MattBrady
02-08-2006, 08:18 AM
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/curious_george_366x156.jpg" width="350" height="149" align="right"><b>CURIOUS ABOUT GEORGE
The 2005 Annies, Avatar DVD, Andre 3000 and Disney Changes</b>
<i>by Steve Frtiz</i>
Ask any parent. A truly good film for kids is a rare thing, indeed. The public is lucky to get one a year.
Most “family entertainment” films either push a personal agendas personally distasteful (such as those damned <i>Veggie Tales</i> movies), become so sickly sweet they drown in their own treacle or, in an attempt to keep the parents happy, go completely over the kids’ heads. I’ve attended many a premier where the target audience, the kids themselves, are doing anything but watching the movie, even when parents force them to sit still.
Being of the age where many of my friends foist their tykes into the nooks and crannies of my living quarters, I developed a private library of DVDs to keep the knee biters’ damage to a minimum. It includes classic Fleischer Popeye and Looney Tunes, various Disney/Pooh adaptations and a few other special films (like <i>Rugrats</I>). Add some popcorn to the mix and the kids sit nicely for an hour or two. On a good day, the parents end up equally enthralled.
So I have high standards for films aimed at children. They’re even battle-tested. Don’t be surprised if I add <i>Curious George</i> to this library.
As fans of the mischievous monkey know, George and Company has entertained four of five generations of fans. The original books have never ceased publication since their initial release over six decades ago. One of my fondest memories is being a kid and having the story read to me, along with a few million other tykes, by Captain Kangaroo on weekday mornings. There was also a wonderful Canadian-produced TV series that was very loyal to the books in the 1980s. The only thing that surprised me is it took this long for a movie about the monkey. It makes its theatrical debut this weekend thanks to Universal Pictures and Ron Howard’s Imagine Productions.
Bad news first. The storyline has been modernized. For some reason the PTB’s jettison the books for something they created themselves. We learn The Man With The Yellow Hat has a real name, Ted (voiced by Will Farrell), a job (curator of a museum) and an actual life. There’s also a quest for a long lost statue in Africa. George still gets into trouble, but the parade of human characters introduced in this movie get in the way. Probably most five-and-unders won’t give a fig about what traditionalist farts such as myself think about this heresy, but it does bother me. When the film concentrates on George getting in trouble, it’s a load of fun. Disney’s top story man, John Lasetter, will tell you it’s the story that truly governs how good a movie truly is, not the animation techniques utilized. George’s committee of writers should have kept that in mind when doing the movie.
Now the good news. This is a very brave film. It’s done in a very bright, yet luscious, traditional 2-D style (although trained eyes can see computer enhancement). The visual is much brighter and sharper than the soft tone creators Margaret and H.A. Rey used in their original stories. Still, traditional animation, even one that uses some techniques that weren’t in the original books, was the only way to do this film. In this post-Pixar world this film should be rewarded for going flat. As it stands, one has to admit the animation is very pleasing to the eye, and that will keep the tykes happy.
In all, one has to admit director Matthew O’Callaghan (<i>Life With Louie, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Mickey’s Christmas Carol</i>) did a pretty good job of staying loyal to the spirit, story modifications and all, of the film. Its overall sweet nature is mixed with enough loony toonery to keep the little guys enthralled. So, while this film isn’t the best thing I’ve seen in ages, it serves its purpose of kids’ entertainment to a tee.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/WGPoster.jpg" width="200" height="298" align="left"><b>WALLACE & GROMIT SWEEP THE ANNIES</b>
In a ballot that really didn’t surprise me at all, Aardman Studio’s The Wallace & Gromit movie <i>Curse of the Were-Rabbit</i> won in every Annie Award category it was nominated in, nine in all. Not that I’m knocking the other contenders, especially Miyazaki’s possible last masterwork, <i>Howl’s Moving Castle</i>. But the veddy, veddy British pair just seems to be blessed when it comes to winning awards. They’ve managed to do so any time they compete for some award (and the only time they lost was against <i>another</i> Aardman short, <i>Creature Comforts</i>). Probably the only category where there was any competition was in voice acting, where winner Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace) went up against the rest of the cast of the film…and nobody else.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Were-Rabbit is hilarious, either.
