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Animation

Out of Boneville… and Onto the Movie Screen

Thanks to Animation News Network we found out about an article over at the Hollywood Reporter. It seems that Mark Osborne (director of Kung Fu Panda and the recent film The Little Prince) has been tapped to finally adapt Jeff Smith’s award-winning comic Bone for the cinema — not just as one animated movie, but an entire trilogy to be produced by Warner Brothers. “The comic told of three Bone cousins — Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone, all small, bald and human-like creatures with big noses — who are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert after being run out of Boneville. One by one they find their way into a deep forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. The comics were published from 1991 to 2004 and then rediscovered by a new and more mainstream generation when Scholastic began releasing them in graphic novel form.” Adam Kline is writing the script for the first film, along with Mr. Osborne, and Animal Logic (Happy Feet) are involved as well, so expect some top-notch CGI. We’ll let you know when we find out a release date.

image c. 2016 by Jeff Smith

image c. 2016 by Jeff Smith

The Duck is Cover

Now here’s a Donald who hasn’t been as much in the news lately — much to his chagrin, probably! IDW Publishing presents Donald Quest, a new full-color adventure mini-series featuring Disney’s favorite duck. “In the steampunk warrior world of Feudarnia, only the Magnus Malleus can save humanity from marauding Meteorbeasts! It’s an epic weapon for an epic hero… so why is it up to Donald Duck to grab it before Magica De Spell, the Beagle Boys, and the Phantom Blot get there first?” Guess we’ll find out soon enough. Donald Quest is written by Stefano Ambrosio and Pat McGreal, with illustration by Andrea Freccero. Check it out over at IDW. Issue #1 is on the shelves now.

image c. 2016 IDW Publishing

image c. 2016 IDW Publishing

Well Now, That’s Inventive!

Invention Story is a new CGI animated series created by Trad Animation (that’s the name!) from China. Commissioned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the show is intended to spark in young people an interest in science and engineering. “This series of stories take place in a forest surrounding a town called Carrot Town, full of joyful and magic air. The main character is an intelligent, thoughtful, and creative fox, who in each episode makes a new invention. These inventions associate various fields of production in our daily life, which children see, or use everyday, everywhere. In the process of carrying out each invention, our young audience will be thinking and understanding the science, knowledge, and principle behind them, arousing their interest in creating new devises.” That’s what they say. Interestingly, the story editor behind this new series is an American: None other than Jymn Magon, creator of Disney’s Gummi Bears and TaleSpin. The series began with a pilot movie, Agent F.O.X., which is available in English. Currently episodes of Invention Story are posted on YouTube in the original Chinese. No word yet on an English version!

image c. 2016 Trad Animation

image c. 2016 Trad Animation

Taking a TRIP Down Memory Lane

A lot of animation fans who weren’t around in the late 1960’s (or who weren’t watching cartoons regularly yet!) may not remember the very, very strange Depatie-Freleng series called Here Comes The Grump. Well now according to Cartoon Brew there’s going to be a new CGI version of the series and a CGI movie to kick things off — thanks to Mexico’s Anima Estudios, which previously brought us the CGI Top Cat movies a couple of years ago.  As for Here Comes The Grump, “The film tells the story of teenage boy Terry who has been transported to a magical land where he and some new friends must defeat a mean-spirited wizard called The Grump.” There’s some well-known talent behind the film: “Here Comes the Grump is based on a script from Jim Hecht (Ice Age: The Meltdown) and designs by Craig Kellman (Madagascar, Sausage Party, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania). It is being directed by Andres Couturier, who also helmed Anima’s 2015 feature Top Cat Begins.” No word yet on any distribution planned for North America. Besides the grumpy wizard’s rather klutzy dragon, the Grump’s world features many fantastic creatures — and some that likely will only make sense if you’ve been chemically enhanced. Maybe.

