September 11 - 17, 2000 News

Monday, September 11, 2000

CINAR May Be Target of Acquisition Attempt
On September 5 Animation Artist Magazine reported what was at the time two separate news stories. The first was titled "Cinar Trading Suspended" and talked about how the Toronto Stock Exchange suspended trading due to the continuing Cinar fraud investigation. The next article, titled Nelvana Stock Rises on Buyout Speculation talked about how Nelvana stock hit a 52-week high on speculation that it was going to be purchased by Corus Entertainment. Little was it known how closely related these two separate articles have become...

According to Reuters, one of the main purposes of the Nelvana and Corus deal is so that Corus can turn around and acquire the assets of Cinar! Speculation is that Corus wants to control the assets, but wants Nelvana to control the animation operation.

Corus is the operator of many children cable TV channels while Nelvana and Cinar produce children programs, many of them animated. Prior to the scandals, Cinar was sometimes referred to as "The Canadian Disney".

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Final Shulz "Peanuts" Animated Video Premieres
A select group of mostly children got a treat yesterday in St. Paul as the first group to see "It's a Pied Piper, Charlie Brown," final animated work of "Peanuts" creator Charles Shulz. The 30 minute animated production is being released on Tuesday to video and DVD. Both will also contain an 11-minute feature on Schulz and the origins of "Peanuts."

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Several Animated/Anime DVDs Being Released Tomorrow
There are quite a few animated and anime DVDs going on sale tomorrow, including the following list:

Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040
The Cartoons of Halas & Batchelor
It's a Pied Piper, Charlie Brown
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Peanuts Classic Holiday Edition
Frosty the Snowman
Lost Universe: Volume 1
Lost Universe: Volume 2
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2
Underdog: The Collector's Edition

Tuesday, September 12, 2000

Box Office Results
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:

Chicken Run
$339,010 ($546 per screen average - 47% drop)
28th at the Box Office (down from #23 last weekend)
Total to Date: $104.5 Million

Dinosaur
$256,349 ($726 per screen average - massive *80% decrease)
30th at the Box Office (down from #18 last weekend)
Total to Date: $136.1 Million
*Note: Over Labor Day weekend, Disney did a huge push for Dinosaur, releasing it in 1,426 theaters for that weekend only, grabbing $1.25 million in its 15th week of release. This pass weekend, the number of theaters showing it dropped to 353 resulting in the massive decrease.

Pokemon 2000
$181,216 ($341 per screen average - 43% drop)
37th at the Box Office (down from #29 last weekend)
Total to Date: $43.3 Million

Titan A.E.
No longer in theaters. Final take = $22.75 million

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Fantasia 2000 IMAX Run to Expand
Fantasia 2000, now back in several IMAX theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada, will see an expanded run beginning on November 24, 2000. So far 20 IMAX theaters have agreed to begin showing the film from November 24, 2000 through December 31, 2000.

"Fantasia 2000 was a big contributor to the success of the first year," said Dave Brown, Director of IMAX Theatre and Visitor Services at thew Henry Ford Museum's IMAX Theatre. "We received so many requests to see the film again, it only made sense to bring the feature back for a return command performance."

Several IMAX theaters began showing the rerelease of Fantasia 2000 on August 11, 2000. Fantasia 2000 performed very poor in its widescreen release, bringing in less than $6 million. It has performed better, however, in its IMAX release, bringing in more than $50 million.

Wednesday, September 13, 2000

SIGGRAPH 2001 Details and Call for Participation Released
SIGGRAPH 2001, the 28th International Conference on Computer Graphics and Animation, will be held 12 - 17 August 2001, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The Call for Participation, which is available at www.siggraph.org/s2001/cfp, is an invitation to contribute innovative ideas about science, education, games, special effects, medicine, the Internet, and just about any conceivable application of computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2001 seeks extraordinary papers, panels, courses, sketches & applications, animations, artwork, emerging technologies, as well as volunteers and support.

"SIGGRAPH is no ordinary conference," said Lynn Pocock, SIGGRAPH 2001 Conference Chair from the New York Institute of Technology. "It is recognized worldwide as the premier conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques. Through our Call for Participation, SIGGRAPH 2001 encourages the submission of the most extraordinary work from an international community of computer graphics scientists, animators, artists, interactive engineers, educators, Web developers, and computer graphics enthusiasts."

