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December is bringing some great new titles to Apple TV, from the romantic comedy-drama Fly Me to the Moon starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, to the 10-part docuseries The Secret Life of Animals from BBC Studios Natural History Unit.

Here’s a list of every movie and TV show coming to Apple TV this December:

‘Fly Me to the Moon’ – December 6

Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ is a sharp, stylish romantic comedy set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing.

Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, the countdown truly begins.

‘Wonder Pets in the City’ – December 13

‘Wonder Pets: In the City’ introduces a...

From romantic comedy-drama ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, to a new 10-part docuseries from the acclaimed BBC Studios Natural History Unit ‘The Secret Life of Animals,’ December is bringing some interesting titles to Apple TV.

Here is every movie and TV show releasing on Apple TV this December:

‘Fly Me to the Moon’ – December 6

Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ is a sharp, stylish romantic comedy set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing.

Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s (Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, the countdown truly begins.

‘Wonder Pets in the City’ – December 13

‘Wonder Pets: In the City’ introduces a trio of heroes: Izzy the Guinea Pig,...

Regardless of how many times directors like Guillermo del Toro, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller try to kill the stereotype that the medium of animation isn’t just for kids but for adults as well, and establish that “animation is cinema,” the evidence points to the fact that most animated properties are primarily aimed towards children. Just as an experiment, if I look at some of my favorite animated projects from the 2020s, I’ll come across stuff like Wolfwalkers, Cryptozoo, Luca, Mad God, Turning Red, Apollo 10 ½, The Bad Guys, My Love Affair with Marriage, The Sea Beast, Entergalactic, Oni: Thunder God’s Tale, Gdt’s Pinocchio, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Across the Spider-Verse, Nimona, Carol & the End of the World, The Peasants, Orion and the Dark, and Ultraman Rising. And maybe only 7 of them can be considered unsuitable for children. The rest are uncomplicated and digestible enough for little kids.

Jon Kenny, one half of the famous comedy team D’Unbelievables, died at Galway Clinic on Friday night. He was 59. This was the end of an era in Irish entertainment. He was 66 years old.

Kenny, from Hospital in County Limerick, became famous nationwide with his comedy partner Pat Shortt in the 1990s. Their unique style forever changed Irish humor. Fellow comic Dara Ó Briain said they “opened the door for all the rest of us.”

Even though Kenny had many health problems, he kept up a busy job in show business. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2000, which meant he couldn’t act for a while. He went back to the stage as a solo act after treatment that went well, which included a stem cell transplant at St. James’s Hospital.

Kenny’s acting skills went beyond comedy, and he received high praise for his parts in movies...

Global production-distribution outfit Superprod Group has acquired a majority stake in French animation producer Watch Next Media, which will join Superprod’s impressive list of animation studio partners.

Under the terms of the deal, Watch Next will continue to operate independently, with studio founder Philippe Alessandri remaining in charge of the outfit. The move will allow Watch Next to improve its CG animation capabilities and output and give the company access to more financial opportunities.

Nearing its 10th anniversary, Watch Next was launched in 2015 and has grown rapidly over the years since. Its best-known original properties are the animated series “Nate is Late” and “Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese,” and the company also produces the CG-animated series “Hello Kitty: Super Style!” the latest adaptation of the hit Japanese franchise. Watch Next keeps a packed pipeline, working for broadcasters and platforms around the world, including the BBC, Super Rtl, Amazon,...

Netflix released the official trailer for “Twilight of the Gods,“ Zack Snyder’s 2D adult animated series about the clash between Norse gods and mortals (premiering September 19). The mythic tale of vengeance and power unfurls amidst an abundance of choreographic violence and gore.

It’s a tragic love story that begins with badass warrior Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks) heroically saving the life of mortal king Leif (Stuart Martin) — in slow-mo, of course, with beautiful streaks of blood. But their wedding day is destroyed by Thor (Pilou Asbæk), who slaughters her family, sending Sigrid on a vengeful rampage. With Leif by her side, she forms a band of rebels to kill Thor, with the support of Paterson Loki (Paterson Joseph), who wants to take over the world of the gods.

With gorgeous animation from Xilam Animation, Snyder explores a range of graphic styles culled from comics and anime. It’s like a...

Animation doesn't get much love at major award shows. Since their beginning, the Annie Awards have sought to change that. Animation at the Oscars. The two Oscars dedicated to animation are far from enough. Despite featuring a decent selection of nominees each year, the animated categories barely scratch the surface of what goes into making an animated movie. This year, folks on Twitter, both audiences and some of the creatives behind the nominated films, noticed how animated films are framed at the Oscars as children's fair, which is upsetting for those who know that there is a vast and magnificent world of mature animation. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our...

Norse gods and mortals clash in all their bloody glory in Zack Snyder’s 2D adult animated series, “Twilight of the Gods,” premiering on Netflix September 19. The streamer has released a red band teaser trailer that revels deliciously in all of the graphic gore.

