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!

The biggest news of the week has to do with Warner Bros.' latest animated DC Entertainment movie, Gotham by Gaslight, which just released its first atmospheric trailer. Animated TV news, or at least the stories we haven't already covered in the links below, was in short supply this week, but there's one big event happening tonight. Boomerang will premiere the two-part Season 2 finale of the super-speedy series Sonic Boom featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and his pals. On the web, Marvel and Funko continue their cross-promotional shenanigans with a new short featuring the Hulk and Black Widow.

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Image via DC Comics

Animated movie news was pretty busy this week. As Pixar's musical movie Coco prepares for its U.S. release, it was announced that Disney/Pixar has teamed up with dozens of other organizations to help bring more music education into public schools. Opening next week are Sony's Christmas movie The Star and the Oscar-hopeful The Breadwinner; both films have something new to show you below. Oh and don't think Batman's solo adventures are the only thing coming to Blu-ray, since a new commemorative edition of Justice League: The New Frontier is available now for the DC Comics fans on your holiday wish list!

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!

Gotham Goes (Even More) Gothic in New Steampunk Treatment

The Dark Knight's Elseworlds tale gets the animated movie treatment. Coming to Blu-ray and Digital in 2018.

'Sonic Boom' Two-Part Season Finale to Premiere on Boomerang!

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Image via Sega

Attention Sonic the Hedgehog fans! Free your schedule, set your DVR, and alert your pals: the two-part season two finale of Sonic Boom will premiere on Boomerang tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET/PT, 5:00 p.m. CT!

The episodes titled “Eggman: The Video Game Part 1” and “Eggman: The Video Game Part 2: The End of the World”, follow Eggman’s latest quest to create his own original video game and his attempt to recruit Sonic’s rival, Shadow, to defeat Sonic. This move proves dangerous for Sonic and his friends as an epic battle ensues. Who will prove victorious and who will get left in the dust? The only way to find out is to watch!

“Eggman: The Video Game Part 1” will air on Boomerang tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. ET/PT, 5:00 p.m. CT with “Eggman: The Video Game Part 2: The End of the World” airing immediately after at 6:15 p.m. ET/PT, 5:15 p.m. CT.

Sonic Boom is a CGI animated co-production of SEGA and Technicolor Animation Productions (TAP) and is currently in its second season in over 100 countries around the world.

To stay current on Sonic the Hedgehog news, follow Sonic on Twitter and Instagram, like his page on Facebook, subscribe to the Twitch channel, and watch the official Sonic YouTube channel. Also, don’t forget to visit our new Sega e-shop at shop.sega.com.

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Image via Sega
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Image via Sega
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Image via Sega
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Image via Sega

'Coco' Teams with GRAMMY Music Education Coalition to Bring Music Education to Public Schools

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Image via Disney, Pixar

A first-of-its-kind national organization, the GRAMMY Music Education Coalition (GMEC) was announced today, formed with the goal of increasing the number of youth actively participating in music making in U.S. public schools. This nonprofit collective consisting of more than 30 of the nation’s most forward-thinking music education organizations, including the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the NAMM Foundation (National Association of Music Merchants), VH1 Save The Music Foundation, and Lang Lang Foundation International Music Foundation, among others, is collaborating with communities for systems change through youth-centered music education that supports teachers and fosters opportunity for students to create, play and perform music together.

As a first step in offering music content on a national scale, GMEC has teamed up with Disney•Pixar’s Coco to bring best-in-class music from the film and learning content to teachers and youth. In theaters Nov. 22, “Coco” tells the story of 12-year-old Miguel, a self-taught guitarist who dreams of becoming a great musician. With support from The Walt Disney Studios and inspired by the film’s themes, GMEC is working with Berklee College of Music to provide new educational materials within Berklee PULSE, an online music education resource for students and educators.

“‘Coco’ is rooted in music,” said Adrian Molina, co-director, screenwriter and a songwriter for the film. “The film features traditional Mexican music and original songs—‘Remember Me’ [written by Academy Award®-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez] and ‘Un Poco Loco’ [written by Molina and Germaine Franco] will be featured in the program, along with Mexican folk songs. We believe in GMEC and its mission and are honored to work with this organization.”

To inspire students to follow their musical dreams, Disney•Pixar’s “Coco” team will donate 300 Cordoba guitars to GMEC partners and Guitar Center, the world’s largest retailer of musical instruments and various musician-based in-house services, including Lessons, will donate an additional 300 Cordoba guitars with all 600 slated for delivery before the end of the year.

