InThis Week in Animation News, I’ll take a look at the previous week in the world of animation to get you caught up on everything you might have missed. It’s your one-stop shop for news regarding cartoons, anime, and animated web series. We’re talking movies, TV shows, digital shorts, and everything in between!
For the latest animation stories we’ve already covered on the site this week, take a look at the following links. Then, check out a selection of new stories below. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments!
First up is the news thatRay Liottawill be making a guest appearance onThe Simpsonsthis April in the role of the elder Szyslak, a.k.a. Moe’s father, Morty. Executive producerMatt Groeningmentioned that this particular episode will be “a Shakespearean family drama, set against the backdrop of a fading mattress store empire.”EWreports that, of all the people Moe the Bartender has ever come across during the show’s epic run, it’s his dad who’s had a major impact on him. Don’t expect a squeaky clean Szyslak Sr, though, as Morty is expected to be a more cunning, evil take on Moe. There’s more in the family coming, too, asDebi Mazar(Empire Records) will star as Minnie, Moe’s sister. Keep an eye out for the episode, “King Leer”, sometime in mid to late April
The ongoing Season 29 ofThe Simpsons, which returns to Fox’s Sunday night lineup starting March 11th, also features a guest roster that includesEd Sheeran,Nikolaj Coster-Waldau,Rachel Bloom,Bill Hader,Shaq, andNorman Lear.
‘Coco’ Day in L.A. to Be Celebrated Next Week!
Los Angeles City CouncilmemberGil Cedillo, First District, will declare “CocoDay in L.A.” at City Hall on Tuesday, June 18, 2025, honoring Disney•Pixar’s critically-acclaimed animated feature filmCoco. The celebration falls on the very same day the film is released on Digital and Blu-ray, with DirectorLee Unkrich, ProducerDarla K. Anderson,Anthony Gonzalez(the voice of Miguel) and additional cast members from the film in attendance.
Cocotells the story of Miguel, a 12-year-old aspiring musician, who finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead after a mysterious chain of events. This is the first-ever animated feature to include an almost entirely Latino voice cast, including many who reside and grew up in the City of Los Angeles.
Cocois nominated for two Academy Awards - Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song “Remember Me,” and also won the 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Motion Picture. The film topped the domestic Thanksgiving holiday weekend box office, became the highest grossing film of all time in Mexico, broke records in China and has earned widespread praise receiving 97% from critics and 95% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Adventure Time’ Returns with New Episodes This March!
THIS IS A DRILL! Princess Bubblegum keeps the Candy Kingdom safe.
AsComicbookreports, Cartoon Network’s Emmy-winning seriesAdventure Timewill be back with four new episodes. Theese include “Blenanas”, which is where the clip above is pulled from; it’ll air Sunday, March 18th at 7pm ET/PT and finds Finn trying to make it as a writer. (Heard.) However, by visiting the Cartoon Network app and Video On Demand, you can get a look at the new episodes as early as Friday, March 9th.
Other upcoming Cartoon Network series include:
‘White Fang’ Picked Up by Netflix for 2018 Release
Great news for the folks behind the animated adaptation ofJack London’s adventurous classicWhite Fang!THRreports that the streaming-content behemoth Netflix has picked the picture up for release later this year. Premiering at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Oscar-winning directorAlexandre Espigares' children’s movie tells the tale of the titular wolf who’s caught in an existential crisis of sorts between life in the wild and that of domestication.
Rashida Jones,Eddie Spears,Nick OffermanandPaul Giamattistar in the production from Superprod, Bidibul Productions and Big Beach, which was adapted from London’s classic story by Dominique Monfery, Philippe Lioret and Serge Frydman. Keep an eye out for this one!
