In This Week in Animation News, I’ll take a look at the previous week in the world of animation in order to get you caught up on everything you might have missed. It’s your one-stop shop for news regarding cartoons, anime, and animated web series. We’re talking movies, TV shows, digital shorts, and everything in between!

For the latest animation stories we’ve already covered on the site this week, take a look at the following links. Then, check out a selection of new stories below. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!

• ‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 5: First Image and Release Date Revealed
• ‘The Venture Bros.’ Season 7 Return Teased in New Art Book from Dark Horse Comics
• First Trailer for Matt Groening’s ‘Disenchantment’ Promises a Family-Focused Fantasy Comedy
• ‘Harvey Street Kids’ Review: A Delightfully Modern Reimagining of Classic Comic Characters
• The Best Animated Movies on Netflix Right Now | June 2018
• Comic-Con: Marvel to Bring ‘Cloak & Dagger’, ‘Black Panther’s Quest’ and ‘Marvel Rising’
• Disney Shutters Direct-to-Video Arm DisneyToon Studios

Comic-Con Animation Schedule Revealed and RTX Announces New Guests

The official OPEN to the brand new series “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is finally here! It’s BIG, BOLD, and turtle-y action-packed. This one will have you hitting repeat all day long! Be sure to subscribe for all things RISE OF THE TMNT.

Nickelodeon is bringing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, INVADER ZIM and more to life at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2018 through one-of-a-kind virtual and real-world experiences that will have fans saying, “Cowabunga”!  Headquartered at its 1,800 square-foot booth (#4113) on the convention floor, Nickelodeon will showcase: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the all-new, reimagined series that follows the band of brothers as they seek to unlock the mystical secrets of New York City; the upcoming INVADER ZIM original TV movie; the return of Double Dare, a reboot of the iconic game show; the hit animated series The Loud House, which follows 11-year-old Lincoln Loud’s life with his 10 sisters; and Reptar from Rugrats, who will tower over Nick’s space.

Select fans have the opportunity to interact with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Live,” a virtual reality experience that immerses users in the Turtles’ iconic New York City world and allows them to have a conversation with Mikey or Donnie—voiced live on the scene by Brandon Mychal Smith and Josh Brener, respectively. More details will be available soon for this off-site opportunity.

Each day of the Comic-Con International convention, Nickelodeon’s booth will feature: a towering New York City cityscape, featuring the bright lights, energy and iconic billboards of Times Square; a hidden Turtles lair, housing a gif opportunity; the Double Dare hamster wheel, where fans can take photos with the iconic obstacle course challenge; a photo opportunity with life-size characters from The Loud House; a 23-foot-tall, Reptar hovering above a retail area; INVADER ZIM-themed transaction zone, featuring exclusive Nick-themed collectibles and custom t-shirts and totes; costumed-character appearances; and autograph signings with the voice casts and creators from Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, INVADER ZIM, SpongeBob SquarePants and more.

Nickelodeon will present two panels: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, featuring the new voice cast and a sneak peek at the upcoming series; and INVADER ZIM: Enter the Florpus!, a reunion with the original voice cast celebrating the new TV movie.

The following is the full rundown of Nickelodeon’s activations:

PANELS

• Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Thursday, July 19, 1:45p.m. - 2:45p.m. (Room: 6A): Rise up! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back with Nickelodeon’s brand-new mutation of New York’s half-shell heroes with a panel that celebrates the latest incarnation of Turtles and reinvention of the world famous franchise.  Joining the discussion is the new voice cast--Omar Miller as Raph, Ben Schwartz as Leo, Josh Brener as Donnie, Brandon Mychal Smith as Mikey, Kat Graham as April O’Neil, and Eric Bauza as Splinter--along with the co-executive producers Andy Suriano and Ant Ward, and legendary voice director Rob Paulsen. The panel will feature never-before-seen clips from the upcoming series and be moderated by Keely Flaherty (BuzzFeed).

• 

  INVADER ZIM: Enter the Florpus!

Friday, July 20, 1:00p.m. - 2:00p.m. (Room: 6A): Fans will strap on their tuna-filled jetpack, prepare their bladders for imminent release, and start singing the doom song as their favorite Irken invader returns to San Diego with a panel that dives into Nickelodeon’s forthcoming new movie, INVADER ZIM: Enter the Florpus.  Original series creator Jhonen Vasquez, art director Jenny Goldberg, and voice talent--Richard Horvitz (ZIM), Rikki Simons (GIR), Wally Wingert (Almighty Tallest Red) and Kevin McDonald (Almighty Tallest Purple)--will present behind-the-scenes art and exclusive brand-new footage. The panel will be moderated by Hector Navarro (Geek & Sundry, Nerdist).

