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The popular animated miniseries “Over the Garden Wall” has a beautiful new stop-motion short film to mark its tenth anniversary this week. Fans of the show have reason to party. The three-minute special, made with Aardman Animation, brings back the original voice cast and captures the magical spirit that made the show a fan favorite.

For the anniversary project, carefully made wooden dolls of the show’s main characters—half-brothers Wirt and Greg and their friend Beatrice—are used to bring them back. Voice artists from the first series, like Elijah Wood, Collin Dean, and Melanie Lynskey, are also back, bringing back the show’s unique charm.

Directors Mikey Please and Dan Ojari and series author Patrick McHale created the short’s plot. The movie showcases Aardman’s famous craftsmanship with its detailed tiny sets that recreate the show’s unique ethereal mood.

At the start of the short, the...

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the fantastical Cartoon Network miniseries Over the Garden Wall has been given a new, three-minute stop-motion short. The beloved show, created by Patrick McHale, follows half-brothers Wirt and Greg as they navigate a surreal and hauntingly beautiful forest called the Unknown, encountering mysterious characters and strange places in their quest to find a way back home. Known for its whimsical yet dark storytelling, Over the Garden Wall has gained cult status since its debut, receiving acclaim for its unique animation style and stellar voice cast, including Elijah Wood as Wirt, Collin Dean as Greg, and Melanie Lynskey as Beatrice.

To mark this milestone, Cartoon Network released a new stop-motion short for Over the Garden Wall made in collaboration with McHale and Aardman Studios' directors Mikey Please and Dan Ojari. Featuring the original voice actors and crafted almost entirely from practical effects, the short brings back Wirt,...

"Over the Garden Wall" creator Patrick McHale always considered Aardman to be the pinnacle of animation, and he was always interested in the art of stop-motion. Though he's worked in some highly influential shows like "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" and "Adventure Time," and he did co-write the script to "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio," it wasn't until this year that he fulfilled his dream of working in stop-motion — and with Aardman, no less.

Just in time for its 10th anniversary, Cartoon Network released an "Over the Garden Wall" short film from Aardman and McHale, and it's a full circle moment for the animator in more ways than one. As McHale told Inverse, "In some ways, it seems like 'Over the Garden Wall' probably should have been realized in stop-motion all along — it just feels kind of right for that world," and he is absolutely right.

Dan Ojari...

"Good job, Alan! Now come on, enough mucking about, back to work." It is go time for an amusing sci-fi misadventure with Alan! And his co-workers. There's a fun sci-fi stop-motion animation available to watch online now titled Alan The Infinite. The film is made by an animation writing and directing duo based at Aardman Animation named Michael Please & Daniel Ojari - together they run Parabella Studio, and they also made the film Robin Robin previously for Aardman. "Rescued from what the filmmakers describe as 'internet cold storage,'" Alan The Infinite is out now - after first debuting as a proof-of-concept project in 2019. On his first day on the job (at some boring lamination company), Alan mistakenly unleashes a cosmic, supernatural force in the office. Unfortunately he realizes that fitting in at "Lamin’8" is going to be infinitely trickier than he ever could have dreamed. Featuring the voice of Daniel Ojari as Alan.

For more than 40 years, Aardman Animations has been producing classics like “Wallace & Gromit,” “Chicken Run” and “Shaun the Sheep.” Now, following in the footsteps of pioneers such as Peter Lord, David Sproxton and Nick Park, new recruits have come on board at the company’s headquarters on Spike Island in the port city of Bristol, in the West of England, replenishing its creative treasure chest.

Variety steps along the gangplank to meet some of the more recent additions to the crew: Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, the creators of Oscar-nominated “Robin Robin” (see here); kids’ comedy series “Lloyd of the Flies” creator and director Matthew Walker, and co-director and voice director Jane Davies (see here); and Lucy Izzard, the creator, writer and director of “The Very Small Creatures,” a BAFTA nominated preschool series (see below).

“The Very Small Creatures,” commissioned by U.K. pay-tv operator Sky, is a stop-motion series for one to three-year-olds.

