Zack Snyder’s ‘Twilight of the Gods,’ Aardman’s ‘Wallace & Gromit,’ and Shannon Tindle’s ‘Ultraman: Rising’ lead the streamer’s on-stage presentations showcasing many of its highly anticipated animated films and TV shows coming later this year and next.
Netflix has just announced their “action-packed” agenda for the upcoming Annecy Festival, featuring a number of their highly anticipated films and series. The streamer is still celebrating nominations for Nimona at this year’s Oscars, for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget at the BAFTAs, and multiple wins for Blue Eye Samurai at the Annies. Having released its first animated feature only five years ago, Netflix has earned its first Best Animated Feature Oscar for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and its largest animated film debut for the Adam Sandler comedy, Leo.
Annecy plans include an on-stage presentation, “Next on Netflix Animation: From Twilight of the Gods to Wallace & Gromit,” spotlighting top filmmakers and sneak peeks. In addition, plans have been set for the world premiere of the family adventure based on the iconic Japanese character, Ultraman: Rising, from director Shannon Tindle and co-director John Aoshima.
A full rundown of Netflix’s Annecy activity includes:
- “Next on Netflix Animation: From Twilight of the Gods to Wallace & Gromit,” taking place on Wednesday, June 12, which will feature the award-winning Aardman team, directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham, offering a look at their untitled Wallace & Gromit film (coming soon), along with fan-favorite director, Zack Snyder, and executive producer, Deborah Snyder and Xilam Animation Director Slimane Aniss, unveiling clips from the adult animated series, Twilight of the Gods (coming this fall). Audiences will also be treated to material from The Twits (coming 2025) and Skydance Animation's Spellbound (coming later in 2024).
- Wednesday, June 12 will also see the world premiere of Ultraman: Rising.
- Work-in-progress sessions exploring various stages of production will feature award-winning writer Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Yesterday), animation veteran and director Simon Otto (Love, Death & Robots, How to Train Your Dragon), Nicole Hearon (producer) and Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn (production designer) discussing That Christmas (coming later in 2024) on Tuesday, June 11.
- On Thursday, June 13, “Making Of Sessions” will go behind the scenes of the final creative processes of Ultraman: Rising, with, Shannon Tindle (director), John Aoshima (co-director), Sunmin Inn (art director), Hayden Jones (VFX supervisor), Scot Stafford (composer); and Big Mouth, as Nick Kroll (co-creator, EP, voice cast), Andrew Goldberg (co-creator, EP), Jennifer Flackett (co-creator, EP) and Mark Levin (co-creator, EP) celebrate the final season of this comedic hit (coming in 2025).
- On Wednesday, June 12, Arcane’s “Making Of Session” will feature Showrunner Christian Linke (Riot), Scriptwriter Amanda Overton (Riot), Senior Concept Artist Arnaud Baudry (Riot), Director Bart Maunoury (Fortiche), and Producer Christine Ponzevera (Fortiche). The show returns with a new season this November.
- A Wallace & Gromit Exhibition featuring some of the puppets from Aardman's new film will take center stage and celebrate the beloved stop-motion characters.
- Also note that Blue Eye Samurai and Pokemon Concierge have been selected for official competition.
Source: Netflix
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