On the TV front, the results were much more democratic. Genndy Tartakovsky’s TV swan song (he’s moved on to full-feature movies), <i>Star Wars: Clone Wars</i>, won best TV production. From there, the mix ran the gamut from Family Guy to SpongeBob SquarePants.
My personal favorite selections? James Venable for the music to <i>Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends</i> and Bill Plympton for best animated short. Both these guys deserve all the kudos they can garner.
My biggest beef? That Seth MacFarlane won Best Voice Acting for TV. Seth, you’re a great director and all that, but you can’t touch Cree Summers (who wasn’t even nominated!) or about a half-dozen other actors did last year. Then again, the competition almost seemed rigged to give Seth something for getting <i>Family Guy</i> back on the air.
Here’s an abbreviated list. For the complete list, check out ASIFA Hollywood’s web site (www. .com). For the original, if abridged, list of nominees, you can also check out the last column.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
BEST HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION: Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch – DisneyToon Studios
BEST ANIMATED SHORT SUBJECT: The Fan and The Flower – Atomic Television/Plymptoons Productions
BEST ANIMATED TELEVISION COMMERCIAL: United Airlines "Mr. Pants" - Acme Filmworks BEST ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: Star Wars: Clone Wars II Chapters 21-25 - Cartoon Network Studios
BEST ANIMATED VIDEO GAME: Ultimate Spider-Man – Activision/Treyarch
DIRECTING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Nick Park, Steve Box – “Wallace & Gromit:The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
DIRECTING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: Peter Shin - Family Guy “North by North Quahog” – Fox TV Animation
MUSIC IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Julian Nott – “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”– Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
MUSIC IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: James L. Venable, Jennifer Kes Remington - Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends “Duchess of Wails” – Cartoon Network Studios
VOICE ACTING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Peter Sallis – Voice of Wallace “Wallace &Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
VOICE ACTING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: Seth MacFarlane – Voice of Stewie - Family Guy “Brian the Bachelor” – Fox TV Animation
WRITING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Steve Box, Nick Park, Bob Baker, Mark Burton “Wallace &Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
WRITING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: C.H. Greenblatt, Paul Tibbitt, Mike Bell, Tim Hill – SpongeBob “Fear of a Krabby Patty” – Nickelodeon
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/Airbender.jpg" width="200" height="282" align="right"><b> FIRST AVATAR DVD A MUST-HAVE</b>
When it comes to new shows this year, one of the best surprises was <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i>. Seen on Nickelodeon, usually on Friday nights, the series proves what a little animation and some inventive art can do.
What makes the series so good is it mixes a very well thought out and original universe with some solid emotions. The series is set on a world where its four nations are governed by the four basic elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Shamans who can manipulate, or “bend,” their country’s element to their own wills rule each nation. Over the ruling shamans is one last person, the Avatar, who can bend all four elements. Like Tibet’s Dalai Lama, when the Avatar passes away, he is reincarnated.
The next-to-last Avatar died 112 years in this world’s past, and the Fire Nation took advantage of this. At that time they declared war against the rest of the world, and their mix of Fire bending, no Avatar and some funky technology gave them a strong edge.
Meanwhile, the Avatar was reborn as Aang, a young Airbender. Normally, it’s tradition not to let the child know he’s the next Avatar until he’s 16, but circumstances force the Air Nation monks to press the boy into duty. The only problem was he was no where near mature enough to handle the responsibility, and ran away. That’s when he and his flying water bison, Apa, go flying right into a torrential storm. Rather than be killed in the deluge, Aang freezes himself and Apa inside an ice bubble.
Now zoom to the world’s present. The Fire Nation has destroyed the Air benders, and has done a good job of devastating the Water and Earth nations. Two young members of the Southern Water Tribe, the teenaged warrior Sokka and his water bending sister Katara, find Aang and Apa’s frozen bodies. They naturally set them free and quickly discover who he is.
But Aang is no where near ready to take on the Fire Nation.
As one can figure out, the rest of the series will be of Aang learning to master all four bending styles and then taking on the Fire Nation. What makes this series such a pleasure is all the thought and masterful execution the series creators put into this series.
The world these characters live in is beautifully drawn, colored and populated with some of the most original creatures and settings I’ve seen on TV. From there, they put in very human characters that, no matter what, have very real issues to contend with (given their circumstance). In the 20-episode first season I didn’t find a single duff episode. What’s even more impressive is, with this first DVD, is how well the first four episodes collected still hold up, even though I’ve seen them multiple times on Nick.
