Exclusive: Disney’s VP of International Animation is to keynote the Manchester Animation Festival next month.
Orion Ross will address the UK’s biggest animation confab with “case studies of how Disney is working in the UK on global series,” he said, “while discussing the evolving opportunities for the UK’s rich and unique ecosystem of animation creators, writers, artists, studios and producers to play a leading role in making new global hits.”
Ross is a big draw for the annual fest. As part of the Disney Branded Television group headed by Ayo Davis, he and his UK-based team develop and produce animated series for Disney’s global channels and platforms including Disney+. Recent and upcoming projects include the Disney+ Originals Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Chip ’n’ Dale: Park Life, The Doomies, Magicampers, Dragon Striker and The Sunnyridge 3, as well as the global co-productions Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.
Orion Ross will address the UK’s biggest animation confab with “case studies of how Disney is working in the UK on global series,” he said, “while discussing the evolving opportunities for the UK’s rich and unique ecosystem of animation creators, writers, artists, studios and producers to play a leading role in making new global hits.”
Ross is a big draw for the annual fest. As part of the Disney Branded Television group headed by Ayo Davis, he and his UK-based team develop and produce animated series for Disney’s global channels and platforms including Disney+. Recent and upcoming projects include the Disney+ Originals Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Chip ’n’ Dale: Park Life, The Doomies, Magicampers, Dragon Striker and The Sunnyridge 3, as well as the global co-productions Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.
- 10/26/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney Branded Television and Disney Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea) looks set to reveal a slew of new titles at France’s Annecy Animation Festival.
Apart from “Disney Junior’s Ariel,” a new series inspired by “The Little Mermaid,” pre-school adventure series “Magicampers” has also been greenlit.
Set at a day camp for magical creatures – its protagonists, Darly and Loomis, are half-pig and half-Pegasus, and half-donkey and half-unicorn – and created by Obie Scott Wade, it’s set to premiere globally on Disney+ and Disney Junior next year.
“We instantly fell in love with this ensemble of unique hybrid characters, who each combine something magical and something ordinary within themselves,” said Orion Ross, vice president of animation for The Walt Disney Company Emea.
“Their adventures in this lush fantastical world are wildly fun and also explore what it means to grow up and discover yourself.”
The announcement of “Magicampers” will...
Apart from “Disney Junior’s Ariel,” a new series inspired by “The Little Mermaid,” pre-school adventure series “Magicampers” has also been greenlit.
Set at a day camp for magical creatures – its protagonists, Darly and Loomis, are half-pig and half-Pegasus, and half-donkey and half-unicorn – and created by Obie Scott Wade, it’s set to premiere globally on Disney+ and Disney Junior next year.
“We instantly fell in love with this ensemble of unique hybrid characters, who each combine something magical and something ordinary within themselves,” said Orion Ross, vice president of animation for The Walt Disney Company Emea.
“Their adventures in this lush fantastical world are wildly fun and also explore what it means to grow up and discover yourself.”
The announcement of “Magicampers” will...
- 6/13/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Disney will unveil a raft of new animated series productions Wednesday at the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival, and show sneak peeks of the upcoming slate of new original animated shows to air on Disney+ and other Disney-owned platforms in 2023 and beyond.
Highlights include second season greenlights for hit Disney+ series “Monsters at Work” and “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life,” and seasons three for “Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends” and “Mickey Mouse Funhouse.”
Additional episode orders for some of Disney Television Animation’s upcoming series, including “Hamster & Gretel,” “Kiff,” “Hailey’s On It” and “Primos” will also be announced.
“The announcements out of Annecy today further cement Disney as the leader in animation,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. “These new series represent the very best from our teams at Disney Television Animation and Disney Junior. They build upon Disney Branded Television’s commitment to work with incredible storytellers,...
Highlights include second season greenlights for hit Disney+ series “Monsters at Work” and “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life,” and seasons three for “Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends” and “Mickey Mouse Funhouse.”
Additional episode orders for some of Disney Television Animation’s upcoming series, including “Hamster & Gretel,” “Kiff,” “Hailey’s On It” and “Primos” will also be announced.
“The announcements out of Annecy today further cement Disney as the leader in animation,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. “These new series represent the very best from our teams at Disney Television Animation and Disney Junior. They build upon Disney Branded Television’s commitment to work with incredible storytellers,...
- 6/15/2022
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
“Journey to Yourland,” “Lumières!” and “Sex Symbols” proved standouts at Cartoon Next, a new event launched by European association Cartoon Media to explore the ever more hybrid reality of the animation industry as well as other current cutting edge trends.
