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Fantasy

Original Art and Original Creatures

More cool people we met at Lightbox this year! Amber Aki Huang is a character designer employed at Dreamworks Animation. According to her web site, “Aki mainly works in Character Design and Visual Development for Pre-Development and Production for feature film and TV. However, Aki has also been known to design for toys.” To that latter end, she has her own brand, Deercat & Friends. It features both art and plushies of two of her original species, the deercat and the snoo, plus more general (often furry!) artwork for sale.

image c. 2023 by Amber Aki Huang

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

Him and All His Furry… Friends?

Lots of people have been talking about the new anime-style TV series that just recently started streaming on Netflix. “Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix is an original animated series mixing alternative Ubisoft characters from beloved franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Rayman, and Far Cry in a highly-referenced homage to the early 90s.” The story? “Set in the year 1992, the country formerly known as the USA is now called Eden, a technocracy ruled by propaganda and corruption. Super-soldier Dolph Laserhawk has just been betrayed by the love of his life, his boyfriend Alex Taylor, and locked up in Eden’s off-the-grid maximum security prison, Supermaxx. Dolph is forced to lead a team of rebel outcasts on risky undercover missions under the order of the prison’s shadowy Warden.” What that description fails to convey is that there are lots and lots of anthropomorphic characters throughout the series, mostly bad folks but a few good-ish ones. Check out the trailer over at Animation World Network.

image c. 2023 Netflix

Warriors of the Night Return?

Amazing news out of Disney is making the rounds. We got this report from Variety: “Gargoyles could finally be returning to television, with a live-action reboot series currently in the works at Disney+. Variety has confirmed that the Disney streaming service is working with writer Gary Dauberman and James Wan‘s Atomic Monster to develop a live-action version of the beloved animated show. Dauberman would serve as writer and executive producer with Wan also executive producing. Disney Branded Television is the studio. The current logline for the project reads: ‘Based on the cult classic Disney animated series, Goliath is the last of a heroic race of gargoyle warriors who once lived among mankind. Free from a centuries long curse that turned him into stone, Goliath struggles to solve the mystery of his past while watching over modern-day New York City alongside police detective Elisa Maza.’ ” Here’s hoping that doesn’t mean the rest of the gargoyle crew won’t be taking part in the new project!

image c. 2023 Disney TV Animation

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

That’s Some Great Pumpkins

As we noted before, filmmaker John Carpenter’s Storm Kids comic imprint has some good Furry stuff now and then — and Halloween seems to be a favorite time for it. Well here’s a new one we came across thanks to Previews: The Yard Gang Halloween Special. “Lucy the kitten loves Halloween almost as much as her stuffed Woof-Woof or her little brother Yob. But as she and her very eccentric animal family prepare to celebrate their favorite holiday, they discover this is no ordinary Halloween. A full moon is coming, bringing something completely unexpected to the desert ranch where they all live. On this All Hallows’ Eve, Lucy, Yob, and the entire Yard Gang must go in search of their Halloween Spirit!” It’s written by Steve Niles and Monica Richards, illustrated by Sian Mandrake and Kelly Williams, and available now from Storm King.

image c. 2023 Storm King Comics

Gotta See ’em All

We came across an article at The Nerdist about the artist Joshua Dunlop. He’s been working on a project he calls Pokemon Zoology, trying to create realistic portrayals of what various well-known pokemon might look like out here in this world. To that end he’s set up a Kickstarter campaign — which has already surpassed its goal, even though it’s running through the end of this month. “My name is Joshua Dunlop; I’m a Senior Freelance Concept Artist from the UK. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing companies such as Disney and Netflix, and I’ve had amazing success over the last 7 years with my personal project, Pokemon Zoology! And now I’m thrilled to present this unofficial collection of 151 realistic digital concept art pieces depicting the iconic original Pokemon from Generation 1.” Looks like it’ll be available in hardcover real soon.

image c. 2023 by Joshua Dunlop

You Forgot Your Childhood, but…

Another cool thing we’ve been missing all year, but we’re happy to find out about it now. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Invader Comics released the Back To Fairtaylia comic series, written by Jorg Alberts and Roland Heep, with artwork by P.R. Dedelis. “Once upon a time, childhood friends found a magical doorway to Fairtaylia, an enchanted realm full of wizardry and wonder. 20 years later they are a bunch of self-absorbed adults who don’t believe in fairy-tales anymore… until a talking squirrel and a chainsaw-wielding fairy show up on their doorsteps. In a fast-paced quest to save Fairtaylia from an unspeakable evil, the gang has to evade wicked witches, battle orcs and ogres, and break into Cinderella’s castle while suffering through fairy farts, skimpy outfits, and several musical numbers. Good luck with happily ever after…” Issues are available now.

image c. 2023 Invader Comics