Next Club Meeting is June 21, 2025...

A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K

Get in on the Action!

M O N T H L Y   M E E T I N G

 
Fountaindale Public Library

300 W. Briarcliff Road

Bolingbrook, IL  60440

Peggy J. Danhof Board Room

 (2nd Floor)

Saturday, June 21, 2025

11:15 AM - 5:00 PM

 

We will be in the BOARD ROOM on the Second Floor.

 
Hope to see everyone there!

 

A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.

 

(Click below for maps)

Every death echoes, and the sea never forgets...

BLOODSHORE

BLOODSHORE is a cinematic dark fantasy short set in the heart of an endless magical war. A legion of battle-worn wizards storm a cursed coastline, where steel meets sorcery, and time itself bends under the weight of bloodshed. Arcane rituals, collapsing ships, and forgotten gods clash in a grim spectacle of magic and fate.

Invasion of the Adorable Cats...

Nyaight of the Living Cat

Run! In 20XX, the world is dominated by cats. A virus which turns anyone who touches a cat into a cat has spread into a worldwide nyandemic. Cats rub against people, turning them into cats. Can humanity fight their urge to pet cats to survive in this cat-ridden world? The momentously catful comic is getting a TV anime in 2025!

Coming July 6th! 

Samurai SWAT team on a rescue mission...

KODAMA

Arthur, a member of an elite SWAT Samurai team, embarks on a rescue mission into the spirit world in order to recover his father from vengeful Japanese Yokai Spirits.

Our Heroes Have a Legacy...

STAR WARS: Episode VII

The Force Reborn (An Alternate Universe Trailer)

Welcome to an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE vision

of the Star Wars sequel trilogy!

Star Wars Episode VII-A: The Force Reborn imagines a bold new chapter in the galaxy far, far away. Set nearly 30 years after the fall of the Empire, the New Republic thrives in peace and prosperity.

Admiral Han Solo and Former President Leia Organa Solo prepare to step back from public life; Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker oversee a flourishing New Jedi Order, and Lando Calrissian, now the galaxy’s wealthiest man, is transforming the planet, Xanidia, into the galaxy’s ultimate vacation destination—with six artificial resort moons.

At the same time, a new generation of heroes are emerging. Jedi Padawan Ben Skywalker grows stronger in the force with each passing day. Jedi Knight Jaina Solo perfects her skills as she aspires to live in harmony with the force. Ex-Jedi Knight Jacen Solo has left the order to seek adventures. Aramis Calrissian is a rising young executive in his father’s intergalactic megacorporation. And Lieutenant Ariana Calrissian serves on board a New Republic Star Explorer.

But peace is fragile.

When massive bio-engineered ships bearing the ancient and fanatical Yuuzhan Vong suddenly emerge from beyond the galaxy, the fragile balance is shattered.

As thousands of worlds fall and fleets rally, two generations of heroes—old and new—must rise to tip the scales… Or the galaxy will be lost forever.

✨ FEATURING:

• Admiral Han Solo & Former New Republic President Leia Organa Solo

• Jedi Masters Luke & Mara Jade Skywalker

• Lando Calrissian

• Ben Skywalker

• Jacen Solo & Jaina Solo

• Aramis Calrissian & Ariana Calrissian

• Chewbacca, R2-D2 & C-3PO

• The Yuuzhan Vong

This fan-made “Alternate Universe” trailer reimagines Star Wars Episode VII with fresh characters, high-stakes conflict, and familiar faces. No official Star Wars footage is used; all visuals and audio are original creations inspired by the Original and Expanded Universes.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND: While there were a number of things about the sequel trilogy that I did enjoy (mainly the cast and some of the designs), it wasn’t really what I was expecting. I always found it somewhat odd that the New Republic would be so inept that they’d fumble away the galactic government in roughly 30 years… Luke would become a disillusioned hermit… Han and Leia would become estranged… The First Order would turn former leaders back into rebels… And that somehow Emperor Palpatine would return. After everything they’d fought and sacrificed for, there was no happy ending.

