2020:A Whole Lot of Animation Goin’ On!
Yes, it’s that time again when we get all bright-eyed and bushytailed, hoping that this new year will be a time of extraordinary creativity and optimism. When we’ll see less of man’s evil and more of the human capacity for good actions and global positivity. After all, the number 2020 has a really good ring to it, so why not hope for the best, right?
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about this year: It’s an especially good time to be a Pixar fan, since audiences are treated to two new, completely original features from the studio: Dan Scanlon’s Onward (March 6) and Pete Docter’s Soul (June 19). The folks at DreamWorks also have a busy year ahead. The studio is delivering two sequels to two of its highly popular movies: Trolls World Tour (April 17) and The Croods 2 (Dec. 23). May is going to be a super busy month as well, since both Scoob! and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge
are poised to take a bite out of the late spring family audience share.
Netflix has a wide variety of features in store for us in 2020. The streamer is releasing Aardman’s much-anticipated A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon in February, and following it up with Kris Pearn’s The Willoughbys in spring. Meanwhile, Glen Keane’s CG-animated musical
Over the Moon about a young girl who dreams of visiting a moon goddess is slated for the fall.
Universal/Illumination is back in the little yellow people business this July when Minions: The Rise of Gru opens in theaters nationwide. The innovative team at Sony Pictures Animation also have a great treat for us in the fall when director Mike Rianda’s clever and visually stunning The Mitchells vs. the Machines (working title) opens wide.
Disney fans will be happy to know that the studio is releasing Locksmith Animation’s Ron’s Gone Wrong in November as well as its own 59th animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon,
directed by Paul Briggs and Dean Wellins, on Nov. 25. Let’s not forget that Cartoon Saloon’s beautiful, 2D-animated feature
Wolfwalkers is also supposed to arrive this year, courtesy of the folks at Apple TV+.
Since the only major animated movie that opens wide this month is Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering with You, which we covered in last month’s issue, we had the chance to write about some of the many new animated series which are popping up on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Netflix in the early part of the year. Make sure you check out our features about The Owl House, The Fast & the Furious: Spy Racers, It’s Pony and The Witcher, among many of the other fun items we have packed in this first issue of the year!
By the way, this June, we are publishing our 300th issue, just in time for the Annecy Festival in France! We are putting together a list of 300 things we love about the animation and VFX business. So make sure you write to us and let us know about your favorite things, so that we can include them in the mix. We’re hoping to deliver a real blockbuster issue, which will reflect the healthy glow of our industry and favorite art form. Now, keep your fingers crossed! Happy 2020 everyone!