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May
29
Netflix’s animated series, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts became a hit and is already back for a second season. DreamWorks recently debuted a trailer for the show’s second season, which hints at the kind of magical, whimsical adventure that the post-apocalyptic series has in store.
Kipo is a young girl who lives in a subterranean world. When mutants attack she’s driven to the surface where she goes on an epic adventure. It’s a colorful, dark, thoughtful, and engaging series that has charmed viewers since it dropped in January. With her people’s fate at the mercy of the villainous Scarlemagne, Kipo has to become the hero she never knew she could be.
The official description of the new season hints at what fans have in store when the show returns. “Following the season one finale, all is not well on the surface. With the burrow people under Scarlemagne’s mind control and her father his prisoner, Kipo must quickly learn to master her newly-discovered mute abilities in order to save them. As she and her friends split up on a dangerous rescue mission, Kipo’s journey of self discovery unearths mysteries of the past that change everything she thought she knew.”
Joining Karen Fukuhara as Kipo are Sydney Mikayla, Coy Stewart, Deon Cole, and Dee Bradley Baker. Sterling K. Brown returns as Kipo’s father Lio Oak; Dan Stevens as Scarlemagne; Jake Green as mod frog Jamack; and Lea DeLaria as Timbercat Molly Yarnchopper. Amy Landecker joins as the mysterious Dr. Emilia.
The new season will be available on Netflix from 12 June.
The post Netflix released ‘Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts’ season 2 trailer appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
29
Marvel decided to celebrate Hamburger Day with an Avengers-inspired recipe straight from the Disney Parks. The bun is all-red and features bacon, an onion ring, and special sauce.
Disney also has a classic American cheeseburger with Iron Man’s face stamped on it, with sour cucumber and barbecue sauce. and the Gamma Ray Plant Burger features a large vegetable-based pork chop, sweet and sour tomato sauce and fresh lettuce in between a green matcha-flavor bun. Where you find a green bun, you’re also going to find Hulk’s insignia.
Fans were eagerly waiting for the opening of the Avengers Campus this summer. The coronavirus pandemic has put those plans into flux as the 18 July release date was reconsidered. Now, Disney is trying to get things up and running at some point this summer and the people who had planned on vacationing are waiting patiently.
Avengers Campus is home to the Worldwide Engineering Brigade (WEB), which will house our new Spider-Man experience, the first Disney ride-through attraction to feature this iconic Super Hero. Avengers Campus will also feature Pym Test Kitchen. Just as Ant-Man and The Wasp use Pym Particles to grow and shrink just about anything, Pym Technologies is using the latest innovations to grow and shrink food at this eatery.
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May
29
Amazon Prime Video to stream ‘Scooby Doo! Return To The Zombie Island’, ‘Wonder Woman: Bloodlines’, and ‘Spider-Man’
Posted in: AnimationAmazon Prime Video has announced its upcoming streaming slate.
While the streaming service has acquired a number of Bollywood and regional films and series to premiere, it also includes films like Scooby Doo! Return To The Zombie Island, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, and Spider-Man. These films will stream on Prime Video 30 May onwards.
It will also feature the spine-chilling The Grudge in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu for Prime India subscribers on 30 May.
Scooby Doo! Return To The Zombie Island follows Scooby-Doo and his gang win an all-inclusive holiday and embark on a trip of a lifetime to a tropical paradise. Their destination, however, turns out to be a Zombie Island and the gang soon learns that their trip to paradise comes at a price.
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines revolves around the female superhero who tries to help a young girl, Vanessa, who is in trouble with a deadly organisation known as Villainy Inc. headed by Dr. Cyber.
Starring Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man follows the nerdy, shy, and awkward Peter Parker, who when bitten by a genetically modified spider, gains spider-like abilities, which he must eventually use to fight evil as a superhero after tragedy befalls his family.
Apart from these, Prime Video will also release Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 on 10 June and Dora and The Lost City Of Gold on 12 June in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
These titles will add on to the wide catalogue of TV shows and movies from Hollywood and Bollywood in the Prime Video library.
