All posts tagged: animation

H.E.R., Liza Soberano Get Emotional About Trailer

H.E.R., Liza Soberano Get Emotional About Trailer

Published by Daniella Wilson

The team behind forthcoming feature Forgotten Island had an experience to remember while making the DreamWorks Animation project. Universal Pictures released the trailer Wednesday ahead of the movie’s theatrical release on Sept. 25. Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado wrote and directed Forgotten Island, which boasts a voice cast that includes H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto and Lea Salonga. Focusing on an island rooted in Philippine mythology, Forgotten Island centers on lifelong best friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Soberano). After they find themselves stuck on the magical and forgotten island of Nakali, the only way home will potentially require the loss of their cherished memories together. During an event this week to celebrate the trailer’s launch, H.E.R. explained that it meant a lot to voice a lead character for a project that invoked the folklore creatures that the music star would hear about from her Filipino mom. “I was excited,” the Grammy and Oscar winner said about working on Forgotten Island. “I get to share a piece of my childhood in this work and …

Watch Jazzy Spies: 1969 Psychedelic Sesame Street Animation, Featuring Grace Slick, Teaches Kids to Count

Watch Jazzy Spies: 1969 Psychedelic Sesame Street Animation, Featuring Grace Slick, Teaches Kids to Count

Published by José Betancourt

When asked for their favorite Sesame Street seg­ment, many chil­dren of the 70s and 80s point to Pin­ball Num­ber Count. Psy­che­del­ic ani­ma­tion, the Point­er Sis­ters, odd time signatures—what’s not to love? But for the seri­ous Sesame Street buff, the “Jazz Num­bers” series above deserves the sil­ver medal. It’s got free jazz, Yel­low Sub­ma­rine-style sur­re­al­is­tic ani­ma­tion, and a vocal from Grace Slick of Jef­fer­son Air­plane. How many young par­ents rec­og­nized her dis­tinc­tive voice, I won­der? Also known as “Jazzy Spies,” this 1969 series of ani­ma­tions was devot­ed to the num­bers 2 through 10 (there was no film for “one” as it is the loneli­est num­ber that you’ll ever do), and was an essen­tial ele­ment in Sesame Street’s first sea­son. High­lights include the dream-like ele­va­tor door sequence of “2,” the Jack­son 5 ref­er­ence in “5,” and the rac­ing fans in “10.” Slick got involved through her first hus­band, Jer­ry Slick, who pro­duced the seg­ments for San Fran­cis­co-based ani­ma­tion stu­dio Imag­i­na­tion, Inc. Head­ed by ani­ma­tor Jeff Hale, the com­pa­ny also pro­duced the Pin­ball seg­ments, as well as the famous …

What is secularism? Humanists UK launches new animation for schools – Humanists UK

What is secularism? Humanists UK launches new animation for schools – Humanists UK

Published by Sam Flores

Humanists UK has launched a new animation exploring secularism and why it matters in a diverse society. The short film, What is secularism?, is aimed at schools and is the latest resource from Understanding Humanism, the charity’s programme supporting teaching and learning about humanism in classrooms across the country. Made for schools but accessible to everyone, the animation introduces secularism in clear terms as a practical way of organising society that people with different worldviews can share. It explains that supporters of secularism – including humanists – believe everyone should be free to hold their own beliefs and be treated equally, whatever their identity or worldview. No belief should be privileged in public institutions, and the state should remain impartial so that everyone can meet on equal terms. Why humanists support secularism Humanists support secularism because it means no religion or belief receives special treatment from the state. In a society as diverse as the UK, this principle helps public institutions – including schools, the law, and public services – treat everyone fairly. By keeping …

Animated ‘Firefly’ Reboot in Development From Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

Animated ‘Firefly’ Reboot in Development From Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

Published by Daniella Wilson

Nathan Fillion has revealed that a Firefly animated series is in early development at 20th Television Animation, ending a week-long social media campaign hinting at some news involving the project. Fillion shared the news in an Instagram video, where he was joined by his Firefly costars, and at Awesome Con in Washington. The animated reboot is being developed through Fillion’s production banner Collision33 in partnership with 20th Television Animation, which controls the rights to the franchise. Married writer-producers Tara Butters (Agent Carter, Dollhouse) and Marc Guggenheim (Arrow, Flash) are set to serve as showrunners, in their first professional collaboration together, on the series, for which a script has already been written. Additionally, early concept art has been developed in collaboration with Oscar- and Emmy-winning animation studio ShadowMachine. The project is expected to be taken out to buyers soon. The series would be set in the timeline between the original, 11-episode TV run in 2002 and the 2005 feature film continuation, Serenity. Fillion said in his Instagram video that he received the blessing of Joss Whedon …

Oscar-nominated ‘Forevergreen’ reimagines story of Christian grace

Oscar-nominated ‘Forevergreen’ reimagines story of Christian grace

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — The global smash hit “The Chosen,” the speculative biographical series about Jesus and his disciples, has inspired major streaming channels to tap other biblical sources. Moses is getting his close-up on Netflix, while King David has two shows, Prime Video’s “House of David”and Fox Nation’s docudrama “David: King of Israel.” But historically, some of the most far-reaching Christian cultural touchstones have reimagined biblical themes through allegory. Think C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” or J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” which put biblical teachings about temptation, redemption and sacrifice in a fantasy package. The success of this approach can be seen in a recent Academy Award nomination for “Forevergreen,” a 12-minute movie from Disney animators that conveys the Christian gospel through allegory. The film’s textured, almost tactile, animation is combined with a soundtrack that blends folk music with sweeping orchestration to tell a story about unmerited grace — the idea that humans are saved not by their good deeds but by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. But unless you’re looking for …

