'THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA': A DREAM PROJECT MADE BY LOYAL FANS AND LONG-TIME FRIENDS
What began as a livestreamed web series about a group of friends playing ‘D&D,’ has become 24 episodes of an animated adult fantasy-adventure featuring an excitable band of misfits with a fondness for boozing, brawling, and just generally F**king S**t up, desperately trying to pay off their mounting bar tab.
“It was a life-altering experience,” concurs [Liam] O’Brien. “The Vox Machina stories were literally us opening up the wardrobe in the attic and stepping into Narnia. There was no way we weren't going to go back to the start and chronicle that story of our falling in love with the game.”...
'JOSEE, THE TIGER AND THE FISH': EMBRACING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN ANIME
Kotaro Tamura’s brave, emotional animated love story features one of the first lead characters in a romance anime to use a wheelchair.
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish could be a turning point for anime romance and inclusivity in the industry and the stories that are told through it. Tamura says he can only hope his film has that kind of an impact. “I would be pleased and honored if that happens,” says the director. “This has been called a ‘typical love story’ by some, but that usually means a romance about able-bodied people. A romantic anime film like this, with a lead character in a wheelchair, just didn't exist until now."...
MAMORU HOSODA'S 'BELLE': LEARNING TO BECOME YOUR TRUEST SELF
The Oscar-nominated ‘Mirai’ director discusses his new film, about a shy young high school girl who comes of age as she takes a fantastical journey through the virtual world of ‘U,’ releasing today in North American theaters.
“I'm always fascinated about how people are able to change or how people are able to transform and, if there's an old version of a person or perhaps a new version of that same person, what it takes to bring them through that transformation,” says Hosoda. “It could be many different things – perhaps they meet some very important person or figure in their life, or there's a major event that causes or triggers this change.”...
'ASCENDENT ANIMATION: GIVING VOICE TO TALENT AND ANIME THAT 'DON'T FIT THE MOLD'
The Black-owned and LGBTQ+-operated studio launched in 2020 to embrace the need for more diversity and inclusivity – and mature, representative storytelling - in the anime dubbing industry.
“For me, it came from the pain of rejection,” says Steve Warky Nunez, Ascendent’s sound engineer known for his voice acting work on video games like Camp Buddy and The Fifth Expedition, as well as animations like Spaicy and Ultra Nova. Nunez was the one who raised the call for Ascendent to assemble after live-action TV series producer K. Cornell Kellum, now Ascendent’s owner, licensed the anime Ishida and Asakura..."I worry that in this industry, we stop looking for what is new and become complacent with the familiar.”...
'NAMOO': AN ARTIST REFLECTS ON LIFE, DEATH, AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN
Using frames hand-painted with Quill and VR headsets, Oscar-nominated director Erick Oh and his production team at Emmy Award-winning Baobab Studios expertly crafted a thought-provoking and emotional 3D animated short that follows the beautiful and heartbreaking moments of a man’s life.
“It’s deeply personal, but I feel like it's universal enough for everyone to resonate with,” explains Oh, known for his innovative animated short Opera that was nominated for Best Animated Short at last year’s Academy Awards. “It’s not a story about my grandfather. It’s all about growth and change.”...
MARK MILLAR AND MOTONOBU HORI TALK 'SUPER CROOKS'
The creator and director of Netflix’s first superhuman heist anime series discuss their comic-inspired show that follows a small-time, superpowered crook, Johnny Bolt, and what he hopes will be his biggest - and final - score.
The show, adapted from the 2012 comic by Mark Millar, legendary writer behind Jupiter's Legacy, Kick-Ass, Kingsman, The Magic Order, Wanted, Old Man Logan, Marvel Civil War and others, is produced by My Hero Academia’s Bones animation studio and directed by Carole & Tuesday’s Motonobu Hori. “I never expected it to be an anime project, but the minute [Netflix] said ‘studio Bones,’ I was like, ‘Okay, I’m in,” says Millar. “And when I saw the first character designs, it felt really exciting. I love it when two things that weren’t meant to be together come together. And I had never seen this kind of mash-up before.”...
