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Dan Hennessey, the voice actor known for his roles in children’s shows like Little Bear, The Care Bears, and more, has died. He was 82 years old.

News of Hennessey’s death broke on Tuesday, November 19th, with his family confirming to TMZ that he passed in his sleep while at home, due to complications stemming from Parkinson’s disease.

Born in 1941 in Toronto, Canada, Hennessey became involved in children’s entertainment in the 1970s, eventually establishing himself as a staple of children’s animated television programs.. Among his best-known roles are Father Bear on Little Bear, Braveheart the Lion on The Care Bears, and Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget.

Hennessey did voice work for a number of other notable animated series in the ‘80s and ‘90s, including Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Dinosaucers, RoboCop, Police Academy: The Animated Series, C.O.P.S., Beetlejuice, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, The Raccoons,...

Veteran voice actor Dan Hennessey, who voiced Braveheart Lion in the Care Bears and Chief Quimby in Inspector Gadget, has died. He was 82. According to TMZ, Hennessey passed away on Wednesday, November 13, in his home while he was sleeping due to complications associated with Parkinson’s disease. In a statement, Hennessey’s family told the outlet, “We are so touched by all those letting us know how he impacted them through his craft, from stage to voice acting and direction. We are warmed by the fact that he provided comfort to a generation of kids around the world by giving voice to beloved animated characters like Braveheart Lion and Fatherbear, who were the personification of his kind and exuberant personality.” Hennessey was known for providing the iconic voices to many memorable characters from children’s animated series, including Father Bear from Little Bear, Braveheart Lion from Care Bears, Chief Quimby from Inspector Gadget,...

Dan Hennessey, a voice actor and director for animated shows, has died. He was 82.

Hennessey is best known for voicing Braveheart Lion in the Care Bears animated series from the 1980s, Chief Quimby in Inspector Gadget (1983), and the voice director for the X-Men animated TV series from the 1990s.

According to TMZ, Hennessey died on Wednesday, November 13 in his home while he was sleeping due to complications associated with Parkinson’s disease.

“We are so touched by all those letting us know how he impacted them through his craft, from stage to voice acting and direction. We are warmed by the fact that he provided comfort to a generation of kids around the world by giving voice to beloved animated characters like Braveheart Lion and Fatherbear, who were the personification of his kind and exuberant personality,” the family said in a statement.

Hennessey is survived by his wife Patricia and daughters Skye and Eden.

Chicago – The Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago continues to provide different viewpoints on the American stage, and their latest “Little Bear Ridge Road” is no exception. Featuring ensemble member Laurie Metcalf, it’s the resonate story of a family at the crossroads. For tickets/details, click Little Bear.

Play Rating: 3.5/5.0

In the outer limits of rural Idaho, the last two estranged members of the Fernsby family tree, a reclusive aunt Sarah (Laurie Metcalf) and her gay nephew Ethan (Micah Stock), reunite during the pandemic to sort the mess left behind after Ethan’s troubled father passes away. Ethan’s disconnect is made a bit more palatable through a passing relationship with James (John Drea), but the main story is about the two reluctant Fernsbys ­– separated by age and experience – as they begin to understand the joys and perils of letting someone else into your own story, even if only for a moment.

Noggin is shuttering. The Nickelodeon subscription-based streaming app will shut down after Paramount Global laid off the entire team behind the platform. According to Kidscreen, the service which houses titles ranging from Blue’s Clues and Dora the Explorer to Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig is going to move its programming over Paramount+ under the Nick Jr. banner. Targeting the two-to-seven-year-old demo, Noggin had 2.5 million subscribers as of 2019, four years after its launch in 2015. The service housed over a thousand educational games, videos, and books in its digital library. Some of this content will go without a home when Noggin ceases to exist. (Credit: Nickelodeon Network / Courtesy: Everett Collection) As mentioned, above, Nick Jr. titles will move over to Paramount+ along with some third-party acquired titles like JoJo and Gran Gran and Little Bear. For the time being, Noggin will no longer accept new subscribers and there will be a transitional period for pre-existing subscribers.

Noggin, Nickelodeon’s interactive learning platform for preschool-age kids, is shutting down after almost 10 years, Variety has confirmed.

