Animation Magazine MIPCOM 2023 Issue

VOLUME

ANIMATION PLANNER

THE MUST-HAVE LIST

BROZONE’S BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!

AND OTHER STRANGE

Gonzo filmmaker Zach Passero pays homage to ‘50s B-movies and ‘80s coming-of-age classics with his indie feature, The Weird Kidz

TELEVISION/STREAMING

SAVAGE PLANET 16

How Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner’s acclaimed short inspired Max’s thrilling new sci-fi series Scavengers Reign

A SYNTHWAVE HERO RISES 18

Creator Adi Shankar discusses the ideas and inspirations behind his new series Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

BABS AND BUSTER GO TO THE ‘HARVARD OF STUPID’ 20

Warner Bros. goes back to the ’90s with the laughterpacked Tiny Toons Looniversity

SHARING THE LOVE 22

Creator Matthew A. Cherry opens up about his big-hearted new Max series Young Love, based on his Oscar-winning short.

LET THE SPOOKY TIMES ROLL! 24

In which we uncover the dark and juicy secrets of DreamWorks’ New Orleans-set horror show, Fright Krewe

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS 26

OAK9 Entertainment’s charming new series Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos! helps parents and their children manage their emotions.

DINOS, DIGITAL HEROES AND WACKY MONSTERS 28

Cyber Group Studios brings an eclectic mix of new animated content aimed at various target audiences.

SHORTS RELIVING PAST HORRORS 30

Rita Basulto’s beautiful stop-motion short, Humo, looks back at a dark chapter in history.

FAME SPREAD WILL GO 32

8

HITMAKER STRIKES AGAIN!

A sampler of animated projects at MIPCOM 2023.

TERRITORY ANIMATION

VFX & TECH

8

BROZONE’S BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!

The talented creative team behind DreamWorks holiday film, Trolls Band Together, give us an exclusive preview of their stunning handiwork.

SAVAGE PLANET 16

How Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner’s acclaimed short inspired Max’s thrilling new sci-fi series, Scavengers Reign.

16

SHORTS

RELIVING PAST HORRORS 30

Rita Basulto’s beautiful stop-motion short, Humo, looks back at a dark chapter in history.

BLOOMS IN CATALONIA

FLASHBACK TO ’70S-ERA NEW YORK CITY 52

The Continental’s VFX supervisor discusses the wellchoreographed effects of the riveting miniseries. TECH REVIEWS

54

YORK CITY 52

NEW

28

60

DAY

IN THE LIFE DAY IN THE LIFE OF 56

COVER: DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls Band Together hits the big screen Nov. 17.

MIPCOM COVER: OAK9 Ent. introduces its emotional intelligence series Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos! at the market.

WRAP-AROUND COVER: Adam Sandler stars in Leo, the latest Netflix Original animated movie, launching November 21.

As we were putting the various elements of this issue together, it occurred to me that this will be the third time the colorful and musically gifted cast of DreamWorks’ Trolls franchise are gracing our cover. I was wondering, how many of the animated movie trilogy’s fans realize that these popular movies were inspired by a line of funny-looking dolls? First introduced by Danish creator Thomas Dam in the late ’50s, the impish looking troll dolls took the world by storm in the ’60s and ’70s. However, it wasn’t until the clever artists at DreamWorks reinvented the diminutive creatures in the 2016 feature directed by Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell that the property really took off in a spectacular way.

The studio’s third Trolls outing, Trolls Band Together, is one of the highlights of the theatrical calendar in November, and fortunately, we were able to bring you an early sneak peek at the movie this month. Our longtime contributor Tom McLean brings us a special look at the making of this innovative and highly energetic threequel which includes insightful commentary by director Walt Dohrn, producer Gina Shay and some of the other key members of the artistic team. We hope it whets your appetite to catch this movie on the big screen with jazzed up audiences of fans, where it was meant to be seen, when it opens in a few weeks.

Many of us remember early fall being the ideal time for many TV outlets to introduce viewers to their new shows. Those rigid, welldefined TV seasons are things of the past, but October continues to be a busy month for small-screen premieres. This month, for example, we have Tiny Toons Looniversity, Young Love, Scavengers Reign, Fright Krewe and Captain Laserhawk all making their much-anticipated debuts on various streaming outlets. You can read all about the fascinating stories behind these excellent shows in this month’s issue. Thanks to Karen Idelson, Jeff Spry and Devin Nealy for doing such fantastic jobs in getting to the heart and soul of each one of these new toons in their feature stories.

We have two big animation event spotlights in this issue as well. The first one should be familiar to anyone who is interested in the global animation content scene: MIPCOM’s organizers are planning a big year for the animation professionals who travel to the Cannes market October 16-19. You can read about some of the event’s newsmakers in this month’s issue, and we’ll keep you updated on breaking news from the Croisette on our website (and newsletter) during the market. We also have a great preview of this year’s Animation Is Film festival, which will bring a rich collection of global animated features to the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood the weekend of October 18-22. In addition to the U.S. premiere of Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, the organizers have assembled quite a dazzling lineup of acclaimed titles for the 2023 edition of the festival. Also on tap are wonderful sneak peeks and spotlights on studio fare such as Disney’s Wish and Illumination’s Migration for die-hard fans.

One last thing: Despite all of this year’s many challenges, our annual World Animation Summit is shaping up to be a fantastic one. Event director Kim Derevlany has been working ‘round the clock to bring the industry’s biggest movers and shakers to our three-day confab (November 1-3) at The Garland hotel in N. Hollywood (animationmagazine.net/summit). Don’t forget to pick up your early bird discounted tickets soon! We look forward to raising a toast to the future of our favorite art form together. I hope you enjoy this issue, and don’t forget: Our big awards season tabloid-size issue is coming up next, so go to our website and subscribe now. Being the most animation-savvy person in your friends circle was never easier!

NOVEMBER 2023

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“I can’t describe the feelings it gives you. It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture, because it takes away your soul. It takes away from your soul or psyche. It’s like a robot taking away your humanity or soul.”

—  Director Tim Burton on the AI recreations of his trademark style in The Independent

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Trolls Band Together

Animation Planner

October

1

Dan Harmon’s Greek mythology spoof Krapopolis descends from Olympus to join the FOX Animation Domination tonight’s season premieres of toon stalwarts The Simpsons (S35), Family Guy (S22) and Bob’s Burgers (S14).

2 DreamWorks

Animation’s Fright Krewe takes Hulu and Peacock subscribers to a demonplagued New Orleans imagined by horror master Eli Roth and James Frey.

4 Brand Licensing

Europe is back in ExCeL London for three days, connecting consumer products creators with fan-favorite brands and animation companies from across the continent and around the globe. [brandlicensing.eu]

6 Signe

Baumane’s My Love Affair with Marriage gets a limited U.S. release through 8 Above, opening today in The Quad (N.Y.C.), Oct. 12 at the Laemmle Royal and Oct. 13 at the Laemmle Glendale (L.A.)

13

Paying

homage to 1930s Christie classics, Spanish CG flick Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow is ready to capture family audiences in its web, released Stateside through Viva Pictures.

13

Cannes kicks off its big content markets MIPJunior (Oct. 13-15) and MIPCOM (Oct. 16-19) — the perfect chance to make connections, touch base with farflung colleagues and discover the next international toon hit! [mipjunior.com | mipcom.com]

15 Adult Swim’s dimension-hopping antiheroes return in Rick and Morty Season 7, and fans will experience the first murmurings of the new soundalikes.

20

Stephen Fry stars in The Canterville Ghost, the new animated adaptation of the Oscar Wilde classic, in U.S. theaters through Blue Fox.

26 An android detective uncovers an unprecedented evil bent on world destruction in the Netflix Original anime Pluto, based on the hit manga by Naoki Urasawa, inspired by Osamu Tezuka.

27

Apple TV+ debuts CURSES!, a spooky adventure-comedy from DreamWorks about fixing a family hex. The 5th LightBox Expo will present hundreds of artists and special guests over three days at the Pasadena Convention Center in SoCal. [2023. lightboxexpo.com]

October Animation Festivals

Anima Cinefest [Hamilton, New York | filmfreeway.com/AnimaCinefest] AnimEst [Bucharest, Romania | animest.ro]

BIAF2023 [Bucheon, S. Korea | biaf.or.kr]

CRAFTanimfest [Yogyakarta, Indonesia | craftanimfest.org/2023]

DOK Leipzig [Leipzig, Germany | dok-leipzig.de]

Fredrikstad Animation Festival [Fredrikstad, Norway | animationfestival.no]

Linoleum [Kyiv, Ukraine | linoleumfest.com]

Punto Y Raya [Lisbon, Portugal | puntoyrayafestival.com]

VIEW Conference [Turin, Italy | viewconference.it]

To get your company’s events and products listed in this monthly calendar, please e-mail

Krapopolis

Fright Krewe Pluto

Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow

My Love Affair with Marriage

Rick and Morty

The Canterville Ghost

FRAME-BY-FRAME

The Must-Have List

The Art of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Avowed Turtles fan and animation author Jim Sorensen takes readers from the sewers to the streets of N.Y.C. through interviews with director Jeff Rowe, producers Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg and other leads on this latest blockbuster incarnation. Fans can soak up the film’s sketchbook influenced design and richly gritty details with a range of production artwork to accompany these behindthe-scenes insights in this cowabunga-worthy hardcover! [IDW | $40 | Oct. 10]

The Art of DreamWorks

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Unleash the artistry of DWA’s latest original comedy-adventure, which puts a unique sea monster spin on the classic girls’ coming-of-age story. Dive into the superb studio’s process of writing, designing and polishing this summer splash, guided by author Ian R. Morris (A

Field Guide to Croods: A New Age), with a foreword by the film’s star, Lana Condor. [Cameron Books | $50 | Oct. 31]

Drawing 100 Years of Disney Wonder

Like it says on the tin, “a retrospective collection of artwork featuring iconic Disney characters from the past 100 years.” Penned by Disney historian Jim Fanning with foreword and exclusive behind-the-scenes details from Disney Legend Andreas Deja, this 240-page guide offers step-by-step drawing projects ranging from Mickey’s origins in the 1920s through the studios’ Golden, Silver & Renaissance eras into the modern span of hits, including Pixar pals, up through the 2020s heroes of Onward, Encanto and Turning Red. [Walter Foster Pub. | $40]

Local Fauna: The Art of Peter de Sève

A288-page hardcover showcasing the masterful strokes of the artist, illustrator and character

designer (Ice Age, Finding Nemo, The Little Prince), spanning 40 years of work. Plus, an in-depth interview with Bill Watterson and essays by Glen Kene, Mike Mignola and others. [Cernunnos | $40 | Oct. 10]

Peanuts Inspiration Deck: A Deck and Guidebook for Life and Laughter

Forty full-color cards featuring Sparky Schulz’s iconic characters and their comic-strip world, plus an 88-page guide book full of inspirational messages and Peanuts wisdom. [RP Studio | $30 | Oct. 10]

Anime through the Looking Glass: Treasures of Japanese Animation

Exploring themes in the genre such as war, technology, society and fantasy, this hardcover celebration comes to life with 150 full-color frames from acclaimed anime from Akira and Nausicaä to Ghost in the Shell and Your Name. [Prestel | $40]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Blu-ray Bonus Features (90+ min.): Obscure

Spiders and Easter Eggs

• Deleted Scene:

Miguel Calling • “I’mma Do My Own Thing”

Interdimensional Destiny • Across the World: Designing New Dimensions

• Designing Spiders and Spots

• Scratches, Score and the Music of the Multiverse

• Escape from Spider-Society • Across the Comics-Verse • Lyric Videos • Filmmaker Commentary [Sony | 4K $30, BD $25, DVD $35]

Elemental

Bonus Features: Carl’s Date (Short Film)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Disney100 4K remaster.

Bonus Features: In Walt’s Words • Iconography • @DisneyAnimation: Designing Disney’s First Princess • The Fairest Facts of Them All • Alternate Sequence • and more! [Disney | $25, retailer exclusives available | Oct. 10]

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Bonus Features: Deleted Scenes • Super Sea Girl Besties • Make Your Own Aquarium • and more! [Universal | BD $25, DVD $20]

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Blu-ray Bonus Features: Art Gallery • Trailers [Shout! Factory | $23]

• Next Stop: Element City

• Ember and Wade

• Paths to Pixar: The Immigrant Experience

• Deleted Scenes (five)

• Filmmaker Commentary

[Disney-Pixar | BD $27, varies by retailer / exclusive sets]

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm 30th anniversary 4K remaster.

Bonus Features: Kevin Conroy: I Am the Knight (New Featurette) • Justice League: Unlimited Bonus Episode [Warner | $34] ◆

— Mercedes Milligan

BroZone’s Back Together Again!

The talented creative team behind DreamWorks’ holiday release Trolls Band Together give us an exclusive preview of their stunning handiwork.

- By Tom McLean -

What happens when something in your past that you’ve been trying to avoid catches up with you?

If you’re a Troll, like Queen Poppy (Anna Kendrick) or Branch (Justin Timberlake), it’s an excuse for a glitter-filled road trip that exposes you to a wider world of textures, tunes and boy bands in Trolls Band Together

The DreamWorks Animation threequel starts by revealing that Branch was the youngest member of the boy band BroZone, with his brothers John Dory (Eric André), Spruce (Daveed Diggs), Floyd (Troye Sivan) and Clay (Kid Cudi). When the band breaks up, the brothers go their separate ways. So when John Dory shows up asking for Branch’s help in rescuing Floyd, who’s being used by the teen pop duo Velvet and Veneer (voiced by Amy Schumer and Andrew Rannells) to cover their own lack of talent, it’s time to hit the road — and get the band back together.

A Different Kind of Road Movie

“I feel like the Trolls’ world allows us even more room to play, because we can go to unexpected lands,” says producer Gina Shay. “Our movie is a road picture and there are always surprises everywhere, so there are psychedelic worlds, and we could basically really use our imaginations a lot. A lot of the look was originally based on a DIY aspect and was kind of spun out from there, so it feels cohesive.”

The previous film, Trolls World Tour, had also taken the Trolls characters out of the felt and fiber world that made their debut film so visually striking, but Walt Dohrn — a veteran of the franchise, who has returned to the director’s chair for this installment — wanted to spend more time in each world.

Moving away from felt and fiber was initially a surprise, says production designer Ruben Perez Reynoso, but it also provided an opportunity to use the underlying idea behind the visuals of Trolls to design the new worlds based on the theme of materials and

styles from past eras. For example, when designing Vacay Island, where Spruce (now calling himself Bruce) has started a large family that runs a tropical beach resort, there were plenty of options.

“We tried macrame, we tried sand — all sorts of different things — and finally arrived at, well, what if everything is water themed?” he says. “That influenced all our decisions about how we were going to design it. The forest was made out of foam noodles and inflatables, the water was made out of those little water beads kids play around with and clog your shower with, so it just turned out to be like another sandbox for us.”

The road later brings the group to an abandoned amusement park, which a group of Trolls have converted into a refuge from their former enemies, the Bergens. “It had the scale of a human or a Bergen, so the sets that the Trolls lived in were made up of candy and little prizes from the prize box,” Perez Reynoso says. “The couches in this set were made out of marshmallows, and the coffee table was a

‘I feel like the Trolls’ world allows us even more room to play because we can go to unexpected lands. Our movie is a road picture and there are always surprises everywhere, so there are psychedelic worlds, and we could basically really use our imaginations a lot.’

yo-yo, and that was a lot of fun.”

The park also steered the plot back toward family reunions with the introduction of Vivo (Camila Cabello), who turns out to be the sister Poppy never knew she had. Dohrn says the idea came about when the film was in production during the COVID pandemic, and everyone’s relationship with their family changed to either complete isolation or total engagement.

Boy Band Nostalgia

Going into boy band territory was a natural, given the real-life history of franchise superstar Timberlake, who started his career

in the 1990s as the lead vocalist for NSYNC. The director says they got there in a bit of a roundabout way, starting with the idea of family bands — the Bee Gees, Billie Eilish and Finneas, the Beach Boys, etc. — and evolving into a focus on boy bands, with Timberlake’s blessing.

“He really embraced the idea, and he developed it along with us,” Dohrn says. “He has a super healthy, good attitude about it, and I think he’s at the time now where he’s far enough away from it that it was fun for him to reminisce as well.”

Another key challenge was differentiating the brother characters — as well as Poppy and

areas to be similar and the right areas to push out,” Heitz says. For example, you’ll see similarities between the facial structure of

- Producer Gina Shay

NEW FRIENDS AND FOES: The new chapter in the Trolls saga takes Branch and Poppy on the road to reunite Branch’s brothers and to find a kidnapped Floyd.

related characters, “but then we realized that in terms of the body shape and the hair shape and all that stuff, that’s where you could really push a lot, and that helps sort of define how each character kind of lived their life,” he notes.

