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When Netflix released its latest major data set on Thursday — its second under the name of What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report — animated features continued to demonstrate a major impact for the streamer. Of the top 100 most viewed titles in the period of review, from July to December 2023, 33 were animated, bringing in a total of 1,087,600,000 views.

That being said, titles licensed from other studios continued to heavily overshadow Netflix originals, in terms of impact. Of the 33 animated titles in the Top 100, five were produced by Netflix; the Adam Sandler starrer Leo ranked the highest at #3 overall, coming in with 96 million views. Others that made the cut included The Monkey King, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the Oscar-nominated Nimona, The Sea Beast and Back to the Outback.

By far the greatest supplier of Netflix’s top ranking animated films was Universal, which through a exclusive licensing deal,...

Netflix on Wednesday unveiled the voice cast of CG animated feature film That Christmas from Locksmith Animation (Ron’s Gone Wrong) and director Simon Otto’s (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy). The movie will star Brian Cox as Santa, Fiona Shaw as Ms. Trapper, Jodie Whittaker as Mrs. Williams, and Bill Nighy as Bill.

They are the residents of a charming seaside town where things turn upside down one Christmas. The film will debut on Netflix later this year.

That Christmas is an adaptation of the children’s book series (The Empty Stocking, Snow Day and That Christmas) written by BAFTA Award-winning and Oscar-nominated writer and director Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Yesterday). “A film of firsts, it marks Curtis’ first animation project as well as the directorial debut for animation veteran Otto,” Netflix said.

The film also stars Lolly Adefope, Alex Macqueen,...

Exclusive: Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo has signed on to co-create animated kids series Lulu and the Help You Crew.

She is working up the 3D CGI-animated show with comedian Ariane Price, a senior member of The Groundlings improv comedy sketch theater. Both had small roles in Bridesmaids, the 2011 comedy feature Mumolo co-wrote with Kristen Wiig.

They’re working closely with UK-based kids company Cake, which is leading development and production, and North American full-service studio Reel FX Animation. Cake will sell the show internationally.

The series, running to 52 11-minute eps, will target 3-5 year-olds. According to producers, it follows Lulu, an “extraordinary eight-year-old girl who lives in the multicultural melting pot of Vista Feliz with her Argentinian grandmother Abuelita and an eccentric, hilarious and perfectly imperfect crew of rescued pets: a cat, chameleon, turtle and puppy, all of whom she gave a second chance, a home and a different kind of family.

Representation in the arts matters, and for young, up and coming stars representing a minority, it’s important and powerful to be recognised, and vitally, to be seen. BAFTA seemingly agree – and are spotlighting talent from in-front of and behind the lens from across the UK & US, in their annual initiative titled BAFTA Breakthrough, with alumni consisting of the likes of Tom Holland, Florence Pugh, Letitia Wright & Jessie Buckley.

This year we had the pleasure to speak to two of the breakthroughs, in British actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, as well as American actor Brandon Perea, who made his name with a role in Jordan Peele’s Nope. We spoke about their thoughts on being named a Breakthrough star, and what it means for them personally and for their respective careers. We also look back on projects been, such as Eastenders for Ayling-Ellis, and Nope for Perea, and look ahead to the future,...

BAFTA has unveiled the 33 creatives across two continents who have been selected for the organization’s talent initiative BAFTA Breakthrough 2022.

Selected from the worlds of film, games and TV by an experienced jury, participants are set to receive professional development support including coaching, mentoring and networking opportunities with BAFTA’s vast range of members from the creative industries.

The 2022 UK jury was chaired by Ade Rawcliffe (group director of diversity and inclusion at ITV), and included Fiona Lamptey (director of features at Netflix), performer Marianne Jean-Baptiste, BBC Comedy commissioning editor Emma Lawson, casting director Lauren Evans, and Breakthrough alumnae Ruth Madeley and Charu Desodt. The U.S. jury was chaired by actor Nyasha Hatendi, and included the actors Jodi Balfour and Bianca Lawson, cinematographer Ava Berkofsky, TV executive producer and showrunner Ari Katcher, director, writer and producer Stephanie Laing and Netflix Studio exec Racheline Benveniste.

The Breakthroughs include creatives from...

Chloe Fairweather, who directed documentary ‘Dying To Divorce’ has also been selected

UK actors Ambika Mod and Nell Barlow are among the 33 talents across film, TV and game selected for the 2022 edition of Bafta Breakthrough.

Mod was also chosen as a 2022 Screen Star of Tomorrow. She appeared alongside Ben Whishaw in the BBC series This Is Going To Hurt and is starring in the upcoming Netflix series One Day.

