In-Fur-Nation

Turns out there’s there’s another feature film in the works for everyone’s favorite lasagna-loving feline, Garfield. The big orange fellow has appeared in two previous live action/CGI films, both times voiced by Bill Murray. Now Alcon Entertainment is working on the famous feline’s first fully-animated feature film, where this time he’ll be voiced by Chris Pratt. (Is there anything that guy isn’t involved in?) Like many animated films of the past few years, this one features an impressive voice cast of well-known actors, including Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Hannah Waddingham, Cecily Strong, and Ving Rhames. Interestingly, this new film is directed by Mark Dindal (of Cats Don’t Dance and Emperor’s New Groove fame), whom we have not heard from in a long long time. According to Animation World Network, Garfield should be out in mid-2024.

image c. 2022 Alcon Entertainment

Animation news out of France, courtesy of Animation World Network: “Kittened is described as revolving around famous rapper Tough Dog, ‘who is challenged to a rap battle by the Kalixte, a rising star with millions of followers. A week before the battle, Tough Dog wakes up in the body of a kitten, with the kitten’s spirit in Tough Dog’s body. To reverse the situation back to normal, he has to ask Kim, a shy young girl, for help. In exchange, Tough Dog will teach her to become popular.'”. Currently the film is scheduled for release in 2025. We have a fairly good record of getting animated films from France released here in North America (Ernest & Celestine, anyone?), so hopefully this will get a chance as well.

image c. 2022 SND

Your ever-loving edotter got a chance to see a preview screening of Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, the upcoming animated feature from Dreamworks Animation, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado. Here’s the basic plot summary: The unstoppable adventurer Puss in Boots discovers that he has burned up eight of his nine lives through a series of mishaps. He goes on a desperate quest to find a fallen star with magic wishing powers, hoping to restore his invulnerability. Trouble is, the cat has lots of competition for the star — and a malevolent force following right behind him. So here are some Spoiler-Free thoughts about the film: See It, as soon as you can.  Not only is this a cracking good adventure film, darker than you expect it to be in places, but it’s also quite easily the furriest film ever in the Shrek universe. In fact, there’s a wolf in this film who could easily give the head Bad Guy a run for his money. This new film is coming to theaters on December 21st.

image c. 2022 Dreamworks Animation

And yet more animated book adaptations. We got this from Animation World Network: “Apple TV+ just released a trailer for its newest animated series, Interrupting Chicken, based on the 2011 Caldecott Honor-winning book series written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein. The preschool series introduces children to the joy of creative writing – starting with a little young chicken named Piper, who has a habit of interrupting story time! Every time Piper hears a story, she can’t help but jump in, ask questions, and let her imagination run wild.” The new series premiers on November 18th, and the trailer is up on line.

image c. 2022 Apple TV+

Another professional character designer we met at Lightbox last month was Ainsworth Lin. Their personal animation project is called The Hedge Witch, and it goes like this: “The Hedge Witch follows the adventures of Adam, Misha, and Butters as they slowly unravel the mysteries in and around the sleepy town of Flatroot, Washington. Together, they investigate cold cases, encounter mythological creatures, and fight off supernatural entities.” Many of them not human but so, so interesting. Visit the web site to find out more about it — and other projects and designs they’ve worked on too.

image c. 2022 by Ainsworth Lin

Happy Halloween — and blessed Day of the Dead! At Lightbox this year we came across a new animated project called Stormfellers, created by professional character designer Brookes Eggleston. At their web site there’s a YouTube video detailing the genesis of the story, and the world, and most importantly the characters. Stormfellers are “A rough and tumble gang of misfits protect their island from the ravages of constant monster-like Storms. There’s Aecious the Storm Conduit, Quilver the Quilled Marksman, Glangor the Heavy, and Biko the Field-Medic.” Brookes has even created a plushie toy of Biko the healer. There’s also a whole gallery of character designs from this and other projects.

image c. 2022 by Brookes Eggleston

Expedition Art is an art group on a mission. Here’s how they describe themselves: “Expedition Art is a global collaborative of artists who have joined together to raise awareness for wildlife and nature conservation through art. Our company works with other non-profit organizations focused on conservation and helps them educate others through the power of visual communication.” To those ends they sponsor illustration contests, wildlife art workshops at conventions and other events, and even real-life drawing field trips into the wild. Their web site has lots of art examples, as well as instructional videos.

