Netflix and Jeff Smith's Bone Feature

This bad buzz turned up on my Facebook feed a couple days ago. It sounds like it's the end for Jeff Smith's "Bone" Feature. Jeff Smith created a cleverly written and beautifully designed comic that was geared to be just right for animation. No dice. "Bone" seemed to be cursed ever since I visited their old Character Builders Studio back in Columbus Ohio. Hey, it's not my fault. Maybe management had something to do with it...

https://www.thewrap.com/netflix-animation-shakeup-executives-fired-shows-canceled-staged-data/

 More here-

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/never-again-jeff-smith-posts-215000073.html

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/netflix-animation-erased-executives-fired-220251819.html?guccounter=1

 

("Bone" original copyright Jeff Smith)

And because, the Bone comic dealt with some mature issues, such as smoking and drinking alcohol, the censorship battle sprung up some years ago. There seems to be a rigid view of what an animated feature should be, and what "ingredients" it should contain. Heaven help up us if we get something refreshing, nutritious and imaginative besides the usual fast food.

http://cbldf.org/banned-challenged-comics/case-study-bone/ 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/19/jeff-smith-bone-us-banned-books-week

It's been a long time since I read the comics, but I remember Bone's story beginning to approach an epic that borrowed a bit from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jeff Smith's influences from classic animation, and Walt Kelly' "Pogo Possum" also added to a lively mix of comedy, action and great characters interacting. Plus, some mysteries and drama that arise with the female leads, and their connection to the Dragons. It would be quite a story to squeeze all that material into one feature, along with all the desperately needed pop culture and music to "help make it a hit".

Get back to the basics here.

https://www.boneville.com/

48th Annie Awards Winners: Soul & Wolfwalkers, Hilda

 https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/soul-and-wolfwalkers-dominate-48th-annie-awards-204408.html

48th Annual Annie Awards

Annie Awards Live
Watch it LIVE! April 16th, 7:00pm PST

 

https://annieawards.org/watch-it-live

Studio Showrunners and Talent jumping to Streaming Services

New gold rush? New brain drain? Streaming (a.k.a. the new cable TV) seems to be the technology we should focus on. The L.A. Times reports on how showrunners are leaving TV production for the streaming service companies. This is concerning since good animation jobs will depend on these new studios. On Star Trek, the Next Generation, commander Data mentioned that television became obsolete by 2040 as a popular form of entertainment. Looks like it will be much sooner than that.

 (By Thomas Suh Lauder and David Ng)

https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-et-netflix-job-report/?fbclid=IwAR0cF6erLuldRlG_jD92KuistK69yGS_7ZMyW0b8TRyhop2VPCVPAIgJa00

In the meantime, Carl Beu created this nifty chart showing how timers form the heart, or maybe the backbone of TV animation employment.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102690632423247&set=p.10102690632423247&type=3&theater

Carl used Gephi to create this cool chart.

https://gephi.org/ 

Streaming Animation - Rights for Artists and Viewers

Credit where credit is due: I think this article by Alex Dudok de Wit on Cartoon Brew gives a thorough rundown on the situation of streaming sources and their rates. Excellent research.

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/streaming/the-ultimate-guide-to-streaming-animation-comparing-netflix-amazon-prime-video-hulu-disney-apple-tv-hbo-max-177645.html

 Alex's article took me back to my concerns about the rights of animation artists working in new media, and the rights of consumers. It looks like we have simply gone back to paying for a new type of cable TV, on top of paying our internet bills. And will the new media studios try to continue in nickel and diming the artists to death? My Spidey-Sense says yes.

https://animationre-creation.blogspot.com/search/label/corporate%20mergers

And then there's this: After months of negotiations with ShadowMachine, animation artists finally succeeded in signing a Guild labor contract on Bojack Horseman. Now, after a six year run, Netflix is pulling the plug on the show.

(copyright Netflix)

https://ew.com/tv/2019/09/28/aaron-paul-says-netflix-decided-end-bojack-horseman/

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/bojack-horseman-final-season-netflix-1203351456/ 

https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2481223/why-is-netflixs-bojack-horseman-ending-aaron-paul-seems-to-have-a-different-explanation

With the financial and technology situations changing so rapidly, I can see why the studios want to hedge their bets on labor and other production costs. But I still think animation artists and technicians need representation in new media, and citizens still need a Digital Bill of Rights. Especially when it comes to our savings, and our privacy. And just our plain old satisfaction when we plunk down in front of whatever screen we choose for entertainment.

https://www.awn.com/news/bojack-horseman-crew-votes-unionize

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/artist-rights/breaking-bojack-horseman-crew-is-victorious-in-unionizing-with-animation-guild-176148.html

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflixs-bojack-horseman-animators-push-union-wages-1205833

Legend Quest - Netflix

Stumbled on Legend Quest on the Animation Scoop website. Netflix is putting out this new series from Anima Estudios. Looks like fun so far. The style and characters look like they took some inspiration from Gravity Falls and Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

(copyright Anima Estudios & Netflix)

The plot revolves around Leo, and his new friends as they challenge the evil schemes of Quetzalcóatl.

The story takes place in 18th century Mexico where Leo has encountered ghosts and demons as a child, and now must do so again with his new friends: Don Andrés, who is the ghost of an old conquistador, Teodora, who is a actually a hologram of a girl somehow transported from the 21st century, and Alebrije, a magical creature based on Mexican folk art.

Looks like it has a lot of fun and action, I hope it does well.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1381414425/

http://www.animationscoop.com/netflix-legend-quest-full-opening-titles/

https://mic.com/articles/166148/netflix-s-legend-quest-is-enjoyable-for-adults-and-reminds-latino-kids-that-they-matter#.V6O5uCxbl