Snow Bear is a hand-drawn animated short film by Oscar-nominated director Aaron Blaise. Featuring over 11,000 traditional drawings, the film blends classic 2D animation with a modern cinematic story. Many viewers have described the film as nostalgic—capturing the warmth, craftsmanship, and emotional storytelling of classic hand-drawn animation. That feeling is intentional. Snow Bear was created one drawing at a time in the spirit of the Disney Renaissance era.
Snow Bear: The Card Game — NOW LIVE on Kickstarter We are excited to announce the official launch of Snow Bear: The Card Game , a fast-paced, beautifully illustrated game inspired by the characters and world of the film. The Kickstarter runs for 30 days , with special early-backer bonuses.About the Film: When a lonely polar bear can’t find a friend… he makes one.
Created with more than 11,000 Drawings , animated over 3 years , and crafted entirely by 1 artist , Oscar-nominated director and Disney veteran Aaron Blaise (Brother Bear, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast).
The independent animated film has gone on to win nearly 40 international awards to date including Oscar-qualifying honors. 🏆 Awards include: • Best Animated Short – Santa Fe International Film Festival, Boston Film Festival, Three Rivers • Audience Choice Awards – Florida Film Festival, Cleveland Film Festival, Nantucket & More! • Best Family Film – Zagreb Animation Festival, Cordillera • Planet in Crisis Award – Jackson Wild Film Festival • Jury Award for Environmental Impact – SCAD Savannah Film Festival • Best International Short – Animation Dingle • Grand Prize – Toronto Animation Arts Festival Intentional (TAAFI) • And many more from festivals worldwide… It was also an Official selection in competition at Annecy, Tribeca, San Francisco, Chicago and many more. We are so happy to share it with all of you!
There have been massive layoffs at Trixter, Munich. Most of the artists if not all have been shown the door over night and out of the blue. So I was told. So it was unclear if the studio would be going on, especially because without artists no new projects could be tackled without rehiring all the talent. So I reached out to Trixter and Cinesite for more information.
As I was told be representatives of Trixter, the studio refutes the claim that „most or almost all artists“ have been laid off: „This is inaccurate. The majority of the team remains in place and is working on ongoing projects. We have no plans to relocate“
Here is the statement of Trixter, that reached me at 8.00 p.m. this evening here in Germany.
27.11.2025, Munich
Trixter has implemented a strategic restructuring that includes the downsizing of select teams to enhance operational efficiency and long-term stability in response to the current market contraction impacting the global visual effects (VFX) industry.
The company is focused on delivering high-quality visual effects and remains an active, fully operational studio, dedicated to its client and project commitments now and into the future.
As part of the Cinesite Group, this proactive realignment ensures Trixter is well-positioned to navigate industry-wide shifts. “This restructuring is a decisive step that aligns with broader efforts across the Cinesite Group to fortify long-term stability for all studios,” said Christina Caspers, Trixter Managing Director. “While it was a difficult decision, and we deeply value the contributions of every individual impacted, establishing a more agile team gives us a clear pathway to navigate current industry conditions. We are positioning Trixter to be ready for growth as the market inevitably expands again.”
Trixter remains active and fully operational, maintaining current productions and preparing for future projects.
Still this means another big blow towards the German animation and vfx community after Scanline Munichs exited to India and Vancouver earlier this year. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the other players, funding institutions, politicians, scho0ls and producers especially here in Germany to these ongoing events and the dramatic changing landscape of the vfx industry here and abroad.
I will reach out to some and try to find out more. If you have more information you want to share, reach out to me. My email is Johannes.wolters@indac.org
All the best to the former Trixter artists, this will be a tough and sad christmas to all of you. I hope you will find new projects and work soon.
A new Attack on Titan quest is available in Assassin’s Creed Shadows now! Deep within the enigmatic Crystal Cave, a terrifying experiment may unleash a monstrous enemy. Will Naoe and Yasuke survive what lurks in the depths? Dedicate your heart ✊❤️!