The post Amazon Prime Video to stream ‘Scooby Doo! Return To The Zombie Island’, ‘Wonder Woman: Bloodlines’, and ‘Spider-Man’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
29
Live streaming platform for games and e-sports NimoTv has officially been launched in India. NimoTv is the overseas unit of Chinese game live streaming platform Huya. The app is available for Andriod and iOS users.
NimoTv is a platform for all the gamers to stream. The company intends to capture the Indian esports market and is hiring pro-streamers from all across India.
“We have already had a good pool of gamers from India who work with us and are doing quite a great job,” says Ahmad Mukhtiyar, manager, business development and marketing, India.
He further added that there has been a tremendous rise in gaming during the lockdown.
NimotTv gives the gamers in India a chance to earn while they just have to play, go live and share.
The app lets users follow high-profile gamers, watch live gaming streams, leave comments and take part in the ongoing tournaments. Streamers and users can take a big bounty from NimoTv while streaming their games and watching their favourite esporst stars’ games live.
Gaming
NimoTv says it provides equal opportunities to its streamers in India. One such example is Vivek, who has been streaming on NimoTv for the last few months. He has managed to develop his own fan base and currently has more than 79K followers and makes about 1000 USD a month from NimoTv. “I never thought I could reach this level and earn good out of my gaming hobby” says Vivek, from a village called Simdega in Jharkhand.
To take his esports career to the next level he has now shifted to Ranchi city. NimoTv said that it is committed to bring out the talented eSports players like Vivek from all across India.
NimoTv looks for talented gamers of India who can be the streaming stars on the app. The company intends to create a community of eSports streamers, clans, clubs in India and never hesitates to bring such talent pools in the public domain.
Another emerging eSports player is Vishnu Upadhyay, a Youtube gamer who has been streaming on Youtube for the last couple of years. He joined Nimotv initially under Nimo’s agency recruitment policy but later his dedication and understanding on the gaming business made his entry into the world’s leading game streaming app. Now he works as a full-time operations manager for NimoTv in India.
“I am a gamer and used to stream for 10 hours a day in my Youtube channel BABA YT. After I came to know about the NimoTv, I started earning from the day one,” says Upadhyay.
There are many such inspiring stories associated with NimoTv and the company has plans to add more such success stories to their bucket.
“We just don’t want to enter the Indian market as a game live streaming company but we want to make changes in people’s lives, by giving them an opportunity to turn their hobby into a living. We also look forward to investing in creating an eSports infrastructure and want to conduct international esports competitions in India,” said Mukhtiyar.
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May
29
Renowned battle royale game PUBG Mobile is tying up with Airtel for the PUBG Mobile Pro League in South Asia. Through this partnership, Airtel is all set to be established as the preferred network of the eSports tournament. In addition to that, valued Airtel subscribers will gain access to certain additional perks and benefits.
According to the press release, exciting moments from the PMPL tournament will be available on Airtel Xstream. Plus, users will get access to some exclusive experiences as well. It’s unclear what these experiences are, but it’s still exciting news.
The PUBG MOBILE Pro League (PMPL) South Asia is taking place from May 22 to 14 June 2020 , where the top 20 teams are competing for a spot in the PUBG Mobile World League. PMPL South Asia will be broadcasted 18:00-22:20 IST (+5:30 GMT) on Friday to Sunday per week from May 29th to June 14th on the Airtel Xstream app and the PUBG MOBILE esports channel.
Bharti Airtel chief marketing officer Shashwat Sharma said: “Airtel has been consistently rated as India’s best network by multiple global experts and we are thrilled to join forces with PMPL to power the country’s Esports revolution. Given the growing popularity of online gaming amongst the youth, we will also be bringing the best of Esports in India to our digital entertainment platforms as part of Airtel Thanks.”
NODWIN Gaming co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee facilitated this partnership said: “Bringing together two of our partners who have shown a deep commitment to growing esports in India is the natural evolution of the ecosystem in India. In PUBG MOBILE we have a partner who deeply understands the youth of India and in Airtel we have a partner who has deep customer insights. This is a match made in heaven”
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May
29
As India enters the ninth week of lockdown, the kids sector has grown by 2 per cent in week 20 (16 to 22 May) from 7 per cent to 9 per cent. Throughout the lockdown period, the sector has shown consistent growth and performance.