Although I’ve never read any of the Expanded Universe novels, I did become familiar with some of the characters and storylines (mostly through Wookiepedia and Google searches). When the sequels were originally announced I figured that Disney/Star Wars would pull some of the more popular elements from the EU, streamlining it into a tight and exciting new cannon trilogy of stories. But I suppose that might have involved paying various writers and creators.

A couple of years ago I wrote a very short outline for what I thought might have made a nice sequel trilogy that felt more like Star Wars. Some elements were pulled from the EU, some things were remixes, and several elements were completely new creations. Back then I was able to loosely visualize characters and designs using AI—primarily for my own curiosity and satisfaction—before setting the idea aside.

Fast forward to three weeks ago when I got the idea to see if I could write and produce a trailer for what would be the first entry in an alternate universe sequel trilogy. Here’s the result.

This first trailer was a fun creative experiment imagining a different path for the Star Wars saga. Sound off below! I’d love to hear your reactions, ideas, or even your own Alternate Universe takes. Also, let me know if you’d like to see an Alternate Universe trailer for Star Wars Episode VIII-A, tentatively titled “A Darkness Rises”

If you enjoyed Star Wars Episode VII-A: The Force Reborn, be sure to check out more videos on my channel."

- Blue Sun Studio

And now, whatever way our stories end...

I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend… 

WICKED: FOR GOOD

Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good.

Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award® nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices.

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity.

Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard.

As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba.

She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.

As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

Wicked: For Good also stars Emmy nominee Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James as Glinda’s fawning assistants, Pfannee and ShenShen and BAFTA and Grammy nominee Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline, or Change) as the voice of Elphaba’s childhood nanny, Dulcibear.

The film is produced by returning Tony and Emmy winning powerhouse Marc Platt p.g.a. and by multiple Tony winner David Stone. The executive producers are Stephen Schwartz, David Nicksay, Jared LeBoff, Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox.

The first film, Wicked, released in November 2024, earned 10 Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture, and won the Oscars® for Costume Design and Production Design. To date, the film has grossed $750 million worldwide.

Wicked: For Good is based on the generation-defining musical stage play with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar® winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, from the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire. The screenplay is by Winnie Holzman and Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox. The film score is by John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

Things will be different now...

For all of you...

The Blood of Dawnwalker

The Blood of Dawnwalker is the first chapter of Rebel Wolves’ brand new role-playing saga — a single-player open-world dark fantasy action-RPG with a strong focus on story and narrative. Developed on Unreal Engine 5 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox X|S. 

You play as Coen, a young man turned into a Dawnwalker, forever treading the line between the world of day and the realm of night. Use your skills and combine vampiric strength with human resolve as you take on a quest to save the ones you love. Face your foes - be they human, monster, or the ticking clock itself. But remember - the real evil may bask in the sun's light, and the most loyal of allies could lurk under the cover of night. Learn more at https://dawnwalkergame.com

"Tell me why we fight..."

Because our Enemy still lives...

Predator: Killer of Killers

In Viking-era Scandinavia, Norse warrior Ursa leads her son Anders and the rest of her clan on an expedition to destroy the Krivich tribe and their leader Zoran, who murdered Ursa's father. They track down Zoran to his fortress, where Anders kills him. Afterwards, a towering Predator warrior ambushes Ursa's group, killing her men while Anders is seriously injured after a building collapses on top of him. Ursa fights the Predator alone and kills it, but Anders dies in her arms of his injuries.

In feudal Japan, Kenji and Kiyoshi, two children of a warlord are trained to be warriors. However, Kenji runs away after he refuses to fight his brother for the right to be his father's successor, only returning years later once their father has passed on. He infiltrates a castle and confronts his brother, fighting Kiyoshi before ultimately sparing his life, but his brother falls off a balcony after a railing gives way, seemingly to his death. Left shaken by what has happened, Kenji is suddenly ambushed by a Predator, who slays the castle guards and chases him to a pond where he finds Kiyoshi still alive. They battle the Predator together and kill it, but Kiyoshi dies of wounds he suffered during the fight.