The hardcore action-adventure, which looks like a cross between “300” and Cartoon Saloon’s “Wolfwalkers” on acid, is set against a love story between badass warrior Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks) and mortal king Leif (Stuart Martin), whom she saves on the battlefield. However, their wedding day is tragically destroyed by Thor (Pilou Asbæk), causing Sigrid to go on a vengeful rampage.

The series (from The Stone Quarry and Xilam Animation) is co-created by Snyder, Jay Oliva, and Eric Carrasco, with Deborah Snyder, Wesley Coller, and Oliva executive producing. Snyder, Oliva, Tim Divar, Andrew Tamandl, and David Hartman direct the eight episodes.

The voice cast also includes Rahul Kohli as Egill,...

"The gods started this war, now it's time to fight."

Netflix has released an exciting - and fairly gruesome - first teaser for Zack Snyder's adult animated Norse mythology series, Twilight of the Gods, which is set to premiere on the streaming service on September 19.

The promo is less than 40 second long, but it crams in quite a bit of bloody action, as a mortal warrior named Sigrid wages war against Thor and all of his fellow Asgardian gods.

"In a mythical world of great battles, great deeds, and great despair, Leif (Stuart Martin), a mortal king, is saved on the battlefield by Sigrid (Sylvia Hoeks), an iron-willed warrior with whom he falls in love," reads the new synopsis. "On their wedding night, Sigrid and Leif survive a wrath of terror from Thor (Pilou Asbæk), which sets them — and a crew of crusaders — on a merciless mission for vengeance,...

Netflix unveiled first looks at a whole host of its upcoming animated shows and features during an event on Thursday, and Rebel Moon director Zack Snyder was on hand to introduce the first footage from his Norse Mythology series, Twilight of the Gods.

“I love mythology,” said the filmmaker. "On a scale like this, I feel like animation was the greatest way to tell the story.”

First announced way back in 2019, it's taken quite a while to find its way to our screens, but we recently learned that the show will finally premiere on Netflix this Fall.

The project has been described as "Anime-influenced," but judging by these clips, we'd say the animation style has more in common with the Academy Award-nominated Cartoon Saloon studio.

“When most people think about animation, they think about Saturday morning cartoons, or G-rated movies,” said the presentation’s host, Christopher Sean. “But animation is...

Netflix Animation held its first slate preview event June 6 at the Tudum in L.A., as a lead-up to the Annecy Animation Festival (June 9-15), where it will premiere Shannon Tindle’s “Ultraman: Rising” (streaming June 14) and tout some of its upcoming works in 2024 and 2025.

Hosted by Christopher Sean (the voice star of “Ultraman: Rising”), attendees were treated to exclusive presentations, previews, and special announcements. The biggest announcement was the full title of Aardman’s next stop-motion feature, “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” which will have an Oscar-qualifying run this winter before streaming in 2025.

Directed by franchise creator Nick Park and creative director Merlin Crossingham, who offered a pre-recorded introduction, “Vengeance Most Fowl” marks the return of the villainous penguin, Feathers McGraw, from the Oscar-winning short “The Wrong Trousers.” The film is a cautionary tale of high-tech gone wrong involving an out-of-control “smart gnome” with a mind of its own.

When Hayao Miyazaki’s long-awaited and supposed swansong The Boy and the Heron opened at No. 1 at the North American box office last December with a record-breaking $12.8 million tally, it was not only the first original anime title to achieve such a feat, but it was the biggest ever opening for U.S. distributor Gkids. It kickstarted what would be a whirlwind few months for the now 16-year-old company as it took the Studio Ghibli film, (which had opened the Toronto Film Festival in September) to an enormous $46.7 million box office gross (more than double their initial projections) in North America and, later a Best Animation win at the Oscars.

“It was the right film for the right time,” says Gkids president Dave Jesteadt. “The Boy and the Heron was Miyazaki’s first film in 10 years, and I think that a normal concern would have been if audiences had forgotten him,...

Studio Ghibli excels in 2D animation, with new movies continuing to receive critical acclaim. 3D animation dominates due to speed and cost, but 2D animation still captures unique artistic styles. Various niche outlets like folklore-inspired stories and historical dramas keep 2D animation alive and thriving.

Certain movies from the last decade prove that there is still a place in the film industry for 2D animation, despite 3D now being the norm. Disney, the giant in most sectors of entertainment, has moved on from 2D animated movies. On the other hand, Studio Ghibli is seemingly the leading force in 2D animation: The studio’s new movies continue to win critical praise and awards while its old ones remain beloved classics. 2D animation claims other outlets, such as movie continuations of TV shows and straight-to-dvd releases.

Finding new pathways to success has been essential for 2D since Toy Story's now-outdated animation changed everything almost 30 years ago.

