News

Mediawan Kids & Family is unveiling a raft of prestige animated feature projects at the Annecy Film Festival, including “Meow-woof” by Louis Clichy (“Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion”) and “Twisted” by Lino Disalvo (“Playmobil”).

Emmanuel Jacomet, who worked for over a decade alongside Aton Soumache and Dimitri Rassam on high profile IP’s such as “The Little Prince,” “Miraculous Ladybug” and “Playmobil,” took over the film division of Mediawan Kids & Family under a year ago with the ambition to develop a mix of mainstream franchise-based projects and auteur-driven 2D titles.

The executive, who lived in Los Angeles for a number of years, said also he aims at bringing together European and American talent and sensibilities on projects that are personal, yet boast an international appeal. Many of the filmmakers in business with the banner have a dual culture. Clichy, for instance, is French but previously worked for Pixar...

Boss Baby is back in action. The animated infant will star in the series “The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib” for Netflix, the streamer announced Thursday with a first look image.

The new DreamWorks Animation show, which is set to debut on May 19, is a followup to “The Boss Baby: Back in Business,” which ran for four seasons on Netflix from 2018-2020.

The new series follows the events of last summer’s feature film “The Boss Baby: Family Business.” In this case, Theodore Templeton (voiced by Jp Karliak) is framed for embezzlement and forced to revert back to his old Boss Baby self and crash with his brother Tim and his two nieces, brainy big kid Tabitha Ariana Greenblatt and fellow Baby Corp employee Tina (Mary Farber).

Boss Baby and Tina then team up to lead a new team as it aims to increase Baby Love while staving off the threat of new villains,...

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television are set to release six new original series in 2018 beginning with Trolls: The Beat Goes On! premiering Jan. 19, 2018, exclusively on Netflix. The new slate includes series inspired by DreamWorks’ beloved animated films as well as classic properties including an all-new She-Ra. From executive producer Noelle Stevenson, the new She-Ra series will present a modern take on the ‘80s girl power icon for a new generation of young fans.

2018 series include (unless noted, premiere dates to be announced):

DreamWorks Trolls: The Beat Goes On! – January 19, 2018

Picking up where the film left off, the Netflix original series is an all-new chapter in the the endlessly upbeat adventures of the Trolls as Poppy, Branch and all of Troll Village keep the party going in their fantastical forest home. Executive produced by Matthew Beans (Robot Chicken), the series features Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect 1 and 2) and Amanda Leighton (This Is Us,...

Author: Zehra Phelan

As if Netflix wasn’t taking over the world already, they are now teaming up with DreamWorks Animation Television with a view to entering the New Year with a bang and six new original TV series including the return of She-Ra: Princess of Power.

Three of the new series come off the back of their big screen debuts from 2017 with the likes of Trolls, The Boss Baby and Captain Underpants all getting the animated TV treatment and the much loved 80’s cartoon, She-Ra, who is the twin sister to He-Man, will be getting a revival as well. Trolls: The Beat Goes on! will be first off the block on January 19th, 2018. The premiere dates for the rest of the line-up are yet to be confirmed.

Read below for a full breakdown of each new series.

Trolls: The Beat Goes on.

Poppy, Branch and all of Troll Village...

Netflix and DreamWorks have partnered up for a massive slate of programming next year. In 2018, Netflix and DreamWorks Animated Television will debut six original shows. Some familiar titles and some brand new. Among the movies getting the small screen treatment are Trolls and The Boss Baby. In addition, TVweb is reporting that Netflix is rebooting the beloved 80s animated series, She-Ra, a spin-off of the old He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon.

First up is Trolls: The Beat Goes On, which arrives on January 18, 2018. Picking up where the film left off, Trolls: The Beat goes On is an all-new chapter in the endlessly upbeat adventures of the Trolls as Poppy, Branch and all of Troll Village keep the party going in their fantastical forest home. Executive produced by Matthew Beans (Robot Chicken), the series features Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and Amanda Leighton (This Is Us) as the voices...

That “Kids” tab on that you get before the welcome screen on your Netflix is about to get more use as they are adding six new series for your kids and some of us adults to watch.

Film success seems to be the contributing factor for some of these series as they are continuations from those films. But some of these are just great series and continuing them is kind of a no brainer.

DreamWorks Trolls: The Beat Goes On!

A 344-million-dollar profit at the box office will see Trolls continuing with a new series. With that if you’re expecting Justin Timberlake, Ana Kendrick, or anyone else returning from the movie think again. Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect 1 and 2) and Amanda Leighton (This Is Us, The Fosters) will be filling the roles of Branch and Poppy with original songs written by Alana Da Fonseca (Pitch Perfect 3). Although I...

That “Kids” tab on that you get before the welcome screen on your Netflix is about to get more use as they are adding six new series for your kids and some of us adults to watch.

Film success seems to be the contributing factor for some of these series as they are continuations from those films. But some of these are just great series and continuing them is kind of a no brainer.

DreamWorks Trolls: The Beat Goes On!

A 344-million-dollar profit at the box office will see Trolls continuing with a new series. With that if you’re expecting Justin Timberlake, Ana Kendrick, or anyone else returning from the movie think again. Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect 1 and 2) and Amanda Leighton (This Is Us, The Fosters) will be filling the roles of Branch and Poppy with original songs written by Alana Da Fonseca (Pitch Perfect 3). Although I...

Netflix and Dreamworks Animation have announced that they have a new slate of animated series projects in development that are set to launch next year. One of the most exciting projects that came with the announcement includes a revival of the classic 80s series She-Ra: Princess of Power!

