THU Heads to Japan
‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ director Kyle Balda leads a diverse speaker lineup as the storytelling retreat comes to Kaga, Japan, September 20-23, inviting attendees to dive into innovative story creation across various mediums and platforms.
Curiosity Ink Media Sets ‘Snow Boy’ Release
Watch the teaser for the D.M. Farrell and Glenn Thomas title about how a snow person finds friendship, community, and family, available September 19, the first of four new books with stories that lean into the holiday season.
Netflix Drops Teaser for Adam Sandler’s ‘Leo’
The coming-of-age animated musical comedy starring the noted actor/comedian follows the jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo as he plans to escape his decades-long terrarium home after discovering he has only one year to live, streaming November 21.
Bruce Lee Anime ‘House of Lee’ in the Works
Watch the kick-ass teaser trailer for the action/fantasy series, created by Shannon Lee from Bruce Lee Entertainment, Shibuya, and artist Emily Yang, that follows the Dragon himself as he assembles his Dragon Warriors in the face of darkness and shadow, out in 2024/25.
Visual Effects Society Announces 2023 Special Honorees
Tim McGovern is honored with the Founders Award and Lifetime VES Member designation, while Sandra Joy Aguilar, Brooke Breton and Bob Coleman receive Honorary Lifetime VES Membership; a celebration of the honorees will take place at a special event in October.
ASIFA-Hollywood Announces 2023-24 Faculty Grants
Organization’s Animation Educators Forum awards support individuals or groups with their research, scholarly activity, or creative projects in animation.
MeTV Adds ‘Woody Woodpecker and Friends’
Coming next month, the mischievous Woody and his friends join ‘Saturday Morning Cartoons,’ a 3-hour block featuring classic cartoon collections, including ‘Popeye & Pals,’ ‘The Tom & Jerry Show’ and ‘Bugs Bunny & Friends.’
‘Super Mario Bros.’ Voice Actor Charles Martinet Retires
The beloved voice since 1996 of Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi in the famed Nintendo game franchise will now serve as an ambassador for the Mario character, with a replacement yet to be announced.
Art Director Nizo Yamamoto Passes Away at 70
The acclaimed anime creative worked on many Studio Ghibli films, including ‘Princess Mononoke’ and ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ and was known for his grand cloud vistas, called ‘Nizō-gumo’ or ‘Nizō Clouds.’
Netflix Shares ‘One Piece’ Behind-The-Scenes Sneak Peek
Video marks the August 31 streaming release of the live-action high-seas adventure based on the enormously popular manga by Eiichiro Oda.
Remembering the Fabulous, Witty, and Norm-Breaking Paul Bush
The British experimental short filmmaker, known for his early scratch frame films ‘His Comedy’ and ‘The Albatross’ as well as his single frame works like ‘Five Minute Museum,’ was killed in a motorcycle accident in Wales last Thursday.
NVIDIA Showcases New NVIDIA Studio Laptops to Create, Game & Study
Watch ‘Doors to Realities’ video by influencer James Luke, a.k.a. JiffyVFX, highlighting the GeForce and NVIDIA Studio RTX 40 Series laptops and how they enable AI optimizing content creation, gaming, and study apps.
OIAF and TAC Return to Ottawa Next Month
The Animation Conference opens its doors September 20-22, during the Ottawa International Animation Festival September, which runs September 20-24.
‘Bugs Bunny at The Symphony’ Returning to Mexico
In a 4-city tour, the film-and-orchestra concert travels to Puebla, Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara this fall, featuring 16 classic ‘Looney Tunes’ shorts projected onto a big screen with a live symphony orchestra conducted by Emmy Award winner George Daugherty.
Pixotope Announces New Executive Appointments
Mixed reality software company taps media and entertainment industry veterans Phil Ventre and Vivian Yu to support its growth servicing demand for virtual production in the broadcast and APAC markets.
Ashley Goodwin Joins Glassworks as Head of Production
The VFX producer joins the full-service creative studio’s Amsterdam studio.
WORKPRODUCT Launches in LA
The new production studio, founded by Yates Holley and John Kim, represents a series of boutique VFX & Animation Studios, live-action directors, and sound specialists internationally.
Exclusive Clip: ‘Warrior King: A Worthy King’
Based on a Central Asian literary classic - the legend of King Gesar and his destined path to greatness - the animated fantasy comes to theaters August 25.
Disney Junior Reveals New Slate of Shows, Specials and Shorts
‘Disney Junior & Friends Playdate’ event announcements included animated holiday-themed episodes, new projects, shorts, and casting news; young fans can still experience characters and storytelling of Disney Jr. at Downtown Disney August 19-20.
Shutterstock Announces NeRF AI Tech Collaborations
The visual-content provider will partner with Luma Labs AI and RECON Labs’ 3Dpresso to explore development and 3D asset publishing on Shutterstock’s Turbosquid platform; and collaborate with Voling AI on the first-ever network of creators to produce on-demand NVOL environments.
Jonathan Schneider Joins Invisible Universe as President of Studios
The Skydance and Disney alum will lead efforts to adopt new technologies for the studio, especially those involving AI, mo-cap, and real-time rendering.
Hasbro Launches ‘Hasbro Entertainment’
On the heels of the sale of eOne to Lionsgate, company announces new division, lead by Olivier Dumont, to create multi-platform content from priority brands; Zev Foreman and Gabriel Marano named head of film and television, respectively.
Reallusion Integrates iClone Live Sync with NVIDIA Omniverse
The updated connector enables a two-way USD synchronized character animation workflow with the 3D simulation and collaboration platform for real-time crowd generation with digital twins and AECO.
Exclusive Clip: ‘Polly Pocket: Sparkle Cove Adventure’
Polly discovers the hidden world of Sparkle Cove, an island paradise and origin of magical pockite, the source of her shrinking powers; special hits Netflix August 21.
Netflix Drops Trailer for ‘Disenchantment’ Part 5
The misadventures of hard-hitting, hard-drinking Queen Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo, and her personal demon Luci culminate in an epic battle for Dreamland in the fifth and final installment, streaming November 1 on Netflix.
