Hasta La Motion!

Animation industry in India is growing exponentially with every passing day. With several studios, companies and independent artists doing some amazing stuff, the future of Indian animation only seems brighter. Adding to this league is Viaan Industries that has recently plunged into this field with their IP – Adventures of Ali Baba.

Founded by Entrepreneur Raj Kundra and his celebrity wife, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Viaan Industries has a strong and growing presence across the promising sectors of entertainment, Gaming, Licensing and Animation. The company’s vision is to drive a lifestyle change in masses through technology offerings. Their unique business offerings enable the stakeholders, distributors and customers to be part of the Indian growth story.

Viaan Industries managing director Raj Kundra mentioned, “The Adventures of Ali Baba is a children’s animation series and what better inspiration than our own children. The idea struck us when we saw Ali (son of creative director, Nazar Abbas) and Viaan playing together. They were just being mischievous, creative and enjoying themselves. Adventures of Ali Baba is an ode by two fathers to their children and that’s why this animation series is extremely close to our heart.” 

The animated series is their first venture into animation, initially being into games like Match IPL, Game of Dot, Chasebid, Club Poker, Poker Raj and the recent one being Domestic Diva– the first celebrity themed cooking game of the country with Shilpa Shetty as the mentor.

Without giving much spoiler about the series, Kundra added that Adventures of Ali Baba has a lot of mischief and adventures and is going to cover topics that are quite relevant to children and each character has a different trait.

“The characters are inspired from real life children who are of the same age and have been playing together since they were born. The characters have a strong resemblance with their bond of friendship and brotherhood. Based on this, we, two fathers got along and decided to recreate this magic, while we may not do justice entirely, I’m sure we’re pretty close,” he said.

While Viaan Industries hold the digital rights, this Indian animation series is also going to go global as the company is in talks to sell the broadcasting rights to different countries beyond the seas. In India, the broadcasting rights have been bought by Viacom.

The series looks promising with all the heart and affection, the makers have poured into it.

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Global children’s content and brands company, DHX Media announced that the first and second seasons of Waffle the Wonder Dog have been picked up by ZDF to transmit on their main channel and on KiKA, besides 12 other networks internationally.

Recently greenlit for a second season by CBeebies, Waffle the Wonder Dog is a live action preschool series about a family that adopts an adorable talking dog. The show is produced by Darrall Macqueen and distributed internationally by DHX Media. KiKA channel will begin airing the series from 3 December 2018 onwards, followed by ZDF on 2 February 2019. ZDF and KiKA are Germany’s national public broadcasters.

DHX Media VP Distribution Jerry Diaz commented, “We’re really happy that broadcasters are rolling out Waffle the Wonder Dog for viewers, worldwide. Darrall Macqueen has produced a terrific, heartwarming and funny show for families to enjoy. With a second season already in production, we’re confident the little talking pooch, Waffle, will continue to win the hearts of viewers around the world.”

Darrall Macqueen recently announced the appointment of Golden Bear as master toy licensee for Waffle the Wonder Dog. The toys hit various store shelves at UK retailers in October 2018. Previously, DHX Media and Darrall Macqueen collaborated on the new Teletubbies series, and the former also handles distribution for Darrall Macqueen’s original series Topsy and Tim.

Darrall Macqueen co-founder Billy Macqueen added, “The adventures of Waffle the Wonder Dog are full of fun and emotion with stories that will resonate with a global audience. We are thrilled by the success of the series on CBeebies in the UK and are super happy the show will now have a huge international fan base.”

Other broadcasters that have picked up the two seasons of the series are VRT for Ketnet (Belgium), NPO Zappelin (Netherlands), NRK (Norway), DR (Denmark), Canal+, Piwi+ (France), and Minimax (Central & Eastern Europe). Season one has also been picked up by SVT (Sweden), RTP (Portugal), HOP! (Israel), CJ ENM’s English gem (South Korea), ABC (Australia) and TVOkids (Canada).

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In a bid to explore the Indian media and entertainment industry and promoting it globally, the Indiajoy event is going to be held in Hyderabad.