DAILY BOOTH ACTIVITY

• Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Experience: Attendees can step inside the Turtles’ secret lair under the streets of New York City for a gif opportunity.

• Double Dare Hamster Wheel: Fans can take photos with the iconic obstacle course challenge.

• The Loud House Photo Opp. Enter the Loud family’s living room, sit on the couch and take a group photo with Lincoln Loud and his 10 sisters.

• Customized T-Shirt and Tote Station: Fans can purchase a t-shirt and tote from the retail shop and customize it on the spot with characters and art from their choice of seven fan-favorite Nick shows: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, Double Dare,INVADER ZIM, Hey Arnold! and Rugrats.

• 

  Autograph Signings: Signing opportunities with Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles voice talent and executive producers, SpongeBob SquarePants’ Tom Kenny, INVADER ZIM voice talent and creator, and the Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel cast.

• Costumed-Character Appearances: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel will make appearances at Nick’s booth at select times during the convention.

• Retail: Attendees can purchase Comic-Con exclusive figures and collectibles, the summer edition of the Nick Box, t-shirts, pins and more.

• Giveaways:  Enter for a chance to win special prizes over the course of the convention.

DreamWorks Animation Television Presents 'Voltron Legendary Defender' at San Diego Comic-Con 2018

DreamWorks Animation Television is set to present an explosive Voltron Legendary Defender panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2018, debuting the premiere episode of the highly-anticipated seventh season of the critically-acclaimed Netflix original series.

Join executive producers Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery, story editor Josh Hamilton, Rhys Darby (voice of Coran), Bex Taylor-Klaus (voice of Pidge) and Jeremy Shada (voice of Lance) in 6BCF for a special screening and a sneak peek as the paladins of Voltron begin a perilous journey home. The panel will take place on Friday, July 20, and will be moderated by Kyle Anderson, Associate Editor of Nerdist.

On Saturday morning, Joaquim, Lauren, Josh, Bex and Rhys will be signing an SDCC-exclusive poster created by the Voltron crew. Limited tickets will be made available in advance in the Autograph Area.

PANEL DETAILS:

DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender, a Netflix Original Series

• Friday, July 20, 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM
• 6BCF at San Diego Convention Center

Join Rhys Darby, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Jeremy Shada, executive producers Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery, and story editor Josh Hamilton as they provide a first-look at the highly-anticipated seventh season of the Netflix original series DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender. All attendees will receive a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive poster created by the crew.

SIGNING DETAILS:

Limited Voltron Legendary Defender Signing (Ticketed)

• Saturday, July 21, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM in the Autograph Area at San Diego Convention Center

A limited DreamWorks Voltron Legendary Defender signing with Joaquim Dos Santos, Lauren Montgomery, Rhys Darby, and Bex Taylor-Klaus will take place on Saturday in the Autograph Area at the San Diego Convention Center. Drawing for Line Tickets to be held Saturday at 9:00 am in the Autograph Area.

RTX Austin Nighttime Programming, Special Guests, And Pop Up Store Promise Nerd Mecca in Downtown Austin August 3-5

RTX Austin, Texas’ largest celebration of gaming, animation and internet culture today announced nighttime programming, special guests and a pop up store, all in addition to the regularly scheduled RTX content taking place at the Austin Convention Center, JW Marriott, Fairmont and Hilton in downtown Austin August 3rd-5th. There’s something for everyone this year at RTX Austin, ticket and schedule info below.

For the ANIMATION FAN:

• Jessica Nigri, cosplay artist and voice of Cinder in Rooster Teeth’s worldwide anime phenomenon, RWBY, will appear at RTX Austin.
• Witness (or participate in!) the coolest cosplay on the planet or Cosplay contest, details coming soon!
• Drawfee is teaming up with Rooster Teeth to bring “Drawfee Live!” to RTX Austin, an interactive comedy drawing series where your favorite nerd culture franchises and childhood memories transform into bizarre works of art. The panel will feature Rooster Teeth’s Yssa Badiola, RWBY voice actresses Arryn Zech and Kara Eberle, and Drawfee’s Julia Lepetit, Jacobs Andrews and Nathan Yaffe.
• The RTX Animation Festival is back with a celebration of the best of internet animation, including exclusive screenings, panels from special guests including Titmouse, Mondo Media, Studio Yotta, Mashed, and Machinima at the JW Marriott.

