Cartoon Brew

Cartoon Saloon Reveals Trailer for ‘Kindred Spirits’ Feature Tomm Moore was at Cartoon Movie to tease his upcoming animated film about an Irish refugee and a Choctaw boy on a magical journey across 1840s America.

Moore unveiled the project at Cartoon Movie. Watch the trailer and see more exclusive artwork from the film in our full story: www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...

The film follows an Irish refugee girl and a Choctaw boy who meet in 1847 New York and journey across America together, drawing on the real historical bond between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation.

Cartoon Saloon Reveals Trailer for ‘Kindred Spirits’ Feature Tomm Moore was at Cartoon Movie to tease his upcoming animated film about an Irish refugee and a Choctaw boy on a magical journey across 1840s America.

EXCLUSIVE: Watch the first teaser for Cartoon Saloon's 'Kindred Spirits,' the new animated feature in development from studio co-founder Tomm Moore ('The Secret of Kells,' 'Song of the Sea'). www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...

Animator Rosanne Janssens spent three weeks animating the Hairy Leg in Dragonframe, matching live-action plates shot in a Recife park.

Read how the bizarre sequence came together: www.cartoonbrew.com/stop-motion/...

To bring the creature to life, Mendonça Filho teamed with Dutch studio Holy Motion to animate the hopping limb using stop motion.

The team built a 30 cm puppet with an articulated skeleton so the toes could move independently.

A disembodied, decaying limb may play a surprising role in the 2026 Oscar race.

In The Secret Agent, director Kleber Mendonça Filho turns the infamous Brazilian urban legend of the “Hairy Leg” into one of the film’s strangest sequences.
www.cartoonbrew.com/stop-motion/...

Daniel Chong On Bringing Cartoon Logic To Pixar’s ‘Hoppers’ Chong and producer Nicole Grindle talk shifting from TV to features, the film's visual language, and making beavers the heroes of Pixar’s latest original.

'Hoppers' is fantastic and marks a return-to-form for Pixar in both entertainment and, based on current projections, box-office standards. We sat down with director Daniel Chong and producer Nicole Grindle to find out what makes this original so special.
www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...

Cartoon Saloon Reveals Trailer for ‘Kindred Spirits’ Feature Tomm Moore was at Cartoon Movie to tease his upcoming animated film about an Irish refugee and a Choctaw boy on a magical journey across 1840s America.

Moore unveiled the project at Cartoon Movie. Watch the trailer and see more exclusive artwork from the film in our full story: www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...

The film follows an Irish refugee girl and a Choctaw boy who meet in 1847 New York and journey across America together, drawing on the real historical bond between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation.

Cartoon Saloon Reveals Trailer for ‘Kindred Spirits’ Feature Tomm Moore was at Cartoon Movie to tease his upcoming animated film about an Irish refugee and a Choctaw boy on a magical journey across 1840s America.

EXCLUSIVE: Watch the first teaser for Cartoon Saloon's 'Kindred Spirits,' the new animated feature in development from studio co-founder Tomm Moore ('The Secret of Kells,' 'Song of the Sea'). www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...

Cartoon Saloon Names ‘The Breadwinner’ Producer Anthony Leo CEO The Oscar-nominated producer and Aircraft Pictures co-founder steps in as the Kilkenny studio enters a new phase of growth and global animation production.

Cartoon Saloon has named Oscar-nominated producer, Aircraft Pictures co-founder, and regular collaborator Anthony Leo ('The Breadwinner') as its new CEO, succeeding longtime managing director Gerry Shirren.
www.cartoonbrew.com/executives/c...

Gorillaz Revive Midcentury Animation Techniques In New Video Directors Max Taylor and Tim McCourt break down the hybrid analog-digital process behind the band’s richly textured new animated short.

If they couldn’t have done it in the 1950s, they didn’t try to emulate it in this video. Join us way inside the handmade illusion of Gorillaz’s richly textured new video for 'The Mountain, The Moon Cave and the Sad God': www.cartoonbrew.com/music-videos...

Directors Max Taylor and Tim McCourt at The Line layered blended traditional animation techniques with modern tools to create the film's throwback aesthetic. The video's lush backgrounds were painted by hand before scanned, split into layers, and digitally touched up.

Fake Xerox and real piano wire. Gorillaz’s new video for ‘The Mountain’ rebuilds a 1950s animation pipeline using painted backgrounds, optical tricks, and strict self-imposed limits. www.cartoonbrew.com/music-videos...

Floyd Norman To Attend Smithsonian Documentary Screening The pioneering Disney animator will appear at the National Museum of African American History and Culture for a screening and discussion.

