More Than Meets the Eye for 40 Years!

TRANSFORMERS 40th Anniversay

Absolutely stunning Transformers 40th Anniversary video from Studio Trigger and Bump of Chicken. There's a lot of history in here, can you spot your favorite series?

It's the 15th Anniversary of an Anime Classic...

GURREN LAGANN THE MOVIES

Childhood’s End and The Lights in the Sky Are Stars
are headed to theaters for the first time in 4K & 4D in January 2024!

Don't miss out on the one-of-a-kind immersive cinematic experience when - Childhood’s End - returns to theaters on January 16 & 17, followed by - The Lights in the Sky Are Stars - on January 23 & 24.

Tickets go on sale December 8 at FathomEvents.com.

GURREN LAGANN (aired from April to September 2007) was Director Hiroyuki Imaishi’s (known for PROMARE, KILL la KILL, and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt) first TV anime series. The series won the 11th Japan Media Arts Festival Animation Division Excellence Award; with a striking style of direction and unforgettable dialogue, the series captivated and charmed audiences in Japan and abroad. The first film premiered in 2008, with all the lines re-recorded and new scenes added to release as GURREN LAGANN THE MOVIE Childhood’s End and later in 2009 with GURREN LAGANN THE MOVIE -The Lights in the Sky Are Stars-.

Kazuki Nakashima, known for his work on PROMARE, KILL la KILL, and Batman Ninja, worked on the screenplay while Atsushi Nishigori was responsible for character design. The mecha designs were brought to audiences by genius You Yoshinari.

In addition to bringing back GURREN LAGANN THE MOVIE - Childhood’s End - and GURREN LAGANN THE MOVIE - The Lights in the Sky Are Stars - to theaters again, this project will, for the first time ever, see the movies come to audiences in 4D.

This is the tale of a man who has yet to realize what his destiny is. Far in the future, a young boy named Simon digs holes in an underground settlement called Giha Village. With his older brother figure Kamina and a young woman named Yoko who’s fallen underground from the surface, the three set out to pursue their dreams of the surface world. As the group makes new friends, they are joined by a mecha in the shape of a face called Lagann. Together, they set out for Teppelin—the headquarters of the Spiral King, the king of the beastmen and ruler of the surface world.

After overcoming intense battles with the Spiral King, humans, now having regained control of the surface world, are faced yet again with another unknown enemy. To save humanity from this predicament of absolute despair and hopelessness, Simon and Team Dai-Gurren push their way through the galaxies for a heroic fight.

The saga will end, the story lives forever...

STAR WARS: RETURN of the JEDI

Watch the 40th Anniversary trailer for STAR WARS: Return of the Jedi back in select theaters April 28 - May 4.

▶ Watch the Fan-Made Trailer

Celebrating 25 Years of Animatrix!

 

A N I M A T R I X   N E T W O R K

THE ANIME AND MANGA FAN CLUB
of

C  H  I  C  A  G  O

Thank you all so much for your continued support!

We couldn't do it without you!

 

ALIEN ANTHOLOGY - "Alien: Ore"

ALIEN ANTHOLOGY

 A L I E N: ORE 

As a hard-working miner of a planet mining colony, Lorraine longs to make a better life for her daughter and grandchildren. When her shift uncovers the death of a fellow miner under mysterious circumstances, Lorraine is forced to choose between escape or defying management orders and facing her fears to fight for the safety of her family.

▶ Watch the Short Film "ALIEN: ORE"

Remembering D-Day

75th Anniversary of D-Day

Thank you for the men who stormed those beaches on June 6th 1944.

We are forever in your debt.

"A Mighty Endeavor"

As dawn broke on June 6, 1944, German soldiers defending the French coast at Normandy beheld an awe-inspiring sight—the largest amphibious invasion force in history massed in the waters of the English Channel. The long-awaited invasion of northwest Europe was underway...

