Czech Filmmaker Developing Stop-Motion Hockey Feature ‘Nagano’

Directed and produced by Pavel Sadílek with the involvement of Polish animation studio Se-ma-for and post-production specialists Magic Lab, ‘Nagano: The Birth of Heroes’ celebrates the Czech Republic ice hockey team’s victory at the 1998 Olympic Games.

RAGUE -- Czech director and producer Pavel Sadílek is undertaking a stop-motion animated feature about hockey called Nagano: The Birth of Heroes. According to a report by FilmNewEurope.com, the 80-minute project is being financed with the support of the Czech Olympic Committee and Czech Ice Hockey team, and is currently in the pre-production phase. Written by screenwriter Petr Kolečko, the film is a humorous account of the difficult journey made by the Czech ice hockey players while achieving their dream of winning Olympic gold in 1998. With a message about the importance of trusting yourself and the power of team spirit,Nagano: The Birth of Heroes is more than just a hockey story; it’s also about the big dreams of one little boy, who for a while forgets who he really is.

The project will be animated using puppets 25 centimeters tall. Hockey star and Olympian Dominik Hašek will voice himself in the film, contributing memories of authentic behind-the-scenes moments from the iconic event, alongside voice talents Vojta Dyk (Jaromír Jágr) and Jiří Bartoška (Ivan Hlinka).

Sadílek is producing the film through NGNO s.r.o. in co-production with Radko Janoušek via Miafilm under a budget of €2.2 million. Polish animation studio Se-ma-for, based in Lodź, and post-production specialists Magic Lab are also involved in the project.

Nagano: The Birth of Heroes will be released in February 2018, 20 years after the legendary victory of the Czech team.

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‘Rugrats’ Voice Actor Jack Riley Dead at 80

Veteran character actor voiced the role of absentminded toy inventor Stu Pickles on the popular ’90s cartoon ‘Rugrats,’ its subsequent movies, and its 2003 spin-off, ‘All Grown Up!’

Sad news arrives today for fans of ‘90s cartoons. Veteran character actor Jack Riley, known as the voice of Stu Pickles on Nickelodeon’s long-running animated series Rugrats, has died, according to a report by the Associated Press. He was 80.

Deadline reports that the actor succumbed to pneumonia and infection in Los Angeles on Friday. He is survived by his wife, Ginger Lawrence, and their two children.

To ’90s kids everywhere, Riley will always be known as Dad. The Cleveland native voiced the role of absentminded toy inventor Stu Pickles on the popular ’90s cartoon Rugrats, its subsequent movies, and its 2003 spin-off, All Grown Up!

Riley’s breakthrough role was Elliot Carlin, a popular recurring character on The Bob Newhart Show. The neurotic and narcissistic Mr. Carlin appeared in a total of 49 episodes throughout the popular sitcom’s primetime run. Among Riley’s vast collection of TV credits are appearances on St. Elsewhere (as Mr. Carlin), Hogan’s Heroes, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, One Day at a Time, Diff’rent Strokes, Night Court, and Seinfeld. He also worked as a writer for comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, but later admitted that he never wanted a life behind the scenes. “I was always happier being out there doing it,” he said in Comical Co-Stars of Television: From Ed Norton to Kramer. “I hate being on the sidelines.”

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Claude Barras’s ‘My Life As a Courgette’ Opening Fantoche 2016

Stop-motion animated Swiss-French co-production selected to open the 14th International Animation Film Festival Baden, Switzerland; other features in the spotlight include LAIKA’s ‘Kubo and the Two Strings,’ Michael Dudok de Wit’s ‘The Red Turtle,’ Chris Prynoski’s ‘Nerdland,’ Sang-ho Yeon’s Seoul Station,’ and more.

Fantoche, one of the world’s leading festivals for animated films and Switzerland’s largest and most prestigious cultural event devoted exclusively to animation in all its many thematic and technical facets, kicks off its 2016 edition September 6 and runs through September 11.

The 14th International Animation Film Festival Baden opens with the Swiss premiere of Claude Barras’s first feature-length film,My Life as a Courgette (Ma vie de Courgette), with the director and other crew members in attendance. A favorite of audiences and critics alike, the film has now been submitted for the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture. Another big highlight will be the premiere of the latest LAIKA production, Kubo and the Two Strings. Both feature films will later be released in Swiss cinemas; but you can only get a look behind the scenes at Fantoche’s exclusive making-of presentations. Twelve other feature films from France, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, the Czech Republic, Japan, Korea, Canada and the U.S. will also be premiered, offering an impressive spectrum of animation today.

