A new "ThunderCats" film is supposed to blend CGI and animation. How many feline characteristics should the characters have? How would the director "bridge the gap" between cartoon and CGI?

>Director Adam Wingard is set to direct "ThunderCats." That is a big-scale feature based on an animated TV series that ran from 1985-89 by Rankin Bass . . . . Wingard will rewrite a script with Simon Barrett, and will turn all this into a hybrid of CGI and animation. The series focuses on a group of cat-like humanoid aliens . . . . See
https://deadline.com/2021/03/godzil.....os-1234724041/

>>Wingard: "I don’t want it to look like 'Cats,' I don’t want those kinds of issues — no disrespect to that director, whom I don’t mean to throw under the bus any more than everyone else has. I want to do a movie you’ve never seen before. A hybrid CGI film that has a hyperreal look and somehow bridges the gap between cartoon and CGI.” See
https://www.vulture.com/2021/03/ada.....ion-movie.html

I'm currently looking for a new animation program to use in 2021.

>Animator 4 lets even new creators quickly turn illustrations into animations . . . . you can shoot video of yourself or someone else performing as the character, then transfer those real world movements and actions to the animated avatar.
>from
https://thenextweb.com/offers/2020/.....hed-animators/

Has anyone used Animator 4? If so, is it as effective as described in this article?
Alternatively, would you recommend a different program?

Here's a list posted online today:
>Gambit's Cats
>Tippy-Toe [squirrel]
>Valkyrie's Horse
>Zabu [sabertooth tiger]
>Captain Marvel's Cat
>Jeff the Land Shark
>from
https://www.cbr.com/before-spider-c.....rated-animals/

Here are some animal characters from Marvel Comics that I would add to the list:
Lockjaw the Bulldog (1965)
Devil Dinosaur (1978)
Lylla the Otter (1982)
Lockheed the Dragon (1983)
Bast the Panther Deity (1988)

Can you think of any others?

>See
https://www.looper.com/262581/the-b.....wolves-ranked/

Here are the most popular animal costumes for 2020, according to https://frightgeist.withgoogle.com/
1 - Dinosaur
2 - Rabbit
3 - Bear
4 - Spider
5 - Lion
6 - Gray Wolf
"Unicorn" and "Dragon" are also on the list as "fantasy characters."

I wonder if "fox" was more popular in prior years.
Perhaps "Spider-Man" is related to the popularity of "spider."

The official trailer was posted yesterday at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Z_tybgPgg
The film will arrive on the AppleTV+ app on December 11, 2020.

Official synopsis: "In a time of superstition and magic, a young apprentice hunter, Robyn Goodfellowe, journeys to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to have the ability to transform into wolves by night. As they search for Mebh’s missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the wolfwalkers and risks turning into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy."

>HBO Max revealed this morning that "The Witches," based on the terrifying children’s novel by Roald Dahl, would be heading straight to the streaming platform on October 22 instead of getting a theatrical release.

Here's the official trailer, which includes part of a rodent transformation scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nlhmJF5FNI

>Marvel Comics recently announced a brand new "Werewolf By Night" series . . . . "Werewolf By Night" will be set in a small town in Arizona and follows the story of a man named Jake as he deals “with the effects of a family curse while trying to protect his people from a mysterious corporation.” During his adventures Jake will even run into fellow Marvel superhero Red Wolf . . . .

>from
https://boundingintocomics.com/2020.....wolf-by-night/

Orion Pictures has unveiled an official trailer for "The Wolf of Snow Hollow," just in time for Halloween.
See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q03zOoH-hGo

There's a new cartoon with a human <--> canine transformation theme.

>Freddy Lupin, the teenage heir to the leadership of a line of werewolves finds his first “transwolfation” going awry . . . .

>>Official Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN3I4CrfbpE

>"Metamorphosis" adapts Kafka into a unique first-person platformer filled with surreal environments and grand storytelling potential . . . . In the book, Gregor just wakes up as an insect, but the game includes the gradual transformation in its introduction . . . .

>See
https://screenrant.com/metamorphosis-game-preview/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/.....Metamorphosis/
https://www.allingames.com/game/metamorphosis/

>This time around, the feature adaptation of the Kevin Eastman-Peter Laird-created comic book, will be CG animated.
>from
https://deadline.com/2020/06/teenag.....3764/#comments

>>This would be the eleventh film based on the TMNT comic books.
>>>Perhaps they will imitate "Into the Spider-Verse" and feature multiple versions of the same characters.

A new film from Iceland features a supernatural drama about a human-sheep hybrid.

>“Lamb” is a story of an Icelandic couple, María (Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason), who live with their herd of sheep on a beautiful but remote farm. When they discover a mysterious newborn on their farmland, they decide to keep it and raise it as their own . . . .

>from
https://variety.com/2020/film/globa.....mb-1234646120/

>>On Christmas Eve, they find a newborn who is half human, half sheep. Longing for a child of their own, they decide to keep the lamb-child and raise it as their own regardless of the consequences . . . .