As an added attraction, the DVD includes a special featurette on the various fighting styles of the four tribes. The translation of these four styles to the series was done with extreme care, and makes the viewings all the better for it.
In all, this is a must-have DVD if you consider yourself a true fan of animation. I can’t wait for Volume 2, which comes out this March.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/CNlogo.jpg" width="250" height="70" align="left"><b>HEY YA! OUTKAST’S ANDRE 3000 SIGNS WITH CN</b>
Cartoon Network and Andre Benjamin’s Moxie Turtle Productions announced they come to terms on a new kids show, which will debut some time this Fall.
For those who don’t pay attention to the pop charts, Benjamin is also known as Andre 3000, the “dippier” half of Atlanta’s premier r&b outfit, OutKast. You got a real taste of what he could do with the band’s multi-million selling singles “Mrs. Jackson” and especially “Hey Ya!.”
Details of the new series are still sketch as of press time, with informed sources inside CN telling me that a lot more will be released come March 1, the time of the network’s upfront.
In the meantime, this is what’s known. The show will revolve around a group of kids living in Atlanta. Assisting in the production is Tommy Lynch, whose 20 years experience includes such shows as Kids Incorporated and Romeo! (which featured rappers Master P and his son, Romeo). The head writer and co-exec producer is Patric Verrone (Futurama, The Critic, Pinky & The Brain) and supervising will be Joe Horne (The Boondocks, Teamo Supremo).
Besides Benjamin, the voice cast includes some very interesting choices. Among them are such vets as Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Jennifer Hale (Powerpuff Girls), Jeff Glen Bennett (Johnny Bravo) and T-Boz (from the band TLC).
CN has commissioned a one-hour premier movie and 12 additional episodes for the show’s first season. According to CN the show is targeted to kids. No title has been officially announced as of press time.
<b>MORE PROMOTIONS AT DISNEY</b>
More news is coming in the wake of the Disney/Pixar merger.
ABC Disney, the television division of the entertainment conglomerate, announced it has made four major hires, all of which should have wide-reaching effects on all the company’s broadcast and cable channels.
The company has hired Emmy Award winning animator Mike Moon to be its new VP, Animated Series. Previously with Cartoon Network, Moon won the Emmy for his work on Craig McFadden’s <i>Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends</i>. Previous to that he also won an Emmy for Disney’s MouseWorks. Moon began his career at Klasky Csupo, when they were the production studio on <i>The Simpsons</i>. From there he also worked as an art director/episode director on such series and films as <i>The PowerPuff Girls Movie, House of Mouse, Clone High</i> and <i>Dexter’s Laboratory</i>.
The other key hire was Janice Aguilar-Herrera as ABC Disney’s VP of Kids Communications. Aguilar-Herera was previously in charge of press relations at the Kids WB, where she had been pretty much since the kid network’s inception. During her run she oversaw the hype on such top-rated series as all the WB/DC Comics shows, <i>Pokemon</i> and <i>Yu-Gi-Oh!: King of Games</i>. She will be working with another longtime animation publicity vet, Patti McTeague.
ABC Disney also promoted Adam Bonnett and Jeff Brustrom from within the organization.
Bonnet’s new title is Sr. VP, Original Series and will oversee both live action and animated programs. Disney originally hired him as Director, Current Programming back in 1997. From there he rose to the position of VP, Original Series. Among his accomplishments are the series <i>That’s So Raven, Kim Possible, Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens</I>, NAACP Award winner <i>The Proud Family</i>, as well as creating the Jetix block of superhero animated adventures.
“Adam Bonnett is a fantastic executive who has led our original series programming department to its greatest success yet,” says Gary Marsh, President, Entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide. “One of his best hires was Jeff Brustrom, who has a particularly keen eye for universally appealing material for kids.”
Brustrom has been given the title of VP, Live-Action Series. Among his accomplishments are the shows That’s So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as well as the animated series <i>American Dragon: Jake Long</i>.
Expect a lot more news from Disney as it gets closer to its upfront next month.