'BLADE RUNNER: BLACK LOTUS' REVISITS THE ICONIC CITY OF NEON LIGHTS
The fifth project, but first series, in the epic ‘Blade Runner’ franchise tackles the grimy, gritty futuristic world of bioengineering with a female protagonist, Elle, who awakens in Los Angeles with no clue to her identity, now airing on Adult Swim’s Toonami and streaming on Crunchyroll.
“In a way, it does question a lot of the same things that the cyberpunk genre will usually ask,” says [Shinji] Aramaki, who has also co-directed with [Kenji] Kamiyama on Ultraman and Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045. “'What is human?’ and the question of existence and whatnot. But this property does exist in a different plane. For me, it wasn't as much of a challenge trying to do something different. The challenge was doing justice to the properties of the franchise.”...
'MY HERO ACADEMIA: WORLD HEROES' MISSION': A DIVERSE 'FEAST FOR THE SENSES'
Funimation and Toho Animation’s new anime, the hit franchise’s third movie, features three high school students studying to become superheroes, who suddenly face their greatest crisis - with only two hours to save the world!
"We had an inkling going into the auditions, and there were a lot of murmurs and whispers all those years ago, that this show might be something really special,” says Clifford Chapin, who voices gunpowder and flame-throwing character Katsuki Bakugou, and has been part of the MHA legacy with Briner since Season One. “But we could never have expected what it actually became, what it is now. It just exceeds all the expectations I could have had for it, and I mean that in every sense of the word.”...
'WOLFBOY AND THE EVERYTHING FACTORY' CELEBRATES WILD, WEIRD AND WHIMSICAL
A young boy bullied at school for wearing a wolf mask discovers the power of being different in Toff Mazery’s all-new 2D animated series, now streaming on Apple TV+.
“We’ve said from the beginning when we started writing, that throughout the show, for kids and for everyone, we explain that the weird parts of us are the parts that aren't conforming to what we think other people want us to be,” says Mazery..."That drawing-outside-the-lines way of thinking and way of going forward, I think that’s the key. If I hadn't done that, I don’t think I would have been as happy and satisfied in my life and in my work. In art and in life, I took a lot of the outside-the-lines turnings. And some of them bought me to this job and hitRECord.”...
BEAU DEMAYO TALKS BLOOD, GUTS AND HONOR IN 'THE WITCHER: NIGHTMARE OF THE WOLF'
For the writer and producer of Netflix’s new anime feature about the life of Geralt’s grizzled mentor, Vesemir, viewers hopefully grapple with the moral dilemma of whether sometimes dark and horrible ends justify the means.
“What I love most about Sapkowski,” says writer and producer Beau DeMayo, “is that he is unapologetic about the witchers not necessarily being the good guys. For Vesemir, it’s a fine line between telling a story that's somewhat aspirational – giving you that wish fulfillment of, ‘What would it be like to be a witcher and shoot fire from your hands?’ – but also [acknowledges the dark side] of the witchers. They do take kids. They do work for money. And not all of them are honorable men."...
STEVEN CLAY HUNTER RECLAIMS HIS CHILDHOOD IN PIXAR'S 'OUT'
In the studio’s first film featuring an openly gay main character, storyline, and on-screen same-sex kiss, the SparkShorts director tells his highly-personal story of a life spent dealing with the challenges of coming out.
“I wanted to talk about the experience and what it does to us,” Hunter explains. “You're taught to not be yourself for so long. And then you want to just get on with your life but you're constantly thinking things like, ‘What if I had been gay during high school?’ or ‘What if I allowed myself to just be out?’ or ‘What if I had kissed that guy?’ There’s a feeling of a lost childhood in some respects.”...
THE LEGENDARY CHARLES SCHULZ EXPLORED IN 'WHO ARE YOU, CHARLIE BROWN?'
New Apple TV+ documentary paints a compelling picture of the iconic cartoonist and his beloved characters through animation, film clips, cartoon clippings, family photos, and audio commentary from the artist himself.