READ MORE

Alien 40th Anniversary Short Film: "Containment"

ALIEN: CONTAINMENT

To celebrate Alien's 40th anniversary and in partnership with Tongal, 20th Century Fox is releasing new Alien-universe fan-made short films leading up to Alien Day on April 26th. Written and directed by Chris Reading, the synopsis for "Containment" reads: "Four survivors find themselves stranded aboard a small escape pod in deep space. Trying to piece together the details around the outbreak that led to their ship's destruction, they find themselves unsure to trust whether or not one of them might be infected."

Alien: 40th Anniversary Shorts

ALIEN: 40th Anniversary

ALIEN ANTHOLOGY

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking sci-fi horror film Alien (1979), six visionary filmmakers were selected to bring their Alien-inspired stories to life. From terrifying escapes, to Facehuggers and Xenomorphs, these captivating shorts brings forth an exciting new narrative for fans while paying homage to the original film.

Celebrating 100 Years of Anime

Los Angeles Anime Film Festival

Celebrates 100 Years of Anime

[Source: ToonZone] Did you know anime is now 100 years old? Don’t you think that sounds like a good excuse to throw as many landmark anime films on the big screen at the same time?

Then you’re way ahead of the Los Angeles Anime Film Festival (LA-AFF), which features a blockbuster lineup of anime hits, one after another, starting tomorrow. The LA-AFF takes place September 15th through the 17th and all programs will be showcased at the Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

The festival begins with the North American debut of No Game No Life Zero and wraps up with Akira, and is sandwiched in the middle with My Neighbor Totoro, Summer Wars, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and more. Here’s the full schedule and lineup:

Opening Gala Screening – Friday, September 15 No Game No Life Zero, dir. Atsuko Ishizuka, Japan, 2017
*North American Premiere
Namakura Gatana (Special Presentation)

Closing Film – Sunday, September 17 Akira, dir. Katsuhiro Otomo, Japan, 1988

Festival Lineup 009 Re:Cyborg 3D, dir. Kenji Kamiyama, Japan, 2012 Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, dir. Tatsuyuki Nagai, Japan 2013 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, dir. Shinichirō Watanabe, Hiroyuki Okiura, Yoshiyuki Takei, Japan, 2001 Ghost in the Shell, dir. Mamoru Oshii, Japan, 1995 Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, dir. Mamoru Oshii, Japan, 2004 (35mm) Kiki’s Delivery Service, dir. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1989 King of Prism by PrettyRhythm dir. Masakazu Hishida, Japan, 2016
*North American Premiere Love Live! The School Idol Movie, dir. Takahiko Kyogoku, Japan, 2015 Metropolis, dir. Rintaro, Japan, 2001 Miss Hokusai, dir. Keiichi Hara, Japan, 2015 My Neighbor Totoro, dir. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1988 Paprika, dir. Satoshi Kon, Japan, 2006 (35mm) Pigtails, dir. Yoshimi Itazu, Japan, 2015 Porco Rosso, dir. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1992 Red Turtle, dir. Michaël Dudok de Wit, France/Belgium/Japan, 2016 Summer Wars, dir. Mamoru Hosoda, Japan, 2009

Tickets for each individual screening are now available at http://la-aff.eventbrite.com.

Happy 40th Anniversary Star Wars!

S T A R   W A R S
Celebrates 40th Anniversary

On May 25, 1977 “Star Wars” opened in 32 US screens including the legendary Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. Director George Lucas built a brand based off a story of triumph over evil and of a hero’s tragic fall and eventual redemption. The movie soon became a phenomenon and an important part of pop culture. Four decades later it continues to enthrall audiences all over the world.

Next up is ”Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” The sequel begins where “The Force Awakens” left off, with Rey (Ridley) meeting Luke on a remote island, filmed off the coast of Ireland. Some shots in the trailer also suggested Skywalker training Rey on the island. In “The Force Awakens,” Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren has turned to the dark side after being tutored by Luke.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, the “Star Wars” sequel will follow J.J. Abrams’ box-office smash “The Force Awakens.”