<i>NEXT COLUMN: I might be a day late, but for good reason. I’ve got an interview with the creators of the upcoming Avengers Unlimited DVD's in the works. See you in seven…or eight.</i>
The 2005 Annies, Avatar DVD, Andre 3000 and Disney Changes</b>
<i>by Steve Frtiz</i>
Ask any parent. A truly good film for kids is a rare thing, indeed. The public is lucky to get one a year.
Most “family entertainment” films either push a personal agendas personally distasteful (such as those damned <i>Veggie Tales</i> movies), become so sickly sweet they drown in their own treacle or, in an attempt to keep the parents happy, go completely over the kids’ heads. I’ve attended many a premier where the target audience, the kids themselves, are doing anything but watching the movie, even when parents force them to sit still.
Being of the age where many of my friends foist their tykes into the nooks and crannies of my living quarters, I developed a private library of DVDs to keep the knee biters’ damage to a minimum. It includes classic Fleischer Popeye and Looney Tunes, various Disney/Pooh adaptations and a few other special films (like <i>Rugrats</I>). Add some popcorn to the mix and the kids sit nicely for an hour or two. On a good day, the parents end up equally enthralled.
So I have high standards for films aimed at children. They’re even battle-tested. Don’t be surprised if I add <i>Curious George</i> to this library.
As fans of the mischievous monkey know, George and Company has entertained four of five generations of fans. The original books have never ceased publication since their initial release over six decades ago. One of my fondest memories is being a kid and having the story read to me, along with a few million other tykes, by Captain Kangaroo on weekday mornings. There was also a wonderful Canadian-produced TV series that was very loyal to the books in the 1980s. The only thing that surprised me is it took this long for a movie about the monkey. It makes its theatrical debut this weekend thanks to Universal Pictures and Ron Howard’s Imagine Productions.
Bad news first. The storyline has been modernized. For some reason the PTB’s jettison the books for something they created themselves. We learn The Man With The Yellow Hat has a real name, Ted (voiced by Will Farrell), a job (curator of a museum) and an actual life. There’s also a quest for a long lost statue in Africa. George still gets into trouble, but the parade of human characters introduced in this movie get in the way. Probably most five-and-unders won’t give a fig about what traditionalist farts such as myself think about this heresy, but it does bother me. When the film concentrates on George getting in trouble, it’s a load of fun. Disney’s top story man, John Lasetter, will tell you it’s the story that truly governs how good a movie truly is, not the animation techniques utilized. George’s committee of writers should have kept that in mind when doing the movie.
Now the good news. This is a very brave film. It’s done in a very bright, yet luscious, traditional 2-D style (although trained eyes can see computer enhancement). The visual is much brighter and sharper than the soft tone creators Margaret and H.A. Rey used in their original stories. Still, traditional animation, even one that uses some techniques that weren’t in the original books, was the only way to do this film. In this post-Pixar world this film should be rewarded for going flat. As it stands, one has to admit the animation is very pleasing to the eye, and that will keep the tykes happy.
In all, one has to admit director Matthew O’Callaghan (<i>Life With Louie, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Mickey’s Christmas Carol</i>) did a pretty good job of staying loyal to the spirit, story modifications and all, of the film. Its overall sweet nature is mixed with enough loony toonery to keep the little guys enthralled. So, while this film isn’t the best thing I’ve seen in ages, it serves its purpose of kids’ entertainment to a tee.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/WGPoster.jpg" width="200" height="298" align="left"><b>WALLACE & GROMIT SWEEP THE ANNIES</b>
In a ballot that really didn’t surprise me at all, Aardman Studio’s The Wallace & Gromit movie <i>Curse of the Were-Rabbit</i> won in every Annie Award category it was nominated in, nine in all. Not that I’m knocking the other contenders, especially Miyazaki’s possible last masterwork, <i>Howl’s Moving Castle</i>. But the veddy, veddy British pair just seems to be blessed when it comes to winning awards. They’ve managed to do so any time they compete for some award (and the only time they lost was against <i>another</i> Aardman short, <i>Creature Comforts</i>). Probably the only category where there was any competition was in voice acting, where winner Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace) went up against the rest of the cast of the film…and nobody else.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Were-Rabbit is hilarious, either.
On the TV front, the results were much more democratic. Genndy Tartakovsky’s TV swan song (he’s moved on to full-feature movies), <i>Star Wars: Clone Wars</i>, won best TV production. From there, the mix ran the gamut from Family Guy to SpongeBob SquarePants.
