Electronic Arts to Lay off Six Percent of Workforce
The gaming giant cites restructuring efforts, including workspace reductions and project refinement, for the axing of nearly 800 jobs.
Sixteen South and Nelvana Option ‘A Horse Named Steve’
Belfast-based studio teams up with kids’ content giant on an animated adaptation of Toronto author-illustrator Kelly Collier’s popular picture book about the humorous exploits of an endearingly self-absorbed horse.
Paramount+ Announces ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’ Series
Production begins next year on the latest franchise effort; show follows the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they come of age.
Dynamic Wrinkles Arise - Character Creator 4.2 and iClone 8.2 Available Now
Reallusion’s latest release provides the tools to create powerful, groundbreaking facial realism in 3D game and cinematic characters of any gender, age, and ethnicity.
Lucasfilm Drops 3 ‘Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures’ Shorts
Now available on YouTube, the films provide a sneak peek at the first animated preschool series from the ‘Star Wars’ universe, which follows Younglings as they forge their paths to becoming Jedi knights, explore the galaxy, and help citizens and creatures in need; the show hits Disney+ and Disney Junior in May.
‘Ice Merchants’ Wins Big at MONSTRA 2023
The Annie Award-winning and Oscar-nominated short by João Gonzalez took top honors in multiple categories in both the Portuguese and International short film competitions, including the Monstrinha Inatel Grand Prix and audience awards.
Netflix Reveals Ali Wong’s ‘Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld’ Cast and Teaser Art
Demons, supernatural powers, and millennia-old jiangshi inhabit this new animated action series about a Chinese American teen living in a small Texas town who finds out a demon king is hunting her – like being a teenager isn’t hard enough!
Adult Swim’s ‘Royal Crackers’ Greenlit for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
The upcoming original adult animated comedy follows one Bakersfield, California family’s less than stellar efforts to save its once-successful cracker company dynasty after the family patriarch falls into a coma; series premieres April 2.
Has Studio Ghibli Co-Founder Toshio Suzuki Been Caught Misappropriating Funds?
CBR.com reports that company president Koji Hoshino will leave in June after admonishing Suzuki for spending studio money on his girlfriend going back to 2013.
New ‘Spider-Verse’ Short Coming from 'LENS' Program at Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks
The Leading and Empowering New Storytellers program’s first cohort will present their film, ‘The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story,’ at the Annecy Festival this June.
Disney Absorbs Marvel Entertainment, Dismisses Chairman Ike Perlmutter
As a series of 7,000 layoffs began this week at the Mouse House, cost-cutting has led to the ouster of Perlmutter, a major company shareholder, co-president Rob Steffens, and chief counsel John Turitzin.
Adult Swim Drops Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Unicorn: Warriors Eternal’ Trailer
The famed, Emmy Award-winning creator’s long-awaited supernatural, 2D animated-action series, about a team of heroes who reawaken to fight an evil force looming in London, is coming to Adult Swim, Toonami, and HBO Max in May!
Paramount+ Renews ‘Star Trek’ Series ‘Lower Decks’ and ‘Strange New Worlds’
The streamer boldly goes where no one has gone before, announcing additional season pickups for both shows while setting summer premieres of Season 4 and Season 2, respectively, for the series.
Exclusive: Apple TV+ Shares ‘Eva the Owlet’ Clip
AWN readers get a special sneak peek at the all-new animated series about a creative, cheeky owlet with big ideas and an even bigger personality, who goes on high-flying adventures with her best friend who lives next door; based on the ‘Owl Diaries’ series by award-winning author Rebecca Elliott, the show hits the streamer March 31.
SCAD Alumnus Creates New 2D Lighting Tools for ‘The Pope’s Dog’ Short
Former visual effects student Noah Catan spent over a year working to improve upon the 2D ‘Klaus’ innovative 3D-styled lighting and shading in his development of Pantheon: Volumetric Lighting for 2D Animation software, created specifically for the production of SCAD Animation Studios’ CTA Emmy nominated animated short.
WildBrain to Acquire House of Cool
In a deal set to close later this year, co-founders Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis are named Co-General Managers of the Toronto-based pre-production studio, which will maintain its distinct identity under new parent company banner.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert to Direct on ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’
The ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ directorial team has signed on to helm at least one episode of the ‘Star Wars’ original series starring Jude Law, from executive producers Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, streaming this year only on Disney+.
Platige Image Shares ‘G.O.A.T. Mall – AXE’ Spot
Featuring popular rapper Lil Baby, the men’s cosmetic company’s latest global campaign goes from real to fantasy with VFX, 2D and 3D animation added in post.
Disney and Pixar Drop ‘Elemental’ Trailer and Character Posters
Ronnie del Carmen, Shila Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Catherine O’Hara join the cast of the studios’ next animated feature, which follows Ember, a fiery young woman, and Wade, a fun go-with-the-flow guy, who together define the notion that ‘opposites react;’ the movie hits theaters June 16 along with Bob Peterson’s all-new short, ‘Carl’s Date.’
Creepy Meets Cute in New Ghibli-esque ‘Resident Evil 4’ Promo
The animation style on ‘Leon and the Mysterious Village,’ a new promotional short for Capcom’s upcoming remastered horror game, feels quite familiar… and is positively adorable.
DreamWorks Drops ‘Trolls Band Together’ Trailer
Poppy, Branch, and of course, Tiny Diamond are just a few of the iconic Trolls heading back to theaters this November 17, as they uncover a big secret from the past that leads to an emotional journey to rescue and reunite a family, in the next installment of the glittery, bedazzling, and almost always happy franchise.
Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson to Helm Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’
The ‘Summer of Soul’ director will also oversee the upcoming live-action/CGI hybrid film adaptation’s music, as well as executive produce under his Two One Five Entertainment banner.
NVIZ Harnesses Unreal Engine for Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ Season 2 Previs
Leading visualization company provides key techvis to help the production team make informed creative and financial decisions by first enabling exploration of virtual scenes and providing what amounted to a ‘digital storyboard.’
The Cinémathèque Québécoise Unveils 2023 Animation Residency Cohort
6 artists have been selected to be mentored by an animation professional as they develop their project; program runs April 17- May 24.
Crunchyroll Announces Spring 2023 Lineup
A huge block of animation is on its way - the anime destination unveils its April premiere schedule, so check out 26 trailers and get psyched for spring!
