Imagi Studios has set up a booth at the Anime Expo 2009 in Los Angeles and “Anime3000” has capture on camera the Gatchaman promo being on display on the floor. Of course, the video quality ain’t so great typically when its a cam-job. We have to bear with it until a proper version comes along. Hopefully, more news update on this promising superhero film will emerge soon.
You’ll find the promo after the break.
Continue Reading "Cam-Job Promo for Imagi’s GATCHAMAN"...
My biggest gripe with animated films in Hollywood today is the lack of mature or edgy content for adults. Most of the animated films getting produced are driven by slapstick gags and the characters are drawn in cartoony fashion. Creative studio Nathan Love, in collaboration with Perspective Studios, has completed a three-minute trailer for Blood Trail that utterly go against this convention. Its a horror piece based on writer Matt Cochran’s screenplay of the same name and its expected to be developed into a feature film, video game and/or graphic novel. Before you watch this trailer, I must warn you that it contains extreme gore and graphic violence in full CG animated glory. This is definitely not safe for work so keep your kids away. What transpire in the last half had me going “oh shit!”.
You’ll find the trailer embedded below after the break.
Continue Reading "Trailer for CG Animated Horror BLOOD TRAIL"...
If you went to watch Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs at the theaters, chances are you might have caught the second trailer for Ilion Studios’ Planet 51. Its a sci-fi animated comedy that has been on my radar for so long. With animation that looks just as good as any other heavyweight studios, Ilion from Spain may prove to be a major contender.
Planet 51 is a galactic sized animated alien adventure comedy revolving around American astronaut Captain Charles “Chuck” Baker, who lands on Planet 51 thinking he’s the first person to step foot on it. To his surprise, he finds that this planet is inhabited by little green people who are happily living in a white picket fence world reminiscent of a cheerfully innocent 1950s America, and whose only fear is that it will be overrun by alien invaders…like Chuck! With the help of his robot companion “Rover” and his new friend Lem, Chuck must navigate his way through the dazzling, but bewildering, landscape of Planet 51 in order to escape becoming a permanent part of the Planet 51 Alien Invaders Space Museum.
The release date is on November 20th. You’ll find both the trailers below after the break
Continue Reading "Second Trailer for Ilion Studios’ PLANET 51"...
Twitch has not as yet given the work of Jonathan Nix any attention. That will change. Better late than never, right? Jonathan’s work producing animated shorts and soundtracks for the same has won him critical acclaim at festivals across his native Australia and beyond, and his latest project is the very wonderful-looking The Missing Key. This planned 25-minute short appears to build on the whimsical baroque setting for his earlier piece Hello (2003), a melancholy Italianate fantasy world with a distinctive touch of the surreal, and so far it looks to be absolutely gorgeous. Find the synopsis and a two-minute preview trailer from YouTube embedded after the break.
Continue Reading "Gramophone! Teaser for Jonathan Nix’s THE MISSING KEY"...
Any fans of American animator Bill Plympton out there? Because have I got a DVD for you. Or, rather, Plympton does. The man was in town for the Worldwide Short Film Festival a couple weeks ago and while here he passed me a copy of his brand new DVD Dog Days - signed it, too, and gave me an original drawing on a postcard, the man knows how to work a room – a complete collection of his work from between the years of 2004 and 2008. If he made it in those five years, it’s here. The Dog Trilogy? Santa, The Fascist Years? The Fan and the Flower? All here. And it’s not just the shorts. Nope. His commissioned work – music videos, festival trailers, etc – are all included as well along with a generous assortment of bonus materials, including audio commentary on each and every one of the shorts. And everything is featured in the correct aspect ratios with tip-top transfers. Call this one absolutely essential for any fan of animation in general or Plympton in particular.
You can do little wrong when you decide to go to Montreal for the Fantasia International Film Festival and this year’s lineup proves to be no exception. Want a taste? David Morley’s MUTANTS, Adam Mason’s BLOOD RIVER, José Mojica Marins’ EMBODIMENT OF EVIL, Tom Shankland’s THE CHILDREN, Park Chan-wook’s THIRST and Satoshi Miki’s INSTANT SWAMP are just some of the titles at this year’s festival.
There is a lengthy announcement after the break. Take your time and we are sure you’ll find some must-sees. Then we’ll see you in Montreal between July 9th and 27th.