Noggin is a casualty of Paramount Global’s companywide layoffs this week, which resulted in about 800 staffers being let go. The entire team that ran Noggin was laid off, as first reported by trade publication Kidscreen.

Noggin will wind down sometime in 2024, with the exact date still to be determined. Noggin will no longer be taking new subscribers and there will be a transition period for current subscribers, sources confirmed.

Paramount+ already includes video content that has been on Noggin under Nick Jr., which is the company’s flagship preschool brand, and the company is focusing on reinforcing Paramount+ as a service with programming catering the whole household.

Designed for kids aged 2 to 7, the Noggin subscription service was launched in 2015. Most recently, it cost $7.99/month or $71/year. From 1999-2009, Noggin operated as...

Paramount is mired in financial difficulties and could be prepping finances for an acquisition.

It has been a difficult few months for Paramount Global as the media company has been beset by bankruptcy concerns, reports of the potential sale of the company, and the planned layoff of hundreds of employees. Those terminations have begun to hit Paramount employees and on Thursday, Kid Screen exclusively reported that the company has laid off the entire team working on kids educational streaming service Noggin and that the platform will be sunset in the coming months.

Key Points: No timeline has been confirmed about when Noggin will ultimately be shuttered. The majority of Noggin’s shows are already available on Paramount+, but no plan has been announced for its interactive titles. Noggin Parent company Paramount Global has been the subject of acquisition rumors lately. 30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month Noggin via amazon.com

Noggin is a...

VFX artists have been blown away by the quality of the effects seen in the 1995 fantasy film The Indian in the Cupboard. The film follows a young boy named Omri who discovers that toys he puts in his cupboard come to life, including a Native American figurine named Little Bear. The film uses many detailed VFX in order to bring the movie to life.

Now, VFX artists featured on Corridor Crew have reacted to the VFX of The Indian in the Cupboard, praising them for their level of detail.

The section of the video about the film starts at 13:39, with the artists floored by the level of quality in a shot where Little Bear jumps into Omri's hand. Throughout this segment of the video, they continue to analyze how the film was made to make it looks like toys had come to life in the cupboard, impressed by how it was done.

Hi there, Face here! Chances are, if you're a '90s kid who grew up on Nick Jr., you didn't just read that sentence, but you also heard it. Because, when you were sick at home and curled up on the couch, it was that voice of Nickelodeon's animated host who announced your favorite shows like Blue's Clues, Gullah Gullah Island, Little Bear, Allegra's Window and Eureeka's Castle. (And yes, reading that lineup has us feeling nostalgic Af too.) But did you ever stop and think about putting a name to, well, the Face? We did. And we found Chris Phillips, who has been lending his voice to Nickelodeon since 1994. (Though the...

12th edition of online festival showcases 30 French-language features and shorts on 70 VoD services.

David Dufresne’s documentary The Monopoly Of Violence has clinched the Grand Prix and the international press jury award at the 12th edition of Unifrance’s online festival MyFrenchFilmFestival.

The hard-hitting work, exploring police violence during the yellow vest protests, is produced Le Bureau and sold internationally by The Bureau Sales.

Running from January 14 to February 22, the festival is showcasing 30 French-language features and shorts on 70 VoD services worldwide. Past editions have registered in excess of 12 million views.

The international jury composed of Mexican-us music engineer Michelle Couttolenc and directors Joachim Lafosse,...

Apple TV+ has signed a multiyear overall deal with The Maurice Sendak Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports the artistic legacy of “Where the Wild Things Are” author Maurice Sendak and promotes emerging artists in children’s literature and theater design.

As part of the deal, Apple and The Maurice Sendak Foundation will reimagine new children’s series and specials based on Sendak’s books and illustrations. Any projects that come out of the deal will premiere both domestically and internationally exclusively on Apple TV+.

This is the first overall deal that the foundation has signed with any streaming service. Through the deal, Apple will work with Arthur Yorinks, a writer-director and longtime collaborator of Sendak’s, through his Night Kitchen Studios to develop projects inspired by Sendak’s works.

Also Read: Google Will Pay for 'High-Quality' Publishers as Part of 'New News Experience'

Sendak, who died in 2012, first rose...