image c. 2016 Anima Estudios

image c. 2016 Anima Estudios

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We Could Use Some Rainbows

And now for something a little less serious in comics… or at least, a lot more cute. Lion Forge bring us the on-paper version of the latest Care Bares digital comic, Care Bears: Rainbow River Rescue. “When Wonderheart Bear finds an old map of Care-a-Lot, she takes her friends to a long-forgotten part of the Forest of Feelings, where Humming Storks like to nest. The Storks have all flown south for the winder, except for one baby bird who was too sick to fly and got left behind! It’s up to Funshine Bear, Cheer Bear, and Grumpy Bear to reunite their new friend, Dizzy the Humming Stork, with her family on Far-Flung Island, through whitewater rapids, falling rocks, a few wrong turns, and at least one wild Panthrokeet.” This full-color (of course!) graphic story collection was written by Georgia Ball and illustrated by Melanie Gillman. It’s available now.

image c. 2016 Lion Forge

image c. 2016 Lion Forge

And More Birds From Europe

While checking out Manou the Swift we came across the trailer for another animated bird film, Richard the Stork. “Orphaned at birth and raised by storks, the teenage sparrow Richard believes he is one of them. But when the time comes to migrate to Africa, his stork family is forced to reveal his true identity and leave him behind in the forest, since he is not a migratory bird and would not survive the journey. Determined to prove he is a stork after all, Richard ventures south on his own. But only with the help of Olga, an eccentric owl with an imaginary friend and Kiki, a narcissistic, disco-singing parakeet, does he stand a chance to reach his goal and learn to accept who he really is.” It’s written and directed by Toby Genkel and Reza Memari, the same team that brought us All Creatures Big and Small (aka Ooops! Noah is Gone!) back in 2015. No word yet if Richard will be distributed in North America.

image c. 2016 Global Screen

image c. 2016 Global Screen

Die Bird ist das Word

A new announcement over at Cartoon Brew: The German visual FX house Luxx Studio (known for their work on features like White House Down and Independence Day: Resurgence) have started work in earnest on their first CGI feature film, Manou the Swift. “The cg animated film, which is still a work in progress, is set for release in 2017. It tells the story of a swift who grows up thinking he is seagull but soon finds out his real calling.” The article includes a teaser trailer — which oddly does not seem to include the main character.

Image c. 2016 Studio Luxx

Image c. 2016 Luxx Studios

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Life Can Be A Circus

With all the endless chatter about what a “furry year at the movies” we’re having in 2016, we’ve somewhat been missing the opportunity to talk about furry-friendly films coming up next year. Now here’s one we just learned about: It’s called Animal Crackers, and no, it does not have anything to do with the Marx Brothers. It’s a new CGI animated film being produced by Blue Dream Studios (whom we have not heard of before, we admit). According to the Wikipedia article, “Animal Crackers follows the Huntington family whose life is turned upside down when they inherit a rundown circus and a mysterious box of Animal Crackers, which magically change the person who eats them into the animal they have eaten — including monkeys, giraffes, lions, elephants, tigers, rhinos and bears. They must save the circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington (Sir Ian McKellen).” Other notable voices include John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone, Wallace Shawn, Raven-Symoné, Patrick Warburton, Gilbert Gottfried, Harvey Fierstein, and Tara Strong. The film is being directed by Tony Bancroft (The Lion King, Mulan), Scott Christian Sava (Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers), and Jaime Maestro. Interestingly, some other well-known names on the production team include Will Finn (famous Disney animator) and Mike Kunkel (creator of Herobear and the Kid). It’s coming to theaters next April.

image c. 2016 Blue Dream Studios

image c. 2016 Blue Dream Studios

 

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Mickey, In The Beginning?

Mysterious Melody, or How Mickey Met Minnie is a brand new take on the world’s most famous mouse, once again brought to us by IDW. “What was life like for Mickey before 1928… before Hollywood stardom struck? In this riveting, phantasmagorical ‘what-if” tale, we follow the Mouse from his humble origins – as Oswald Rabbit’s screenwriter! – through a tangled web of trains, rocket ships, and stolen Shakespeare scripts! Will a haunting tune bring Mickey and Minnie together for the first time? Will Goofy find success as a… ferryboat driver? Or will big boss Mr. Casey and relentless Peg-leg Pete strike again? Award-winning Swiss cartoonist Bernard Cosey (Lost in the Alps) brings us an amazing Mouse adventure with a thoughtful, emotive twist.” According to Previews, it’s coming our way in full color and hardcover this December. Gosh!

 

image c. 2016 IDW Publishing

image c. 2016 IDW Publishing

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