The SIGGRAPH 2001 technical program includes Papers, Panels, Courses, Sketches & Applications, and the Educators Program, which all focus on computer graphics and interactive technology research and education. SIGGRAPH 2001 encourages submissions in interactive techniques in addition to proposals from new areas that overlap computer graphics. Included are computer games, the Internet, convergence, robotics, cybernetics, audio, haptics, medicine, biology, and visualization.

The conference also seeks contributions for the Computer Animation Festival, Art Gallery: N-Space, and Emerging Technologies. All of these showcase the latest implementations of the technology and offer attendees opportunities to experience the technology.

The Call for Participation looks for volunteers and support for the following programs: Creative Applications Lab, Pathfinders, The Studio, SIGGRAPH TV, SIGGRAPH 2001 Online, Student Volunteers, International, and the Special Session: Web3D RoundUP.

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Baby Blues Signed to Second Season
The WB's Baby Blues has been signed to a second season. According to Daily Variety, the renewal was because "a six-week run of episodes produced respectable ratings by WB standards, but more importantly, delivered a consistent and demographically balanced aud in a tough Friday timeslot."

Thursday, September 14, 2000

Fox Kids Talks About the Digimon Movie
Digimon: The Movie opens throughout the U.S. on October 6, 2000. Fox Kids, taking a que from WB, which made millions of dollars with the two Pokemon movies it distributed in the U.S., is hoping that the movie will "catch on" with kids, particularly in its opening weekend. With a drought of family films in theaters, the timing could be just right for this anime adventure.

Fox Kids has released some detailes about Digimon, saying:

"Digi-mania invaded the United States in August 1999 when the animated children's series 'Digimon: Digital Monsters' premiered on Fox Kids Network. Within three months, the show was catapulted quickly into a ratings and retail phenomenon. With its television and retail success, 'Digimon' has digivolved into a motion picture, which Twentieth Century Fox will release in the United States on Oct. 6.

The Internet becomes a battlefield for the DigiDestined and their Digimon companions, as they embark on their greatest adventure yet in Digimon: The Movie. A powerful new Digimon hatches on the Internet and begins to consume data at an exponential rate. This Internet Digimon rapidly digivolves to its mega form, Diabormon, taking over worldwide communications in the process while preparing to launch missiles from the United States to Japan. With time running out, only the combined efforts of a worldwide network of kids, plus a new mega-hero Digimon named Omegamon, stand in the way of global disaster."

If the plotline sounds a little familiar, it's because IMAX is releasing Cyberworld about the same time which has a plotline of bugs consuming digital code, thus threatening to extinct all of CyberWorld. Click here for Animation Artist Magazine's feature article on Cyberworld.

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Pixar Gets "Buy" Rating
WR Hambrecht + Co today initiated research coverage on Pixar Animation Studios with a buy rating and a price target of $50.

WR Hambrecht + Co's Gaming analyst Jeffrey B. Logsdon cited the Company's blend of technology and creativity, accelerated production schedule and output contract with Disney as key reasons for the rating.

"Pixar is accelerating its production output to an anticipated one film per year over the next three years. We believe this should create an earnings layering and growth through 2006. Pixar's first three films have generated over one billion dollars in operating income, and we expect that significant profitability should continue over the next few releases," Logsdon said.

Logsdon projects total revenues will reach $157 million in 2000, $42.3 million in 2001, and $105 million in 2002, up from $1.1 million in 1999.

Friday, September 15, 2000

Annie Award Nominees Announced
Here are the nominations in the major award categories for this year's Annie Awards, which recognizes animation achievement:

Outstanding Achievement in An Animated Theatrical Feature
"Fantasia / 2000"
Walt Disney Pictures

"Toy Story 2"
Walt Disney Pictures / Pixar Animation Studios

"The Road to El Dorado"
Dreamworks SKG

"Chicken Run"
Pathe, Aardman & Dreamworks SKG

"Titan A.E."
20th Century Fox Animation

Outstanding Achievement in An Animated Short Subject
"For the Birds"
Pixar Animation Studios

"Quick Draw El Kabong"
Wild Brain, Inc.

