Newsburst: Albert Underzo (1927-2020), Titmouse 5 Second Day, DuckTales and More
French comics legend and Asterix co-creator Albert Underzo has passed away at the age of 92. Underzo co-created the comic series about the plucky village of Gauls resisting Roman invasion with René Goscinny in 1959. The comic books have sold 370 million copies worldwide and been adapted into a string of animated movies, most recently 2018's Asterix and The Secret Of The Magic Potion. Underzo illustrated the series and took over writing duties after Gozniccy died in 1977, until 2011 when he retired and passed the torch to a younger artist.
Although it never really conquered the United States, the series is popular in other Anglophone countries such as the UK, Australia and Canada. The series has been translated into dozens of languages but is most popular in its native France, where it even has its own theme park. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.
Titmouse Animation has had to cancel its upcoming screening of its annual 5 Second Day short festival in Vancouver due to the current crisis. However, the studio has announced that it will now be streamed online via Twitch, on Friday March 27 at 10pm PT. The shorts are all made by Titmouse employees, who are allowed to put their usual work on hold once a year to produce a micro-short for the mini-festival (which runs 90 minutes in all). The shorts will screen uncensored and are intended for an adult audience.
April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day and the pre-school education series Daisy & Ollie will air a special episode on the UK's Channel 5. Comedian and Top Gear presenter Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine ( National Autistic Society ambassador) will guest star in an episode that will introduce Daisy's autistic cousin Theo. The couple are parents to three autistic children, and helped contribute to the character designs. The episodes was produced in association with NAS, and is designed to help the show's young viewers (and maybe their parents) to better understand autism.
Life is going to be like a hurricane again, as DuckTales returns for season 3 (in the US) on April 4, on Disney XD. Check out the new trailer, below!
Although Cardiff Animation festival has sadly had to postpone its 2020 edition, the Quick Draw 48-Hour Animation Jam still took place last weekend, with teams collaborating remotely to create animated shorts. A record 75 teams took part in this year's competition, and 25 shorts were created during the 48-hour period. The winners will be selected by the CAF Jury.
The complete shorts will be screened as an online watch party via YouTube at 7pm GMT on March 26. This is just the first online event that the CAF organisers hope to organise in the wake of the postponement. "The Cardiff Animation Festival team and their partners have been working hard behind the scenes to bring people together remotely through animation. As well as curating online shorts programmes, resources and activities for adults, families and filmmakers to get involved in at home, the team are working to organise online events such as industry talks and watch parties." Watch this space, and follow QuickDraw on twitter to find out where to watch the films.
