EDITOR’S NOTE
As we get ready for the final weeks of 2020, there are things that many of us will never forget about the year of COVID, stayat-home anxieties and election nightmares. How will we ever explain to future generations how everyone suddenly felt the need to hoard toilet paper and flour? The good news is that an effective vaccine is coming and we see signs of change and hope on the distant horizon. So, congratulations to all of us for surviving this turbulent, maddening and unpredictable annus horribilis.
We have prepared a jam-packed issue for you as our final offering of 2020. There are fun interviews with the creative folks behind three very different movies — DreamWorks’ colorful and fun sequel The Croods: A New Age, Takashi Yamazaki’s fast-moving Lupin III: The First, which is being released by our good friends at GKIDS, and Bombay Rose, a lovely indie film by Gitanjali Rao, which debuts on
Netflix.
In addition to these three movies, audiences will finally get a chance to catch up with two of the most-anticipated titles of the year: Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers
(premieres Dec. 11 on Apple TV+) and Pixar’s Soul (premieres Dec. 25
Disney+). Make sure you pick up last month’s issue for comprehensive features on two of the best-reviewed movies of the year.
The end of the year also means it’s time for many of our animated holiday favorites to return to the small screen. By now, you have probably had a chance to catch the Chiodo brothers’ wonderful new stop-motion special Alien Xmas on Netflix. We had the privilege to chat with these legendary VFX and stop-motion icons in this issue. It’s also a very busy time of the year for new animated content as Disney+ unveiled The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse and Apple TV+ introduced us to Doug Unplugs and Stillwater; three fantastic, beautifully mounted shows that are perfect reflections of the streaming renaissance we are all enjoying.
We are planning a really special, tabloid-size award-season kick-off issue next month, which will give you a front-row seat to the animation and VFX contenders of this year’s unusual Oscar, Annie and Golden Globe races. But, we are making a splash this month with our own Animation Magazine Hall of Fame Awards. These awards were usually handed out during a fun gala event, which kick-started our World Animation & VFX summit each year. But fortunately, thanks to our generous sponsors, we were able to do a taped version of the ceremony, which will debut online on our website and Facebook page on December 7. Make sure you read all about this year’s special honorees on page 28.
Since the holidays are just around the corner, your friends at Animation Magazine would like to wish all of you animation fans and professionals out there a peaceful and joyous season. We know that these are challenging and stressful times, but we hope 2021 will be a much better year for all of us — one full of happiness and unity and many, many more wonderful and inspiring animated projects that brighten our lives and help us envision a better world.