Young Suns, a cozy narrative-rich life-sim set in space. Explore planetoids, decorate your spaceship, and visit stations to meet a cast of colourful characters. Help the citizens of Jupiter make society better! Launching now in Game Preview
Zoomania 2 is coming to theatres soon and so its hard not to notice some ads all over Germany. The radio tower of Düsseldorf, the Rhine Tower is the highest building of the town, also the tenth higghest radio tower of Germany. Its height of 240.5 meters equals 789 Feet and 0,504 Inches. So the characters of Zootopia are all over the town and the snake has a strong grip around the tower. Great advertisement and a brilliant gigantic projection high above the various christmas markets of the city. Have a look!
James Cameron has made 9 feature films over his career, making his name widely known for his distinctive style characterized by his technical innovation and epic scale. From his very first film ‚The Terminator‘ to his recent project ‚Avatar: Fire and Ash‘ James takes a look at all of his films and discusses in detail how they came to life.
Director: Jackie Phillips
Director of Photography: Ruby Paiva Editor: Louis Lalire
Wicked: For Good schlägt einen deutlich ernsteren Ton an als der erste Teil. Während der Vorgänger spürbar auf den Aufbau der Welt und Elphabas Entwicklung fokussiert war, verschiebt sich die Perspektive nun stärker zu Glinda, die hier ihre eigentliche Transformation durchläuft.
Cynthia Erivo und Ariana Grande-Butera tragen den Film mit beeindruckender Präsenz. Gesanglich gibt es ohnehin wenig zu diskutieren, doch gerade Grande überrascht mit einer differenzierten, fein nuancierten Darstellung, die Glindas Wandel glaubwürdig macht.
Die Inszenierung wirkt insgesamt düsterer und visuell reduzierter als im ersten Teil, was mir sehr entgegenkam. Die buntere, teils fast überladene Ästhetik des Vorgängers weicht hier einem stimmigeren, atmosphärischeren Production Design. Auch musikalisch bleibt der Film stark, selbst wenn die ikonischeren Songs eindeutig im ersten Teil liegen. Der Score unterstützt die Geschichte aber zuverlässig und passt zur insgesamt ernsteren Stimmung.
Die komödiantischen Momente treffen diesmal besser. Besonders die Fightszene funktioniert, weil sie unmittelbar auf intensive emotionale Szenen folgt und dadurch natürlicher wirkt als einige humorvolle Einlagen im ersten Film.
Ein Höhepunkt ist die Sequenz zu The Girl in the Bubble, die als kontinuierliche Kamerafahrt durch Spiegelräume beginnt. Was zunächst sehr beeindruckend wirkt, nutzt sich für mich jedoch ab, weil das Stilmittel etwas zu oft wiederholt wird. Die Szene kippt dadurch von elegant zu etwas gimmicky und verliert ein wenig von ihrer filmischen Magie.
Was im ersten Teil bereits angelegt war, wird im zweiten Akt noch klarer: die politische Ebene. Die Mechanismen von Propaganda, Sündenbocklogik und Angstmacherei, die Glinda und Elphaba aus unterschiedlichen
Mirco Tornow
Blickwinkeln erleben, wirken heute fast unangenehm aktuell und wichtiger denn je. Der Film zeigt sehr deutlich, wie leicht öffentliche Wahrnehmung gelenkt werden kann.
Während sich Teil eins für mich inhaltlich eher zog, wirkt Teil zwei stellenweise etwas gehetzt. Einige emotionale und narrative Sprünge hätten mehr Raum gebraucht. Trotzdem bleibt Wicked 2 für mich ein gelungener Abschluss.
Wer Englisch versteht, sollte unbedingt die OV schauen. Falls man Untertitel braucht, dann die englischen, da die deutschen bei unserem Screening auf die deutsche Liedfassung abgestimmt waren und nicht zu den gesungenen Texten passten.
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