During World War II, American car mechanic Torres is drafted into the US Navy as a fighter pilot. Out in the Atlantic Ocean, his squadron searches for a mysterious aircraft that has completely annihilated another unit, which a grounded Torres discovers is armed with exotic, highly dangerous weapons. He takes a run-down fighter to warn them, after which a Predator spacecraft attacks and destroys his squadmates. Torres manages to outmanoeuvre the alien craft, and tricks it into using its own weapons to destroy itself. After his tour of duty, Torres returns home to fix cars in his garage, but is abducted by a Predator ship. After being awoken from suspended animation, he is put in a cell with Ursa and Kenji.

The three are brought to an arena and presented to a Predator Warlord, who orders them to battle to the death with the survivor to fight the Warlord afterwards.

More Cosplay at ACen 2025...

Anime Central 2025 - REEL 1

Anime Central (ACen) is the largest anime, manga and Japanese popular culture convention in Chicago and the Midwest. ACen happens once a year in the Spring (around April or May) less than 30 minutes from downtown Chicago, in Rosemont, IL. The convention is held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, IL.

Take me to your "leader"...

E L i O

For centuries, people have called out to the universe looking for answers—in Disney and Pixar's all-new feature film Elio, the universe calls back! The cosmic misadventure introduces Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination and a huge alien obsession. So, when he's beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide, Elio's all in for the epic undertaking. Mistakenly identified as Earth's leader, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions, and somehow discover who and where he is truly meant to be.

The murderous doll is back...

M 3 G A N  2.0
And this time she’s not alone.

The original creative team behind that phenomenon—led by horror titans James Wan for Atomic Monster, Jason Blum for Blumhouse and writer-director Gerard Johnstone—reboot an all-new wild chapter in A.I. mayhem with M3GAN 2.0. 

Two years after M3GAN, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous (and impeccably choreographed) rampage and was subsequently destroyed, M3GAN’s creator Gemma (Allison Williams) has become a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of A.I. Meanwhile, Gemma’s niece Cady (Violet McGraw), now 14, has become a teenager, rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules. 

Unbeknownst to them, the underlying tech for M3GAN has been stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia (Ivanna Sakhno; Ahsoka, Pacific Rim: Uprising), the ultimate killer infiltration spy. But as Amelia’s self-awareness increases, she becomes decidedly less interested in taking orders from humans. Or in keeping them around. 

With the future of human existence on the line, Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN (Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis) and give her a few upgrades, making her faster, stronger, and more lethal. As their paths collide, the original A.I icon is about to meet her match. 

M3GAN 2.0 is written and directed by acclaimed returning filmmaker Gerard Johnstone, from a story by Gerard Johnstone and Akela Cooper, based on characters created by Akela Cooper & James Wan. 

The film co-stars returning cast members Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps as Gemma’s loyal tech teammates, Cole and Tess, and new characters played by Aristotle Athari (Saturday Night Live, Hacks), Timm Sharp (Apples Never Fall, Percy Jackson and the Olympians) and Grammy winner and 11-time Emmy nominee Jemaine Clement (Avatar: The Way of Water, What We Do in the Shadows). 

Produced by James Wan, Jason Blum and Allison Williams, the film is executive produced by Joe Hill, Gerard Johnstone, Adam Hendricks, Greg Gilreath, Michael Clear, Judson Scott and Mark D. Katchur. 

The first M3GAN film shattered box office records, opening to $30.4 million domestically to become the biggest opening weekend for a PG-13 horror film since A Quiet Place Part II. The film went on to gross more than $180 million worldwide.

The fight isn’t over yet...