Kubo’s story is set in a seaside village in ancient Japan. The kind-hearted boy named Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson, aka Rickon Stark from Game of Thrones) cares for his widowed mother and leads a modest existence as an origami storyteller. Kubo’s peaceful life is turned upside down, however, when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past that storms down from the heavens to re-ignite an age-old vendetta. Chaos ensues, and Kubo must flee. He joins forces with his new companions: with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), he intrepidly embarks on a dangerous journey to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, a legendary Samurai warrior.

Kubo and the Two Strings is a family-friendly story that takes viewers, big and small, on a journey to a fantastic world full of eerie creatures and bold adventure. The film was produced by the acclaimed animation studio LAIKA, which has already gained recognition with Coraline, ParaNorman and The BoxTrolls. Two years ago, Mark Shapiro of the LAIKA studio treated festivalgoers to an impressive making-of. Shapiro brings fascinating materials from his studio in Portland to the stage, demonstrating the skilled craftsmanship, love for detail and technical ingenuity that shaped the 300,000 photographs which make up this stop-motion film.

Ma Vie de Courgette is a Swiss-French co-production created using a similar technique. Claude Barras, the director of the film, will be attending Fantoche and discuss the production of his successful début film. He will be accompanied by Elie Chappuis (animation) and Gregory Beaussart, who was in charge of the puppet production. The festival offers unique first-hand insights into the conceptual, technical and artistic background of the film.

Other Current Feature Films and Coming Soon Presentations

Other directors of feature-length films, such as Jan Bultheel with his award-winning début, Cafard, will also be attending the event to present their work. Innovative animation technology, social criticism or light entertainment -- Fantoche illustrates the impressive spectrum of current international productions in animated feature film. Detailed information and trailers for the films are available from the program overview section of the Fantoche website.

The festival features three Coming Soon presentations this year, which provide an inside look at feature-length projects that are currently in production: Director Kaspar Jancis is presenting his film Morten on the Ship of Fools. Denis Do showcases Funan, the new People to illustrate the potential for political narratives in animated film. And Geoffrey Lillemon discusses the relationship between humans and machines using his latest project, Jizz Jazz, which focusses on the ability of machines to improvise. The presentations will be curated by Erik Van Drunen.

Details on the Latest Feature-Length Films with Making-Ofs

Kubo and the Two Strings – Travis Knight, US 2016, 93’, E/d/f, 8+

This new animated film from LAIKA jumps head-first into a fantastic world brought to life with magical stop-motion imagery. Besides its U.S. theatrical release on August 19, 2016, the film has only been screened at one festival worldwide thus far. Fantoche is looking forward to premièring this work in the German-speaking world.

Making-of: Kubo and the Two Strings with Mark Shapiro (LAIKA studio) English with German translation

With tickets to his presentation selling out in no time, Mark Shapiro of LAIKA studio was in great demand at Fantoche 2014. Which makes us all the more excited to have him back in Baden again in 2016. He will demonstrate how 300,000 images form a stop-motion film -- a process involving passion, craftsmanship, intuition and fantasy.

My Life as a Courgette (Ma vie de Courgette) – Claude Barras, CH/FR 2016, 65’, F/d/e, 8+

The audience favorite and winner of the grand prize of this year’s Annecy Festival will be opening Fantoche 2016 as a Swiss début. Courgette loves flying kites -- it is the only memory he has of his father. After a tragic accident of his alcoholic mother, a friendly policeman brings him to a children’s home. He finds it difficult in his new surroundings -- at least until a new orphan child arrives to rejuvenate both of their worlds. The film was an audience favorite at Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

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Moana TV Spot Olympics

While all eyes are on Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Games, another team is embarking on a very different sort of adventure.

Disney released a new TV spot for its upcoming animated adventureMoana on Sunday night, due to also air during NBC’s Olympics coverage. In the minute-long teaser, the film’s titular heroine (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) asks the tattooed demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to join her on a daring voyage to save the world.

He initially brushes her off, saying he doesn’t want to go on a mission with “some kid,” but she sways him by saying it’d make him a hero — chanting his name as his shape-shifting tattoo turns into an adoring crowd.

The pair then set off on a journey that Maui warns will take them “through a whole ocean of bad,” but Moana insists she was chosen for this quest for a reason.

Watch the spot, which includes music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, below. Moana, which also features the voices of Nicole Scherzinger, Jemaine Clement, and Alan Tudyk, opens on Nov. 23. Read EW’s recap of the film’s Comic-Con panel here.

