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No, He Doesn’t Like Mushrooms

Another graphic novel for young readers, this time from a writer and illustrator known only as Dav. Magnetic Press describes Beneath The Trees: The Autumn of Mr. Grumpf as being in the spirit of Disney Animation or Don Bluth films. “Winter is fast approaching and all the animals in the forest are in full preparation: storing food and provisions, dining on the last worms with the neighbors, etc… All the animals but one: Grumpy badger Mr Grumpf just can’t finish sweeping the dead leaves off his doorstep with everyone coming by to disturb him! Grumpf!” There’s a preview at the publisher’s web site.

image c. 2021 Magnetic Press

The Clever Cat and his Minions

Staying with cats for a while, once again we have something cool coming to Europe… and likely not coming to North America. This one we’ve mentioned before, and now we’ve got an update (with lots of pictures) thanks to Animation Magazine. “Sky (U.K.) released first-look character images and new teaser poster for The Amazing Maurice, a Sky Original arriving next year to mark the 20th Anniversary of the book by Sir Terry Pratchett… In The Amazing Maurice, Maurice is a streetwise ginger cat who comes up with a money-making scam by befriending a group of self-taught talking rats. When Maurice and the rodents reach the stricken town of Bad Blintz, they meet a bookworm called Malicia and their little con soon goes down the drain.” There’s quite an amazing cast of voice actors for this one, so look for it if you can when it arrives on Sky in 2022.

image c. 2021 Sky

Lost and Found and Furry

Drew Brockington has returned to Little Brown Books with a new graphic novel spun off from their their much-talked-about Catstronauts series. “One very special Saturday, Dad-Cat decides to take Waffles and his sister Pancake to the big city to go to the science museum! While they’re there, the kittens see extraordinary things, like dino-cats, hairballs in 4D, and even the planetarium. But as the kittens learn about constellations and Neil Pawstrong, they get separated from Dad-Cat. Oh no!” Waffles and Pancake Volume 1: Planetary Yum is available now.

image c. 2021 Little Brown Books

Hello Beastie!

Kraken Me Up (gotta love that) is a new hardcover graphic novel for beginning readers, written and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. “Izzie can’t wait to debut her pet at the county fair. While the other children have brought pigs or chickens, Izzie brought a…Kraken! Even though everyone thinks Kraken is big and frightening, he is not. He’s like Izzie, sweet and shy. Kraken and Izzie use creativity and humor to win over the crowd in this hilariously adorable comic.” Find out more over at the Random House web site.

image c. 2021 Penguin Random House

Easter In One Body

[Back from Biggest Little Fur Con, and ready to roll!] We literally stumbled across a new furry film coming out in Europe next year. As usual with many such projects, we have no idea if it will ever see the light of day in North America, but we can hope. It’s called Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (whew!) and it’s based on the Chickenhare series of graphic novels by Chris Grine. “The series follows the story of Chickenhare, a rare and exotic cross between a chicken and a rabbit, and his bearded box turtle friend, Abe,” says Wikipedia. The movie, meanwhile, goes like this: “Set in a lush fantasy world, the film follows the adventures of Chickenhare, a young hero born half chicken and half hare, who was adopted by King Peter, a famous hare adventurer. Eager to fit in and feel loved in spite of his differences, Chickenhare is obsessed with adventuring – no matter how clumsy he is. When the Kingdom’s greatest villain – his own uncle – escapes from jail and threatens to overthrow his father, Chickenhare embarks on an epic race against time along with Abe, a sarcastic turtle, and Meg, a reckless female martial arts expert, to stop him.” Turns out the film has been in development for quite a while now, before finally being brought to the screen next year by directors Ben Stassen and Benjamin Mousquet. The Internet Movie Database has the official trailer and more information.

image c. 2021 nWave Pictures

SEE the Jungles of South America — Now

You may recall that we’ve been following development of the animated film Koati for some time now. Well recently Animation World Network was kind enough to let us know that now it’s been released in theaters! “Releasing in theaters today, Koati follows the heroic adventure of three unlikely heroes:  Nachi (Sebastián Villalobos), a free-spirited coati; Xochi (Evaluna Montaner), a fearless monarch butterfly; and Pako (Eduardo Franco), a hyperactive glass frog – who embark on an exciting journey to prevent a wicked coral snake named Zaina (Sofía Vergara) from destroying their homeland of Xo. This is the first animated feature film produced by Upstairs, along with Los Hijos de Jack and Latin We. With animation by long-time Disney collaborator Toon City Animation, the film not only features actor Vergara as the film’s main antagonist, but the Modern Family star also serves as executive producer.” IMDB has the film’s official trailer. [ye ed-otter is off for a few days. See you all after BLFC!]

image c. 2021 Upstairs

Feed the Kitties. Now.

Out now from Harper Collins is the first volume of Cat & Cat Adventures, written and illustrated by Susie Yi. It’s called The Quest for Snacks. “One day when their human leaves for work, Squash and Ginny find themselves in the most unfortunate predicament: Without snacks. With a little help from a magical portal, the two cats embark on a quest to find ingredients for a potion that will produce unlimited goodies. At first, their mission doesn’t seem so tough. It takes them on a boat race across Mewmaid Ocean and a hot air balloon ride over Mount Lava. But when the cats reach the Enchanted Rain Forest to gather enchanted rainwater, the last item on their list, their mission runs dry. . . It turns out it hasn’t rained in the Enchanted Rain Forest in weeks!” Find out what happens next to our heroes at the publisher’s official web site.

image c. 2021 Harper Collins

Defender of the City. Heaven Help Us All.

We’ve heard a lot lately from comic writer Steve Foxe. Well now he’s back again with a new full-color graphic novel, illustrated by Shadia Amin. “Experience a laugh-out-loud day in the life of Spider-Ham! After long being derided by the citizens of New York, Spider-Ham has finally been recognized for his outsized contribution to the city’s safety, and receives the key to the city from none other than the mayor (and, being a cartoon universe, the key actually unlocks New York City’s political and financial institutions). Sure, it’s just a publicity stunt for the beleaguered mayor-and yeah, maybe every single other super hero was busy that day — but an award is an award!” Spider Ham: Great Power, No Responsibility is available now in trade paperback or hardcover from Scholastic. There’s an interesting video up on YouTube as well.

image c. 2021 Scholastic

Dragons Return — Tomorrow

Exciting news from the world of streaming. “DreamWorks Animation has shared a teaser trailer for the all-new CG animated series Dragons: The Nine Realms. Inspired by the hugely popular How to Train Your Dragon movie franchise, the show premieres on Hulu and Peacock December 23. Set 1,300 years after the events of How to Train Your Dragon, dragons are now just a legend to the modern world. When a geological anomaly opens an immense, miles-deep fissure in the Earth’s surface, scientists from all over the world gather at a new research facility to study the mysterious phenomenon. Soon a group of misfit kids, brought to the site by their parents, uncover the truth about dragons and where they’ve been hiding — a secret they must keep to themselves to protect what they’ve discovered.” Find out more and see the teaser trailer over at AWN.

image c. 2021 Dreamworks