If a story’s only as good as its villains, then Trolls Band Together is in good shape. Velvet and Veneer are a pair of talentless teens who achieve celebrity by sucking the musical talent out of Floyd. The process is slowly killing Branch’s older bro, who’s trapped in a diamond cell that can only be broken by the pure notes of musical family harmony.

Unlike the Trolls, Velvet and Veneer are dolllike creatures with plasticine hair, shiny plastic skin, rubber hose movements and a resemblance to 1930s animated characters such as Betty Boop. “We wanted them to possess these kind of the opposite values of the Trolls,” Dohrn says. “But their design was really complex because we started just drawing in kind of generic shapes before we figured out who they were.”

Their assistant, Crimp (Zosia Mamet), steals every scene she’s in, and was a case of a simple idea that turned into a real technical challenge. Heitz says the idea originally came from the care packages DreamWorks would send the crew while they worked on the movie remotely during the COVID-19 lockdowns. “Our character designer was like, oh, what if she’s made up of all that crimped paper?” Heitz says. “It fits with the idea that she is like this frazzled assistant.” It proved to be one of

the more difficult characters to animate.

Animation fans will surely take note of the 2D sequences, created in collaboration with Titmouse. They occur when the heroes hit the “hustle” button in their walking vehicle Rhonda — which is a mix between a 1970s RV that walks like a dog, a submarine and a soccer ball — and things speed up as an iconic disco theme kicks in. The sequences tap into a lot of 2D aesthetics you wouldn’t expect from a DreamWorks feature: R. Crumb comics, The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine and low-fi 1990s cartoons such as Beavis and Butt-Head and Ren & Stimpy

With so much music — and choreography — in the movie, it’s important to decide on the tunes early enough to incorporate them into the production schedule, even with a temp track, early enough to achieve the right final effect. “We have to put that in the schedule properly, but we are able to move forward fairly well with what we have, even if it’s not the exact vocal performance yet,” Dohrn says.

The climactic sequence sees the Troll trying to rescue Floyd before the superficial singing duo can drain the last of his energy during a concert that evolves from a stage show into a bumper-car chase on roller coaster tracks.

“That one was its own particular brand of insanity,” says Dohrn. The crew worked for a time on a third act that was maybe more emotionally resonant, but didn’t match the excitement the story seemed to promise its audience. The result was exciting because it was challenging and original. “We looked and looked, but I

couldn’t really find a movie that combined the balletic nature of a car chase mixed with a musical — especially one that’s got songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Dohrn says.

Reunion Fever

The sequence was built starting with beat boards, with elements added in — and taken out — until finding a version that’s exciting, coherent and that all the departments on the film could pour their creativity into. “It’s a little bit of a madness, and it still amazes me today,” Dohrn says.

And at the end of it all, there was still one question that had been asked over and over during production that had still not been answered: If it’s about boy bands, and it’s got Justin Timberlake in it, will there be an NSYNC reunion?

“That was the question at the beginning of the movie,” Dohrn says. “I’m like, ‘No, not at all. That’s not Justin’s thing anymore.’”

But at one point, there was a boy band medley in the movie that included an NSYNC song, and ideas started to spark. “I think it came from Justin at one point that was a little bit later in the process,” Dohrn says. “I think once everything started coming together, and we saw what it was doing as far as boy bands goes, and I think it just started there … If they’ll do it, this would be an amazing thing to do.” ◆

Will they, or won’t they? Find out when Trolls Band Together hits theaters November 22.

‘We’re big fans of psychedelic animated cinema like Yellow Submarine and Fantasia. It’s that was really fun to be able to use all kinds of different animation styles with shadow puppets, more stop motion, I think puppets in general are a big influence for us. So, stylistically we got to stretch our wings a little bit.’

- Director Walt Dohrn

WILD WORLDS: The artists were able to play with different types of animation, including 2D and throwbacks to classic Fleischer toons, as they took the protagonists through different, surreal worlds on their journey.

Tim Heinz

L’Amour and Other Strange Biological Phenomena

Award-winning director Signe Baumane discusses the making of her insightful 2D-animated feature My Love Affair with Marriage.

After winning numerous festival awards over the past two years, Signe Baumane’s acclaimed feature My Love Affair with Marriage will finally get a theatrical run this month in the U.S. thanks to distributor 8 Above. This second hand-drawn feature from the Latvian-born, Brooklyn-based animation artist centers on a spirited young woman determined to find love in the bewildering modern world. The film features the voices of Matthew Modine, Dagmara Domińczyk, Michele Pawk, Cameron Monaghan and Stephen Lang. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, has screened at over 90 films festivals world and won over 20 awards, including the Grand Prix at Animafest Zagreb. Baumane was kind enough to answer a few of our questions in an email interview:

Animation Magazine: Congrats on the ongoing success of your funny, poignant and personal movie. Can you please give us some background on it? Signe Baumane:  I made a lot of short films about sex and I made one feature film about depression. In my new film, I want to combine the two themes — so I am making a film about marriage. After my first animated feature film,  Rocks In My Pockets, I wanted to make a film about my second marriage to a self-described gender-bending man, a fellow animator. I thought it was a very dramatic story of how we project our desires and hopes on another person. Early in the process of writing it, I got distracted by a question: “Why did we want to marry?” I had to investigate. That led to the whole history of a young woman’s search for love.

When did you begin work on it and how long did it take to produce?

I started writing the script in September 2015. It took a year and two months to write it, because I also had to do science research. Then we had to put some funding together and find partnerships. We started production in earnest in 2017 and continued it through the pandemic until June 2021. The post production took another year.

How many people worked on the movie with you?

The production really settled in around late 2018, and then we had pretty good teams collaborating in Brooklyn, U.S. and Riga, Latvia. We had a team of six people in Brooklyn — building sets, coloring, lighting, photographing, animating, shading, scanning drawings, etc., etc. In Latvia a team of 10 artists colored the animation drawings in Photoshop with an emphasis on artistic shadows and a team of five compositors put the animation together with stop-motion backgrounds.

Signe Baumane

What are you most pleased about with the finished movie?

One of my favorite things about  My Love Affair with Marriage is the music by Kristian Sensini. He wrote 23 distinct songs and an amazing score. I love how the “Biology” music in the opening scene draws us into the story, and the end-credit song (sung by Storm Large) closes the story with a feeling of hope and possibilities. I also love the “Biology” animation segments, animated by Yajun Shi. Her particular style adds to the style of the rest of the film and still stands apart as a separate space, the world of biology. Yajun’s “Biology” segments evoke a sense of mystery.

What was the most challenging aspect of making the movie?

Definitely having to constantly fundraise. I always wished to disappear in the creative process, to think only about the characters and how to animate them, but every few months or so we had to get creative about fundraising. The other challenge was: How do you keep motivated when making a film takes seven years? There would be times when I would raise my head after animating for a year and see that I only made 15 minutes with 90 more to go, and I would start screaming (internally, of course, but it would be a desperate howl of a wounded animal). I am an impatient person, I want everything to be done yesterday.

Can you name some of your animation idols? Hayao Miyazaki, Joanna Quinn, Jan Švankmajer, Bill Plympton, Michaela Pavlátová.

When did you realize that you wanted to work in animation?

After studying philosophy for five years at Moscow State University, I was supposed to go back to Latvia and teach philosophy and, for many reasons, I didn’t want to do that. My friend Irina, who later became a famous singer in Russia, pointed out that instead of writing down the lectures I filled my notebooks with doodles. “I want to see them move,” she said. “Why don’t you go into animation?” As I was organizing my doodles into storyboards, I realized this was it. This was the thing I was born to do.

And what was the biggest lesson you learned from this movie?

When we started the project back in 2015, we thought the next year we would have a woman president in the U.S.A. Since then, we had many major movements, societal upheavals, backlashes — and, now, a horrifying Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sometimes it was hard to sit at the table and animate when the world seemed to be either falling apart or moving in a new direction. But I did have a feeling that the film is relevant to our current times. The biggest take away from this experience is that the connection between me and the film’s 1,685 backers via our regular newsletters and their response to those newsletters was an absolute necessity in the process. Our supporters’ trust in me and the project carried me through the doubt and uncertainty. It made the lonely process of animating less lonely and assured me and our team that we were on the right track.

What is your take on the broader animation landscape today, especially compared to when you

started out?

It is a complex, big question that requires a thoughtful and sophisticated answer — I am only an independent animator playing in my own sandbox. I am happy to see that there are more and more women directors directing animated feature films and there are more women-centric stories. My pet peeve is that animation is considered by mainstream media and general audiences as a medium exclusively for children, dismissing the amazing potential of what animation can do for adult audiences.

A new development in the industry is that with all the streamers, VODs and SVODs, etc., etc., a film is now called “content” and the filmmaker / artist a “content creator.” I think once you buy into this notion that you are making “content” you dismiss yourself as an artist. An artist’s mission is to break new ground, to discover new vistas, new possibilities for the art form and for society. A content creator’s mission is to make money by remaking what has been already made. An artist’s mission is to challenge existing paradigms, aspire for new discoveries.

What do you hope audiences will take away from your movie?

I hope the audiences will walk out of the film humming the end credits song, “Lion,” charged with hope, understanding and desire to make the world a better place, starting with themselves. ◆

My Love Affair with Marriage screens in select theaters in North America beginning October 6. You can find out more at myloveaffairwithmarriagemovie.com.

MEN AND OTHER HEADACHES: Signe Baumane’s award-winning film follows a woman on her 23-year quest for a lasting marriage against a backdrop of historic events in Eastern Europe.

Camp Horror

Gonzo filmmaker Zach Passero pays homage to ‛50s B-movies and ‛80s comingof-age classics with his indie feature, The Weird Kidz.

- by Rich Johnson -

Horror and animation are still a rare hybrid, especially outside the realms of anime. Having received its European premiere at London’s FrightFest back in August, Zach Passero’s The Weird Kidz only reinforces this, having been the lonesome “cartoon” presented to the hordes of eager horror fans that attended the festival.

Eight years in the making, Passero’s film feels like a graffitied schoolbook brought to life — a crudely animated love letter to ’50s B-movies, coming-of-age adventures from the ’80s and the ’90s slacker mentality. There is an inherent DIY sensibility at play here reminiscent of EC Comics and MTV’s animated shows; Liquid Television, Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria — influences not so much worn but smeared across its juvenile sleeve … and all of this is part of its weird charm.

Strange Influences

Although Passero mentions his fondness for Sesame Street and Disney movies growing up, it’s no surprise that his tastes would align more with those animated movies that

fall outside the mainstream. He adds, “At some point, I remember my mom buying  Yellow Submarine when my sister and I were kids. This Beatles-inspired animation was a gamechanger for me. I loved the aesthetic, the character and the background designs. It was an exposure to a whole other idea of what animation could be and how it could be used almost impressionistically to tell a story or convey an emotion.”

The inception of such strange and uncanny worlds was fueled all the more by discovering René Laloux’s 1972 oddity Fantastic Planet as a teenager, “It just totally grabbed me, took me to another universe and reality and left me in awe. I loved the textures and the animation, and I  loved that it was telling a different type of story with animation. It felt alien in as much as it was about aliens.” Other animators and directors who left a lasting impression were the inimitable Bill Plympton, Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass — The Hobbit and The Last Unicorn, in particular — as well as filmmakers Tod Browning, David Lynch, John Waters and Miranda July.

When he became infatuated with stop-motion at an early age, Passero began to play with

the technique using the family VHS player. “It only recorded one frame per second, at best, but it was better than nothing.” A few years later, he was inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas. This led to him relentlessly pursuing (and eventually securing) an internship at Skellington Productions — Henry Selick and Tim Burton’s Disney arm for stop-motion — working on Selick’s next feature James and the Giant Peach during the mid-’90s.

In light of such idiosyncratic influences, Passero’s “creative landscape” was fueled all the more by his film school education that infused a love of old-school creature features. “Many of those films were actually pretty innovative, progressive and subversive in their messages,” states Passero, who takes similar care with the weird world he has created; not only bringing to life the animated equivalent of hokey animatronics but also how a monster may become more relatable than the human characters.

A Gonzo Heart

The Weird Kidz came about when Passero and his wife, Hannah, found out they were expecting a child. “In the mental sea change that

came with preparing for parenthood, I became really pensive about my life and growing up; all the things that made me, me,” he recalls. This put his life in perspective and reminded him of the things that had inspired his formative years; the films and stories that made him want to become a filmmaker and animator, as well as the reality of raising and protecting a child. This crucial nurturing element is at the heart of The Weird Kidz and contrasts the crude adult humor and gore, as we witness the central threat — dubbed the “Night Child” — also carefully tending to its brood.

Having worked closely as an editor over the years for cult filmmaker Lucky McKee (who also served as a producer), Passero always dreamt of making an animated feature inspired by a mix of real and imagined adventures; one that captured the “unruliness of puberty and the conflicting ideas and feelings that you should be one way or another to impress people.”

There is, therefore, a natural sense of rebellion and punk attitude at play in the film, which he describes as “the feeling of a world gone crazy.” “It’s such a pivotal and surreal time,” he adds. “but, as wild and bonkers as the events of the film become, as touched upon already, it was really important for me to capture a sense of sincerity and empathy — especially when it came to the kids and the creatures.” Indeed, an

important throughline of emotion that ties it all together.

A sucker for folk horror, Passero also traverses that deeply disturbing underbelly of the Hollyweird, populating his animated feature with cult leaders and their rituals worshipping the Night Child. Disturbing as some of the scenes are, the mix of tone throughout remains surprisingly in tune, and, despite being a crudely animated feature, it still manages to provide an emotional journey in which the storytelling, editing and direction elevate the production. Ultimately, it’s a fun ride: a gonzo version of The Goonies vs. Them!

“The heart of ‘gonzo’ filmmaking has always appealed to me. One of the reasons that it took so long to produce was because of being so independent, while working the day job,” says Passero, who edited nine features over the years as he worked on The Weird Kidz. “I’d work the day editing eight to 10 hours, go home to spend a little time with the family, and then when everyone was asleep, animate for six to eight hours.”

No matter how “thick the forest grew,” he never questioned whether the film, which was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign, would be finished. “One thing that helped keep me moving was culpability,” he admits. “Once Lucky McKee was encouraging me and came on as a producer, then these amazing actors followed

who also believed in the project. Although it was a more drawn-out process, it eventually all came together when we received grants and a successful crowdfunding campaign.”

Animated in Toon Boom Harmony, the backgrounds were painted digitally by Hannah in Clip Studio Paint and then composited in After Effects. “I was very fortunate getting to collaborate with sound designer Andrew Smetek. He was on board from day one recording voice actors. Then, as I completed stretches of the production, he would start sketching in the sound design elements. I then took the film to my colorist friend Ryan Orozco at Cheeky Monkey Post for final finishing. After some conversations about how it should feel, he designed the overall ‘sheen’ of the final cut, adding a beautiful vibe and texture of halation as well as a particular color that would have come with making film prints in the ’80s.”

So, what next for Passero? “It sounds demented, but I’m really jonesing to start something new. I miss animating, as for almost eight years non-stop, it was a constant in my life. This became a daily escape, meditation and obsession. No matter what, there will always be that part of me that has a personal project that I work on late at night and obsess about. It’s in my blood.” ◆

For more information, visit theweirdkidz.com.

‘There’s the feeling of a world gone crazy … It’s such a pivotal and surreal time, but, as wild and bonkers as the events of the film become, it was really important for me to capture a sense of sincerity and empathy.’

- Director Zach Passero

GOONIES GONE WRONG: When a group of kids go camping in the desert, they realize that there might be more truth to an urban legend known as the Night Child in The Weird Kidz .

Savage Planet

How Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner’s acclaimed short inspired Max’s thrilling new sci-fi series, Scavengers Reign.

- By Jeff Spry -

Scavengers Reign, a smart new 2D animated series primed for launch on Max in October, was spawned from Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner’s acclaimed 2016 sci-fi short, Scavengers

The imaginative eight-minute film was first viewed on Adult Swim’s Toonami block and told the phantasmagoric tale of two astronauts marooned on the planet Vesta Minor, who discover a way to catch a glimpse of their home planet by following a specific order of steps utilizing the planet’s strange assortment of flora and fauna. Its slightly surreal qualities and touching humanism made Scavengers a bona fide hit which fans absorbed on multiple emotional levels.

Ecology and Desire

Believing that this short had serious potential as an animated adventure, Max greenlit a 12-episode series arriving this fall, with its intriguing take on biosphere health, the harmony of nature and ecological connectivity relating to desire, memory and perception.

