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New Take on an Old… Well Actually, Young Iguana

We got this direct from Animation World Network: “Hoho Entertainment has announced they have joined forces with JLI to co-develop and co-produce a brand-new animated preschool series based on the Latin heritage brand Juana la Iguana. In the new series, Juana becomes mentor and guide to youngsters Amazonas and Miguel. She leads them on exciting adventures as they discover the magic and wonder of Estrella Island. Juana shows the kids that kindness and compassion are the problem-solving tools needed to overcome any difficulty.  Heritage brand Juana la Iguana has been a favorite in Latin America for over 20 years. The original Spanish-language character show was created by Tania Gilinski, along with partners Amanda Quijano and Anita Katz – the three Latin American mothers wanted to create a program for children that incorporated both culture and values. The Juana the Iguana series began as three home videos, one of which was second only to The Lion King in sales in Venezuela. It was then picked up by national TV and became a smash hit in home and neighboring Latin America territories.” No word yet on North American distribution for this new series, but we assume the producers would love that.

image c. 2019 Hoho Entertainment

Does Stitch Know?

More stuff we found at WonderCon this year. Ohana Bears are the creation of “Hawaii’s own internationally renown award winning artist/designer: Bo Bergemann”. So says their web site. The cute Hawaiian bear art is available on various apparel, mugs, phone covers, and other products. And: They’re about to release a brand new plush toy based on their star character, Mahalo Bear.

image c. 2019 by Karin Bergemann

Flavorz of the Week

At WonderCon we came across an artist known as Jo2, who creates art under the name Artistic Flavorz. As you can see from their web site, they specialize in especially cute, chibi versions of characters from many places — but with a particular affinity for Disney and Harry Potter. Visit them to see what they offer in greeting cards, stickers, and especially enamel pins.

image c. 2019 by Artistic Flavorz

Give Him That Medal!

Perhaps the most famous “fur-suiter” on the planet has left us. Peter Mayhew, best known as the human inside the massive “walking carpet” Chewbacca in the Star Wars series of films, passed away on April 30th at the age of 74. Interestingly, before Mr. Mayhew came to the attention of director George Lucas he appeared as another anthropomorphic character: The minotaur in 1976’s Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. Peter Mayhew played Chewbacca the 200-year-old wookie from the first Star Wars film in 1977 (Episode 4, aka A New Hope) until 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when he passed on the role to former basketball player Joonas Suatamo. But Peter Mayhew will always be known as the warbling roar that announced Star Wars to the world.

image c. 2019 The Verge

Very Posh Pets

There are many artists out there who offer up specialty high-class pet portraits, whether in paintings or photography. We’ve featured some of them here before. But now we’ve come across a different sort of pet portrait, thanks to an artist named Cassandra Nuss. She takes pictures of your beloved dogs, cats, or birds, and converts them into painted portraits in the style of classic painters like Rembrandt. Take a look at her Etsy store and see what she’s done so far.

image c. 2019 by Cassandra Nuss

They Got Us Pug’d!

At the local Family Pet Expo recently, we stumbled across a company called Puglie. No prizes for guessing, they specialize in lots of cool knick-knacks specifically themed around everyone’s favorite little flat-faced dog breed. Over at their web page (on a site called For Fans By Fans) you’ll see examples of their t-shirts, wallets, mugs, and lots and lots of pillows.

image c. 2019 Puglie

Purple Puss Was Taken

Back from BABS-Con in Northern California, and of course we have lots to talk about. But first — we’re still working our way through WonderCon! There we met Kristian Horn, the creator, writer, and artist behind Periwinkle Puss — an on-line funny animal superhero comic. “The Periwinkle Puss is the principled purveyor of justice in his metropolis. With powerful pride he protects the poor and downtrodden from the parade of criminals that attempt to paint his city with their deeds of paltry nefariousness!” Kristian put out a full-color mini-comic at the convention to guide kitty and superhero fans to his web site. Worked here!

image c. 2019 by Kristian Horn

What Big Eyes You’ve Got…

Also at WonderCon we met an artist who works under the name Sprinklebat. Here’s another creator who (as you see on their web site) offers their works on a variety of pins, stickers, prints, and other products you can wear or display. In this case, those works tend to feature cute chibi characters with Really Big Eyes. Go ahead, look. You will be drawn in. Trust us.

image c. 2019 by Sprinklebat

All The Cutes

And another artist from WonderCon. Crowlines is a crafter from San Diego who specializes in terribly (that means wonderfully) chibi funny animals on pins, keychains, and other useful goodies. So head on over to their Etsy store and check out their latest wares. You’ll see what we mean.

image c. 2019 by Crowlines