“It gave me a great sense of the people who appreciate him and his work so much that they're willing to make the effort to create something as beautiful as this,” says Jean Schulz, Charles’ widow. “I was delighted when I saw it, and I can't wait to see it again. I've seen it a few times, and I think it's beautiful. I mean, my hat goes off to Michael.”...
'TRESE' VIVIDLY BRINGS MYTHICAL BEASTS OF FILIPINO FOLKLORE TO LIFE
Premiering June 11, Netflix’s 2D animated series adaptation of Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s gritty horror and crime comics is a highly original, noirish take on the culture’s deeply-rooted supernatural lore and superstitions.
“It's been a 10-year journey with Tanya to find the best way to adapt Trese,” notes Tan. “When we found out that it was going to be adapted into anime, it suddenly made perfect sense.”
Baldisimo adds, “I just expect three hours of fun. That's all I want.”...
'SPIRIT UNTAMED' RECAPTURES THE 'SPIRIT' OF THE CIMARRON
Opening in theaters June 4, director Elaine Bogan and DreamWorks Animation’s next entry in the film and TV franchise uses CG to beautifully capture both the majestic splendor of the American frontier and the emotional bond between a headstrong girl and a wild stallion.
“A lot of this movie is about Lucky going through this journey and trying to learn how to communicate with another being that doesn't speak, and that's the magic of animation for me,” she says. “It’s about being able to tell a visual story without needing a whole bunch of dialogue or conversation, understanding what these characters are thinking and feeling with a simple movement, a tail flick, a head toss, or using the scenery around them.”...
'EDEN' MARRIES 2D AND 3D IN A POWERFUL PICTURE OF PARENTAL LOVE
Premiering today, Justin Leach’s new series, Netflix’s first original anime, explores the idea of robots showing the compassion needed to raise a child found alive in a post-apocalyptic world without humans.
“I wanted to make something that moved people to at least a teary-eye level,” says Justin Leach, Eden’s creator and producer. “I loved this idea of parents being fish-out-of-water and how, when you drop a baby into the mix, it changes people's lives in ways that are unexpected. I thought it'd be interesting to take that concept and apply it toward robots and see if that’s what makes them more human at the end of the day, when they have an experience that makes them feel compassion or start to care for a child.”...
'RUGRATS' RETURNS WITH A 21ST CENTURY FACE-LIFT
Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Susie, and Angelica are back, now animated in CG, but still humorously exploring their world as only precocious youngsters can do; series premieres May 27 on Paramount+.
“Rugrats is undoubtedly one of Nickelodeon's crown jewels,” says [Eryk] Casemiro. “You know how it is when you have a really good friend and you go for years without seeing them, and then you pick up right where you left off? It’s been just like that. I can write Chuckie or Phil until the cows come home. I love a good sarcastic Phil line.”...
WRAPPING UP LOOSE ENDS IN 'CASTLEVANIA'S FOURTH AND FINAL SEASON
For Kevin Kolde and Sam and Adam Deats, tying up key storylines should help audiences better appreciate the emotion behind the show’s broken, but ultimately unstoppable vampire-hunting heroes.
“When you're trying to show the effects that everything has had on these characters, and where they are, there's so much nuance that you're putting into every frame, every pose, every action, and it gets very complicated trying to bring that across,” Sam explains. “This season, more than ever, there's a whole lot of really strict, hands-on work being done to make sure that emotion and feeling in each character were handcrafted and hitting the exact marks they needed to.”...
'THE MITCHELL'S VS. THE MACHINES': A SCRAPBOOK OF ART, NOSTALGIA AND, KILLER ROBOTS
Distinctively styled 2D, 3DCG, and live-action, integrated with a highly personal and relatable story, give Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe’s new apocalyptic comedy adventure a uniquely ‘human’ touch.
“The film does feel like a scrapbook,” says head of story, Guillermo Martinez, known for his storyboarding work on Missing Link and Kubo and the Two Strings. “When Mike told me, this film would be like Little Miss Sunshine meets The Terminator, I knew I wanted to work on an animated movie like that, something that feels automatically different.”...