Continue Reading "FANTASIA 2009 announces lineup. She be a doozy!!!"...
[UPDATE: More artwork from a year ago at Catsuka.com. Thanks to Tsuka for the tip!]
As an animation buff, I try to keep a lookout for little known gems from around the world and perhaps I have hit the jackpot on a potentially cool thriller from France. Its called The Prodigies (aka in french: La Nuit des enfants rois), a motion-capture animated film by director Antoine Charreyron and Aton Soumache, the producer of the CG sci-fi noir film Renaissance. Based on Bernard Lenteric’s bestselling French novel, the budget is estimated at E40 million ($54 million). Character designer Humberto Ramos has offer the first glimpse of the production art at his blog site.
NYC, Central Park, 2010. Five young teenagers are violently assaulted. But they’re not your average teenagers… they’re prodigies. The trauma of the assault incites them to lash out against the world in a cold and calculating way. The five chillingly brilliant minds come together to concoct a perfect revenge. The only person aware of the pending doom is Jimbo Farrar, a sixth prodigy, who has gathered them. As long as he fights against his five counterparts with all his might, there’s hope for the world. But should he turn over to their side, it’s only a matter of time before a disaster of apocalyptic proportions ensues…
The theatrical release in France is slated for next year. More details as we get it.
The second and final batch of films were announced this weekend for the inaugural Shinsedai Cinema Festival happening here in Toronto between August 21st and 23rd. The second wave of titles are in red. And in other good news Jasper Sharp from Midnight Eye will also be coming to town from across the pond to be a part of the festival that weekend.
After a busy few weeks The Shinsedai Cinema Festival is proud to announce the final round of films of our inaugural line-up. Highlights include the Canadian premiere of Yuya Ishii’s surreal father/ daughter comedy Girl Sparks (left), Touru Hano’s moody and sexy indie horror film Thunderfish (Raigyo), plus a very special co-presentation with Toronto’s Reel Asian International Film Festival of the works of Kyoto-based video artist and composer Takagi Masakatsu including the North American premiere of Aruongaku, Takashi Tomohisa’s documentary of Masakatsu’s Tai Rei Tei Rio concert held on November 13th, 2008 at the Grand Gallery of the Iwate Museum of Art.
Bunny in Hovel - Mayumi Yabe (2009) short
Csikspost - Yumiko Beppu (2009)
Electric Button (Moon & Cherry) -Yuki Tanada (2004) feaure
emerger - Aki Sato (2008)
Freeter’s Distress - Hiroki Iwabuchi (2007) feature
Hottentot Apron: A Sketch - Kei Shirichi (2006) feature
Naked of Defenses - Masahide Ichii (2008) feature
Now, I… - Ysautomo Chikuma (2007) feature
Suzuki & Co. - Kazuo Kono (2008) short film
The New God - Yutaka Tsuchiya (1999) feature
Vortex & Others: 5 Short Films by Yoshihiro Ito (2001-2008) short film
Girl Sparks - Yuya Ishii (2007) feature
Little Birds - Takeharu Watai (2005) feature
Aruongaku - Tomohisa Takashi (2009) feature
Thunderfish - Touru Hano (2005) feature
The Evening Traveling - Akino Kondoh (2002) short film
Wiener Wuast & Israel Mix - Maya Yonesho (2008) short film
The Rule of Dreams - Naoyuki Tsuji (1995) short film
Right Place & Maledict Car - Kosai Sekine (2005) short film
A Woman Who is Beating the Earth - Tsuki Inoue (2007) short film
The finalized schedule for The Shinsedai Cinema Festival will be posted July 15th and tickets and passes will go on sale on July 20th!
The man behind Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex takes a break from cyberpunk with a freewheeling, playful new animated series featuring conspiracy theories, social commentary, action, intrigue, a desperate attempt to save Japan and a streaker flashing the White House. Find out more after the break.
Continue Reading "EDEN OF THE EAST review"...
Two things I have to say about the new Ponyo trailer Disney just released.
1: What stunningly beautiful imagery !!!
Nice choice of shots, the trailer doesn’t give everything away but demonstrates just how wicked the animation is in this thing.
And in HD too, so I can watch it in near-infinite sharpness as often as I like till the BluRay is released. Bliss…
2: What the hell is Liam Neeson saying?