Barlow starred in the coming-of-age comedy Sweetheart which was written and directed by Marley Morrison who has also been selected as a Bafta Breakthrough. The film was nominated for five British...

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The British Academy has unveiled the latest crop of participants the U.S. and U.K. that will take part in its annual Breakthrough program, aimed at supporting emerging talent across film, TV and video games.

The 32-strong list of names — 20 from the U.K. and 12 from the U.S. — includes an impressive ensemble of creatives, such as Nope breakout Brandon Perea and Sex Education director Runyararo Mapfumo, who were selected by an international jury that included Oscar-winning actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Ramy co-creator Ari Katcher and Swan Song and Alex Rider actor Nyasha Hatendi.

Backed by Netflix for the last two years (the streamer’s head of U.K. features Fiona Lamptey is also on the jury), the BAFTA Breakthrough program first launched in the U.K. in 2013 before expanding to China in 2019 and the U.S. and India in 2020. It sees each...

Netflix Animation has laid off 30 employees, Variety has confirmed.

The news comes after recent executive shake-ups, with Netflix earlier this year appointing Karen Toliver as vice president of animated film content and Traci Balthazor as vice president of animated film production.

The layoffs are a result of Netflix consolidating its animation film production team under one central leader, Balthazor, as she continues to work closely with Toliver.

The downsizing does not signal a decrease in output from Netflix Animation, which has earned seven Oscar nominations since 2020, winning for “If Anything Happens, I Love You.”

The streamer’s slate of animated features and shorts includes “Robin,” “Klaus,” “Over the Moon, Back to the Outback,” Richard Linklater’s “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood” and Chris Williams’ “The Sea Beast.” Coming soon are Henry Selick and Jordan Peele’s “Wendell & Wild,” Nora Twomey’s “My Father’s Dragon,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,...

Exclusive: The Netflix Animation overhaul continues with the exit of 30 employees, Deadline has confirmed. This comes after Netflix set new leadership for the Animation Film team with Karen Toliver (VP Animation Film Content) and Traci Balthazor (VP Animation Film Production). They have been tasked with streamlining the animation team, which explains the attrition.

This does not signal a downturn in animation output for a division that in five years had seven Oscar nominees, with a win for If Anything Happens, I Love You.

Netflix’s original animation productions includes Robin, Robin, Klaus, Kris Pearn’s The Willoughbys, Over the Moon, Back to the Outback, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood from Richard Linklater, and the recently released The Sea Beast directed by Chris Williams. Upcoming releases including Henry Selick’s Wendell & Wild, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Wendy Rogers’ The Magician’s Elephant,...

Exclusive: We are hearing from sources that Cattywumpus, the Gore Verbinski-directed animated movie about outer space felines, will be getting shopped around town to other studios.

Verbinski, whose films have grossed 3.76 billion and who won an Oscar in 2012 for the Paramount animated movie Rango, had been working on his latest film at Netflix.

Such is the complex nature of animated film production, where quite often halfway through, stories and plans can pivot. There’s a history of that from movies such as Pixar’s Soul and Dinosaur and DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

Cattywumpus repped Verbinski’s second animated movie after the Johnny Depp-voiced Western Rango, which grossed 246 million at the worldwide box office.

Netflix, we understand, gave the creative team the option to go shop the movie elsewhere.

Netflix has seen promotions and changeovers in its animation executive suite over the summer.

Exclusive: After announcing its acquisition of the Australian animation studio Animal Logic during yesterday’s earnings call, Deadline has learned that Netflix is making internal moves that will streamline its coterie of executives who’ll steer the Film Animation division.

Karen Toliver, VP Animation Film, is being promoted to lead the Animation Film team. With that change, Melissa Cobb will move from her role as VP Animation Film but will stay on with Netflix as a producer. Cobb joined the company four years ago and to led the animation team and since then has built the studio from the ground up, attracting filmmakers and delivering a diverse slate of ani films so far.

Also transitioning is Gregg Taylor, the VP Animation Film who’ll also become a producer. He too has been there four years, helping to build the creative team and oversee and shepherd the film slates, most recently The Sea Beast.

Companies have been collaborating on The Magician’s Elephant, Ron Howard’s The Shrinking Of The Treehorns.

Netflix is acquiring Australian animation studio Animal Logic as the streamer seeks to develop end-to-end cproduction capacity and builds on releases like The Sea Beast and Oscar-nominees Over The Moon and Klaus.

The Animal Logic and Netflix Animation teams will create a global creative production team with the goal of handling some of Netflix’s largest animated film titles. The streamer will continue to work on animation with other studios.