‘Transformers: Power of the Primes’ Poster and Cast Revealed
Transformers: Power of the Primescontinues the massive worldwide interest in theTransformers: The Prime Wars Trilogyas it picks up following the finale ofTransformers: Titans Return, during which we were introduced to the debut ofMark Hamillas Megatronus. Hamill will be joined in the final chapter byRon Perlman, WWE superstarSamoa JoeandJaime King, who debut as the voices of Optimus Primal, Predaking and Solus Prime, along with returning fan favoritesJudd Nelsonas Rodimus Cron,Wil Wheatonas Perceptor,DashieGamesas Menasor,MatPatas Swoop, andRob Dykeas Devastator.
Transformers: Power of the Primesis coming soon worldwide on Verizon’s family of media properties – except in China, where it airs on Sohu.com, and Japan. This third and final chapter of the series features 10 episodes at approximately 11 minutes per episode.
After Megatronus kills Optimus Prime and claims the Matrix of Leadership and Enigma of Combination for himself, the other Transformers robots look to Megatron to lead the charge against their murderous foe.
Unbeknownst to them, Megatronus’ pursuit of the next ancient artifact, the Requiem Blaster, goes beyond his desire for power and the search will uncover mysterious secrets from Cybertron’s past. Before the TRANSFORMERS: PRIME WARS TRILOGY concludes, a new Prime will ascend and all will bear witness to the true POWER OF THE PRIMES.
Other new cast members include:
And returning talent includes:
‘Big Fish & Begonia’ Arrives in U.S. Theaters This April
Shout! Studios has tapped Funimation Films as its U.S. theatrical partner to jointly launch artful animated featureBig Fish & Begoniaacross U.S. cinemas starting on Friday, June 25, 2025.
Melissa Boag, Senior Vice President of Family Entertainment at Shout! Studios, said of the film:
“BIG FISH & BEGONIA is a beautiful epic fantasy adventure, bolstered by exquisite animation and enchanting narrative. We’re incredibly excited about presenting this film to the big screen for animation enthusiasts and broad movie audiences.”
Twelve years in the making,Big Fish & Begoniais a visually stunning cinematic adventure that captures the unique aesthetics, mystique, and rich cultural traditions of ancient China. Directed byXuan LiangandChun Zhang, the film entwines new storytelling, mythical legends, and lyrical characters from beloved Chinese literary classics.
Already a great box-office success overseas,Big Fish & Begoniais China’s foremost animated feature film. Many animation enthusiasts, artists and critics alike have heraldedBig Fish & Begonia’s artistic achievement as the forefront of the burgeoning Chinese animation industry. This highly-anticipated movie premiered in competition at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, and just screened at New York International Children’s Film Festival.
From ancient Chinese legends comes a beautiful tale of love and sacrifice.
There is a mystical race of beings that control the tide and the changing of the seasons. But one of these beings, a young girl named Chun, wants to experience the human world, not simply observe it. When she turns sixteen, Chun is allowed to transform into a dolphin and explore the human world. However, she soon learns this world is a dangerous place. Chun is nearly killed in a vortex, but saved by a human boy at the cost of his own life. Moved by his kindness and courage, she decides to give the boy life again, but this power comes at a price. Chun will have to face adventure and sacrifice in order to protect the boy’s soul until it is ready to return to the human world.
Animated featureBig Fish & Begoniaopens July 26, 2025 in select U.S. cities nationwide. Movie presentation in English language, as well as its original language (Mandarin with English subtitles) will play in U.S. cinemas. The film is rated PG-13 and has a run time of 105 minutes.
Marvel’s ‘Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur’ Gets Animated with Laurence Fishburne and Disney Channel
Last fall,Laurence Fishburneteaseda secret Marvel projecthe was working on. Turns out that it’s an animated series adaptation of the comic company’sMoon Girl and Devil Dinosaurstory.Deadlinereports that Fishburne andHelen Sugland(Black-ish) are developing the series for Disney Channels Worldwide. The series, which doesn’t have an official title just yet, “follows the adventures of nine-year-old super-genius Lunella Lafayette, an African-American girl who teams up with her crimson-colored dinosaur and uses her smarts to save the day.”
Though the project is still in development, as is the choice for just which of Disney’s domestic channels it’ll land on, I have a good feeling we’ll see this in some capacity in the relatively near future.
