Once again Animation Magazine released a special issue at Comic Con, and once again the issue (July/August) included the results of the annual Animation Magazine Pitch Party. Here new and upcoming animators are given a chance to “pitch” their ideas for a new animated TV series to a select group of industry executives from places like Adult Swim, The Hub, Cartoon Network, The Disney Channel, and so forth. They do so by creating a single panel comic that explains the concept of the show. Now some folks (like Cartoon Brew) have been questioning the value of the Pitch Party — as in, do folks actually get a real chance to have their shows produced in exchange for their entry fee? Well, it must be popular to try, because people keep on submitting their entries every year. This time around, entries that furry fans might find interesting included Marco and Polo by Samantha Wheeldon (her web site is here), VA Team by Melissa Delamar (her web site), Duck & Monster by Base 14 (their blog), Kiko the Brave Little Bat (who has his own web site), Fireflyz by Don and Julie Farmer, A Cock Tale by Greg Bro (no, seriously — check out the web site), Yugo & Lala, Hydro Bull, Plunger Pup by Michael Grassia (yes, he has a web site too), Iron Bugs, and Spiny Life by Days View Animation.
TV Series
Thundercats: The Original Series
More news from Warner Brothers and Cartoon Brew: In anticipation of the brand new Thundercats TV series coming to Cartoon Network this July, Warner Brothers will release the original 1980’s Thundercats series to DVD on July 12th. Thundercats: The Original Series, Season 1, Part 1 is a 2-disc set that features the first 12 episodes, “as well as a special featurette entitled Feel the Magic, Hear the Roar, where fans speak out about their incredible passion for the classic animated series.”
Back Down to Fraggle Rock
Archaia Entertainment and the Jim Henson Company have recently announced that Arcaia will be releasing Fraggle Rock Classics: Volume 1 in soft-cover this August or September. This new full-color edition collects the original Fraggle Rock comic book series which began in 1985. It includes stories such as “The Magic Time Machine” and “The Doozer Who Wanted to be a Fraggle”. Jake Myler illustrated the brand-new cover.
image c. 2011 Archaia Entertainment
The 2010 Ursa Major Award Winners
The winners of the 2011 Ursa Major Awards — for the best in anthropomorphic media, as decided by the fans — were announced on Friday, May 13th at Morphicon in Columbus, Ohio. From the Ursa Major Awards web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Award, the Ursa Major Award is presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. It is intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Award ® presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Award, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Award, and so forth. Anyone may nominate and vote for candidates for the Awards. These Awards are decided by the fans, not by a committee”. More than 1,300 fans from around the world took part in voting for their favorite furry and anthropomorphic media in ten categories. In reverse order, the winners for 2010 were:
Best Anthropomorphic Game: Disney Epic Mickey, Developed by Junction Point Studios.
Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration: The cover for Shadow of the Father (by Kyell Gold), illustrated by Sara Palmer.
Best Anthropomorphic Magazine: Heat #7
Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip: Housepets! by Rick Griffin
Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story: Twokinds by Tom Fischbach
Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work: FurPiled #4 by Leo Magna
Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction: Bridges by Kyell Gold (released as a novella by FurPlanet Books).
Best Anthropomorphic Novel: Shadow of the Father by Kyell Gold, published by Sofawolf Press
Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series: Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention, created by Aardman Animations.
Best Anthropomorphic Feature Film: How to Train Your Dragon, directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, released by Dreamworks Animation.
Visit the Ursa Major Awards web site to find out more about the nominees in each category, and also how to participate in the awards yourself.
Coming Soon: The PB&J Network
Our good buddies Cartoon Brew have announced the formation of a new cable TV network, to be known as The PB&J. According to them, Luken Communications (owners of the Retro TV channel, which has been airing much of the Filmation cartoon archive) and Classic Media (owners of… well, a whole lotta stuff!) are partnering up to create the new channel. According to the PB&J press release, “The 24-hour network, set to launch in the US this summer, will feature Classic Media titles from the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Those include The Archie’s, Mr. Magoo, The Lone Ranger, Gumby, and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. PBJ will be available to broadcasters, cable and satellite providers”. Plus, according to the Cartoon Brew folks, “If they have the Classic Media library, this new channel could also air the Harveytoons (Casper, Herman and Katnip, et al), the Jay Ward library (Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, etc.), Roger Ramjet, Underdog, Felix the Cat, Rankin-Bass Specials, UPA’s Boing Boing Show, Dick Tracy cartoons and Magoo’s Christmas Carol – among others… “. At the end of the Cartoon Brew article is a link to a You Tube video with an introduction — apparently not official — to the new network. Stay tooned.
European Cartoon Pilots
On April 27th, Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe (in London, UK) released six animated pilots for possible new cartoon series. The pilots were actually started back in 2009, under the creative direction 0f Timothy Bjorklund (who had previously directed American shows like Teacher’s Pet and Brandy & Mr. Whiskers). The first original cartoon to come out of the studio since is called The Amazing World of Gumball. Cartoon Brew has a preview of all six pilots up on line, though the reviewer had decidedly mixed feelings about them. Still, furry fans might want to check out things like Elliot’s Zoo by David Needham, The Furry Pals by Rikke Asbjorn, and Verne on Vacation by Sylvain Marc. Make your own decisions.
More Furries Voting!
Voting has closed for the 2011 Ursa Major Awards, celebrating all your favorite furry stuff from 2010. Can’t tell you who won yet — that’ll be announced at a special awards ceremony at Morphicon, taking place May 12th through 15th in Columbus, Ohio. Definitely looks as if there will be some surprises though! We can tell you that this year over 1,300 fur fans from around the world took part in voting for their favorite furry-themed movies, TV series, comic strips, games, and more. That’s a growth of more than 200 voters from last year! As usual, visit the Ursa Major Awards web site to find out more about the award winners and nominees, past and present.
Teen Wolf Comes to MTV
Life is hard for the teenage werewolf. Scott was an ordinary high-school kid until that one night in the woods… Now, he finds himself with amazing new abilities, coupled with horrific new urges and hungers. Not to mention the inconvenience of transforming into a growling werewolf every time he gets angry — or excited, like when his would-be girlfriend is in sight. To make life more complicated, the werewolf who bit him in the first place wants to be friends in human form, and the leader of a posse out to rid the countryside of werewolves is also the father of the girl our hero has his eyes on! Having almost nothing to do with the Michael J. Fox Teen Wolf film (obviously), the new Teen Wolf TV series stars Tyler Posey as Scott. It’s coming to MTV (formerly Music Television) on June 5th. MTV has a trailer and some more information up on their web site.
Thundercats Return with a Roar
Looks like they’re getting serious about the return of Thundercats this time around… This footage was recently shown at Wondercon — to, reportedly, thunderous applause. It’s interesting to note that this new show from Cartoon Network looks much more anime in style than the old original series. It also spends a lot more time setting things up on the Thundercats’ home world. We’ll find out more when Thundercats comes to Cartoon Network this July.
image c. 2011 Cartoon Network
