Hasta La Motion!

Plague Inc will soon add a new mode that lets players combat an outbreak rather than the other way around.In a blog post, the game’s developer, Ndemic Creations said it decided to introduce this mode based on feedback from the World Health Organisation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

“We were repeatedly asked if we could make a game which let the player work to stop an outbreak. We are accelerating work on a new Plague Inc. game mode which lets players save the world from a deadly disease outbreak,” an update from Ndemic Creations reads.

The news comes at Ndemic confirmed it would also donate a total of $250,000 to the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidary Response Fund.

This new mode will allow you to do the exact opposite of Plague Inc’s original aim and instead tasks you with trying to save the world from a deadly outbreak.

To save the world, you’ll now control world governments in the throes of a global pandemic. Ndemic says that you’ll have to manage the disease progression by focusing on healthcare systems, while also imposing quarantines, social distancing and even shutting down public services, which all sounds rather familiar to you.

The mode will come in the form of a free update, promising to add some much-needed positivity and optimism to the game, deviating from it’s bleak, ‘every one must die’ formula.

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In times like these when all of us are homebound due to Covid-19 lockdowns, worried where this will take us all, one needs a break from anxieties. 

Hence, we are back with a list of Disney’s live-action adaptations of its animated classics that will restore faith and hope in tumultuous times.

The Lion King (2019)

When it comes to Disney, one can’t do away without thinking of Mufasa explaining Simba ‘the circle of life’. The live-action remake of the 1994 animated classic grossed more than 1$ billion at the box office including India.

Directed by Iron Man fame Jon Favreau, The Lion King, creates the land of Simba, the Pride Rock and the characters with mind blowing CGI and visual effects by MPC. 

With a notable voice cast with the likes of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Eric Andre, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Earl Jones returning as Mufasa, The Lion King is a must watch.

Where to watch : Amazon Prime Video premium, YouTube Premium ; Coming soon on Disney+Hotstar

Aladdin (2019)

When talking about live-action remakes, how can we miss out on the longest running film of 2019 in India – Disney’s Aladdin! The tale of camaraderie between a street urchin of Agrabah and a genie can never get out of fashion.

The tale is a known one how Aladdin’s adventures begin after he comes across a magic lamp. But what makes it different is its treatment which deserves to be at par with its original. The film brings back the musical charm of the Disney tales, and makes a number of changes that are both refreshing and nostalgic.

Will Smith (Genie) in his evergreen (ever-blue here) charm, manages to glue the audience to their seats. The scenes between Smith and Mena Massoud ( Aladdin) give a good touch of affection to their friendship. Massoud’s effortless layman role, trying to find a stroke of luck is earnest and deserves appreciation. Naomi Scott as Jasmine is decent but stiff at places.

Where to watch : YouTube premium, Google Play ; Coming soon on Disney+Hotstar

Dumbo (2019)

Tim Burton’s American fantasy adventure film, Dumbo, revolves around the innocent-eyed cute baby elephant, who erroneously earned the name Dumbo from the audience at the circus.

Inspired by Disney’s 1941 animated film of the same name, that’s based on the novel by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, the story breaks in 1919 in a circus. Burton introduces the characters carefully and sets a helpless Dumbo amidst a heartless ringmaster, children, freaks, geeks, clowns, jugglers and magicians.

Dumbo

Though Dumbo doesn’t speak in this live-action remake, Burton focuses on computer-generated sound you might feel that Dumbo is calling its mother as ‘mum’. Good use of CGI and VFX accelerates its visual quotient and storyline.

Where to watch : Hotstar

Maleficent (2014) and Maleficent: Mistress of The Evil (2019)

A smart feministic take on Sleeping Beauty which gave birth to a franchise and original story in Maleficent: Mistress of The Evil in 2019, Maleficent is like a breath of fresh air in the whole lot of live-action adaptations.

With Linda Woolverton’s powerful screenplay, Elle Fanning’s (Aurora) warm screen presence and Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of a strong yet vulnerable tawny eyed winged fey, Maleficent will surely remain a favourite. 

Maleficent : Mistress of Evil, on the other hand, diverts from the Sleeping Beauty mythos and its animated masterpiece for the better. It brings in more characters, similar winged creatures and has an independent storyline that was much needed in Disney’s slate of live-action remakes. 

Maleficent : Mistress of Evil looks like an epic fantasy film, preaching an anti-war parable with imagery that evokes that of Holocaust and features three contrasting archetypes of femininity. 

Where to watch : YouTube; Coming soon on Disney+Hotstar

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Beauty and The Beast is a live-action take of Disney’s 1991 animated film of the same name, which itself is an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s 18th-century fairy tale.

It features an ensemble cast including Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the eponymous characters – Belle and the Beast. Other cast members include, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson in supporting roles.