Following in the footsteps of Aardman Animations legends Peter Lord, David Sproxton and Nick Park, a new wave of creators are driving the company forward. While its celebrated franchises, such as Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run are still much loved, and it has four Oscars wins with nine further nominations under its belt, Aardman is also focused on nurturing new talent, such as the creators of Oscar nominated short film “Robin Robin,” and series, such as “Lloyd of the Flies” and “The Very Small Creatures.”

Speaking to Variety from Aardman’s headquarters on Spike Island, Bristol, in the West of England, two of the creative minds behind “Lloyd of the Flies,” Aardman’s first CGI series, explain how the show evolved. In other articles, Variety speaks to Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, the creators of “Robin Robin,” and Lucy Izzard, the creator of “The Very Small Creatures.

Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, the co-writers and co-directors of Aardman Animations’ musical film “Robin Robin,” which premiered on Netflix in November 2021, and was nominated for an Oscar the following year, say that a spinoff is in the cards.

“We are currently working on more stories in the world of ‘Robin, Robin,’” Please tells Variety. “I think that’s all we’re allowed to say. But that would certainly be our hopes and dreams. We feel like there are loads more stories to tell in this world, so we’d love to do more.”

“Robin Robin,” whose voice cast includes Bronte Carmichael, Adeel Akhtar, Gillian Anderson and Richard E. Grant, centers on a robin who is raised by a loving family of burglar mice. As Robin grows up, her differences become more apparent. She sets out to pull off a daring heist in a bid to prove to her family...

Horror/sci-fi and fantasy movie fans no longer need to give up their beloved genre when the November/December holiday season arrives. There’s plenty on the various streaming services that combine the Christmas tropes of elves, superheroes and Santa.

Here’s a look at one of our previous lists. http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2013/12/top-20-non-traditional-christmas-movies/

After searching around Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max and Shudder, Wamg found an assorted list of films that either takes place during Christmas or during the festive season that are naughty as well as …nice.

But first check out what the streaming services have to offer on YouTube:

Violent Night

To hell with “all is calm.” From 87North, the bare-knuckle producers of Nobody, John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw comes a holiday action-comedy that says you should always bet on red.

When a team...

The BAFTA has revealed nominations for its Children and Young People Awards, which are returning for the first time in three years.

The BBC’s “Dodger” and “The Snail and the Whale” lead with three nominations each, followed by two nominations for “The Amazing World of Gumball,” “Jamie Johnson,” “JoJo & Gran Gran” and “Silverpoint.”

The ceremony will take place in London on Nov. 27, where 14 categories will be awarded in recognition of craft, performance, and games. All awards are voted on by BAFTA’s membership of children’s industry professionals. The ceremony will be hosted by TV and radio presenter Lindsey Russell.

Faraz Osman, chair of the BAFTA Children and Young People Committee, said: “It is a real joy to bring together the industry and celebrate the creativity and craft behind its recent output, especially after the pandemic, where children’s programming played a monumental role in family support. Through the...

The race for Best Animated Short Film definitely has a clear front-runner. According to our combined racetrack odds, “Robin Robin” is the clear leader to win this year. These odds are calculated from the predictions that have been logged by Expert film journalists, Gold Derby’s Editors, Top 24 Users and the thousands of Gold Derby users making their own predictions.

But how solid a front-runner is “Robin Robin”? Could another film upset it? Let’s take a dive into this category by examining all five nominees in order by their Gold Derby odds as of this writing.

SEEOscars 2022: Who are the final 9 presenters among 46 celebrities added for Sunday’s ceremony?

“Robin Robin” (odds of winning: 31/10)

A robin that’s been raised by mice is perpetually clumsy when it comes to raiding kitchens and makes her family prone to being caught. With the help of a collecting magpie (Richard E. Grant...

“We are artisans and this is our moment,” says Carter Pilcher.

UK-based ShortsTV’s theatrical release of the short film Oscar nominees is closing in on $1.5m after three weekends in North American cinemas as the company’s founder and CEO said the Academy’s telecast plans creates a “second tier” of awards.

Carter Pilcher, who serves as a member of the Academy’s short films and feature animation branch, said the release of the live-action, animated and documentary shorts showcase had reached $1.3m and hopes over the course of a four-week run to overtake the $1.5m achieved in 2021.

The...

“We are artisans and this is our moment,” says Carter Pilcher.

UK-based ShortsTV’s theatrical release of the short film Oscar nominees is closing in on $1.5m after three weekends in North American cinemas as the company’s founder and CEO has spoken out against the Academy’s telecast plans.