The companies have established a roster of films at Animal Logic’s Sydney...

A songwriter is suing the YouTube comedy duo Handsome Dancer, claiming they haven’t properly credited, or paid him, for his contributions to their viral song, “Coincidance.”

The lawsuit was filed by Giacomo Lamparelli, who’s seeking damages for unpaid royalties related to the song, according to the court documents obtained by Rolling Stone. Lamparelli claims he provided significant contributions to the original demo made by Handsome Dancer’s James Manzello and Matt Pavich, but in the wake of the song’s success, the pair “have ceased providing Mr. Lamparelli credit for his work,...

Exclusive: Prolific film and television writer-producer-director Akiva Goldsman and his Weed Road Picture have signed with Tfc Management, the boutique lit management company launched in 2020 by WME’s David Stone and UTA’s Ben Jacobson.

Oscar winner Goldsman has four series currently on the air, which he created/co-created and executive produces: Paramount+’s Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, whose first season is currently running, and Star Trek: Picard, whose second season was released earlier this year, Apple TV+’s The Crowded Room, which has started production, and HBO Max’s Titans, which is filming its fourth season. Goldsman also will exec produce the upcoming series The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

“Great partners are a rare find, and I feel tremendously fortunate to have connected with David,” said Goldsman. “Working in collaboration, Tfc is a force multiplier for us at Weed Road Pictures. We are thrilled by the prospect...

Studiocanal will launch rights sales at Cannes on “Kangaroo,” the first Australia-New Zealand production from the local arm of the French film and TV group Canal Plus. The film is inspired by the real-life story of The Kangaroo Sanctuary founder Chris ‘Brolga’ Barns, who has been saving and raising baby kangaroos in Central Australia since 2005.

The narrative is shaped as a heart-warming family comedy about a down-on-his-luck pro surfer who becomes stranded in an Outback town after a car accident. There, he teams up with 11-year-old Indigenous girl. The pair form an unlikely friendship working together to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned baby kangaroos (joeys). The endeavor proves to be life-changing for both.

Kate Woods is attached to direct from a script by Harry Cripps (“The Dry,” “Penguin Bloom,” “Back to the Outback”).

The film is being produced by Marian Macgowan (“The Great,” “Two Hands”) and Louise Smith (“Dance Academy,” “The...

Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) has signed on to star alongside Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Will Forte and Randall Park in Universal’s animated comedy Strays, Deadline can confirm.

The film from Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar director Josh Greenbaum combines CGI and live-action elements to follow an abandoned dog (Ferrell) who teams up with other strays, including one portrayed by Foxx, to get revenge on his former owner (Forte). Details with regard to the character Fisher is playing have not been disclosed.

American Vandal‘s Dan Perrault penned the script. Greenbaum is producing alongside Picturestart’s Erik Feig, Louis Leterrier, Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Lord Miller President of Film, Aditya Sood, with Jessica Switch and Lord Miller’s Nikki Baida exec producing, and Picturestart’s Julia Hammer serving as co-producer. SVP of Production Development Jeyun Munford and Director of Development Tony Ducret are overseeing the project for the studio.

Exclusive: Warner Bros. is really upping the stakes to its I Am Legend franchise to a stratospheric level and bringing back for the next chapter, not just original star Will Smith, but he’ll be joined by Black Panther actor Michael B. Jordan in what will rep the duo’s first big movie together as stars and producers. Talk about two big stars getting together, between Smith and Jordan combined, their movies have grossed a massive $12.3 billion at the box office.

Plot details, of course, are being kept under wraps.

Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman, who adapted the Richard Matheson 1954 novel, is also returning to pen the follow-up and producer as well.

All these deals are closed, I understand, and a director is not attached as of yet as the project is still being developed. Francis Lawrence directed the original 2007 movie.

Jordan and Elizabeth Raposo are producing via their Outlier Society banner.

Executives upbeat over opportunities as households switch from linear TV to streaming.

Netflix reported 8.3m global paid subscriber gains in the fourth quarter of 2021, slightly behind its forecast of 8.5m, as member levels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa continued to catch up with the US and Canada.

The Emea region added 3.5m paid members which, while lower than 4.46m in the year-ago period, boosted the subscriber level there to 74.04m and record quarterly revenue exceeded $2.5bn for the first time.

Subscriber levels in the region are now close to the 75.22m number in the US and Canada, which...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday revealed the 276 feature films that are eligible for consideration at the 94rd Oscars, which are set to air live March 27 on ABC from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The number is 90 fewer than last year’s 366, but this year’s eligibility period was only 10 months.