I hope that the series turns out to be good. I think it's something that my girls are going to love. I'm sure most of you are familiar with She-Ra, but if not, she is also known as Princess Adora and is the twin sister of Prince Adam a.k.a. He-Man. She was kidnapped as a baby by the Horde's leader Hordak. She is eventually given the Sword of Protection, which parallels He-Man's Sword of Power, gaining the power to transform into She-Ra.

The series is being developed by showrunner Noelle Stevenson, who is the Eisner-winning co-creator of Lumberjanes. Here’s...

DreamWorks Animation spins Madagascar's penguins out into a funny spy caper of their own. Comes with bonus Werner Herzog.

When it comes to the Madagascar series of films, there are the main characters, and then there are those scene-stealing penguins. They're the secret bedrock of the series, the funniest characters in the bunch, the consistent comic relief who both ground the films and heighten the craziness of the shenanigans and goings-on. It's not a surprise that the penguins have been the stars of most of the Madagascar spin-offs, including their own television series and a bunch of specials. It's not a surprise that, with the Madagascar gang having wrapped up a pretty solid trilogy of entertaining flicks, that the first spin-off be given to the comic relief.

The penguins are the most entertaining characters in Madagascar's animal kingdom, so it's not surprising that they've also got one of...

20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation released their new comedy/animation film, "Penguins of Madagascar," into theaters this past Wednesday and all the top,major critics have submitted their reviews. It turns out that about half the group liked it with mixed results. It got an overall 53 score out of a possible 100 across 30 reviews at the Metacritic.com site. The film stars: John Malkovich, Chris Miller, Peter Stormare, Tom McGrath, Ken Jeong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Annet Mahendru and Christopher Knights. We've posted blurbs from a couple of the critics,below. Michael O'Sullivan from the Washington Post, gave it a nice 88 score, stating: " The screenplay by John Aboud, Michael Colton and Brandon Sawyer has a fizzy, pop-culture pizazz, tempered by a distinctly vaudeville sensibility. It’s smart, but not brainy; dumb, but never inane." Walter Addiego over at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a 78 grade. He stated: " There’s plenty here to tickle the kids,...

Chicago – The only thing rarer than a spinoff that soars over its inspiration is a DreamWorks Animation production without “Dragon” in the title, and one that’s actually worth watching. Improbably, “Penguins Of Madagascar” is both.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

To be honest, I’ve felt the “Madagascar” series to be typical of DreamWorks decidedly second-tier status in the field of animation. They lacked the imagination of Pixar’s best efforts, and settled for the usual collection of celebrity voices and overly hyperactive animation, topped off with a generic frenetic dance sequence that fades from memory before the beat even stops. While “Penguins” doesn’t exactly set itself apart per se, it does freshen up the formula and shows why it became popular in the first place.

This film sends the quartet of Skipper, Kowalski, Private, and Rico into their own secret agent spy adventure beginning with an inventive heist at Fort Knox.

First, let's state the obvious and get it out of the way. This is a crass piece of corporate product, an animation studio working more as an IP farm than as a storytelling unit, and it exists so that Dreamworks Animation can continue to wring money out of the "Madagascar" franchise. It is a perfect example of marketing driving the machine. It's also a profoundly silly movie that really isn't even trying to play by the conventional rules of family animation. They nod to creating a sentimental arc between Private (Christopher Knights) and Skipper (Tom McGrath), but they don't dwell on it, and they handle it with a fairly deft touch. The main goal of the movie is just to be ridiculous, and it does that in spades. The film starts with the penguins in their natural habitat, being filmed by a documentary film crew complete with the actual Werner Herzog narrating.

Penguins of Madagascar waddles onto screens this holiday week, a spinoff of DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar animated franchise. But as I say in my video review above, this film focuses on just one corner of that franchise’s winning collection of critters, the scheming pack of penguins. And it never quite takes flight, despite its manic pace and an evil octopus (!) voiced wonderfully by John Malkovich.

Other voice cast members include the seemingly omnipresent Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom McGrath (director of the three Madagascar films), Chris Miller (Puss in Boots director), Christopher Knights and Conrad Vernon (director of Shrek 2 and Monsters vs. Aliens).

The film was directed by Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith, from a script fashioned by McGrath, Brandon Sawyer, Eric Darnell, John Aboud and Michael Colton. Producers are Laura Breay and Mark Swift.

Penguins opens in the United States on Wednesday (it’s been in China and...

The nominations are in! Ellen DeGeneres, The View and General Hospital lead the pack in the 2013 Daytime Emmy nominations.

Sam Champion read the 2013 Daytime Emmy Nominations on Good Morning America on May 1, and it’s a great list! General Hospital and The Young & The Restless were some of the many shows nominated, while Ellen DeGeneres, Katie Couric and the lovely ladies of The View are some of the hosts nominated. Read on for the full list.

Daytime Emmys 2013 — Full List Of Nominations

Outstanding Drama Series

The Bold and the Beautiful, CBS

Bradley P. Bell, Executive Producer

Rhonda Friedman, Edward J. Scott, SupervisingProducers

Ronald W. Weaver, Senior Producer

Mark Pinciotti, Coordinating Producer

Cynthia J. Popp, Colleen Bell, Casey Kasprzyk, Producers

Days of Our Lives, NBC

Ken Corday, Executive Producer

Lisa de Cazotte, Greg Meng, Co-Executive Producers

Janet Drucker, Tim Stevens, Coordinating Producers

Albert Alarr, Producer

General Hospital , ABC

Frank Valentini, Executive Producer

Mary-Kelly Weir,...