Co-created and executive produced by ani-

mators, writers and directors Bennett and Huettner, Scavengers Reign was first unveiled at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, greatly expanding the narrative beyond the haunting source material. Benjy Brooke (Love, Death + Robots) serves as Scavengers Reign’s supervising director alongside executive producers Chris Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, Shannon Prynoski and Ben Kalina for Titmouse. The series was co-executive produced by Sean Buckelew and James Merrill for Green Street Pictures.

“Scavengers began when someone at Adult Swim who was making smaller short-form content reached out and said they’d been watching our shorts online and was wondering if we were interested in doing something with them,” Bennett tells Animation Magazine. “I’d been interested in a short film that had no dialog, so I pitched him a very rough animatic of what I was going for.”

Bennett’s creative partner, Charles Huettner, loved the idea of a sort of Rube Goldberg machine at its root and the cause-and-effect of seeing that process play out in nature, with layers of

symbiotic relationships and mutually beneficial interactions between creatures and plants.

“We had some ideas back and forth about the look of it,” says Bennett. “I was anticipating doing something a bit [rougher]. But Charles did a beautiful background inspired by Moebius. So it took about a year to do, we had about $14,000 to do it and we were reaching out to friends here and there to do certain scenes. Mike Lazzo was running Adult Swim at the time and he was really excited, and soon after, we started talking about it being a series. I was so into the idea of doing a series with no dialog, but it didn’t seem like they were keen on it at all — and they’re probably right.”

From 2018 to 2019, Bennett and Huettner worked on the pilot while the project was still at Adult Swim, but it fizzled out after nervous executives thought it might not be the right fit for their slate.

“Then it died out until HBO Max started to blossom, and these new executives saw Scavengers and thought it was great and wanted to turn it into something. It took about two years to finish all 12 episodes. Scavengers Reign is a co-pro-

duction between Titmouse and Green Street. We have a big crew of international animators that I’ve worked with for over a decade. A lot of them are French and they pretty much gave it a French influence matched to a Korean style.”

During the research phase, Bennett remembers reading about Lynn Margulis and the Gaia Hypothesis and the Earth seen as one sentient being that we’re all just living bacteria upon.

“There’s a consciousness to it, and these castaways get there in the series and realize that it’s a very hostile planet and pretty merciless,” he notes. “But if you can go with the flow and don’t fight it, you will make it out alive. There are characters along the way struggling with inner turmoil and others that understand this consciousness that exists and the fact it’s a highly intellectual world and everything around them is living and breathing and connected. We tried to put as much of that trial and error stuff from the short into the series, and the short is pretty vague about how long they’ve been there. The series has a little bit more of a timeline.”

Part of the appeal of their original short was that viewers became so involved that they became an active participant in the intricate routine performed while inhabiting this weird world and its menagerie. Bennett and his team were challenged in myriad ways envisioning many more alien denizens of Vesta Minor.

“We quickly realized that it was almost impossible to come up with things in some form or fash-

ion that don’t already exist in some version here,” says Bennett. “Nature is extremely weird the deeper you get, so we decided to just cherry-pick and pull from things that already exist in nature and go from there. The cool thing in the series is that the characters are pretty stagnant in their home base areas and are familiar with the creatures and plants around them. But at the end of the pilot, you realize there’s a new location that they need to go to, which is entirely traversing the entire planet. They’re running into totally new environments and creatures along the way and it’s taking them by surprise. So they’re using a lot of the resources they had, like living organisms, to help them get through, but it’s just one new challenge after another.”

Natural Impact

By comparison, Bennett asks us to think of the negative footprint that we have on our own planet, then imagine one that’s exponentially crazier on this made-up planet where you do one wrong thing and there’s a massive butterfly effect that ripples out.

“I was watching a lot of animal documentaries at the time and trying to look at examples of these

SPACE ODDITY: The crew of a damaged deep space freighter are stranded on a beautiful but dangerous planet in the new Max sci-fi series, Scavengers Reign .

types of symbiotic relationships,” Bennett adds. “There’s this white dove that lives in the Sonoran Desert that eats off the cacti, and when it flies off and shits it’s propagating and allowing the cacti to grow more and more. So we were taking that and coming up with our version of it, which has an impact on the characters themselves.”

“I was also thinking about vore fetish, where characters sort of live inside each other,” he notes. “The idea of creatures on this planet that people could use as a utility, where they’re inside and operate it like a machine with all the organs. There was no real intention of this becoming part of the sci-fi genre, but instead thought of it as more nature oriented. We were both very fortunate to get this made. It was a lot of work and stressful and very surreal. Anything I’ve been proud of in the past comes with a little pain.”

Scavengers Reign premieres on Max on October 19.

'Nature is extremely weird the deeper you get, so we decided to just cherry-pick and pull from things that already exist in nature and go from there.'

— Co-creator and executive producer Joe Bennett

A Synthwave Hero Rises

Creator Adi Shankar discusses the ideas and inspirations behind his new series

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.

- By Devin Nealy -

With their new six-part series

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, streaming giant Netflix and video game powerhouse Ubisoft have given writer and creator Adi Shankar free rein to blend television and retro video games as much as possible. “This feels like a video game world come to life,” says Shankar of his new show, which premieres this month on Netflix. “At the end of the day, I would also compare it to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, because it’s a whole new universe like [Robert] Zemeckis made, but then he populated it with known IP.”

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk version of Earth in 1992, where a powerful corporation named Eden has seized control of America. Through their nefarious manipulation of the media and currency, Eden has turned most of the American populace into a docile slave class. Dolph Laserhawk, the series’ protagonist,

is a cyborg super soldier who formerly served as one of Eden’s top enforcers, and now finds himself captured in the corporation’s prison facility known as Supermaxx. Once inside Supermaxx, Laserhawk and a ragtag crew of fellow prisoners made up of a few iconic Ubisoft characters are forced to carry out several violent clandestine missions for their captors.

“On one level, [I wanted] to deconstruct the archetypical Western action hero and put this guy on a spiritual journey of self-discovery,” says Shankar, who is best known for executive producing the anime-style video game adaptation Castlevania. “[It’s] a little Joseph Campbell, but growing up in the East, I’m also inspired by Eastern stories and archetypes.”

Readying Player One

Similar to the medley of influences that permeate the visual style and narrative of Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, Shankar’s worldview is a tapestry of interconnected cul-

tural perspectives that help shape his work. “So, I was born in India, and at the age of five I moved to Hong Kong and then Singapore and then back to Hong Kong,” says Shankar. “I moved to America when I was 15, by myself.”

Touting his love for American pop culture as the impetus behind his decision to venture to the States, Shankar’s affinity for various forms of media is on full display in Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. “I love world creation, and I’m a constant pontificator of alternate history and alternate timelines,” says Shankar. “Moving a lot as a kid creates this instability psychologically where you’re constantly extrapolating on the different micro decisions and macro decisions that will make your life play out in different ways.”

As the “remix” in Captain Laserhawk’s title implies, Shankar loves to concoct new projects by reevaluating the pop culture that inspired him as a child. “Most of the things I do stem from some form of alternate history, or, ‘What

would happen if we swap this with that?’” says Shankar. “[It’s], ‘Hey, what would happen if the Power Rangers were in their 40s and realized they were made to fight an intergalactic war and they were psyop-ed by Zordon?’“

Given Shankar’s penchant for reinterpreting classic characters through the lens of modernity, it’s easy to see why Ubisoft approached him to create Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. However, to paraphrase Willy Wonka, strike that thought and reverse it. “I came to them with this concept,” says Shankar. “This wasn’t an, ‘Oh, hey, we want to do a shared universe kind of thing.’ Like, I was working with them on some stuff, and I just kind of sent them this, and I knew right away which characters I wanted to use.”

Perfecting Game Theory

In addition to the roster of memorable Ubisoft characters that round out the show’s cast, Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix often transitions into pixel-animated segments of video game action, almost akin to how a musical breaks into song. “Originally, in the script, I was like, ‘Hey, I want to do this mixed media thing,’” says Shankar. “That’s the Captain N-inspired vibe, but I also wanted to use the language of different old-school video games to tell pieces of the story.”

To most people, the video game aesthetic of Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix will probably seem like the most pivotal com-

ponent of the project’s appeal. However, for Shankar, the synthwave and alternative history found in Captain Laserhawk are arguably the most compelling elements of the series. “Usually, the way it works for me is I’m working on three or four different things,” says Shankar. “And at some point, a lightbulb goes off, and I realize they’re actually the same thing. So, one is a vibe, one thing is an aesthetic and one thing is a story structure.”

When it came to the subject of vibes, Shankar has always been drawn to the moody synthwave genre, which is an intentionally atavistic reimagining of ’80s electronica. Throughout the entire series, including the show’s dynamic opening title card, reminiscent of a classic Sega Genesis game, synthwave is the bonding agent that unifies the disparate elements of Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix. Shankar, an avid devotee of the genre, felt like synthwave’s inclusion in the series was a no-brainer. “I’ve been a part of this whole synthwave thing for years,” says Shankar. “I was obsessed, and I am still obsessed with this art form be cause, in my mind, it was the first example of the internet congregat ing and coming together and creating something new that’s a memory of some thing. It’s almost like the Mandela Ef

fect, but applied to art.”

Aiding Shankar in bringing his vision to fruition is his team of collaborators at the French animation studio Bobbypills, responsible for animating or “remixing” the multimedia series — as they’re credited for in Captain Laserhawk’s opening title card. “I didn’t direct this project,” says Shankar. “This was all Bobbypills; it was [director] Mehdi Leffad; it was [studio creative director] Balak and the whole team at Bobbypills.”

And while Shankar can’t help but radiate humility and gratitude for the talented crew at Bobbypills, Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix is inextricably tied to its imaginative creator in more ways than one. “Yeah, Dolph was designed to look like me,” Shankar jokes. “So there’s also a narcissistic aspect to it … so if [the character] seems progressive, great.”

'On one level, [I wanted] to deconstruct the archetypical Western action hero and put this guy on a spiritual journey of self-discovery. [It’s] a little Joseph Campbell, but growing up in the East, I’m also inspired by Eastern stories and archetypes.'

— Writer and creator Adi Shankar

A TOTALLY RADICAL MISSION: Based on the popular Ubisoft game, Captain Laserhawk centers on a super soldier who is locked up in Eden’s top security prison and has to lead a team of rebel outcasts in risky undercover missions.

Babs and Buster Go to the ‘Harvard of Stupid’

Warner Bros. goes back to the ’90s with the laughter-packed Tiny Toons Looniversity

.

Fans of the classic Looney Tunes stories and ’90s kids have a lot of reasons to smile this fall:  Tiny Toons Looniversity, a reboot of the  Tiny Toon Adventures series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Productions, debuted on Max and Cartoon Network last month.

The new show aims to celebrate the classic animation style and humor of the past while incorporating a new adventure for the characters. This time around, Babs, Buster and their new friends Hamton, Plucky and Sweetie head off to Acme Looniversity — the premier institution of higher hijinks learning. During their time as students, they start friendships with one another and study under historic Looney Tunes characters.

The show is produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation, with Steven Spielberg, Warner Bros. Animation & Cartoon Network Studios President Sam Register and Amblin Television Presidents Justin

- By Karen Idelson -

Falvey and Darryl Frank as executive producers. Erin Gibson (Attitudes!) and Nate Cash (Adventure Time) are the toon’s co-showrunners and co-executive producers.

Throwback to the Classics

“We definitely stuck with the classic volumetric designs,” says Cash. “We didn’t try to make it graphic or more modern in any way, other than we streamlined the amount of detail on the characters — which makes it super appealing, I think. It’s a little bit skewed more towards The Simpsons.”

“That same aesthetic applies to old  Looney Tunes, like some of the first Porky Pig blackand-white shorts,” he adds. “That’s why they’re so appealing, because they’re so minimal and detailed. They have that cool, classic cartoon look, and we’re leaning a little bit towards that. So, it’s all 2D. There were a few times that the overseas studio requested to cheat with a 3D model for a golf cart or vehicles. We do it very sparingly.

That’s the trick, to make 2D characters look as 3D as possible. And I think that’s what makes the show stand out visually since that’s not something that gets done a lot in modern cartoons, where it’s so volumetric that everything is moving in Z depth.”

The series had a crew of about 50 to 60 people at Warner Bros. Animation. Most of the main crew for pre- and postproduction was located in Burbank, while a larger number of animation artists were located overseas, though WBA retains a small staff of animators who work on revisions and special scenes. There were also additional freelancers and crews at overseas production partners. Studio Redfrog in France did work on one episode and Snipple Animation Studios in the Philippines finished all other animation. For the most part, the animation was 2D done within Harmony.

Looney Tunes shorts and series have always been distinguished by their scores and songs, and this series is no exception. Cash loved work-

ing with composer Matt Johnson, who brought the sensibility they wanted to the show.

“[Matt Johnson] is amazing,” says Cash. “He redid the main title and brought in an orchestra to get that full sound to it. Also, in the episodes, sometimes we’ll need something that sounds like a pop song and says a certain thing. He’ll take our request, we’ll hear what he does and it’s exactly what we needed for the scene and super catchy. [H]e definitely understands what we need. He’s also amazing at working with the voice actors to get them to sing at their peak. The whole time, he’s doing the score for the whole episode, not just the songs — and he’s doing all of that in a hurry. By the time the show gets to him, we’ve seen the storyboards and animatics so many times over and over and over again, a lot of times with just a scratch track. But then he comes in and does the composition and suddenly he makes it flow a little bit better. It just glues everything together.”

To help voice the characters that represent the new and legacy influences of  Looney Tunes, the series brought in a talented, seasoned voice cast. The show features Emmy Award-winner Eric Bauza as Buster, Daffy and Gossamer. Ashleigh Hairston is Babs, David Errigo Jr. voices Hamton J. Pig and Plucky, and Tessa Netting ap-

pears as Sweetie Bird. The show also features  Tiny Toon Adventures alums Jeff Bergman as Bugs Bunny, Bob Bergen as Porky Pig, Candi Milo as Dean Granny and Cree Summer as Elmyra. Bergman also voices Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn, and Milo is the voice of Witch Hazel. Looney Tunes veteran actor Fred Tatasciore brings his talents to Taz and Yosemite Sam.

Cash and Gibson are both veterans of popular animated series and steeped in the history of the characters and how audiences remember them. The show updates a few things for a new generation of viewers who might not be as familiar with the stories, characters and setups as their parents and caregivers.

“Babs used to be a kind of love interest, but [Erin Gibson] decided to switch that up pretty early on,” says Cash. “She wanted to switch the romantic relationship for a sibling relationship, because they go off to college and, this way, they can be more supportive of each other. We pulled from the old show and maybe revamped characters that were more background characters. We had to fill out the campus with kind of new designs, also. But for the most part, we’re taking what was already in the old show and just continuing it.”

Familiar Faces Revisited

In addition, some legacy characters have been given key supporting roles. For example, Foghorn Leghorn is the football coach at the school, Yosemite Sam is the security guard and Granny is the dean.

“It was really fun working with these characters because they’re so classic, and people remember them for good reason,” says Cash. “We have Wile E. Coyote as one of the professors — which was a little bit of a challenge in the beginning to have a professor who doesn’t speak, but I think it became a cool hurdle to jump. The show doesn’t focus on the legacy characters that much or follow the main characters in class a lot. It’s more focused on their lives on campus, between classes. But one of the most fun characters for me to work on was Granny. She’s the dean of our school, so she was in the early parts of development. We had a drawing of her kind of sitting back at her desk like The Godfather, where she’s the badass and you wouldn’t want to mess with Granny.”

The co-showrunners also sought to uphold the puns and wacky humor established so long ago. “Erin, my co-showrunner, really loves puns, including putting them into the lyrics of songs,” says Cash. “We’re actually about not taking things too seriously. We’re more focused on having fun and trying not to be super sophisticated. We’ll go over the top for a gag. We really hope kids find it funny. My kids have been brutally honest with me about what they like. We really wanted this show to have that sense of fun that has made these characters so loved and stand the test of time.” ◆

Tiny Toons Looniversity premiered on Max and Cartoon Network in September.

A DEGREE IN ANARCHY! Tiny Toons Looniversity brings back many of the beloved characters from the Warner Bros. library and puts them in a college setting. (Oh, and Buster and Babs are now twin siblings and Hamton Pig has a Southern drawl!)

'We’re more focused on having fun and trying not to be super sophisticated. We’ll go over the top for a gag. We really hope kids find it funny.'

— Co-showrunner and executive producer Nate Cash

Sharing the Love

Creator Matthew A. Cherry opens up about his big-hearted new Max series Young Love, based on his Oscar-winning short.