Highest viewership has been recorded between children between two to 14 years during the Non-Prime Time (NPT) with 24 per cent growth than the pre-COVID period in week 20. Overall kids viewership growth in NPT stands at 68 per cent while it is 20 per cent in PT (Prime Time).
“Children are not only watching kids programming but distributing their watch time between different programmes with their family members – from news to mythological shows that have progressed to other channels starting from Doordarshan networks,” said BARC India CEO Sunil Lulla.
Total TV viewership in week 20 stands at one trillion viewing minutes which is a 15 per cent increase than that of the pre-COVID period, but has declined from week 14 which witnessed peak in viewership. Nick India as usual claims the top position in ‘Top 5 Channels’ followed by POGO, Sonic, Cartoon Network and Hungama.
Rudra has dethroned Motu Patlu with his escapades in ‘Top 5 Programmes’, followed by Motu Patlu in Double Trouble, POGO’s Chhota Bheem aur Kaalsura ka Jadui Jaal, Motu Patlu Deep Sea Adventure and Bheemayan.
Overall AD volume on TV too has seen a rise in the last two weeks with 16 per cent growth in total FCT (Free Commercial Time) in week 20, including Kids and Infotainment. Kids channel FCT has grown by 30 per cent (From 4.7 lacs to 6.1 lacs) in the past two weeks with Infotainment remaining mostly stable.
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May
29
Studio Eeksaurus collaborates with WHO and PMNCH to give guidance to breastfeeding mothers
Posted in: AnimationStudio Eeksaurus collaborated with WHO and PMNCH for an informative animated guide. The studio has a long standing relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Partners of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH). The bodies approached the studio for an informative animation project for breastfeeding mothers in covid times.
Due to the resource crunch everywhere and confusion about taking precautions against coronavirus, there are certain misconceptions in the areas of handling a newborn too. The film showcases a few simple steps that women globally as mothers can take to protect their babies. But primarily it says that above everything comes breastfeeding the newborn as there’s no replacement to that.
“We were more than willing to extend all our help in spreading the vital information that people so need in the times of lock down where everyone is struggling with resources. Even with WHO it’s the same. They need to reach out to people for giving out important messages and there are hardly anyone who can actively support them,” said Studio Eeksaurus founder Suresh Eriyat.
The film was conceptualised and created at Eeksaurus, as per the messaging requirements the studio got from PMNCH. The team at Eeksaurus was super helpful in pulling off this film so well. There was absolutely no compromise made. To work with people remotely, manage their files of animation, check, correct and composite at one terminal eventually and to top it all, accept and incorporate last minute changes gracefully, was a wonderful journey for Eriyat as their leader, coworker and a teammate. “It’s so encouraging to have a team that would stand with you even in the most testing times like these to pull off such complex animation,” he mentioned.
It is important that while rumours and misinformation take the centre stage against authentic information, WHO took the lead in clearing confusions as they are the only body considered authentic by all. “To support such an organisation during the time of crisis was the least that we could do as our contribution to society,” added Eriyat.
Eriyat believes that not only in these times, otherwise too, animation helps such social communication challenges much better than live action films. Animated messages are clear, universal and simple to comprehend and most importantly they don’t spread fear. But the team had to ensure that the visuals evoke serious storytelling vs cartoons that can be taken as frivolous. So the styling of the film is designed such.
Both PMNCH and WHO, are extremely careful in managing information and its effective dissemination. So it takes people in many countries and positions checking, cross verifying and approving each and every word. It’s a multi level system where each department is a responsible stakeholder. The team at Eeksaurus too had to constantly be in touch with their international partners.
Eriyat further added that working from home could be something that he would consider in the future too as a safeguarding mechanism for his team’s wellbeing. A proper management, different perspective and a strong team culture can definitely make prominent creations, even remotely!