Apple TV Plus announced Monday that it has inked a multi-year overall deal with the Maurice Sendak Foundation, through which it will develop new projects based on Sendak’s books and illustrations.

The streaming deal marks a first for the non-profit charitable foundation, which supports the artistic legacy of the late Sendak, who authored and illustrated the 1963 children’s classic, “Where the Wild Things Are,” as well as “In The Night Kitchen,” “Outside Over There,” and “Bumble-Ardy.” Sendak wrote and illustrated no fewer than 17 books, and lent his artistic talents as an illustrator to over one hundred other titles, including Else Holmelund Minarik’s “Little Bear” book series and Ruth Krauss’ “A Very Special House,” “Somebody Else’s Nut Tree and Other Tales from Children,” and more.

Apple TV Plus will work with writer and director — as well as longtime Sendak collaborator — Arthur Yorinks to bring each project to life.

You can see from the look on Keri Russell’s face, the story she’s hearing from one of her students is no ordinary fairy tale.

In “Antlers,” an upcoming horror and fantasy film from director Scott Cooper and producer Guillermo Del Toro, Russell plays a teacher in a small town in Oregon who along with her brother (Jesse Plemons), the town’s sheriff, discovers that a young boy is harboring a dangerous secret with frightening consequences.

“Once, there were three bears that lived in a dark, unlit cave up above a small town. Every day, Little Bear went to school, and at night he would come home and eat dinner,” the boy played by Jeremy T. Thomas narrates. “But one day, Little Bear came home, and Big Bear and Baby Bear were different. Big Bear got sick, and his insides turned black. Big Bear has become more angrier and meaner,...

Updated with corrected photo: Denis Akiyama, the Toronto-born character actor who played the real-life Pac-Man creator in Sony’s Pixels and had a long career that included voicing roles in animated TV series like Sailor Moon, died June 30. He was 66.

Akiyama’s film credits include 1995’s Johnny Mnemonic, 2010’s Repo Men and Resident Evil: Afterlife and 2015’s Pixels in which he played a fictionalized version of Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani in the comedy that starred Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage.

He most recently played Koji Yasuda on Carter, a Canadian comedic crime drama starring Jerry O’Connell. The series was picked up by Wgn America and will premiere in the U.S. next month.

In animation, Akiyama’s credits over a four-decade-long career included voicing Malachite on Sailor Moon and key roles on the likes of X-Men (as Silver Surfer), The Adventures of Tin-Tin, Monster House,...

In an age where special effects reign supreme, there’s one aspect of the filmmaking process that hasn’t gone through a radical transformation — music. Some of the best movies in any given year would be sorely lacking without their memorable scores, and this has remained true well into the first two decades of the 21st century.

Read More‘Logan’ Composer Marco Beltrami on R-Rated Wolverine Minimalist Score

Film composers play an integral part in the filmmaking process, and there are a handful whose bodies of work stand out in recent years. Of course, this list of 12 major composers only begins to scratch the surface of the talent out there. There are plenty of other worthy contributors to the medium who didn’t make the cut — Danny Elfman and John Williams, we’re looking at you — but rest assured that this top dozen represent the cream of the crop.

Hans Zimmer...

Cute in Court: Bears and Mice Controversially Live In Harmony

We are not for lack of anthropomorphized mice nor bears, from all the way back to Mickey through Ratatouille‘s Remy, to Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear and Jungle Book‘s Baloo, yet Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar & Benjamin Renner’s loving adaptation of Gabrielle Vincent’s charmingly subdued children’s book series Ernest & Celestine most recalls that of another beloved bear – Winnie the Pooh. While Vincent’s original works utilized a somewhat scribbly watercolor look, the adapting filmmakers have acclimated Vincent’s style to the animated form, and in doing, have produced an earthy but elegant hand drawn effect that closely resembles Disney’s watercolored take on Alan Alexander Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood. Though bumbling and forever as hungry as Pooh bear, Ernest inhibits an allegorical microcosm far less innocent and far more socially critical than his honey-crazed counterpart.

The world is a little less now wild as Maurice Sendak, the author of 'Where the Wild Things Are,' has died aged 83.

