ANIMATED SHORTS #266: ADULT SWIM's NEW SEASON, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, and MORE...

[MattBrady]

PARTY ALL NIGHT - ADULT SWIM 2006 UPFRONT
Plus The Simpsons Movie, IFC Adds Anime, and Lots, Lots More.

by Steve Fritz

The party went on until the next day. The Adult Swim upfront was one of those affairs that just didn’t know how to stop. Then again, as far as Adult Swim doesn’t start broadcasting until 10:30 p.m. every night (except Fridays) and goes on until 6:00 a.m. the following morning anyhow. That’s the way they like it.

It looks like that ideal advertising demographic, Males 18-34, like it a lot, too. That demo continues to grow for those warped maniacs over at Williams Street. AS is rated the #1 cable network for not only Males 18-34, but the equally desirable Males 18-24. Those are people with lots of disposable cash in their hands, and a penchant for disposing of it easily. Advertisers like that.

Of course, there was another reason for the upfront besides partying. That was to give potential advertisers a taste of programming to come (so they will continue to advertise, naturally). And I’ll have to call a spade a spade, Adult Swim has a very ambitious slate of new and renewed programs in the works.

To help guide me through this, I was navigated to probably one of the few sober individuals on the AS team, Kim Manning, their programming manager. Then again, I interviewed her on the Monday after the upfront. She probably used the weekend to come down from the party.

The first question of the day was whether or not Adult Swim will finally go 24-7 like its sister nets Cartoon Network or Boomerang.

“We’re slowly expanding, but there’s no immediate plans for that,” said Manning. “It’s something we’d love to do but we’re not in a position to do that. Hopefully sometime soon.”

On the other hand, they now have enough programming to probably drop their current practice of doing a four-hour block from 11: 00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. and then repeating it. As it stands, they just added an extra half-hour, 10:30 p.m., to their block.

“Right now we do have enough programming,” Manning agreed, “but we’re not talking about doing it. We found that there are a lot of people who appreciate the repeats because they work late.”

And talk about a wide range and quantity of programming, here’s the breakdown of what Adult Swim will be presenting throughout the 2006-7 season:

NEW (U.S. PRODUCED) PROGRAMS:

There will be five very new and different shows original shows.

Death Clock Metalocalypse: Dethklok is a Norwegian heavy metal band. They are incredibly talented, insanely popular.…and dangerously stupid. No matter what they do, be it playing sold-out festival gigs or going to the grocery store, Dethklok leaves a path of destruction and murder behind.

“It’s by Brandon Small (Home Movies) and Tommy Blacha,” says Manning. “It’s like rock opera pieces and it’s really funny. It also has lots of guest appearances by musicians such as Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett.”

It debuts in August. Mark Hamill is in the voice cast. Blacha and Small also write and perform Dethklok’s heavy metal music. The series is being produced at Titmouse, Inc. in Los Angeles. Twenty episodes have been ordered.

Frisky Dingo: From the creators of one of Adult Swim’s founding original series, Sealab 2021, Frisky Dingo will premiere in September. Killface is the most evil villain of all time, and he’s determined to destroy the Earth by propelling it into the sun. Doing everything he can to stop him is Awesome-X, the alter ego of billionaire Xander Crews. If Xander doesn’t that might hurt his ability to sell more Awesome-X toys, the means by which he props up his billionaire playboy lifestyle. Frisky Dingo is co-created by Matt Thompson and Adam Reed. Thirteen episodes are in production at Atlanta-based 70-30 Productions.

Assy McGee: In a world gone soft, Assy McGee delivers a unique brand of street justice. McGee is a renegade police sniper with no patience for criminals or the so-called “justice” system.. He also looks like a huge ass. But all he needs is his bolt-action SKS assault weapon and his ever-present toothpick. Assy McGee is produced by Carl Adams, Jon Benjamin and Matt Harrigan. It debuts in December. Ten episodes are in production at Soup2Nuts in Boston, Mass.

