“Coraline” studio LAIKA Recruits The Copeland Brothers to Develop Animated Feature Film Projects

laikaLAIKA continues to expand its animation division’s creative roster with key hires. Filmmakers Chris and Justin Copeland, known collectively as The Copeland Brothers, have joined the award-winning studio (Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings) to develop animated feature projects, it was announced today by Travis Knight, President & CEO.

Separately, Chris and Justin Copeland have established themselves on high-profile titles with Chris directing on DreamWorks’ Emmy, GLAAD and NAACP-nominated series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts and Justin directing on the DC original films Wonder Woman: Bloodlines and Batman: Hush. Together they worked inside the DC Universe as storyboard artists on a host of original animated films and series including Batman: The Killing Joke; Batman: Soul of the Dragon; Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, and The Death and Return of Superman as well as Marvel’s animated Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers Assemble series, among others.

Over the past five years, The Copelands have been developing for both DreamWorks feature and television divisions. Recently the duo wrapped writing and directing a soon-to-be released animated short film. Born and raised in Chicago, Chris studied at the Illinois Institute of Art and Justin attended Columbia College focusing on Film/Cinema.

The Copeland Brothers are represented by Jason Burns and Strawn Dixon at UTA; manager Jairo Alvarado at Redefine Entertainment and the law firm of Raymond Tambe at Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.

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Official Trailer for Animated Comedy “Hitpig!” Released

hitpigJason Sudeikis, Lilly Singh, Rainn Wilson, RuPaul, Hannah Gadsby, Anitta, Charlie Adler, Flavor Flav, Lorraine Ashbourne and Andy Serkis.

It is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times bestseller children’s book “Pete & Pickles” by author Berkeley Breathed.

Set in a futuristic world, the film follows a grizzled porcine bounty hunter who accepts his next hit: Pickles, a naive, ebullient elephant who has escaped the clutches of an evil trillionaire. Though Hitpig initially sets out to capture the perky pachyderm, the unlikely pair find themselves on an unexpected adventure crisscrossing the globe that brings out the best in both of them. Based on an original idea by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Berkeley Breathed, inspired by his 2008 children’s book Pete & Pickles, comes an adventure about learning that sometimes what we want isn’t what we need.

The film is set for release on November 1, 2024.

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LAIKA Brings CORALINE Back For Limited HALLOWEEN Engagement

CoralineAfter a summertime return to theaters that grossed over $53M in global box office, LAIKA’s acclaimed 2009 stop-motion animated film Coraline is set to return to theaters for a special Halloween engagement starting on October 31st.

In addition to the U.S., the Halloween engagement of Coraline includes the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Austria, and Ecuador with more territories to follow. France and Italy will also begin their Coraline 15th Anniversary engagements this November.

The 15th Anniversary theatrical re-release of Coraline this past August was an huge success, surpassing all estimates. Since its re-release on August 15th, Coraline has brought in over $53M* at the global box office.

The film has also surpassed its original 2009 box office throughout Latin America, including Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Bolivia.

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Comedy Central’s “Everybody Still Hates Chris” To Premiere Wednesday, September 25th

everybody-still-hates-chrisComedy Central today announced the premiere date of its highly anticipated adult animated series, Everybody Still Hates Chris. The reimagined series starring and executive produced by Chris Rock premieres Wednesday, September 25 at 10pm ET/PT.

Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold also star alongside Tim Johnson Jr., Ozioma Akagha, Terrence Little Gardenhigh, and Gunnar Sizemore. The series is produced by CBS Studios and Chris Rock Enterprises, in association with 3 Arts Entertainment.

Everybody Still Hates Chris will feature Chris Rock (“Rustin,” “Fargo”) as “Adult Chris,” narrating stories inspired by his experience growing up as a skinny nerd in a large working-class family in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, during the late 1980s. Terry Crews (“America’s Got Talent”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) will voice “Julius,” Chris’ father who is a gentle giant with a relentless work ethic, and tightwad approach to life. He grew up dirt poor, so he knows the cost of everything down to the penny. He works two jobs to support the family, and on his days off, he takes on a third job. Tichina Arnold (“The Neighborhood”) will voice “Rochelle,” Chris’ mother who is smart, strong-willed, and has a nurturing spirit, but she can also be hot-headed, especially when it comes to her kids. She tolerates zero nonsense, so she quits more jobs in a month than most people do in a lifetime.
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Mark Hamill To Voice “The Flying Dutchman” in Upcoming Film The Spongebob Movie: Search For Squarepants

spongebob-25-paramountNickelodeon brought fans down to Bikini Bottom and beyond to celebrate SpongeBob SquarePants’ landmark 25th anniversary during an exclusive panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Thursday, July 25, 2024.

Appearing in Hall H for the first time, iconic voices Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton), along with executive producers Marc Ceccarelli and Vincent Waller, kicked off the four-day Comic-Con weekend with the Best. Panel. Ever. — “Celebrating 25 Years of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants.”