For much more coming to RTX, be sure to visit the convention's site!

Cartoon Network's 'Ben 10: Omni-Tricked' Arrives on DVD 9/18

Get ready to defeat villains alongside the coolest alien-powered kid hero when Ben 10: Omni-Tricked arrives on DVD September 18th. Fans can revisit the adventures from Cartoon Network’s hit animated series with 16 action-packed episodes and a 44-minute special. Following Ben and his family as they go on a cross-country road trip, fans will embark on a fun, extraterrestrial animated journey.

Ben 10 follows the story of ten-year-old Ben Tennyson, who, on a seemingly endless summer vacation with his Grandpa Max and Cousin Gwen, discovers an alien watch, the Omnitrix. This amazing device gives Ben the ability to transform into any one of ten spectacular and powerful aliens. Throughout the series, Ben, Gwen and Max travel the country in their motor home, affectionately known as the Rust Bucket, seeing the sights, stumbling into adventures, and beating down would-be villains while generally having a blast.

​Ben 10: Omni-Tricked

16 x 11 MINUTE EPISODES + 44-MINUTE SPECIAL: 

• Hole in 10
• Recipe for Disaster
• Rustbucket RIP
• Freaky Gwen Ben
• Ben 24hrs
• Bright Lights, Black Hearts
• Don’t Laze Me, Bro
• Don’t Let the Bass Drop
• Bad Penny
• Zombozo-Land
• Forgeti
• Max to the Max
• Cutting Corners
• Xingo
• Scared Silly
• Need for Speed
• Omni-Tricked (44-Minute Special)

'Star Wars Rebels' Season 4 Available on Blu-ray and DVD July 31st

Star Wars Rebels: The Complete Fourth Season delivers all 15 action-packed episodes of the hit CG animated series’ final season, plus exclusive, never-before-seen bonus extras on Blu-ray!

Available July 31st, Star Wars Rebels: The Complete Fourth Season features some of the most critically-acclaimed Star Wars storytelling to date, with compelling characters, harrowing conflicts and astounding space battles. Old friends are reunited and new alliances are forged as Star Wars Rebels builds to an epic conclusion, drawing connections to the entire Star Wars saga.

Star Wars Rebels was created by Dave Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past), and Carrie Beck (LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures). The Lucasfilm Animation production is also executive-produced by Filoni and Kinberg.

The season four voice cast includes Taylor Gray as Ezra, Vanessa Marshall as Hera, Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Kanan, Tiya Sircar as Sabine, Steve Blum as Zeb, Dee Bradley Baker as Rex, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Pryce, David Oyelowo as Kallus and Lars Mikkelsen as Thrawn.

Bonus Extras:

Blu-ray:

• Six Audio Commentaries - Featuring Dave Filoni (Executive Producer)
• Ghosts of Legend - As paths come together, we explore the journey of the Ghost crew with some of the talented people who brought them to life.
• Force of Rebellion - Executive Producer Dave Filoni shares insights into the Force and its importance across the Star Wars saga.
• Kevin Kiner: The Rebel Symphony - Go behind the scenes with composer Kevin Kiner to discover what inspired some of the most iconic music in the series.
• Rebels Recon - Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew in 8 entertaining and information-packed episode recaps! (Also included in the DVD bonus features.)

Rooster Teeth's 'gen:LOCK' Arrives in January 2019

gen:LOCK, the next big anime-style series from Rooster Teeth, will premiere in January 2019. More voice cast announcements are coming soon who will join Michael B. Jordan who will voice the lead character, Julian Chase. Get a better look at one of the mecha from gen:LOCK, called Holons, in a new motion poster:

In gen:LOCK, Earth’s last free society is on the losing side of a global war, and recruits a diverse team of young pilots to control the next generation of mecha—giant, weaponized robot bodies. These daring recruits will find, however, that their newfound abilities come at no small cost. As Chase leaves behind his life as a fighter pilot to become the first candidate for the program, he finds his endurance, as well as his very identity, will be tested beyond anything he ever imagined.

Here's what Gray G. Haddock, Head of Animation at Rooster Teeth, had to say about the release:

Rooster Teeth has a lllloooootttttt of cool stuff that they are trying to balance over the next months (and years). Taking all that into account, the company has decided to start 2019 with a bang - and opening the year with gen:LOCK is the best way to do it. Thus, gL now has a release target of January 2019. We're still kicking around some fun ideas about how we might get some genlockiness into the world before 2018 is out, though.