Saul of the Mole Men: On a mission to the Earth’s core for the government’s STRATA agency, Saul Malone crashes his drill ship upon the Mole Men. Baffled by their customs and rituals, Saul injures the Mole Men’s elder leader, kills their god, and spreads disease.

“Saul of the Mole Men is a new one that we’re going to try,” says Manning. “It involves live action puppets, much like a Banana Splits or Land of the Lost and that it’s real low-budget.”

It was created by Craig Lewis. Twenty episodes are in production. The series will debut in late 2006.

Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil: What is evil incarnate to do when his daughter, Lucy, barely tolerates him and dates a hippie DJ who could be the Jesus Christ? Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil, is a CGI production that from Loren Bouchard, producer of Home Movies and Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. It stars Jon Benjamin (the voice of Coach McGuirk on Home Movies) as the Devil.

“I’m also really excited about Lucy,” said Manning. “I fought really hard for that one. We kept it in development for some time.”

Ten episodes are in production. The series will debut in late 2006.

Adult Swim also will unveil two additional pilots this fall. The first is Korgoth of Barbaria. Created by Aaron Springer (SpongeBob SquarePants), this series turns the myths and mayhem of Conan The Barbarian on its head.

“But the animation looks so different from anything else we’ve done,” says Manning. “It’s far more violent than anything we’ve done before. In fact, it’s all about the violence. It’s also really funny. Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars) is working on that show, along with Aaron Springer, who created it. They’re the team.”

Currently, Tartakovsky has an uncredited position on this film. He is also supposed to be under contract with new studio The Orphanage and working on such movies as a new Dark Crystal film as well as a CGI version of Astro Boy. Clarification wasn’t available as of press time.

The other pilot that will be unveiled this year is called That Crook’d ‘Sip. Created by Jacob Escobedo and Nick Weidenfeld, it is now in production at Williams Street and will air in the fall. It concerns the Beauregard family who, much like their Mississippi mansion, is falling apart. Relics of the Old South, this dysfunctional clan sits in stark contrast to the modern crunk-fueled Dirty South that has grown up around their crumbling estate, Frenchman’s Bend.

The following programs have also been renewed for additional seasons:

Robot Chicken: The new season began April 2. Ten additional new episodes are slated for September.

Family Guy: 17 new episodes begin April 30 and air throughout the year.

Tom Goes to The Mayor: Begins June 4.

The Venture Bros.: New episodes begin June 25. This ought to be interesting as the boys are supposed to be dead.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: A TV new season begins in September. Aqua Teen Hunger Force was created by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis. More on them below.

12oz. Mouse: A new season that begins in September. 12oz. Mouse was created by Matt Maiellaro.

Squidbillies: A new season of 14 episodes of the Williams Street series Squidbillies, from Jim Fortier and Dave Willis, begins this September.

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: A new season of jurisprudence and office politics beginning this fall. Created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter.

The Boondocks: It’s already been announced the series will return this fall with 20 more episodes. As it stands, repeats of Boondocks will air every Thursday for the time being.

“We were hoping Boondocks would go over well, and really believed in it, but were surprised at how well it did,” said Manning. “You are always surprised when a show does well than anyone expected. It even had some nights when it topped Family Guy, although overall Family Guy is still our top show

In related news, Adult Swim also unveiled an Aqua Teen feature length movie. It explores the origins of the strangest detective team on TV as they go up against old rivals the Plutonians and the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past.

“Because of the movie we won’t be airing as many new Aqua Teen TV episodes like we used to,” says Manning. “But we do have a lot of faith in the movie. It will probably be released to college and art house theatres. It will be a small release. I don’t think it will ever go wide theatrical.”

Current plans call for the movie to hit theaters this fall.

ANIME

On the anime front, there isn’t quite as much news, but there still was some very interesting announcements.

Probably the biggest is the acquisition of Bleach. It currently is the #2 show airing in Japan, behind Naruto. The story revolves around Ichigo Kurosaki, a 15-year-old who never asked for the ability to see ghosts. When his family is attacked by a Hollow, a malevolent lost soul, Ichigo becomes a Soul Reaper, dedicating his life to protecting the innocent and helping the tortured spirits find peace.