- By Ramin Zahed -

In 2019, Matthew A. Cherry’s Oscar-winning animated short Hair Love offered a beautiful snapshot of a Black father learning to fix his young daughter’s hair while his wife was away at the hospital. Now, the beloved project has inspired Young Love, a charming new series that premiered on Max last month and continues to air new episodes throughout October. The show offers a comedic look at the lives of Black millennial parents Stephen Love (voiced by Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi) and Angela Young (Issa Rae). It also highlights how this tight-knit Chicago family juggles careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues and multi-generational dynamics while striving to make a better life for themselves.

Cherry, who has also directed popular live-action shows such as Abbot Elementary, Ghosts and Black-ish and was a production consultant on Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, says the journey of making his

new show has been one full of happy accidents.

“I think what started it all was working with Vashti Harrison, who illustrated our original Hair Love book,” he says. “She had done an illustration for a friend of mine, and the hair looked so realistic that we just went from there. Now she has five books on the New York Times Best Sellers list. When I started working with her, we thought, ‘Wow, maybe one day we can have a TV show.’ So early on in the process, we were trying to figure out the right format, and we realized a TV series would make the best sense. We pitched the show a month before the Oscars to take advantage of the short’s momentum, and Max became a great partner from the very beginning.”

A Family Affair

Cherry says one of the advantages of basing a series on the short was they had already done a lot of deep development on the char-

acters and their world. “We knew from the outset that they lived in this brownstone building on the West Side of Chicago,” he notes. “The series happens about two months after the events of the short, so there aren’t too many dramatic changes. We knew their personalities, and the fact that Zuri (voiced by Brooke Monroe Conaway) was a very outspoken six-year old. She’s aged up a bit and is slightly taller from the short.”

Zuri’s dad, Stephen, is a music producer who doesn’t like conflict very much, so he just kind of goes along with everything, explains the show creator. He adds, “Angela is coming out of that health scare that she had in the short. She has a day job at a natural hair salon, and a big arc in the first season is her getting back to herself. She has a renewed sense of purpose, while also wanting to be there for her kid.”

Cherry also mentions that the series format allowed them to include new characters like Angela’s parents, played by Loretta Devine

and Harry Lennix. “We were lucky to have these great actors voice them and showcase their great personalities,” he notes. “We get to understand their great dynamic with Zuri, and also explore Stephen’s job as a music producer and Angela’s world with the co-workers at the shop, as well as Zuri’s friends at school.”

The production team put on a nationwide search to find the perfect young girl to voice Zuri. “We were initially debating whether it should be an adult or a real kid voicing the character, because it just feels more organic,” recalls Cherry. “Eventually, it just felt right to have a real kid representing Zuri. We wanted her to be a real kid, so we were very excited when we found Brooke Monroe Conaway, who is from Baltimore and is very grounded. To me, she is one of the best parts of the show, because she’s having these very adult conversations but she still has this very cute quality in her voice. I think both kids and adults can really connect to her scenes, as we were trying hard to make it a great co-viewing experience for the entire family.”

The talented showrunner says he loves working in animation because it’s the first form of filmmaking that kids are oftentimes exposed to. “We have real opportunities to help shape how children see themselves,” he

points out. “This wasn’t as apparent when we were kids growing up, right — but hopefully children can see somebody like Zuri who looks like them and acts like them. In general, animation is so universal; you can fall in love with inanimate objects and characters that don’t talk in real life.”

“There’s something about animation that makes diversity feel more universal,” Cherry adds. “It’s true that the more specific you are, the more universal the whole project becomes. Obviously, our show is centered on a Black family, but we hope it’s something that people of all ages and backgrounds can see themselves in. We are also trying to showcase a world that we haven’t seen in animation before, depicting these young millennials trying to reach their dreams in a city, but also trying to be present for their kid as well as dealing with their parents and peers.”

Lighting the Way

The reception of the Hair Love storybook and the short has definitely been a rewarding and eye-opening experience for Cherry. “We were in this really unique position where we had both the short and the book come out around the same time, so it was wonderful to see how it has been used in schools around

TIES THAT BOND: Young Love centers on the daily adventures of a tightly knit Black millennial family who are trying to realize their dreams in Chicago.

the country.” he notes. “Often, teachers would show the short film and have the kids read the book as well. Some schools had ‘dress like your favorite character’ days, and you’d see kids dress like Zuri. Seeing that and watching babies on social media watching the short — those were some of the best parts of the whole experience.”

However, Cherry has also witnessed the book being banned in some parts of the country due to the anti-critical race theory laws. “You see this happening to books like Hair Love, which basically exists only to help kids with their own self-confidence, being banned in some places,” he says. “But it’s been great to see people making sure that kids get their hands on the book.”

He adds, “Shorts and series like this are so important because they can showcase empathy for other experiences that are different from our own. I think that’s the really cool part of the show.” ◆

Young Love is produced in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation. It is executive produced by Matthew A. Cherry, Monica A. Young, Karen Rupert Toliver, Carl Jones, David Steward II and Carl Reed, and produced by Karen Malach. The first season is currently streaming on Max.

‘It’s true that the more specific you are, the more universal the whole project becomes. Obviously, our show is centered on a Black family, but we hope it’s something that people of all ages and backgrounds can see themselves in.’

— Series creator Matthew A. Cherry

Let the Spooky Times Roll!

In which we uncover the dark and juicy secrets of DreamWorks’ New Orleans-set horror show, Fright Krewe.

- By Ramin Zahed -

Just in time for Halloween, Hulu and Peacock are serving up a perfect show for viewers who like their animation spiked with some blood-red, ghoulish delights. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, the new series is called Fright Krewe and is executive produced by horror master Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) and author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces). Set in New Orleans, the show follows the spooky adventures of a group of misfit teens who have a little problem: They have to save the world from the biggest demonic threat it has faced in almost two centuries.

We had a chance to speak with the show’s executive producers Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco to find out more about this delicious spook-fest.

As Lewis, a DreamWorks veteran who was a writer on Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Fast & Furious Spy Racers and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, tells us, it all started when DreamWorks TV development exec Ben Cawood told them they were going to do a kids' horror show. “Kristine and I were like, ‘Us? Really? We do comedy!’” she says. “But they shared Eli Roth and James Frey’s idea

with us and when we realized it was set in New Orleans and that it had a backdrop of voodoo, we were pretty excited to dig in.”

Do That Voodoo You Do

Lewis says both she and Songco are total lore nerds. “I had just come back from a trip to New Orleans where I did a voodoo tour and learned how many misconceptions I had!” she adds. “It was so enlightening and I thought it’d be great to be able to share what I learned. So we did a bunch of research, put our big girl pants on and watched some scary movies and knew this was something we couldn’t wait to sink our teeth into!”

Songco, who also wrote for Camp Cretaceous, Spy Racers and Kipo, adds, “In 2019, as we were wrapping up Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Ben came to us because he knew we were interested in doing stuff for an older audience and this was it! We did our research and it gave us nightmares — which isn’t fun, but it helped us make the show.”

Both Lewis and Songco loved the fact that they could build this supernatural world and

populate it with vampires, fairies, ghosts and other monsters. “I love that we were able to tell darker stories with higher stakes, and we got to explore real emotional reactions to some heavier story points,” says Lewis. “It was a super fun challenge to be ‘scary.’ You don’t often get to do it in kids' animation and, as comedy writers, I don’t think it’s very common that you get to cross genres the way we have at DreamWorks. That’s something, as a storyteller, I am so grateful for because it keeps things fresh and exciting.”

Songco agrees. “It’s always fun to play with powers when you’re in the supernatural space, but it’s also about tying them to the character — why they got this specific power and how it impacts their life. Outwardly, it’s a supernatural horror show, but the emotional stories are grounded in reality. Our hope is that the premise catches your attention, but the characters keep you invested.”

The show’s animation style is described as ambitious by the exec producers. “It was a process, because we wanted the emotions to be

Joanna Lewis

grounded in reality, so we had to find that balance between getting the idea across without being too exaggerated or ‘cartoony,’” says Songco. “We aren’t artists ourselves, so we had to rely on references or just describing things in way too much detail and hoping the artists could see inside our brains.”

Lewis and Songco were happy to dive into lots of horror novels, anime and TV to get ready for their Fright Krewe adventures. They read lots of paranormal YA novels, Anne Rice books and watched The Fear Street Trilogy and TV shows such as Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and Gravity Falls. “Lovecraft Country was great,” says Songco, “I ended up watching a lot of zombie shows for tense moment inspiration and anime for horror animation — Kingdom, All of Us are Dead, Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man.”

When asked about what makes this show different from older animated “horror” shows like Scooby-Doo or Clutch Cargo, Lewis mentions

that they’re definitely playing in a darker space aimed at a slightly older audience. “The storytelling is much more serialized and less ‘monster of the week.’ so you can get a bit more invested in the characters and what’s happening in their lives,” she adds. “There are still funny moments, but some of the scares and some of the things the kids go through are meant to be upsetting.”

According to Songco, Fright Krewe is also more dramatic, and there’s more mythology and backstory involved. “Everything is tied together, so every episode is crucial to where we end up,” she notes. “The characters aren’t perfect. but they grow after all they go through together. If something happens to them, that affects them for the rest of the series — there’s no ‘reset.’”

Another great stand-out quality is the characters’ matter-of-fact diversity and the wonderful use of New Orleans as the perfect backdrop. As Lewis explains, “It was important to us that if we were doing a show set in New Orleans. we did the city, its legends and its people justice. Honestly, it’s hard not to fall for the city. The show is kind of a love letter to New Orleans. We tried our best to make sure it felt authentic and have deeply researched storylines, have our amazing design team be inspired by the architecture of the city, have consultants to help steer us in the right direc-

tion and, most importantly, have a cast that got the city and what we were going for.”

“New Orleans is rich with history, and we tried to fit as many legends in there as we could,” says Songco. “But there’s so much more that we wanted to do. And on a personal note, this is the first show I’ve worked on that has Filipino characters, so it was really nice to be able to put little references to my family in the show.”

The showrunners also discuss the challenges they faced. Songco says, “We learned a lot. It’s difficult to build a world from scratch, especially a world that isn’t based on IP. So many people put their blood, sweat and tears into this, and we appreciate everyone’s hard work.”

Laugh, Cry, Scream!

As they wait for audiences to discover their gem of a horror series, both Lewis and Songco hope viewers will also get the hidden messages of their show. Lewis says, “I really believe in the central message of the show: The choice between good and evil is always present, sometimes we make mistakes and choose the wrong thing but that doesn’t have to define us. It’s what we do after we stumble that says a lot more about who we are.”

“I hope that everyone finds someone they can relate to in the series,” adds Songco. “And that they realize that you don’t have to be perfect, because mistakes are just part of life and you can’t change what you’ve done, but you can decide how to move forward. I also hope they’re entertained — if we can make you laugh, cry and scream, we’ve done our job!” ◆

Fright Krewe premieres on Hulu and Peacock on October 2.

‘Outwardly, it’s a supernatural horror show, but the emotional stories are grounded in reality. Our hope is that the premise catches your attention, but the characters keep you invested.’

— Exec producer Kristine Songco

SAVING NEW ORLEANS: A voodoo queen and an ancient prophecy put a group of misfit teens in charge of rescuing New Orleans from a demonic curse in DreamWorks’ Fright Krewe.

Emotional Support Animals

OAK9 Entertainment’s charming new series Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos! helps parents and their children manage their emotions.

Anew animated series about a family of rhinos is ready to teach children how to control their emotions. This charming new show, Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos!. is produced by Lithuanian studio OAK9 Entertainment and will be making a splash at the MIPJunior and MIPCOM markets this month. The 13 x 7-minute series centers on the Rhino family (mom, dad and their three kids who live in a cozy home with their pet tortoise, Bobo) as they navigate life’s little challenges and learn how to manage emotions such as anger, frustration, jealousy, loneliness, etc.

The show’s development history began a few years ago when OAK9 producer Mindaugas Jokubaitis, art director Vytautas Tautkevičius and clinical psychologist and children’s author Rugilė Kazlauskienė decided to develop an animated TV series together. Says Jokubaitis, “We knew we wanted to offer an edutainment program that dealt with feelings,

especially since so many kids are having trouble regulating their emotions due to the pandemic. To help expand on this, I reached out to longtime friend and animation veteran Rita Street. Together, we decided to focus on the rarely discussed emotion of anger.”

Cures for Anger

Street, the talented producer behind shows such as Space Chickens in Space, Awesome Magical Tales and 100% Wolf and story editor on the new series, says zeroing in on the right animal species to spread the message of the show was a definite turning point. “Rugilė and Vytautas were playing around with different animal designs, but nothing really gelled until they landed on the idea of making the characters rhinos,” she recalls. “At first it just seemed like a cute visual concept, but then we realized, ‘Hey! In the wild, rhinos are quick to react with actions that appear to be anger.' They snort. They paw the ground and they run. Rhinos are actually the perfect characters for the concept of our show!”

Street says the most interesting part of the development process for her was marrying relatable, everyday kid events with anger management and relief. “Our characters can be doing something really fun, and then one character suddenly feels jealous or slighted or momentarily unloved, which leads to feelings of anger,” she explains. “When we really started making breathing space in the scripts for the transitions between heightened feelings and methods for relief of those feelings, the writing really began to flow. Sometimes I think these transitions are almost meditative, which I think is really lovely.”

Jokubaitis also points out that the show creators, Kazlauskienė and Tautkevičius, are experts in understanding children and their needs. “They used to do volunteer work while they were studying, and they do social work with children and youth,” he says. “In fact, they met at a children’s camp that they helped organize. They also published a book created for children. I believe this gave them a lot of ex-

perience and understanding about young people and their needs. The experience they gained through the activities, camp and popular book became the inspiration for our show.”

The producer says exploring the visual identity of the show was certainly not an easy task. “You want to find something that would have some heart in it,” he explains. “The only way to find it is to explore all kinds of options to see the best fit for a show. Vytautas, who is also a global TV show art director, together with Giedrė Kaveckaitė (specializing in art direction), did a lot of exploration on the style, even the smaller elements and details. We knew we wanted the show to be cute and relatable, and with Giedrė's help, we were surely able to find the right look, and everyone on the team loved it.”

According to the Jokubaitis, he and the team initially had plans to make Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos! as a CG-animated show, but once the visual development art came through, they realized that a 2D approach would be perfect for the series. “After discussing it with the creators, we decided that the

2D animation was just too cute not to share with the audience,” he says. “We do have some plans to make a CG-animated version of the show as well.”

Street says there are many reasons she loves working on this show. “I love the relationships between the siblings and all the little ups and downs and squabbles they have. I also appreciate how active Rhino Mom and Dad are. They’re definitely not helicopter parents, but they are very observant and empathetic to their children’s emotions — all while treating the kids with respect and kindness.”

Support in a Stressful World

Jokubaitis says he and the show creators knew early on that they wanted to create something extraordinary and meaningful for both kids and parents. “We didn’t want to make just another animated show. We wanted our project to help parents and young viewers. That’s why we decided to go deeper into psychological aspects that would be helpful to our viewers, both kids and their parents and caregivers. We knew that making educa-

tional content entertaining is very challenging. Rita helped us make not only psychological educational useful, but also entertaining.”

The dynamic producer says he is grateful to everyone who helped him and his team bring this lively animated show from Lithuania to life. “Our company, OAK9 Entertainment, is one of the leading producers in Lithuania, with a focus on film production and developing and producing entertainment content in animation and gaming,” he mentions. “We recently finished our animated short with the support of Lithuania Film Center, Tik Įsivaizduok (Imagine That). directed by Karolis Kveselis. This short had its local premiere in September. We are also working on an animated feature and another animated TV series. We look forward to sharing more news with Animation Magazine readers in the near future.” ◆

Several episodes of Stomp! Stomp! Rhinos! will be available at MIPJunior, MIPCOM and other fall markets. The first season will launch in 2024. For more information, visit OAK9e.com.

'We didn’t want to make just another animated show. We wanted our project to help parents and young viewers. That’s why we decided to go deeper into psychological aspects that would be helpful to our viewers.'

— Producer Mindaugus Jokubaitis

Dinos, Digital Heroes and Wacky Monsters

Cyber Group Studios brings an eclectic mix of new animated content aimed at various target audiences.

Like many other top animation producers around the world, French animation powerhouse Cyber Group Studios is bringing a colorful slate of new projects in various stages of development to MIPCOM. The studio, founded in 2004 by a group of former Disney executives (Pierre Sissmann, Dominique Bourse, Billy “Frederic” Richard, Olivier Lelardoux and Cécilia Bossel), is best known for global hits including Gigantosaurus, Zou and Tales of Tatonka, and has big plans for the next few years, ranging from leaning into wellknown franchises such as Final Fantasy to using real-time technology to produce.

“Our studio’s original vision was to inspire kids around the world with content that helps them become the best versions of themselves and to create a better, more sustainable world,” says Dominique Bourse, the studio’s CEO and chairman. “Of course, we’re still on course with that vision and aim to implement that by pro-

ducing fun and engaging animated stories created by the best-in-class global talent, leveraged by innovative technology.”