STRANGER THINGS

Get ready for the epic series finale of Stranger Things.

Volume 1, November 26, 5pm PT* 

Volume 2, Christmas, 5pm PT* 

The Finale, New Year’s Eve, 5pm PT* 

 

* (Releasing worldwide all at once, date may vary based on your local timezone)

Incoming Message: "Gestation Complete..."

A L I E N  E A R T H

New trailer hyping Alien: Earth, FX's upcoming Alien series based on the sci-fi horror movie franchise, coming to Hulu August 12. This Alien: Earth trailer includes new footage of Timothy Olyphant, Sydney Chandler, and the Alien: Earth cast battling xenomorphs on Earth two years prior to Ridley Scott's Alien. An official Alien: Earth 2025 trailer is expected in June.

"Only Monsters Play God..."

FRANKENSTEIN

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, FRANKENSTEIN is on Netflix this November. Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, with Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz. Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.

Cosplay at Anime Central 2025

Anime Central 2025 Cosplay Music Video

Anime Central (ACen) is an annual three-day anime convention held during May at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare & Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. It took place on May 16-18 2025.

Rey Gets Destroyed...

"No, you're NOT a Skywalker!"

The Jedi has had enough of Rey Palpatine.

Is anime getting BANNED in Texas?

Anime Ban in Texas?

Well, maybe. Kinda sorta. A bill is making its way through the government that could ban any media that features POTENTIALLY underage LOOKING characters in lewd acts. This could hit anime as characters look "underage" even if they're like 23-years-old.

Meet the main cast for the Harry Potter TV series...

New 'Harry Potter' Cast Announced!

Arabella Stanton will play the role of Hermione Granger, Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, and Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley.

Arabella Stanton played the role of Matilda Wormwood in the West End production of Matilda The Musical from September 2023 until 2024. Dominic McLaughlin has been cast in the comedy film in Grow, in which he will star alongside Nick Frost and Golda Rosheuvel. Unlike his co-stars, Alastair Stout has no other acting credits, except appearing in Albert Bartlett's advertising campaign for the Jersey Royal potato.

"The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen," executive producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod said in a statement about the actors.

"What the heck is up with that ending?"

It's a HIT!

Lilo & Stitch DESTROYS Records DESPITE Backlash Over Ending!

The Lilo & Stitch live-action remake made a LOT of money this weekend. Like... A LOT. And this will give Disney a MUCH needed win at the box office. Let's just hope they don't start green-lighting more unnecessary live-action remakes, but they probably will. Also, the internet is big mad about Nani ditching Lilo for college. Why did they change the ending? And what happened to Jumba's accent?

We Remember...

WAR GAME

Based on the picture book by Michael Foreman, WAR GAME tells the story of Will, Lacey and Freddie – three young Suffolk lads who leave their idyllic country lives to fight in the trenches of World War I. Surrounded by the chaos and confusion of war, they can only dream of their football team, their friends and the families they have left behind. 

On Christmas Day 1914 however, a football game is started between the Germans and the English. Scrambling onto No Man’s Land, the men come face to face with the enemy they have never seen and the true futility of their fight. For a brief moment - differences are forgotten, the men unite and the seeds of hope are planted. But joy has no place in war and the men are soon recalled to the trenches to continue the battle. 

From a football game in the fields of Suffolk to a football game in the heart of Flanders - WAR GAME follows the realisation of three young men’s ambitions to play for England and the ability of the human spirit to exist even in the harshest conditions. Featuring a powerful and moving sound track from the composer Julian Nott, and including Kate Winslet on the voice track. 

WAR GAME has 18 won awards worldwide including: The British Animation Awards; The Pulcinella Award, Italy; Best Television Special - Annecy International Animated Film Festival, France; BANFF International Television Festival, Canada; Tokyo Kinder Film Festival, Japan; Best Animation Prize, ANIMA, Argentina.

When you Mix Totally Spies with Demon Hunters...

