23rd ANILOGUE INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL - 25 – 29 March 2026 Budapest, Hungary
This year, the festival moved from late November/early December to March, so instead of snow in Budapest, I got to see early Spring
‘Zoonicorn: The Original Dreamer’ Set for 2027 Release
Zoonicorn, LLC and Dream Mechanics to produce the 90-minute 3DCG comedy-adventure for kids and families with new and familiar characters from the ‘Zoonicorn’ animated TV show universe.
Annecy 2026 Sets Animated Thrills & Chills Programming Lineup
The festival’s new genre-focused selection spans 4 features, 8 short film programs and 3 round tables built around horror, sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, westerns, war movie and other animated storytelling.
TIFF Sets Masaaki Yuasa-Curated Fall Anime Series
The ‘Inu-Oh’ director will guest-curate ‘Drawn Universes: Visions in Animation,’ a TIFF Lightbox program spotlighting anime artistry and innovation scheduled for later this year; ‘Christopher Nolan: Grand Designs’ program runs July 8 – August 20.
‘My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON’ Tops Crunchyroll's 2026 Anime Awards
The Bones Films production took home the coveted ‘Anime of the Year’ award, while ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle’ was named Film of the Year at the 10th annual awards; 73 million fans worldwide voted on their favorites.
‘Sofia the First: Royal Magic’ Brings Bigger Sets, Better Lighting and Brighter Magic
8 years after his first ‘Sofia’ series ended, Craig Gerber returns with a sequel that expands the young princess’ visual world, including more cinematic lighting and layered magical effects, while holding onto the warmth, humor and music that defined the original.
Alex Semenov Releases ‘BRAINROT’ Short Narrated by Thomas Middleditch
The director’s latest film is a retro sci-fi satire about internet culture, doomscrolling, and the modern brainrot era.
Aichi Nagoya 2026 Opens Animated Feature Competition
The International Animation Film Festival is now accepting film submissions of 40 minutes or longer for this year’s event; entries due by August 17; run November 13-18 in Nagoya Japan.
Holly Edwards, Michelle Grady and Janet Lewin Join VIEW Conference Lineup
The trio of women film studio presidents – Skydance Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and ILM respectively - adds to the key conference’s growing roster of in-person speakers heading to Turin, Italy October 12-16.
Utopai Studios Lands Investment From Carmelo Anthony’s Creative 7 Productions
The NBA legend plans to expand his production company’s development of original sports and entertainment IP through the tech-centered studio’s proprietary PAI cinematic storytelling AI platform.
‘Mating Season’: Built on Disney Callbacks, Corkscrew Genitals, and Goat Weed Gods
‘Big Mouth’ creators and show EPs Mark Levin, Jennifer Flackett, Andrew Goldberg, and supervising director Anthony Lioli talk about their new animated adult rom-com about bears, raccoons, and other lovably horny forest creatures dealing with their love lives; debuts May 22 on Netflix.
Netflix, ACE Canada Share 5th Animation Career Excelerator Cohort Shortlist
45 candidates selected from applicants across 6 provinces will participate in workshops and final jury presentations, with 9 to be selected to earn key credits on a new animated short; ACE 4 film ‘Rocketship Mai’ to screen at Annecy.
Call for Entries: 33rd Annual Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference
The festival, which runs October 29-November 5, is looking for submissions to its Oscar-qualifying animated shorts category as part of its Annual Film Competition; next deadline is June 19.
Kenichi Yoda Named Studio Ghibli President and CEO
The current animation studio board member and Nippon TV executive will succeed Hiroyuki Fukuda effective June 22, continuing the company’s more recent focus on global brand expansion including event production.
‘Super Mario Bros.’ Filmmakers Sign Creative Partnership Deal with Netflix
Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath will develop animated series and films exclusively for the streamer under a multi-year creative partnership; includes first-look rights for live-action projects.
'Rick and Morty' Animated Movie in Development at Warner Bros.
Longtime series director Jacob Hair is attached to direct the planned feature, with Dan Harmon confirming he’s keeping the planned big-screen adventure inside the show’s creative orbit; the Adult Swim series’ Season 9 premieres May 24.
Exclusive Art Reveal: Kickstarter Launches for ‘Flippitoons’ Collector Art Book
Clover Press’ 224-page deluxe hardcover from Jim Fletcher and James Martin catalogs more than 100 reversible ‘Creeepilicious Creatures’ from the Flippi-verse that transform when the book is turned right side up or upside down, with rhyming prose designed to read in either direction.
DreamWorks' MoonRay Renderer Joins the Academy Software Foundation
The open source path-tracing renderer has powered every DWA feature since 2019, including ‘The Wild Robot’ and ‘The Bad Guys 2;’ ASWF’s Open Source Days set for July 19-20 in LA.
Aardman Appoints Caroline Norbury OBE as Chair of Trustees
Next month, the founder and former CEO of Creative UK will succeed current chair David Pester, who will remain an independent Trustee.
‘Camp Snoopy’ Season 2 Leads Apple TV’s Summer ‘Peanuts’ Slate
The Beagle Scouts return to Camp Spring Lake for new outdoor adventures with Charlie Brown and the gang on June 26, followed by the debuts of ‘This is America, Charlie Brown’ and ‘The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show’ in July and the new special ‘Snoopy Presents: There’s No Place Like Home, Snoopy’ on July 31.
‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Voice Actor Tom Kane Dies at 64
The prolific animation and video game actor, known for Yoda in both animated ‘Clone Wars’ series, Woodhouse in ‘Archer,’ and Professor Utonium in ‘The Powerpuff Girls,’ passed away from complications of a stroke.
Scooby and Shaggy Head to Japan in Tubi’s 'Yokoso Scooby-Doo!'
Frank Welker and Matthew Lillard will once again voice the prolific pair as the first original anime 'Scooby-Doo' series gets greenlit, with Warner Bros. Animation producing and OLM providing production services.
Kirsten Lepore Gets Weird for Finch’s ‘Whatever It Takes to Get Through the Day’
The Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director joins Weirwork and Mathematic on the self-care app’s first campaign, a 3DCG musical short built around the odd rituals people use to cope.
Bette Midler to Voice Fairy Godmother in Netflix’s 'Steps'
The Divine Miss M joins the cast of the upcoming original animated film, starring Ali Wong, Amada Seyfried, and Stephanie Hsu, that reimagines the classic fairytale, centering on Cinderella’s supposedly ‘evil’ stepsisters.
David Derrick Jr., John Aoshima to direct 'Hello Kitty' Feature
The New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation feature follows Hello Kitty and her friends on a ‘cinematic adventure designed to delight audiences of all ages;’ Ramsey Naito producing, will release globally on July 21, 2028.