For more information on the GMEC or to join the movement, please visit https://grammymusiced.org/coco/

Meet More of the Cast of Sony's Christmas Movie 'The Star'

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/SonyPictures/status/927581370729115649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw[/EMBED_TWITTER]

New Clip from Oscar Contender 'The Breadwinner'

Courtesy of GKIDS, we can share a new clip from the potential Academy Award-contending film The Breadwinner with you. The empowering drama follows the journey of a young Afghan girl who disguises herself as a boy to provide for her family and reunite with her father. Catch the animated film, executive produced by Angelina Jolie and based on Deborah Ellis' global best-selling novel, when it hits select theaters November 17th!

GKIDS presents an exclusive clip from The Breadwinner, the critically-acclaimed new animated feature from the creators of the Academy Award-nominated The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea, and executive producer Angelina Jolie. In select theaters beginning November 17. Find a theater near you!

Parvana is an 11-year-old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. When her father is wrongfully arrested, Parvana cuts off her hair and dresses like a boy in order to support her family. Working alongside her friend Shauzia, Parvana discovers a new world of freedom–and danger. With undaunted courage, Parvana draws strength from the fantastical stories she invents, as she embarks on a quest to find her father and reunite her family. Equal parts thrilling and enchanting, The Breadwinner is an inspiring and luminously animated tale about the power of stories to sustain hope and carry us through dark times.

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Image via GKIDS

Hulk and Black Widow Team Up for Latest Marvel Funko Short

Marvel and Funko have collaborated to create a second season of the extremely popular Marvel Funko animated shorts, the third of which, Tick Tick Smash, was released today!

In Tick Tick Smash, Hulk and Black Widow need to work together, using brains and brawn, to escape an underground Hydra bunker full of traps and tricks.

There will be 8 Marvel Funko animated shorts in total for this second season and each one is ninety seconds in length. Featuring some of Marvel’s most popular Super Heroes and Villains, including Thor, Loki, Hulk, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Captain America, Red Skull, Ant-Man, Hulkbuster, Ultron, Spider-Gwen, and Venom, the new animated short Tick Tick Smash is AVAILABLE NOW on the Marvel HQ YouTube page.

Check Out the 'Justice League: The New Frontier: Commemorative Edition' Blu-ray

Retro Action Cool: The Story Of Darwyn Cooke - Epic

 

Retro Action Cool: The Story Of Darwyn Cooke – Character Development

Latin American Animation Feature 'Escape to India' Aims High

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Image via Mundoloco CGI

Variety brings us this week's installment of animation from the international stage. Award-winner Juan José Campanella, top Latin American producer-director-songwriter Cris Morena and director-producer Gastón Gorali are teaming up to create a signature Latin American animated feature titled Escape to India.

Based on Gorali and Marcelo Birjmajer's children's book, the adaptation is set up at Mundoloco CGI. Founded by Campanella, Gorali, Jorge Estrada and Roberto Schroeder, the outfit is now one of the biggest digital animation studios in Latin America. It grew out of the success of Campanella’s Underdogs, the biggest Latin American TV feature ever.

Morena is composing its songs for the epic musical, which is also "a feminist, comedic road-movie whose protagonist is a plucky cow" ... named Azadi. Born in Argentina’s 1940 Patagonia and destined for the slaughterhouse, she suspects that Indian cows are sacred and thus enjoy better lives. Despite her fellow cows' disbelief, Azadi sets out to find India and ultimately a search for freedom. That journey will take Azadi up through the Americas to Alaska and then over the Bering Strait.

Escape to India is a story about “a very brave girl that escapes her fate by creating her own destiny,” Gorali said. “Azadi’s arrival in India coincides with India’s battle for independence from the British Crown. It’s there that she learns Gandhi’s legacy: Peace is the greatest weapon ever created.

"It’s very important to tell new generations about this crucial time in the world’s history” Gorali said, calling the film a “parable about dreams, and the true meaning of family and friendship.”

 

Kanopy Highlights a Curated Collection of Animated Films All November

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Image via Watership Productions

Kanopy, an on-demand video platform that allows users to experience a curated collection of more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, is highlighting a specially curated collection of animated films for the month of November which you can find here.

Kanopy is available in more than 1,200 individual libraries across the US, in cities like Los Angeles, New York City, Baltimore, Seattle, Brooklyn, Austin, New Orleans, San Francisco, Annapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Columbus. Users can stream movies and documentaries from award-winning filmmakers, see film-festival picks, and experience the best in independent and classic film, world cinema, and critical favorites. There are no commercials or fees for users -- their libraries have it covered for them; all users need is a library card to get started.

Kanopy, can be accessed from leading devices and platforms, including Roku, Chromecast, AppleTV, iOS and Android.