There's a lot happening in the world of animation, so our Animation Roundup is here to bring you up to speed. From news on anticipated animated features, to new looks at fan-favorite cartoon series, and interviews with popular voice actors, we've got you covered!
One thing to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks is my special report from the press junket for Sony's Angry Birds, which will be flapping into theaters on May 20th. I'll have interviews with voice talent like Maya Rudolph, Jason Sudeikis, and Josh Gad, plus more from the event, so stay tuned! As a bonus, there's also some Angry Birds content in today's report. In the meantime, here's what you might have missed from the last few days worth of animation news.
Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill Confirm 'The Killing Joke's R Rating
It was confirmed recently that Warner Bros.' animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke would be rated R, to the delight of many fans of the source material. If studio confirmation wasn't sexy enough for you, however, then you'll probably enjoy this delightful reassurance from long-time voice actors of Batman and Joker respectively, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill:
Look for Batman: The Killing Joke's world premiere at Comic-Con this summer, with Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD available later this year.
'Alice Through the Looking Glass' Introduces the Seconds
Not exactly an animated feature, this James Bobin-directed sequel to Alice in Wonderland sure has a lot of computer-generated components. Some of them--the minions of Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) known as Seconds--made their debut ahead of their big-screen appearance on May 27th. Check out the first images here!
Bobin, who succeeded Tim Burton at the helm for Alice Through the Looking Glass, recently talked about the creation of the animated characters of this world with our own Sheila Roberts:
How do the CG characters in this movie compare to working with The Muppets?
BOBIN: They’re hugely different. Muppets was very much an exercise in anti-CG and the anti-effects world. It was very much in camera. We wanted to create a world where tangible puppets walked around and talked to each other. You could touch them. You could meet them. This is the other end of the spectrum, and that’s why I liked it, because I wanted to do something completely different. As a director, obviously you should challenge yourself. It’s important, because it’s this thing that takes you away from your family for years. You have to really love the thing you’re doing. It’s very important.
Mia Waskikowska's title character returns next month, along with Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway’s White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter’s Red Queen, and the late Alan Rickman’s Caterpillar.
Salma Hayek's Character in 'Sausage Party' Is "One Naughty, Naughty Taco"
In an interview with Salma Hayek for her work in Matteo Garrone’s Tale of Tales, she mentioned a bit about her role in the upcoming R-rated comedy, Sausage Party. Fair warning: things get naughty.
You also voiced a character for the R-rated animated movie Sausage Party. How did Seth Rogen convince you to do that?
HAYEK: I don’t know how they got me! I swear to god, I don’t know. I think I was hypnotized. I remember being shocked, and then, I was recording it. I don’t know how they got me on board, but I’ll tell you, I am one naughty, naughty taco. She is a bad girl, in a different way. I know I’ll never play another one like that, for sure. I saw the trailer and my husband said, “Oh, my god, this is hardcore!” I said, “No, baby, that’s the kindergarten version. Brace yourself!” It’s the naughtiest thing I’ve ever done. I never thought I’d ever say some of those things out loud. But, I had a lot of fun working with Seth. It’s a different kind of crazy.
Look for Sausage Party this August 12th.
Virtual Reality Experiences of 'The Jungle Book'
Another movie that blends live-action performances with computer-generated animation is Disney's The Jungle Book, a film that's been performing quite well at the box office since its April 15th opening. There's more to the movie than its 105-minute runtime, however, like the immersive virtuality reality tie-ins. The film's VFX Supervisor Keith Miller talked about them in a recent interview with our own Tommy Cook. Here's a sample of what Miller had to say, including the difficulty in making realistic animated animal characters:
What is the ‘uncanny valley’ for animating animals on a VR project?