VR, Extended Reality (Xr), cross-media and IP extensions were the event’s buzzwords.
In a format similar to Cartoon Springboard, which focuses on a new generation of animators, at Next, creators and producers also pitch projects to a bevy of high-profile experts who offer suggestions on how to improve development or the titles’ completion.
Among such experts at Cartoon Next’s inaugural edition were Japhet Asher, founder of U.K. consultancy and IP creation company Polarity Reversal; Orion Ross, VP of original programming and animation at Disney Emea; Aymeric Castaing, founder of French Xr company Umanimation; Luce Grosjean, who launched France’s Miyu Distribution, devoted to young talents and student...
VR, Extended Reality (Xr), cross-media and IP extensions were the event’s buzzwords.
In a format similar to Cartoon Springboard, which focuses on a new generation of animators, at Next, creators and producers also pitch projects to a bevy of high-profile experts who offer suggestions on how to improve development or the titles’ completion.
Among such experts at Cartoon Next’s inaugural edition were Japhet Asher, founder of U.K. consultancy and IP creation company Polarity Reversal; Orion Ross, VP of original programming and animation at Disney Emea; Aymeric Castaing, founder of French Xr company Umanimation; Luce Grosjean, who launched France’s Miyu Distribution, devoted to young talents and student...
- 4/19/2022
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Disney Emea hosted its annual Studio Focus at this year’s Annecy Animation Festival, lamentably pre-recorded for the second edition in a row, where the company announced a pair of new African series, the sci-fi anthology series “Kizazi Moto: Generation of Fire” led by “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” co-director Peter Ramsey, and a musical kids show titled “Kiff” from South Africa.
“This year’s fest is about celebrating African animation,” said Orion Ross, VP of original programming and animation for Disney Emea. “We would like to start with how Disney is embracing the vast talent from this continent.”
Each of the shorts in “Kizazi Moto” was created to answer one question: “What does African future look like from an African perspective?”
When discussing his involvement, Ramsey recalled a visit to the Cape Town Animation Festival where he was “blown away, reinvigorated by the people, work, the industry. There was the...
“This year’s fest is about celebrating African animation,” said Orion Ross, VP of original programming and animation for Disney Emea. “We would like to start with how Disney is embracing the vast talent from this continent.”
Each of the shorts in “Kizazi Moto” was created to answer one question: “What does African future look like from an African perspective?”
When discussing his involvement, Ramsey recalled a visit to the Cape Town Animation Festival where he was “blown away, reinvigorated by the people, work, the industry. There was the...
- 6/17/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Disney Emea Animation Studio this morning unveiled a group of new and returning animated kids projects out of Europe and Africa. Among the new titles is Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, a 10-part sci-fi anthology executive produced by Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse co-director Peter Ramsey.
The short films, to be made by talent hailing from such places as Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria, will seek to answer the question “What does Africa’s future look like from an African perspective?” and tap into the Afrofuturism that was turbocharged by Marvel’s Black Panther, said Orion Ross, VP Animation for Disney Europe, Middle East & Africa. Triggerfish is the lead production house for a late 2022 global launch on Disney Plus.
Disney Junior and Disney Plus have also picked up Kiya And The Kimoja Heroes, a pre-school series created by South African duo Kelly Dillon and Marc Dey and produced by eOne and Frog Box.
The short films, to be made by talent hailing from such places as Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria, will seek to answer the question “What does Africa’s future look like from an African perspective?” and tap into the Afrofuturism that was turbocharged by Marvel’s Black Panther, said Orion Ross, VP Animation for Disney Europe, Middle East & Africa. Triggerfish is the lead production house for a late 2022 global launch on Disney Plus.
Disney Junior and Disney Plus have also picked up Kiya And The Kimoja Heroes, a pre-school series created by South African duo Kelly Dillon and Marc Dey and produced by eOne and Frog Box.
- 6/17/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s conference will focus on the business case for diversity.
Marvel Studios’ executive vice president Victoria Alonso will be among the headline speakers at the fifth Women In Animation Summit, which will take place as a virtual event in conjunction with the Annecy International Animation Festival’s hybrid edition, running June 14-19.
The theme of the conference will be “The Business Case for Diversity” and it will kick off with a keynote address by Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin. The scholar, writer and producer is currently developing At Buffalo, a musical created from historical records documenting representations of the...