Bourse maintains that the company’s years of experience working with entertainment business partners to develop and produce global content for young audiences make Cyber Group a unique presence in the market. “Some of our competitors are big international companies and most are coming of a very entrepreneurial background,” he notes. “But we are really a mix of both worlds and skills, and that translates into the wide variety of our animated content as well."

Creating a Global Powerhouse

“You can trace the history of our global success with the launch of our first big preschool show Ozie Boo!, which premiered in 2006,” says Cyber Group’s COO Raphaelle Mathieu. “It began as a local success with a few European acquisitions. Then we had Zou in 2012, which

began as a regional acquisition for Disney, and then went global. Then of course we had Gigantosaurus launching in 2019, which became a total international success with a fourth season on the way.”

Mathieu points out that while the studio specialized in preschool content in the earlier years, it soon expanded its focus to a slightly older audience with shows such as Zorro the Chronicles (2015), Taffy (2017) and Droners (2020), all of which explored different styles, visuals and genres. “We’re really expanding our target audience now with the projects that we have in development, which zero in on tween, teenage and young adult viewers. It’s really important for us to be able to provide our partners with content for various audiences. We’re also exploring many different types of story genres, from slapstick comedy to older-skewing action-adventure shows.”

Among the shows helping the studio build new franchises in coming years is Press Start!,

Press Start!

Alex Player

The McFire Family

The Tern

a CG-animated comedy-adventure show based on the bestselling Scholastic book series by Thomas Flintham. The show, which is executive produced by Emmy-winning writer and showrunner Scott Kraft (PAW Patrol), is slated to stream on Peacock later this year. Also on tap is the upcoming animated adaptation of the popular PlayStation game, Final Fantasy IX, in partnership with Square Enix Co.

“All our projects have been fueled by all the research and development work we’ve been doing in CG animation,” says Mathieu. “This goes back to shows such as Tatonka, for example, in which we were able to create amazing detail for the wolves’ fur, or what we were able to do in terms of the crowd scenes for Zorro the Chronicles. We have to be smart enough to create tools to generate beautiful CG images at a cost that would make sense. Along the same lines, we have developed and fine-tuned our real-time animation pipeline in Rubelles in the north of France, and we’re now working on our big project Alex Player relying on this technology. We’ll reveal first images from this new show at MIPCOM this year.”

“I was a fan of the studio for many years before I joined the team,” says animation industry veteran Karen K. Miller, president of Cyber Group Studios USA in Burbank. “I really appreciated what Cyber Group has done so well in

terms of being agile in a market that is ever changing, both as a European company and as a global success in the sense that they engage with their content and partnership worldwide, and as a producer of best in class animation.”

Miller, an animation industry veteran, who was senior VP of content at NBC/Universal and VP of acquisitions, co-pros and global content at Disney Channels worldwide prior to joining Cyber Group in 2021, notes, “I think what our studio has done so incredibly well is to be flexible and super smart about the way in which they develop content and the kind of projects they choose. Final Fantasy IX, for example, is one of those IPs that ticks a lot of those boxes and is what a lot of buyers are looking for. We’re also super excited about Press Start!, which is a terrific book-based show that’s in production for Peacock, and will launch in the spring of 2024.”

Among the other shows Miller is excited about is an animated adaptation of the How to Catch book series, penned by Alice Walstead and illustrated by Megan Joyce. “I believe the series has sold more than 16 million copies, and we are in development with Peacock on the animated adaptation,” she notes. “Another original comedy we have in the pipeline is Yum-Yum, which was introduced at Annecy this past June. It comes from the brilliant minds of Grilled Cheese Media, Dave Coulier and Bob Harper, and Rachel Ruderman (Disney’s Elena of Avalor).”

Another hot project is Erica & Trevor vs. Spooky Monsters, a fun show about a young boy and his older babysitter who investigate Z-movie monsters that have come to life in their town.

A Time to Take Chances

Of course, like many animation producers around the world, Cyber Group has been observing the massive shift in children’s viewing habits over the past few years and the changing fortunes of the streaming entities. “They have had to completely shift their business model and re-examine how they do business to stay profitable,” notes Bourse. “But we are convinced that they’ll resume business again in 2025, because a streaming platform with no new programs is a dead platform. This means you have to reduce fixed costs and completely re-engineer your production process, because you have to produce higher quality content for less. We were used to amortizing production costs across 26 halfhours, but today, platforms will rarely buy 26 half-hours — they do 12 at most. The solution lies in rethinking the way we produce and the processes and technologies we use.”

Bourse says he and his team at Cyber Group are very optimistic about the marketplace in 2025. “We’re seeing a narrowing of target groups, but also a broadening of content, which creates more space to produce,” explains Bourse. “It’s an opportunity for us to step back to lower costs, but also project the company ahead in order to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s not during the periods of fast growth where everyone is thriving that you can make a difference. It’s during challenging periods like this when people are banging their heads on the wall when resilient companies think strategically and branch out in different areas — carefully.” ◆

For more information, visit cybergroupstudios.com.

'[W]e’re still on course with our studio’s original vision and aim to implement that by producing fun and engaging animated stories created by the best in class global talent leveraged by innovative technology.'

— Cyber Group Studios chairman & CEO Dominique Bourse

Karen K. Miller Raphaelle Mathieu

Erica & Trevor vs. Spooky Monsters

Yum-Yum

Reliving Past Horrors

Rita Basulto’s beautiful stop-motion short, Humo, looks back at a dark chapter in history.

- By Ramin Zahed -

In Rita Basulto’s powerful stop-motion short Humo (Smoke), a young boy hides in the sewers to avoid a sinister destination known as the Smokehouse. The Holocaust-themed project was nominated for a Cristal at Annecy and won the Best Animated Short prize at the HollyShorts festival in Los Angeles this past August. The Guadalajara-born director, whose previous shorts Lluvia en los ojos (2013) and Zimbo (2015) also received much praise on the festival circuit, discussed her new project with us in a recent email exchange.

“Humo is based on a children’s book written by Antón Fortes and beautifully illustrated by Joanna Concejo for the Spanish publishing house OQO,” says Basulto. “It’s a powerful story that immediately caught my attention, so I wanted to depict it in stop-motion. Previously we had made other short films inspired by books from the same publisher, co-produced by OUTIK, our studio. These short films were being made year after year; making Humo was simply a matter of time.”

The talented director, who’s a member of

Gudalajara’s Taller del Chucho and painted the black rabbits on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, says she tried to stay true to the aesthetic of the book’s illustrations while adding some of her own artistic views as well.

“I wanted it to look very organic, sometimes even theatrical and handmade,” she explains.

“I was inspired by the engravings of German artist Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz, which I discovered many years ago as a student of fine arts. It seemed very natural to me to solve the aesthetics of the film with classic charcoal and watercolor techniques.”

Basulto, who names animation luminaries such as Jan Švankmajer, Aleksandr Petrov, Hayao Miyazaki and Theodore Ushev as her idols, points out that a short film like Humo would usually take a year and a half to finish under normal circumstances. “However, it took me six years to complete this short, because in the meantime I got invited to work on projects I couldn’t refuse, like Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. In addition, we had to stop working when the pandemic arose. I had a very talented crew working with me. Some people

worked for short periods, but the main crew was about 15 people.”

Remarkably, all of the film’s meticulous, hand-crafted animation was done in Basulto’s home studio. She notes, “Because of the visual nature and technical solutions I worked in to tell the story, I didn’t need too much space. We pretty much animated the whole short in a small room.”

Humo’s main puppets were made with resin, aluminum wire, steel joints and paper. The secondary characters were made using a cutout technique on different kinds of paper. Basulto’s methodology in choosing some of the various techniques was directly influenced by pictures of concentration camps and her style as an artist.

When asked about the toughest aspect of finishing her labor of love, Basulto responds, “As a single mother, the biggest challenge was to find how to balance working on this project and raising my son.” She adds, “I am very proud of how I managed to finish the short film with limited resources without sacrificing the visual looks and narrative I was looking for.”

‘I wanted it to look very organic, sometimes even theatrical and handmade.It seemed very natural to me to solve the aesthetics of the film with classic charcoal and watercolor techniques.’

- Director Rita Basulto

FINAL STOP: Rita Basulto’s stop-motion labor of love Humo centers on a young boy who travels by train towards a dark destination known as the Smokehouse.

More Magic on the Big Screen

Much has been written about the irreplaceable impact of seeing a cinematic film on the big screen in a theater with a group of excited movie lovers. The success of Barbie , Oppenheimer and the three big animated studio releases of the year ( The Super Mario Bros. Movie , Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Elemental ) proved once again that when audiences have reason enough to go to the movies, they won’t wait for the home releases and streaming debuts. That’s why the Los Angeles festival Animation Is Film is such a wonderful gift to the city: Here’s the chance to see some of the best animated content made for the big screen the way the creators meant it to be seen, all in the course of a few days.

The pièce de résistance of the 2023 edition of the festival has to be Hayao Miyazaki’s much-acclaimed and written about movie The Boy and the Heron , which has been praised as one of the Japanese master’s most personal and profound achievements of his brilliant career. The film, which has made over $530.8 million in Japan since its release on July 14, is bound to make many year-end best lists and is a huge contender for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, so miss this opening night showcase at your own peril!

We ask the festival’s hard-working man -

aging director Matt Kaszanek what makes this year’s selection stand out. “I think each year we find ourselves dazzled anew by the way these artists are able to push the limits of the medium to tell their story,” he responds. “Whether that’s from a proven master, in the case of Miyazaki, or relative newcomers like Yoshimi Itazu or Ji-won Han (their respective films, The Concierge and The Summer , are both feature debuts), it reminds us that there is nothing — visually, emotionally, spiritually — that this medium cannot achieve.”

Kaszanek says he is especially excited about all the U.S. premiere screenings the festival was able to book this year. “Any time a group of people gather in a room to see a film for the  first  time, sans expectations, before consensus has had the opportunity to form, magic can happen,” he notes. “The film’s in this year’s lineup are going to knock people’s socks off!”

Among them are several titles that dazzled audiences and critics at the Annecy Festival in France earlier this year: Jian Liu’s Art College 1994 , Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach’s Chicken for Linda! , Jérémie Périn’s Mars Express and Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams . Han’s The Summer , another new title, is based on a short story by best-selling author Eunyoung Choi, and follows the relationship between two 18-year-old girls in a small

town who dream of moving to Seoul.

The festival will also unveil the much-anticipated new feature from Aardman Animations and Netflix: Directed by animation veteran Sam Fell, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget offers a hilarious sequel to the studio’s 2000 blockbuster. Big studio fans can also look forward to work-in-progress spotlights on Disney’s holiday release Wish and Illumination’s Migration . Disney is also unspooling its buzzy new 100th anniversary short Once Upon a Studio , while Sony Pictures Animation is spotlighting its LENS training program project, The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story

DreamWorks’ favorite colorful little creatures will bring their own version of animated candy pop to the event with a special premiere screening of Trolls Band Together . Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is planning a special 30th anniversary screening of its seminal feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm , recently remastered. Directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, this 2D classic is based on Batman: The Animated Series and follows the angst-ridden hero as he reconciles with a former lover and faces a mysterious vigilante who is murdering Gotham’s crime bosses. Manga and horror fans will also be treated to the first episode of Uzumaki, the new Junji Ito mini series by Drive, Production I.G and Adult Swim’s Williams Street. Directed by Hiro -

The U.S. premiere of Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is only one of the amazing reasons not to miss at L.A.’s Animation Is Film festival (Oct. 18-22).

The Boy and the Heron

shi Nagahama, the dark fantasy tells the stories of the citizens of Kurouzu-cho, a city plagued by a supernatural curse involving spirals!

Kaszanek says both studios and smaller indies can learn more about the business from each other. “I always enjoy, at Animation Is Film parties, when some visiting filmmaker meets a ‘studio’ filmmaker from, say, Pixar or DreamWorks,” he notes. “Maybe they’ve never met before but they know each other’s work. The level of mutual admiration is off the charts and totally inspiring. The greatest moments are when the movies seem to be in dialog with one another.”

‘I can give you many reasons why it’s best to see a movie on the big screen in a theater. But for me, personally, there’s only one that matters: Because the spell can be broken too easily at home. And once it’s broken, you can never really get it back!’

He says he’s looking forward to experiencing the undeniable energy in the lobby after the screening of a film that clicks. “A hundred, 500, maybe a thousand people (depending on the size of the room) are collectively in this ‘What the hell did we just  see ?’ daze,” he recalls. “And because it’s the first screening, it’s like a big secret, and only you and these total strangers are in on it. It doesn’t happen every time, but when it does, to quote Buck Weaver in  Eight Men Out , ‘Damn if you don’t feel like you’re gonna live forever!’” ◆

AIF runs October 18-22. For more information, visit animationisfilm.com.

AIF 2023 at a Glance

Thurs. Oct. 18

7 p.m. The Boy and the Heron

Friday Oct. 20

7 p.m. Mars Express The Summer

9 p.m. Art College 1994

Sat. Oct. 21

11 a.m. The Making of Wish & Once Upon a Studio

12 p.m. Trolls Band Together

1:30 p.m. The Spider Within

3 p.m. The Concierge

5:30 p.m. Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds

Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower

Award-Winning Shorts Program I

7:30 p.m. Robot Dreams

Sunday Oct. 22

11 a.m. Warner Bros Animation

100 th: Looney Tunes

3 p.m. Chicken Run:

Dawn of the Nugget

Short II: Best of Annecy/ Women in Animation

5 p.m. Chicken for Linda! ◆

-Animation Is Film managing director Matt Kaszanek

Art College 1994

Batman: Mask of The Phantasm

Mars Express

Robot Dreams

Phoenix: Reminiscence of Flower

Wish Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the Nugget

The Hitmaker Strikes Again!

We speak with animation veteran Keith Chapman about the state of the industry and his innovative new kids’ action show Jonny Jetboy.

Among the hot new shows premiering at the MIPCOM market this fall is Jonny Jetboy, an original animated children’s action series, created by kids’ entertainment icon Keith Chapman  The show is produced by Chinese online entertainment service iQIYI in collaboration with WildBrain as animation supervisor, with animation production completed by China’s WinSing Animation Studio.  Jonny Jetboy follows the adventures of a 10-year-old boy who is the youngest member of a superhero family secretly known as JetForce. Chapman, who is best known for creating hits such as  PAW Patrol, Bob the Builder, Roary the Racing Car, Fifi and the Flowertots and the upcoming feature  Ozi: Voice of the Forest, was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about his latest venture:

Animation Magazine: Can you tell us a little bit about the development history behind Jonny Jetboy?

Keith Chapman: I first came up with the idea back in 2013, a Top Gun for preschoolers. Initially I worked with WildBrain on the development, and then iQIYI liked the idea so much that they purchased the IP and then hired WildBrain to oversee the production of the show.

There are a lot of parties involved but the relationships have all been great. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing each episode grow with each team’s contribution, and everyone has worked together to make a fantastic show that kids all over the world are going to love.

What stage of development/production is the show in, and when is the delivery date?

Production is nearing completion, the first half of the season is expected to be delivered by the end

of 2023, and the second half of the season is expected to be delivered in the first half of next year.

What do you love about this new show?

I started to think about a show for kids which conveyed the excitement of flying jets and vehicles very fast. I wanted kids to imagine sitting in a jet cockpit performing amazing aerial tricks, with cool gadgets and preschool-friendly weaponry while battling the bad guys.

Keith Chapman

Can you tell us a bit about the visual style of the show?

The team at WildBrain has worked closely with China’s WinSing Animation to develop a cool new visual style for Jonny Jetboy, where East and West styles have merged. It has lots of action, comedy, transformations and flying sequences.

Can you tell us a bit more about the inspiration?

I loved the original Top Gun movie and, years later, started thinking about a show with fast jets. It’s about a boy hero who flies jets with his sister for his family superhero Jet Fleet. He has a special glove that gives him extra power. He’s like a young Tom Cruise, a maverick who breaks the rules, with a need for speed!

How do you work with the producing entities involved (iQIYI, WinSing and WildBrain)?

It’s been a joy working with the creative teams at iQIYI, WildBrain and WinSing on Jonny Jetboy. During development and production, I got to see all designs and scripts, listened to voice talent, theme song, etc., with everyone making comments. Overcoming language barriers hasn’t been an issue, as the iQIYI and WinSing

teams can speak English. The design aesthetic had to appeal to a Chinese audience as well as a Western one, and I think this has been very successfully achieved.

WildBrain handles scripts, voice records, sound, music and final post and delivery out of their Vancouver studio, and they worked with The Monk for design and boards. WinSing handles the modelling, layout, animation, lighting and FX in China. iQIYI handles distribution in China, while WildBrain distributes to the rest of the world.