He wrote some 17 books and was a prolific illustrator, but was best-known for his 1963 tale of Max, who became the "king of all wild things". He lived to see Spike Jonze make the live action adaption of the film in 2009. There have also been several other adaptations including an animated short in 1973 and an opera in 1980.

Born in 1928 and raised in Brooklyn by Jewish-Polish immigrant parents, Sendak said his own life had been clouded by the Holocaust and that the events of World War II were the root of his raw and honest artistic style. His childhood dream to be an illustrator was realised in 1951 when he was commissioned to do the art for Wonderful Farm by Marcel Ayme and by 1957 he was writing his own books.

The children's book creator inspired filmmakers and actors through his honesty and imagination.

By Fallon Prinzivalli, with reporting by Ryan J. Downey

Maurice Sendak and Spike Jonze

Photo: Theo Wargo/ Getty Images

Children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak died Tuesday (May 8) as a result of complications from a stroke. He's best-known for revolutionizing the children's book genre with the surprising success of "Where the Wild Things Are." Far from popular children's fare like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" or "Green Eggs and Ham," the dark fantasy focused on Max, a rowdy boy in a wolf suit, and his adventures with the hairy beasts of his imagination.

Sendak spread his influence from children's books to the big screen when filmmaker Spike Jonze took on the ambitious project of turning "Wild Things" into a motion picture. Previously described as "unfilmable," Jonze was sure to stay true to Sendak's vision and yet bring...

The children's book creator inspired filmmakers and actors through his honesty and imagination.

By Fallon Prinzivalli, with reporting by Ryan J. Downey

Maurice Sendak and Spike Jonze

Photo: Theo Wargo/ Getty Images

Children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak died Tuesday (May 8) as a result of complications from a stroke. He's best-known for revolutionizing the children's book genre with the surprising success of "Where the Wild Things Are." Far from popular children's fare like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" or "Green Eggs and Ham," the dark fantasy focused on Max, a rowdy boy in a wolf suit, and his adventures with the hairy beasts of his imagination.

Sendak spread his influence from children's books to the big screen when filmmaker Spike Jonze took on the ambitious project of turning "Wild Things" into a motion picture. Previously described as "unfilmable," Jonze was sure to stay true to Sendak's vision and yet bring...

Maurice Sendak, author of Where The Wild Things Are, died today after suffering a stroke Friday. He was 83. Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are was awarded a Caldecott Medal for best children’s book of 1964, and President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of the Arts in 1996. As well as his work as a writer and illustrator, Sendak was a television producer of series based on his work, such as Seven Little Monsters, George And Martha and Little Bear. Spike Jonze made Where The Wild Things Are into a feature film in 2009; Sendak was a producer on the film. The author was also the subject of the documentary Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, directed by Jonze and Lance Bangs. (Photo: Getty Images)...

Toronto – Veteran Canadian cartoon producer Michael Hirsh recalls kids book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, who died early Tuesday, aged 83 years, as an enduring TV industry icon. "To those of us who have worked in children's storytelling all of our lives, Maurice Sendak was the giant--our Tolstoy, our Einstein, our Ghandi, our Mozart,” Hirsh told The Hollywood Reporter. While with Nelvana during the 1990s, Hirsh produced Little Bear, a TV version of books Sendak illustrated early in his career. He recalled Sendak, as an executive producer on the Nickelodeon cartoon series, being very hands on, not

read more...

"Please don't go. We'll eat you up, we love you so"

- Maurice Sendak, "Where The Wild Things Are"

Only a few days after the death of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, more sad news has arrived today, with The New York Times reporting that Maurice Sendak, author of beloved children's classics "Where The Wild Things Are" (which was turned into an acclaimed 2009 film by Spike Jonze) and "In The Night Kitchen," among others, has passed away at the age of 83.

Sendak, the child of Polish Jewish immigrants, was born in Brooklyn in 1928, and set his heart on becoming an illustrator after seeing Walt Disney's "Fantasia" at the age of 12. He worked on books for other authors for years, most notably Else Holmelund Minarik's "Little Bear" series, before gaining fame of his own accord in 1963 for "Where The Wild Things Are," the story of an unruly boy in a wolf...

Maurice Sendak is dead, according to The New York Times. He was 83.