Marvel Studios’ executive vice president Victoria Alonso will be among the headline speakers at the fifth Women In Animation Summit, which will take place as a virtual event in conjunction with the Annecy International Animation Festival’s hybrid edition, running June 14-19.
The theme of the conference will be “The Business Case for Diversity” and it will kick off with a keynote address by Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin. The scholar, writer and producer is currently developing At Buffalo, a musical created from historical records documenting representations of the...
- 5/26/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Cartoon Digital, a forum for European digital animation, kicks off today Wednesday with a focus on Italy and executives in attendance from Netflix, Disney, WarnerMedia, Rai Ragazzi, Ubisoft, Entertainment One, Mattel, Gaumont, among other companies.
The conference will run entirely online through this Friday. hosted and backed by the government of Sardinia, Italy, in the wake of the launch in 2019 of New Animation in Sardinia, a production and training hub. A second Sardinian initiative, Campus, now focuses on cinema sound and music. The focus on Italy takes in conferences, one-to-one meetings and a mentoring program for young animators.
Given new impulse in Europe, as well as a new distribution paradigm, by the drive into animation of global platforms, currently led by a head by Netflix, animation is seen and supported by public authorities as a priority growth industry in some parts of Europe, such as in Sardinia and France.
The...
The conference will run entirely online through this Friday. hosted and backed by the government of Sardinia, Italy, in the wake of the launch in 2019 of New Animation in Sardinia, a production and training hub. A second Sardinian initiative, Campus, now focuses on cinema sound and music. The focus on Italy takes in conferences, one-to-one meetings and a mentoring program for young animators.
Given new impulse in Europe, as well as a new distribution paradigm, by the drive into animation of global platforms, currently led by a head by Netflix, animation is seen and supported by public authorities as a priority growth industry in some parts of Europe, such as in Sardinia and France.
The...
- 5/26/2021
- by Emilio Mayorga
- Variety Film + TV
Annecy, France — In a set of back-to-back sessions at this year’s Annecy Intl. Animation Festival, Disney announced a reboot of one of its classic animated series, shared updates on handful of others and reaffirmed its commitment to quality content creation in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The afternoon kicked off with a stand-alone Studio Focus for “Monsters at Work,” the upcoming serialization of the popular “Monsters, Inc.” franchise, followed by Disney annual Mifa Press Conference, led this year by Hélène Etzi, country manager at The Walt Disney Company France, with Orion Ross, VP of animation, digital and acquisitions for Disney Europe & Africa, and Caterina Gonnelli, director of acquisitions and productions for Disney Europe & Africa.
A slate of new originals was unveiled, as well as details about other hyped projects and current series.
The “Monsters at Work” presentation provided a first look at the highly anticipated Disney Plus series coming...
The afternoon kicked off with a stand-alone Studio Focus for “Monsters at Work,” the upcoming serialization of the popular “Monsters, Inc.” franchise, followed by Disney annual Mifa Press Conference, led this year by Hélène Etzi, country manager at The Walt Disney Company France, with Orion Ross, VP of animation, digital and acquisitions for Disney Europe & Africa, and Caterina Gonnelli, director of acquisitions and productions for Disney Europe & Africa.
A slate of new originals was unveiled, as well as details about other hyped projects and current series.
The “Monsters at Work” presentation provided a first look at the highly anticipated Disney Plus series coming...
- 6/11/2019
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Pop star Paloma Faith will voice Portia Poodle and actor Miriam Margolyes Bessie the Cornish Cow in “101 Dalmatian Street,” Disney Channel’s upcoming animated series. The pair will guest star in the show, with Josh Brener (“Silicon Valley”) and Michaela Dietz (“Steven Universe”) taking the regular lead roles of sibling dalmatians Dylan and Dolly.
Ben Bailey Smith, Tameka Empson and Bethan Wright will also lend their voices to the series, which will bow in the U.K. before appearing on Disney Channel in the U.S. and around the world.
Disney Channel U.K. will show a special episode of the series in Dec. to introduce its viewers to the the show, before it launches proper in 2019.
Inspired by Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel and Walt Disney’s 1961 film, “101 Dalmatian Street” is set in the modern day, in the London borough of Camden. The series follows the adventures of Dylan and Dolly,...
Ben Bailey Smith, Tameka Empson and Bethan Wright will also lend their voices to the series, which will bow in the U.K. before appearing on Disney Channel in the U.S. and around the world.
Disney Channel U.K. will show a special episode of the series in Dec. to introduce its viewers to the the show, before it launches proper in 2019.
