Fine Tuning: Kung Fu Panda Franchise, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, and More Animation News

Animation News and Premieres

• 📺 Primal season 4, episode 5, dropped on Adult Swim, hinting at the show's future direction and described as "different" and "wonderful."
• 🎬 Hamster and Gretel, Dan Povenmire's third Disney Channel show and first solo project, debuts, with his daughter Melly voicing the titular character.
• 🌟 Dan Povenmire's daughter, Melly, voices Gretle after her temp voice performance was deemed funnier than professional options; the dad character is modeled after Dan himself.

Museum Exhibits and Attractions

• 🖼️ The Leica in stop motion exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens runs through August 27th, 2023, featuring puppets and sets from Leica's films.
• 🎬 The Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio exhibit opens at MoMA on December 11th, 2022, and runs through April 16th, 2023, showcasing sets, puppets, and a retrospective of del Toro's films.
• 🏞️ A new animated feature, The Great Wolf Pack: A Call to Adventure, based on Great Wolf Lodge characters, will have a limited release on YouTube on September 5th, with exclusive showings at Great Wolf Lodge locations.

Studio and Franchise Updates

• 🏢 The Daily Wire hires Chris Sonnenberg, former showrunner of Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, as SVP of animation development and production, planning a $100 million investment in children's programming, including the animated series Chipchilla.
• 📺 The animated series Trolltopia concludes after seven seasons, with its final episodes airing August 11th.
• 🎬 Trolls 3 is slated for a theatrical release on November 17th, 2023.
• 🎮 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is scheduled for December 20th, 2024.
• 🎶 An untitled Smurf musical from Paramount Animation is set for a Valentine's Day release on February 14th, 2025.

Kung Fu Panda Franchise Deep Dive

• 🐼 Kung Fu Panda 4 is officially announced, with DreamWorks Animation planning further installments in the franchise.
• 📺 The Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness animated series bridged the gap between films and ran for three seasons on Nickelodeon.
• 🎢 DreamWorks characters have been integrated into theme parks, including DreamWorks Land at Motiongate Dubai and the DreamWorks Theater at Universal Studios Hollywood, featuring the Kung Fu Panda: Emperor's Quest attraction.
• 🇨🇳 Universal Studios Beijing features a Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness with various rides and attractions.
• 💻 Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny was an animated series produced for Amazon Prime Video.
• 🌟 A new Netflix series, Kung Fu Panda: Dragon Knight, debuted on July 14th, with Jack Black returning as the voice of Po, potentially setting the stage for future films.
• 🎭 A live stage show, Kung Fu Panda Spectacular Live, was announced in March 2019 but likely delayed due to the pandemic.
• 🎬 The discussion touches on the longevity of animation franchises, referencing sequels like Incredibles 2 and Toy Story, and the possibility of a second trilogy for Kung Fu Panda.

Podcast and Interview News

• 🎙️ Light the Fuse podcast features a two-part interview with Maggie Q, discussing Mission Impossible 3 and her martial arts background.
• 🎧 Other recommended podcasts include Disney Dish, Marvelous Disney, and Looking at Lucasfilm.
• 📱 Drew Taylor can be found on Instagram and Twitter as @DrewTaylor.
• 📰 Jim Hill Media is on Twitter and Instagram as @JimHillMedia and on Facebook at Jim Hill Media News.