Disney’s Live-Action Remake Is Dead, Says Director

Disney’s Live-Action Remake Is Dead, Says Director

Published by Daniella Wilson

Fans of Disney‘s 1970s animated feature Robin Hood aren’t likely to be feeling particularly merry after the latest update about a potential live-action remake. During a recent Reddit AMA, filmmaker Carlos López Estrada said that the studio was not moving forward with his planned photorealistic musical. The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported in April 2020 that Estrada was in early development on the movie for streaming service Disney+ after deals were finalized prior to the industry shutting down amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s dead, sadly,” Estrada wrote in response to a question about the project’s status. “I say ‘sadly’ because I actually thought there was something really special (and original!) there. Some truly extraordinary music we had figured out for it.” The Blindspotting director added, “I keep daydreaming about doing it independently with different characters.” THR previously reported that Kari Granlund was writing the script for a feature remake that would be a hybrid of live action and CG. Granlund worked on the screenplay for Disney’s 2019 version of Lady and the Tramp, which became the …

300,000 Poses in an AI Instant: My Visit to Disney Studios and the New Reality for Animation

300,000 Poses in an AI Instant: My Visit to Disney Studios and the New Reality for Animation

Published by skeptic

On a warm fall afternoon at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, a gentle breeze blows through the meticulously landscaped trees lining the walkways. A ray of sunshine hits the famed Team Disney building, where 19-foot-tall stone carvings of the seven dwarfs of Snow White fame hold up the roof. The renowned sculptural architecture is a nod to the film that helped build the Disney empire. And just across the lot, inside Disney’s Main Street Cinema, the entertainment giant is exploring ways to preserve that legacy with the help of technology, such as artificial intelligence. Four startups are gathered in the theater to present their technology to a crowd of executives and media attendees. One startup, Animaj, is demonstrating how it uses AI to accelerate the animating process. Brightly colored, blobby figures prance and bound across a wide screen in front of me, characters from a children’s YouTube series called Pocoyo. Animaj — selected by Disney as one of its 2025 cohort of startups to finance, platform and mentor via the Disney Accelerator Program — is now using …

Flight animation shows planes avoiding Iranian airspace

Flight animation shows planes avoiding Iranian airspace

Published by Sam Flores

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Connor Storrie welcomes hockey gold medalists on ‘SNL’ 00:44 Crowd topples Ayatollah monument in southern Iran 00:28 Thousands gather in Tehran to mourn Khamenei’s death 00:28 Iranian media confirms death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 00:42 Trump says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is dead 00:23 Protesters against attack on Iran march in New York City 00:51 Trump speaks to NBC News about reports of ayatollah’s death 01:53 Falling missile debris explosion in Doha, Qatar 00:33 IDF video shows strikes targeting Iran 00:13 Now Playing Flight animation shows planes avoiding Iranian airspace 00:14 UP NEXT Iran’s foreign minister says the Ayatollah is still alive 00:20 Iranian FM: U.S. and Iran had been making progress toward a deal 01:59 How Congress is reacting to the strikes in Iran 00:52 Iran’s foreign minister on U.S.-Israeli strikes inside the country 01:30 Missile strikes seen at U.S. Navy base in Bahrain 00:48 What kind of targets the U.S. Israel are striking in Iran 00:56 U.S. and Israel …

Canva acquires startups working on animation and marketing

Canva acquires startups working on animation and marketing

Published by skeptic

On Monday, creative suite maker Canva announced the dual acquisition of startups Cavalry, which works on animation, and Mango AI, which works on improving ad performance. UK-based Cavalry works on 2D motion animation for different verticals such as advertising, marketing, gaming, and generative art. Canva said that Cavalry’s tooling will add to the existing capabilities of Affinity, Canva’s professional creative editing suite for photos, vectors, and layouts, which it acquired in 2024 Canva revamped Affinity’s design last year and made it free for all users. The company said that since then, people have downloaded the software over five million times. Affinity has the capabilities of photos, vector, and layout editing. With this acquisition, Canva wants to add motion editing to its suite. “By bringing Cavalry alongside Affinity, we’re closing that [motion editing] gap and unlocking a complete professional suite spanning photo, vector, layout, and now motion editing,” the company said in a blog post. “Together, these tools form the foundation of a full-stack Creative OS for professional work, while preserving the depth and control professional creatives …

Tom Hanks to Play Abraham Lincoln in ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ Movie

Tom Hanks to Play Abraham Lincoln in ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ Movie

Published by Daniella Wilson

Tom Hanks is set to take on Honest Abe. The Oscar-winning performer will portray former President Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln in the Bardo, a feature adaptation of author George Saunders’ best-selling 2017 novel. Duke Johnson is directing the film that is a hybrid of live-action and stop-motion animation. Hanks will appear as a live-action version of the 16th U.S. President for the film that is currently in production in London. Johnson, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated 2015 animated feature Anomalisa, helms Lincoln in the Bardo from a script by Saunders. Lincoln in the Bard centers on Lincoln’s relationship with his recently deceased 11-year-old son Willie Lincoln. Producers include Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Playtone, along with Johnson, Devon Young Rabinowitz and Paul Young for Starburns Industries. Saunders, Steven Shareshian and Aaron Mitchell are executive producing. Saunders’ acclaimed novel won the 2017 Booker Prize. Hanks’ recent features include The Phoenician Scheme, Here and Freaky Tales. He reprises his voice role of cowboy Woody in Pixar’s Toy Story 5, set for release this summer from Disney, and also …