It will be Carrie Fisher’s last appearance in the core “Star Wars” films that follow the saga of the Skywalker family.

“The Last Jedi” is due in theaters December 15.

YES! Even more cosplay pics from ACen 2017

More Cosplay Pics from Anime Central 2017

Cosplay at Anime Central 2017

Celebrate Anime Central's 20th Year!

animation by anim8trix

ANIME CENTRAL's 20th ANNIVERSARY 
May 19-21, 2017
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018
www.acen.org
 

 

Celebrate STAR TREK's 50th Anniversary

50 YEARS of STAR TREK

Cast members from all five “Star Trek” shows celebrated the franchise’s milestone anniversary on social media Thursday.

Fifty years ago today, the very first episode of the original “Star Trek” series — “The Man Trap” — debuted on TV. The 1996 Variety review predicted the show’s demise, “The opener won’t open up many new frequencies after this sampler.”

How wrong the reviewer was.

Five decades after the debut, the franchise is still going strong, with a sixth show coming in 2017 and a 14th movie planned (following this summer’s “Star Trek Beyond”).

Bugs Bunny Turns 75-Year-Old

Watch His Animated Debut in 'A Wild Hare'

Merrie Melodies - A Wild Hare (1940) by Cartoonzof2006

Bugs Bunny first appeared on July 27, 1940

[Source: Yahoo!TV] You’ve got to hand it to Bugs Bunny — he looks pretty good for 75. (Then again, he has been gray from the very beginning.)

Monday marks the iconic Looney Tunes wisecracker’s animated debut — opposite Elmer Fudd, no less — in the 1940 Warner Bros. short “The Wild Hare.”
 

The 7-minute cartoon features so many monumental firsts: the first time Bugs locked lips with an adversary, the first time he faked his own death and, of course, the first time he uttered those immortal words: “What’s up, doc?”

Original production layout drawing by Chuck Jones for his 1943 short cartoon, "Super Rabbit"

Original lobby card for the 1943 Chuck Jones directed "Super Rabbit"

Photostat of a Tex Avery model sheet of Bugs Bunny.

"The Evolution of Bugs Bunny" a hand-painted cel art edition by Chuck Jones

[Source: Time.com] Here’s how the world’s favorite cartoon rabbit came to be. Animator Chuck Jones gave credit to Tex Avery for the character, but Warner Bros. had made several rabbit cartoons in the studio’s earlier years. There were cutesy rabbits and wacky rabbits, but those rabbits aren’t Bugs. (One distinction, Jones explained, was that Bugs’ craziness always serves a purpose–in contrast to the unhinged Daffy Duck.)

The Wild Hare bunny is uncredited, though that changed before the year was up. Bugs was an instant star. By 1954, TIME noted that he was more popular than Mickey Mouse. (Mel Blanc, who voiced the character, later claimed that the name was his idea, saying that they were going to call the character Happy Rabbit, but that Blanc suggested naming him after animator Ben “Bugs” Hardaway. Alternatively, the name is sometimes traced to a sketch that designer Charles Thorson did on Hardaways’ request, with the caption “Bugs’ bunny”—as in, it was the bunny that Bugs had asked him to draw.)

Though Virgil Ross was the animator on A Wild Hare, Chuck Jones became one of the more famous hands behind the Bugs Bunny magic. In 1979, when The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie came out, TIME critic Richard Schickel noted that “it is possible that some day Animator Chuck Jones may come to be regarded as the American Bunuel” for the fact that Jones and the groundbreaking surrealist filmmaker so well understood the psychological underpinnings of comedy.

As these images from the late artist’s archives show, Bugs Bunny may have taken a long time to be born—but he sure has aged well.

