InThis Week in Animation News, I’ll take a look at the previous week in the world of animation in order to get you caught up on everything you might have missed. It’s your one-stop shop for news regarding cartoons, anime, and animated web series. We’re talking movies, TV shows, digital shorts, and everything in between!
While thefirst trailerfrom Sony’s animatedSpider-Manmovie, dubbedAnimated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, was definitely the biggest bit of news from this weekend, here are some other news items you might have missed throughout the week. Fans of Adult Swim’sRobot Chickenwill be happy to hear that the award-winning series is returning for Season 9 this weekend and they’re kicking things off in a big way with a cookie-fueled and drug-slanted Christmas special.
In other TV news, Netflix has nabbed an animated series titledTwelve ForeverfromJulia Vickerman(The Powerpuff Girls). And TBS surprised everyone by dropping a new cartoon namedTarantula, which is available to stream in its entirety now (unless you want to wait and watch it traditionally as it rolls out on the network, which is totally chill, as well.) Blending media is Austin-based animation studioMighty Coconutis set to rollout57° North, an AR adventure game that’s driven by story and takes advantage of cutting edge technology.
For the latest animation stories we’ve already covered on the site this week, take a look at the following links. Then, check out a selection of new stories below. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!
‘Robot Chicken’ Season 9 Kicks Off with a Santa Special
Season nine ofRobot Chickenpremieres Sunday, December 10that 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT) with a special holiday episode and even Santa is not off limits inFreshly Baked: The Robot Chicken Santa Claus Pot Cookie Freakout Special: Special Edition. The special includes voice talent fromJason Alexander,Jemaine Clement,Madison Dylan, andBreckin Meyeramong others. You canwatch the trailer for the special here.
This season, fans can expect more of the royal parody treatment fromRobot Chickentargeting more characters and titles includingMad Max: Fury Road,Westworld, Scooby-Dooand many more.
Robot Chickenuses stop-motion animation to bring pop-culture parodies to life in a modern take on the variety/sketch show format. The Emmy Award-winning series began airing in February 2005 and remains among the top-rated original series on Adult Swim.Robot Chickenis created and executive produced by Stoopid Monkey Productions’Seth GreenandMatthew Senreich, and their Stoopid Buddy Stoodios partners, Buddy Systems’John Harvatine IVandEric Towner, also serve as executive producers. Green and Senreich also write, voice and withTom Sheppard, direct the multiple Annie Award-winning series.
Freshly Baked: The Robot Chicken Santa Claus Pot CookieFreakout Special: Special Edition
Happy holidays, everyone asRobot Chickenjoins Santa for the one Christmas he’ll never forget. The North Pole elves dream of the simple toys of holidays past. Krampus puts in a good word for the coal industry. St. Nick finally meets his idol: Jared Leto.
In related news,Varietyreports that Stoopid Buddy Stoodios recently signed a two-year, first-look deal with 20th Century Fox. They’ll be developing both animated and “live-action animated” family films; I’m not sure if that latter one means live-action/animation hybrid films or puppetry or stop-motion or what. Currently, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is in post-production onChangeland, their first live-action feature, written and directed by Green. The untitled film known as “Sword” will be the first collaboration under Fox.
‘Twelve Forever’ Heads to Netflix for a 2019 Release
AsBCreports, Netflix has nabbed writer-producer Vickerman’sTwelve Forever, an animated series that finds 12-year-old Reggie creating a fantasy world in which birthdays are no-nos, a sort of contemporary Neverland. Reggie is joined by friends Todd and Esther as they visit this amazing world in order to live out their superhero fantasies and escape the responsibilities of impending adulthood.
Vickerman,Stan Spry, Bradford Bricken, Chris HardwickandShadi Petoskyare on board as executive producers; production will be provided by Puny Entertainment and Cartel. Set for a 2019 release,Twelve ForeverhasRhonda Cox(Beavis and Butt-head, Danger & Eggs) as the supervising producer andDariaco-creatorSusie Lewishandling production management. Here’s what Vickerman had to say:
“I am beyond excited that ‘Twelve Forever’ has found a home on Netflix. This is a project that is very close to my heart and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to share Reggie’s world with everyone. Puny and the Cartel have assembled an incredible team of writers and artists and we can’t wait to bring this series to life.”
Originally a 2015 pilot for Cartoon Network,Twelve Foreverwill arrive in 2019 on Netflix.
TBS' Animated Series ‘Tarantula’ Now Available to Stream
Surprise! TBS has dropped a brand-new animated series titledTarantula! The animated half-hour comedy is written and executive produced byCarson Mell(Silicon Valley) alongside executive producersDanny McBride(Vice Principals, Eastbound & Down),Jody Hill(Vice Principals, Eastbound & Down),Brandon JamesandDavid Gordon Greenfor Rough House Pictures,Claudia KatzandGregg Vanzofor Rough Draft Animation.
Set at the Tierra Chula Resident Hotel, aka The Tarantula, the series centers on Echo Johnson (Mell), a respected but uncertified tattoo artist who delivers absurd yet introspective monologues. Echo’s poetic ramblings tell tales of misadventures with the other residents including Lucas (DanBakkedahl) the sci-fi writer and bread truck driver, Booty (Mell) the sensitive lead singer, and Bess (LaurenWeedman) a lady whose toughness was forged in the local honky-tonks. They partake in party crashing, dumpster diving, and other socially dubious acts of mischief.Riki Lindhome,Jacob Vargas,Steve JonesandTati Gabriellealso lend their voice talents to the series.
Tarantuladebuted on TBS December 4th, and two new episodes will roll out each week that follows. However, you can stream the entire series on TBS' app or onTBS.comright now. And if you need a teaser, you can watch the first two episodes on YouTube:
Mighty Coconut’s AR Adventure Game ‘57° North’ Pushes Animation and Technology Boundaries
This week, Austin animation studioMighty Coconutannounced57° North, a story-driven adventure set in the Alaskan wild, which available for iOS and AndroidDecember now!
57° North uses theMerge Cubeand is available in the App Store and Google Play for $2.99. Trailer and more information on 57° North can be found athttp://www.mightycoconut.com/
57° North follows Sasha and Caleb, two cousins on a family trip to Alaska who suddenly find themselves stranded on a remote island after their boat is caught in a storm. Washed ashore in the frigid wilderness, it’s up to you the player to help them survive, make contact with the outside world, and hopefully escape. Perhaps you’ll even discover the secret of why there are so many security cameras out here in the middle of nowhere…
57° Northutilizes the Merge Cube, the world’s first holographic object. Featured recently in a number of press outlets including New York Magazine, Huffington Post, and The View, the Merge Cube is a powerful and affordable device which merges physical and digital worlds using augmented reality technology and the powerful camera and sensors in your mobile device. With lush art and a rich story (featuring multiple decisions and multiple endings for the player),57° Northis a unique, narrative-driven experience in mixed reality.