To be eligible for Best Picture consideration, films must have submitted a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards entry as part of the submission requirements. Nominations voting begins January 27 and concludes on February 1. The Oscar nominations will be revealed on Tuesday, February 8.

Today’s news comes about a month after the Academy released its shortlists in the International Film, Documentary Feature, Original Score, Original Song, Makeup & Hairstyling, Visual Effects, Sound and the Live-Action, Documentary and Animated Shorts categories.

Here is the full list of films eligible for Best Picture at the 94rd annual Academy Awards,...

“The Witcher,” “Stay Close,” “Cobra Kai,” “Emily in Paris,” and “Manifest” all retained their dominion on Netflix’s English-language TV Top 10 list for the second full week of 2022, while the sixth season of makeover show “Queer Eye” fell through the cracks, leaving room for newcomers “Cheer” (Season 2) and “Archive 81” to join the ranks.

“Cheer” was No. 5 on the list with roughly 29.1 million hours viewed, and horror drama “Archive 81,” from showrunner and executive producer Rebecca Sonnenshine, landed in the seventh slot with 22.2 million hours viewed. The suspenseful series stars Dina Shihabi, Mamoudou Athie, Matt McGorry, Ariana Neal, Julia Chan, Evan Jonigkeit and Martin Donavan, and involves a deadly mystery involving a cult, arson and a disappeared director. “Stay Close,” the limited thriller series based on the Harlan Coben novel of the same name, climbed to the No. 1 spot with 53.72 million hours viewed.

On the non-English Top 10 list, the Colombian...

The Witcher, which returned to Netflix for a second season on December 17, dominated Nielsen’s weekly U.S. streaming chart with almost 2.2 billion minutes of viewing.

The latest chart covers the period of December 13 to 19. A distant second place was CoComelon on Netflix, with 840 million viewing minutes.

Hawkeye on Disney+ added another episode as part of its one-at-a-time release pattern, but its five episodes managed a solid-but-unspectacular 580 million minutes. That was good enough for fourth place given the consolidation of viewing in the No. 1 spot.

Other notables in the top 10 included two very different original films on Netflix. The Unforgivable, a dramatic thriller starring Sandra Bullock, drew 566 million viewing minutes, finishing sixth, and animated feature Back to the Outback collected 485 million for ninth.

Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, The Witcher is based on a fantasy book franchise of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski. Henry Cavill, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra head the cast.

Starving for “Witcher” content after nearly two years of pent-up anticipation, audiences went hard for the Henry Cavill-fronted adult fantasy drama series during Season 2’s opening weekend on Netflix. The title soared up Nielsen’s Top 10 SVOD ratings charts from Dec. 13-19, hitting 2.2 billion viewing minutes in its first week on the streamer.

The fantasy series bug — long-thought dead after the final season of “Game of Thrones” — has come back in full force for “The Witcher,” which topped both the overall and original programming lists, as well as for “The Wheel of Time” on Amazon Prime. Although the show aired on Nov. 19, it wound up at No. 10 overall after being on its respective platform for a full month. Together, a third of the audience for “The Witcher” and “The Wheel of Time” comes from the 35-49 age demo. The Netflix show’s other viewers leaned younger (18-34), while the...

A new year has begun and audiences are looking for a fresh start. Only three films from last week's top 10 are making a return appearance, while everything else has been replaced. The adorable animated feature "Back to the Outback" has finally been ousted as the top watch for kids and replaced by the underrated "Rise of the Guardians." Audiences have finally kicked off my nemeses of the "Oldboy" remake and the weird Christian drama "The Shack" after a few weeks, but they've been replaced by perhaps even more questionable choices.

This week introduces a new category frequently seen on the Netflix top 10,...

The post Netflix's Most Watched Movies Last Week -- Which Should You Check Out? appeared first on /Film.

“Cobra Kai” high-kicked to the top of Netflix’s most-watched TV shows list with its Season 4 debut in just the first three days after its New Year’s Eve launch, according to the streaming service’s newly released Top 10 data.

The fourth season of “Karate Kid” sequel series came in at No. 1 on Netflix’s worldwide Top 10 English TV Shows rankings for the week of Dec. 27, 2021 – Jan. 2, 2022, with audiences spending an impressive 120.06 million hours watching the William Zabka- and Ralph Macchio-led show.

Coming in a fairly distant second on the list was the second season of “The Witcher,” which was knocked out of first place by “Cobra Kai” in its third week on the Top 10 and drew 94.270 million hours watched over the past week.

“Emily in Paris” Season 2 was No. 3 on the English-language list with 91.98 million hours watched, per Netflix.