The Associated Press reported that Sendak died early Tuesday at a hospital in Danbury, Connecticut after having a stroke on Friday. His longtime caretaker and friend, Lynn Caponera, was with him.

The popular children's book author wrote "Where The Wild Things Are" in 1963. He won a Caldecott Medal for the book in 1964, and was adapted into a movie in 2009.

According to The New York Times, a posthumous picture book, "My Brother's Book," is scheduled to be published in February 2013.

Here's more from the Associated Press:

Sendak didn't limit his career to a safe and successful formula of conventional children's books, though it was the pictures he did for wholesome works such as Ruth Krauss' "A Hole Is To Dig" and Else Holmelund Minarik's "Little Bear" that launched his career.

"Where the Wild Things Are," about a boy...

As Toy Story 3 arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, we look at other films in which toys walk and talk under their own power, and they've been doing it for quite a while too!

The Toy Story triumvirate will reign supreme among stories of toys coming to life and it's hard to imagine any single film or series that uses the premise of living playthings ever besting the perfect trio of movies.

But having given the hat trick fair praise, the toys in Andy's room weren't the first to walk and talk under their own control, and other stories feature toys springing to life when their owners aren't around or by the power of dreams and wishes, the magic of midnight or, in one case, the might of military grade munitions chips.

So, if you still have room for more childhood toy fantasies and adventures beyond Woody, Buzz and their crew,...

As Toy Story 3 arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, we look at other films in which toys walk and talk under their own power, and they've been doing it for quite a while too!

The Toy Story triumvirate will reign supreme among stories of toys coming to life and it's hard to imagine any single film or series that uses the premise of living playthings ever besting the perfect trio of movies.

But having given the hat trick fair praise, the toys in Andy's room weren't the first to walk and talk under their own control, and other stories feature toys springing to life when their owners aren't around or by the power of dreams and wishes, the magic of midnight or, in one case, the might of military grade munitions chips.

So, if you still have room for more childhood toy fantasies and adventures beyond Woody, Buzz and their crew,...

TORONTO -- Canadian animation producer Nelvana Ltd. on Monday said it has sold five cartoons to British Telecommunications Inc. to air as part of the phone giant's broadband TV launch this fall. Toronto-based Nelvana said its video-on-demand agreement with BT will see 15 half-hours each of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, Little Bear, Babar, Max & Ruby and The Fairly OddParents air on the phone giant's next-generation TV offering. The Nelvana content will become available to BT digital TV subscribers on an on-demand basis via a set-top box connected to the phone giant's high-speed Internet offering. Terms of the deal with BT were not disclosed.

TORONTO -- Canadian animation producer Nelvana Ltd. said Wednesday that Criterion Pictures will distribute its animated library titles in non-theatrical venues countrywide, including schools and daycare centers. Terms of the five-year deal were not disclosed, but the agreement will see Criterion initially picking up the public performance rights to 26 episodes of Anatole, 78 episodes of Babar, 40 half-hours of The Berenstain Bears, 13 episodes of Corduroy, another 78 episodes of Franklin, 52 episodes of Little Bear and 13 episodes of Elliot Moose. Criterion and Audio Cine Films are the main distributors in Canada for the public performance of film product from Hollywood studios and other producers. With Nelvana, Criterion intends to distribute library cartoon series in educational markets, mainly schools, daycare centers, libraries and museums. "This deal is consistent with Nelvana Home Entertainment's long-term plan to operate in all distribution channels, working with the experts in those areas," Peter Maule, vp of home entertainment and retail distribution at Nelvana, said in a statement.

TORONTO -- Canadian broadcaster Corus Entertainment said Thursday it has launched a home entertainment division by securing U.S. and British licensing deals for its Nelvana animation library. Toronto-based Corus said FUNimation Productions has agreed to release 44 back-catalog Nelvana titles in the U.S. market on home video and DVD, including Redwall, Tales of the Crypt Keeper, and Molville Mysteries, and that Texas-based FUNimation will become a potential strategic partner on new anime productions and co-productions. At the same time, British home entertainment distributor Maverick acquired the home video and DVD rights to 33 Nelvana library titles, including Little Bear, Timothy Goes to School and Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.. Maverick also has options on new releases. Nelvana has about 2,400 titles in its animation library.