Expected to have the largest turnout of more than 25,000+ attendees from more than 30 countries, this grand event will take place over a span of six days, making it the largest event, the media and digital entertainment industry has seen in the country. The organisers are thus expecting 100,000 footfall.

Indiajoy is an aggregator platform that puts together international events to bring forth opportunities for everyone including investors, studios, content developers, delegates, corporations, hardware, manufacturers, consumers and students. The events will be B2B, B2C, B2G, G2G platforms, product launches, trade exhibitions, or networking events.

HITEX Exhibition Center and Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC) are the hosts for the event. They are both known for their international standard facilities and their vast infrastructure spacing of eight halls adding up to a mighty 301,280 sq.ft and an open display area of 353,197 sq.ft spreading over a magnificent 100 acres of land making it a star host for business opportunities in the global arena. The organisers are indeed leaving no stone unturned to make this event a grand success for everyone who participates.

The Government of Telangana is the prime sponsor and supporter for Indiajoy. The event is also is facilitated by TVAGA (Telangana VFX, Animation and Gaming Association) which is an exclusive non-profit association of media and digital entertainment industry in Telangana. TVAGA has been working in collaboration with Government of Telangana with the noble objective of promoting and supporting animation, gaming and visual effects industry. This collaboration is heartening, to say the least. Such collaborations bring the industry into the limelight, which is very much required today if we want media and entertainment to thrive in India.

Another impressive feature of the event is that it is not just about business and meetings, as the organisers have also taken complete care of the entertainment factor as well. The event will witness real flavors of India this December, along with music and dance that showcase the cultural diversity of different states. This year’s focus will be the latest Indian restaurants serving their signature dishes, world-class chefs giving cooking demos, live entertainment and multiple foods and drink exhibitors to explore  family-friendly cultural activities, food competitions with lots of entertainment to enhance this outing.

With this event, we can positively say that Hyderabad is indeed a hub for media and entertainment, and is growing incredibly. It has morphed into a great platform for film artists, professional gamers, VFX professionals, animators and many other professionals in the industry, in the past few years. We expect to see it grow even bigger and make its mark internationally. Indiajoy Expo is a major step in the right direction.

Any entity related to VFX, animation and gaming industry who would like to associate themselves with Indiajoy to showcase themselves, are at luck as the registrations for the event will be held from 1 to 6 December.

The best deal available is the “All ACCESS PASS” that grants access to all the events for both visitors and those participating on all six days with an additional perk of being able to enjoy all the music concerts and fun activities in the evenings. But there’s a catch! If registered through AnimationXpress, one can get a 20 per cent off by using the code – ‘ANX20’.

For more details about Indiajoy, you may go through their website www.indiajoy.in. You may also reach concerned members from their team to glean all the details you are looking for. We suggest that you hurry up with the registrations. We are sure, for an event of this magnitude, there is an immense rush already because everyone wants to be a part of it!

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In the flurry of updates that Cgame is known to release so frequently, we can’t stop gushing over the latest one that is bound to tingle your game-buds. The marriage of rage and insanity is poised to set the gaming world on fire. What do we mean by rage and insanity, you ask? Well, The rage, in this context, being our beloved game whereas madness being DC’s zaniest villans; the intersection of which is going to be witnessed soon.

In collaboration with DC Comics, PUBG is all set to bring the Joker and Harley Quinn to the battleground. PUBG has announced the upcoming DC Comics-based characters and now users will be able to play as Joker and Harley Quinn. As per a trailer released on Twitter and YouTube, Joker and Quinn are confirmed to be a part of the update. The confluence has already drawn parallels with rival battle royale game Fortnite partnership with Avengers. It introduced a temporary game mode that let players become Thanos, the Mad Titan, and cause a bit of havoc.

The new skins will be initially available for PUBG for PC and Xbox. PUBG has shared an official trailer featuring the Joker and Harley Quinn breaking out of a prison in Miramar map. The entire trailer follows through the infamous couple gunning their way out of prison. It ends with a sequence of a sniper zeroing in on the couple as they drive up across the bridge. The video features two skins in action with weapons that we associate the characters with, like a baseball bat that Harley has with the words “Good Night” on it.