For the non-English language small-screen titles, the first...

A band of misfits come together to find a home where they’ll be accepted in Netflix’s latest CG-animated adventure, “Back to the Outback.” Except the lovable outcasts here happen to be among the world’s deadliest creatures, all of whom — along with a cute but completely obnoxious koala bear (voiced by Broadway’s Tim Minchin) — escape from a Sydney zoo to find a home in the Australian Outback, where they’ll be loved for who they are and not feared for what they look like.

First-time feature directors Clare Knight and Harry Cripps previously worked together on “Larrikins,” the Outback-themed feature from DreamWorks Animation that was scuttled in the wake of the studio’s acquisition by NBCUniversal in 2016. Cripps was set to co-direct the film alongside “Puss in Boots” director Chris Miller, while Knight, a Dwa veteran who had worked on the “Kung Fu Panda” trilogy, was to serve as editor.

The Animation Podcast Ep. 146 — The Animation Podcast is an official podcast of FilmBook. The Animation Podcast is an animation news podcast on the latest animation movie news and animation television show news. Each week, FilmBook contributor Ephraim Birney discusses that breaking United States and international news. Shownotes Top News Stories (2:03) Marvel [...]

Continue reading: The Animation Podcast Ep. 146: Back To The Outback Review, Dragons: The Nine Realms Response, Freak Angels Trailer Reaction, & More...

Sony Pictures not only sold 93 percent of movie theater tickets this weekend — with “Spider-Man: No Way Home” at $260 million leading the charge — but the studio is also #1 on all three VOD charts below with two different titles.

One is “Spider-Man: Far from Home” ($3.99), #1 at Google Play and second at iTunes. And “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” helped by a price reduction to $5.99, leads at iTunes and Vudu (the lower price started December 17; Google Play tends to lag a few days in reporting). And not only 2019’s “Far from Home” but also 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (also $3.99) made two charts. And Google Play, in a move that will confuse many, is accepting pre-buys for “No Way Home” for an unspecified date. Those presales rank the film at #6 on Google’s chart.

Their biggest rival this week was Universal, continuing to fly high with both “The Grinch” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,...

Sandra Bullock is back on Netflix, and this time, it isn’t blindfolded in a post-apocalyptic horror (a la 2018’s “Bird Box”). Her latest feature flick on the streamer, “The Unforgivable,” directed by Nora Fingscheidt, debuted at No. 1 globally on Dec. 10 and generated 85.86 million hours of subscriber viewership. In the film, Bullock stars as Ruth Slater, a woman recently released from prison who re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past or the murder she committed.

Fingscheidt joins a cohort of female directors and showrunners that dominated Netflix’s Top 10 lists for the week of Dec. 6-12, including Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), Halle Berry (“Bruised”), Mary Lambert (“A Castle for Christmas”), Clare Knight (“Back to the Outback”), Maria Torres (“Anonymously Yours”), Mar Targarona (“Two”), Molly Smith Metzler (“Maid”) and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (“The Witcher”). Campion’s Western-drama — starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee — took the No.

Australian comedian Celeste Barber is returning to her acting roots, making her debut as the lead in Wellmania, a new comedic drama series which has received an eight-episode order by Netflix. Barber also will serve as executive producer on the series inspired by Brigid Delaney’s novel Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness. The half-hour Wellmania will be produced by Fremantle Australia with principal photography in Gadigal Country, Eora Nation in Sydney, Australia.

Co-created by Delaney and Benjamin Law (The Family Law), in Wellmania, when human tornado Liv (Barber) has a major health crisis, she is forced to rethink her ‘live fast die young’ attitude. Throwing herself body-first into a wellness journey, she tries everything from the benign to the bizarre in an attempt to get well quick, and reclaim her old life.

“Celeste embodies exactly what Netflix Anz is striving for – sparking global love for being our quintessentially Australian and funny selves,...

A perky kids’ distraction from Netflix Animation, “Back to the Outback” is at pains to remind its audience throughout of its very Australian credentials, sometimes to endearing effect. It’s hard to be too hard on any film that features a voice cameo from Kylie Minogue as a nattering razorback boar, or one that requires Eric Bana to deliver the line, “I once captured 10 Komodo dragons with no more than a pair of budgie smugglers and a bit of Vegemite.” Yet the longer this crayon-bright tale of zoo animals adrift in the great Aussie outdoors wears on, the less distinctive it seems, its script’s naked cribbing from “Madagascar” and sundry Pixar chase narratives betraying it as yet another attempt to emulate the house styles of DreamWorks and Disney. As such, Clare Knight and Harry Cripps’ film walks the walk well enough. But there’s a funnier, more eccentric adventure underneath it all,...

