Welcome folks! It’s that time again for the for the Weekly News! This is where every Sunday, I give the latest animation news in one sweet article. With this weeks stories, I’ll be looking into the unfortunate cancelation of The Croods 2, the complete list of 2016 animated features submitted to the Oscars, the Chinese release of TeamTO’s Yellowbird, and a heartfelt Twitter message from the creator of We Bare Bears.

DreamWorks Animation cancels The Croods 2

The Croods was a surprise hit when DreamWorks Animation released the prehistoric comedy back in 2013, earning positive reviews and grossing a solid $587 million worldwide. We are sad to report unfortunately that the sequel, The Croods 2, has officially been canned by DreamWorks and their new owner Universal.

Donna Langley, Chairman of Universal Pictures, met with DreamWorks’ Glendale staff on Thursday and broke the news that production on The Croods 2 (which had been in the works for 3.5 years) would immediately stop. Some 30 employees working on the film will look for new jobs, with DreamWorks hoping to keep them at the company to help out on their other film projects.

Prior to halting, the movie’s release had been pushed from Christmas 2017 to 2018, hinting signs of production issues. The reason for the cancelation is not fully clear, but DreamWorks and Universal stated that doubts were already raised about the sequel even before the Comcast purchase. Two sources indicate that Universal was just confirming a decision already made by DreamWorks to abandon the project.

If I can give my view on this, it’s rather sad that The Croods 2 won’t see the light of day. I wouldn’t say the original is among DreamWorks’ best efforts, but it does have it’s charm and is enjoyed by a lot of people. I can see this announcement would not only disappoint fans, but also the crew (including directors Chris Sanders and Kirk De Micco) who worked hard on the sequel for years only to have everything scrapped. Even Simon Wells, who was working on the movie, assured us in our interview with him that it was going to be terrific.

It is heartbreaking for the crew to put a project they were passionate about to rest, but for the long run, tough decisions like this sometimes have to be made. I wish them all the best with the next projects they take part in.

• Source: Variety

The Oscar race begins for animated features

With such a wide variety of animated features released this year both mainstream and independent, it’s time for them to be submitted to the Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Friday the complete list of worldwide submissions for the Best Animated Feature category, with a record number of 27 entries.

In alphabetical order, the movies submitted are:

• - The Angry Birds Movie
• - April and the Extraordinary World (French: Avril et le Monde truqué)
• - Bilal
• - Finding Dory
• - Ice Age: Collision Course
• - Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV (Japanese: キングスグレイブ ファイナルファンタジーXV)
• - Kubo and the Two Strings
• - Kung Fu Panda 3
• - The Little Prince
• - Long Way North (French: Tout en haut du monde)
• - Miss Hokusai (Japanese: 百日紅)
• - Moana
• - Monkey King: Hero Is Back (Chinese: 西游记之大圣归来)
• - Mune: Guardian of the Moon (French: Mune, le gardien de la lune)
• - Mustafa & the Magician    
• - My Life as a Zucchini (French: Ma vie de Courgette)
• - Phantom Boy
• - The Red Turtle (French: La Tortue rouge)
• - Sausage Party
• - The Secret Life of Pets
• - Sing
• - Snowtime! (French: La Guerre des tuques 3D)
• - Storks
• - Trolls
• - 25 April
• - Your Name (Japanese: 君の名は。)
• - Zootopia

The only wide releases not submitted were Norm of the North, Ratchet & Clank, and Robinson Crusoe/The Wild Life. Presumably they were so poorly received, that Lionsgate and Gramercy Pictures just didn’t even bother.

Under Academy rules, the submissions must have complete theatrical runs in Los Angeles in order to qualify for the shortlist. As long as 16 of the films meet this requirement, up to five nominations will be selected and announced on January 24, 2017. We wish all the submissions the best of luck of getting chosen.

• Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Yellowbird is heading to China

The Chinese animation industry has been booming in recent years, with both local and imported productions making a big scene in the nation. One of the latest animated imports for the country is going to be Yellowbird (Gus, petit oiseau, grand voyage in French), the 2014 French animated comedy created by TeamTO.

The movie, which follows a tiny bird who leads a flock to Africa despite never leaving his nest, features the English voices of Seth Green (Robot Chicken), Elliott Gould (Kim Possible), Christine Baranski (Trolls), and Dakota Fanning (Coraline), and has been sold to over 50 countries worldwide by SC Films International. 35 of those countries have screened the film theatrically.

Taikong Works have acquired the Chinese distribution rights for Yellowbird, which includes releases on all platforms such as cinemas, digital media, and traditional broadcast. This will mark as the first deal established for TeamTO’s new Beijing office, which was set up to create partnerships between their studios in France, and animation companies of China.

TeamTO President Guillaume Hellouin stated that: “The traditional relationship where international companies outsource to Chinese animation companies is quickly evolving into a more bilateral relationship, with co-production, co-finance, and co-distribution in a global market of high-quality projects flowing in both directions.”

Taikong Works will release Yellowbird in Chinese theatres during Chinese New Year in January 2017, which should be a great opportunity for China to experience TeamTO’s adorable flick. For those curious about the movie itself, check out the English trailer!

• Source: Animation Magazine

Why Daniel Chong created We Bare Bears

I’m sure a lot of people worldwide have been saddened by the bad things that happened during 2016. But as me being a fan of the Cartoon Network show We Bare Bears, I thought it would be great to bring up this to cheer you up. This is in regards about a heartwarming statement that creator Daniel Chong has posted on his Twitter about why he created the show.

As one of the few minority creators in Cartoon Network’s history, Chong based the show’s comical portrayal of Grizzly, Panda, and Ice Bear trying to fit into human society on his experience as an Asian-American, as well as “an allegory for what it feels like to be a minority in America” and showcasing “the need to fit in and belong”.

While expressing his commitment of telling stories through TV to “showcase the better and brighter parts of who we are as people”, Chong has also assured the comfort to those “nervous for the future” by believing in “love, understanding, tolerance, diversity, and peace”. His statement caught the attention of Cartoon Brew editor Amid Amidi, which lead Amidi to feature the statement in this article.

I highly encourage you guys to give the statement a read. What Daniel has written will defiantly make you appreciate We Bare Bears even more.

And that’s all I got for this week’s Weekly News. Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks so much for reading, and see you next week!

• - Karlamon