Netflix Animation Lays Off 30 As Overhaul Continues

Joshua Alston From the beginning, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has approached his career as an artist who would sooner toil in obscurity than be renowned for just one thing. Just two years after dropping “A Kid Named Cudi,” the mixtape that launched him into the spotlight, he was cast in “How to Make It in America,” a short-lived HBO-originals deep cut. In the decade since that show ended in 2011, he’s earned a reputation for bouncing willy-nilly between genres, mediums, and disciplines, and the choices that once seemed fickle now seem confidently eclectic.  Never has Mescudi looked more like a polymath than with the debut of “Entergalactic,” an animated Netflix special timed to the release of his new studio album (also dropping on Sept. 30), which bears the same title. “Entergalactic” was initially announced in 2019 as a series to be created by Mescudi and Kenya Barris, but has since been whittled down to a 90-minute special (which Netflix is calling an “event”). In its final form, the special feels like it’s being torn in several artistic directions at once, not unlike Mescudi himself. The length and formal relationship with the album suggest a Beyoncé-style visual companion piece, heavy on style and symbolism but without a narrative throughline. (Halsey’s “If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power” is a solid non-Bey example.)

adapted from Jessica Knolle’s best-selling novel and a new YA spin on ghost stories, “The Midnight Club.”More book adaptations to keep your eye on for October’s Netflix arrivals include “The School for Good and Evil,” out Oct. 19 and based on the best-selling series by Soman Chainani.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be in conversation to try and edit their Netflix docuseries in order to delay its release. Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan Markle, 41 are filming a $100million series about their lives with Netflix and it was previously thought to be scheduled for a December release, following The Crown series five going live on November 9.

Netflix has announced the cast for its forthcoming K-drama, Dak Gang Jeong (literal title).According to a report by South Korean media outlet Asian Economy, the streaming platform’s newest Korean series is set to star Kim Yoo-jung (Lovers of the Red Sky), Ahn Jae-hong (Be Melodramatic) and Ryu Seung-ryong (Jirisan).ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo was reportedly in talks to join the cast, but no decision has been reached regarding this offer at the time of publication.Based on a webtoon named after a Korean chicken dish, Dak Gang Jeong is a comedy surrounding a machine that turns people into fried chicken. Kim is set to play Min Ah, a girl who is turned into fried chicken after mistaking the machine for one that helps people with fatigue.Ryu will be playing Choi Sun-man, a father who will do anything to reverse the machine’s effects on his daughter; while Ahn will be playing Go Baek-joon, an intern with a crush on Min Ah.Dak Gang Jeong will be helmed by Lee Byung-hun, who has previously worked with several members of the cast—namely Ryu on the 2019 film Extreme Job and Ahn on 2019 K-drama Be Melodramatic.

In a world where major animation releases start to look very similar with their Pixar-esque visuals, projects like “My Father’s Dragon” really do stand out.  READ MORE: ‘Maya And The Wave’ Review: An Uplifting Sports Doc About Maya Gabeira’s Quest To Surf One Of The World’s Biggest Waves As seen in the trailer for “My Father’s Dragon,” the Netflix animated feature has stunning visuals and a unique style as it tells the story of a young boy and the dragon he befriends.

Lookism.On September 25, the streaming platform premiered the trailer on its YouTube channel, at the same time revealing that Lookism will begin streaming on November 4.The trailer follows an overweight high school student named Park Hyeong-seok, who is frequently bullied and harassed by his peers who consider him unattractive. One day, Hyeong-seok wakes up and discovers that he has received a new, conventionally attractive body, which he can use while his original body is asleep.With his days spent split between the two different bodies, Hyeong-seok begins to realise just how differently the world treats him based on his physical appearance.The trailer is soundtracked by a snippet of an original song performed by K-pop boyband ATEEZ.

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has been making a home for himself and his various projects at Netflix with a string of CGI animated shows such as “Trollhunters,” “3Below,” and “Wizards.” Continuing that passion for animation, del Toro has teamed with “Fantastic Mr. Fox” animation director Mark Gustafson for “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” by bringing to life these classic fairy tale characters via stop-motion animation and will separate itself from the Disney incarnations with a darker tone/look.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Illumination, the studio behind the “Despicable Me” franchise, has tapped Mike Moon to form a new label, Moonlight. The goal is to broaden the range of films that Illumination makes beyond the kid-friendly fare that’s been its stock in trade. Moon most recently served as the head of adult animation at Netflix, a post he stepped down from in July to “pursue other opportunities.” His exit came as the streamer, battered by a swooning stock price, was laying off animators and dialing back its ambitions in the space. In addition to his new role as president of Moonlight, the company said that Moon will serve as a senior creative advisor to Illumination. Moonlight’s films will be distributed under Illumination’s distribution partnership with Universal Pictures. Illumination said the goal is for Moonlight to “produce animated films that push beyond the family genre.”