'SHE-RA AND THE PRINCESS OF POWER'S BIG, BEAUTIFUL LESBIAN LOVE FINALE
Nominated for two Annie Awards, Noelle Stevenson and DreamWorks Animation’s hit series may have ended its five-season Netflix run, but its unflinching support for lifestyle diversity, and message that love and friendship will conquer the fear of failure, will continue to positively impact audiences well into the future.
“It's been incredible,” says Stevenson. “I could never have anticipated the size and enthusiasm of the response. So much of making a show is working on it for years before it's ever announced, and during that time all you can really do is just hope that it connects with people the way you want it to. So, to have it all be out, and to see people continue to connect with it and engage with it in all these different ways, it's such a relief. I'm so glad that people love it as much as we do.”...
HOW 'CITY OF GHOSTS' TAKES A KID'S-EYE VIEW OF THE SUPERNATURAL
‘Adventure Time’ director Elizabeth Ito’s new documentary-style animated series follows a group of kids, known as the Ghost Club, as they investigate ghost sightings and encounters around L.A.
“It's really interesting how kids do tend to see ghosts, and they tell their parents about it in some weird way, and it’s usually the parents who gets creeped out,” Ito shares. “Similar to how pets can react before an earthquake, I think kids have this sense for certain things too.”
But despite the Ghostbusters-like plot, the six-episode series employs a calm, clever, and quietly comical tone where the Ghost Club members not only befriend the ghosts, but also interview them and listen to their life stories, learning more about the history of Los Angeles neighborhoods in the process...
'BOMBAY ROSE' PAINTS AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF INDIA'S PAST AND PRESENT
For writer and director Gitanjali Rao, the ‘love’ within a simple rose inspired her compelling and beautifully hand-painted animated film about people in India living unfulfilled lives as they struggle to survive.
“It’s a story of Bombay people,” says Rao, known for her award-winning and Oscar-nominated animated short, Printed Rainbow. “People I come across each and every day of my life. Whether you’re traveling, going to school, or going to work, you're always thrown in with people who live in the streets. It’s quite a homogeneous city. You can sometimes be stuck in a traffic jam for hours together. You see their lives and realize that this is a very marginalized society.”...
'FLEE': AN ANIMATED DOCUMENTARY RECOUNTS A HARROWING PERSONAL TRAUMA
Jonas Rasmussen’s intimate and powerful 2D film tells the untold story of his long-time friend Amin’s life as a gay child growing up in Kabul before his escape via Russia to Denmark.
For over two decades, documentary film director Jonas Rasmussen says he had no idea of the trauma that his friend Amin - an Afghanistan native - had experienced by the time they met in the filmmaker’s hometown of Copenhagen in 1996... “He knew that he had to tell the story at some point, because his life was split into two pieces,” says Rasmussen. “He couldn’t keep living for his past, and he had to bring his past and his present together to start a new life with his boyfriend. So, I think he knew he had to tell this story and this film gave him that opportunity to open up.”...
'KAPAEMAHU' HElPS REVIVE HIDDEN HAWAIIAN HISTORY OF HEALING AND ALOHA
Beautifully animated, award-winning 2D short celebrates the long-suppressed, centuries-old story of Waikiki’s mysterious four-boulder monument to the gentle people, both male and female in mind and body, who brought science and healing to the island.
“There was a lot of effort to peel away the layers to uncover what had been hidden for so long and intentionally suppressed,” says Joe Wilson, a writer, co-director, and producer on Kapaemahu along with partner Dean Hamer and lead director Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu. “This film is a great metaphor for calling us all to try to see what's in front of us and understand it more deeply than just what's on the surface.”...
'COPS AND ROBBERS': CONTRASTING CHILDHOOD PLAY WITH RACIAL HATRED
Premiering today on Netflix, Timothy Ware-Hill and Arnon Manor’s powerful new spoken-word animated short harkens back to simpler days when hands up was for blocking shots on the court, not in the streets.
