ACADEMY AWARD ® NOMINEE BEST ANIMATED FEA TURE

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THE MUST-HAVE LIST

FEATURES

ADVENTURES IN THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM 8

Hop into the hyper antics of The Super Mario Bros. Movie with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic!

PACHYDERM PERFECTION 12

Producer Julia Pistor and director Wendy Rogers discuss their charming new Netflix movie The Magician’s Elephant.

GATEWAYS TO WONDER 16

Makoto Shinkai’s acclaimed new feature Suzume is inspired by natural disasters and the director’s own travels across Japan

MUSIC, MEANING & MURAKAMI 18

Director Pierre Földes discusses the making of the strikingly original feature Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

CHRONICLES OF A MADCAP FRIENDSHIP 20

Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal give us the scoop on their colorful new Disney comedy Kiff.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

A CHEEKY NEW BIRD TAKES FLIGHT 22

The exec producers of the new Scholastic/Apple TV+ show Eva the Owlet introduce us to their very enthusiastic heroine.

A TALE OF TWO BESTIES 24

An extrovert bear and a quiet turtle are good friends in Nickelodeon’s Bossy Bear, based on David Horvath’s popular book series.

A WISTFUL ROMANCE WITH A TWIST 26 Shō Harusano’s hit BL manga Sasaki and Miyano translates to a touching anime on Cruncyroll.

RISING STARS

RISING STARS OF ANIMATION 2023 28

They’re gifted, articulate and smart and their animation careers are on fire.

TELEVISION/STREAMING

Adventures In The Mushroom Kingdom

Hop into the hyper antics of The Super Mario Bros. Movie with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic!

A Cheeky New Bird Takes Flight 22

The exec producers of the new Scholastic/Apple TV+’s show Eva the Owlet introduce us to their very enthusiastic heroine.

Serving Up Magic And Mythical Monsters

VFX Supervisor Ante Dekovic guides us through the visual artistry of the second season of Shadow

Children of the ‘80s and ‘90s were accustomed to seeing their favorite games adapted into animated shows on Saturday morning TV blocks and in syndication. From Pac-Man, Dragon’s Lair and Q*Bert to The Legend of Zelda and Sonic the Hedgehog, these shows have a huge nostalgic hold on those who are in their 40s and 50s now. However, it wasn’t until titles such as Skylanders Academy, Castlevania, Arcane and The Cuphead Show! (all of which appeared on Netflix) that we began to see game-inspired animated shows that could actually stand on their own merits.

In April, all eyes will be on Illumination’s much-talked about The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which promises to up the ante in the game-adaption business. The colorful pic has the good fortune of being exec produced by the man with the Midas touch, toon veteran Chris Meledandri, and directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who proved their wit and animation know-how with the Teen Titans GO! series and movie. The fact that the script is penned by Matthew Fogel, who wrote last year’s blockbuster Minions: The Rise of Gru and The LEGO Movie 2, also fills our hearts with optimism.

Thanks to the folks at Illumination and Universal, our excellent writer Jeff Spry had the opportunity to have an exclusive chat with the directors, so we are proud to bring you one of the first looks at the movie in this special spring issue. We all have to wait until April to catch the movie in theaters, but something tells me the wait will definitely be worth it. (You can bet this release will make you forget the 1993 live-action version!)

In addition, we have three very different animated features premiering in March and April as well. U.S. audiences will finally get to see the acclaimed Japanese feature Suzume in theaters, thanks to Crunchyroll. Our favorite anime expert Charles Solomon offers us an early look at the Makoto Shinkai blockbuster. London-based writer Rich Johnson also brings us an intelligent conversation with first-time feature director Pierre Földes about his Annecy prize-winning movie Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman

Make sure you also read Karen Idelson’s insightful look at the new Netflix feature The Magician’s Elephant

We also got a flurry of great-looking new kids’ animated shows debuting these past few weeks. There’s Kiff on Disney Channel and Disney+, Bossy Bear on Nickelodeon and Eva the Owlet on Apple TV+. These three diverse offerings are the perfect example of the rich variety of content available for young viewers and their families. Despite the doom and gloom reports, the animation community continues to produce and create a wonderful range of quality shows that prove that good ideas and bold creative talent always rise to the top.

Ramin Zahed Editor in Chief ramin@animationmagazine.net

APRIL 2023

VOL. 37, ISSUE 4, NO. 329 info@animationmagazine.net

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Accounting: Jan Bayouth

Editorial

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Editor in Chief: Ramin Zahed

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Tech Reviews Editor: Todd Sheridan Perry

Contributors: Trevor Hogg, Karen Idelson, Rich Johnson, Maarten Lemmens, Charles Solomon, Jeff Spry, Tony White

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