The “Despicable Me” animation studio Illumination is launching a new label that will help it expand beyond family films and into more adult animated fare, and they’ve tapped Mike Moon, previously the head of Adult Animation at Netflix, to lead the new label.Moon will serve as the president of the label titled Moonlight, and he will also come aboard as a creative advisor to Illumination. His role will at Moonlight will be to augment Illumination’s existing slate and produce animated films that push beyond the family genre.

Michaela Zee editor The U.S. premiere of Jordan Peele and Henry Selick’s “Wendell & Wild” will kick off the fifth edition of Animation Is Film (AIF) on Oct. 21. The screening of the forthcoming Netflix feature will be followed by an in-person Q&A with Selick. “I’m delighted my new film ‘Wendell & Wild’ — co-written and produced with Jordan Peele — will have its U.S. premiere at Animation Is Film, a festival that celebrates the non-traditional and ground-breaking in animated movies,” Selick said in a statement. “Our made-in-the-USA stop-motion feature is many things: scary, funny, creepy, sad, and empowering, but most of all, it’s very very original so I can’t think of a better place for its U.S. premiere than Animation Is Film. Hope you enjoy the show.

Wendell & Wild, the upcoming Netflix movie directed by Henry Selick that features the voices of Jordan Peele, Angela Bassett, Keegan-Michael Key and Lyric Ross, has been selected as the opening-night film for Animation Is Film, the growing animation festival that will run October 21-23 and October 29 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood.

Netflix has a lot in store in October 2022!

Derry Girls! Featuring Nicola Coughlan, of Bridgerton fame, the heartfelt and deviously funny series about young girls coming of age during Ireland's rocky 1990s is back after a long hiatus, pandemic be darned. And while we're so sad to see these beloved characters go, we can't wait to spend October seeing what they get up to next.

Ryuichi Sakamoto has shared two new songs that were made for the Netflix anime series Exception – listen below.The two songs – ‘Opening for ‘Exception’’ and ‘Oxygen’ – soundtrack the new space horror anime series, which is based on a new story by Hirotaka Adachi.The series is due to launch globally on October 14, with ‘Exception (Soundtrack From the Netflix Anime Series)’ out on the same day via Milan Records.The official synopsis of the series reads: “In the distant future, humanity has been forced to leave Earth and migrate to another galaxy. A spacecraft is sent to a planet to terraform it and the crew is created one by one by a biological 3D printer.“However, a fatal error occurs during the creation of one of the members.

restructuring to its leadership for that department. The team, led by Karen Toliver (VP Animation Film Content) and Traci Balthazor (VP Animation Film Production), aims for better collaboration closer to traditional animation film studios, resulting in 30 different roles that are no longer needed, an individual with knowledge of the decision said.

Ethan Shanfeld Netflix Animation has laid off 30 employees, Variety has confirmed. The news comes after recent executive shakeups, with Netflix earlier this year appointing Karen Toliver vice president of animated film content and Traci Balthazor vice president of animated film production.

When you hear the premise of “Entergalactic,” the new animated series coming to Netflix, it might not elicit much excitement. It’s a show about a young guy trying to balance love and success while living in New York City.

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and EP Kenya Barris have released the official trailer and key art to Entergalactic, an original animated story about a young artist named Jabari — voiced by Mescudi — as he attempts to balance love and success.

Clayton Davis Almost 30 years after “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), Henry Selick returns with “Wendell & Wild,” another stop-motion animated sensation that’s sure to generate acclaim throughout the industry. Co-written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Jordan Peele, the Netflix feature film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival and may have asserted itself as the new frontrunner for best animated feature. Based on Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman’s unpublished book of the same name, the film tells the story of two scheming demon brothers, Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele), who enlist the aid of a 13-year-old Kat (Lyric Ross) to summon them to the Land of the Living. It also features the voice talents of Angela Bassett, James Hong and Ving Rhames.

Ed Meza @edmezavar French animation group Xilam continues to book sales of hit toon series while enticing buyers with new offshoots of flagship properties. Xilam’s most popular shows remain “Oggy and the Cockroaches,” about a lazy cat who is constantly pestered by three roaches, and “Zig & Sharko,” which follow the adversarial relationship between a ravenous brown hyena and a good-natured great white shark. The company’s highlights at the Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV market in Biarritz include two new “Oggy” shows. “’Oggy’ has been on the market for almost 25 years,” explains Morgann Favennec, Xilam’s executive vice president of distribution. “It’s been broadcast everywhere. It’s still huge in India, for instance, which is why we will be launching a new Oggy called ‘Oggy and the Cockroaches: Next Generation,’ introducing a new character, which is an Indian elephant.”