The finished episodes are looking very cool, and I think kids all over the world are going to love

Jonny Jetboy

What is your take on the state of global animation for children today?

It’s in a healthy place, with tons of excellent shows for kids to choose from. Canadian animation is booming in particular, due to the very generous tax credit system there. But other countries are catching up. Weirdly, it seems harder to sell shows to the broadcasters. Although there are more outlets nowadays with the streamers and online platforms, there are many more studios and production companies around the world pitching ideas. Everyone has

upped their game, with better quality animation and writing. There is greater competition all going for the few slots available.

2023 has been a very busy year for you with Ozi and the second PAW Patrol movie about to be released in theaters. What is the secret of your success?

I continue to work — practically every day, even on holidays — to keep my stream of ideas bubbling along, either in development or in production. I never rest on my laurels, always looking for the next break-out hit. My view is, if I have several TV shows or movies out there, the more chance I have of one of them being picked up and becoming successful.

Finally, what is the best advice you can offer children’s content creators?

Never give up. Stay focused and determined and try to have several ideas rather than just concentrate on one. While one is being developed, start work on another, and so on. It can be a very long road, but with a good idea, lots of talented people behind it and a bit of luck, you can achieve your dreams. ◆

For more information, visit wildbrain.com.

A WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT: Keith Chapman, who is best known for creating the global animated blockbuster PAW Patrol, is bringing the new series Jonny Jetboy to the MIPCOM market this month.

Fresh Market Fare A MIPCOM 2023 Sampler

This month, many of the world’s top animation producers, streaming execs, buyers and creators will be heading over to the MIPCOM market in Cannes (Oct. 16-19). The content confab will feature China as its country of honor, and Zhonghuai Sun, the VP of Tencent and CEO of Tencent Online Video, will deliver the keynote this year. Here is samples of the latest animation news and exec viewpoints from the market we put together in advance of the event. (For more up-to-date news, visit animationmagazine.net and mipcom.com.)

Dancing with Digi-Puppets

Are you ready to stomp and roar on the dance floor with the grooviest, funkiest monsters in town? Well, you’ll have to wait until the fun new preschool show from the folks at The Jim Henson Company is ready for viewers worldwide!

“We’re welcoming all kids to celebrate being themselves by joining a new exclusive monster club,” says acclaimed actor and puppeteer John Tartaglia (Splash and Bubbles, Fraggle Rock) about his new show Monster Jam, which he co-created with former Nickelodeon exec Russell Hicks. “In the grand tradition of Henson’s quality entertainment,  Monster Jam features hilarious and lovable monsters, incredible new music and stories that remind kids that everything that makes you uniquely you is important and worth celebrating every day!”

The new CG-animated show is based on original character drawings by the much-loved Jim Henson, brought to life by the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, and features catchy new pop songs for kids and families. As the producers explain, “Monster Jam is a safe place for kids to express their big emotions through physical movement, creative expression and by letting their inner monster out!” Now if we could only speed up time so that the show would be ready for delivery worldwide sooner than later!

Friendly Nuts and Bolts

International animation distributor Toon2Tango is bringing a new show about a very tiny robot to the market. Littlest Robot, which is created by Mark Taylor, Damjan Mitrevski, Hans-Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris, is a charming 52 x 11’ toon which targets four to seven-year-old audiences. It centers on the adventures of a simple bot that’s no bigger than a teacup and is hailed as his creator’s “greatest invention.” The robot’s animal friends soon find out that it’s actually his ability to learn from his and their feelings and to help them do the same that makes him so very special. As producer Jo Daris tells us, “Littlest Robot is one of these shows that blows you away by its simplicity. Their world is filled with glorious new discoveries, each reconfirming the notion that the more we take the time to understand ourselves and others, the better we are all for it and the greater our bonds of friendship become.” Mark your calendar for 2026-2027 when the tiny robot is expected to make its debut.

Swimming with a New Style

Back in 2019, Brazilian animation stars Celia Catunda and Kiko Mistrogio of Pinguim Content introduced the world to a wonderful, environmentally conscious show called Fishtronaut. This year, they are offering a new CG-animated reboot of the series at MIPCOM. The 26 x 11’ show, which is aimed at four- to eight-year olds, follows the adventures of our hero and his friends as they join forces with the secret agency known as S.E.A. on exciting missions to promote sustainability worldwide.

“The new season of Fishtronaut is going to be amazing!” says Catunda. “It beautifully combines the super cute 3D visuals with the charisma of our dear secret agent in new adventures that are all about sustainability and the environment.” Let’s hope the world and its many natural inhabitants are in better shape when the show premieres in 2026.

Lathering Up Some Laughs

A Very Meowy Christmas

You can always expect top-notch family entertainment from the team at London’s Magic Light Pictures, and this year’s wonderful CG-animated special Tabby McTat is no exception. Based on the latest book by frequent collaborators, author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, the special introduces us to Fred and his cat Tabby McTat, who enjoy a happy life singing on the streets of London. When Fred falls and breaks his leg and is whisked away in an ambulance, it’s up to poor Tabby to survive the harsh city streets. Featuring beautiful animation and a stellar voice cast (Rob Brydon, Sopé Dìrísú, Cariad Lloyd, Joanna Scanlan, Jodie Whittaker, Susan Wokoma), the special is set to premiere this holiday season. Producer Barney Goodland tells us, “Julia and Axel’s book is a beautiful, heart-warming story that we’re delighted to be adapting for BBC viewers this Christmas. The friendship between Fred and Tabby is a truly special one and the film explores how their relationship changes unexpectedly as their lives move forward, and ultimately, how they learn to embrace that change.”

Finland-based Gigglebug Entertainment recently launched a new adult animation label, called In Stitches. The first new offering from the new outfit is a 20 x 22’ show called Soap, slated for 2026. Written by Tobi Wilson & Paul Rice, the clever show is based on an original idea by Sasil Leirana, produced by Anttu Harlin and Joonas Utti and developed with Elliot Palmer. The workplace comedy is told from the point of view of a bar of hotel soap who just wants a clean getaway!

Anttu Harlin, Gigglebug’s CEO and co-founder, tells us, “In Stitches is still very much in keeping with Gigglebug’s DNA, as it’s also driven by the desire to spread joy, but it will enable us to bring boundary-pushing and more risky content for adult audiences, which encourages them to have a laugh at the bare, naked and surreal truth of being alive. Our new show Soap perfectly encapsulates our vision for the banner, and we are excited to have the remarkably talented Tobi and Paul bringing their comedic genius to the project — as well as for our animation team to flex their creative muscles in a new genre.”

Book Buddies

An enthusiastic young puppy and his best new pal Little Yellow Bird embark on an amazing journey to save their town through reading in Atomic Cartoon’s charming new special, Rocket Saves the Day. Written by Rachel Lipman, the delightful 44-minute 2D-animated special is based on Tad Hills’ best-selling book series and is set to premiere on PBS on December 26.

“Tad Hills created such a rich and wonderful world in the Rocket books,” says Matthew Berkowitz, CCO of Atomic Cartoons. “They engage kids’ imaginations and celebrate the joy of learning, and we knew immediately that they would translate beautifully to animation. PBS has been an incredible partner on the production. As our latest Atomic original release, Rocket Saves the Day exemplifies the kind of content we aspire to bring to life — an entertaining romp of an animated adventure, and inspiring kids to read!”

Once More with Feeling

An unusual kind of superhero is the star of the new preschool show introduced by global animation distributor Cake this year. Toru Superfox chronicles the addictive escapades of an adventurous fox who’s on a quest to face the most puzzling of creatures — his own emotions. His friends include Bunio, a wild boar who loves napping and eating; Zoja, a resolute chick with an attitude; and shy hedgehog Fenio. Together, they imagine that their forest is inhabited by the characters from their favorite comic books.

Produced by Palme d’Or nominee and Cartoon Tribute 2022 European Producer of the Year, Animoon (Moomins, Even Mice Belong in Heaven, Acid Rain, III) and Polish animation studio Letko, Toru Superfox is an adventure-packed show that sets out to helps young children understand, identify and deal with their feelings. In our crazy world today, this seems to be a must-watch toon in all households!

Captivating Tales

Emmy-winning French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo has secured a deal for its International Emmy Award-winning series The Treehouse Stories (La Cabane à Histoires). The SVOD deal with streaming service France Channel — available via Apple TV, The Roku Channels, Chromecast and other distribution platforms — sees the first three seasons of the highly popular series air in U.S. territories. Commissioned by Canal+, The Treehouse Stories (77 x 7’), is made for four- to seven-year olds and is coproduced by Dandelooo and French animation studio Caribara Production. Based on the popular children’s book series, this 2D-animated and live-action hybrid show centers on a group of friends who meet in a secret treehouse to share their favorite books. Each episode dives into one story picked from one of the top children’s books from around the world. It’s the kind of program will whet kids’ appetites for reading on their own if you encourage them to leave their tablets alone for a few hours.

Spaced Out

French videogame publisher Ubisoft is best known for a variety of hit global titles such as Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia and Watch Dogs. Last month, at Cartoon Forum, the gaming powerhouse pitched Starpets, an entertaining animated expansion of its Rabbids universe. Created by Stéphane Berla, Éric Judor, Hafid Benamar and Baptiste Nicolai, the 8 x 15’ show is aimed at teens and is described as a “soap opera on acid.”

The synopsis is quite intriguing as well: “Intergalactic emperor Jean-Yves Lapude is pretty pissed off. His mother, a fortune teller and grey eminence, prophesied that a Chosen One should soon put an end to his tyrannical reign. Although Lapude finds and kills the Chosen One, Jacques, he cannot prevent him from transferring 25% of his brilliant brain into a Rabbid’s body. In the process, the Chosen One is turned into Ken Rabbid: 25% genius, 75% dumb!” As producer Hugo Revon tells us, “Mixing visual edginess with absurd comedy tone, we believe our space opera Starpets has everything to become a new landmark in French animation.” We believe you, Hugo! We hope we’ll sit it on our favorite streamer or TV channel real soon.

School for Performing Critters

Irish animation companies Lighthouse Studios and Dog Ears have partnered to coproduce a kids’ series based on Tor Freeman’s book Showtime for Billie & Coco. The 52 x 11’ 2D series is called Stage Struck! and is aimed at kids aged five to seven. The plot follows the adventures of a group of remarkable animals who attend Showtime School, an artsbased primary school for animals founded by an ostrich named Miss Feathers.

Lighthouse Studios’ head creative Gilly Fogg (El Deafo) will direct the series, with screenplay by Sian Ní Mhuirí (Fia’s Fairies, Royals Next Door). Lighthouse’s managing director Claire Finn is exec producing with Dog Ears’ creative director John McDaid as coproducer. Lighthouse (The Bob’s Burger Movie, The Cuphead Show!, El Deafo) and Dog Ears (Puffin Rock & the New Friends) pitched Stage Struck! at Cartoon Forum in Toulouse last month, and they’ll also bring it to MIPJunior and MIPCOM this month. Let’s hear it for all the talented animals and hope that their beastly careers will take off in grand style.

Unleashing the Fun

Adog, a guinea pig and two cats welcome other animal guests in Pet Hotel, a new animated series produced by Chinese animation studios Miaow’s House and GZ Art-land, and brought to MIPCOM by WildBrain. The 2D-animated 26 x 11’ show, which is made for seven- to nine-year-old audiences, is written by  Michael Ryan (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and Thomas Krajewski (Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?) and directed by Miaow’s House chairman Robin Guo. The project’s exec producers include Tencent Director of Kids IP Development & Programming Selina She, GZ Art-land President Eddie Ng and Vicky Zeng (Panda and Little Mole).

“With ‘companionship’ as its core theme,  Pet Hotel features characters Nai Nai, Vicky, Lili and Bubu, who are all based on real stray animals that I rescued in my daily life,” says Guo. “Living together with these adorable animals inspired me to create this animated series. I aim to create a comedy that revolves around the unexpected intelligence of pets, showcasing their cuteness through exaggerated physical performances and concise dialog, as well as the harmonious coexistence with humans. The concept of ‘love’ permeates every episode of  Pet Hotel, making it a family-friendly and innovative animated sitcom series.”

MIPCOM Viewpoints

David Michel, President and Co-Founder, Cottonwood Media; Managing Director, Federation Kids & Family

Market notes: As part of our line-up of animation titles, Cottonwood Media has a new heartwarming CGI-animated drama series titled 20 Dance Street (26 x half-hours) which is currently in development and was presented for the first time during the recent Cartoon Forum. It centers around an 11-year-old girl who leaves the Caribbean to join the Paris Opera Ballet School. She is plunged into the unknown, far from home whilst moving forward through joys and sorrows, guided by a single dream: to become a prima ballerina. We already have a couple of soon-to-be-announced broadcasters on board. The series will be distributed by Federation Kids & Family and ZDF Studios.

Our Federation Kids & Family sales team will also be at MIPCOM to present the recently acquired CG-animated series for preschool kids, The New Adventures of the Triplets by Nicole Lambert (78 x 7’). Produced by Yann Zenou (Quad), Clément Calvet and Jérémie Fajner (Superprod), the series chronicles the comic escapades of three loveable children — each of whom has his or her own unique way of looking at the world

Biggest challenge in 2023 and beyond: Keeping that creative edge in order to develop must-have content that stands out against massive, global brand-based series. Our landscape is changing, and creativity flows not just on screen but by way of individuals becoming far more innovative and resourceful in business and development, in order to stay ahead of the game.

On the global TV animation scene: It’s extremely challenging, as many players have reduced their needs and decreased budgets. The global TV crisis and the ripple effect of the writer/actor strikes, platform layoffs, reduced spending and more has also led to a bottleneck when it comes to production, which has created an even more competitive market. But this has also led to more consolidation of production companies, with some larger operations partnering with smaller operations to help them get access to financing, thus allowing for that continued flow of creativity.

Best part of the job: Animation is still the most creative activity in the media business. New technology and rendering engines allow for new looks with new ways of telling stories. The Ninja Turtles movie, for example, brought a very fresh, very different look to the screens by tapping into recent innovations in animation software.

AI: Helpful friend or sinister enemy? AI I would say is mostly a friend on the animation studio side, as it’s in the process of automating/saving time on some of the animation processes. I don’t think it’s going to affect storytelling just yet. And the impact on voiceover talent (that could potentially be replaced by AI voices) remains to be seen, especially for lead roles.

Martin Krieger, CEO, Studio 100 Media GmbH

Market notes: First and foremost, we will be at MIPCOM with our latest action-comedy series with heart, Vegesaurs (40 x 5’, two seasons available), of which we will be adding a third season (20 x 5’) in Q3 2024. The show introduces the juiciest and crunchiest creatures ever to rule the planet — the mighty Vegesaurs! Vegesaurs has already created a huge buzz and rating success on ABC Australia, CBeebies amd France Télévisions, and we are aiming to bring more broadcasters on board. Also on our slate is the second season of our award-winning production 100% Wolf. The 26 new episodes are filled with hilarious action-adventures starring Freddy, the pink poodle who really should be a werewolf. Now Freddy leads his friends to fight strange creatures and a powerful sorceress from a distant past that are threatening their hometown of Milford.

Biggest challenges: The biggest challenge is probably the one that has always been there and is almost certainly what motivates all producers in our industry: finding the next hit show! The animation business is rather slow at the moment in terms of decision making. We’re facing a time of consolidation in the broadcast part of the sector and a great deal of competition for slots and commissioning dollars. So, the challenge is to find the stand-out ideas and get them produced and out to the wider world.

Also, there is another exciting challenge to capitalize on: the fact that there are now more ways for kids to watch content than ever before. Embracing AVOD and free digital platforms, especially where original IP is concerned, is a big challenge, but equally a huge opportunity as well.

On the global TV scene: The industry has always tended to be cyclical, and right now it feels like there is a lot of movement. We have seen in the last few years the emergence of AVOD platforms being an audience powerhouse, as well as the change in how to effectively monetize. Meanwhile, it’s clear these players are likely to be around for the long haul and hugely important for reaching audiences.

We have seen consolidation with the big streaming platforms, perhaps a slowdown in content volume and possibly more reliance on known IP in that space. At the same time, commissioning from DTC platforms is more data driven, as the information they hold on viewing habits far exceeds the more traditional ratings information. Above all, the need to collaborate and co-produce is bigger than ever before to succeed in the independent space.

AI: Helpful friend or sinister enemy? Our creatives from Studio Isar Animation are already working with AI. They started using it during the pandemic to simplify and accelerate individual steps within the production process. It’s certainly not an enemy for us. On the animation production side, we see currently more demand than supply, and the employment market is short of manpower. We’ve meanwhile firmly integrated AI tools in our productions and it really helps us to develop creatively and technically.