The new Netflix animated film “Back to the Outback” is very Australian. From the setting to the voice actors, the movie will make you want to visit down under. One of those actors is Eric Bana who voices the role of Chaz, a zookeeper who pursues the escaped animals as they make their way

The post “Back to the Outback” appeared first on Manny the Movie Guy.

Animation, documentary submissions also tallied.

The Academy has confirmed it has received 93 country submissions for the international feature film category in the run-up to the 94th Oscars on March 27, 2022.

The Academy said on Monday (December 6) it had also received 26 animated feature and 138 documentary feature submissions.

The entire list of international feature film submissions can be viewed here and includes a first submission from Somalia. The Academy said some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfil that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.

Animation, documentary submissions also tallied.

The Academy has confirmed it has received 93 country submissions for the international feature film category in the run-up to the 94th Oscars on March 27, 2022.

The Academy said on Monday (December 6) it had also received 26 animated feature and 138 documentary feature submissions.

The entire list of international feature film submissions can be viewed here and includes a first submission from Somalia. The Academy said some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfil that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.

As kids, we are taught to never judge a book by its cover, but what about judging a crustacean by its shell? Jumping on the bandwagon of kids’ adventure films, Netflix’s animated romp “Back to the Outback” packs a lot of jokes into its warm and fuzzy message, though its characters are more scaly than cuddly. The film is the latest entry in Netflix’s growing slate of animated, kid-centric fare, clearly designed to compete with animation giants Pixar, Disney, and Dreamworks. And the streaming giant isn’t making a crazy bet, as its hopes to capitalize on the lucrative sphere are proving more than possible: the film is another charming entry in yet another segment of potential Netflix dominance.

Netflix’s original film slate might be packed with all manner of auteur-driven features, especially as we continue to lumber through awards season, but tucked inside offerings that includes...

Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin and Miranda Tapsell voice Netflix’s high jinks-filled film that condescends to children

The core joke in Netflix’s new animated movie Back to the Outback is that a bunch of talking animals who are supposed to be Australia’s deadliest creatures – including a snake, a scorpion and a crocodile – are actually harmless sweethearts, cruelly misrepresented by their genetics and reputations. The group live at a Sydney zoo and are led by a shiny blue snake named Maddie (voiced by Isla Fisher), who is terribly upset when she hears a child refer to her as a “monster”. How can people be scared of lil ol’ me, she wonders, thrown into an existential crisis. (“Monster? I’m not a monster … am I?”)

Maddie is consoled by her spiritual counsel, Jackie, a wise, kind, granny-like crocodile (Jacki Weaver) who encourages the group to define themselves not by “the...

The year is somehow already almost over! To celebrate another passage around the sun, Netflix is putting its best foot forward with its list of new releases for December 2021.

Netflix’s options of original series are quite vast and impressive this month. It starts early on with two finales: Lost in Space wraps up its story with a third and final season on Dec. 1 and is quickly followed by the last go-around for Spanish hit Money Heist. The blockbusters continue apace from there with The Witcher season 2 premiering on Dec. 17, Emily in Paris season 2 on Dec. 22, and Cobra Kai season 4 on Dec. 31 to close out the year.

Read more TV The Witcher Season 2 First Look Asks What Kind of Father Geralt Will Be By Michael Ahr TV How Will Money Heist End? By Gene Ching

It’s also a good month for movies on Netflix. Adam McKay’s satirical climate...

Rich Ting (“Warrior”), Darren Barnet (“Never Have I Ever”) and Keiko Agena (“Better Call Saul”) have been tapped to lead the voice cast for the English-language dub of Netflix’s “The Summit of the Gods,” from César award-winning filmmaker Patrick Imbert.

Based on the acclaimed manga by Jirô Taniguchi and the novel by Baku Yumemakura, “The Summit of the Gods” poses the question, “Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8th, 1924? Only the little Vestpocket Kodak camera they took with them might reveal the truth.”

“The Summit of the Gods” picks up in Kathmandu, 70 years after Mallory and Irvine’s journey, when a young Japanese reporter named Fukamachi Makoto (Barnet) recognizes the camera in the hands of the mysterious Habu Joji (Ting), an outcast climber believed missing for years. As the plot progresses, Fukamachi enters a world of obsessive mountaineers on...