“The whole world is out of balance. Ponyo, you have to trust me! You’re the only one who can save the planet !! Do it now !!!”
And BOOM! Away she goes, off to save the world… or so it seems in the trailer.
Huh?? That makes absolutely zero sense. And I have seen the film, even! Ponyo as a trained superheroine, on a mission?
Has Disney done a complete re-imagining of the plot, using vastly altered text? Or was the marketing department as ehm… creative as when they made that computer-enhanced poster for the film with the “Finding Nemo” font (which shows up in this trailer as well)?
Anyway, the one thing the trailer DOES correctly convey is that this movie is gorgeous.
Find it at the Ponyo website over at Apple…
Belgium is a country of books and comics, not so much of animation. On rare occasions though, something worthwhile or interesting rises to the surface, and if anything, Blanche Neige: La Suite falls right into this category. The English translation of the title is Snow White: The Sequel, which might give you an idea about the direction this film is going. Better think again.
Read more about Picha’s little freak of nature after the break.
Continue Reading "Picha’s Blanche Neige, La Suite review"...
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has announced the winners for the 35th Annual Saturn Awards held yesterday evening. Not surprisingly, Christopher Nolan’s highly praised The Dark Knight was the toast of the ceremony, garnering five awards including Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, Best Writing: Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan, Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, Best Music: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard and Best Special Effects. Another superhero film that came out on top is Iron Man with three awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actor: Robert Downey, Jr. and Best Director: Jon Favreau while Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army wins only Best Horror Film. Let the Right One In and Pixar’s Wall-E, two films we wholeheartedly endorse around these parts, takes a well-deserved Best International Film and Best Animated Film respectively.
The full list of the winners after the jump.
Continue Reading "35th Saturn Award Winners"...
Well, well, maybe he should have been doing animation all along ...
As frustrating as Versus director Ryuhei Kitamura can be when working in live action (which is very), when you think about it most of his annoying excesses in that format are things generally considered strengths in animation. Hyperactive camera motion? Lots of posturing and over emoting? These are not issues so much in the animated world, and neither are the high levels of production design that Kitamura generally demands but frequently cannot deliver on his tight live action budgets. And so the hopes are high for Baton, Kitamura’s first foray into directing animation. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s brought All About Lily Chou Chou director Shunji Iwai along for the ride as a producer.
Produced for the 150th anniversary of Yokohama, Baton employs a mix of traditional and rotoscoped animation. And it is, of course, a scifi-action story. The first trailer arrived a while back and has just been joined by a second on the official website and while I’m not a huge fan of the look of the rotoscoped sections - the human faces are a touch expressionless - I really like the feel of this thing on the whole. Check them both below the break!
Continue Reading "Second Trailer Arrives For Kitamura And Iwai’s BATON!"...
And we’re back with the latest on upcoming Polish feature Hardkor 44. Details are still sketchy at this point - there will be a press conference on July 15th announcing full details for the project - but here is what we know so far.
The film will be the debut feature from Poland’s Platige Image, and director Tomek Bagiński. Co-produced by the Warsaw Uprising Museum it will be a sci-fi re-imagining of the events of the Warsaw Uprising in World War II and, if the concept art is anything to judge by, it will have healthy steampunk overtones. Surprisingly, given that Platige’s most public work - and all of their short films - revolve around their CGI animation, this will be a dominantly live action feature with heavy CG special effects components. And if you’re worried about how they can handle this approach, don’t be. Though it doesn’t get as much press as their animation, Platige also does a ton of digital effects work both in the world of commercials and feature films - they were the effects house primarily responsible for Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist - and their work is stellar.
But on to the main point of this post being bumped forward. New concept art. It’s gorgeous. And available at the link below.
A major highlight of the Worldwide Short Film Festival this year was the opportunity to talk at length with British animator Osbert Parker, who was on hand for a retrospective screening of some of his key work, including the stop motion animated Film Noir. Now don’t start thinking you know how this one is going to play out because it’s stop motion. Parker does entirely unique things with the technique, blending cut outs with physical props and fully three dimensional sets to fuse styles in an entirely unorthodox and very compelling way. Compelling enough that Film Noir was nominated for a BAFTA and very deservedly so.
We’ve got a minute long clip for this one embedded below the break. Check it out and have your mind blown.
Continue Reading "A Clip From Osbert Parker’s BAFTA Nominated FILM NOIR"...
