Hasta La Motion!

a videoessay by mk. FOR STUDY PURPOSES ONLY Both films’ soundtracks draw extensively on melancholy variations of east-central European folk music. They set the tone for the constant struggles for freedom from oppression, coloring even the joyful, festive moments with sadness. Memories and fantasies are means of escape and reimagination of what could be. Yet, death is always imminent and even for those of the oppressed that do survive, it often is or feels like a defeat. Thus memories and fantasies of a better life tinge or even dominate the perceptions of the main characters. In both films customs play a central role in locating the representations in a fragmented history that defies and is defied by the supposedly “universal sweep of history.” This cinema thus becomes a testimony to those that history forgot. This video essay is organized around the folk tune “Slovenské mámičky,” as it appears in both films.

1909 pop recording, with very unrelated 1906 pictures. Issued on Indestructible Records. Pictures from the March 1906 issue of “Technical World Magazine”, audio from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive.

DreamWorksTV is set to launch a brand new animated series in September. The online video destination will launch the animated comedy series titled Get My Goat.

The series follows the tail of a dimwitted Gold Fang who is one hungry wolf who won’t be satisfied until he can sink his teeth into oh-so-juicy Billy the Goat. There’s only one problem – Billy’s best bud is Dutch, a clever herding dog who protects his flock of one against all of Gold Fang’s outrageous schemes. It doesn’t help that Gold Fang is not the sharpest pitchfork on the prairie. No matter how elaborate the plan, Gold Fang is always outsmarted by Dutch and inevitably left covered in bumps and bruises!

Reported by Animation Magazine, this comedic show will be created by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Mike Blum and Pipsqueak Films. The makers have chosen digital 2D animation to bring the story to life.

Blum had previously helped launch DreamWorksTV with his popular animated series Fifi: Cat Therapist, which received two nominations from the International Academy of Web Television Awards last year.

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China based Alpha Group has ventured into the feature animation to develop and produce animated feature films for a global audience. The Alpha Group has launched a new Los Angeles based division to develop these features. The former executive at Disney and Paramount Pictures, Bob Bacon, has been appointed as the CEO.

The division will produce animated features for worldwide distribution and has plans to release one film every year after 2020. The first animated feature film is targeted for 2020 release.

Bob Bacon

The division will also aim to leverage the facilities and services provided by the other units of the mother company. Alpha Group recently established an L.A. based live-action feature film development company called Alpha Pictures, which is developing US-China co-productions. It also includes various projects based on the properties from the company owned Chinese comic website U17. Alpha Group also owns multiple distribution channels including kids TV network Jiajia Cartoon in Southern China.

As far as the new CEO is concerned, Bacon will oversee development, production and operations with the goal of releasing Alpha Animation’s first feature. Since Alpha Pictures probably is best known as a co-producer on The Mermaid, which turned to be a highest grosser in China, Bacon will keep up to the high standards of co-production.

Bacon recently served as the executive VP of production for Paramount Animation, where he functioned as the head of the animation division. He oversaw the production of 2015’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and helped develop additional films.

However, Bacon started his career at Disney Animation in 1991 and worked on a number of well acclaimed titles. Prior to Paramount, he served as a production executive for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures on the 2011 animated feature Gnomeo and Juliet.

“Animation has always been at the core of our company’s focus, and producing world-class animation is a key step of Alpha’s globalisation strategy,” said Alpha Interactive Entertainment division, CEO, Chen De Rong.

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Ready Jet Go!, the hit animated space-themed PBS KIDS series from Wind Dancer Films, will soon blast off to more markets around the globe, as international distributor CAKE has signed a number of new deals with broadcasters in various key territories. The broadcast deals follow the recent announcement about production of Season 2 of the show, which includes 24 episodes, an hour-long special and a collection of web games and mobile apps, set to begin rolling out in the USA in late 2017.

The new international broadcasters now counting down for Ready Jet Go! include:

• ABC (Australia)
• BBC Kids (Canada)
• Knowledge Network (Canada)
• YLE (Finland)
• NRK (Norway)
• SIC Television (Portugal)
• PBS (Thailand)
• MBC (Middle East)

“Ready Jet Go! has quickly taken off with U.S. audiences, and we’re thrilled about the warm reception that CAKE has received for the series from the international broadcast community,” said Wind Dancer Films, executive producer of the series, Dete Meserve. “Our mission with Ready Jet Go! is to encourage young viewers to engage in science in ways that spark their natural curiosity, broaden their horizons and deepen their connection to the universe. These new deals will extend all the rich learning opportunities of the series along with its music-filled, action-packed fun, to young viewers all around the world,” he added.

“We’re very excited to be furthering the international expansion of such a standout show,” said CAKE, CCO and MD, Ed Galton. “Ready Jet Go! delivers on multiple levels and the series’ strong entertainment factor and humour-infused storylines are universally appealing to young children and their families. We look forward to continuing to work alongside Wind Dancer to bring the series to even more global markets.”

Since its February premiere on PBS KIDS, Ready Jet Go! has reached 22 million viewers, including 7.6 million kids on linear TV. Ready Jet Go! content has been streamed more than 93 million times since January. A wide-ranging consumer products program to include licensed toys, publishing and apparel is also on the horizon.

Ready Jet Go! was created by Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!, Dinosaur Train) with a focus on astronomy, technology, scientific exploration, innovation, and invention while offering entertainment, music and physical and character-based humour. Aimed at three to eight year olds, the series follows Jet Propulsion, the new kid in town who is an alien from outer space, along with his earth friends, Sean and Sydney. Together, the trio sets out on an astronomical adventure exploring the solar system and how it affects the Earth, while learning about friendship and teamwork along the way.

Ready Jet Go! is produced by Wind Dancer Films with the company’s Dete Meserve and founders Matt Williams and David McFadzean as executive producers. Major funding for the series is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). International distribution excluding USA and Canada (but including broadcast rights for the latter) is handled by CAKE.

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