As reported last month, Cartoon Network also looked at the program, but turned it down for being too dark for kids.

“Bleach is really a cool show,” says Manning. “It has really good storytelling. What’s great is each episode really stands on its own, although there’s an overall great story line. So, you can watch individual episodes without having to worry about what happened in the past. It’s very much like Ghost In The Shell in that sense.”

Speaking of Ghost, there are rumors that Production I.G. is in production of both a third TV season and movie. Manning said that if these rumors are true, she would definitely be interested in renewing. “It’s one of the most popular shows on Adult Swim,” she stated.

Bleach debuts this fall. Another series will start much sooner. Called Eureka Seven it tells the tale of Renton is a young boy in a world where “lifting,” an extreme form of hover boarding, is common. Renton’s life is changed forever by a mysterious and beautiful young girl named Eureka.

“It’s got a great creative team behind it in Studio Bonez and some of the Cowboy Bebop creators,” says Manning. “It also has a decent story line and the lead character, Renton, is really interesting. They also did a good job on the voiceovers.”

Eureka Seven debuts on Saturday, April 15.

Adult Swim also announced it acquired what is apparently the last season of InuYasha. New episodes of the series will soon air on Wednesdays at 12:30 a.m. through September. There are also rumors that AS is on the short track for acquiring another I.G. production, the Blood: The Last Vampire TV series.

If there appears to be any kind of problem for AS these days, it’s figuring out just how to cram all this new programming into the schedule. For starters, even though the mini-net is very successful, it will not be replacing the Fridays kids format anytime soon.

“I don’t think we’ll be doing Fridays,” says Manning. “That franchise is so successful as it is I don’t think we’ll move in there. I know that kids aren’t supposed to be up at 1:00 a.m., but it still is off limits to us.”

“We’re getting edgier,” Manning concludes. “We’re pushing the envelope as much as we can. We’re not doing it just to just be TV MA, but we are carrying more programming that will carry that rating. A lot of the new comedy coming in is and so is a lot of the new anime.”

And from the looks of things, the partying at Adult Swim will be going on for some time to come.

THE SIMPSON MOVIE IS (FINALLY) GO!

Those who saw Ice Age 2 or watched last Sunday’s episode of Springfield’s first family got news they have long anticipated: A full length Simpsons movie is in production. Plans call for this film to hit the movie theaters in July, 2007.

“This was enormously challenging, because it involved filling 120 blank pages with an actual story and words people say,” said producer James L. Brooks, in a press release handed out shortly thereafter. (Yes, we usually try to get some original quotes, but these were just too good).

"We're very excited about the performances in this movie. Come next Oscars, we think it's going to be Milhouse's night," added series creator Matt Groening.

“I can absolutely guarantee that this film will far exceed the wildest expectations of every Simpsons fan,” said long time producer Al Jean. “Start lining up at the theater now, preferably in costume.”

“The movie is a result of the very singular vision of eleven people,” said equally long time producer Mike Scully.

The press release also included the usual platitudes from a Fox exec, but we won’t bore you to death with those. Expect more on this movie as the thing develops.

Woo Hoo!

RARE FRENCH TREAT COMING TO NYICFF

The New York International Children’s Film Festival has again managed to pull some magic on the screen. It announced it will be airing the legendary French film The King & The Mockingbird (Le Roi Et L’Oiseau) the weekend of May 6-7.

Created by Paul Grimault, the film originally started production back in back in the late 1940s, but was not finished until 1980. Even by today’s standards, the film’s freshness, use of color and general originality is still impressive. It’s a true gem.

It will also be accompanied by the live action film Zozo. For more information, check out the website: www.gkids.com.

By the way, demand for tickets to Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind has been so hot the NYICFF added an additional day, April 9.

NICK RENEWS BACKYARDIGANS AND KAPPA MIKEY

Nickelodeon announced it renewed two of its new programs. This will be second seasons for both.

