The third Town Hall for this year was held on August 14 at Travancore Hall in Park Centre, Technopark. The entire Toonz Trivandrum team ensured lively participation making this quarterly event a special one. In his address, Toonz Media Group CEO Mr. P Jayakumar emphasized the importance of perseverance and optimism in the face of failures and challenges. “It is only by confronting challenges head-on that we can emerge stronger and more resilient,” he said. Mr. Jayakumar also provided the employees an update from various divisions within Toonz Media Group and handed over Star Performers and Emerging Star certificates to outstanding performers. Service Awards were also provided to employees to recognise their service and contribution.
Toonz and Studio Eeksaurus’ co-production, animated musical shorts ‘Croak Show’ has won the Audience Award across all categories at the prestigious Hiroshima Animation Season. This is a proud moment for Indian animation, highlighting the power of collaboration between Indian companies in creating game-changing work. Directed by Suresh Eriyat of Studio Eeksaurus, the film’s music is composed by the Rajat Dholakia and Sameer Uddin and features the voices of Salman Ali and Chetan Shashital. Additionally, the sound design is masterfully crafted by Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty. The inspiration for the film came to veteran animation filmmaker and Studio Eeksaurus co-founder and creative director Suresh Eriyat during the Covid lockdown, when he found himself quarantined at a remote resort.
Toonz Media Group and London-based Giffi Ltd. have entered a co-production and co-distribution agreement for the new animated series, Adventures of Rusty, based on the stories by celebrated Indian author Ruskin Bond. The 52 x 7′ series project aims to develop the well-loved tales of a lonely young Anglo-Indian boy into a global brand. The short-form animated series will initially be released on digital platforms, followed by YouTube and other distribution channels. Toonz and Giffi will jointly hold the distribution rights for media, as well as collaborating on toys, merchandise and collectibles inspired by the brand. “We are delighted to partner with Giffi to recreate the magic of the renowned author Ruskin Bond’s captivating storytelling in an animated series adaptation,” said P. Jayakumar, CEO of Toonz Media Group.
The hit preschool series Zoonicorn is going into Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) with a new licensing partner, new products and the launch of its official branded Amazon portal. The show, produced by Toonz Entertainment and Zoonicorn, LLC, is now aired in more than 100 countries worldwide, and has quickly grown an enviable portfolio of licensing deals. Global licensing for the brand is shared by the two companies and headed by J’net Smith of All Art Licensing. Zoonicorn will be represented at BLE at the Toonz Entertainment (Stand #E171). Among the new highlights for the Zoonicorn brand this year include a Global Merchandising Agreement with Teddy Mountain, the world’s largest wholesale supplier of DIY (do-it-yourself) Plush products.
An exciting and high value one-day Houdini Effects Workshop will be organised by Toonz Academy on September 7 at Travancore Hall in Technopark. Mr. Biswajit T, FX Supervisor and Mr. Rakesh Herurkar, FX Lead at The Mill will be the mentors at this workshop. Participants will get to know the industry insights on effects animation and understand Houdini interface and workflow apart from getting hands-on-practice on production process. A demo on making of the game cinematics is also part of this one-day workshop. Toonz Academy students and employees are encouraged to participate in this workshop to learn from the industry experts who have worked on 100 + Hollywood films and games. Those interested can contact 9249494908 to register.
Toonz Academy and Karma Play Academy which launched their one-year course in video game art recently, will host ‘Meet the Masters’ online session on September 4. Video game industry producer and entrepreneur Richard M. Holmes will be the resource person in this online session. He will be exploring the status of the game publishing industry today. It may be noted that Richard has designed, produced and published three number one hit computer games (Tactical Manager, The Settlers and Football Glory), as well as being involved in the development and/or publication of over 400 other games across many platforms. Those who are interested in attending the ‘Meet the Masters’ guest lecture can register by scanning the QR code here.