“I think that's the beauty of animation, that it allows us to enter into a world we may not always be willing to enter into at first glance,” Ware-Hill shares. “It allows people to put their walls down long enough to be intrigued to figure out ‘Well, what is this really about?’ And maybe, once they hit play, they'll stick through the entire four-minute film and, after watching it, figure out a way to take some action.”...
THE PERSONAL STORY BEHIND GUY'S OPENING SEQUENCE IN 'THE CROODS: A NEW AGE'
For story artist Colin Jack, boarding the heartbreaking backstory meant dealing with his own recent loss, made easier by enlisting the help of his son Gabriel.
For the past six years, DreamWorks Animation has been home for story artist Colin Jack, working on family-friendly and adolescent-angled stories like Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, Trolls Holiday, Trolls World Tour, and the recently released The Croods: A New Age. While Jack mostly utilized action comedies and rom-coms as references for his boards on the new Croods sequel, inspiration for the film’s opening sequence, revealing a young Guy and the death of his parents, came from a much more emotional and personal source: his own family...
'LUPIN III: THE FIRST' BRIDGES THE 2D-3D GAP BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN ANIMATION
Tomokazu Sakamoto and Tatsuya Akagi share their efforts, with support from the franchise’s late creator, Monkey Punch, to respectfully depict iconic 2D anime characters in the 3D/CG style more familiar to international audiences.
After fifty years of longevity - with two manga series spanning 35 volumes, a five-part six-season 2D anime and over a dozen feature films including the acclaimed Hayao Miyazaki feature directorial debut, The Castle of Cagliostro - Lupin III released its first 3D/CG animation installment, Lupin III: The First this last October. And much to the relief of animation supervisor Tomokazu Sakamoto and rigging supervisor Tatsuya Akagi, long-time fans of the franchise created by the late Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Kato) have been enthusiastically embracing the new film’s deeper dimensional look...
FRANK ABNEY III'S 'CANVAS' PAINTS A STORY OF GRIEF AND HEALING
Premiering tomorrow on Netflix, the poignant and moving animated short draws directly from the director’s childhood loss; he hopes his film encourages storytellers in the Black community to get their voices heard.
“Growing up after my dad passed, I watched how my mom would navigate that grief, usually through something artistic, whether she was on the phone and doodling or taking part in a play,” says Abney. “And I had always wondered if there was something she’d lost in that loss with my dad. Canvas started to take shape as I was kind of thinking about these things. It was my therapy.” He adds, “We go through these traumas and losses and I wanted to put something out there that shows we don't have to go through it alone.”...
CINZIA ANGELINI'S 'MILA' GIVES AN ANIMATED VOICE TO CHILDREN OF WAR
10 years in the making, and completed with the help of ‘The Addams Family’ production studio Cinesite, the powerful CG short, about a young girl’s witness to the WWII bombings of Trento, Italy, offers a compelling message about hope and perseverance.
“When I was young, my mother often spoke about her feelings growing up during WWII and, in particular, how she felt as a little girl caught in the middle of the bombing,” remembers Angelini... “So many times, she told me how she could vividly remember the sense of void during those moments. How she couldn’t move or run to shelter until someone would pick her up. That was the story that I wanted to tell with the medium I love, animation, and to bring the spotlight on terrible realities that many kids have to still go through.”...
A COUPLE FACES THE PAIN OF UNSPOKEN GRIEF IN 'IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU'
In Will McCormack and Michael Govier’s animated short, estranged parents of a child killed in a school shooting try to overcome their heartbreak and find each other again; now showing on Netflix.
Grief, while a universal concept, is also a complex emotion, difficult to fully understand and pick apart. There are the commonly known stages of grief - denial, anger, depression and so on - though those can also look different for different people. But in the Oh Good Productions animated short, If Anything Happens I Love You, released Friday on Netflix, creators Will McCormack and Michael Govier tackle the wrenching pain of grief through animation, telling an emotional and relatable story that can hopefully help bring people together...