KPop Demon Hunters

When K-pop superstars Rumi, Mira, and Zoey aren’t selling out stadiums, they’re using their secret identities as demon hunters to protect their fans from ever-present supernatural danger. Together, they must face their biggest threat — an irresistible rival boy band of demons in disguise. 

From Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse), comes a fiercely fun and action-packed kpop odyssey featuring brand-new, original songs. Also featuring a new, original song performed by Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Chaeyoung of TWICE.

A Brief History of Our Anime Fan Club...

ANIMATRIX MEMORIES
The story of Animatrix is actually the story of two clubs, and the fall of one...

Pilot Episode...

Spice Frontier: Escape From Veltegar

Their search for Earth's lost spices just crash-landed them into a world of trouble! 💥 When the six-member crew of the Serrano wrecks their ship; Kent, C-LA, Ada, Eloy, Mod and Nexus must race against time and some mysterious planet inhabitants to escape before they become the main course.

What’s next for Spice Frontier?

Steamroller Animation is an independent studio that has thrived in a competitive industry for more than a decade. While we've built a successful business providing high-quality animation services, our budget for original content is limited. Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar marks our first pilot-length episode, created with a new real-time pipeline in Unreal Engine.

Over the past 3.5 years, we've invested our profits into developing this technological framework that will support a future range of incredible stories. Spice Frontier is our industry calling card, and we're seeking investment, co-production partners, broadcasters, and distributors to bring future episodes to life. Support independent filmmaking so we can share more Spice Frontier with the world!

The worst of the worst dinosaurs were left here...

Jurassic World: Rebirth
A new era is born.

This summer, three years after the Jurassic World trilogy concluded with each film surpassing $1 billion at the global box office, the enduring Jurassic series evolves in an ingenious new direction with Jurassic World Rebirth. Anchored by iconic action superstar Scarlett Johansson, Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey and two-time Oscar® winner Mahershala Ali, this action-packed new chapter sees an extraction team race to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park, inhabited by the worst of the worst that were left behind. Also starring acclaimed international stars Rupert Friend and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, the film is directed by dynamic visualist Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) from a script by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp.

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. The three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air within that tropical biosphere hold, in their DNA, the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind. Academy Award® nominee Johansson plays skilled covert operations expert Zora Bennett, contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure the genetic material. When Zora’s operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized by marauding aquatic dinos, they all find themselves stranded on a forbidden island that had once housed an undisclosed research facility for Jurassic Park. There, in a terrain populated by dinosaurs of vastly different species, they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that has been hidden from the world for decades.

Ali is Duncan Kincaid, Zora’s most trusted team member; Critics Choice and Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey (Wicked, Bridgerton) plays paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis; Emmy nominee Rupert Friend (Homeland, Obi-Wan Kenobi) appears as Big Pharma representative Martin Krebs and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer, Murder on the Orient Express) plays Reuben Delgado, the father of the shipwrecked civilian family. The cast includes Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs. Lopez) as Reuben’s family. The film also features, as members of Zora and Krebs’ crews, Philippine Velge (Station Eleven), Bechir Sylvain (BMF) and Ed Skrein (Deadpool). Jurassic World Rebirth is directed by BAFTA winner Edwards from a script by Koepp (War of the Worlds), based on characters created by Michael Crichton. The film is produced by Oscar® nominee Frank Marshall and Patrick Crowley, both longtime Jurassic franchise producers and of last summer’s blockbuster, Twisters. The film is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Denis L. Stewart and Jim Spencer.

Anime Viewing Schedule for May 24, 2025...

 A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K
Saturday, May 24, 2025

Fountaindale Public Library

VIEWING SCHEDULE

          11:15 - 12:05   Apothecary Diaries - Season 2 eps 1-2

          12:05 - 12:55   Frieren 27-28 [End]

          12:55 - 1:30     Club Meeting

          1:30 - 2:20       Lazarus eps 3-4

          2:20 - 3:10       The Super Cube eps 3-4

          3:10 - 4:00       To Be Hero X eps 3-4

          4:00 - 4:50       M.S. Gundam GQuuuuuuX eps 3-4

 

"... to get to the other side!"