"John Henry"
Walt Disney Pictures

"Little Go Beep"
Warner Bros. Classic Animation

"Ghost of Stephen Foster"
Matthew Nastuk, Raymond S. Persi

Outstanding Achievement in a Daytime Animated Television Program
"Recess"
Walt Disney Television Animation

"Angry Beavers"
Nickelodeon Animation Studios

"Batman Beyond"
Warner Bros. Animation

"Warner Bros' Histeria!"
Warner Bros. Animation

"Mickey Mouseworks"
Wait Disney Television Animation

Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Program
"The PJ's"
Imagine Television / Will Vinton Studios

"Futurama"
The Curiosity Co. / 20th Century Fox Television

"The Simpsons"
Gracie Films in Association with 20th Century Fox Television

"Dexter's Laboratory"
Hanna-Barbera

"Spy Groove"
MTV Animation

Outstanding Achievement in An Animated Home Video Production
"Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost"
Hanna Barbera / Warner Bros. Animation Steven Spielberg Presents

"Wakko's Wish"
Warner Bros. Animation

"Bartok the Magnificent"
20th Century Fox Animation

"Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas"
Walt Disney Television Animation

"An Extremely Goofy Movie"
Walt Disney Television Animation

In addition, there were several individual award nominees, including Outstanding Achievement in Character Animation, which was met with controversy in last year's awards when Glen Keane was surprisingly overlooked for his work with Tarzan. This year's nominees will also have its share of controversy, particularly in overlooking some of the character animation achievements in Dinosaur and for widely ignoring the UKs most popular documentary ever, Walking with Dinosaurs. Further controversy may arise from labeling films like Stuart Little as "animated features".

Here are the major individual nominees:

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Character Animation
Sean P. Mullen
"Stuart Little"

Eric Goldberg
"Fantasia/2000"

Doug Sweetland
"Toy Story 2"

Rodolphe Guenoden
"The Road to El Dorado"

David Brewster
"The Road to El Dorado"

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing In an Animated Feature Production
John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Ash Brannon Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin & Chris Webb
"Toy Story 2"

Karey Kirkpatrick
"Chicken Run"

M. Night Shyamalan & Greg Booker
"Stuart Little"

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Feature Production
Ralph Zondag, & Eric Leighton,
"Dinosaur"

John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, & Ash Brannon
"Toy Story 2"

Nick Park & Peter Lord
"Chicken Run"

Jun Falkenstein
"The Tigger Movie"

Hayao Miyazaki
"Princess Mononoke" (English Language Version)

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production
Kyounghee Lim, & Boohwan Lim
King of the Hill
"Won't You Pimai Neighbor"

Brian Sheesley
Futurama
"Why Must I Be A Crustacean In Love"

Susie Dietter
Futurama
"A Bicyclops Built for Two"

Kirk Tingblad
Johnny Bravo
"Noir Johnny"

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing In an Animated Television Production
Garland Testa
King of the Hill
"Aisle 8A"

Robert Goodman
Batman Beyond
"Zeta"

Steve Young
"Olive, The Other Reindeer"

Chris Savino
The Powerpuff Girls
"Dream Scheme"

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Effects Animation
Robert Bredon
"Stuart Little"

Julian Hynes
"Titan A.E."

Simon O'Connor
"Dinosaur"

Doug Ikeler
"The Road to El Dorado"

Ted C. Kierscey
"Fantasia/2000"

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design In an Animated Television Production
Nelson Lowry
The PJs
"What's Eating Juicy Hudson?"

Glen Hanson
"Spy Groove"

Nollan Obena
Max Steel
"Sphinxes"

Bob Doucette
"Detention"

John R. Dilworth
Courage The Cowardly Dog
"A Night at the Katz Motel"

Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design In an Animated Feature Production
Susan McKinsey Goldberg
"Fantasia 2000"

Paul Brizzi / Gaetan Brizzi & Carl Jones
"Fantasia / 2000"

William Cone & Jim Pearson
"Toy Story 2"

Christian Schellewald
"The Road to El Dorado"

Philip A. Cruden
"Titan A.E."

To discuss this year's nominations and your feelings about what films/people are nominated and which aren't, click here.

Saturday, September 16, 2000

Powerpuff Girls a "Runaway Hit"
According to the Kansas City Star:

"Sugar. Spice. Everything nice. These are the ingredients used to create the hottest, hippest cartoon show for girls since, since -- well, since maybe ever. You can keep your Transformers, your X-Men and your Pokemon.

At the Fullerton, Md., home of Chelsea and Tess Larichiuta, ages 8 and 9, the only must-watch TV show features three kindergartners with peculiarly large eyes who thwart evil-doers during recess. Namely, 'The Powerpuff Girls.'...

'The Powerpuff Girls' has turned into a breakout hit for Time Warner's Cartoon Network, the cable channel that airs the show at 7 and 10 weeknights. It's the network's most popular program..."