"I know it's scary, but out here we can be ourselves." Netflix has debuted the full-length official trailer for an animated comedy from Australia titled Back to the Outback, following a group of animals that escape and try to make their way home. This was made by Netflix Animation and Reel FX Creative Studios. Tired of being locked in a reptile house where humans gawk at them like they're monsters, a group of Australia's deadliest creatures plot a daring escape from their zoo to the Outback. Leading the group is Maddie (Isla Fisher), a poisonous snake with a real heart of gold, who bands together with the Thorny Devil lizard Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), a lovelorn hairy spider Frank (Guy Pearce), and a sensitive scorpion Nigel (Angus Imrie). But when their nemesis — Pretty Boy (Tim Minchin), a cute but obnoxious koala — unexpectedly joins their escape, Maddie and the gang have no...

In Netflix’s animated feature Back to the Outback, a ragtag group of Australia’s deadliest creatures plot a daring escape from their zoo to the Outback, a place where they’ll fit in without being judged for their scales and fangs.

Leading the group is Maddie (Isla Fisher), a poisonous snake with a heart of gold, who bands together with a self-assured Thorny Devil lizard Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), a lovelorn hairy spider Frank (Guy Pearce), and a sensitive scorpion Nigel (Angus Imrie). But when their nemesis — Pretty Boy (Tim Minchin), a cute but obnoxious koala — unexpectedly joins their escape, Maddie and the gang have no choice but to take him with them. So begins a hair-raising and hilarious road trip across Australia, as they are pursued by a zookeeper Chaz (Eric Bana) and his adventure-seeking mini-me (Diesel La Torraca).

Back to the Outback is directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps,...

(Welcome to ...And More, our no-frills, zero B.S. guide to when and where you can watch upcoming movies and shows, and everything else you could possibly stand to know.)

The train of original animated films for Netflix doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, with "Back to the Outback" coming our way at the end of 2021. The feature will be animated by Reel FX Creative Studios, the same animation team behind films like "Free Birds" and "Book of Life," who also lent a hand for the animation on "UglyDolls" and "Scoob!" The new film marks the sixth original animated feature for Netflix after "Klaus,"...

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Let's dance? Netflix has revealed a teaser trailer for an animated adventure from Australia titled Back to the Outback, following a group of animals that escape and try to make their way home. This was made by Netflix Animation and Reel FX Creative Studios, arriving on Netflix in December. Tired of being locked in a reptile house where humans gawk at them like they're monsters, a group of Australia's deadliest creatures plot a daring escape from their zoo to the Outback. Leading the group is Maddie (Isla Fisher), a poisonous snake with a heart of gold, who bands together with the self-assured Thorny Devil lizard Zoe (Miranda Tapsell), a lovelorn hairy spider Frank (Guy Pearce), and a sensitive scorpion Nigel (Angus Imrie). But when their nemesis — Pretty Boy (Tim Minchin), a cute but obnoxious koala — unexpectedly joins their escape, Maddie and the gang have no choice but to take him with them.

"Back to the Outback" is a new CG-animated musical adventure comedy feature, written by Harry Cripps and Greg Lessans, directed by Clare Knight and Cripps, starring Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Miranda Tapsell, Angus Imrie, Rachel House, Keith Urban, Celeste Barber, Wayne Knight and Jacki Weaver, streaming December 10, 2021 on Netflix:

"...tired of being locked in a reptile house where humans gawk at them like they're monsters, a ragtag group of Australia's deadliest creatures plot a daring escape..." 

Click the images to enlarge...

With a voice cast that includes Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Miranda Tapsell, Angus Imrie, Keith Urban, Aislinn Derbez and Jacki Weaver, animated feature Back to the Outback premieres on Netflix December 10.

The film is directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps, and follows a ragtag group of Australia’s deadliest creatures as they plot a daring escape from their zoo to the Outback, a place where they’ll fit in without being judged for their scales and fangs.

Leading the group is Maddie (Fisher), a poisonous snake with a heart of gold, who bands together with a self-assured Thorny Devil lizard Zoe (Tapsell), a lovelorn hairy spider Frank (Pearce), and a sensitive scorpion Nigel (Imrie).

When their nemesis — Pretty Boy (Minchin), a cute but obnoxious koala — unexpectedly joins their escape, Maddie and the gang have no choice but to take him with them.

The film marks the directorial debut of Knight,...

Netflix has dated its fall schedule of film releases, narrative and documentary. The service that promised a new movie each week has a whopping 43 films coming in the final four months of 2021. That is twice the volume of releases most film studios would dream of releasing in a busy calendar year. Can a studio generate that many movies and have most of them be any good? It will be a test of Netflix’s high volume plan, niche and targeted fare sprinkled with big star vehicles including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Adam McKay, Benedict Cumberbatch and more.