The news comes on the heels of the report that signalled the possibility of PUBG soon coming to Sony’s PlayStation 4. It will be quite an experience to don the emerald hairdo and launch into a mayhem. Since we can’t help looking forward to playing the game as our favourite caped crusader, we suggest they might as well introduce a Batman skin soon.

Until then, here are our top favourite PUBG Skins:

Suicide Squad Set

Harley Quinn’s Daddy’s Lil Monster outfit, complete with a Good Night baseball bat skins for the crowbar and machete can be purchased in a bundle, while Joker’s nightclub suit bundle renders it a completion. Each bundle includes new hair and makeup options as well to complete the look of these two iconic characters.

Leather Jacket Set

Undoubtedly, a leather jacket can make a whole lot of difference to the character as it goes well with all the mad adventures PUBG takes you on.

Jungle Set

The jungle outfit looks rad but what really puts this set above the others is the magnificent weapon skins for the Scar-L and the M16. This set is perfect for Sanhok, and using one of those weapons will round out the whole look.

Pilot Set

The pilot outfit will give you the experience of World War two with the bomber jacket, and the hat is simply too glorious for description. Too bad the only time you can get on a plane is, in the beginning, thirty seconds of a match.

Gunslinger Set

With the advent of Red Dead Redemption 2,  one can’t wait to just slap on this cowboy hat, pick up a shotgun and start slaying. This set makes you feel like a real cowboy, and combining this with something like a Winchester makes for the perfect Miramar get up.

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Seems like streaming powerhouse, Netflix is leaving no stone unturned to enrich and extend its original animation train by confirming a raft of original features and series this week.

To quirk things up for fun, Netflix asked many of its animation creators, artists and writers to participate in a visual conversation by recreating the Netflix “N” icon in a medium of their choosing, in any distinct style that took their fancy.

Almost all the participants are attached to the just-announced event programming slate and upcoming Netflix projects. The list includes:

[From L-R (clockwise) : Pablos, Baxter, Twomey, Ito, Layzell, Pearn, Dong and Aoshima]

James Baxter (Netflix director of character animation, animation director Sponge Out of Water, Kung Fu Panda), Rajiv Chilaka (director Mighty Little Bheem 2019, Chhota Bheem), Jorge Gutierrez (creator Maya and the Three 2021, director The Book of Life), Alex Hirsch (creator of untitled Alex Hirsch Project, Gravity Falls), Glen Keane (EP Trash Truck 2020; director Dear Basketball), Max Keane (creator Trash Truck 2020; production designer Dear Basketball), Craig McCracken (creator Kid Cosmic 2020, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends), Sergio Pablos (director Klaus 2019, writer Despicable Me), Kris Pearn (director The Willoughbys 2020, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2), Henry Selick (director Wendell & Wild 2021, Coraline), Shion Takeuchi (writer Disenchantment, Gravity Falls), Nora Twomey (director My Father’s Dragon 2021, The Breadwinner), Chris Williams (director Jacob and the Sea Beast 2022, co-director Moana).

[From L-R (clockwise) : Selick, Frick, McCracken, Garbutt, Downing, Hirsch and Glen Kean]

This was an unique and interesting initiative taken by Netflix to showcase the talent powerhouse it is working with. The rest of the brilliant minds who had contributed their creativity to this initiative are:

John Aoshima (director DuckTales, Pickle and Peanut), Rikke Asbjoern (creator Pinky Malinky), Ryan Crego (EP Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh), Megan Dong (storyboard artist The Adventure of Puss in Boots), Everett Downing (creator The Book of Mojo, story artist The Boss Baby, June), Fernanda Frick (creator Raise the Bar 2018, director Here’s the Plan), Chris Garbutt (creator Pinky Malinky), Elizabeth Ito (supervising director Adventure Time, storyboard supervisor Summer Camp Island), Matt Layzell (character designer Apple & Onion) and Ryan Quincy (creator Future Worm!, Out There). 

[From L-R (clockwise) : Gutierrez, Asbjoern, Max Keane, Chilaka, Takeuchi, Ryan Crego and Ryan Quincy]

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