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Exclusive: Toronto’s Skyfox Media and Munich’s Studio 100 International have put into development a comedy-adventure feature promising a blend of “fantasy, steampunk and humor.”

Grimmlings is billed as a heartwarming comedy-adventure set in St. Crispin’s Orphanage, Shropshire, England, in 1908, and will explore themes of friendship, family and self-discovery in a “fantastical world” of woodland critters.

The story follows Owen, a young orphan, and his best friend Temperance, as they accidentally unleash menacing woodland monsters called Grimmlings from a hidden grimoire. The duo, along with the help of a quirky scientist named Quimple, embark on a quest to recapture the creatures and confront a sinister descendant of the Grimm Brothers before Halloween night.

Skyfox CEO Hong Kim and executive producer Brendan McNeill are set to produce the project.

“At the core of Grimmlings is a commitment to community engagement. We’re so excited to greenlight this project for development,...

Leonine Studios, one of Germany’s leading film and TV companies, has set up Leonine Animation Studios together with Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris, the managing directors of Toon2Tango.

The three partners will each contribute their shares in Toon2Tango to the new division on Jan. 1, 2024, and will channel all their animation output through it going forward. Toon2Tango becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leonine Animation Studios.

Leonine Studios, which has held a 25.1% stake in Toon2Tango since October 2022, holds a 50% stake in Leonine Animation Studios, with Stoef and Daris also jointly holding 50%. Leonine has the option to acquire a controlling majority in Leonine Animation Studios from 2025.

The managing directors of Leonine Animation Studios are Bernhard zu Castell, who as Leonine’s chief distribution officer is responsible for the distribution and licensing division of the company, Stoef and Daris.

Leonine describes Leonine Animation Studios as “a growth and investment platform for the development,...

German production powerhouse Leonine Studios has launched an animation studio as it ups its stake in Mia and Me producer Toon2Tango.

Toon2Tango will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leonine Animation Studios from 1 January and Leonine will take a 50% stake, with Toon2Tango founders Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris holding the other half. Stoef and Daris will run the studio with Chief Distribution Officer Bernhard zu Castell.

Leonine described the studio as a “growth and investment platform for the development, production and acquisition of new IPs with international scope as well as other selective M&a activities in the animation sector.” Leonine has the option to acquire a controlling majority from next year.

Leonine already makes a number of animation shows including The School of Magical Animals, Lassie – a New Adventure and The Ogglies. Toon2Tango, meanwhile, has found global success with international hit Mia and Me and...

German mini-major Leonine Studios has taken full control of German animation group Toon2Tango and is using the Munich-based outfit as the basis of a new division, Leonine Animation Studios.

Leonine, which acquired a 25.1 percent stake in Toon2Tango in October 2022, will hold 50 percent of the new division, with Toon2Tango principles Hans Ulrich Stoef and Jo Daris jointly controlling the remaining 50 percent. Leonine’s holding company has an option to acquire a controlling majority in Leonine Animation Studios from 2025.

Toon2Tango was founded four years ago by Stoef and Daris, two experienced European animation veterans whose credits include the international hit series Mia and Me. The company’s lineup includes such animated series as Monster Loving Maniacs and Agent 203.

Leonine chief distribution officer Bernhard zu Castell will jointly run Leonine Animation Studios together with Stoef and Daris.

In addition to in-house productions — upcoming projects include the holiday feature Santa.

There is plenty to discover about the iconic ,poster-friendly image as well as the artist’s influences and obsessions

So ubiquitous is the style and imagery of Gustav Klimt that it reaches into bizarre corners of pop culture: the kids animation Mia and Me borrows unashamedly from Klimt’s whorls and rectangles, and of course there’s that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where the undead steal posters of The Kiss from hapless college students. This, partly, is what makes Klimt a blockbuster figure in contemporary art culture; the eye-watering auction prices his work commands is another factor.

Hence the unusual direction of the newest offering in the Exhibition on Screen strand; as opposed to the customary approach of focusing on a specific show or oeuvre, here the subject is a deep dive into Klimt’s celebrated poster favourite which – inevitably – opens out into a wider examination of the artist’s obsessions and influences.

Gaumont Animation and Studio 100 Media announced on Thursday a first-look pact to co-produce and distribute animated, kids and family TV series and films around the globe.

Gaumont Animation is the producer of award-winning series including Apple TV+’s “Stillwater” and “Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles” on Amazon, while Studio 100 Media, is home to series and films such as “Maya The Bee,” “Vic the Viking,” “Heidi “and “Mia and Me.”

“We are thrilled to embark on this global partnership with Studio 100 Media,” said Terry Kalagian, president of Global Animation, Kids & Family in a statement shared with TheWrap. “By combining our strengths and leveraging our collective experience, we are poised to deliver compelling and high-quality animated content that resonates with audiences across the globe.”

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Also out this weekend: ’Decision To Leave’ and ‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’.

Warner Bros’ Black Adam is this weekend’s widest UK-Ireland release, playing at 664 sites.

Spanish filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra reunites with Jungle Cruise star Dwayne Johnson for this latest outing from the DC Extended Universe, that follows a Middle Eastern slave who is transformed into a god, with Sarah Shahi, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo and Pierce Brosnan also starring.

DC’s 2022 releases kicked off with The Batman in March, a record wide release for Warner Bros, playing at 709 locations. It took £13.5m in its opening weekend. DC League Of Super-pets...

Exclusive: Game Of Thrones alum Rosabell Laurenti Sellers is a new name in the cast of anticipated Disney+ and Lucasfilm series Willow.

In the TV spinoff of the 1980s fantasy classic, which is now in post-production, a princess assembles a party to join her on a quest to rescue her twin brother.

Among previously revealed cast are Tony Revolori, Amer Chadha-Patel , Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman and Warwick Davis. And as we revealed last week, the casting of Talisa Garcia marks the first time Lucasfilm has cast a trans actor in one of its productions.

Much like she did to memorable effect in Game Of Thrones we hear Sellers will play a resourceful character with sharp, acerbic wit.

The actress is best known for playing Tyene Sand in HBO’s smash series. Sand was a daughter of Prince Oberyn Martell and his paramour Ellaria Sand, and one of the...

Animated feature was German box office hit over summer.

Blue Fox Entertainment has picked up worldwide rights for virtual AFM excluding Germany and China to 3D animated feature Conni And The Cat, a theatrical hit in its native Germany over the summer.

The production grossed nearly $3m in restricted German theatres through Wild Bunch Germany in the summer, and will open in the US via Blue Fox’s domestic division in mid-2021.

In the vein of Masha And The Bear, Mia And Me, and Heidi, the feature centres on Conni and her mischievous cat Mau, who accompanies Conni to kindergarten,...

Even before the Italian-language teen drama “Baby” was released on Netflix, director Andrea De Sica was responding to criticism that the series promoted sex trafficking: “That was the most delicate thing and issue about doing this series,” he said. “For us, the real story just was to spotlight one of the important neighborhoods of Rome, which from the outside world gives the image of a perfect world, but was something dark, with something happening beyond the facade. It moves from this very rich world that is frustrated about getting real relationships, love, and then getting onto this path of transgression, where two of these six main characters give into prostitution.”

Inspired by a real-life scandal involving underage prostitution, “Baby” explores the lives of high school students in one of Rome’s wealthy districts and how pressures, disillusionment, and failed relationships lead the teens to choose dangerous paths. Two of them...