Here is the schedule; there are some question marks for films that are coming out that month with no specific date, and on limited release awards films that will play the Netflix-owned Paris and other theaters, theatrical date is first...

Netflix has revealed more artwork and clips from four of its kids and family animation titles, which are set drop this summer and fall.

During the streamer’s online Annecy session, introduced by Netflix director of character animation James Baxter, it was revealed that three of the titles – “Karma’s World,” “Vivo” and “Centaurworld” – are animated musicals, while all of them, including the Australian feature “Back to the Outback,” address themes of diversity, inclusion and both fitting in and celebrating differences.

First up was rapper and “Fast and Furious” actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges 40-part series “Karma’s World” –a passion project that has been over a decade in the making, set to premiere this fall

The series, aimed at children from six to nine, is inspired by Bridges’ eldest daughter Karma’s experiences as a 10-year-old navigating her way through life and finding her voice.

Each 11-minute episode will feature...

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to Wolf Like Me, a six-episode, half-hour genre-bending romantic comedy from Little Monsters helmer Abe Forsythe starring Josh Gad and Isla Fisher. The series is produced by Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories in partnership with Endeavor Content and Australian streaming service Stan.

In Wolf Like Me, created and written by Forsythe, everyone brings their own set of baggage to a new relationship. Gary (Gad) and Mary (Fisher) are no different. Gary is an emotional wreck and struggles to provide for his daughter since the death of his wife. Mary has a secret she can’t bring herself to share with anyone. The universe brought these two together for a reason, they just need to keep following the signs.

Forsythe will direct all six episodes and executive produce. Gad and Fisher also will executive produce along with Made Up Stories’ Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky.

Netflix not only grabbed a ton of Oscar nominations for its live-action films, it also grabbed three noms for animated fare including “Over the Moon” and “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.” They scored in the animated feature category alongside Disney/Pixar’s “Soul” and “Onward,” and GKids/Apple TV Plus’ “Wolfwalkers,” while “If Anything Happens, I Love You” is the frontrunner in animated shorts.

It’s an impressive haul for a part of the streaming giant that is relatively new.

“It’s hard to even find the words to describe how thrilling it is,” says Melissa Cobb, VP of kids and family entertainment at Netflix. She is an animation veteran who was brought over from DreamWorks in 2017 to lead the division.

“I started there about 3½ years ago, and for filmmakers to choose to entrust their film, but also their time — three or four years of their life that it...

Exclusive: Netflix is in development on the new animated musical Steps, with Amy Poehler producing and Alyce Tzue set to make her directing debut.

Poehler will produce through her Paper Kite Productions banner along with her partner Kim Lessing, with The Croods producer Jane Hartwell also producing. Riki Lindhome will pen the script from a story she wrote with Kate Micucci. Lindhome and Micucci also will exec produce and writing all the music in addition to overseeing it.

“We are so excited to be working with Netflix and the great Riki, Kate and Alyce on this joyful and much-needed story,” Poehler said.

The story is a spin on the classic Cinderella story. Two stepsisters are overlooked for marriage by the prince and embark on an epic journey, realizing that their own perfect fairytales might be different from what they originally thought.

“Our step-sisters are a pair of young Asian immigrants to a fairytale world,...

Netflix said Thursday that it is turning Sulwe, the bestselling children’s book by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, into an animated musical, the latest move by the streamer to bolster its feature animation slate that already includes Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10½: A Space Age Adventure, Henry Selick’s Wendell & Wild, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio among others.

Sulwe, written by Nyong’o with illustrations by Vashti Harrison, follows Sulwe, a child who has skin darker than anyone she knows — and all she wants is to be beautiful and bright. One night, she is visited by a shooting star sent by the Night and embarks on a magical journey where she learns the eye-opening story of the sisters Night and Day. The book tells a story about colorism, self-esteem and learning that true beauty comes from within.

Set in a world of witches and shapeshifters, Molly Knox Ostertag's graphic novel series The Witch Boy is being adapted by Netflix as an animated musical with Minkyu Lee (Adam and Dog) as the director and the band Haim onboard to write music for the movie.

Below, we have official details from Netflix (a release date has yet to be revealed) as well as visual development art for The Witch Boy movie:

Netflix’s newest animated musical feature, The Witch Boy, will be directed by Oscar-nominated director Minkyu Lee (Adam and Dog)

The film is based on the Nyt best selling graphic novel series of the same title by Molly Knox Ostertag. It will be produced by Vertigo Entertainment and released by Netflix.

Three-time Grammy Award nominated band Haim is attached to write music for the film.

Directed by: Minkyu Lee

Written by: Maria Melnik

Produced by: Roy Lee, Miri Yoon,...