 

The production is going amazingly well, and we can't wait to show you what we've been up to. I couldn't be prouder of the crew and everything they've been pouring themselves into. Some of you have had questions about how production of gL impacts RWBY or vice-versa, and the answer is that these are largely parallel productions with separate crews. Rooster Teeth Animation has been growing like crazy (keep an eye on the RT careers page if you feel like throwing your hat in the ring), and each show that RTanim makes is getting the focused attention it deserves. It does mean that some members of CRWBY are moving up, taking on new positions around the department as we continue to build. So keep an eye out for crewfolk announcing their new roles, and please show them all the love they deserve.

LAIKA's 'Missing Link' Set for April 2019 Release

Missing Link, LAIKA's fifth animated film, will be released by U.S. distributor Annapurna nationwide on Friday, April 19, 2019. LAIKA is the producer of Oscar-nominated films Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), The Boxtrolls (2014), ParaNorman (2012) and Coraline (2009).

Mr. Link (Zach Galifianakis) is the slightly silly, surprisingly smart and soulful beast who is the last living remnant of Man's primitive ancestry, the Missing Link. As species go, he couldn't be more endangered; he's the last of his kind and he's lonely. Proposing a daring quest to find his rumored distant relatives, he enlists the help of Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman), the world's foremost investigator of myths and monsters, and Adelina Fortnight (Zoe Saldana), who possesses the only known map to the group's secret destination, in an odyssey around the world to find the fabled valley of Shangri-La.

Bursting with humor, heart, and a profound message of acceptance and finding one's place, Missing Link is written and directed by Oscar-nominee Chris Butler (ParaNorman). LAIKA's head of production and Oscar-nominee Arianne Sutner (ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings) is producing with Travis Knight, LAIKA's President & CEO, who earned an Academy Award nomination and BAFTA win for his directorial debut on Kubo and the Two Strings.

In addition to Jackman, Saldana and Galifianakis, the estimable voice cast boasts a roster of internationally renowned and award-winning actors from all corners of the world. Oscar-winner Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Timothy Olyphant, Matt Lucas, David Walliams, Amrita Acharia and Ching Valdes-Aran bring their extraordinary talents to this globe-trotting spectacle.

First Look at Masaaki Yuasa's 'The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl'

From the visionary mind of director Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, Adventure Time‘s “Food Chain”) comes The Night is Short, Walk On Girl, a comedy about one epic night in Kyoto.

 

As a group of teens go out for a night on the town, a sophomore known only as “The Girl with Black Hair” experiences a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife… all the while unaware of the romantic longings of Senpai, a fellow student who has been creating increasingly fantastic and contrived reasons to run into her, in an effort to win her heart.

Following Your Name producer Genki Kawamura's Fireworks, coming to cinemas nationwide on July 3rd, 5th and 7th, GKIDS, the acclaimed distributor of multiple Academy Award-nominated animated features, and Fathom Events will continue their extended partnership with two summer showings of director Masaaki Yuasa's The Night is Short, Walk On Girl. The second of several new titles selected for U.S. cinema audiences in 2018, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl event will also feature an exclusive interview with Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, Lu Over the Wall).

Tickets for The Night is Short, Walk On Girl are available at www.FathomEvents.com or www.NightIsShort.com and participating box offices.

Presented by Fathom Events and GKIDS, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl, debuts in U.S. cinemas on Tuesday, August 21st with an encore showing on Wednesday, August 22nd at 7:00 p.m. local time (both dates). The film will also receive a limited theatrical release by GKIDS starting Wednesday, August 22nd. A complete list of theater locations is available on the Fathom Events website and www.NightIsShort.com (theaters and participants are subject to change). All showings feature the film in its original Japanese language, subtitled in English.

The Night is Short, Walk On Girl is a comedy about one epic night in Kyoto. As a group of teens go out for a night on the town, a sophomore known only as "The Girl with Black Hair" experiences a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife. Simultaneously, she is unaware of the romantic longings of Senpai, a fellow student who has been creating increasingly fantastic and contrived reasons to run into her, in an effort to win her heart.

"We are proud to introduce the next animated feature in our ongoing partnership with GKIDS," Fathom Events CEO Ray Nutt said. "'The Night is Short, Walk On Girl,' is a great opportunity for anime fans to experience new content in this space in addition to STUDIO GHIBLI FEST and several of our other anime events."