The first is Kappa Mikey, the recently debuted series from New York’s Animator’s Collective. The series tells the tale of an American cartoon character becoming a huge hit on a Japanese anime series, with the expected culture clash prominently pronounced. According to Nick, the series has been garnering exceedingly strong ratings right out of the gate. So an order has been placed for an additional 26 episodes, bringing the total order of the series to 52. It currently airs on Nicktoons during the weekends.

The other series is The Backyardigans, which currently airs on Nick Jr. This series tells the tales of a group of warm and cuddly baby animals, who get into all manner of child-friendly adventures in their back yard. An order of 20 more episodes has been given, and they will start airing this October.

IFC ADDS ANIME

The Independent Film Channel didn’t only air the revamped The Henry Rollins Show last Saturday. It also made its first stab into the world of anime.

The series is entitled Samurai 7. If the title sounds familiar, that’s because it’s based on the original script of Akira Kurasawa’s classic film The Seven Samurai. As adapted by Studio Gonzo, the series resets the background into one where feudal Japan goes up against futuristic bandits. It’s a unique blend of steampunk and shurikens, and has to be seen to be believed.

IFC announced it will air new chapters of this 26-part series every Saturday at 10:30 p.m. (eastern). It will then repeat the episode at 1:00 a.m. Sunday, 10:30 p.m. Thursday, and then 1:00 a.m. Friday.

For more info, go to www.ifc.com.

[RedSpyda]

Frisky Dingo sounds kinda intresting... cant wait til the fall!

[sfritz]

Originally posted by RedSpyda
Frisky Dingo sounds kinda intresting... cant wait til the fall!

What really has my curiousity going is Korgoth. The combo of Springer and Tartakovsky is just too weird to ignore.

I'll also admit there's a lot more, like Lucy, that makes me think AS will be one of my immediate destination channels for some time to come. -s

[Spade]

I would nix Squadbillies, 12 ounce Mouse, Assy Mcgee, and Tom Goes to the Mayor.

Where's my Stroker and Hoop?

[Nate28]

HOLY HELL VENTURE BROTHERS!!!!!!

I CAN'T FRIGGIN WAIT!!!!!!

[Goodhomerjay]

Woo-hoo! Finally after 17 seasons, a Simpsons movie!
E-xcellent.

[astronato]

Originally posted by Spade
I would nix Squadbillies, 12 ounce Mouse, Assy Mcgee, and Tom Goes to the Mayor.

I don't know Assy McGee (great name) but Squidbillies, 12 ounce Mouse and Tom Goes to the Mayor are garbage in my opinion.

Looking forward to more Venture Brothers, Harvey Birdman and Robot Chicken.

and I just have to see an anime based on Kurasowas Seven Samurai, steampunk or not. Could be good.

[Spaz_Monkey]

I would nix Squadbillies, 12 ounce Mouse, Assy Mcgee, and Tom Goes to the Mayor.

I agree 75%. I haven't seen Assy Mcgee yet so I won't jusdge it, but the rest are not only terrible to watch but the art is so bad it's actually painful to look at. While I understand AS's interest in new and inventive shows, they've got to draw the line somewhere.

[DBHughes]

Originally posted by Spade
I would nix Squadbillies, 12 ounce Mouse, Assy Mcgee, and Tom Goes to the Mayor.

Where's my Stroker and Hoop?

DAMN IT, Assy!

[sequart]

“I can absolutely guarantee that this film will far exceed the wildest expectations of every Simpsons fan,” said long time producer Al Jean.

Hmmmm... absolutely guarantee? I have pretty HIGH expectations for this film!!!

[Sesshomaru]

“Bleach is really a cool show,” says Manning. “It has really good storytelling. What’s great is each episode really stands on its own, although there’s an overall great story line. So, you can watch individual episodes without having to worry about what happened in the past. It’s very much like Ghost In The Shell in that sense.”

