Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
Janice Rostenthal is an illustrator and character designer whom we met at the CTN Animation Expo. She describes herself as a “Disney Imagineer, Ringling College of Art and Design illustration & visual development alumna, dog-person.” As you can see from her web site, that seems to cover all the bases! [And with that, we wish you all Happy Holidays and a Blessed Solstice!]
image c. 2016 by Janice Rosenthal
There’s a new full-color trade paperback on its way from IDW publishing, one that brings together comics from several celebrated Disney comic artists — all of them presenting stories set at the Disney Parks! Here’s what they say: “Sixty years of Disney Parks—who knew? Now IDW is celebrating with decades of Disney’s classic Park-themed adventure comics! Carl Barks‘ Scrooge McDuck and Donald travel from the Mark Twain Riverboat to the top of the Matterhorn… then Mickey investigates the strange disappearance of the Country Bear Jamboree. And is that the real Pegleg Pete standing in for the Cast Member who plays him?” Featuring stories and art from Carl Barks, Giorgio Cavazzano, Massimo Fecchi, and Victor “Vicar” Arriagada Rios, Donald and Mickey: The Magic Kingdom Collection comes to comic book stores this January.
image c. 2016 IDW Publishing
Limon and Oli is a CGI animated TV series for young children, created by Salih Memecan. It’s based on a long-running newspaper strip in Turkey, Sizinkiler (“Your Kind of Family”). The cartoon show follows that adventures of two young birds who are best friends — both of them teaming with curiosity about the world. Since 2015 the show has been airing on Disney Junior in Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Now thanks to a deal with Netflix the two little birds are set to make their premier in North America and beyond.
image c. 2016 Mart Agency
Speaking of Gaumont Animation, we couldn’t very well pass up on an animated show called Furry Wheels, now could we? “André is a hyperactive young sloth with oodles of drive. He’s the first of his kind to even leave his tree. And he’s not stopping there; he wants to shake the dust of this town off his feet and see the world, but before everything he must pass his driving test. First stop, Racers School to get his diploma, because any herbivore who wants to survive out there needs to learn to drive, fast! Or else you’ll quickly end up as a leopard’s luncheon meat.” Created by Frédéric Martin, Furry Wheels is distributed in Europe by Disney XD — with an eye on international markets of course. TBI Vision has an interview with Pierre Belaïsch of Gaumont about the show.
image c. 2016 Gaumont Animation
Recently the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA) announced the nominees for the Annie Awards of 2016, celebrating the best in animation in all media. Perhaps surprising no one, Zootopia topped the list with 11 nominations in 10 categories — including Best Feature Film, Best Writing, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Character Design, Best Voice Acting, Best Effects Animation, Best Storyboarding, and two nominations for Best Character Animation. The Annies being widely acknowledged as “the Oscars of Animation” means that Zootopia is now considered to be a front-runner for the Best Animated Feature Film at the actual Oscars — if not more categories as well. Interestingly, one thing that was a surprise was that Zootopia’s biggest competition at the Annies is not Pixar favorite Finding Dory (which was nominated in only four categories) but Laika’s most recent stop-motion film, Kubo and the Two Strings — which was also nominated in 10 categories. Other films of Furry interest that received nominations include Kung Fu Panda 3, The Red Turtle, The Secret Life of Pets, The Jungle Book, Sing, and Storks. Over in the TV category the anthro-themed nominees included Bojack Horseman, Peg + Cat, Puffin Rock, Tumble Leaf, Elena of Avalor, and long-running favorites like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Adventure Time, and Wander of Yonder. Plus many other nominees in many categories, including the avian favorite Piper for Best Short. Read all about it over at the Annie Awards site. The awards will be presented at UCLA on February 4th next year. (And don’t forget — soon it will be time to nominate the Ursa Major Awards too!)
image c. 2016 Disney Animation
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
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
We knew Disney and Marvel were drawing closer together but… this? Wow! Following in the scaly footsteps of Figment, now Marvel brings us The Enchanted Tiki Room 5-issue comic book miniseries. “Welcome to the Enchanted Tiki Room, a place of legend…of fantasy…and mystery! Here, on an isolated and mysterious island, almost anything can happen. And often does! Inside the island’s Enchanted Tiki Room – an astonishing cast of birds, plants and ancient Tiki gods spring to life. As the next boat arrives carrying new visitors, what stories will unfold, what mysteries will be revealed and how are they all connected?” Written by Jon Adams and illustrated by Horacio Domingues, issue #1 is out now. Comics Beat has more. Ole’!
image c. 2016 Marvel Comics
Mickey Mouse’s lifetime companion (literally!) gets her artistic due in The Art of Minnie Mouse, new from Disney Book Group. “Minnie Mouse embodies a constant reminder to girls of all ages-including grown-ups!-to live confidently and express themselves. In The Art of Minnie Mouse, Disney artists, designers, illustrators, and animators from around the world re-imagine their favorite Minnie styles and portray them in a variety of mediums. Minnie’s earliest incarnation, her classic red polka-dot look, and trendy modern styles are all newly incarnated in water color, pastel, oil paint, colored pencil, mixed media, and computer graphics pieces that range from the traditional to the unconventional. The book also features a never-before-published comprehensive filmography of Minnie’s animated appearances as well as a visual timeline of her career milestones.” And it’s also available now in hardcover from Barnes & Noble.
image c. 2016 Disney Book Group