GLEN KEANE'S 'OVER THE MOON' ARTFULLY ILLUSTRATES HEALING FROM GRIEF THROUGH PLAY
With vibrant colors, gelatinous creatures and an unreal Lunarian moonscape, Sony Pictures Imageworks helps visualize a young girl’s emotional journey to a whole new world, in Pearl Studios’ new animated musical, now showing on Netflix.
“Dealing with grief, and learning to see things from a different perspective, can be a journey in itself,” says Over the Moon’s FX supervisor Ian Farnsworth. “And it’s important to know that it’s ok to heal through play.” Farnsworth, a father of three, says that while grief is “not usually a subject we think about geared toward children,” it’s one of the reasons, along with the chance to work with Keane, that he was excited about Imageworks taking on the project’s animation...
CREATING A BRIGHTER WORLD FOR COLOR DESIGNERS
Jack Cusumano and Teri Hendrich’s ‘Color is Design’ social media campaign is a key part of their ongoing effort to get color designers paid the same as other jobs in animation design.
“It’s an overlooked role,” adds Daniaelle Simonsen, who worked as a color designer on Gravity Falls, with Cusumano on the Disney animated series DuckTales, and is currently a color supervisor on Shion Takeuchi’s upcoming animated Netflix comedy series, Inside Job. “Color designers are responsible for establishing these nuanced moods and shades, and some of the scenes we color are not just one character, it's entire moments,” she notes. “There's a lot more to it than just filling things in."...
SOUTH AFRICA'S CABBLOW STUDIOS BRINGS A CUTE 2D TWIST TO IMPORTANT DIABETES EDUCATION
Kabelo Maaka and Dr. Tshepo P. Maaka’s animated short, ‘3 Teaspoons of Sugar,’ which competed in Annecy 2020, artfully presents needed information about the dangers and difficulties faced by people with disease.
“It’s one of those diseases that people think it's okay to just have, like it's like a handbag that you just carry around,” says Dr. T, a medical practitioner and anesthesiologist of 26 years. “They don’t realize how serious it is and that’s why we need to educate people about diabetes.”
Kabelo adds, “You go on an emotional journey with the characters and we give you the information without overwhelming you. We want our animation to still be a beautiful art form; all that we're doing is giving it a medical theme.”...
'DRAGON'S DOGMA': A STOLEN HEART, VENGEANCE, AND THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
For producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Netflix’s seven-episode anime adaptation of Capcom’s 2012 video game is much more than just one man’s quest to slay the dragon that killed his family.
“When Netflix producer Taiki Sakurai sent me a proposal about making Dragon's Dogma into an anime, the seven deadly sins concept was so interesting that I approved it straight away, and it went right into production,” says Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a co-producer on the show and co-producer of the Dragon’s Dogma video game. “Even back when we were developing the original game, I'd always wanted to make a television series version. Unfortunately, we never had the chance until now. I'm so glad we've been able to create an anime adaptation on Netflix.”...
KIDS ON THEIR OWN AND IN DANGER - WELCOME TO 'JURASSIC WORLD: CAMP CRETACEOUS'
For producer Scott Kreamer, Steven Spielberg’s iconic franchise has always been about kids, but in the new Netflix and DreamWorks Animation series, this time, they’re all alone with no adults around to save them.
Isla Nublar has more stories to tell and Steven Spielberg is back in the prehistoric saddle, welcoming more young visitors on another big-toothed, big-clawed adventure. But, this time, no adults are coming to the rescue...Though the show is as thrilling and terrifying as ever, one of the producers, Scott Kreamer, hopes that telling the story of Camp Cretaceous through animation--without blood and gore--helps introduce the Jurassic universe to a younger generation of fans...
ANIMATING THE ESSENCE OF NATURE IN AYUMU WATANABE'S 'CHILDREN OF THE SEA'
The director discusses bringing Daisuke Igarashi’s 2006 manga to life in a dazzling, iridescent, and beautifully animated film that captures the complex bonds between all living things.
The cry of a newborn child, the song of a humpback whale and the birth, and death, of a star--all parallel symbols in the Japanese animated film Children of the Sea, brought to life with dazzling, dancing, iridescent animation that beautifully encapsulates one cinematic subject.