Click here for the full story.

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Cartoonists Boosted By Election Year Politics
Election year politics can be the stuff dreams are made of for a cartoonist, illustrator or political ad designer trying to get noticed, says Scott Nelowet, Chair of the Animation Department of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

Presidential candidates are easy to spoof, he says, and cartoons or illustrations that come from the latest incident on the campaign trail are in demand.

"Election year politics, especially Presidential campaigns, are a great opportunity to shine on a national stage -- the fodder is definitely there," explains Nelowet.

Political cartoons and illustrations get more attention now because the print media is looking for visuals to go with their stories, according to Daniel Marsula, editorial illustrator with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and graduate of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. "A good illustrator, cartoonist or designer will find the humor or humanity in any event and turn it into art that people can enjoy regardless of where they stand on the issues," he says.

To get her candidate noticed, Kathi Georges, a graphic design instructor with The Art Institutes International at San Francisco, created a controversial direct mail piece for a candidate running in a local District Attorney race. The ad featured copy that alerted voters to the fact that her candidate's opponent had recently been rounded up in a Vice Squad raid.

"Whether you take a conservative or daring approach to a political ad, the goal is the same -- focus on a key issue and show how voters should elect your candidate and not the other," says Georges. Her client triumphed and she credits the attention her ad received for getting her work on other campaigns.

For Mike Carnegie, a former political cartoonist who is currently on the faculty at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, opportunities to catch politicians in embarrassing moments are always there, even when it's not a Presidential election year. Says Carnegie, "It's the nature of the beast," says Carnegie. "I mean you have to have quite an ego to think you can solve world problems."

Still Carnegie believes that much of the material for humor that used to arise, in particular from political conventions, has all but disappeared. "The recent conventions in Philadelphia and Los Angeles were perfect examples -- everything is so carefully scripted that the infighting and nastiness that used to erupt in front of the cameras have all but disappeared," says Carnegie.

Whether politics is a passion or not, Marsula offers this advice for success in the field of illustration, cartooning or design, "Learn basic drawing skills, get as much instruction as you can. Draw for your school paper, hometown paper, but most of all, have a point of view and a passion for the art.

Two Countries Tackle "Inspector Fabre"
In E&G Films' Inspector Fabre, an animated television series airing in Japan, a bug's life is often one of crime. E&G Films studios in Japan and Indonesia worked together on the series using Cambridge Animation Systems' Animo software as the only animation production tool.

Inspector Fabre tells the story of a private detective who uses his entomology background to solve mysteries, tracking down villains by examining the ecological traces left at the scene of the crime. Inspired by The Diary of Insects written by Jean Henri Fabre, a 19th -century French entomologist and author, all of the characters, including Fabre, are portrayed as insects. In addition to the central characters, historical figures such as Charles Darwin, Alexander Dumas, Jules Verne and Napolean III also make appearances as bugs.

E&G Films is producing 26 22-minute episodes of Inspector Fabre, requiring the studio to complete about four shows a month.

All cell work for the Inspector Fabre series is completed in E&G Films' Indonesian studio, where animators use Animo's scanning, image processing, and ink and paint modules. With 17 ink and paint seats and two scanning seats, two to three episodes are often being completed simultaneously at the Indonesian site.

Work completed in Indonesia is sent to Japan for compositing of all painted cells, backgrounds and overlays. Effects and camera moves are added and the completed episode is rendered on a render farm of 15 Animo seats.

The two studios work well together despite the geographical separation.

"If the painters in Indonesia need a color model from the color stylist in Japan, it is sent via e-mail and arrives immediatel," said Hector Baez, the studio's CG department manager. "Because there are no shipping delays, the animators in Indonesia are able to paint up to 240 cells a day,"

The only long distance difficulty is that the painters in Indonesia have become so fast that the in-betweeners are having problems keeping up with them.

All of the cell work and 85 percent of the compositing for the Inspector Fabre episodes is completed entirely by E&G Films. The remaining episodes are sub-contracted to one of several other Japanese studios (Noside, Asahi Production, D-Volt and Multi-Access Company) that run Animo on NT and SGI platforms.

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Lady and the Tramp II Gets "G" Rating
Last week the Motion Picture Association of Ameria viewed "Lady and the Tramp II: Scamps Adventure," giving it an expected "G" rating. For more information on this direct to video sequel of Lady and the Tramp, go to the Animation Artist Magazine August 20 news update.

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