Academy Issues 97th Oscars Update
Nominations voting period extended due to the ongoing Los Angeles fires and their impact; AMPAS has changed some key dates and events on its awards season schedule.
L’Alliance New York Releases Animation First 2025 Trailer
Returning for its 8th edition, the festival runs January 21-26; seven feature-length films and five short film programs will screen, with a special focus on Swiss animation.
Netflix Drops ‘Castlevania: Nocturne’ Season 2 Trailer, Key Art, and Images
The Vampire Messiah animated thriller series gets another go at enslaving humanity when new episodes hit the streamer on January 16, 2025.
Universal Shifts ‘Shrek 5,’ ‘Minions 3’ Release Dates
The fifth ‘Shrek’ installment will now hit theaters December 23, 2026, while the third ‘Despicable Me’ spinoff film moves up one year to take the vacated July 1, 2026 spot.
Conrad Vernon, Walt Dohrn to Direct ‘Shrek 5’
DreamWorks Animation's long-awaited installment in the fan favorite 3DCG franchise will once again star Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, hitting theaters December 23, 2026.
‘Kinnikuman Perfect Origin Arc’ Season 2 Coming to Netflix January 12
Watch the trailer for the sequel series, based on the original manga ‘Kinnikuman’ and 1983 anime, about the galaxy's fragile peace under the Three-Faction Treaty that is jeopardized by the sudden rise of the Perfect Large Numbers Corps, an elite group intent on overturning the accord.
The Light, BIEN Form Creative, Strategic Alliance
The production company and motion design studio unite in purpose-led production and motion design to nurture inclusivity and sustainability throughout the life cycle of every project.
New Monthly ‘Adventure Time’ Comics Launching in April
Return to the land of Ooo with the ongoing series of adventures featuring Finn, Jake, Marceline, and Princess Bubblegum created by the likes of Nick Winn (‘Bloody Mary’), 2024 Eisner Award winner Caroline Cash (‘PeePee PooPoo’), and Asia Simone (‘Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: Wreck and Roll’).
Sony Announces Launch of XYN Software, Hardware Solution
Designed to support the creation of spatial content, the system accurately captures real-world objects, human motion, and backgrounds, recreating them in virtual environments for 3DCG production.
Crunchyroll Updates Winter 2025 Anime Season Lineup
Highlights of the slate include ‘Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE,’ ‘Dragon Ball DAIMA,’ ‘The Apothecary Diaries’ Season 2, and more.
CBeebies Unveils ‘Wonderblocks’ Animated Educational Series
Following the success of ‘Numberblocks,’ ‘Alphablocks,’ and ‘Colourblocks,’ the Blue Zoo Animation project is designed to ignite essential pre-coding skills in young viewers, training their brains through adventure and problem-solving fun.
‘Apple Hills’ Animated Series Headed to Cartoon Network’s YouTube Channel
The Danish 2D animated series produced by Nice Ninja and co-produced with DR will begin streaming January 12.
Art Directors Guild Awards Nominations Released
Nominees for the 29th Annual Excellence in Production Design awards, covering film / animated film, TV, commercials, and music videos, were just announced; ceremony set for February 15.
Netflix Drops ‘Sakamoto Days’ Final Trailer, Names English Voice Cast
The upcoming anime series, which follows a legendary assassin who falls in love, marries, has kids, falls out of shape, but must resume old fighting ways, streams January 11.
Normand Roger, Eunice Macaulay to Receive Winsor McCay Award
The legendary artists at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will be honored by ASIFA-Hollywood for their career achievements in animation at the 52nd Annie Awards on February 8.
MPC Recreates the Pride-Lands for ‘Lion King’ Prequel ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
The VFX and animation studio led a team of over 1,700 artists, technologists, and production crew across 4 continents, collaborating remotely as well as using VR and virtual production tools to navigate digital environments.
Pixomondo Unveils PXO AKIRA Vehicle Shooting System at CES
Enhancing safety, reducing costs, and maximizing creative freedom compared to traditional methods, the new system offers an ‘all-in-one’ solution for filming vehicles using virtual production in any setting.
NVIDIA Expands Cloud Gaming with GeForce NOW App
Debuting later this year, app for the Steam Deck will allow gamers to play their favorite PC titles at GeForce RTX quality; GeForce NOW cloud gaming will also be available on Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3, and 3S and Pico virtual/mixed-reality devices.
Maxon Acquires Laubwerk, Adds to Ongoing Capsules Project
The move will bring hundreds of detailed and authentic 3D botanical assets, materials, and tools to the software platform, which provides solutions for content creators working in 2D/3D design, motion graphics, and visual effects.
Sony Announces ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Premiere
The upcoming season of the hit series, based on Naughty Dog’s PlayStation video game franchise, will debut this April on HBO, also streaming on Max.
‘Ghost of Tsushima: Legends’ Anime Series Coming to Crunchyroll in 2027
Takanobu Mizuno will helm the project, with animation by KAMIKAZE DOUGA; the anime platform is teaming with Aniplex, Sony Music, Playstation Productions to produce.
Crunchyroll Announces ‘Crunchyroll Manga’ App
The standalone app for iOS and Android, debuting later this year as a membership add-on, will feature manga from top Japanese publishers.
Disney to Merge Hulu + Live TV With Fubo
The deal, still subject to regulatory approvals, will form a combined virtual MVPD company; Fubo’s existing management team, led by David Gandler, will operate the newly combined Sports & Broadcast services.
Bizaar Studios Launches, George R.R. Martin and Conrad Vernon Named to Advisory Board
New company bets on future of adult animation, will offer development, marketing and distribution across TV and films, as well as free streaming services.
Disney Sets ‘Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir’ Season 6 Premiere
The animated series, which follows the adventures of two seemingly typical teens with secret identities, debuts January 25 in the U.S. on Disney Channel and Disney XD with episodes airing in simulcast at 11am ET/PT.