Inspired by Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel and Walt Disney’s 1961 film, “101 Dalmatian Street” is set in the modern day, in the London borough of Camden. The series follows the adventures of Dylan and Dolly,...
- 10/31/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Every year, the festival wing, appropriately titled El Festival, of Mexico’s Pixelatl – an association dedicated to the creation and promotion of multimedia content – takes center stage as Mexico’s premier event linking students and professionals in animation, comics and video games to the international marketplace. Held over five days in the city of Cuernavaca, Morelos, about an hour from Mexico City, awards were handed out over the weekend.
Pixar’s Lee Unkrich was awarded the Chinelo in Animation, a career achievement award which last year went to Oscar-nominated stop-motion director Henry Selick, responsible for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Coraline,” and in 2015 was given to special effects pioneer Phil Tippet, who scored Oscars for both “Jurassic Park” and “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.”
The top prize for a series went to Edino Ferrera’s “Curtis & Bean” a Mexico-Argentina co-production geared towards kids between six and nine years old.
Pixar’s Lee Unkrich was awarded the Chinelo in Animation, a career achievement award which last year went to Oscar-nominated stop-motion director Henry Selick, responsible for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Coraline,” and in 2015 was given to special effects pioneer Phil Tippet, who scored Oscars for both “Jurassic Park” and “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.”
The top prize for a series went to Edino Ferrera’s “Curtis & Bean” a Mexico-Argentina co-production geared towards kids between six and nine years old.
- 9/14/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
The Disney Channel is preparing a supernatural animated series featuring the voice talents of Strictly Come Dancing’s Craig Revel-Horwood, comedian Rufus Hound and young British actress Georgia Lock.
The kids’ broadcasters will roll out Sadie Sparks in 2019. The show follows the enchanting story of a 14-year-old girl, Sadie, who finds out she has magical abilities and becomes a wizard-in-training, with the guidance and mentorship from a very old and very grumpy rabbit, Gilbert, who is sent to the human world from the Magical Realm to train Sadie and harness her volatile magical skills.
Sadie must navigate the challenging world of high school, juggling exams whilst training to be a wizard. The show combines two animation styles, the Magical Realm appears in 2D and the human world in CGI. Sadie and Gilbert hop between the two worlds using their magician’s hat portal.
Unveiled at the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield,...
The kids’ broadcasters will roll out Sadie Sparks in 2019. The show follows the enchanting story of a 14-year-old girl, Sadie, who finds out she has magical abilities and becomes a wizard-in-training, with the guidance and mentorship from a very old and very grumpy rabbit, Gilbert, who is sent to the human world from the Magical Realm to train Sadie and harness her volatile magical skills.
Sadie must navigate the challenging world of high school, juggling exams whilst training to be a wizard. The show combines two animation styles, the Magical Realm appears in 2D and the human world in CGI. Sadie and Gilbert hop between the two worlds using their magician’s hat portal.
Unveiled at the Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield,...
- 7/5/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
In what is always one of the highest-profile events at France’s Annecy Animation Festival, Disney held their yearly presentation on Tuesday night, detailing their upcoming slate of new and returning programs, highlighted by the announcement of the new Emea series “Vikingskool,” and early looks at U.S. series “The Owl House” and “The Rocketeer.”
Disney shared the first images from “The Owl House” and “The Rocketeer” exclusively with Variety, seen below.
This year’s presentation was fronted by Svp for Disney International Media Emea Hélène Etzi; VP of Content for Animation, Digital and Acquisitions Emea Orion Ross; and Nancy Kanter, Evp, Content and Creative Strategy, Disney Channels Worldwide, and General Manager, Disney Junior Worldwide.
Targeting 6-11 year-olds, “Vikingskool” had been on Disney’s radar for some time. Originally pitched towards more mature audiences, Ross was impressed and kept the proposed series in mind on the chance it could be adapted to Disney’s demographic.
Disney shared the first images from “The Owl House” and “The Rocketeer” exclusively with Variety, seen below.
This year’s presentation was fronted by Svp for Disney International Media Emea Hélène Etzi; VP of Content for Animation, Digital and Acquisitions Emea Orion Ross; and Nancy Kanter, Evp, Content and Creative Strategy, Disney Channels Worldwide, and General Manager, Disney Junior Worldwide.
Targeting 6-11 year-olds, “Vikingskool” had been on Disney’s radar for some time. Originally pitched towards more mature audiences, Ross was impressed and kept the proposed series in mind on the chance it could be adapted to Disney’s demographic.
- 6/12/2018
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
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