Netflix unveiled its new slate of its new animated movies and shows at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Throughout the festival, award-winning filmmakers and creators, like Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Alex Woo, Genndy Tartakovsky and more, raised the curtain to reveal exclusive clips and sneak peeks of Netflix’s upcoming animated slate, giving festivalgoers an early taste of the series and shows that are to come.
Highlights of this include:
- Showrunner Eric Robles teased, behind closed doors, a world exclusive of Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, an animated series.The series features a cutting-edge animation style by Flying Bark.
“We’re beyond excited to unveil this years-long secret project. The animated series will present a captivating new mystery, deeply rooted in the Stranger Things universe. It will propel beloved characters into an adventure that will stretch the limits of action, suspense, and horror, perfectly suited for animation,” said Robles.
Synopsis: Welcoming us back to Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, the new show sees the original characters fighting new monsters and unraveling a paranormal mystery terrorising their town.
- Emmy Award-winner and first-time feature director, Alex Woo, production designer Steven Pilcher and VFX supervisor Nicola Lavender unveiled an extensive footage from In Your Dreams. Woo also debuted the teaser trailer a few hours before its global debut. The film releases on Netflix on 14 November.
Woo said of his first Annecy experience: “I’ve always felt that making a film is like cooking a really special meal for your friends: you pick the best ingredients, pull out your favourite recipes, and set the table with your best china. Being at Annecy and serving up a little amuse-bouche of In Your Dreams has been such a joy and I can’t wait to share the full meal with you all soon!”
The logline of the movie reads: In Your Dreams is a comedy adventure that follows Stevie and her brother Elliot as they journey into the absurd landscape of their own dreams. If the siblings can withstand a snarky stuffed giraffe, zombie breakfast foods, and the queen of nightmares, the Sandman will grant them their ultimate dream come true…the perfect family.
- Netflix Animation Studios head Hannah Minghella spotlighted never before seen clips from the upcoming features slate including KPop Demon Hunters which will be released on 20 June, Phil Johnston’s new animated film inspired by Roald Dahl’s The Twits which will be coming out in this fall and Skydance Animation’s Pookoo.
- Adult animated film Fixed, which released globally on 13 August, opened to paw-tastic reviews and raised the ruff following its world premiere.
“That was crazy! What an incredible reception! This is truly one of the reasons that I became an animator, to sit in a theater and watch people laugh and love hand-crafted animation! I’ve always had great experiences in Annecy but this was the most exceptional one,” said director Genndy Tartakovsky.
The logline of the movie reads: From visionary director Tartakovsky comes Fixed, an adult animated comedy about Bull, an average, all-around good dog who discovers he’s going to be neutered in the morning! As the gravity of this life-altering event sets in, Bull realizes he needs one last adventure with his pack of best friends as these are the last 24 hours with his balls! What could go wrong…?
- Writer and producer Raphael Bob-Waksberg took up a masterclass for the audience that focused on his career from BoJack Horseman and Undone to his upcoming adult comedy series, Long Story Short. He also treated audiences to a preview of the first episode ahead of the series coming to Netflix on 22 August.
Waksberg said, “There’s nothing like Annecy when it comes to celebrating the vast, beautiful universe of animation. I’m honoured I get to be a part of it. With all my projects I aspire to create something that will make people laugh, make people cry, and make angry dorks on the internet call me dumb and bad. I achieved all three with BoJack Horseman. With my new show I’m hoping to get at least two.”
- The studio held its inaugural studio focus ‘Netflix Series Animation: Get Ready for What’s Next!’ led by animation series vice-president and executive John Derderian. The team provided a look at the upcoming shows from visionary storytellers and studios from around the world including sneak peeks from preschool series Dr. Seuss’s Horton! to adult series Blue Eye Samurai season two and Magic: The Gathering, family spectacle Ghostbusters and Minecraft, and adult comedies Mating Season and Haunted Hotel.
- Derderian announced the French animated series sensation Samuel from Folivari International will be available on Netflix in the US, Canada, Australia, Spain, India and France. The show is the brainchild of director Émilie Tronche, about a 10-year-old boy living in a small town who keeps a diary documenting his life and originally aired on Arte’s platform, is co-produced by Les Valseurs, Arte and Pikkukala.
- Another highlight came from a pre-recorded video by showrunner and executive producer Ben Hibon on his animated series based on the Ghostbusters franchise where he showed the audiences a peek at concept art from the upcoming series.
- In addition, home crowd favourite Astérix & Obélix: Le Combat des Chef and runaway smash Devil May Cry compete in Annecy’s Official TV Films Competition, while Mononoke The Movie: Chapter II – The Ashes of Rage was screened as part of the festival’s midnight specials programming, which are held out of competition.
- There was also a work-in-progress session for Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy game franchise Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, a making of session for Folivari International’s French preschool series 7 Bears, and a demo session with the DNEG Animation team and last year’s festive classic, That Christmas.
The festival hosted exhibitions for beloved French titles Arcane and Samuel where visitors were invited to enjoy a treasure trove of visual feasts. Six years after releasing its first animated feature, Netflix has gone on to receive 11 Oscar nominations including two wins across animated features and short categories with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and If Anything Happens I Love You; seven BAFTA nominations including this year’s double BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, plus seven wins at the Annies for fan-favourite Arcane.