image c. 2022 by Ester Conceicao

Recently we made a trip to this year’s Lightbox animation industry trade-show in Pasadena, California. We met a lot of very cool and talented artists, including Shawn E. Russell. Here’s how her web site describes her: “Shawn is a wildlife and imaginative realism artist specializing in creating detailed depictions of animals melded with plants and fungi in symbiotic relationships… Shawn has worked with independent board game creators, food & beverage packaging, & private art collectors. She offers her personal work for sale online and at art fairs, comic/anime conventions across the US where she enjoys connecting with fans, collectors, and clients in person.” As you can see, the artist works a lot in highly detailed black-and-white. If you happen to find yourself in Terre Haute, Indiana, make sure to visit their personal gallery called Seek.

image c. 2022 by Shawn E. Russell

The Oates & The Elphyne is the interesting title of a new full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Michael Walsh (Comeback). The description goes like this: “The Oates family moves to their ancestral home in Newfoundland following a pair of tragedies.They arrive at their Grandmother’s house, where they reunite with their orphaned cousin. Shortly after arriving, Beth, the youngest sibling, is kidnapped by a dark creature. Her older siblings set out to find her and bring her back, finding themselves in the Elphyne—a magical world that exists between the ordinary world and the afterlife. In the Elphyne, the imagination of children has the power to shape everything around them. The children, along with some new allies, must travel through the Elphyne to confront The Dark King, a mysterious being whose arrival has started to corrupt the Elphyne in frightening and unexpected ways. It is up to Beth’s siblings to rescue her from his clutches.” Not mentioned in that description is the fact those “new allies” include an anthro bear and a winged fairy. It’s available now in hardcover from Humanoids.

image c. 2022 Humanoids

We came across an add for a new anthology of furry fiction called When The World Was Young. So we checked out the web site: “The invention of writing postdates, invariably, the invention of storytelling. After all, what purpose is there to writing, until you have something to write down? Excavate these writings, then. Decipher them carefully. Let them, at last, convince you to forget writing until instead they sit across the fire, speaking to you oral traditions, folktales, and of days long, long past When the World Was Young.” The book is due on December 1st, and proceeds will go to help various indigenous tribes.

image c. 2022 The Furry Historical Fiction Society

More from the latest Animation Magazine: Zizi and Hannibal is a South African animated series that’s been picked up for distribution by Monster Entertainment from Ireland. “Zizi is an adventurous and curious five-year-old girl. Her best friend, Hannibal, is a bumbling, fun-loving Hippo. Together they explore the beautiful places of Africa and meet all the wonderful animals that live there. Hannibal loves singing songs, rhymes and having fun and Zizi is always keen to learn more about the animals they meet.” Now we’ll see where it gets shown!

image c. 2022 Pixcomm

Recently in Animation Magazine they talked about a new kids’ TV series in production called Olga Da Polga. We got this from Beyond Rights, the production company in the U.K.: “Created by the legendary children’s writer Michael Bond (Paddington Bear), Olga Da Polga is a charming new pre-school title about a lovable and highly imaginative guinea pig who loves telling tales. Joining guinea pig Olga in her adventures in the garden are tortoise Graham, hedgehog Fangio, and Noel the know-it-all cat – alongside ‘The Sawdust Family’. Currently in production by Maramedia (Hushabye Lullabye), Bond’s delightful and amusing stories are being brought to TV screens for the first time in a live-action drama with wonderful talking animals and gorgeous animation.” No word yet on when it’s coming out — or where in the world, either! Stay tooned.

image c. 2022 Puffin Books

It’s MIPCOM season, and that means a host of animation production companies are gearing up to plug new cartoon series they hope to sell in their homelands and (hopefully!) all around the world. Shows like Karate Sheep, from the French animation company Xilam (home of Zig & Sharko and the current Mr. Magoo). “Trico is an enthusiastic sheep who loves to share new objects and ideas with the rest of the flock. This causes ruckus in the mountain pastures, which all inevitably end up at Wanda’s expense. [Wanda is] a tough ewe whose job is to keep the sheep safe. Not a small feat, especially when Wolf is always lurking, waiting to make the most of this newfound chaos.” Xilam have a preview trailer for the show (and many others) at their web site.

