Trixter, Munich: Statement regarding Layoffs and the Future of the Company

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.

Johannes

Zootopia 2 (German Title „Zoomania 2“) all over Düsseldorf

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!

https://www.disney.de/filme/zoomania-2

https://disneyanimation.com/

https://www.rheinturm.de/

Every James Cameron Movie, Explained by James Cameron | Vanity Fair

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

Talent: James Cameron

Producer: Emebeit Beyene

Line Producer: Natasha Soto-Albors

Production Manager: Andressa Pelachi

Associate Production Manager: Elizabeth Hymes

Talent Booker: Lauren Mendoza

Camera Operator: Osiris Nascimento

Gaffer: Nick Massey

Audio Engineer: Justin Fox

Production Assistant: Abby Devine; Marquis Wooten

Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin

Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo

Additional Editor: Sam DiVito

Assistant Editor: Fynn Lithgow

Die INDAChs Kritik von Mirco Tornow zu „Wicked Teil 2/Wicked: For Good“

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

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.

Submit your works for the Official Selection of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival’s upcoming edition.

 

Submit your works!

You have until:

  • 15th February 2026 at 23h59 (UTC+01:00) for the following categories: Short Films, Graduation Films, TV and Commissioned Films
  • 15th March 2026 at 23h59 (UTC+01:00) for the following categories: Feature Films

Film submissions in the Immersive Works category will open in early December.

As of this year, there is a fee for submitting a work to the Annecy Festival. The registration fee covers administrative and technical costs. This is a flat rate for the entire submission process, regardless of when you submit your work.

For further information, please read the terms and conditions and the GSTC carefully before submitting your film.

If you have any problems, please write to inscription@citia.org

Step 1: complete your profile to access all the features available in your connected space:

Register films and projects
Accreditation purchases
Screening reservations
Access to the Video Library

Create your account

 

Is your work still in the draft phase?

The Mifa Pitches submissions open soon! The perfect opportunity to present your animation project to potential partners and financial backers.

For more information

ANIMATED FEATURE FILMS ELIGIBLE FOR 98TH OSCARS® ANNOUNCED

November 21, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANIMATED FEATURE FILMS ELIGIBLE FOR 98TH OSCARS® ANNOUNCED

OS ANGELES, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced feature films eligible for consideration in the Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature Film and International Feature Film categories for the 98th Academy Awards®. Complete 98th Academy Awards rules can be found at Oscars.org/rules.

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Thirty-five features are eligible for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards. Some of the films have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfill that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process.

To determine the five nominees, members of the Animation Branch are automatically eligible to vote in the category. Academy members outside of the Animation Branch are invited to opt in to participate and must meet a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category. Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture. Animated features that have been submitted in the International Feature Film category as their country’s official selection are also eligible in the category.

Here now the complete list of eligible films for consideration for Animated Feature Film:

98TH ACADEMY AWARDS ® — ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE ANIMATED FEATURE FILM CATEGORY ARE:

„All Operators Are Currently Unavailable“

„Arco“

„The Bad Guys 2“

„Black Butterflies“

„Boys Go to Jupiter“

„Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc“

„ChaO“

„Colorful Stage! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing“

„David“

„Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle“

„Dog Man“

„Dog of God“

„Dragon Heart – Adventures Beyond This World“

„Elio“

„Endless Cookie“

„Fixed“

„Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie“

„In Your Dreams“

„KPop Demon Hunters“

„The Legend of Hei 2“

„Light of the World“

„Little Amélie or the Character of Rain“

„Lost in Starlight“

„A Magnificent Life“

„Mahavatar Narsimha“

„Night of the Zoopocalypse“

„Olivia & las Nubes“

„100 Meters“

„Out of the Nest“

„Scarlet“

„Slide“

„The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants“

„Stitch Head“

„The Twits“

„Zootopia 2“

98th Academy Awards preliminary voting for select categories will begin on Monday, December 8, 2025, and end on Friday, December 12, 2025.

Shortlists for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.

Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

# # #

ABOUT THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s premier film organization and is home to a global membership of more than 11,000 of the most accomplished film industry artists and leaders. The Academy connects global audiences – its members, the film industry, and film fans – through their shared passion for making and watching films. The Academy does this by recognizing and celebrating the arts and sciences of moviemaking through renowned awards for cinematic achievement, including the Oscars®, the Governors Awards, and the Scientific and Technical Awards. The Academy’s affiliated charitable organization, the Academy Foundation, serves a public benefit through its robust educational, preservation and cultural activities. This includes the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the world’s largest global film museum, the Academy Collection, the largest film-related collection in the world, and talent development programs for emerging artists. Year-round, the Academy creates opportunities for all communities to engage with the film world.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.instagram.com/TheAcademy
www.threads.net/@theacademy
www.tiktok.com/@Oscars
www.x.com/TheAcademy

 

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