“The theme of this film is ‘The mystery and joy of life,’” says Ayumu Watanabe, the film’s director. “And that everything is a part of the universe.”...
THE CATHARSIS OF VOICING DONALD TRUMP IN 'OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT'
For veteran voice actor Jeff Bergman, voicing President Trump on Showtime’s ‘seriously ridiculously political’ animated series helps ease the stress of keeping current with our 24/7 cycle of real news.
For over 30 years, children’s cartoons have been voice actor Jeff Bergman’s bread and butter. Lending his versatile vocals to iconic Warner Bros. characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, as well as Hanna-Barbera favorites like Fred Flintstone and Yogi Bear, has given Bergman a chance, as he puts it, to “prolong my childhood.” But, amidst voicing characters for the recently rebooted Looney Tunes Cartoons, Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs! and his first animated feature film Space Jam: A New Legacy, Bergman has also taken the dive into adult animation by taking on Donald Trump in Stephen Colbert’s workplace animated comedy, Our Cartoon President...
'PROMARE': HIROYUKI IMAISHI AND HIROMI WAKABAYASHI'S VIVID DEPICTION OF RACISM AND UNITY
The director and producer of the electrifying, high energy anime feature tackle segregation, cruelty, and protest against injustice in a future society forged by the collision of fire and ice.
Promare’s animation is energy itself, but the illustrations speak to much more than just aesthetically enticing action scenes. “This film’s main theme is the ‘fusion of two elements,’” explains Promare producer Hiromi Wakabayashi. “The story has two protagonists with their own goals that collide yet eventually work together. We wanted to illustrate that with visuals rarely seen in Japanese animation.”...
TONY CERVONE BRINGS 2D CHARM TO 3D 'SCOOB!'
Director of the first fully 3D/CG animated ‘Scooby-Doo’ feature shares his long-time love of Warner Bros. cartoon animation and the timelessness of Mystery Inc.
A lime green van, endless Scooby snacks and phrases like “jinkies,” “zoinks,” and “you meddling kids” have been key ingredients in our Saturday-morning-cartoon rituals for the last five decades. One of the most prolific Saturday morning cartoon stalwarts is Joe Ruby’s and Ken Spears’ Scooby-Doo, which to date has seen 14 animated series with over 400 episodes combined, 43 films including 2 live-action, 27 short films and even a few plays since the show’s birth in 1969. And there are still plenty more animated pooch stories to tell...
COMPOSER CARL JOHNSON COMES HOME TO 'LOONEY TUNES CARTOONS'
Musician picks up where Carl Stalling left off, returning to Warner Bros. more than 25 years after composing on ‘Animaniacs’ and ‘Pinky and the Brain.’
Deciding the best music to illustrate characters caught in a dynamite explosion, being flushed down the toilet or haunted by a tiny ghost bird takes considerable talent, especially on an 11-minute animated comedy careening forward at the only pace slapstick knows how to run: Road Runner fast. But Looney Tune’s composer Carl Stalling was the master and commander of cartoon scores that flowed effortlessly with a character’s every move. Now, Carl Johnson, known for his work on Skyfall and The Magnificent Seven, is stepping into Stalling’s shoes...
JONAH SCOTT AND THE EXPRESSIVE MULTI-LAYERED CG ANIMATION OF 'BEASTARS'
For the voice acting star of Netflix’s new anime series, the show’s nuanced use of 3D/CG is as big a story as the mature themes of sexuality and mental health.
Netflix’s recently released anime series, Beastars, has received considerable attention from viewers, both anime fans and otherwise, who are either intrigued by the show’s gritty, Zootopia-like vibe, or adamantly opposed to the series due to the highly mature themes of sexuality and self-loathing, tackled through anthropomorphic animals.
The show’s leading English voice actor, Jonah Scott, says the show “definitely isn’t your mom’s anime” but should still be given a chance, especially by teens and adults who, like Scott, have struggled (or are struggling) with mental health...