InThis Week in Animation News,I’ll take a look at the previous week in the world of animation in order to get you caught up on everything you might have missed. It’s your one-stop shop for news regarding cartoons, anime, and animated web series. We’re talking movies, TV shows, digital shorts, and everything in between!
This week’s biggest news all comes out of Annecy 2017, the massive animation festival going on this week in France. Lots of projects from Disney and Sony Pictures Animation have already been announced alongside awesome independent projects likeBrazen, an animated series that explores the lives of 30 bold and rebellious women from all over the world and across time. You should also take the time to readPeter Debruge’s review ofAnimal Crackersover atVariety; it’ll give you an idea of the world of animation outside of the States. Expect more from Annecy in the near future.
In more traditional news, we also have new looks at Adult Swim’sApollo Gauntletwhich will be premiering at Rooster Teeth’s upcoming animation festival, plus Cartoon Network’sOK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, and Nickelodeon’sWelcome to the Wayneshow off new images and video. There are also new trailers for Shout! Factory’s release ofIn This Corner of the Worldand the Kickstarted project,Orient City. Plus, a bunch of character posters forThe Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature.
For the latest animation stories we’ve already covered on the site this week, take a look at the following links. Then, check out a selection of new stories below. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Annecy 2017 Puts Disney Animation on the World Stage
Annecy 2017 got underway this week, bringing the world’s top animation talent together to celebrate the timeless and boundless medium.Varietyhad an early report out of the festival that announced new projects coming from Disney to celebrate Disney Channel France’s 20th anniversary. Surprisingly, the Mouse House doesn’t have a studio branch in Europe, so they partner with independent production houses. In addition to teasing an early look at their newDuckTalesseries, which you’re able to see at the link above, Disney also confirmed new and returning series.
Here’s a look at what’s coming:
Sony Animation Goes Big at Annecy 2017
Varietyalso has the inside scoop on the feature film projects hailing from Sony Pictures Animation. They are all-in, having set five titles for release dates in 2020/2021, four from first-time directors. In contrast, no films are planned at all for 2019. Having brought almost a dozen feature films to screens sinceOpen Seasonin 2006, Sony Pictures Animation has never had a film earn less than #123 million at the worldwide box office. However, the studio also lacks a billion dollar-earner like competitor Illumination Entertainment’sMinions; the closest they’ve come is 2011’sThe Smurfs, topping out at $563 million worldwide.
PresidentKristine Belsonlaid out the future of Sony Pictures Animation and its varied cinematic style as follows:
‘Brazen’ TV Series to Portray “Bold and Rebellious Women”
Varietyhas word on a very cool project calledBrazen, an animated TV series adaptation ofPenelope Bagieu’s feminist graphic novel by the same name. Agat films & Cie and Silex Films will produce the series of 30 three-minute episodes which will explore the lives of 30 women likeNellie Bly, Mae Jemison, Josephine BakerandNaziq al-Abid.
“Through these portraits, we’ll chart the battles and achievements of these women who have gone mostly unnoticed even though they deserve to be hailed as heroes and role models,” saidJudith Nora, producer and co-founder of Silex Films withPriscilla BertinandElisa Larrière. The project was announced at Annecy.
Iranian filmmakerSarah Saidanan is onboard to direct the series, which will air on Gaul’s public broadcaster France Televisions.Brazenboasts two books selling 200,000 copies in France before being published in the U.S. in March.
Rooster Teeth Animation Festival to Feature ‘Apollo Gauntlet’ Premiere
Rooster Teeth Animation Festival announced that Adult Swim will be premiering the first two episodes of new seriesApollo Gauntletat the event, which takes place during RTX AustinJuly 7-9at the Austin Convention Center and kicks off onJuly 6with a “FIRST Night” screening at the Paramount Theater. Adult Swim will also screen more than an hour of sneak peeks at new animation during a special screening entitled “Adult Swim Presents” during the Rooster Teeth Animation Festival with an exclusive Q&A with the creators of Apollo Gauntlet and Squidbillies.
Attendees will have two opportunities to catch the first two episodes ofApollo Gauntletand more great Adult Swim exclusives during Rooster Teeth Animation Festival:
On Earth, Paul Cassidy, is just another cop, but when the evil Dr. Benign transports him to another world, he becomes a new kind of hero. With the help of a magical suit and a set of talking gauntlets, he’s able to fight crime exactly the way he wants…and he’ll do it as APOLLO GAUNTLET! Set in a futuristic medieval society, the quarter-hour animated adventure comedy series is created by Myles Langlois and is produced by MONDO’s animation studio, Six Point Harness, and Mosaic.
Rooster Teeth Animation Festival is in its second year and bigger and better than ever, with panels and exclusive screenings from animators including Frederator, Cyanide and Happiness (Explosm Entertainment), Mondo Media, Mashed, and more, and an exclusive theatrical screening of the Netflix Original seriesCastlevaniaat the Paramount Theater onJuly 7, the day it releases on Netflix.
All RTX Austin ticket holders can access Rooster Teeth Animation Festival. Now in its seventh year, RTX Austin will draw more than 65,000 attendees to the Austin Convention CenterJuly 7-9to play the newest unreleased video games, see top Internet celebrities in live shows and panels, and experience the best in gaming, animation, and entertainment.
Single day and weekend passes for RTX Austin 2017 are still available at http://www.rtxaustin.com/ starting at $35.00. Children ages 6 and under get free admittance with a paying adult.