MILLER: For us on this particular piece, it’s a very photo-real environment. We spent a lot of time crafting the details and then spending time with King Louie and the monkeys around him. We’ve had a lot of experience with simians [on The Planet of the Apes films]. You very quickly make the leap of faith getting past ‘Oh this is a talking animal’ to the idea that this is just a character in the film. If you put that attention of detail to the characters, you can quickly relate to them and understand how they emote and express things. Once you’re getting into humans, digital humans, it’s a different ballgame, similar process to a degree but it’s certainly a much more tricky area and you’re much more susceptible to getting into that ‘uncanny valley’ area but that wasn’t a concern for this piece.
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Actors Appear on Jedi Council
Ashley Eckstein and James Arnold Taylor, known for voicing Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi respectively on Star Wars: The Clone Wars as well as Star Wars Rebels, stopped by Collider's Jedi Council for a chat on all things Star Wars. The pair talked about their voice roles, topics in the Star Wars canon, a short review of Issue #4 of Anakin and Obi-Wan, a preview of the newest book Bloodline, and the new Star Wars Land at Disneyland, plus a selection of questions from Twitter.
New 'Angry Birds' Clip and Image
As promised, here's a new clip from the Angry Birds movie that features Gad's speedy, quick-talking character Chuck, along with a bit of Rudolph's therapy bird, Matilda (via IGN):
Also, by way of bonus content, we have a new image from Angry Birds that shows off the supporting character of Early Bird, voiced by Romeo Santos:
Chris Savino's 'The Loud House' Is Coming to Nickelodeon
Variety caught up with animator Chris Savino (Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil) to talk about his new Nickelodeon cartoon, The Loud House. In addition to unveiling this first look at the series, Savino revealed his passion and process for bringing a signature look to his new toon. As a long-time copier of newspaper comic strips, Savino used animation software to bring the environments, color schemes, and signature look of print comics to his series:
“I wanted the episodes to give you the feeling you get sitting down with the Sunday funnies.”
That's quite the novel idea and certainly a visual style worth checking out. The story itself follows 11-year-old Lincoln Loud, a boy who has five older sisters and five younger sisters, all with names beginning with "L."
Look for The Loud House on Nickelodeon starting May 2nd.
Wonder Woman Recruits Supergirl in 'DC Super Hero Girls'
If you're looking for a little something different from the world of DC Comics or Warner Bros. Animation, or maybe just something for a younger audience, you might want to check out DC Comics Super Hero Girls. Now in its second season, this series of short web episodes features the heroes of DC Comics attending Super Hero High School, complete with all the awkwardness that growing up with super powers entails. Check out the new episode above and see if it's something you'd like to add to your rotation!
Wonder Woman is living her destiny! As the newly appointed School Ambassador, she's taking the lead to recruit Supergirl to Super Hero High — until a sneak attack from villainess Giganta catches her off guard.
'Ratchet & Clank' Clip Introduces Elaris
A new clip for the upcoming Ratchet & Clank movie introduces Qwark's second-in command as part of the Galactic Rangers. She's voiced by Rosario Dawson, who stars alongside the aforementioned James Arnold Taylor as Ratchet, David Kaye as Clank, and Jim Ward as Captain Qwark.
And if you think your kid has what it takes, here's a new contest that might just win them a trip to L.A.!
Here's the synopsis for Ratchet & Clank, which opens April 29th:
A CG-animated movie based on the iconic PlayStation video game. Two unlikely heroes struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet is the last of his kind, a foolhardy “lombax” who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn. When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way, they will learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one’s own identity.
Animate Your Own Cartoons with Free OpenToonz Software
If you've ever wanted to make animated shorts or features like those that have emerged from Studio Ghibli over the years, perhaps using the newly available open-source software OpenToonz will get you one step closer! As CartoonBrew reports, after some initial clunkiness, the powerful program "includes the full feature set used by Studio Ghibli in the production of films like The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, The Secret World of Arrietty, and Spirited Away."
“This is some serious in-depth 2d animation software,” wrote a user on the Foundry forum. “I have been looking for more traditional animation software with X-sheet functionality – THIS IS IT!”
Head here to download the software for yourself. And then check out the new user tutorial below to get started!