Marvel Animation is teaming up to produce with Cinema Gypsy Productions, while Titmouse Inc. is handling visual development and animation production.
Titmouse Inc.’s Annual ‘5 Second Night’ Screenings Details Announced
Tickets for the Titmouse 2018 5 Second Animation Night are available now!
5-Second Day is a Titmouse tradition, a free-for-all day in which the animators create whatever animated goodies have been floating around in their minds all year.
LA: Friday, March 2nd at 7:30PM The Egyptian Theatre (Tickets)
NY: Friday, March 16th at 8:00PM SVA Theatre (Tickets)
VAN: Thursday, March 15th at 8:00PM (Tickets)
Speaking of Titmouse, Inc., the animation production studio is about to rollout their annual “5 Second Night” screenings which feature totally originally, unsupervised, uncensored, and completely crazy animated shorts from the company’s employees. The animators get a paid holiday in order to come up with at least five seconds of Flash/Animate animation telling any sort of story their hearts desire. Studio headChris Prynoskibelieves that this process helps the artist to blow off steam and come up with new ideas that might even be turned into fully fledged animated series of their own.
For more on the awesome animation house, check out some of their samples in the reel below and then seek out the nearest “5 Second Night” screening to you!
Interactive Episode ‘Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout’ Release Date Announced
On March 13th, asRomperreports, Netflix will air a special, interactive episode ofStretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighterstitled “Stretch Armstrong: The Breakout.” We don’t know many details about the special yet, but it will give fans a chance to engage in the original series in an all new way. It’s part of Netflix’s initiative to rollout more interactive content, which is sort of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure approach along with original storytelling. (This feature is available on iOS and select TV devices, but not Apple TV, Android devices, Chromecast and Netflix’s website. Things may have changed since Netflix released their initial press release, so be sure to try it out!)
Be sure to check out our otherStretchcoverage:
‘LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High’ Trailer Arrives
Everyone’s favorite female Super Heroes are left to deal with a new rival when a mysterious high school pops up in the all-new animated film,LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment and The LEGO Group, the film – a continuation in the worldwide DC Super Hero Girls franchise phenomenon – will be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment August 07, 2025 on Digital, and on August 03, 2025 on DVD.
After a mysterious school opens across the street, the students of Super Hero High find themselves up against a new threat. Now, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and the rest of the DC Super Hero Girls not only have to worry about the well-being of their grades, but the safety and security of friends, family and the rest of civilization. The girls must figure out how to put a stop to this evil, new cross-town rival and save the world once again!
TheLEGO DC Super Hero Girlsvoice cast returns its core cast withGrey Griffin(Wonder Woman),Tara Strong(Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy),Anais Fairweather(Supergirl),Teala Dunn(Bumblebee),Stephanie Sheh(Katana), andAshlyn Selich(Batgirl). The cast also includesYvette Nicole Brown(Amanda Waller),Greg Cipes(Beast Boy),Romi Dames(Lena Luthor),John DiMaggio(Gorilla Grodd, Wildcat),Josh Keaton(The Flash),Khary Payton(Cyborg) andMeredith Salenger(Lashina).
Elsa Garagarza(Star Wars: Forces of Destiny) directsLEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain Highfrom a script byJeremy Adams(Justice League Action, LEGO®Scooby-Doo!).Rick Morales(LEGO® Scooby-Doo! Haunted Hollywood) serves as producer, withSam Register(Teen Titans Go!),Jill Wilfert(The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie) andRobert Fewkes(LEGO Frozen Northern Lights) serving as executive producers.
From Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment, the DC Super Hero Girls universe encourages young girls and kids to explore their own powers and strengths through original content, including all-new films, webisodes and TV specials. The franchise offers young fans inspiration and encourages teamwork, friendship and empowerment.DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain Highwill connect with fans throughout the world through the brand’s vast digital content networks, including LEGO.com, DCSuperHeroGirls.com, the DCSHG App, YouTube Channel and Instagram, as well as a global licensing and merchandising program.
