 8th and offer multiple viewing experiences with both Japanese and English subtitles in addition to an English dub.
NY COMIC CON: More “Rick And Morty” Announced At NYCC
October 18th, 2024 Jackson Murphy On Thursday, I attended a very lively New York Comic Con 2024 panel featuring the executive producers and voice talent of Adult Swim’s long-running animated comedy series Rick and Morty. During the presentation, moderated by Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, executive producer Dan Harmon announced that there will be two additional seasons, No. 11 and No. 12.
Season 8 is coming in 2025. An animatic clip debuted to the crowd, and EP Scott Marder explained they’re hard at work completing that season, while also putting together on Season 9 and being “almost done writing the first pass of Season 10.” Back in 2018, “Rick and Morty” received a stunning 70-episode order. So the latest renewal kind of surprised star Chris Parnell (the voice of Jerry): “Why only two?”
Ketchup To Release “The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” February 2025
October 17th, 2024 Jerry Beck Ketchup Entertainment announced today the wide North American release date for its latest theatrical acquisition, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, which is slated for Friday, February 28th, 2025. The critically-acclaimed film produced by Warner Bros. Animation made its world premiere to a sold-out enthusiastic, international audience at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June earlier this year. Ketchup Entertainment’s presentation of The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie will make its North American premiere this Friday, October 18 at the Animation Is Film festival, considered an Oscar launchpad for films in the race for Best Animated Feature, with plans for an Academy Awards qualifying run in 2024.
TRAILER: “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
October 16th, 2024 Jerry Beck 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 year’s awards season). Here’s the trailer:
The 6th Annual LightBox Expo This Weekend in Pasadena
October 16th, 2024 Jerry Beck LightBox Expo (LBX), a three-day entertainment industry event that brings together creatives to ignite a shared passion for art, today unveiled its stellar programming lineup, original demos and participating artists including: Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot), Colin Lorimer (The Last of Us), Constantine Sekeris (Black Panther), Deanna Marsigliese (Art Director, Pixar), Doug Chiang (Star Wars), John Musker (Moana), Neysa Bove (WondLa), Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit), Paul Lasaine (Lord of the Rings), Phillip Boutte Jr. (Wakanda Forever), Rich Moore (Zootopia), Sarah Andersen (Sarah’s Scribbles) and hundreds more!
“LightBox Expo is where I go to be inspired,” said Chris Sanders, writer and director of Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot. “It is one of the greatest gatherings of comic, film, game, and graphic artists anywhere!”
ANIME TRAILERS: Crunchyroll Announces Its January Line-Up
October 15th, 2024 Haylie Baker This past weekend, Crunchyroll held an Industry Panel at SOFA (el Salón del Ocio y la FAntasía) 2024, Colombia’s biggest annual fan convention, at the Corferias Convention Center in Bogotá, Colombia. During the panel, Crunchyroll announced multiple anime series coming to its streaming platform in January 2025. Here’s what was announced:
EVENT: The 24 HOURS Animation Contest for Students Shatters New Records
October 15th, 2024 Lauren Ashton Taking place on October 4th and 5th, the 24 HOURS: Animation Contest for Students enjoyed its 22nd year. This free contest challenges students to create a 30-second short animated film in less than 24 hours and invites participants from around the world. Hosted by animation professor, Aubry Mintz, the event took place at CalState Long Beach and smashed its previous record. With 559 teams from 107 different schools, a total of 2,155 students arrived from 23 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States!
Of the participants, 89 colleges were present, as well as 17 courageous high schools and 1 very brave middle school. More and more industry support has been shown for this contest through the supply of additional prizes and financial backing for students, such as an equipment request program for underserved communities. This program not only allows them to participate in the competition, but it aims to offer tools to assist in their learning. This year, this free international competition’s prompt was: In 24 HOURS make a 30-second film giving your team’s vision for the future with AI as a friend or a foe and show how our world might fail or benefit from its evolution.
TOHO To Acquire GKIDS
October 15th, 2024 Jerry Beck 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 Angeles-based Toho International. GKIDS Founder Eric Beckman will remain as CEO, and Dave Jesteadt will remain as President of the company. The two have run GKIDS together since the company first released the Academy Award-nominated film The Secret of Kells as a two-person company in 2009. Together, they have grown GKIDS into a powerful force in the U.S. animation scene, amassing an outstanding thirteen Best Animated Feature nominations at the Academy Awards, and a win last year for Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron.
INTERVIEW: The Tales Of “Max & The Midknights”
October 15th, 2024 Jackson Murphy Nickelodeon’s new animated comedy Max & the Midknights (premiering Wednesday October 30th at 7pm) is adapted from Big Nate author Lincoln Peirce’s popular book. Co-Executive Producers Sharon Flynn and David Skelly discuss the show’s unique tone, visual perspectives and inspirations. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity. Images Courtesy: NICK)
Jackson Murphy: How does it feel that it’s coming to TV Oct. 30 and the first two episodes have already been on YouTube for a few months — and has been very well received?
Sharon Flynn: It feels great!
David Skelly: Yeah, so exciting. Finally the public gets to see what we’ve been working on for so long.
INTERVIEW: The Keys To “Kensuke’s Kingdom”
October 14th, 2024 Jackson Murphy A new hand-drawn animated feature film adaptation of the classic novel Kensuke’s Kingdom opens in theaters this Friday Oct. 18. Directors Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry take me on an adventure, describing what went into the story, music, visual design and much more. Plus, find out what Oscar winner Cillian Murphy did to enhance his vocal performance. (This Animation Scoop Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: Neil, this is an adaptation of a 25 year old novel. How did you feel that animation was an excellent way to take this story, put it on the screen, and make the story truly yours as well?
Neil Boyle: Well, there were boring logistical things which would make this very hard to make… all very expensive and very hard to make… as a live action movie, because of the age of the young man that it’s about, the 11 year old boy Michael. But to be honest, Kirk and I love animation. We obviously work in animation, but we love hand-drawn animation, and it has this kind of classic, timeless feel. And it just takes you straight into the story and straight into the heart of the story really quickly. That’s what’s so terrific about animation, but it also allows us to put the audience inside the heads of the characters.