image c. 2022 Xilam

One thing that definitely happened during the COVID lock-downs was that on-line comic artists got real busy. Among them was Alex Graham, creator of Dog Biscuits, a slice-of-life underground funny animal comic. Now Fantagraphics have brought together many the on-line black & white pages in a single hardcover graphic novel. “It’s July 2020 in Seattle. Gussy struggles to keep his dog biscuit boutique afloat while a global pandemic rages unchecked. The loneliness of lockdown and social distancing drives his employee Rosie to betray her principles. Rosie’s roommate Hissy is at a personal crossroads. A love triangle emerges as they find themselves tangled in a web of police brutality, protests, drugs, dating apps and COVID chaos. Taking place over the course of just a few days, this is a snapshot of humanity — okay, animals — in crisis.” The Observer has a detailed review with lots of sample artwork as well.

image c. 2022 Fantagraphics

Over on Twitter we stumbled across a new interactive game project called Paw Borough. The creators were talking up the success of their recent Kickstarter campaign. We’ll let them explain it: “Hello everyone! We want to introduce Paw Borough, an online feline-themed roleplay game made by creatives for creatives! Paw Borough incorporates nostalgic elements of early internet pet simulators while introducing fresh mechanics and cultivating a unique player experience. The game will feature new, complex breeding mechanics, item collection, scene decoration, extensive roleplay tools with socialized gameplay, site-guided community storytelling, and immense creative freedom never before seen in a game of this genre!” You can check out their game demo online as well.

image c. 2022 The Paw Borough Team

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Netflix recently premiered an interesting new animated TV series for young viewers. “Spirit Rangers explores the beauty of nature through the eyes and adventures of half-Chumash, half-Cowlitz siblings Kodi, Summer, and Eddy Skycedar, who all share a secret: They are ‘Spirit Rangers’ who help protect the land and spirits of the national park they call home in California. Taking on new perspectives as a grizzly bear cub, red-tailed hawk, and spunky turtle, the Skycedar kids face every challenge — from helping a lost thunderbird to waking a sleepy sun — with courage and compassion.” The series is created by Karissa Valencia, herself a member of the Samala Chumash tribe. Animation World Network has an extensive article.

image c. 2022 Netflix

The Sparkle Dragons is a new full-color graphic novel written by Emma Carlson Berne and illustrated by Luke Flowers. “Meet the Sparkle Dragons: The spunkiest crew in all of Princess Puff’s queendom! Trixie is fierce with brains and beauty. Rue is tough as nails with a heart of shimmering gold. And, last but not least, Glinda, who often has her head in the clouds, but her out-of-the-box problem-solving can be her strongest asset. With their unique powers combined, they are an unstoppable force! And let’s be honest: Fighting off bad guys with glitter beams can be pretty hilarious . . . and sticky!” Do tell. It’s available now in hardcover or trade paperback from Harper-Collins.

image c. Clarion Books

This came around a little while ago, but it’s probably worth looking up: “Antarctic Press, in conjunction with P-Productions and Phase 6, is proud to announce Spectreman Heroes, a nostalgia-blast of retro Japanese live-action superbeings! Each issue of Spectreman Heroes will showcase a different character in their own full-length story, with art by luminaries such as Matt Frank (Godzilla Legends), Hiroshi Kanatani (Coaraptor), and Ben Dunn (Ninja High School). This issue [#3], private detective Kotaro Akizuki,, brought back from the brink of death by a miracle drug, perseveres against the subterranean Mantles with his skill, raw courage, and unique ability to become the half-leopard Hyoman!”

image c. 2022 Antarctic Press

So Netflix brings us a new generation of My Little Pony? Then IDW is sure to bring us a new generation of My Little Pony comic book — with an easy title too: My Little Pony. “Join Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, Hitch, and their trusty sidekick Cloudpuff as they explore a brand-new Equestria following the magical events of the hit Netflix movie! With magic returned to Equestria, the ponies are more united than ever — at least until one of the Unity Crystals is stolen! Can the Mane 5 find the culprit before magic is gone for good? And where’s Cloudpuff leading them, anyway? Is this . . . Canterlot?!” Written by Celeste Bronfman, and illustrated by fan-favorite artist Amy Mebberson.

image c. 2022 IDW Comics

Twig is a new and whimsical fantasy adventure comic from Image. “Eisner Award-winning I Hate Fairyland and Middlewest writer Skottie Young and artist Kyle Strahm (Spread Unearth) come together for an epic fantasy adventure miniseries! It’s the first day of Twig’s new job as a journeyer on a Jeff Smith’s Bone-esque quest to save a The Dark Crystal/Labyrinth-style world. Join our hesitant hero for an inspiring and imaginative tale of hope heartache and determination to overcome insurmountable odds!” In case you missed it, Image have released the first five issues in a single trade paperback.

image c. 2022 Image Comics