Future plans: We have ambitious plans to boost our European slate with productions steered by our Munich team. This also includes more feature films and series being handled by our Munich-based animation enterprise Studio Isar Animation in collaboration with other international partners. We are constantly working on various new projects, but it is a little too early to mention anything specific. We will continue to extend our portfolio with new genres and animation techniques. ◆

Animation Blooms in Catalonia

Our correspondent takes a look at the diverse array of animated shows from the region at the fall TV markets.

- By Marie Beardmore -

Animation in the Catalan region is currently experiencing a moment; the sweetest moment in the last 10 to 15 years. Ivan Angelo, President of ProAnimats, a national association of animation producers based in Barcelona (primarily comprising Catalan companies), and CEO of Peekaboo Animation, highlights this shift. This resurgence stands in stark contrast to the challenging times of 2010, when the Spanish market faced a profound crisis, leading to the closure of major classical studios.

However, the vast talents and teams of these

former studios were not squandered. Joan Ruiz, representing International Promotion for Catalan Films (ICEC), explains that from these larger companies, “an entire ecosystem of little creative studios emerged, and now engage in producing animation for cinema and TV within international co-production structures and in prominent public-private funding.”

Foundation of Support

The burgeoning importance of Catalonia in the animation realm is bolstered by robust financial backing. TV3 Catalunya, for instance, ex-

tends financial support ranging from 5% to 20% of budgets, contingent on the extent of Catalan expenditures. Currently, the channel is backing approximately 20 productions, according to Muntsa Tarrés, executive producer for the pubcaster.

Furthermore, ICEC administers a dedicated fund specifically for animation, features and series. With a budget of €4.5 million ($4.9 million) allocated for 2023, there’s also a €1.5 million development fund earmarked for early-stage projects in the realms of fiction, animation and documentary features and series, intended for theatrical or broadcast re-

Audrey’s Shelter Polinopolis

Taste Buddies

WonderPals

lease. Additional funding initiatives include a €400,000 Short Films Fund and a Minority Co-Production Fund allocated at €1.8 million for fiction, animation and documentary projects intended for a theatrical release.

Animation producers in Catalonia are well-organized and dynamic; the best example of this is Animar_BCN, a event started last year to galvanize the animation sector. The second edition will be held in Barcelona in November.

The buoyancy of the Catalan animation sector is underlined by the strength of its offering in Cannes this fall. For instance, Polinopolis from Mago Production stands out as a whimsical series focusing on first experiences set in unusual locations. Director Martin Guido says, “Children face many challenges living in this ever-changing society. Through comedy, we want them to feel supported by characters they can identify with.” Polinopolis has already premiered on CLAN and SX3, with its sights set on broadcast sales at MIPJunior. Also from Mago, The Little Orchestra (26 x 11’) is currently in pre-production for Spanish broadcaster TVE, and is a celebration of music tailored for six- to nine-year olds.

ZeptoLab heads to MIPCOM with its first long-form episodes of Om Nom Stories. Drawing inspiration from the beloved Nom character in its widely popular app, ZeptoLab has garnered a substantial following of 15 million subscribers across various platforms and 20 YouTube channels. A recent partnership with Wonderz in Germany, which enables creative companies to distribute multimedia content direct to consumers, has led to the launch of Om Nom Stories, a new ad-free app showcasing Om Nom videos.

Barcelona-based studio DeAPlaneta Kids and Family heads to Cannes with a full slate this year. Monster Shaker, a 52 x 11’ 2D co-production with Go-N Productions in France, draws from the Shaker Monster book series by Mr. Tan and Mathilde Domecq. Geared towards ages five to eight, this comedy-adventure introduces Justin, a young boy who uses his magic shaker to make numerous crazy monsters with awesome powers. Meanwhile, Superpigs (26 x 22’), a CG action-comedy series produced in collaboration with Fourth Wall (U.K.), targets six- to nine-year olds. Following their victory over the Wolf, the three pigs are awarded superhero status by the grateful cit-

izens of Fairyland. Currently in preproduction, the series will wrap in 2025.

Magic Lilly breathes new life into the classic animated Lilly the Witch with The Magic Lilly Company (Germany). Confirmed broadcasters include Spain’s TVC and Belgium’s VRT, with a German broadcaster soon to be announced. DeAPlaneta Entertainment assumes roles as both co-producer and distributor for the upcoming new series Karters, set in the distant kingdom of Unicornia. The show revolves around five kart-riding kids who must battle danger to rescue magical unipets and save the realm, emphasizing themes of friendship, girl power and persistence.

Noteworthy among BRB’s catalog is Bernard, acquired by DeAPlaneta Entertainment in January 2023. A reboot of this series (78 x 7’) is currently in development, with DeAPlaneta overseeing worldwide rights, excluding China. DeAPlaneta also has an array of IPs stemming from the metaverse and digital space in production. Earlier this year, the company acquired MetaGuardians, the first Metaverse Superheroes. Moreover, a new alliance with WonderPals, a leading Web3 brand, promises exciting prospects. Content and distribution director Carlos Biern notes, “We link and finance ideas that could come from any entertainment field or country and upgrade them to potentially becoming a global hit brand.”

Peekaboo Animation enters the scene as a co-producer of Audrey’s Shelter, in an international partnership with France and Canada as a minority co-production for RTVE. The 52 x 11’ series, tailored to ages six to nine, revolves around Audrey, whose parents manage a sanctuary for endangered animals. Simultaneously, Peekaboo is engaged in the financing process of two different shows already pitched in international forums:  My Little Heroes (52 x 11’), co-produced with Fabrique Fantastique (Belgium) and RTVE, based on a book series of the same title, and Best Friends Forever… Stranded! (40 x 11’), created by José Balbuena, in coproduction with Studio Meala (Ireland) and TVC. A third show in development, called  WAW Resort, will be shown to potential partners at MIPCOM, when the bible and teaser are ready.

Pikkukala presents Taste Buddies, a preschool adventure TV series (52 x 7’) that celebrates diversity of temperaments and flavors. The premise is quite intriguing: What if every time you tasted

something you didn’t like, a group of superheroes would come to the rescue? Each of the Taste Buddies has a unique personality, representing neurodiversity. Just like flavors, you get their full potential when combined! The series boasts a strong musical element, complemented by a collection of digital-first music clips.

New Friends and Family Fun

Created and directed by Veronica Lassenius (Royals Next Door, Fungi, Saari), Taste Buddies is a coproduction between Pikkukala and Televisió de Catalunya, with the collaboration of Svenska, YLE. The show has soon to be announced international co-production partners and is expected to be delivered in 2025. Producer Pablo Jordi comments, “We are excited to present our new friends the Taste Buddies to the world. If you have children, you know how important it is to make them have a positive and curious relation to food. And what better way to do that than through adventure and music!”

Pikkukala also dives into the production of Samuel, chronicling the life of a young boy and his first-grade friends through a first-person narrative conveyed in minimalist 2D animation. Enriched by musical compositions, the 21 short episodes delve into a tapestry of intense emotions. Samuel is created and directed by Émilie Tronche and is a co-pro between Pikkukala, Les Valseurs (France), RTVE, Televisió de Catalunya and Arte (France).

Barcelona based prodco Brutal Media makes its first foray into animation with a reboot of the classic The Triplets, which originally sold to over 160 territories and was translated into 35 languages. The Brutal team includes the original creator, Roser Capdevila, as art director, alongside Marta Capdevila. The new rendition explores the older lives of the triplets and their encounters, including the possibility of meeting, say, famous artist Frida Kahlo. This marks a promising start for Brutal, as it hopes to strengthen its presence in the animation landscape after this auspicious start.

Marie Beardmore is an animation script writer and IP creator (Zou, Sonic Boom, Squish). She is currently raising funds for her own series.

Pablo Jordi Martin Guido Carlos Biern

Simply Enchanting

Among the new animated shows debuting at MIPCOM this month is DeAPlaneta’s delightful new adaptation of Lilly, the Witch property titled Magic Lilly, Produced by B-Water, the show follows the charming adventures of a tween heroine who travels through time and space, with the aid of her magic book of spells, an enchanted little dragon and her own personal Samurai protector.

The series exec producer Michael Coldewey, whose credits include animated features such as Donkey Xote and Dragon Hunters, and blockbusters such as Captain Marvel and Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and the animated show Lilly the Witch and live-action feature Hexe Lilli , says when he and his team first decided to reboot the property, they wanted to give it their all. “The brand has been globally successful in different fields: a book series, an animated series, and a feature film series,” he points out. “We recognized the potential in Lilly’s relatable qualities and wanted to amplify them. She’s an everyday girl who can do magic, with a hunger for adventure but not always the best judgment. We’ve worked closely with Super RTL (Germany), TVE and TV Catalunya (Spain), to create a series that really builds upon the existing brand, presenting it to newer generations without competing with it. We want to honor the IP’s history and the existing fanbase.”

A Heroine’s Journey

According to Coldewey, the show offers a theme of self-discovery that’s particularly relevant to tweens. “Lilly is searching for her place in the world and trying to figure out who she is and where she fits in — her magical abilities are just one aspect of that,” he explains. “All characters are motivated by a desire to belong somewhere or discover where they came from. These are questions that kids are asking, and that’s where our stories begin. While Lilly will continue to have magical adventures through time and space, the series’ motto is ‘Let your heart take you places.’”

“The project’s animation is being produced in Spain with the talented team at

B-Water and global distribution is handled by companies that has always succeeded building up family brands like DeAPlaneta Entertainment, which has always succeeded in building popular family brands,” says the producer. “We’re expecting the first sea-

son to be ready by 2025.”

While still based on the original book property by German author Knister, the new show is quite different from previous adaptations. “The first animated series was 2D and featured Lilly and Hector traveling through time, helping people in need along the way,” notes Coldewey. “It was educational and focused on learning about the different places they visited. The live- action theatrical movies told the origin story of how Lilly got her powers. This first CGI version picks up the story for an older target, with Lilly now a competent magician ready to learn advanced magic. There’s plenty of traveling, adventure and excitement, but linked to our updated audience, we’ve also added themes around growing up, perseverance, responsibility, and friendship. It is probably a more mature and global show.”

A Fresh Look

The show’s visual style is described as “emotional” by the project’s designers. “It’s inspired by Lilly and Hector’s charming personalities,” says Coldewey. “As we expand the brand for digital/interactive audiences, the new Magic Lilly world we are designing —together with the music — will resonate incredibly well with the Tik Tok and gaming generations! It’s not Disney nor manga!!”

Of course, as is the case with any reboot of a beloved property, it was challenging to decide which parts to keep and which to update. “We had to ensure that the series’ world reflected modern society while staying true to the original characters,” he says. “Being consistent with the people who fell in love with the original books was always our first demand. We want kids to watch Magic Lilly because it’s entertaining and to rewatch it because they feel something deeper with characters that grow up like the story in the show. We want the show to resonate with our audience’s emotions and struggles and make them feel seen.” ◆

For more info, deaplanetakidsandfamily.com

DeAPlaneta Entertainment brings the charming new series Magic Lilly to the fall content markets.

A Chicken called Potato Saves the Day!

component of Future Chicken. “To ensure this vision is realized, we have taken a mixed-media approach to content creating a tactile visual experience that leverages real world natural elements into the project’s art and storytelling,” says Winder. “With an ambitious content plan, the Wind Sun Sky team has developed several different tailored pipelines that use multiple animation styles including Flash, 3D CGI and game engine technology. The result is a fresh, varied visual experience that will connect and engage kids in new ways.”

The Future Chicken world is filled with funny and imaginative characters led by helmed by the time-travelling, eco-activist chicken named Potato, also known as “Future Chicken.”

Not so long ago, Wind Sun Sky Entertainment CEO/EP Catherine Winder and publishing pioneer Annabel Slaight decided to join forces to help kids address the hope gap faced due to “climate doomism” with an innovative multi-platform initiative. “We were introduced by Canada’s Rocket Fund CEO Agnes Augustine,” recalls Winder. “Our new venture centered on an animated chicken from the future named Potato, inspired by a real chicken from ClearWater Farm. We had a shared passion to leverage laughter, positivity and engaging storytelling to build a global movement of kids empowered to help change the planet. We developed a strategy that combined my cross-platform entertainment experience with Annabel’s expertise in education. That’s how the universe based around a time-traveling, feathered eco-warrior, Future Chicken, was hatched!”

Both Winder and Slaight are Canadian media pioneers in their own right. Eco-champion Slaight is founding chair of the Ontario Water Center educational charity, but best known as co-founder of the widely acclaimed OWL kids’ empire of magazines, books and TV shows reaching more than 60 million families. Winder is an executive producer and entrepreneur with a distinguished track record of adapting global brands into the digital space having worked on iconic global properties such as Star Wars: Clone Wars, Angry Birds, Ice Age, Angry Birds and Invincible

Not Your Traditional Show

Winder points out that Future Chicken is not a traditional show but a multi-platform initiative being created in response to the ways in which today’s kids consume media. “Like Sesame Street which 50 years ago used television, Future Chicken is leveraging the technology of the times to connect with kids where they are today — across video, gaming and audio platforms —that will empower and inform them when it comes to the climate discussion,” says Winder. “Underlying the digital-first strategy is the creation of active experiences that are intended to encourage kids to appreciate and connect with nature, and even drive them outdoors. Humor and positivity are at the core of the brand. When kids are having fun, they are receptive to learning and more hopeful. This positivity empowers them to believe that their actions, big or small, matter and that they can, and will, change the future of the world.”

According to the creators, nurturing curiosity about the wonders of nature is a crucial

“The flywheel of content demonstrates to kids how present-day ideas have taken hold for a better future time by travelling back from the year 2050,” notes Winder. “Potato’s comedic team of fellow Planet Protectors include an electric catfish with a penchant for hats, a joke-cracking egg with rocket pants for flight, a soil connoisseur worm and a mushroom with a passion for cyclical regeneration and standup. They represent a rich story world that reflects the interconnectedness of our planet coupled with a huge dose of hilarity.”

The series’ visionary creators hope that the plucky chicken and her friends (Worm, Fritatta, Potato, Persa and Bello) will help enforce a new optimistic, can-do attitude in young viewers as they face the challenges of our age. “Through a range of entertaining and educational experiences, Future Chicken is envisioned as a global digital community for young change-makers, primarily 7-9+ years of age,” concludes Winder. “The initiative’s mission is to counteract today’s climate “doomism” by fostering a sense of hope and positivity grounded in evidence-based solutions happening today. By sharing the possibilities for a better future, Future Chicken will inspire and empower kids to believe their actions, no matter how big or small, can have a positive impact on the planet.” ◆

Future Chicken content will start to drop in early November 2023 on YouTube, Roblox, a Podcast and website Futurechicken.com with additional partnerships to be announced soon. For more info, visit futurechicken.com.

Wind Sun Sky’s Future Chicken empowers young viewers to help our planet.

Mo-cap performers Rita Yee and Dylan Mandlsohn help inspire the animation in Future Chicken.

Meet Your New Preproduction Partner!

Scriptsee founder Greg Harman discusses the benefits of utilizing his dynamic new storytelling tool in animation production.

Can you tell us a little bit about the genesis of your company?

Greg Harman: The last decade saw Silvia Harman Mihaleje and myself successfully run Mechanic Animation where we had produced a significant volume of animated TV series for Marvel. We got talking with our tech-savvy friend DJ de Villiers in 2018 and we recognized that AI technology had reached a point where it could revolutionize the field of story-telling. With funding in hand, we embarked on the Scriptsee journey in 2020. We brought talented data scientists on board and formed the new company Motion Tech Lab. It’s been an exciting journey of tech and growth. We are incredibly pleased with the progress we’ve made and the direction in which Scriptsee is headed.

Scriptsee is described as a new A.I.-based tool that is created to help development and production teams….can you elaborate on that?

Scriptsee is a game-changer for the entire storytelling pipeline. We recognize that crafting a compelling story involves not only understanding the emotional nuances but also the intricate details that bring a narrative to life. Scriptsee delves into scripts, extracting emotions, traits, interactions, breakdowns and even influencing dynamics between characters.

It’s crucial to emphasize that Scriptsee is not a generative AI tool that writes scripts. We’re analytical AI. Our role is to analyze the existing content and provide valuable data points that empower creators to make objective decisions rapidly. Think of us as a trusted partner for storytellers during the pre-production phase. As projects move into the production stage, we provide detailed breakdowns of characters, locations, props, and effects. We extract these elements, presenting them in a visual timeline that provides a comprehensive overview.

What are some of the advantages of using Scriptsee?

Scriptsee transforms pre-production by swiftly extracting and presenting script data, saving valuable time. This efficiency empowers development and production teams to make informed decisions during the project’s critical early stages.