Stay tuned for future announcements on programming, exhibitors and special guests at Rooster Teeth Animation Fest at RTX Austin 2017. For the latest developments and updates, visit the RTX Austin 2017 website, Facebook & Twitter.
‘In This Corner of the World’ Trailer
An empowering coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop ofWorldWar II,InThisCornerof theWorldis a captivating story about the resilience and triumph of the human spirit. Based on the award-winning Japanese manga by Fumiyo Kouno,InThisCornerof theWorldis written and directed by Sunao Katabuchi and produced by GENCO and Japanese animation studio MAPPA. Bolstered by emotionally resonant storytelling and exquisite hand-drawn animation, this acclaimed animated feature recently won the coveted Animation of the Year award at this year’s 40thJapan Academy Prize. The film has been selected to screenincompetition this week at Annecy 2017 and will have its North American film festival premiereincompetition at LA Film Festival (June 20).
InThisCornerof theWorldwill open across U.S. cinemas onAugust 11, 2017from Shout! Factory Films & Funimation Films.
‘Orient City: Ronin and the Princess’ NSFW Trailer
THRhas the first look atOrient City,the new short film from co-directorsRyan ColucciandZsombor Huszka.Galen Christy’s High Octane Pictures acquired the film about an opium-addicted ronin protecting a small girl in the title town; they’ll soon be taking it on the festival circuit.
A feature-length adaptation is in the works from the co-directors and production company Spoke Lane. Huszka is the lead animator with Colucci will handling writing duties alongsideDikran OrnekianandRylend Grant.
Orient City exists as a vertical tangle of rock and skyscrapers united via cable cars and waterways, melding the aesthetics of the Wild West with feudal Japan. The ronin and the girl will help each other to overcome their respective weaknesses. Keep an eye out for this one!
‘OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes!’ Clip from Creator Ian Jones-Quartey
Check out this EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at a brand new series from Ian Jones Quartey, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes!
Cartoon Network’s newest original heroes are here and ready for action inOK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes. Available via On Demand and the Cartoon Network app, audiences can get a sneak peek at the daring and funny feats of K.O., an endlessly optimistic kid attempting to be the greatest hero ever. The dynamic world of Lakewood Plaza Turbo fuels all the inspiration to help guide K.O. on his journey to level up with his super cool friends Enid and Rad and against his evil foes like Lord Boxman. This exclusive preview features all-new episodes chronicling K.O.’s first week in training.
Created byIan Jones-Quartey, these original characters are connected across the TV and gaming landscape.The seriesOK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroesis produced by Cartoon Network Studios and will premiere this August on Cartoon Network while the console gameOK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes, an integrated action brawler with RPG elements, will launch this fall in partnership with Capybara Games.
Check out the episode titles and descriptions below:
Nickelodeon’s ‘Welcome to the Wayne’ Trailer
A New York City apartment building holds mysteries and adventures behind every door in Nickelodeon’s newest animated series,Welcome to the Wayne, premiering Monday, July 24, at 5:30p.m. (ET/PT). Created and written by Emmy® Award-winning writer and composerBilly Lopez(The Wonder Pets) and executive produced by Emmy Award-winning creative executiveMichael Pecoriello(Yu-Gi-Oh!), the 20-episode series follows three kids as they explore their strange and fantastical apartment building, the Wayne, where nothing is what it seems. The series will air at 5:30 p.m. (ET/PT) through Friday, July 28, and fans can catch encore episodes on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
Welcome to the Wayne follows the comedic adventures of three friends, Ansi Molina, Olly Timbers, and Saraline Timbers, as they aim to unlock the secrets of the Wayne. Each new investigation brings them face-to-face with new characters, creatures, and oddities, known as “Wayne Phenomena,” leading them closer to uncovering the truth about the weird things happening in their building.
In the series premiere, “Rise and Shine Sleepyhead,” Ansi, a new resident of the Wayne, must work with siblings Olly and Saraline to stop a rampaging threat deep within their home. Before the full-length series, Welcome to the Wayne was Nickelodeon’s first digital short-form series, which debuted on Nick.com in 2014.
The Welcome to the Wayne voice cast includes:Alanna Ubach(Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce) as Ansi, the anxious new kid in town; creator and co-executive producerBilly Lopezas Olly Timbers, the adventurous 10-year-old son of a toy maker and a military scientist, and lifelong resident of the Wayne; andDana Steingold(Avenue Q musical) as Saraline Timbers, Olly’s responsible and more mature little sister.
Additional voice cast members include:Veronica Taylor(Pokémon) as The Spy from Apartment 8-I;Marc Thompson(Pokémon) as Masterson; andRobbie Sublett(The Good Wife) as Flowershirt;Dave Willis(Aqua Teen Hunger Force) as George the Doorman;Dana Snyder(The Thundermans) as Wendell Wasserman;Nikki M. James(BrainDead) as Julia Wiles;Carey Means(Aqua Teen Hunger Force) as Jonah Bishop;Harriett D. Foy(Collateral Beauty) as Clara Rhone; andCharnele Crick(Bocce Ballers) as Goodness.
Behind-the-Scenes Peek at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios' ‘Buddy Thunderstruck’
This one’s just for fun and fans ofBuddy Thunderstruck:
‘The Nut Job 2’ Character Posters
Surly Squirrel (Will Arnett) and the gang are back. We are once again in Oakton where the evil mayor has decided to bulldoze Liberty Park and build a dangerous amusement park in its place. Surly and his ragtag group of animal friends band together to save their home, defeat the mayor, and take back the park.
