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Movie News

Tiger’s On His Way

Just over a year ago we mentioned that Laurence Yep’s popular fantasy novel The Tiger’s Apprentice would be on its way to movie screens in 2022. Well now thanks to AWN we have an update: “Time to brush up on your Chinese Zodiac! Hunky Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, Last Christmas) is set to lend his vocal talents to his first ever voice acting gig as the shape-shifting tiger, Mr. Hu, in Paramount Animation’s feature film adaptation of Laurence Yep’s 2003 best-selling children’s book, The Tiger’s Apprentice. The film marks the feature directing debut for Carlos Baena, a former Pixar animator known for his work on Wall-E and Toy Story 3, as well as his award winning 2019 animated short, La NoriaThe Tiger’s Apprentice, book one in a trilogy of the same name, follows Tom, a young boy living in San Francisco. The real world and one of magic collide when Tom meets Mr. Hu, a talking tiger who mentors the child in the art of mystical protection against evil.” No word yet on any changes to the date, so hopefully we can still look forward to it on February 11th, year after next.

image c. 2020 HarperCollins

Real Pigeons Fight Crime

There is no way we could come up with a better lead-in than simply giving you the title of this new series! This is from Animation Scoop: “Nickelodeon has struck a multi-platform deal with James Corden and Ben Winston, and their production company Fulwell 73, to produce an animated movie and TV series based on the recently released children’s book title, Real Pigeons Fight Crime. The movie and TV series are being developed to air on all Nickelodeon platforms… Added Ramsey Naito, Executive VP, Nickelodeon Animation Production and Dev., ‘Real Pigeons Fight Crime is about a secret squad of crime-fighting pigeons, with high stakes and true hilarity making it a perfect fit for our audience. By fusing the humor and expertise of this the incredible team at Fulwell 73 Productions, we are ready to show kids what pigeons really do–fight crime, solve mysteries, take down bad guys, and keep neighborhoods safe!'” In case you were wondering. Oh! Check out the original book over at Penguin Random House.

image c. 2020 Fulwell 73

Turtles Back In Action

Seems as if we’re never far away from a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles project. We just found this article: “Deadline has learned that Nickelodeon is rebooting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the big screen with Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver producing, and Jeff Rowe (Gravity Falls, Connected) directing. Brendan O’Brien (Neighbors: Sorority Rising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates) will write the screenplay. Paramount will be handling global distribution on the film.” This would be the first time since Imagi Pictures’ TMNT from 2007 that we’d have a fully CGI Ninja Turtles feature film as opposed to the recent CGI/live-action hybrids.

image c. 2020 Imagi Studios

Careful — They’re Organized

Animation World Network let us know that a sequel to the hit animated film Chicken Run is finally in the works. (Did you know that Chicken Run was the highest-grossing stop-motion animated movie ever?) “The unnamed sequel is set to enter full production in 2021 with Sam Fell (Flushed Away, ParaNorman) at the helm. Aardman co-founder and creative director Peter Lord, long-time Aardman producer Carla Shelley (Shaun the Sheep Movie, The Pirates! Band of Misfits) and Karey Kirkpatrick (Smallfoot) are returning as executive producers; Steve Pegram (Arthur Christmas) is producing. The script is being written by Kirkpatrick, John O’ Farrell and Rachel Tunnard. Nick Park, the Oscar-winning creator of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, will consult on the film… The sequel will revisit the world of Ginger, who has finally found her dream – a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl named Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk – this time, they’re breaking in!” Stay tooned for more information on a release date as we get it.

image c. 2020 Aardman Animation

Roaring Out Of South Africa

According to the Wikipedia page, Jungle Beat is a CGI animated TV series out of South Africa, featuring the dialogue-free adventures and antics of various African animals. Later, the series was expanded into the adventures of Munki and Trunk. (No prizes for guessing what species they are…) Well now this year Munki and Trunk are on their way in their own feature film as Sunrise Productions presents Jungle Beat: The Movie. “One morning, the animals of the jungle wake up to discover that they can speak. They’re even more amazed when they learn the reason why: There’s an alien in the jungle! Little Fneep has come to conquer the planet and has brought some crazy tech with him, including a translation device that lets them talk for the first time. Unfortunately for the intergalactic Scaldronian empire, but fortunately for the jungle, Fneep is a terrible conqueror: He’s homesick, he’s crashed his ship, and he’s no match for the antics of Munki, Trunk, and the gang.” Keep your eyes open: The producers are planning a world-wide on-line release party at the end of this month.

