animation
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Netflix orders World War II series with first-of-its-kind animation
Netflix announced today that it has ordered the production of a war drama series call The Liberator. The four-part show, set during World War II, will be the first ever to be produced in Trioscope Enhanced Hybrid Animation. The production technology combines CGI effects and live-action performances to create a realistic graphic novel-style look.
Netflix has six new animated films and series in the works
As Disney gears up for its own streaming service, Netflix is adding to its slate of family content, and it just revealed six new animated projects that are in the works. As Variety reports, the latest animated additions include two films and four series, a few of which have some big names attached.
She-Ra shines in the first trailer for Netflix's '80s reboot
Netflix already rebooted one iconic '80s cartoon in Voltron, now it's trying its hand at another with the upcoming release of She-Ra and The Princesses of Power. (That's He-Man's twin sister for those too young to remember Masters of the Universe or her own spinoff.) Announced in December, all we've seen of the show thus far is a teaser. But a new trailer should help you decide if you like the princess's new clothes.
What we're listening to: Ghibliotheque
I firmly believe that Studio Ghibli is one of the best animation studios in the world. So does Michael Leader, digital lead for Film4 and regular host of Truth & Movies, a film podcast by Little White Lies magazine. Six weeks ago, he launched a new podcast called Ghibliotheque with Jake Cunningham, a commissioner for Channel 4's short film program Random Acts and, more importantly, a relative newcomer to the company's work. Every week, they watch a different Ghibli movie, give their honest assessment and explain the circumstances surrounding its release. It is, without fail, a thoroughly entertaining and informative listen.
'Ugly' is a stunning short built on glitch-riddled simulations
Ugly is a film built on beautiful contradictions. The characters have odd, blocky proportions and stumble around like a group of drunk boxers. The town, too, is comprised of weirdly angular cars, buildings, bicycles and trash bags. There's a consistency to the art style, though, that resembles origami and the papercraft video game Tearaway. And the lighting, a stunning mixture of pastel pinks and blues, gives every frame a warm, inviting sheen. It's an unusual, attention-grabbing blend that feels both charming and unsettling at the same time.
Netflix original 'BoJack Horseman' is coming to Comedy Central
There have been whispers as early as January that BoJack Horseman could arrive on cable TV -- and after six months, it turns out the syndication rumors were true. Comedy Central has secured the television rights to all five seasons of the Emmy Award nominated black comedy series -- meaning it is no longer a Netflix exclusive.
Disney reduces the chances of CG hair disasters
Movie studios often want computer-generated hair to have a specific effect, whether it's a seductive toss or a careless flick that knocks something over. But there's a problem: most rough-cut simulations don't realistically simulate hair, leading to a lot of guesswork and time-consuming edits. Disney (no stranger to hair-centric movies) has a solution, though. It developed a new system that can produce more authentic-looking simulations without an impractical boost to computation power. The trick, it turns out, was to use just a few cleverly controlled sample hairs.
Netflix renews 'Aggretsuko' and commits to more new anime
Netflix is going all-in on anime, renewing another series and bringing in a bunch of new ones, it announced at the Anime 2018 festival. There'll certainly be a lot of variety, starting with season 2 of Aggretsuko (below, arriving in 2019) about a red panda who bristles against her quotidian life via nightly death metal karaoke sessions. It also revealed that the second season of vampire-fighting show Castlevania will debut on October 26th.
Netflix offers a brief look at Matt Groening’s ‘Disenchantment’
Matt Groening's third animated series Disenchantment is expected to take a wry look at fantasy and medieval stereotypes when its first ten-episode season debuts on Netflix August 17th. A new teaser gives us a first (very brief) look at the show itself, which is drawn in Groening's signature style made famous in The Simpsons and Futurama.
MTV is making a live-action ‘Aeon Flux’ reboot
Aeon Flux is coming back as MTV has moved forward with a plan to air a new live-action reboot of the series. The show premiered in 1991 with a series of animated shorts that aired on MTV's Liquid Television. The network then expanded the series with five short-form episodes in 1992 and 10 half-hour episodes in 1995. The show then went on to be adapted in a graphic novel, a video game and an unsuccessful film starring Charlize Theron.
Netflix snags 'Next Gen,' a star-studded animated film about robots
Just because Netflix's films got shut out of competition at Cannes doesn't mean the streaming titan stayed home. The company won a worldwide (except for China) distribution deal worth $30 million for the animated film Next Gen with a star-studded cast about a pair of "two unlikely friends in a world filled with robots," according to Deadline.