St. Patrick’s Day is a time to celebrate Irish culture, history, and of course, to have a bit of fun! To those unfamiliar, March 17th marks the traditional death date of St. Patrick (Ireland’s patron saint). It used to be a religious day to remember him and how Christianity spread in Ireland.

St. Patrick (Image via Britannica)

The day is celebrated beyond Ireland as a way to embrace Irish culture. This day offers people a chance to enjoy traditional music, dancing, food, and drinks. Also, wearing green is a big part of it since it’s linked with Ireland.

Suggested“There’s just some movies you shouldn’t remake”: Why Bill Skarsgård’s The Crow Reboot is Already Facing Fierce Backlash Hours after Trailer Release

Now’s the time to put on some green and have a good time with friends. Why not dig into Irish traditions...

The omission of “My Father’s Dragon” from the 2023 Oscar nominations list for best animated feature sparked murmurings of disapproval from within the industry. The Netflix film — directed by Nora Twomey and a gorgeously hand-drawn adaptation of Ruth Stiles Gannett’s beloved children’s fantasy novel — had been lapped up by critics, many of whom assumed it would easily make the cut.

But the disquiet only served to showcase the astonishing track record of “My Father’s Dragon’s” Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, which had earned an incredible four Oscar nominations from its first four features, starting with “The Secret of Kells” in 2009 and followed by “Song of the Sea,” “The Breadwinner” and “Wolfwalkers.”

For Tomm Moore, the lack of a nomination for “My Father’s Dragon” also highlighted just how far animation had come since he co-founded Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny alongside Twomey and Paul Young back in 1999.

“It showed...

Apple TV+ today released the trailer for the all-new, highly anticipated Peanuts special “Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin,” premiering globally on Friday, February 16.

The origin story for one of Peanuts’ most beloved characters, the special follows Franklin as he moves to a new town and navigates new friendships. Franklin’s family is always on the move with his dad’s military job, and everywhere he goes Franklin finds support in a notebook filled with his grandfather’s advice on friendship. But when Franklin tries his usual strategies with the Peanuts gang, he has trouble fitting in. That’s until he learns about the neighborhood Soap Box Derby race – according to his grandfather, everyone loves a winner! He’s sure that winning the race will also mean winning over some new friends. All he needs is a partner, which he finds in Charlie Brown. Franklin and Charlie Brown work together to...

Pablo Berger’s “Robot Dreams,” which gets a theatrical release from Neon at an as-yet-unannounced time this year, was one of the animated delights of 2023. The Spanish/French hand-drawn dramedy (adapted from Sarah Varon’s wordless graphic novel) concerns the bittersweet friendship between lonely Dog and Robot, which he buys for company, in a version of ’80s Manhattan populated with animals. It’s garnered awards buzz in a longshot quest for an Oscar nomination this season.

After premiering at Cannes, “Robot Dreams” earned the Annecy Contrecham Award along with The Animation Is Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. It was also selected as the runner-up for Best Animated Film by both the Los Angeles and Boston Film Critics groups.

Although the Spanish director was enamored with the graphic novel when he read it in 2010, he didn’t consider turning it into an animated feature until after making two live-action films,...

Spellbound and John Lasseter – Pictures: Skydance Animation and GettyImages

Skydance Animation, which ex-Pixar head John Lasseter currently heads, unceremoniously dropped its seemingly homely, animated feature deal at Apple TV for a partnership with Netflix back in November 2023.

Netflix’s Original animated feature output has long been a discussion point of the industry. It’s an area that Ted Sarandos has addressed numerous times, most recently citing the re-watch value this type of content delivers for subscribers, and his view that Netflix are “underpenetrated” in the genre. This was as the streamer came off arguably its biggest flex of the year, swiping Skydance Animation from its output deal at Apple TV+. Despite restructuring and layoffs that recently impacted the internal Netflix Animation division, animated family movies seem to be a key part of the future strategy.

Netflix already has a partnership with Skydance Media at large, with recent output on the kids side,...

In just a few weeks, the 18th recipient of the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature will be revealed. While it is highly likely that the new winner will share a 3D visual style in common with nearly all of its predecessors, voters may instead decide to finally honor a fully hand-drawn movie for the first time. Fittingly, this monumental distinction would be credited to the legendary Studio Ghibli and its esteemed cofounder, Hayao Miyazaki, who suspended his brief retirement in order to make his dozenth film, “The Boy and the Heron.”

With an original plot that pointedly references the classic Japanese novel “How Do You Live?,” “The Boy and the Heron” is the 25th entry in Studio Ghibli’s animated canon and the company’s 10th film released after the creation of this Golden Globe category. Although four of its post-2005 productions earned Oscar notices for Best Animated Feature,...

Founded in 2008, New York-based production studio and distributor Gkids almost immediately established itself as the United States’ most valuable lifeline to animated cinema from around the world, and so — after earning 12 Oscar nominations for introducing modern classics like “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” and “Wolfwalkers” to American audiences — it might seem a bit overblown to suggest that the label’s reputation could still hang in the balance of a single dub. Gkids president Dave Jesteadt certainly didn’t expect that to be the case when he formally took the reins in January 2017, as the already thriving company was still on the verge of its greatest triumphs. And yet, by the end of the following month, everything that Gkids had accomplished would seem like a long prologue for the challenge that would ultimately define it.