image c. 2020 Sunrise Productions

Looking Forward to 2020

The latter part of ye ed-otter’s presentation on Furry Movies took a look at titles of “anthro interest” coming up in 2020. So here’s the list of movies that we’re following, along with when they’re scheduled to be released:

  • Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon (imdb, January)
  • The Big Trip (imdb, January)
  • Doolittle (imdb, January)
  • Spycies (imdb, January)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog (imdb, February)
  • Call of the Wild (imdb, February)
  • Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (imdb, February)
  • Onward (imdb, March)
  • The Queen’s Corgi (imdb, March)
  • Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (imdb, April)
  • Trolls World Tour (imdb, April)
  • Un rescate de huevitos (imdb, April)
  • Scoob! (imdb, May)
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru (imdb, July)
  • Dragon Rider (imdb, August)
  • The One and Only Ivan (imdb, August)
  • The Croods 2 (imdb, December)
  • Raya and the Last Dragon (imdb, December)
  • Wish Dragon (imdb, no release date yet)
  • The Fandom (YouTube, no release date yet)

So! Know of anything we’re forgetting? Let us know!

image c. 2019 Universal Pictures

Furry Movies of 2019

Just returned from Midwest FurFest outside Chicago. GOODNESS what an impressive event! Among many other things there, your ever-lovin’ ed-otter presented a lecture called Furry Movies of 2019 — mostly as a way to remind people about some of the anthropomorphic items (very broadly defined!) which are eligible for the 2020 Ursa Major Awards. At the end of it, some folks in the audience asked if there was a version of the list up on line. Well guess what? Now there is! Furry movies (and movies with interesting anthropomorphic characters in them) this year have included:

  • A Dog’s Way Home (imdb)
  • The Underdog, from Korea (imdb)
  • Sheep & Wolves: Pig Deal, from Russia (imdb)
  • Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past, from China (imdb)
  • The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (imdb)
  • How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World (imdb)
  • Manou the Swift, from Germany (imdb)
  • Dumbo (imdb)
  • Missing Link (imdb)
  • Avengers: Endgame (imdb)
  • Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (imdb)
  • Ugly Dolls (imdb)
  • Wonder Park (imdb)
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (imdb)
  • Secret Life of Pets 2 (imdb)
  • Toy Story 4 (imdb)
  • The Lion King (imdb)
  • The Banana Splits Movie (imdb)
  • The Angry Birds Movie 2 (imdb)
  • Abominable (imdb)
  • The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily, from France & Italy (imdb)
  • Arctic Dogs (imdb)
  • Lady and the Tramp (imdb)
  • Frozen 2 (imdb)
  • Togo, coming on December 13th (imdb)
  • Cats, coming on December 20th (imdb)
  • Spies in Disguise, coming on December 25th (imdb)
  • Hayop Ka! aka You Son of a Bitch!, from Korea — coming soon (YouTube)

And also coming soon: Look for a run-down of anthropomorphic movies to look forward to in 2020!

image c. 2019 Disney

Here Come The Annie Awards!

Presented annually by the Hollywood Chapter of ASIFA (the International Animated Film Society), the Annie Awards are considered by many to the the Oscars of animation — and often enough, a vital clue as to who is likely in the running for Academy Awards from this year. Recently, the nominees for the Annie Awards of 2019 were announced. Surprising no one, Disney dominated in several categories, most especially in Best Feature Film. Frozen 2 and Toy Story 4 were both on that list, along with Missing Link, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and Klaus. Missing Link did surprise many, matching Frozen 2 at 8 overall nominations each. Over in the TV categories, notable furry nominees included Bojack Horseman, Disney Mickey Mouse, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a pleasant surprise: Tuca & Bertie in several categories. Visit the official Annie Awards web site to find out more. The Awards will be presented at a ceremony live from UCLA on January 25th, 2020.

image c. 2019 Netflix

So Who’s In Danger?

Interesting news: Bob Weinstein, brother of the infamous-many-times-over Harvey, is still making movies… and his next project is animated. And furry, according to Animation World Network. “Bob Weinstein… is back on the scene with a new production company, Watch This Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The new boutique production house’s first film is animated: Endangered, a family adventure being co-produced with Téa Leoni, who will also voice the lead character. The film is based on a 2017 book of animal photography by U.K. wildlife photographer Tim Flach. French collective Illogic, a group of six artists known for their work on the 2018 Oscar-nominated short film, Garden Party, will write and direct the film.” That’s all we know so far. Keep your ears up for when we learn more about the plot and the release date!

image c. 2019 Watch This Entertainment