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May
29
Technicolor announces the merger of MR. X and Mill Film, under the MR. X name, bringing together the expertise and creativity of both brands into a stronger united entity. MR. X now becomes a VFX studio crossing four time zones, spanning Canada, the United States, Australia and India.
All facilities remain open in Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Adelaide and Bangalore. The merger will be effectively immediately, with a period of transition for employees. This does not impact the Mill which continues to operate as a separate entity.
COVID-19 is changing the entertainment industry, the theatrical market is being re-imagined and many projects are currently on hold indefinitely. The merger is a direct and necessary response to align to the changing needs of the industry and creative partners, as productions begin again, and as the entertainment industry looks to move forward. The newly combined, expanded studio will service clients across both features and episodic. Laura Fitzpatrick, MD of Mill Film, will move into a Managing Director role at MR. X, based in Montreal, with Dennis Berardi, founder of MR. X, assuming the position of Creative Director for the studio.
“As the entertainment landscape has continued to evolve, both studios were naturally overlapping into each other’s spaces,” says Berardi. “Merging both brands allows us to build the perfect team for each and every client.”
With 20 years in the business, MR. X has won multiple awards, including VES and Canadian Screen awards, as well as garnering BAFTA, Satellite and Critics Choice award nominations. MR. X has built a number of collaborative partnerships with notable directors such as Guillermo Del Toro and Paul W.S Anderson. The studio is known for bringing the vision of filmmakers to life across projects, from the Academy Award winning The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight) and Roma (Netflix), to blockbusters such as Shazam! (Warner Bros.), to name a few.
Mill Film has delivered legacy projects such as Gladiator (Universal), which won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 2001, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Warner Bros.), plus more recent releases Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Disney) and Dora and the Lost City of Gold (Paramount).
“Our aim is to partner with clients to realize their ideas and exceed visual expectations,” Fitzpatrick says. “With our merged brand we can pitch global expertise in all creative areas: Original Design and Art Direction, On-Set Supervision, Environment Creation, FX Simulations, Creature and Character work.”
The combined legacy of both studios serves as the foundation for MR. X going forward. The expansion of the studio’s talent pool paves the way for the team to share knowledge and best practices for delivering projects of all genres, formats and mediums.
The newly combined and expanded studio will service clients across both features and episodic – with the flexibility to serve productions resuming at different times in different parts of the world, and the capacity to handle an anticipated increase in VFX in response to changes required for live action filming.
Source: MR. X
The post Technicolor’s Mill Film Merges with MR. X appeared first on AnimationXpress.
May
29
Bengali channel, Star Jalsha to air animated series ‘Oye Golu’ from tomorrow, 30 May
Posted in: AnimationStar Jalsha, Bengali entertainment pay TV channel is going to air animated series Oye Golu from tomorrow, 30 May every Saturday and Sunday at 10 am.
Originally broadcasted on Disney channel, Oye Golu revolves around Adi, a simple young boy,who embarks on various adventures with Golu, his genie friend. However, Golu’s magic spells always go wrong landing the two in trouble.
In keeping its efforts to strengthen the local animation fare on the Disney Kids Network, Disney India launched Oye Golu last year in May. However there wasn’t much marketing around it neither promotions. Along with it, Disney also launched another animated IP – Bhagam Bhag.
Weaving in magic and adventure, Oye Golu looks into the common daily problems faced by kids. Adi’s ambitious plans and Golu’s unpredictable magic often create bigger problems which is surely entertaining and hilarious for kids to enjoy.
After Disney acquired Twentienth Century Fox assets, it has now got control over Fox owned TV network, Star India, which is one of the most wide-spread and fan favourite networks in the country. Leveraging the strength of the regional network and utilising lockdown, there has been cross-airing and dubbed broadcast of popular shows including classics. Earlier this week, Star Jalsha also advertised to be airing Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan in Bengali from 1 June, owing to the enviable ratings DD National enjoyed when it re-ran the classic during lockdown.
Star Jalsha, quite popular in West Bengal and Bangladesh airs family dramas, comedies, reality shows, crime shows, telefilms and cartoon films. It launched its HD feed in 2016. Oye Golu and other Star Jalsha shows are available on Disney+Hotstar.
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