On February 24, 2017, Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki announced that legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki was coming...

Apple Original Films is back with another original film after Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon. Fingernails is a sci-fi romance that explores the idea of love in the digital age, starring Jessie Buckley, Jeremy Allen White, and Riz Ahmed. The film is directed by Christos Nikou, who made his English-language debut with this project.

Fingernails is set in a world where scientists have developed a test that can prove whether two people are in love or not. The test involves pulling out a fingernail from each person and scanning it with a machine that measures their happiness. Anna (Buckley) is a woman who works at an institute that conducts this test on couples who are desperate to find out the truth about their relationship. She secretly embarks on a new assignment with Amir (Ahmed), her co-worker and love interest, who is also in a relationship with Natasha (Murphy). Meanwhile,...

With “The Inventor,” Jim Capobianco (the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of “Ratatouille“) has managed to direct a family-friendly animated musical (in both stop-motion and 2D) about Leonardo da Vinci’s search for the meaning of life at the end of his life. That’s quite a da Vinci code to crack. That is why it took 12 years to make as a co-production with Curiosity Studio (Ireland), Foliascope (France), Aerial Contrivance Studios, and Robert Rippberger’s Sie Films.

Capobianco’s fascination with da Vinci began with the 2009 2D short “Leonardo,” after intense research into his legendary life as an inventor of flying machines, artist, and pioneer in the study of human anatomy. But what sparked Capobianco’s interest was the notion of da Vinci as “a real person struck with ideas beyond the technical, intellectual, and the societal capabilities of his time.” For him, “The Inventor” explores legacy, how you live your life,...

London- and Paris-based Film Constellation has boarded sales on 2D family animated feature “Carmen,” a contemporary adaptation of the opera, to be directed by 2023 Annecy Film Festival winner Sébastien Laudenbach. Variety revealed first details of the project last year exclusively.

Laudenbach, who won the best film award at Annecy for “Chicken for Linda!,” is teaming up with renowned French animation studio Folivari on “Carmen.”

It’s 1840 in Seville, a pulsating town of sailors and small-time crooks. Salvador, a young assistant to the gifted knife grinder Antonio, meets a captivating gypsy girl named Carmen. Her rapturous beauty and independent spirit are the talk of the town, but Antonio’s ability to glimpse the future foretells a tragic fate. With unwavering resolve, Salvador will muster an eclectic band of misfit kids, led by the spirited Belén, to protect Carmen against the unyielding threads of destiny, igniting the ancient city’s alleyways in a symphony of emotions.

Sometimes, the people who make the biggest difference aren’t the ones who grab the spotlight. In “Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie,” we get to see firsthand how our lovable introvert, Marcie, makes a monumental difference from behind the scenes for both her friends and her community. To train for the school golf championship, Marcie assists Peppermint Patty as her caddie, offering thoughtful and deliberate advice to help her win. Meanwhile, after coming up with brilliant solutions to her classmates’ problems – from hallway traffic jams to lunchtime pizza shortages – Marcie is unexpectedly elected as class president … a role she never wanted.

Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, Marcie struggles to cope with the expectations of her new job and retreats as far from the public eye as possible. As the golf championship begins, Marcie is still in hiding and Peppermint Patty is forced to tee off with Charlie Brown filling in as her caddie.

Known as one of the few cartoons that parents of pre-school kids can enjoy too, this is a tiny bit more grown up, but still a gorgeous, wholesome delight

“It’s another glorious morning on Puffin Rock.” For parents of small children, Chris O’Dowd’s voice at the beginning of Puffin Rock episodes has the effect of a bell sounding the start of meditation. The animated TV series about a young puffin called Oona and her impossibly cute little brother Baba – “Baba booooo!” – is a soothing, gentle-going delight. It’s routinely included in top 10 lists of shows that parents actually enjoy watching with their kids, and I have to admit it was practically the only thing my daughter watched between the ages of three and five that I could stand to be in the same room as.

Now comes the film, and it’s business as usual. The same exquisite animation by Cartoon Saloon,...

“Star Wars: Visions” takes fans of a galaxy far, far away to truly uncharted areas.

The series of animated shorts, the second volume of which just came out on Disney+, lets animation studios from around the world interpret the beloved property in a way that is true to the studio and their culture. And the very best of Volume 2 is undoubtedly “Screecher’s Reach,” which hails from Irish studio Cartoon Saloon. It follows a group of orphans on a backwater planet being cruelly governed by the Empire. One night, they decide to sneak out but one has a terrifying secret – that she will face a wraith in a cave called Screecher’s Reach and will end up changing her life forever.