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Lin-Manuel Miranda to Join Alan Menken for Disney’s Live Action ‘Little Mermaid’ Remake

It seems like a live action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid is another step closer to becoming a reality. Disney today announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame will be teaming up with Disney Legend (and original composer for the animated Little Mermaid) Alan Menken for the music of The Little Mermaid remake

While details are sparse, it looks like Miranda and Menken will be working on some new songs for the film, which itself will also include the beloved tunes from the 1989 animated classic.

It’s been a good year for Lin-Manuel Miranda as far as Disney projects are concerned: not only is he working on the music for Disney’s 2016 animated tentpole Moana, but it was also recently announced that he will be co-starring alongside Emily Blunt in the much talked about Mary Poppins sequel. Alan Menken is well known for his work on Disney musicals, and has composed the music for Disney classics like Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, and Tangled, among others. Menken is also writing new songs for the 2017Beauty and the Beast live action remake.

Disney appears to be rushing forward with its Little Mermaid remake, considering Universal is also busy with its own version of the story. Universal’s Little Mermaid is currently in production and has Chloë Grace Moretz in the titular role. Disney is also on a roll with its live action remakes of classic features. The most recent,Pete’s Dragon, is now in theaters.

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Season Two of Amazon’s ‘Creative Galaxy’ Launches September 16

Animated art adventure preschool series from Out of the Blue Enterprises for Amazon Studios is created and executive produced by Angela Santomero and animated by 9 Story Media Group.

On Friday, September 16, Amazon Original Kids Series Creative Galaxy, the hit “make-along, create-along” animated art adventure preschool series, is set to blast off for Season Two on Prime Video with all-new episodes.

From Out of the Blue Enterprises, with Angela Santomero (Blue’s Clues, Super Why! Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) serving as Creator and Executive Producer and Samantha Freeman as Executive Producer, Creative Galaxy fosters lifelong learning and celebrates creative thinking through imagination-inspiring adventures filled with crafts, music, and dance. Samantha Bee (The Daily Show), Jason Jones (The Daily Show), Cloris Leachman (Malcolm in the Middle), Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210), and Brooke Shields (Lipstick Jungle) return to lend their voices in the new season, along with singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb (Jake and the Never Land Pirates), Donovan Patton (Blue’s Clues) and Broadway actress Caissie Levy (Les Miserables).

Young viewers will join adorable alien Arty (Meesha Contreras), and his sidekick Epiphany (Kira Gelineau), as they travel around the galaxy to solve problems using various forms of art. Each vibrant and engaging episode highlights a unique creative medium -- painting, music, sculpting, cooking and more -- to showcase how art can be found in all different places and in many forms. The interactive stories and unique live-action craft segments designed to help adult viewers recreate the art projects featured in each episode with their kids, inspire children to “go be amazing!” and become idea makers and creative thinkers.

In Season Two, the galaxy expands as Arty introduces audiences to two exciting new art forms – cooking and singing/dancing -- with new planets and celebrity hosts: Cooktopia with Chef Zesty (Donovan Patton) and Groovopolis with Melody (Lisa Loeb). In addition, the new episodes celebrate key childhood “milestones” such as a parent’s birthday and losing a first tooth, bringing even more relatable preschool experiences to families everywhere.

Jarrett Krosoczka, a well-known advocate for creativity and visual literacy, is the Amazon Studios Thought Leader for the series. Kroscozka is a two-time winner of the Children's Choice Book Award and is the author and/or illustrator of 27 books for young readers. Jarrett has given two TED Talks, both of which have accrued more than 1.5 million views. The series is animated by 9 Story Media Group.

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The Secret Life of Pets (2016)

 The Secret Life of Pets

For one bustling Manhattan apartment building, the real day starts after the folks on two legs leave for work and school. That’s when the pets of every stripe, fur, and feather begin their own nine-to-five routine: hanging out with each other, trading humiliating stories about their owners or auditioning adorable looks to get better snacks.

 The buildings top dog, Max (voiced by Louis C.K.) a quick witted terrier rescue who’s convinced he sits at the center of his owner’s universe, finds his pampered life rocked when she brings home Duke (Eric Stonestreet), a sloppy, massive mess of a mongrel with zero interpersonal skills.

 When this reluctant canine due find themselves out on the mean streets pf New York, they have to set aside their differences and unite against a fluffy-yet cunning bunny named Snowball (Kevin Hart), who’s building an army of ex-pets abandoned by their owners and out to turn the tables on humanity…all before dinner time. 

Secret Life of Pets (2016)

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