My personal favorite selections? James Venable for the music to <i>Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends</i> and Bill Plympton for best animated short. Both these guys deserve all the kudos they can garner.
My biggest beef? That Seth MacFarlane won Best Voice Acting for TV. Seth, you’re a great director and all that, but you can’t touch Cree Summers (who wasn’t even nominated!) or about a half-dozen other actors did last year. Then again, the competition almost seemed rigged to give Seth something for getting <i>Family Guy</i> back on the air.
Here’s an abbreviated list. For the complete list, check out ASIFA Hollywood’s web site (www. .com). For the original, if abridged, list of nominees, you can also check out the last column.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
BEST HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION: Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch – DisneyToon Studios
BEST ANIMATED SHORT SUBJECT: The Fan and The Flower – Atomic Television/Plymptoons Productions
BEST ANIMATED TELEVISION COMMERCIAL: United Airlines "Mr. Pants" - Acme Filmworks BEST ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: Star Wars: Clone Wars II Chapters 21-25 - Cartoon Network Studios
BEST ANIMATED VIDEO GAME: Ultimate Spider-Man – Activision/Treyarch
DIRECTING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Nick Park, Steve Box – “Wallace & Gromit:The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
DIRECTING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: Peter Shin - Family Guy “North by North Quahog” – Fox TV Animation
MUSIC IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Julian Nott – “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”– Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
MUSIC IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: James L. Venable, Jennifer Kes Remington - Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends “Duchess of Wails” – Cartoon Network Studios
VOICE ACTING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Peter Sallis – Voice of Wallace “Wallace &Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
VOICE ACTING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: Seth MacFarlane – Voice of Stewie - Family Guy “Brian the Bachelor” – Fox TV Animation
WRITING IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE PRODUCTION: Steve Box, Nick Park, Bob Baker, Mark Burton “Wallace &Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” – Aardman Animations Ltd./DreamWorks Animation
WRITING IN AN ANIMATED TELEVISION PRODUCTION: C.H. Greenblatt, Paul Tibbitt, Mike Bell, Tim Hill – SpongeBob “Fear of a Krabby Patty” – Nickelodeon
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/Airbender.jpg" width="200" height="282" align="right"><b> FIRST AVATAR DVD A MUST-HAVE</b>
When it comes to new shows this year, one of the best surprises was <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i>. Seen on Nickelodeon, usually on Friday nights, the series proves what a little animation and some inventive art can do.
What makes the series so good is it mixes a very well thought out and original universe with some solid emotions. The series is set on a world where its four nations are governed by the four basic elements: Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Shamans who can manipulate, or “bend,” their country’s element to their own wills rule each nation. Over the ruling shamans is one last person, the Avatar, who can bend all four elements. Like Tibet’s Dalai Lama, when the Avatar passes away, he is reincarnated.
The next-to-last Avatar died 112 years in this world’s past, and the Fire Nation took advantage of this. At that time they declared war against the rest of the world, and their mix of Fire bending, no Avatar and some funky technology gave them a strong edge.
Meanwhile, the Avatar was reborn as Aang, a young Airbender. Normally, it’s tradition not to let the child know he’s the next Avatar until he’s 16, but circumstances force the Air Nation monks to press the boy into duty. The only problem was he was no where near mature enough to handle the responsibility, and ran away. That’s when he and his flying water bison, Apa, go flying right into a torrential storm. Rather than be killed in the deluge, Aang freezes himself and Apa inside an ice bubble.
Now zoom to the world’s present. The Fire Nation has destroyed the Air benders, and has done a good job of devastating the Water and Earth nations. Two young members of the Southern Water Tribe, the teenaged warrior Sokka and his water bending sister Katara, find Aang and Apa’s frozen bodies. They naturally set them free and quickly discover who he is.
But Aang is no where near ready to take on the Fire Nation.
As one can figure out, the rest of the series will be of Aang learning to master all four bending styles and then taking on the Fire Nation. What makes this series such a pleasure is all the thought and masterful execution the series creators put into this series.
The world these characters live in is beautifully drawn, colored and populated with some of the most original creatures and settings I’ve seen on TV. From there, they put in very human characters that, no matter what, have very real issues to contend with (given their circumstance). In the 20-episode first season I didn’t find a single duff episode. What’s even more impressive is, with this first DVD, is how well the first four episodes collected still hold up, even though I’ve seen them multiple times on Nick.