TheWrap spoke to director Paul Young on how the studio collided with Lucasfilm and what it was like working with living legend Anjelica Huston, who voices a mysterious figure...

The Irish animation industry has become increasingly robust over the last 10 years, despite the pandemic and other challenges thrown at the entertainment business. It reflects an overall passion in the country for animation and storytelling as well as a commitment by the Irish government to support the business through economic incentives.

Much of those incentives have come through Enterprise Ireland. Established in 1998 by the Industrial Development Act, Enterprise Ireland is a state-sponsored economic development agency that works with Irish businesses to help them grow and develop. It’s been instrumental in working with the Irish animation industry, helping shops grow through a series of loans, grants and other initiatives.

This has made it possible for studios like Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, which has made some of the most notable 2D animated films recently released such as “The Secret of Kells” and “Wolfwalkers,” to create the kind of hand-crafted animation used to...

The €120,000 funds will go to film and TV projects from female and non-binary filmmakers

Screen Ireland and Film Fund Luxembourg have opened applications for a €120,000 Ireland-Luxembourg co-development fund targeted at female and non-binary filmmakers.

Film and TV projects involving producers from Ireland and Luxembourg will be supported with funds of up to €40,000. The contribution will be split evenly between Screen Ireland and Film Fund Luxembourg.

The scheme was first announced in 2019 and has a special emphasis on projects which engage with ”new, emerging, and underrepresented voices”.

Assessing the submitted projects will be a selection committee composed of representatives from Film...

In case you missed it during your annual "Star Wars Day" machete viewing order party, season 2 of "Star Wars: Visions" was officially released on Disney+, and is back with an even more ambitious catalog of animated shorts from various studios. While the first season was best known for sticking to a theme of Japanese anime influences and pushing the boundaries of "Star Wars" aesthetics, the second season of "Visions" somehow takes things even further. Pulling from studios all around the world, including the famous British animation studio Aardman, Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, and French studio La Cachette, this season has an interesting focus on diverse and distinct cultural flairs and influences.

Despite how different the shorts that make up "Visions" are — they're completely self-contained and unique in tone and style — they all share the same "Star Wars" spirit, bringing us insight into the larger galaxy that exists outside of the Skywalker bubble.

When Lucasfilm first approached acclaimed 2D Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon to be part of the global expansion for “Volume 2” of the Emmy-nominated “Star Wars: Visions” anthology (currently streaming on Disney+), little did they realize that CEO and co-founder Paul Young was already thinking about directing his first film — and sci-fi at that.

All Young needed was a little encouragement from his Cartoon Saloon co-founders and Oscar-nominated directors Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey (“The Breadwinner”) to say yes. The result is the 13-minute “Screecher’s Reach.” A comfortable fit for Cartoon Saloon, the short draws on its familiar folktale sensibility and hand-drawn prowess with a surprisingly dark and subversive twist.

It’s about a young girl named Daal (Eva Whitaker) who seeks adventure beyond the bleakness of her rural workhouse existence by exploring the titular haunted cave with her friends, where she encounters the legendary shrieking ghost. The frightening, hallucinatory...

Disney+’s acclaimed “Star Wars: Visions” anthology series from Lucasfilm moves beyond anime with “Volume 2.” The nine shorts in this second season tout a broader range of styles and techniques while showcasing the Star Wars franchise’s cultural impact throughout the world.

“We believed in this potential from the start when we expanded out more globally,” executive producer James Waugh told IndieWire. “We really thought we could show the world just incredible animation that’s being done out there and incredible cultural voices out there from different countries. Each one of these creators had something they wanted to say. They are such masters of their craft. And then we got to see the fun of watching all their different animation techniques and styles brought to life in ‘Star Wars’ in ways we never quite experienced before.”

The studios tapped by executive producers Waugh, Jacqui Lopez, and Josh Rimes include Aardman from Bristol,...

The best thing George Lucas ever did "Star Wars" was, well, create "Star Wars." The second best thing he ever did was to open his sandbox to the world, allowing others to play in the universe he created, reinterpreting and adding to it. Since then, the franchise has grown from a tale of rebellion and one farm boy becoming a hero to a true epic spanning millennia, with stories and characters as varied as they come.

This is why "Star Wars: Visions" is the purest expression of the sandbox-y nature of the "Star Wars" galaxy. The first season proved that the iconography and themes of the galaxy far, far away could translate well to different art styles and different stories than what we'd seen before — it could be about robots who want to be heroes as much as it could be a rock opera. The show fulfilled the promise of...

Contains spoilers for "Star Wars: Visions, Volume 2"

For the subset of "Star Wars" fans who had grown weary of the Skywalker Saga, the first volume of "Star Wars: Visions" shorts provided a much-needed respite. The nine-episode anthology re-envisioned "a galaxy far, far away" through the lens of anime storytelling, recruiting nine of the genre's most accomplished studios to put their own spin on George Lucas' original creation. Permitted to disregard canon, each episode felt like a wholly singular story within the "Star Wars" universe, still imbued with the franchise's central themes: forging one's own identity, good versus evil, and the importance of family, whether found or by blood.

