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written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 17th, 2012

A profile of mid-century Latin jazz and a wandering love story of two persnickety musicians, 'Chico & Rita' is a colorful and sexy 2D feature animation from Spain and England. Directed by Javier Marsical and Fernando Trueba, 'Chico & Rita' is the tale of a pianist and a vocalist whose love spans many years (and many countries). The film has toured plenty of film festivals over the past two years, and now enters the U.S. home video market.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 17th, 2012

Sentai Filmworks has announced, and in some instances, already scheduled a handful of new anime licenses. Among the new titles: the high school tale of a lazy kid forced to run for student council ('Love, Elections, and Chocolate'), a riddle-heavy comedy involving a penguin hat ('Penguin Drum'), and one boy's search for romance that may or may not involve a huge inheritance and little bit of incest ('Nakaimo').

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 14th, 2012

In 'King of Thorn,' a nasty virus has spread across the planet, petrifying the flesh of innocent people on every continent. A bio-research company, looking to the future, encourages 160 volunteers to submit to cryogenic freezing. On home video next week, 'King of Thorn' follows a girl named Kasumi and her attempt to survive this science project gone awry. Kasumi and her fellow volunteers "wake up" early, and what they find lurking in the facility's shadows are both terrifying and inexplicable.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 14th, 2012

Jazwares (Sunrise, FL) has inked a new licensing agreement with Nickelodeon that will see the toymaker working to re-familiarize consumers with a host of classic titles: 'Hey Arnold!,' 'Ren & Stimpy,' 'Rocko's Modern Life,' and several others. Plush toys and various six-inch and three-inch figures are on tap for the coming seasons. Jazwares recently came into possession of a few properties from the Warner Bros. catalogue as well.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 12th, 2012

Singapore-based August Media Holdings has formed a distribution arm. The media group is looking to up its presence as an international youth production and distribution group, lending support to Red Kite Animation as well as to third party allies, whose titles August Media anticipates acquiring in the near future. The upcoming CG television series 'Wendy' is the first title represented by August Rights.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 11th, 2012

DreamWorks Animation and their new features distributor Fox have published release date info and film summaries for a dozen films scheduled for theatrical distribution through the 2016-year. Next year bows 'The Croods' (March 2013) by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco, while the future portends 'Me and My Shadow' (March 2014) and 'Mumbai Musical' (December 2015), with plenty of dragon- and penguin-themed sequels and spinoffs sprinkled in-between.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 10th, 2012

TBS Asia Pacific broke the news last week that newly dedicated channels for youth-targeted action and adventure animation, and early children's animation, are coming to southeastern Asia. Toonami will house the usual array of western superhero content and action anime ('Young Justice,' 'Dragonball Z'). Cartoonito HD, taking its cues from successful European iterations, will populate its schedule with material for younger viewers ('My Little Pony'). Both channels will launch in 2013.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 10th, 2012

The ongoing series of chapter books about a quartet of mystery-solving siblings, 'The Boxcar Children,' is coming to home video as an animation production. Publisher Albert Whitman & Co. is partnering with VFX studio Hammerhead to produce the title. Although a release date is still out of reach, the two companies have put out an open call for kids to maybe earn the chance to voice a role in the final cut. 'The Boxcar Children' turns 70-years-old this year.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 7th, 2012

A collection of notes and updates of cartoon and kid's entertainment properties in the news for licensing agreements, during August 2012. Included here: stylish Batman t-shirts, Princess Fionna costumes, Strawberry Shortcake happy meals, a theatrical distribution update for a new Spanish CG film, and some investment news that finds Disney back in India's entertainment sector. Several news items are profiled.

written by: Aaron H. Bynum published: September 7th, 2012

Another season of the Scholastic Media animated series 'WordGirl' hits the airwaves. Next week, mild mannered grammar expert Becky Botsford returns to her regular post of defending the town against an amusing array of baddies, some of whom crave cheese, others jewelry, and yet others a good sandwich. The vocab-building 2D series has now been on-air for five years.