Animation Insider - Animation's Home Page for News and Reviews

A middle school boy is sentenced to capital punishment, thrust into a vast penitentiary where deathmatches and slaughterhouse obstacle courses are but common occurrences. In the horror-fantasy anime 'Deadman Wonderland,' Ganta Igarashi wants to get the hell out, but he's going to have to spill a lot of blood to earn even the slightest opportunity for an escape. The arrives on DVD in early October via FUNimation Entertainment.

Highlights of international television animation sales from September 2012. In the news, Nick's 'The Legend of Korra' travels to Russia and Alphanim's 'The Green Squad' to central Asia; Marathon Media prepares a sixth season of 'Totally Spies!'; TeamTO enters production on a second season of 'Angelo Rules.' Additional notes cover animation sleuths ('Sherlock Yak: Zoo Detective'), preschool animation ('Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'), and Japanese animation (via The Anime Network). Several news bites inside.

A collection of notes on preschool and general kid's entertainment properties in the news for licensing agreements, during September 2012. Included here: Nickelodeon's upcoming 'TMNT' series heads to Russia on schedule; new representatives are selected to represent titles such as 'Cloudbabies' and 'Tickety Toc' in various international settings; and the children's property 'Suzy's Zoo' fancies a trip to independent quilting stores. Multiple news items are profiled.

Egmont UK, which publishes millions of kid's books and magazines annually, has formed a partnership with Canadian production and distribution group DHX Media. Both companies deal extensively with popular characters and brands whose presence in the animated medium stretches far and wide. The partnership will witness a sharing of resources -- illustrators, authors, producers -- for the sake of new kid's content in the coming years.

'Adventures in Plymptoons' is a new feature documentary profiling prolific indie animator Bill Plympton, whose extraordinary drive, iconoclastic personality, and admirable output comes under the microscope. The documentary, directed by Alexia Anastasio, takes a look at the origins of one man's madness, and why so many animation fans adore him for it.

Royal Caribbean International and Mattel have reached an agreement to send Barbie out to sea. According to the partnership, the Barbie Premium Experience will encompass invitation-only tea parties, a fashion workshop, and a dance class based on clips from a recently released animated video. Barbie-branded staterooms will debut on various cruises in January 2013; booking is available now.

Nickelodeon's new CG series 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' aims to rekindle the original property's gritty love affair for ninja action in the underbelly of the concrete jungle. The cartoon is premiering in the coming week, and watches Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey enter the surface world like bright-eyed newborns. Plenty of adventure awaits in the form of alien robots, greasy food, young romance, and a mystery or two related to the origin of the turtles themselves. Video inside.

Brickleberry National Park kind of sucks. Or at least, it's minimal staff of rangers do, which is why a new whip-smart ranger has transferred into their ranks to get things turned around. In the new Comedy Central animated series 'Brickleberry,' another marriage of inappropriate adult jokes and awkward situational humor begets another cartoon for late night audiences. The series is executive produced by Daniel Tosh.

Acquired for home video s the classic shoujo anime 'The Rose of Versailles' (1979), whose themes, tropes, and observations of women in the military, the obfuscation of traditional gender identity, and profile of revolutionary-period Europe further birthed a genre of mature animated entertainment that still resonates decades later. Nozomi Ent. plans to release the title to home video next year.

Houses in Motion is a new commercial animation and visual effects company based in Brooklyn, New York. Under the guidance of John Earle and Dan DeGloria, the studio has moved into some rustic new digs and already has a number of notable new clients on tap. Earle and DeGloria more than twenty years of combined experience in VFX editing and supervision, broadcast production, and more.