In its second volume of vignettes, "Star Wars: Visions" has expanded to include a wider variety of animation styles from studios all over the world, including juggernauts like Aardman ("Wallace and Gromit") and Cartoon Saloon ("Wolfwalkers"). Fans will be excited to see...

Harriet the Spy is racing back on Apple TV Plus for season 2, which premieres on May 5, and Screen Rant is pleased to present an exclusive clip from the new set of episodes. The animated series is based on the book by Louise Fitzhugh and features a stellar cast led by Beanie Feldstein as Harriet herself and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Jane Lynch as her trusted nanny Ole Golly.

Harriet M. Welsch is a headstrong, curious, and outspoken 11-year-old with dreams of being a writer. As one can only write what they know, Harriet the Spy follows her on her question to know everything. As she spies on everything and everyone she comes across, she jots down her observations in a special notebook — which will become more important than expected in season 2.

Related: 10 Best Shows Like Harriet The Spy

More About Harriet the Spy Season 2

In Screen Rant's exclusive clip from...

Anime legends, producer Masao Maruyama and director Gisaburō Sugii, as well as U.S. animation producer and distributor Gkids, have joined global multimedia company N Lite and N Lite Japan to produce “Mfinda,” a first Afro-anime film which will be the subject of an in-depth first look at June’s Annecy Int’l Animation Film Festival.

Selected amongst the pitches this year at Annecy’s MIFA market in the feature film category, the N Lite original was created by Congolese-American artist Patience Lekien and Christiano Terry, founder-ceo of N Lite.

“Mfinda” follows a 12-year-old Congolese girl who is taken to the mfinda, a primordial forest teeming with spirits, gods and ancestors. There she meets up with another young girl from a different time and together they set out to find the magical Nkisi, vessels that hold ancestral spirits as well as empowering materials or medicines, that will help her find her way home.

Apple TV+ today released the trailer for season two of ‘Harriet the Spy’, based on the iconic children’s novel chronicling the coming-of-age adventures of the irrepressible Harriet M Welsch, premiering on May 5, 2023. Produced by The Jim Henson Company, the animated series stars Golden Globe nominee Beanie Feldstein as Harriet, a fiercely independent and adventurous 11-year-old girl, alongside Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch as Ole Golly, Harriet’s larger-than-life, no-nonsense nanny.

“Harriet the Spy” follows the outspoken and perpetually curious 11-year-old Harriet M Welsch. More than anything, Harriet wants to be a writer, and in order to be a good writer, she’ll need to know everything. And to know everything means she’ll need to spy … on everyone! This season, follow Harriet as she navigates letting go, growing up, and celebrating the gift of today.

Joining Feldstein and Lynch, the series features Kimberly Brooks and Charlie Schlatter as Janie and Sport,...

Exclusive: Apple TV+ is expanding its kids and families slate with Be@rbrick, a 13-episode animated kids series based on Medicom Toy’s popular collectible bear-shaped figures, from DreamWorks Animation and Dentsu Inc.

Told through CG animation, Be@rbrick is a music-driven comedy about young singer-songwriter Jasmine and her bandmates as they pursue their dreams and inspire others to do the same. But it won’t be easy to do when living in a world where everyone’s role is chosen for them and where the painted-on look you receive when you graduate from high school determines who you’ll be for the rest of your life. Jasmine realizes that in order for her world to change, she and her friends may have to make it happen themselves.

The series will be animated and produced by DreamWorks Animation and Dentsu Inc., and showrun and executive produced by Meghan McCarthy. Alex Almaguer (TrollsTopia) will serve as supervising producer and Taylor Orci (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) will serve as story editor. Athena Hofmann (Curious George) will serve as line producer on the series.

“Be@rbrick marks the latest collaboration for Apple TV+ and DreamWorks Animation, joining GLAAD Media Award nominated Pinecone & Pony, based on Kate Beaton’s book The Princess and the Pony; and Doug Unplugs, based on Dan Yaccarino’s Doug Unplugged book series.

Apple TV+’s kids and families slate includes the Oscar and BAFTA-winning animated short film The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse; animated adventure film Luck from Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation which premiered this year; and, BAFTA Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated animated film Wolfwalkers.

Gkids has snapped up North American rights to Keiichi Hara’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror, after serving as the distributor in the territory for his past animated features Summer Days with Coo and Miss Hokusai. The film based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura, featuring animation from A-1 Pictures, is slated for a theatrical release in both its original Japanese language and an all-new English dub this summer.

Reuniting Hara with collaborators including screenwriter Miho Maruo, composer Harumi Fuuki and artist Ilya Kuvshinov, Lonely Castle in the Mirror follows shy outcast Kokoro, who has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanting castle where she is joined by six other students. And when a girl in a wolf mask explains that they have been invited to play a game,...