Floyd Norman will attend a Smithsonian screening of the documentary 'Floyd Norman: An Animated Life,' followed by a conversation about his groundbreaking career in animation.
www.cartoonbrew.com/animators/fl...

2026 Children’s & Family Emmy Awards Animation Winners See which series, specials, and artists were recognized across this year’s animation categories at the 4th annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards.

‘Win Or Lose’? Nah, just win. Pixar’s first long-form series follows up a huge Annie Awards performance with a grand slam at the 2026 Children’s & Family Emmys.
www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/2026-...

Gorillaz Revive Midcentury Animation Techniques In New Video Directors Max Taylor and Tim McCourt break down the hybrid analog-digital process behind the band’s richly textured new animated short.

If they couldn’t have done it in the 1950s, they didn’t try to emulate it in this video. Join us way inside the handmade illusion of Gorillaz’s richly textured new video for 'The Mountain, The Moon Cave and the Sad God': www.cartoonbrew.com/music-videos...

Directors Max Taylor and Tim McCourt at The Line layered blended traditional animation techniques with modern tools to create the film's throwback aesthetic. The video's lush backgrounds were painted by hand before scanned, split into layers, and digitally touched up.

Fake Xerox and real piano wire. Gorillaz’s new video for ‘The Mountain’ rebuilds a 1950s animation pipeline using painted backgrounds, optical tricks, and strict self-imposed limits. www.cartoonbrew.com/music-videos...

This is about me. I mean, not just about me, but I am in this story and my film is getting distribution through Bloodstream!

In his debut feature, Zao inverts fantasy and reality: live-action for the VR world, animation for real life. He explains why that choice was partly just practical.

Director Xu Zao On Virtual Escapism In His Debut, 'Light Pillar' Following the film's Berlinale premiere, the director talked with us about blending formats, restrained emotion, and first-feature risks.

"Real life isn't that dramatic": Chinese director Xu Zao on why 'Light Pillar' avoids sentimentality, and what moved Berlinale audiences most instead.
www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film...

BloodStream Launches Horror-Focused Indie Animation Program A new curated showcase brings independent animated shorts and series from veteran and emerging creators to the genre streaming platform.

Horror platform BloodStream is rolling out Animation Abomination on March 20, a curated showcase of independent animation featuring veteran and emerging creators working outside the studio system.
www.cartoonbrew.com/streaming/bl...

Laika And The Gotham Launch New Animation Accelerator The six-month program offers mentorship, studio access, Annecy participation, and Gotham Week pitching opportunities for emerging animation filmmakers.

Laika and The Gotham have launched a new animation accelerator supporting early- to mid-career creators with mentorship, studio access, Annecy participation, and Gotham Week pitching opportunities.
www.cartoonbrew.com/educational/...

‘Two Black Boys In Paradise’ Creator Dean Atta On BAFTA Win The poet discusses visibility, audience reach, and ceremony fallout, while celebrating a landmark animation victory and its cultural impact.

Dean Atta reflects on winning a BAFTA for 'Two Black Boys in Paradise,' the power of Black queer storytelling, and how controversy couldn’t overshadow a historic night.
www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/two-b...

With magical girls, vampire romance, and fandom-driven storytelling, 'The Three Tomes' is the show she wanted as a kid, and the one she’s making independently for teenagers today.
www.cartoonbrew.com/series/brean...

We spoke to Navickas, a storyboard revisionist at Disney TV, about building a team outside the studio system, creating YA animation for teens, and surviving an eroding industry.

‘Black Kids Deserve To Go To Narnia’: Breana Navickas Interview Animator Breana Navickas on building 'The Three Tomes' independently, centering Black joy, queer YA fantasy, and surviving industry erosion.

“Black kids deserve to go to Narnia.” Animator Breana Navickas on crafting 'The Three Tomes' and building a fantasy world on her own terms.
www.cartoonbrew.com/series/brean...

How The 'Arco' Team Built A Handmade Animation Studio An exclusive look at the custom-built workspace that shaped Ugo Bienvenu’s award-winning feature, from DIY desks to a basement screening room.

Exclusive: An Oscar-nominated film built in a house with a garden. Our latest video goes inside the hand-built Paris studio where 'Arco' was made - tables, screening room, and all - designed to feel lived in, human, and full of memory. www.cartoonbrew.com/studios/arco...

'Smiling Friends' To End After Season 3, Creators Explain Why Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack discuss burnout, creative control, Adult Swim’s support, and two extra episodes coming this April.

'Smiling Friends' will end after Season 3, but two more episodes are on the way. Creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack say burnout and wanting to leave on a high note drove the decision.
www.cartoonbrew.com/series/smili...