Netflix and Mattel Drop ‘Hot Wheels Let's Race’ Trailer
The high-octane 3DCG series follows the newest generation of racers experiencing mind-blowing races, extreme stunt contests, and thrill-seeking challenges; the show races into homes March 4.
Saffronic Appoints Bhanu Prakash as Head of Creative, Games
The animation production studio founded in 2022 kicks off the new year with a roster of AAA projects for gaming industry titans, spearheaded by the new executive.
BOXX Releases the RAXX S1G Rack-Mounted Workstation
New scalable workstation is configurable to meet the needs of engineers, product designers, architects, VFX artists, and animators and optimized to implement remote workstation capabilities for SOLIDWORKS, Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD, 3ds Max, and Maya.
Apple TV+ Lays Off Eight Employees in ‘Kids’ Division
The streamer is evolving to focus on its own animated film pipeline but remains committed to the kids’ programming; an original ‘Peanuts’ feature film is currently in development.
‘Bob the Builder’ Feature in Development, Jennifer Lopez to Produce
Mattel Films will develop the project that follows Roberto (aka Bob), who travels to Puerto Rico for a construction job and ‘takes on issues affecting the island and digs deeper into what it means to build.’
Sony Pictures Drops ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’ Trailer
Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd return... along with the Spengler family... to the iconic NYC firehouse, teaming up as Ghostbusters to save their world from a second ice age; coming to theaters March 22.
Illumination Drops First Trailer, Voice Cast for ‘Despicable Me 4’
The biggest global animated franchise in history – and its considerably manic mayhem - returns with the first ‘Despicable Me’ film in 7 years, as stars Steve Carrell and Kristen Wiig return alongside franchise newcomers Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Joey King, and Stephen Colbert; action-comedy hits theaters July 3.
Pharrell Williams Teams with The Lego Group, Focus Features on Animated Biopic
The musician and producer will set imaginations free with a feature that ‘defies genres and expectations to transport audiences into a Lego world where anything is possible.’
Podcast EP 239: Andrew Chesworth Gives a Budget Breakdown Of ‘The Brave Locomotive’
The Oscar-nominated director discusses the production of his most recent short, which has been viewed more than 7 million times on YouTube.
Kyoto Animation Arsonist Sentenced to Death
Shinji Aoba, who admitted to the 2019 Japanese animation studio attack, was denied a plea of ‘not guilty,’ with the Kyoto District Court determining he was ‘neither insane nor mentally incompetent at the time of the crime.’
Dash Studio and Demo Duck Launch 2024 Motion Mentorship Program
Applications now being accepted for 6-month, online-only program, starting next month, that will provide tutorage, advice, and connection building for young creatives in the motion design industry who identify with underrepresented communities.
Telly Awards Organizers Launch The Collision Awards
Entries now being accepted for new platform, the first solely dedicated to honoring all forms of animation and motion design across Marketing & Communications, Commercials, Television, Film, Experiential, Games & XR; early entry deadline set for March 8, 2024.
Catya Plate Brings ‘Las Nogas’ to HollyShorts
The 2023 NYC Women’s Fund Recipient, artist and filmmaker Catya Plate, brings the third short of her award-winning stop-motion animated trilogy to the festival’s monthly screening event in Los Angeles, January 31.
Hidden Gnome, Lex+Otis Team for Animated ‘Cradle’ Book Series Adaptation
A Kickstarter has been launched to fund the adaptation and give fans even greater connection to the stories, realms, and characters of Will Wight’s popular fable, with exclusive perks through donations; the grassroots fundraiser ends February 9.
‘Invincible’ Copyright Lawsuit Settles Ahead of Trial
William Crabtree, a colorist for the first 50 issues of the comic, alleged creator Robert Kirkman tricked him into surrendering his co-ownership stake in the series; the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Microsoft to Layoff 1,900 Activision Blizzard, Xbox Employees
The tech giant has begun to cull workers from the newly acquired division to reduce ‘areas of overlap’ during the integration effort, with Blizzard Entertainment president Mike Ybarra also exiting the company.
‘The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie’ Headed to Theaters
The sci-fi buddy action comedy, the shorts series franchise’s first fully animated feature, follows Porky and Daffy as they uncover a secret alien mind control plot; it was previously expected to debut on HBO Max and Cartoon Network but will now hit the big screen this Fall.
Adult Swim Sets ‘Royal Crackers’ Season 2 Premiere
Watch the trailer - the network’s most watched new series of 2023, greenlit for a second season prior to its Season 1 premiere, returns next month with more dysfunctional Hornsby family fighting over the legacy of their second-rate cracker company.
Netflix Nabs Streaming Rights to Studio Ponoc’s Animated Film Slate
The next feature from the animation house founded by Oscar-nominated former Studio Ghibli producer Yoshiaki Nishimura, ‘The Imaginary,’ will hit the streamer later this year after its theatrical run in Japan.
CoreWeave Releases New Native Blender Plug-In for Conductor
Plug-In offers CoreWeave users faster and easier rendering within creative environments, streamlining Conductor’s use with the open-source 3D software.
Rick Mischel Acquires Yeti Farm, Launches Artists Animation Studio
The veteran animation producer and former Bardel CEO will serve as CEO of the new company, headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia; Todd Ramsey assumes role of Head of Animation while Ashley Ramsey departs to pursue new opportunities.
Netflix Scraps Sci-Fi Film ‘The Mothership’ After Multiple Delays
After multiple post-production delays, the troubled feature starring Halle Berry gets shelved; story follows a family’s pursuit of the truth after discovering a strange extraterrestrial object underneath their home.
Gamefam and Paramount Games Drop ‘SpongeBob Simulator’ Trailer
On January 26 the nautical nonsensical universe of Nickelodeon’s ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ welcomes Roblox’s 70+ million users to adventure to the world of Bikini Bottom, free on most platforms and devices.
Six-Episode Event Series ‘Iwájú’ Headed to Disney+
The first-of-its-kind collaboration between Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pan-African entertainment company Kugali, along with a behind-the-scenes documentary, ‘Iwájú: A Day Ahead,’ debut February 28.
Spy Thriller ‘Argylle’ Gets New Featurette
From the twisted mind of ‘Kingsman’ and’ Kick-Ass’ creator Matthew Vaughn comes a razor-witted, reality-bending, globe-circling romp hitting theaters February 2.
