AWN Headline News

The newest incarnation of the successful animated Batman franchise, "Batman Beyond," is set for a U.S. premiere of Saturday, January 16, 1999 at 9:30 AM on Kids WB! The show takes place in the 21st century when a mature Bruce Wayne decides it's time to train a younger Caped Crusader to keep Gotham safe. Another highly anticipated comic-turned-cartoon series, "Dilbert," is set for a U.S. premiere on UPN's prime time lineup Monday, January 25, 1999 at 8:00 PM (PT/ET).

E-greetings Network (http://www.egreetings.com), a provider of internet-based electronic greetings has unveiled the new E-greetings Animations. The free digital greetings can be personalized and sent to anyone by e-mail. "When we started our company nearly five years ago, we saw that e-mail had the potential to become a multimedia entertainment and communications medium that could provide far more than the limited capabilities of standard text-only e-mail," says E-greetings Network's co-founder Tony Levitan.

The 26th annual Annie Awards ceremony, ASIFA-Hollywood's honoring of the best in animation, took place last Friday, November 13, at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. Disney's "Mulan" finished at the top of the pack winning ten out of the thirty categories, while Warner Bros. Television Animation was honored with six Annies. The awards, hosted by comedian Jay Thomas, will be televised on the Fox Family Channel sometime in December. Click here for a complete list of winners...

Los Angeles-based Rough Draft Studios has been awarded five episodes of the animated "Baby Blues" series. Thirteen episodes of "Baby Blues" have been ordered and will air in fall '99 on the WB prime time schedule. The first eight episodes are being completed by Warner Bros. Television Animation. This recent development fuels rumors that Warner Bros. Television Animation is in the midst of cutbacks. Inside sources have said that Warners will cease production on "Histeria!" after only 52 episodes, cutting 13 previously announced half hours.

Toronto-based Nelvana has acquired the worldwide development, production,distribution and merchandise licensing rights to "Puff the Magic Dragon."Based on a classic folk song written by Peter Yarrow of the legendary folkgroup Peter, Paul & Mary and Lenny Lipton, Nelvana will produce an animated"Puff the Magic Dragon" feature length film, television series andtelevision special, as well as license all Puff merchandise. Productionwill begin on this property in late 1999 or 2000. The lyrical children's

* Tuesday, November 17 - Thursday, November 19. Encino, California,U.S.A.

"Bunny," a new computer-animated short film written and directed by BlueSky | VIFX founder Chris Wedge with music by Tom Waits, will be screenedfor three days at Laemmle's Town Center 5 for Academy Award qualification.The film uses a new computer application called "Radiosity" that mimics themost subtle properties of natural light. Show times are 11:15 and 11:30 AMdaily. For further screening information, contact (818) 981-9811.

Toronto-based TOPIX/MAD DOG produced a 30-second spot for Ford of Canada which added a twist on the classic 'Three Little Pigs' story utilizing live-action integrated with cel animation. While the CGI work was done at TOPIX/Mad Dog, Chuck Gammage of Chuck Gammage Animation directed the 2D animation. In the ad, the pigs find refuge from the wolf in a 1999 Ford Windstar.

Motional Realms, LLC has released the ReelMotion plug-in for 3D Studio MAX, a real-time, physics-based procedural animation tool. The plug-in is designed for the professional animation artist and ideal for forensics animation, animating space and aerial dogfights, cars, helicopters and other rigid-body objects. It's possible to drive or fly a vehicle through a scene interactively using a mouse or joystick via a real-time display using QuickDraw 3D (Mac) or OpenGL (Windows).

A number of animation books have recently been released just in time for the holiday season. Great Plains Publications has published Gene Walz's "Cartoon Charlie: The Life and Art of Animation Pioneer Charles Thorson," a detailed biography of the Golden Age animation artist filled with many never-before-seen illustrations.

* Saturday, November 21. New York City, New York, U.S.A.

The Animazing Gallery is hosting a book signing with four animation authors - John Canemaker ("Tex Avery," "Before the Animation Begins"), John Culhane ("Fantasia"), John Grant ("The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney Characters"), and Stefan Kanfer ("Serious Business"). The authors will also share anecdotes and their experiences about the history of animation during the event which takes place from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. To RSVP or find out more about the event, contact Louis Albert Steidl or Nick Leone at (212) 226-7374.

(COLOSSAL) PICTURES animated the Super Chunk package for Cartoon Network consisting of a 25-second show open and close and seven 10-second bumpers. The new material started airing on October 17, 1998 during the Super Chunk programming block which airs on Saturdays from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. Cartoon Networks design director Bee Murphy came up with the concept art for the spots which were directed at (Colossal) by Charlie Canfield. The CG animation for the package was done in 3D Studio Max.