Additionally, Scriptsee fosters collaboration and creativity. Data-driven insights enable cross-functional teams to align with the story’s emotional arc. This collaboration enhances characters, scenes, and dialogues. Scriptsee enhances storytelling precision

by exploring traits, interactions, and character dynamics, enabling creators to craft intricate relationships that enrich the narrative. This results in a captivating and immersive storytelling experience.

Scriptsee also aids risk mitigation. Data-driven insights help creators identify story weaknesses early, reducing the risk of misalignment and facilitating adjustments before significant resources are committed to production.

How do you respond to those who are concerned about AI replacing humans and artists in entertainment?

Embracing technology is vital for artistic growth. History shows artists using available tools, from paint brushes to graphics software. AI complements the creative process, providing fresh perspectives. Like past innovations, AI lets artists delve deeper into storytelling. It’s a synergy of human ingenuity and tech that propels us into new creative realms.

Our goal is to empower storytellers. Scriptsee handles data-heavy tasks, giving creators room for exploration, amplifying their creativity. It creates space for creative visions to flourish.

What are some of the other benefits of the Scriptsee?

In addition to streamlining pre-production and enhancing collaboration, Scriptsee seamlessly inte-

grates from script creation to production, ensuring insights throughout development.

Scriptsee empowers deep connections with viewers through emotional dynamics, fostering resonance for successful storytelling.Swift draft comparison transforms collaboration, allowing teams to grasp changes within minutes, maintaining coherence. Scriptsee encourages story experimentation, sparking innovation in both traditional and emerging formats Additionally, Scriptsee’s immersive exploration lets users dive into the story from various angles, enriching understanding and decision-making.

Can you tell us about some of your clients and how they are using this new tool?

We’ve had strong interest in Scriptsee from a variety of entities, including major agencies and renowned production studios. While I can’t disclose client identities due to ongoing discussions, I can certainly provide insight into how organizations across the industry are exploring Scriptsee’s potential. They see how Scriptsee’s analytical capabilities can streamline their creative processes, enhance collaboration, and ultimately lead to more resonant and engaging storytelling. We’ve also conducted extensive testing with around 30 different writers, producers, directors, and creative executives over the years, refining our tool’s capabilities based on their feedback.

What would you like the animation community to know about scriptsee?

Scriptsee is a collaborative tool that stands alongside creators, amplifying their artistic instincts. We’re here to enhance human creativity. Our focus is on providing data-driven insights that uncover the emotional intricacies, traits, interactions, and influences in story-telling.

We support the vital roles of writers, producers, artists, and directors with a tool that dives into the heart of the story. We look forward to speeding up the pre-production process of animation and helping you strive for higher production value on screen. ◆

For more info, visit scriptsee.io

Scriptsee unleashes new storytelling tools created to aid animation production.

Silvia Harman Mihaleje

Greg Harman

Flashback to ‘70s-Era New York City

The Continental’s VFX upervisor discusses the wellchoreographed effects of the riveting miniseries.

- By Trevor Hogg -

This fall, Peacock viewers get a chance to explore the backstory of Winston Scott, the debonair hotelier from the popular John Wick franchise, in a three-part miniseries Directed by Albert Hughes and Charlotte Brändström and written by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward, Shawn Simmons and Ken Kristensen, The Continental: From the World of John Wick stars Colin Woodell as the young version of Scott (the character made famous by Ian McShane in the John Wick series), as well as Mel Gibson, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Jessica Allain and Mishel Prada.

Those worried that the action and violence would be toned down for the small screen will be happy to know that bullets fly mercilessly, blood gushes freely and the body count keeps on multiplying in this show as well. Taking care of the project’s realistic visual effects is VFX supervisor John Decker, whose long list of credits includes For All Mankind, Inventing Anna and American Horror Story. “The show is set in the 1970s, which harkened back to the classic movie of the week and miniseries like The Winds of War, where you had these event evenings,” Decker points out.

The opening gunfight featuring Scott’s brother Frankie (Ben Robson) as he attempts to leave The Continental hotel after stealing a mysterious item is a well-choreographed ballet between stunts, special effects, camera and digital effects. “That sequence was meant to feel like one seamless take, but the cuts were well hidden within the action,” he notes.

“Everyone went into the stairwell knowing what all the bits were going to be. Our work was classic guns from the John Wick menu card of muzzle flashes, bullet hits on the walls and people, and stunt rig removal for people who go flying.”

The miniseries’ bullet hits, muzzle flashes and blood splatters were all meticulously art directed. “Early on, Albert Hughes and I worked through a vocabulary of what he wanted. Albert didn’t want anything too over the top, and that line moved a little one way or the other according to taste,” says Decker.

A serious “ouch” moment takes place when Yen (Nhung Kate), Frankie’s martial arts proficient spouse, shoves her attacker’s hand into a food waste disposal and turns it on. “All of that blood is visual effects. We definitely went through a few ranges of how much do we see splatter onto that tiled backsplash, and kept on going further and further. The digital artists did a great job because it feels wet and gooey, and the sound that goes along with it helps a lot, too! That’s one of those moments when you’re not thinking of visual effects when you watch it. You’re going, ‘Ugh,’ because it is so gut-wrenching.”

Lou (Jessica Allain), who runs a family dojo in Chinatown, gets to display her hand-to-hand combat skills in the back of a pickup truck. “Almost every outdoor setting that you see there is set extension work being done,” reveals Decker. “In that case, extending Chinatown and putting Greater New York up on the skyline. We’re touching most of those exteriors. For the fight itself, there were a lot of stunt mats

and rigging for flips, jumps and spins that had to be removed. We worked with the stunt team to understand what they were planning and to figure out the camera positions.”There were no digital doubles used in that sequence. “When

BUDAPEST PLAYS NEW YORK: The visual effects team was able to rebuild a ’70s-era version of New York City by using bluescreen photography shot in Origo Studios in Budapest well as shooting plates in the Big Apple itself.

you see Lou kicking and punching, that is Lou kicking and punching. Most of the actors were game to participate when they could,” explains the VFX supervisor.

The Continental diverts a bit from the slick, ultraviolent visual style established by the cinematic franchise. “That freed us to do what was appropriate for the style of these films and the time period that they’re set in, which is more of that gritty French Connection verisimilitude,” says Decker. “For our part, we focused on the numerous people who are going to be asking, ‘Does this New York feel like what I remember it being as a kid?’ Even though we played a little with the geography, the aim was not to go too far into an overly stylized world.”

On the backlot of Origo Studios in Budapest, a three-story exterior of The Continental and a couple of city blocks were constructed based on concept art provided by production designer Drew Boughton. “We brought in the colors, tones and architectural elements of the concept art,” states Decker. “Albert would do a fair number of rough storyboards which were more to do with the camera. We had a lot of stuff from the art department that could be leveraged once we got into post and were exploring the world with the vendors.”

Bluescreen was placed at the end of backlot set. “Elements of people and cars were shot against bluescreen and populated out all the way down the streets to the vanishing point on the horizon.”

According to Decker, a week was spent shooting plates and reference of rooftops and water towers in New York City. “For the scrapyard where Charlie [Peter Greene] lives that has the RV underneath the Manhattan Bridge, we did go there and took notes of what you see and where the World Trade Center would have been. We also looked at several older movies from the 1970s where you can find what the skyline should look like in our films and what were the general characteristics of the buildings.”

Interior sets did not require much in the way of visual effects. “In most cases, we were putting Manhattan outside of windows, but for the most part the rooms themselves, such as Cormac’s office or the hallways, were practical sets that we shot on a stage or location.”

All three episodes were shot before going into post-production, which proved to be helpful when assembling the signature slow-motion shots. “That gave our editors a head start, because even though we were still shooting they were actively cutting and working through all of those re-speeds and re-timings,” says Decker. “By the time we were going to turnover to our vendors, those re-speeds had been established, talked about, looked at and agreed upon.”

A ’70s Show

In total, 1,400 visual effects shots were created for the miniseries. “We tried to keep the vendor list relatively small and most of the set pieces were fairly self-contained,” says

Decker. “Crafty Apes handled The Continental set extensions while Zoic Studios did Chinatown. Those assets could be developed and created separately because they did not have any interaction. Charlie’s scrapyard was Spin VFX and FuseFX did our Manhattan Bridge sequence in the first episode.”

Frankie, Winston and Yen escaping in a Mustang from Charlie’s scrapyard was one of the most complex scenes to execute in the whole project. As Becker details, “The street with the buildings was one plate that had to be shot with a camera high up on a crane. However, that set ended after 150 feet, so in order to get a plate of the car being 500 feet away, we had to shoot another plate on another night with a different camera and crane. Then the helicopter on the roof is a third set, which was only about 10 feet off the ground on a different part of the lot. That was nerve-racking until we saw it all put together.”

In the end, the biggest challenge was trying to create a believable 1970s version of New York City. “Our goal was to make sure that the character of New York comes through so no one is thinking about where we shot it as they watch it,” says the VFX master. “I feel like we did it. There are a lot of shots that you would never believe that we did on a backlot once we dropped in all of our stuff.” ◆

The Continental: From the World of John Wick is currently streaming on Peacock.

‘We focused on the numerous people who are going to be asking, “Does this New York feel like what I remember it being as a kid?” Even though we played a little with the geography, the aim was not to go too far into an overly stylized world.’

— Visual effects supervisor John Decker

URBAN DETAILS: Around 1,400 VFX shots were created for the miniseries overall. Crafty Apes handled The Continental set extensions while Zoic Studios worked on the Chinatown scenes.

Tech Reviews

- By Todd Sheridan Perry -

Maxon’s ZBrush 2023.2

ZBrush 2023 made its big debut in January this year, but we are now up to 2023.2.2. Let’s look at the latest: When manipulating geometry, it can get cumbersome to deform and move things that keep other parts in place. The Anchor Point Brush has been added to help. Using this tool, you place your first point where you want to lock the model, and then another which becomes the handle to manipulate, like a hinge on the door to the door handle. Then, you transform, rotate, scale or even use some deforms like twist and inflate (a hint of more to come), and the geometry deforms, while remaining locked as the anchor point. Further, you can “walk down” the mesh as you manipulate around the points and your control point switches to become the anchor point. Then, you move the original anchor point to a new manipulation point. For example, when you are image repositioning an arm: anchor in the shoulder while the manipulator is at the elbow, then you move down the arm, the elbow becomes the anchor and the wrist is the manipulator.

Using the Anchor Point Brush is particularly effective when used with Proxy Pose (released earlier this year), where you can decimate your model for easier posing and deforming, and then restore the full resolution and detail after you’re done.

The Morph Brush allows you to take a previous snapshot of your model (as long as the topology has remained the same), and then blend the two states of the model through brushstrokes. Let’s say you have a bunch of spiky horns that you’ve sculpted on the shell of your Ankylosaur. You can load up your morph brush with the pre-spike version of the model, and then paint back the spikes with weighted strokes to taper them off.

You can snap objects to one another based on normals or points via the Contact tool. This saves a lot of time trying to align and manipulate sub-tools to line up to one another. It’s made more controllable because you can use multiple points to set up the alignment.

Finally, the powerful Spotlight tool, which is used for projection painting and sculpting, has a few more sliders added to finesse how the gray values in a texture push or pull the surface based on where the “mid-level” is. If the mid-level is set to zero, then everything is lifted — meaning all values above black pull the surface up. At 50%, everything brighter than mid-gray will pull up, and darker than mid-gray will push in, while 100% means everything darker than white will push in. There is also a blur slider which helps with lower-res patterns/alphas to help with any aliasing that might happen.

These are indeed some great tools that make sculpting even more productive, efficient and interactive.

Website: maxon.net/en/ZBrush

Price: $29.91 (per month); $359 (per year)

Maxon’s Universe

Universe is a collection of generators, filters, text treatments, transitions and utilities geared toward editors, motion graphic designers and grading artists to add style and flare to their projects. It is grounded in numerous presets, but it offers plenty of values and sliders to tweak and make the looks your own.

As it became integrated into the Maxon world of digital tools, its presets merged into the library known as Capsules, a vast library of prebuilt assets available to Maxon subscribers, and stretching across most of the tools. There are prebuilt plants, scenes, models, lighting setups, HDRs and parametric objects to be used in Cinema 4D. Redshift materials can be used in any of the Redshift flavors across DCCs as well as in ZBrush. Speaking of ZBrush, there is a plethora of alpha brushes,

textures and meshes.

The same holds true for Universe, where presets are continually added into various tools — 42 presets were added back in March for 2023.1, and another 50 presets are in the mix for the new release. Most of the new presets have been designed with travel bloggers, music video directors and influencers in mind, giving an array of stylized looks more in tune with Instagram sensibilities.

In the 2023.1 release, Maxon added a fancy new tool called Symbol Remapper, which takes the color and luminance values in your foot age and uses it to drive font letters numbers and symbols to create a collage of graphics. Various sliders give you the opportunity to give it your own vibe, and there are even some controls for adding glows and scanlines to make it look “old timey” — because I guess 20 years ago is now considered old timey!

On top of all the great new looks and sexy tools, Maxon has also spent a lot of time localizing the software for Japan and China, which I suspect isn’t a trivial task!

Website: maxon.net/en/red-giant/universe

Price: $16.59 (per month); $199 (per year)

Xencelabs’ Pen Display 24

As a longtime fan and user of Wacom tablets, I have yearned for some competition — not because I no longer like Wacom, but because competition inspires innovation. This longing was answered in 2019 by a company called Xencelabs, and they now have a 24” display tablet that has features Wacom users will appreciate,

other unique attributes.

First, let’s cover the technical aspects. The screen measures 24” diagonal but the full size of the tablet is more like 28.5” due to the bezel. The wider bezel is an intentional decision to give the users some play outside the edges of the drawing area for palm heel support. It’s a compromise between reducing the size/weight of the tablet with a really large bezel and the newer trend of having nearly no bezel. If you are drawing, and your hand has to go off the surface — especially when accessing vertical menus on the left and right like Photoshop and ZBrush — it causes undue fatigue in your wrists. Yes, the pen only weighs an ounce, but when you do that eight to 10 hours a day for your lifetime, it could add up.

The screen is 4K with 1.07 billion colors and an accuracy of 99% Adobe RGB and 93% DCI-P3 with Pantone and Skintone validation. That means the specifications will be well within scope of any tasks you are attacking

from sculpting to comping to matte painting. (Maybe not grading, but if you are a professional colorist, you shouldn’t be using your display tablet as your color-critical monitor.) Further, the coating on the screen gives some nice tooth to the surface to give you that feeling of drawing on paper, and it also acts as an anti-reflective surface, so your blacks remain contrasty, even at an angle. I usually drop my tablet on the edge of the tablet in my lap, and that means the screen would be reflecting the ceiling above me. If there’s a light, that becomes a problem.

Xencelabs provides not just one EMR stylus, but two. One is a thicker artist-type pen, while the other is a thinner pencil style.

The idea behind it is that artists may have different preferences for different tasks, so instead of saying, “Hey, we also have this different kind of pen, if you’d like to go to the store,” they are saying, “Here are some options out of the box!” Both styles have multiple buttons on the body, which is a necessity for me. And per standards, the buttons are customizable per application. They have 8,192 levels for the pressure curve and 60 degrees for the tilt angle.

You also get a Quick Key Bluetooth, handheld puck so you can easily access modifier keys, all of which are programmable. It also has a shuttle dial, which I use while animating to “flip” frames.

There are many more features, but I’m running out of space. The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is a strong contender in the display market. The specs check out, but the price point, while still an investment, is a fraction of the nearest competition. It’s definitely worth a look!

Website: xencelabs.com

Price: $1,899 ◆

Todd Sheridan Perry is an award-winning VFX supervisor and digital artist whose credits include  Black Panther,  Avengers: Age of Ultron and For All Mankind. You can reach him at todd@teaspoonvfx.com.

A DAY IN THE LIFE

This month, we pay a visit to superstar husband-and-wife team Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton and Ian Hamilton, who are supervising producers on the much-loved Warner Bros./DC animated series Harley Quinn, which streams on Max. Here’s a peek at their colorful and busy lives:

Eating breakfast with the kids. Mornings are always hectic with three children, but it is nice to spend some time with them before the day starts.

Walking our dog, Molly McButter, before lunch. She is a 16-year-old Dachshund and Jack Russell Terrier mix who loves to bark at other dogs and chase squirrels around the neighborhood.

Here we are having lunch at one of our favorite spots in Burbank.

Taking a short break to play some tunes with the kids.

Reviewing some storyboards together before the end of the day.

Relaxing with the family and watching movies on the couch is the perfect way to end a long day!

An afternoon meeting with production at our new offices in the Warner Bros.’ Second Century building.

Drawing some redlines for retakes on final footage for our animation studio overseas.

Getting inspiration from one of the classics. Batman: The Animated Series is one of my favorite shows of all time.