THE VARIETY OF AMERICAN ANIMATION

BY ALESSANDRA MACCAFERRI

THE CUTTING-EDGE NEWS FROM ANIMATION STUDIOS RUNNING INSIDE THE AMERICAN AND WORLDWIDE MARKETS.

Blanca Pictures is an animation studio that produces original young adult and children’s scripted edutainment content. Their scripts are written in New York, while the characters are created and voiced in Los Angeles by some of the industry’s top artists, actors and directors, many of whom won Annie, Emmy and Oscar awards.

In April 2023 two episodes of the GINJI series won the 56th WorldFest Houston International Film Festival. GINJI is an English original scripted 2D animation series about the adventures of a teenage horse Ginji, who comes to the big city and almost immediately finds herself at the centre of a mystery.

Renowned kids’ veteran Mevelyn J. Noriega announced in May 2023 the official launch of Wonderworld.Fun LLC, a new production and distribution company specialising in premium cutting-edge animation content. Operating out of Los Angeles and established under the direction of Mevelyn Noriega who will serve as CEO, Wonderworld. Fun will work in partnership with Deepak Nayar’s production company Kintop Pictures, VFX and animation studio ReDefine (part of the DNEG Group), and Namit Malhotra’s production company Prime Focus Studios, to create, produce, and distribute innovative, high-quality animated content for a global inclusive audience. Wonderworld.Fun will also seek to produce and distribute third-party developed and owned IPs with strong international appeal. Wonderworld.Fun will unveil three new shows, currently in production, that reflect a fresh and dynamic approach to the art of animation. Targeted at Kids and Family the original comedy, action-adventure series all underpin the company’s vision and commitment to excellence in animation.

Trilogy Animation Group (TAG), the Californian quality animation studio, acquired the complete portfolio of PorchLight Entertainment The company is updating the Emmy®-nominated preschool series Jay Jay The Jet Plane, and Emmy-winning Tutenstein, as well as presenting original series.

The New Adventures of Jay Jay The Jet Plane is the newly-updated CG show that features STEM education and social-emotional learning packed in each 11-min episode. The series follows some of the original show’s favourites, including the playful, energetic jet plane, Jay Jay, and his pals Tracy, Snuffy, and Ricky Rescue, featuring a fresh and vibrant new look, and introducing more characters and fun destinations.

Tutenstein, an adventure series for kids ages 8-12 (22-min episodes), shows what happens when a 12-year-old girl and 4,000-year-oldmummy boy become best friends – and her cat gains the power of speech!

Rubbernecks is an animated 3D stop-motion series for kids and families set in the town of Desperation, where the residents are a quirky, mixed bag that includes a snake, tortoise, roadrunner, and a few lizards. They all prove the well-known hypothesis that overexposure to intense heat can drive you nutty. The series features art by Deane Taylor, award-winning art director from the Oscarnominated feature,Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.

The Mexican Animation Studio Exodo is a renowned animation service provider and content creator for over 16 years. The industry always seeks fresh, exciting, and innovative content, and that’s precisely what they bring to the table: their team of skilled animators and creative minds has produced a wide range of properties perfect for licensing in various markets. From action-packed adventures to heartwarming family stories, their animated properties have something for everyone, across all age groups. Among their projects, Fearnando, a CGI 3D Animated Short. The protagonist is a normal kid, however, there is something about him that brings strange things nearby. This is the first story of a saga to be known as Fearnando: One Thousand and One Creepy Stories, and the first-ever short film completely made in-house at Exodo Animation Studios, from script to concept art to pre and post-production. The Fearnando saga became the winner of the 3d animation category at the Pantalla de Cristal Film Festival and was listed as Official Selection at the Miami International Science Fiction Festival, among others.

The National Film Board of Canada presented a rich film selection at the 2023 Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS). In world premiere, Thao Lam and Kjell Boersma’s animated short doc Boat People, a documentary that uses a striking metaphor to trace one family’s flight across the turbulent waters of history. The film speaks across time and culture to anyone who’s ever fought to protect their family or community.

Harvey, a short film produced with Folimage, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Hervé Bouchard, illustrated by Montreal filmmaker Janice Nadeau (La Pastèque), depicts a young boy who candidly recalls the spring day when his world turned upside down. Filled with original little touches and told through the eyes of a child with an overflowing imagination, this luminous work by Janice Nadeau, featuring elegant music by Martin Léon, poetically examines bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent. At Annecy 2023 it was among the short films in competition - young audiences.