“Star Wars” is getting fully animated once again. The new trailer for Season 2 of “Star Wars: Visions,” the animated anthology series, has released out of London’s Star Wars Celebration convention.

Season 2 of “Star Wars: Visions” will release on May 4, which is known as Star Wars Day among the fans (“May the Fourth be with you”). The nine animation studios that worked on Season 2 are El Guiri, Cartoon Saloon, Punkrobot, Aardman, Studio Mir, Studio La Cachette, 88 Pictures, D’Art Shtaijo with Lucasfilm and Triggerfish.

The contributors’ previous credits are impressive this season. Cartoon Saloon is a five-time Oscar-nominated animation studio, most recently for “Wolfwalkers” on Apple TV+; Aardman is known for the stop-motion, claymation characters from “Wallace and Gromit”; Studio Mir has worked on hit shows like “The Legend of Korra” and “Harley Quinn”; just to highlight a few of the teams’ projects.

The Season 2 episode titles are “Sith,...

Argentina, 1985 Leads 2023 Platino Awards Nominations

Santiago Miter’s political thriller Argentina, 1985 leads this year’s Platino awards nominations with 14 nods, including Best Director, Screenplay, and Best Ibero-American Fiction Film. Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s latest pic Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths trails with six nominations alongside Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts and Lullaby by Alauda Ruiz De Azúa. On the TV side, the Colombian series Noticia de un kidnapping also notched six noms. This year’s Platino awards take place on April 22 at the Ifema Municipal Palace in Madrid. Check out the full list of nominations here.

Aniventure Taps CAA animation specialist Joe Della Rosa

Aniventure, the London-based family-focused animation company behind productions such as Riverdance: The Animated Adventure and Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, has appointed CAA veteran Joe Della Rosa as its chief commercial officer. Della Rosa will oversee sales and the...

Today, Disney+ and Lucasfilm announced that the second volume of the animated anthology series “Star Wars: Visions” will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on May 4, 2023. Following on the Emmy Award®-nominated success of “Star Wars: Visions,” the newest volume will continue to push the boundaries of “Star Wars” storytelling, with nine new shorts from 9 studios from around the globe. Employing the most captivating animation styles from a variety of countries and cultures, the second volume offers a dynamic new perspective on the storied mythos of Star Wars.

Title Treatment Available Here: https://wdsprod.box.com/s/iu695c3glvbmhije79ik0zudas4rcqm0

The shorts included in “Star Wars: Visions” Volume 2 were created by the following international animation studios: El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea) Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), D’art Shtajio (Japan), and Triggerfish (South Africa). D’Art Shtajio’s...

The animated world of “Star Wars” is growing.

On Thursday, Disney+ announced “Star Wars: Visions” volume 2 will debut on Star Wars Day, May 4, and shared the incredible lineup of animated shorts in store for fans.

Read More: Christian Bale Still Wants To Do A ‘Star Wars’ Movie: ‘What A Delight That Would Be’

Films for volume 2 are being produced by acclaimed filmmakers and studios from around the world, including Aardman, best known for the “Wallace & Gromit” series, as well as Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon, South Africa’s Triggerfish, Japan’s D’art Shtajio, India’s 88 Pictures and more.

“The reaction to the first volume of ‘Star Wars: Visions’ blew us away. We were delighted that this project inspired and resonated with so many people,” said James Waugh, “Star Wars: Visions” executive producer.

“We always saw ‘Star Wars: Visions’ as a framework for celebratory expressions of the franchise from some of the best creators working today.

Ready your lightsabers because Disney+ and Lucasfilm announced the release date, animation studios, filmmakers, and episode descriptions for Star Wars: Visions Volume 2! The animated anthology will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on May 4, 2023. The newest volume presents a masterclass in animation, with stories prepped to push the boundaries of Star Wars storytelling and more shorts from nine studios around the globe. Featuring animation styles inspired by various countries and cultures, Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 takes the beloved franchise beyond the stars and back again.

Per the official press release for Star Wars: Visions Volume 2:

The shorts included in “Star Wars: Visions” Volume 2 were created by the following international animation studios: El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea) Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), D’art Shtajio (Japan), and Triggerfish (South Africa). D’Art Shtajio’s short was created in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd.

When “Star Wars: Visions” debuted back in 2021, it was just what the doctor ordered. A collection of gorgeously animated shorts by some of Japan’s leading animation studios, the shorts offered up new sensibilities and visual styles that existed outside the comparatively stodgy realms of the live-action “Star Wars” franchise.

Fortunately, “Star Wars: Visions” is coming back on May 4 with a second volume of all-new studios from around the world.

Instead of exclusively Japanese studios, the second volume of “Visions” canvasses our world, with shorts from El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (the United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea), Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), D’art Shtajio (Japan) and Triggerfish (South Africa). This is truly an international affair!