WTH ... i guess only saw like what ... 8 eps of the serie and he decided that each ep is self contained ???
Bleach is a great serie , but dont get fooled by his crap ..
much like DBZ , yuyu hakusho , naruto , and pretty much every shonen anime , it starts slowly with the hero gathering friends , then after a while goes into big and action filled saga s , with the mandatory tournament one of one like fights , and the filler eps between each huge saga .

As reported last month, Cartoon Network also looked at the program, but turned it down for being too dark for kids

I am so glad that CN didnt find a way to butcher the serie ... tough deal indeed violating a concept centered onto gods of death ..
Not so much glad for myself , i dont care about dubs , but i'm happy that others could get a decent and full version .

Oh about Eureka 7 , the people involved arent just "some of the Cowboy Bebop creators" , there is also Kawamori Shoji , of Escaflowne , Macross , Gundam (MS 083) and Ghost in the Shell (movie) fame , but i know i'm being picky

[Spade]

Assy McGee commerical did nothing for me. The animation is horrible. It's like Tom Goes to the Mayor in color.

[fpcheese]

Tom Goes To The Mayor is the best!! Rats off to you!

[HG_studios]

Springer and Tartakovsky on Korgoth!! I am 'bout it 'bout it, son!!!!

A pity the Aqua Teen Movie is not seeing a wider release...also discouraging to see that it has been moved to a fall date At least it is still coming out.

[BrotherI]

Wow, its Al Jean's comment that makes my mind blow...

I hope all the showrunners get in on it, then it'll kick ass. And John Swartzwelder.

[NightRiver]

IM happy about Bleach being on Adult Swim. It would ahve been butchered by CN.

[sfritz]

Originally posted by astronato
I don't know Assy McGee (great name) but Squidbillies, 12 ounce Mouse and Tom Goes to the Mayor are garbage in my opinion.

Looking forward to more Venture Brothers, Harvey Birdman and Robot Chicken.

and I just have to see an anime based on Kurasowas Seven Samurai, steampunk or not. Could be good.

Believe me, it is good. IFC repeats it tonight at 10:30 p.m. and then Friday morn at 1:30 a.m. - s

[sfritz]

Originally posted by HG_studios
Springer and Tartakovsky on Korgoth!! I am 'bout it 'bout it, son!!!!

A pity the Aqua Teen Movie is not seeing a wider release...also discouraging to see that it has been moved to a fall date At least it is still coming out.

My only gripe about all this new programming is it's turning me BACK into a nightowl. After you get passed 50 that's a lot harder than when I was a young-dumb-fulla-___ 20 year -old pissing on every tree. I actually try to get to bed before 2:00 a.m.

Guess I better start taking power naps.

-s

[Mr Wesley]

Originally posted by NightRiver
IM happy about Bleach being on Adult Swim. It would ahve been butchered by CN.

Because they're not, you know, the same channel.

[AlexLothos]

So is the Simpsons movie live action (like that opening sequence that went around about a month ago), CGI, or basic animation?

Oh, and here's to more Robot Chicken, Family Guy, and Boondocks!

[sfritz]

Originally posted by Mr Wesley
Because they're not, you know, the same channel.

For the record, this is true.

AS just shares the same channel as CN. Think of it kind of like a Nickelodeon/Nick At Nite situation.

For the record, I do understand that some day there will be a 24-7 AS channel. Just when is still not known. -S

[UberShep]

Originally posted by Spade
Tom Goes to the Mayor.

Where's my Stroker and Hoop?

Tom Goes to the Mayor is the only good cheap animation adult swim now. They should nix Robot Chicken. What a stupid, stupid show.

[sfritz]

Originally posted by AlexLothos
So is the Simpsons movie live action (like that opening sequence that went around about a month ago), CGI, or basic animation?

Oh, and here's to more Robot Chicken, Family Guy, and Boondocks!

Well...the promo (the one that shows Homer in the Superman t-shirt and his Fruit of the Looms) is in traditional 2D animation.

I guess we'll find out more as time goes on. -s

[lorbaat2]

Oh, a Simpsons movie.

That's about 10 years too late.

[c_andrew_s]

Thanks for a great article!