'Forgotton Anne' is a puzzle-platform game hidden inside an anime
Forgotton Anne looks like a gentle animated feature film you can't quite remember the name of, with an art style somewhere between Studio Ghibli and those curious kids' animation series I used to watch from Europe. The charming characters, mostly anthropomorphic objects called forgotlings, make for an entertaining adventure, combined with occasionally smart puzzles and surprising gameplay twists. That said, ThroughLine Games have made a gorgeous animated story where the gameplay comes second.
Netflix gives 'Fast and Furious' the cartoon treatment it deserves
With eight feature releases and a couple of short films, the Fast and Furious franchise has worked its way into the public consciousness. When you think about it, though, while the films are rated PG-13, the core concept is pretty kid-friendly: fast cars and one-liners abound. It doesn't hurt that it's also the sixth-highest-grossing film series of all time. That's probably why Netflix and DreamWorks are bringing the concept to the small screen as an animated series.
'Alex's Sci-Fi World' is a beautiful piece of VR animation
Hand-painted VR animation isn't new. Oculus developed Quill, a 3D painting package for the Rift, back in 2015 for its now defunct Story Studio. It was released to the public in December 2016 and updated with a slew of filmmaking features three months ago. Since then, a small community has blossomed with VR artist Goro Fujita -- the man behind the incredible A Moment in Time -- at the helm. There are many impressive shorts online, but my favorite is Alex's Sci-Fi World by Matt Schaefer. It's a neon-soaked delight that you should absolutely watch on YouTube or using a Rift and the original Quill file.
Netflix orders an adult animated show about terrible cops
In retrospect, Bojack Horseman was a watershed show for Netflix. Its success has led the streaming provider to expand its animated comedy lineup with adult-oriented titles like Big Mouth and Brickleberry, but more are on the way. The team behind the latter are making a new cartoon series for Netlix, Paradise P.D., about a less-than-competent police force.
'Away' is a full-length CG movie made by one person
A boy dangling from a tree in a barren desert. A forest filled with standing stones that have circular holes punched through them. Turtle-riding cats. Spooky caves. Curious elephants. These are just a few of the shots in the first trailer for Away. The 3D animation is far from perfect, but there's a clear, distinctive style throughout. The most impressive part, though, is revealed in the video's description: "Animated feature film by Gints Zilbalodis." Unlike the latest Pixar movies, Away is being made by just one person. It's a colossal challenge, but one that the 23-year-old animator has been building toward for eight years.
Netflix plans live-action 'Carmen Sandiego' film with Gina Rodriguez
'90s kids have even more to get excited about as Carmen Sandiego comes to Netflix as a feature film. Jane the Virgin and Annihilation star Gina Rodriguez will play the title character in the live action movie, according to Deadline. She is also listed as a co-producer through her I Can and I Will production company.
AI is making more realistic CG animal fur
Creating realistic animal fur has always been a vexing problem for 3D animators because of the complex way the fibers interact with light. Now, thanks to our ubiquitous friend artificial intelligence, University of California researchers have found a way to do it better. "Our model generates much more accurate simulations and is 10 times faster than the state of the art," said lead author Ravi Ramamoorthi. The result could be that very soon, you'll see more believable (and no doubt cuter) furry critters in movies, TV and video games.
Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' VR mock-doc is live on Pixel phones
Big-budget VR tie-ins are nothing new. Dunkirk got its own version from Intel, Blade Runner 2049 has one that debuted at Comic-Con and even Spider-Man got his own virtual reality "experience" when the reboot launched last year. Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs premieres next month in the US, but you can experience the film's VR tie-in now via Google Spotlight Stories app and your Pixel phone. The faux-documentary will go live for everyone else via YouTube (VR, 360 and 2D) March 2.
Facebook's Quill tool now lets you animate VR
For those interested in creating 3D art directly in VR, the update to Facebook's Quill released today should be good news. The update includes new animation tools like free frame-by-frame redrawing, copy-and-re-pose animation and an animation brush that let artists bring their drawings to life directly in Quill. "These tools open the door for a whole new kind of storytelling, with VR characters who move and perform in scenes and environments that are more alive than ever," Facebook said in a statement. "Inspired by the early hand-drawn animation of the 1920s, but powered up with modern technology and native VR workflows, Quill animation brings a new level of freedom to artists in this rapidly emerging medium."