>See
https://whatculture.com/film/10-gre.....er-talks-about

>>"Wolfen" isn't really about werewolves.
>>>"Shape shifting. We do it for kicks. Turn yourself into a different animal . . . . It's all in the head."

>"Animorphs," the massively popular kids book series from the 1990s, is finally headed to the big screen . . . . Scholastic also has plans to launch a graphic novel adaptation of the "Animorphs" series . . . .
>from
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h.....estart-1299013

>>Will the new version stick to a juvenile tone or feature more body horror transformation?

>Months after Universal successfully relaunched its monster universe with Elisabeth Moss’s “The Invisible Man,” the studio is pushing ahead for “Wolfman” . . . .

>from
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/.....al-1203426491/

>Disney is developing a remake of its 1973 animated classic "Robin Hood" with anthropomorphic CGI characters based in live action . . . . Anthropomorphic animals inhabit the roles of the characters made famous over the centuries. Robin Hood is a fox; Little John, a bear; Friar Tuck, a badger; Prince John, a thumb-sucking lion; the Sheriff of Nottingham, a wolf; and Maid Marian, a vixen . . . .

Websites:
https://www.cbr.com/live-action-ant.....n-hood-disney/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h.....rector-1289702
https://www.slashfilm.com/robin-hoo.....remake-disney/
https://929nin.com/disney-robin-hood-remake/
https://www.themarysue.com/will-we-.....coming-remake/

See the list at
https://screenrant.com/best-werewolf-movies-imdb/

Here are my comments on some of them:
>1961 - "Curse of the Werewolf"
This was the first werewolf movie shot in color.
It was heavily censored, but the censored version was denounced by the Catholic League of Decency.
>1975 - "Nazareno Cruz y el lobo"
This Argentine film is about the lobizón, a South American version of the European werewolf.
>1984 - "The Company Of Wolves"
In recent years, this film has been adapted as a stageplay.

>The werewolf is perhaps second only to the ever popular vampire in terms of cinematic exposure, but they’re a lot harder to get right . . . .See
https://whatculture.com/film/10-mos.....vie-werewolves

Here's a chronological summary of the films listed on the website:
1981 - "An American Werewolf in London," "The Howling," "Wolfen"
1984 - "The Company of Wolves"
2000 - "Ginger Snaps"
2002 - "Dog Soldiers"
2010 - "The Wolfman"
2013 - "Wer"
2014 - "When Animals Dream," "Late Phases"

Which films would you add to this list? Here are my choices:
1935 - "Werewolf of London"
1941 - "The Wolf Man"
1957 - "I Was a Teenage Werewolf"
1961 - "Curse of the Werewolf"
1974 - "The Beast Must Die"
2003 - "Kibakichi"
2004 - "Romasanta"

>Season 2 of “The Masked Singer” saw actor and singer Wayne Brady, the Fox, take home the golden mask trophy. He beat out the Flamingo (Adrienne Bailon) and the Rottweiler (Chris Daughtry).

Season 3 will also feature plenty of costumes with animal themes.
>The Kangaroo - https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress......e-kangaroo.jpg
>The Kitty - https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress....../the-kitty.jpg
>The Llama - https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress....../the-llama.jpg
>The White Tiger - https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress......hite-tiger.jpg

See all of the costumes at
https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/ma.....os-1203485426/

I wonder how the werewolf transformation scenes will be done for a remake of "The Howling."
As I recall, quite a few "practical effect" techniques were used for films in the old "Howling" franchise.

>Andy Muschietti . . . will be directing a remake of the cult-classic werewolf movie "The Howling" for Netflix.
from
https://hnentertainment.co/it-direc.....g-for-netflix/

>As compared to virtually every other horror subgenre, the werewolf arena has seen minimal entries in recent years . . . . likely due to the embrace of CGI in Hollywood, with the werewolf films using these techniques failing to connect with audiences
https://comicbook.com/horror/2020/0.....t-chapter-two/

Here's an interesting article about a human-to-tiger transformation TV program that starts today.

>"Bagh Bondi Khela" showcases the magical Sunderbans with extensive shoots being cantered there, capturing the bone-chilling thrill and excitement of a man turning into a tiger . . . .
>from
https://zeenews.india.com/televisio.....6-2255839.html

The best example of a tiger transformation from India that I can recall is "Junoon," a 1992 film.
Can anyone think of other movies or television shows with tiger-themed shapeshifting?

I spotted this website today.

>The first step in the process was to design a beefy reindeer that oozed power . . . .
>After a lot of sketching we arrived on a body and face design . . . .
>No deer is complete without fur, and this was heavily researched . . . .

See the detailed description at
https://www.ritzyanimation.com/red

>Cubic Motion’s team had created an animated cutscene using one of the game studio’s trademark properties: a stylized female half-human, half-animal character . . . . The pre-rendered cutscene, it transpired, was not pre-rendered at all. It was acted out live by a performer in Manchester, on the other side of the world, who was being transformed in real-time into the game studio’s character . . . .

>Full article:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-.....ng-technology/
>>Also see
https://cubicmotion.com/

>See
https://geektyrant.com/news/disney-.....fan-art-series and
https://www.deviantart.com/s0alaina.....2463/humanized