Moderated by Good Burger’s Ed (Kel Mitchell), the panel highlights include a surprise live appearance by legendary actor Mark Hamill (Star Wars) to announce his role as “The Flying Dutchman” in Paramount Pictures’ upcoming fourth theatrical film, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, an exclusive clip reveal of the upcoming movie, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, available August 2 on Netflix, and a first look at the one-hour special SpongeBob SquarePants, “Kreepaway Kamp.”

Veteran voice cast Tom Kenny (SpongeBob), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs) also conducted a live table read of the beloved 1999 pilot episode SpongeBob SquarePants, “Help Wanted,” and Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy Cheeks) and Mr. Lawrence (Plankton) performed a live table read from SpongeBob SquarePants, “Single-Celled Defense.”

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“Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” Sets Spinoff Debut Date

Tales-of-the-Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-TurtlesParamount+ has released the full trailer for “Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, its animated series spin-off of last year’s hit film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”.

According to the show’s synopsis, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple.”

Tales features the voice cast of reprising Nicolas Cantu (The Amazing World of Gumball) as Leo, Micah Abbey (Cousins for Life) as Donnie, Shamon Brown Jr. (The Chi) as Mikey, and Brady Noon (Family Switch) as Raphael.

The 2D-animated show on Paramount Plus is set to run for 12 episodes.

“Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is set for release on August 9th on Paramount Plus.

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“A Stork’s Journey 2” Official Trailer Released

Richard-The-Setork-2
Directed by Benjamin Quabeck and Mette Tange, the animated family adventure features the voices of Jay Myers, Kyra Jackson, Simona Berman, Blake Farha, and Jeffrey Hylton

Here, Richard is back and flying high in a hilarious, all-new sequel to the original hit family film. Out to prove he is a “chirp” off the old block, the young bird gives everything he’s got to become flock leader only to learn his brother Max has been given the job. After deciding to take flight and start a new life, Richard begins a dangerous journey full of thrills and surprises. It is only through the devotion, ingenuity and bravery of his friends that Richard finds real character and courage in himself and discovers what he is truly meant to be.

Lionsgate is set to release “Stork’s Journey 2” through digital retailers and on-demand June 18, 2024.

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“Angry Birds Mystery Island” New Trailer Released

Angry-Birds-Mystery-IslandAngry Birds Mystery Island, the new animated original series featuring new characters from Rovio Entertainment Corporation, is set to debut the first eight episodes simultaneously on Amazon Kids+ and Prime Video on Tuesday, May 21st.

The just hatched Trailer gives a sneak “beak” of what fans can expect from the talented cast as they give a voice to three new hatchling characters: Mia, Rosie, Buddy plus a foreign-exchange piglet named Hamylton. This follows the announcement of the 24 episode order for the first season.

Angry Birds Mystery Island features an ensemble cast including Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), Kate Micucci (Scooby-Doo!), Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings), and Nasim Pedrad (Saturday Night Live). The series was developed by Amazon Kids+ and showrunner Eric Rogers (Futurama), and is being produced by Titmouse Inc. (The Legend of Vox Machina).


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“Robot Dreams”, Whimsical Oscar®-Nominated Animated Feature Opens May 31 at Film Forum

Robot-DreamsFilm Forum is set to present the US theatrical premiere of Pablo Berger’s “Robot Dreams”, a NEON release, on Friday, May 31.

A tender, affecting tale of friendship, the animated “Robot Dreams”, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Sara Varon – is set in a 1980s NYC populated solely by pigs, birds, cats, and other animal clans. Yet Dog leads a lonely existence, eating TV dinners in his East Village walkup.

When he sees an infomercial for a robot-building kit, he seizes the chance for the perfect city buddy: Dog and Robot eat hot dogs together on 5th Avenue, roller skate in Central Park, venture to Coney Island — to the groove of their song, Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” But when Robot gets stranded at the beach, Dog is helpless to rescue him; and, as the seasons change, they both endure a separation that will change them forever.


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Explosive Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Thriller “Max Beyond” Set For Release

max-beyondThe upcoming sci-fi thriller created using realtime animation technology Unreal Engine is set to be available on digital download in the UK from 22nd April & US from 23rd April.

Max Beyond tells the story of Max, a young boy held captive in a research facility. Using his ability to create rifts in the fabric of spacetime across parallel universes, he searches for the reality in which his brother Leon, a former-marine, manages to rescue him. With attempt after attempt ending in Leon’s death, the strain starts to take its toll on both brothers. When Max discovers his captors are using his power against him, he realizes he must stop focusing on how the story ends and rewrite the story from the beginning.

The cast includes BAFTA-award winning actor Jane Perry (Cyberpunk 2077, Hitman, Returnal), Dave Fennoy (The Walking Dead) and Cade Tropeano (Black Bird). Motion capture performances from Ace Ruele (Eternals) and Alex Kong (Marvel Studio’s What If?).
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