Cartoon Brew

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Bad Ideas

Another Leak: ‘Avatar: Aang: The Last Airbender’ Surfaces Online Months Before Paramount+ Debut

Reports indicate the full film has leaked online, raising fresh concerns about security and the long-term industry impact of leaks like this.

Advertising

‘It Feels Like A Music Video’: How Brikk Turned ‘Good Mouse’ Into More Than A Game Trailer

Director Matthew Reeve discusses shaping a music-driven narrative, working with the developers, and building Mouseburg beyond the game.

Executives

Nickelodeon Animation Studio Folded Into CBS As Alec Botnick Takes Over

Like Cartoon Network Studios before it, legacy TV animation studios tied to broadcast are increasingly being folded into larger corporate pipelines.

Box Office Report

Box Office: ‘Mario’ Stays On Top, ‘Detective Conan’ Opens Huge, ‘Hoppers’ Holds Strong In Global Top Five

‘Detective Conan’ opened big in Japan with $26 million, landing third at the global box office despite the single-territory release.

Distribution

‘The Amazing Digital Circus’ Heads To Theaters In Landmark Move For Digital Native Animation

Glitch’s billion-view indie series will close out with a feature-length event style finale in U.S. theaters from Fathom Entertainment.

Awards

‘Common Side Effects,’ ‘Moon Girl,’ ‘Shape Island’ Score Peabody Nominations

The nominations continue a gradual but notable expansion of animation’s presence in one of the industry’s most selective honors.

Animators

Zagreb To Honor Joanna Quinn With Its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award

The world’s second-oldest animation festival will recognize Quinn’s decades of bold, character-driven films and her lasting influence on independent animation.

Business

Netflix Plants Flag In Vancouver As More Animation Production Heads North

Distribution

YouTube Claims Independent Animators Are Reshaping The Industry, And Has The Receipts To Prove It

New data shows young audiences embracing creators, global reach accelerating, and fan-driven production reshaping how animation is developed

Feature Film

Brad Bird’s Long-Awaited ‘Ray Gunn’ Unveils First Look Images, Star-Studded Cast

The retro-futurist noir drama is set in Metropia and blends aliens, murder, and media spectacle in Bird’s decades-in-the-making animated feature.

Comics

Obscure Hungarian Comics, Mid-Century Aesthetics, And Analog Charm: Behind The Viral Work Of KiwisBurntToast

Keegan the Animator draws on mid-century comics and film language to create hand-made animated clips that are finding audiences across the globe.

CGI

Netflix Unveils First Image From It’s Highly Anticipated ‘Mafalda’ Series Adaptation

Oscar-winner and record-breaking ‘Underdogs’ director Juan José Campanella helms, reworking the strip into stylized CG while retaining its political edge.

Events

AfroAnimation Summit Is Quickly Emerging As A Major Talent Pipeline

Anime

Netflix Expands ‘One Piece’ With New WIT Studio Anime And LEGO Two-Part Special

Netflix is teaming with WIT and Toei on an anime remake of the manga’s East Blue arc, and will debut a LEGO retelling of the live-action series later this year.

Museums

Metrograph Spotlights Czech Animation From Foundational Stop-Motion To Contemporary Breakouts

Spanning 1949–2025, the series features Švankmajer, Barta, and Zeman, plus Daria Kashcheeva in person, rare shorts, and restorations.

Festivals

LAFM’s Animation Today Returns With New Don Hertzfeldt Short

Six shorts from around the world highlight the breadth of contemporary independent animation at this year’s Los Angeles Festival of Movies.

Box Office Report

‘Mario Galaxy’ Posts Super $372.5 Million Opening, Just Shy Of Original Film’s Benchmark

Universal and Illumination’s Mario sequel takes off with a $372 million global debut, while ‘Hoppers’ and ‘GOAT’ progressed in their runs.

Cartoon Brew Pick

Takashi Ohashi Explores Time And Memory In ‘Wildest Flower’ Music Video

Business

Rodeo FX Consolidates Paris Operations, Moves Mikros Animation Into Unified Studio

The chic new Paris headquarters brings Mikros and Rodeo teams together as integration continues and European production scales up.

Business

Veteran DreamWorks Director Tim Johnson Launches New Animation Banner, Will Helm ‘Wizard Of Id’ Feature

The director is teaming with Goodman Pictures to launch Underneath the Umbrella Productions, with ‘B.C.’ and ‘Wizard of Id’ projects planned.

Hit Indie Sci-Fi Comedy ‘Sunny Side Down’ Wraps Season With A Hard-Earned Finale (EXCLUSIVE)

‘Iron Giant,’ ‘Phineas And Ferb’ Vet Alan Bodner To Showcase His Work In Animayo Exhibition (EXCLUSIVE)

Theaters Scramble To Add Screens As ‘Digital Circus’ Finale Breaks Presales Records

In ‘Carrotica,’ Sexually Charged Root Vegetables Meet Queer Teenage Angst (EXCLUSIVE)

‘Common Side Effects’ S2, ‘Baahubali,’ ‘Ogresse,’ And ‘The Wolf’ Headline Annecy’s 2026 Work In Progress Lineup

WIA Launches First U.K. Collective With May 28 Locksmith Kickoff Mixer

After Years Of Delays, ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse’ Screens First Footage At CinemaCon

Latest

Another Leak: ‘Avatar: Aang: The Last Airbender’ Surfaces Online Months Before Paramount+ Debut

‘It Feels Like A Music Video’: How Brikk Turned ‘Good Mouse’ Into More Than A Game Trailer

Nickelodeon Animation Studio Folded Into CBS As Alec Botnick Takes Over

Box Office: ‘Mario’ Stays On Top, ‘Detective Conan’ Opens Huge, ‘Hoppers’ Holds Strong In Global Top Five

‘The Amazing Digital Circus’ Heads To Theaters In Landmark Move For Digital Native Animation

‘Common Side Effects,’ ‘Moon Girl,’ ‘Shape Island’ Score Peabody Nominations

Zagreb To Honor Joanna Quinn With Its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award

Netflix Plants Flag In Vancouver As More Animation Production Heads North

YouTube Claims Independent Animators Are Reshaping The Industry, And Has The Receipts To Prove It

Brad Bird’s Long-Awaited ‘Ray Gunn’ Unveils First Look Images, Star-Studded Cast

Obscure Hungarian Comics, Mid-Century Aesthetics, And Analog Charm: Behind The Viral Work Of KiwisBurntToast

Netflix Unveils First Image From It’s Highly Anticipated ‘Mafalda’ Series Adaptation

AfroAnimation Summit Is Quickly Emerging As A Major Talent Pipeline

Netflix Expands ‘One Piece’ With New WIT Studio Anime And LEGO Two-Part Special

Metrograph Spotlights Czech Animation From Foundational Stop-Motion To Contemporary Breakouts

LAFM’s Animation Today Returns With New Don Hertzfeldt Short

‘Mario Galaxy’ Posts Super $372.5 Million Opening, Just Shy Of Original Film’s Benchmark

Takashi Ohashi Explores Time And Memory In ‘Wildest Flower’ Music Video

Rodeo FX Consolidates Paris Operations, Moves Mikros Animation Into Unified Studio

Veteran DreamWorks Director Tim Johnson Launches New Animation Banner, Will Helm ‘Wizard Of Id’ Feature

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