Beauty and The Beast live-action adaptation did justice to its predecessor with stunning CGI and VFX and the actors perfectly fitting into the shoes of the characters. Watson was praised for her performance as Belle worldwide, and is her highest-grossing film till date in the domestic side following the final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

Beauty and the Beast grossed $504 million in the United States and Canada and $759.5 million in other countries for a worldwide gross of $1.263 billion. With a production budget of $254 million, it is the most expensive musical ever made.

Where to watch : YouTube; Coming soon on Disney+Hotstar

Well, these are a noted few, stay tuned to this space as we will bring a new list soon! Till then, stay safe and be a responsible citizen to fight Covid-19 pandemic!

The post #WhenAtHome: Disney live-action adaptations to keep you hooked! appeared first on AnimationXpress.

For kids, this season is definitely a house arrest, but Amazon Prime Video is making this home stay easy by opening up free streaming access to more than 40 children’s series (including Amazon Originals) previously available only with a Prime subscription to all of its customers, worldwide.

In the U.S., select seasons of PBS KIDS favorites available for free include Arthur season 10, Caillou S1, Cyberchase S1, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood S1 & S2 and Dinosaur Train S1 & S2. 

The newly free package of shows and specials includes animated originals for kids and preschoolers such as Costume Quest, Creative Galaxy, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Jessy & Nessy, Lost in Oz. Pete the Cat, Tumble Leaf and Wishenpoof.

Kids and families can also watch more than 80 family movies curated by Amazon, including The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, All Dogs Go to Heaven 1 & 2, The Care Bears Movie, Early Man, Megamind, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Muppets from Space, The Nut Job, Open Season 2, Rugrats Go Wild, Scooby-Doo: The Movie & Monsters Unleashed, Shrek Forever After, The Smurfs 1 & 2, Stuart Little 1 & 2, Surf’s Up and many more.

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Last year, one of India’s noted animation personalities, Arnab Chaudhuri passed away. He was noted for his work across sectors in the industry and especially lauded for his work  in Arjun,  The Warrior Prince made by UTV , was released in 2012 as a Disney film.

Now, Promax India has decided to honour him with an award named after the animation maestro. In the upcoming edition of the awards, the “Rising Animation Talent” award has been renamed to the “Arnab Chaudhuri Award”.

At Turner, he held the position of senior creative for South Asia – Cartoon Network and Pogo. He helped create Turner’s first pre-school block in the region, Tiny TV, which was an instant hit.  Then, in late 2003, the team was apparently given 90 days to create and launch a totally new kids channel for India which required them to find a name and create an identity from the ground up.  The result was Pogo, which launched on 1 January, 2004.

Orion Ross was then the regional creative director for Turner Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific. He shares, “Arnab mocked up a logo animation early in the process to show everyone how it would work—nobody in management really understood the name until they saw it, but afterwards they were totally convinced.  Arnab directed a live action shoot to create the launch promos and channel branding, with real kids shouting, bouncing, flying and being covered in paint.  They loved every minute of it, because Arnab treated them all like his family and brought so much love to the set.  I think we won 17 Promax awards year.”

Apart from that had has worked with organisations like Disney and Channel [V].

The director passed away in December last year and the industry was in for a shock. Condolences and fond memories were shared by the industry veterans in huge numbers while appreciating the creative genius he was.

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Children’s favourite, Tinkle has come up with new exciting features in the upcoming issues, which includes various activities like NPAT aka Name Place Animal Thing, Dear Tinkle, Top That, Colour It Up, Tinkle Talk Show.

The magazines are also uploaded on the Tinkle app and available on Magzter. “Understanding how tough it would be for kids to remain home-bound for days on end, Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle have made it a little easier for them. The Apps of both brands have thrown their entire catalogue open, for free to readers for an entire month,” said Tinkle editor-in-chief Rajani Thindhiath.

The NPAT aka Name Place Animal Thing is an activity where we play the game but with a difference. Each name, place, animal and thing is accompanied with interesting trivia. This allows kids to have fun and also gain information.

Dear Tinkle is a helpline feature to answer questions from our young readers about studies, friendship, etc. The answers are provided by our very own Tinkle Toons! This helps children deal with various problems they encounter that they might not be able to express or even know whom to approach them with. They often look at Tinkle as a friend and a good friend is one who is supportive and helpful.

In Top That, there are Tinkle Toons trying to top each other in providing the zaniest of facts about a chosen topic. The topics are carefully curated to catch the interest of our readers and are interesting enough to remain in their minds. Many of our readers have already written to us telling us how these infotainment features have helped them in their projects.

In Tinkle Talk Show, plenty of Tinkle readers who are curious about the Toons, their series and their stories want to ask many questions. Kooki, the biggest fan of the Tinkle Toons, catches hold of them and asks all the questions that the readers want to know on their behalf.

Thindiath also mentioned that kids are thrilled with the newly added features and are finding them useful for school projects and studies. These activities will definitely help kids increase and develop their curiosity and imagination.

Have you subscribed for the Tinkle app yet? Do it, it’s absolutely free for a month. Make your stay at home easy by engaging kids in this beloved Tinkle comic. Also, you can give yourself a ride down the memory lane!

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