Carter Pilcher, who serves as a member of the Academy’s short films and feature animation branch, said the release of the live-action, animated and documentary shorts showcase had reached $1.3m and hopes over the course of a four-week run to overtake the $1.5m achieved in 2021.

The showcase grossed around...

The View Conference, in partnership with Ogr, presents a full slate of free virtual PreVIEW panels in March featuring an array of Oscar nominees.

First, on Friday, March 4, at 10 a.m. Pt, will be a talk with the filmmakers behind the five nominees for animated feature. Speakers are Byron Howard, Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith of Disney’s “Encanto”; Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Charlotte De La Gournerie of the animated documentary “Flee”; Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren of Pixar’s “Luca”; Mike Rianda, Phil Lord and Chris Miller of Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix’s “The Mitchells vs. the Machines”; and Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada of Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon.”

“This year’s list of Oscar contenders is truly breathtaking,” says conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “I have been blown away by the depth of creative thinking that has gone into their production, and...

“People often attribute stop-motion to patience, but the funny thing is I think we’re actually incredibly impatient. We’re always wanting to kind of push forward to the next step,” says Mikey Please about the process of stop-motion animation. He and Daniel Ojari directed the stop-motion film “Robin Robin,” which is on the Oscars shortlist for Best Animated Short. We talked with Please for our short-film directors panel. Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“Robin Robin” was produced by Aardman, the studio behind celebrated stop-motion projects like “Wallace and Gromit,” “Shaun the Sheep,” and “Chicken Run.” This film tells the story of the title character, a bird who is adopted by a family of mice but struggles to fit in. So to prove she can be a capable mouse, she sets out to steal the star from atop a Christmas tree. Please doesn’t remember exactly how he and...

“Shaun the Sheep” and “Wallace and Gromit” producer Aardman is making “Robin Robin,” a short film, for Netflix. The project marks a move away for Aardman from working with the BBC, which has broadcast the Oscar-winning stop-motion specialist’s hit projects over the years.

“Robin Robin,” which will bow around Christmas 2020, is about a bird raised by a family of mice. As she grows up, her differences become more apparent. Robin sets off on a daring heist to prove to her family that she can be a really good mouse. The 30-minute special, which is in production at Aardman’s studio in the U.K., will feature animal characters made from natural materials rather than Aardman’s trademark Plasticine.

Dan Ojari (“Slow Derek”) and Mikey Please (“The Eagleman Stag”) are the creators and directors of the show. Helen Argo (“Wallace & Gromit’s Musical Marvels”) will produce, and Sarah Cox (“Heavy Pockets) exec produce.

Aardman Animations, the Oscar-winning UK stop-motion outfit behind Shaun The Sheep, Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run, is making its first project for Netflix with Christmas special Robin Robin.

The 30-minute ‘mini movie’ is in production at Aardman’s Bristol studio and will debut on Netflix in time for the holidays in 2020.

It will tell the story of a bird who, after her egg fortuitously rolls into a rubbish dump, is raised by a loving family of mice. As she grows up, her differences become more apparent. Robin sets off on the heist to end all heists to prove to her family that she can be a really good mouse.

Dan Ojari and Mikey Please created and are directing the project. Helen Argo is producing, with Sarah Cox as executive producer.

Aardman has a long-standing relationship with the BBC, and this deal marks a rare departure from that. In an interview today with the Guardian,...

Mahdi Fleifel’s refugee documentary wins Best Film in the International Competition. Experimental doc Leviathan wins Best British Feature.Scroll down for full list of winners

The winners have been announced at the 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival.

The ceremony, held at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse this afternoon, saw the award for Best Film in the International Competition presented to Mahdi Fleifel’s A World Not Ours (Lebanon/UAE/Denmark/UK).

The jury also gave a special mention to Elias Giannakakis’ Joy.

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho chaired the International Feature Film Competition Jury, which also included actress Natalie Dormer and film critic Siobhan Synnot.

The jury citation read: “The International Jury loved this film’s warm regard for the people at the heart of the film. A difficult subject was handled with confidence and humour.”

Fleifel said: “I have lived, studied and worked in the UK for 13 years, but I’ve never managed to screen any of...