As an added attraction, the DVD includes a special featurette on the various fighting styles of the four tribes. The translation of these four styles to the series was done with extreme care, and makes the viewings all the better for it.
In all, this is a must-have DVD if you consider yourself a true fan of animation. I can’t wait for Volume 2, which comes out this March.
<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/CNlogo.jpg" width="250" height="70" align="left"><b>HEY YA! OUTKAST’S ANDRE 3000 SIGNS WITH CN</b>
Cartoon Network and Andre Benjamin’s Moxie Turtle Productions announced they come to terms on a new kids show, which will debut some time this Fall.
For those who don’t pay attention to the pop charts, Benjamin is also known as Andre 3000, the “dippier” half of Atlanta’s premier r&b outfit, OutKast. You got a real taste of what he could do with the band’s multi-million selling singles “Mrs. Jackson” and especially “Hey Ya!.”
Details of the new series are still sketch as of press time, with informed sources inside CN telling me that a lot more will be released come March 1, the time of the network’s upfront.
In the meantime, this is what’s known. The show will revolve around a group of kids living in Atlanta. Assisting in the production is Tommy Lynch, whose 20 years experience includes such shows as Kids Incorporated and Romeo! (which featured rappers Master P and his son, Romeo). The head writer and co-exec producer is Patric Verrone (Futurama, The Critic, Pinky & The Brain) and supervising will be Joe Horne (The Boondocks, Teamo Supremo).
Besides Benjamin, the voice cast includes some very interesting choices. Among them are such vets as Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Jennifer Hale (Powerpuff Girls), Jeff Glen Bennett (Johnny Bravo) and T-Boz (from the band TLC).
CN has commissioned a one-hour premier movie and 12 additional episodes for the show’s first season. According to CN the show is targeted to kids. No title has been officially announced as of press time.
<b>MORE PROMOTIONS AT DISNEY</b>
More news is coming in the wake of the Disney/Pixar merger.
ABC Disney, the television division of the entertainment conglomerate, announced it has made four major hires, all of which should have wide-reaching effects on all the company’s broadcast and cable channels.
The company has hired Emmy Award winning animator Mike Moon to be its new VP, Animated Series. Previously with Cartoon Network, Moon won the Emmy for his work on Craig McFadden’s <i>Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends</i>. Previous to that he also won an Emmy for Disney’s MouseWorks. Moon began his career at Klasky Csupo, when they were the production studio on <i>The Simpsons</i>. From there he also worked as an art director/episode director on such series and films as <i>The PowerPuff Girls Movie, House of Mouse, Clone High</i> and <i>Dexter’s Laboratory</i>.
The other key hire was Janice Aguilar-Herrera as ABC Disney’s VP of Kids Communications. Aguilar-Herera was previously in charge of press relations at the Kids WB, where she had been pretty much since the kid network’s inception. During her run she oversaw the hype on such top-rated series as all the WB/DC Comics shows, <i>Pokemon</i> and <i>Yu-Gi-Oh!: King of Games</i>. She will be working with another longtime animation publicity vet, Patti McTeague.
ABC Disney also promoted Adam Bonnett and Jeff Brustrom from within the organization.
Bonnet’s new title is Sr. VP, Original Series and will oversee both live action and animated programs. Disney originally hired him as Director, Current Programming back in 1997. From there he rose to the position of VP, Original Series. Among his accomplishments are the series <i>That’s So Raven, Kim Possible, Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens</I>, NAACP Award winner <i>The Proud Family</i>, as well as creating the Jetix block of superhero animated adventures.
“Adam Bonnett is a fantastic executive who has led our original series programming department to its greatest success yet,” says Gary Marsh, President, Entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide. “One of his best hires was Jeff Brustrom, who has a particularly keen eye for universally appealing material for kids.”
Brustrom has been given the title of VP, Live-Action Series. Among his accomplishments are the shows That’s So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as well as the animated series <i>American Dragon: Jake Long</i>.
Expect a lot more news from Disney as it gets closer to its upfront next month.
<i>NEXT COLUMN: I might be a day late, but for good reason. I’ve got an interview with the creators of the upcoming Avengers Unlimited DVD's in the works. See you in seven…or eight.</i>