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“The reaction to the first volume of ‘Star Wars: Visions’ blew us away.

If you’re both a Star Wars fanatic and an animation nerd, get ready for Lucasfilm to make your wishes come true – the animation studios handling episodes of the next batch of Visions have just been announced, and there’s plenty to look forward to. The anthology series (telling not-necessarily-canonical stories in the Star Wars universe) initially centred on studios from Japan, but Season 2 of Visions is broadening the scope to showcase animation houses from around the world – including ones from the UK and Ireland.

Now, we know that the UK studio is none other than Aardman – behind the likes of Wallace And Gromit and Chicken Run – and that the Irish studio is Cartoon Saloon, the geniuses behind Song Of The Sea, WolfWalkers and more. Let that sink in for a second: Aardman and Cartoon Saloon are doing Star Wars shorts! Aardman’s episode is titled ‘I Am Your Mother...

Screen Rant is proud to present an exclusive clip from Shape Island, a new Apple TV+ series. Shape Island is a stop-motion kids and family series based on the internationally best-selling Shapes picture book trilogy by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Shape Island is set on a charming island and follows the touching and silly adventures of the serious Square, the intrepid circle, and the tricky Triangle. Each episode, the trio of friends will build their friendships, seek out fun, and hunt for answers as they learn to understand each other's differences.

Shape Island is the perfect series to show kids that friendship can come in many different shapes. The spot-motion series features the voices of talented actors Yvette Nicole Brown as the Narrator, Harvey Guillen (What We Do in the Shadows) as Square, Scott Adsit (30 Rock) as Triangle, and Gideon Adlon (Blockers) as Circle. Shape Island will premiere globally...

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio leads the feature competition of the 50th annual Annie Awards for animation, with nine nominations including one in the top category for best animated feature. That’s followed by Turning Red with seven noms and Puss in Boot: The Last Wish and The Sea Beast, with six apiece.

Alongside Pinocchio, the movies Turning Red, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Sea Beast and Wendell & Wild are nominated for best animated feature. Charlotte, Inu-Oh, Annecy winner Little Nicholas, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and My Father’s Dragon are nominated for best independent animated feature.

It’s was a big morning for Netflix’s young animation unit in the feature categories. Pinocchio, The Sea Beast, My Father’s Dragon and Wendell & Wild were all released from the streaming service.

In the combined best direction category, nominees are Pinocchio‘s del Toro and Mark Gustafson...

Apple TV+ today unveiled the launch date and cast for “Jane,” a new 10-episode mission-driven series for kids and families inspired by the work of Dr. Jane Goodall. From Emmy Award winner J.J. Johnson, Sinking Ship Entertainment and the Jane Goodall Institute, “Jane” premieres globally on Friday, April 14 on Apple TV+.

Ava Louise Murchison (“Reacher”) stars as Jane Garcia, a 9-year-old budding environmentalist on a quest to save endangered animals. Using her powerful imagination, Jane takes her best friends David, played by Mason Blomberg (“Shameless”), and Greybeard the chimpanzee on epic adventures to help protect wild animals all around the world because, according to her idol Dr. Jane Goodall: “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, can they be saved.”

Cast also includes Tamara Almeida (“Secrets at the Inn”), Dan Abramovici (“Wayne”), newcomer Jazz Allen and Sam Marra (“Stumptown...

From prestige critical darlings like “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” to gonzo arthouse fare like Phil Tippett’s “Mad God,” stop-motion filmmaking is in the midst of a renaissance. As opposed to traditional and computer-generated animation, stop motion is achieved by physically manipulating puppets, clay models, and other tangible materials between frames. While some level of CGI is necessary to simulate, for example, a natural disaster, the bulk of what audiences see on screen is designed by hand.

Gold Derby’s projected Best Animated Feature lineup poses an exciting possibility: With “Gdt’s Pinocchio” out front, “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” in third, and “Wendell and Wild” on the verge of breaking into the top five, stop-motion projects could outnumber computer-animated features for the third time since the category’s 2002 induction. It will be just the second time, however, that this has happened in a lineup of five.

See...

Apple today was recognized by the American Film Institute (AFI) with top honors for the Emmy Award-winning “Severance” and Gotham Award-winning “Pachinko” on their prestigious annual list of the 10 best television programs of the year.

These mark Apple’s most recent recognition from AFI following a nod for Academy Award-nominated film “Wolfwalkers” with an Audience Award for Narrative Feature, and AFI Television Programs of the Year honor for Emmy Award-winning comedy “Ted Lasso” in 2020. “Ted Lasso” and Emmy Award-winning comedy “Schmigadoon!” landed Television Programs of the Year honors in 2021 alongside AFI Movies of the Year honors for Academy Award-nominated feature “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and Academy Award winner “Coda.”

AFI Awards celebrates film and television arts’ collaborative nature and is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole, recognizing those in front of and behind the camera. Honorees will gather on Friday, January 13, 2023 for recognition at the...