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Time for a Tiger’s Tale?

For a while now we’ve been following the news that Lawrence Yep’s popular fantasy novel The Tiger’s Apprentice was being made into a feature film. Not certain what happened to that project over the course of a pandemic and several Hollywood strikes, but now we’re getting word that a different animated movie based on the novel is making its way to Paramount+ next February. And this time we even get a teaser trailer! “Based on the popular children’s book series of the same name by Laurence Yep, the film follows Chinese American teenager Tom Lee, whose life changes forever when he discovers he is part of a long lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians… In the film, with guidance from a mythical tiger named Hu, Tom trains to take on Loo, a force that is as powerful as a Guardian but has evil intentions of using magic to destroy humanity. To fight against Loo, Tom must reunite all twelve Zodiac animal warriors and master his own newly discovered powers.” There’s more details and an interesting cast list over at Animation World Network.

image c. 2023 Paramount+

So Who DID Come First?

Hitting at an interesting idea from several angles at once, Canadian production house Wind Sun Sky have given us Future Chicken, a new environmentally-themed presentation for children that’s arriving as a podcast, a streaming series, an interactive web site, and so forth. Here’s an announcement from Animation Magazine: “Wind Sun Sky Entertainment partnered with the Ontario Water Centre’s social enterprise ClearWater Farm are gearing up for the November 5 launch of Future Chicken — a new animation property designed to help children counter ‘climate doomism’ with hope, inspiration and empowerment — with the announcement of a coop-load of trailblazing green guest stars. This new global platform will launch with a digital series, a podcast, YouTube shorts, a Roblox experience and more. Featuring a variety of entertaining learning experiences for kids aged six to nine years old, the property revolves around a time-travelling eco-superhero chicken from 2050 named Potato, a.k.a. Future Chicken, who travels alongside other amusing characters, including a gossipy mushroom with a love of travel and an egg who wears rocket-pants.” Typical stuff that, of course. The official web site has a whole lot more.

image c. 2023 Wind Sun Sky

On the Throne in the Palace of the Kingdom of the…

20th Century Studios just dropped the first trailer for The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth film in the “new arc” of ape science fiction movies. (For what looks to be an interesting film, they sure saddled it with a clunky-sounding title. Come on, people! What’s wrong with Kingdom of the Apes?) The official synopsis goes like this: “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.” It’s directed by Wes Ball (The Maze Runner), who meanwhile is now getting to work on an adaptation of The Mouse Guard! Kingdom is set to be released in theaters on Memorial Day (May 24th) in 2024.

image c. 2023 20th Century Studios

Finally Starting to Get Crabby

So to speak… We’ve been hearing about the new CGI film Under The Boardwalk for a while, but mostly about its release getting delayed again and again. (Seems to be a trend these days.) Now thanks to Cartoon Brew we found out it’s actually coming out — in a rather rushed manner, with almost no advertising. The movie will be coming to Paramount+ streaming in a few days, and today it begins a limited run in theaters… while also today, Paramount released the very first trailer to the Internet. ““When timid Jersey crab Armen meets bold tourist sea crab Ramona, it causes shell-shocking tension in the community. But when the duo are swept away by a storm, they embark on an epic journey to find home. Their courage unites their families, paving the way for great summers to come, Under the Boardwalk.” Director David Soren is known for animated films like Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie and Turbo.

image c. 2023 Paramount Pictures

Dancing to the Net

Remember Luck? Skydance Animations first feature film premiered on Apple TV+ in 2022. Now, from what we found on Animation World Network, it seems that Skydance have inked a distribution deal with Netflix for their upcoming slate of new animated films. First up is Spellbound, which we’ve been hearing about for some time. Now it’s scheduled for release in 2024. “Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, the tenacious princess who must go on a daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents, the King and Queen of Lumbria, into monsters.” Even more interesting is Pookoo, looking for release in 2025. “Pookoo is a buddy comedy about a small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of The Valley, that magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime.” And check out this bit of news: “Future films include Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird (Ratatouille, The Iron Giant), and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project directed by Rich Moore (Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph).” The return of Gigantic?

image c. 2023 Skydance Animation

Boo-ology

Halloween season is the time for monster movies — even if they’re only in production now. Deadline told us about Night of the Zoopocalypse, a new family-comedy CGI animated feature set to premiere in 2024. Here’s the official synopsis: “One night, a meteor crashes into Colepepper Zoo unleashing a virus that transforms the animals into strange and hilarious slobbering zombie mutants. Gracie, a young quirky wolf, teams up with a gruff and fearsome mountain lion to find a way back to her pack. As the zoo is overrun, they must come up with a plan to get all the animals back to normal. Together with the help of a motley crew of survivors – Xavier the movie-obsessed lemur, Frida the fiery capybara, Ash the sarcastic, fabulous ostrich, and Felix the treacherous monkey – they embark on a perilous mission to rescue the zoo and defeat Bunny Zero, the deranged mutant-king, determined to spread the virus beyond the zoo walls.” Interesting note about the directors: “The film is co-directed by veteran animators and story artists Ricardo Curtis (The Incredibles) and Rodrigo Perez-Castro (Ferdinand) whose combined credits, in various roles, include hits such as the Ice Age films, Rio, and The Angry Birds Movie through animation pre-production studio House of Cool (Paw Patrol), where they serve, respectively, as Creative Director and VP of Creative.” Impressive.

image c. 2023 Anton and Charades

Most Cats Just Yowl, but…

Don’t look now, but it’s time to start talking about Christmas specials! Like this one, which we found at Animation World Network: “The BBC and Magic Light Pictures have shared a first look at their upcoming 3DCG Christmas adventure, Tabby McTat, produced for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Set on the streets of London, the show tells the story of the warm and wonderful friendship between a musical cat and a talented busker called Fred. The film is the 11th special produced by the studio, based on the work of children’s book author Julia Donaldson (The Gruffalo) and illustrator Axel Scheffler.” The special is narrated by none other than Jodie Whittaker — yes, Dr. Who herself.

image c. 2023 Magic Light Pictures

Hurray!

The takeover of Planet Earth by one little Australian blue heeler dog continues unabated. We just got this announcement: “The first ever Bluey video game is releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on November 17. Outright Games, in partnership with BBC Studios, is opening up the world of the beloved animated preschool series and inviting you to join Bluey and her buddies in an all-new interactive sandbox adventure, aptly titled Bluey: The Videogame, that will give players free rein to explore Bluey’s house and several other iconic locations.” Based on the celebrated and Ursa Major Award-winning TV series, of course. Coming this fall!

image c. 2023 Outright Games

By Land AND By Sea

Not Quite Narwhal is the interesting title of a new CGI animated series created by Dreamworks, which recently premiered on Netflix. From Animation World Network: “Adapted for television by co-executive producers Brian K. Roberts (Dragons: Rescue Riders), Nakia Trower Shuman (Fancy Nancy), and Sarah Katin (Curious George), DreamWorks Animation’s take on author Jessie Sima’s New York Times bestseller tackles the subject of identity through the curious and fun-loving Kelp (voiced by Nevin Kar). The blue, big-eyed, aquatic marvel has always believed he’s a narwhal like the rest of his family under the sea, until the day he makes the most amazing discovery – he’s actually a unicorn! Rather than choose one or the other, Kelp embraces being both a narwhal and a unicorn, juggling his day-to-day life as he figures out how to navigate his two worlds: Ocean and land.” The article includes an extensive interview with the author, talking about creating and adapting the work — including its themes of inclusivity and acceptance for people of all types.

image c. 2023 Dreamworks Animation