 

Fountaindale Public Library
300 W. Briarcliff Road
Bolingbrook, IL 60440 

Peggy J. Danhof Board Room

(Second Floor)

 

From 11:15 AM to 5:00 PM

All anime presented are fan-subtitled unless otherwise noted.

Don't miss these exciting anime series: Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura

* ANIME DESCRIPTIONS ARE BELOW *

Achieving peace is a team effort...

PEACEMAKER - Season 2

Season 2 consists of eight episodes and will feature John Cena reprising his role as the DC Comics antihero he previously portrayed in The Suicide Squad and Season 1 of Peacemaker. The new season follows Christopher 'Chris' Smith, aka Peacemaker, the vigilante super hero, as he struggles to reconcile his past with his newfound sense of purpose while continuing to kick righteous evil-doer butt in his misguided quest for peace at any cost.

The Fall of Bungie...

Bungie BUSTED Using STOLEN Marathon Art Assets!

The Marathon situation has gone from bad to worse. Bungie was accused of stealing art for the game from a freelance artist -- and now they're admitting it and apologizing?! Even the Bungie Art Director is apologizing. So, are they actually sorry... or sorry they got caught?

Save the Whale!

Fly! Peek the Whale

‘Tobe! Kujira no Peek’ is the story of two brothers who find a small, injured albino whale, hide it in a secluded inlet, and nurse it to health. The whale is discovered by a circus leader who takes it captive, and the boys seek to free it. This is a family movie with a cute, cartoony whale. It has other expected elements like a cruel group of bullies and the greedy circus owner, indifferent to the animal’s pain. The movie is of note for several reasons. First, it was directed by Kouji Morimoto, who apparently had some serious animator connections in the early 90’s; this movie has many quality keys. Second, the character art is by Satoru Utsunomiya, who has a distinct and original style. Subjects move with fluidity but have simplified, geometrical facial features, hair, and body shapes. This is perhaps exemplified through the eyes, big yet low in detail, just beady and shiny. Fans of his work on Gosenzo-sama may want to investigate. The movie is set in a coastal town in Spain and is realized with beautiful art direction of the architecture and coastal formations.

Next Club Meeting is May 24, 2025

A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K

 "We're already having issues with the new Pope!"

M O N T H L Y   M E E T I N G

 
Fountaindale Public Library

300 W. Briarcliff Road

Bolingbrook, IL  60440

Peggy J. Danhof Board Room

 (2nd Floor)

Saturday, May 24, 2025

11:15 AM - 5:00 PM

 

We will be in the BOARD ROOM on the Second Floor.

 
Hope to see everyone there!

 

A Viewing Schedule will be posted soon.

 

(Click below for maps)

"It's dead, Jim..."

Cartoon Network is DYING

According to a Bloomberg report, Cartoon Network is on life support. Kids aren't watching it anymore, WBD is barely supporting it, and its ad revenue is a fraction of what it was 10 years ago. But if you've been watching Clownfish TV, you'd already know how bad it really was.

Your choices, your actions...

That’s what makes you who you are...

S U P E R M A N

Superman stars David Corenswet in the dual role as Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The film also stars Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Sara Sampaio, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, and Christopher McDonald as Ron Troupe. 

Superman opens in US theaters on July 11

Superman is executive produced by Nikolas Korda, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars Winther. Behind the camera, Gunn is joined by frequent collaborators, including director of photography Henry Braham, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Judianna Makovsky and composer John Murphy, along with editors Craig Alpert (“Deadpool 2,” “Blue Beetle”), Jason Ballantine (the “IT” films, “The Flash”) and William Hoy (“The Batman”).