Original production layout drawing by Chuck Jones for his 1943 short cartoon, "Super Rabbit"

Hello Kitty's 40th Anniversary

Hello Kitty Celebrates 40th Anniversary

When she came to life in 1974, she was a kitty without a name, sitting sideways in blue overalls and a big red bow, on a coin purse for Japanese girls. On Saturday, fans around the world celebrate the 40th anniversary of this global icon of "cute-cool." That is, Hello Kitty.

Only a handful of characters last so long, especially in Japan, where thousands come and go in a highly competitive market. Hello Kitty has the looks, and more.

"Characters must have certain qualities, like an oversized round face, short limbs and plump body," said economist Takuro Morinaga, an expert on popular culture. "Kitty follows the basics, yet she has a strong personality."

Innovative design and clever marketing also helped expand her fan base around the world, said Christine Yano, anthropologist and author of "Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty's Trek Across the Pacific."

Hello Kitty's company, Sanrio Co., which specializes in designing and making a wide range of products in the booming "cute" business, created her as a character 40 years ago.

According to Sanrio, her real name is Kitty White, born Nov. 1 — no year is given — in the London suburbs. The birthday date was chosen because it is the birthday of her original designer, Yuko Shimizu.

Sanrio strives to keep Hello Kitty ahead of the curve, factoring in social and fashion trends and collaborating with other popular characters and fashion brands. Her basic appearance hasn't changed much, but just about everything else constantly is. Yano said the philosophy of not resting is part of the character's success.

Oct. 30, 2014. A model dressing as Japanese character Hello Kitty greets a guest arriving to take a souvenir photo with her at Sanrio Puroland, a theme park featuring Hello Kitty in Tokyo. (The Associated Press)

"That makes things very fresh, very new," she said in a telephone interview from Boston. "She is always the same but always different."

___

THE 70s: A SCHOOLGIRL STAPLE

Made up of just a few simple strokes — two dots for eyes, a tiny circle for a nose and no mouth — Hello Kitty was largely for little girls at the start. Her stationery became a staple gift for schoolgirls. Hello Kitty made her overseas debut in the United States in 1976 before heading to Europe and the rest of Asia. She posed piloting an airplane in 1978 for the opening of Tokyo's Narita International Airport, symbolizing her dream of going global.

___

THE 80s: KIDS STUFF NO MORE

Hello Kitty began shaking off her purely childish image and attracting adults. Her outfits and background shifted from bold red, blue and yellow to hues of pink and blue. A black and white Hello Kitty reflected a monotone boom led by Japanese fashion brand Comme des Garcons. Kitty's third and current designer Yuko Yamaguchi took the bold step of removing the black outline around the character. Hello Kitty decorated the popular items of the day, including pagers and hand-held game machines.

___

THE 90s: LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

Some of her original fans started having children, a potential second generation of fans. Sanrio Puroland, a theme park targeting families, opened in the Tokyo suburbs. Designer Yamaguchi created a baby Kitty in 1999 at the request of young mothers. "Kitty-lers," a new breed of grown-ups devoted to the character, became a national phenomenon. A Hello Kitty laptop went on sale, as did a portable karaoke machine amid a karaoke boom. "I'm her peer, and I've been her fan since kindergarten," said 40-year-old Yuko Ishikawa, who gave a big hug Thursday to Hello Kitty at Sanrio Puroland on a visit with her 3-year-old daughter, Hina. "Happy birthday!"

___

THE 2000s: THE COOL FACTOR

The growing worldwide popularity of Japanese animation and comics helped Hello Kitty become cool, not just cute — or "cute-cool" as Yano puts it. A new wink gave her greater semantic presence, she said. "It can be taken straight, or ironically, or it can be taken humorously." Sanrio reached out to fans of different fashion tastes, from girly to street and designer brands. In 2008 Hello Kitty donned a Dior collection in Vogue magazine. She also co-branded with Diesel, A Bathing Ape, Undercover, Reebok and Vans, as well as cosmetics makers Crabtree and Evelyn and MAC.

___

THE FUTURE: LADY GAGA, SWAROVSKI, WHAT'S NEXT?

Hello Kitty is featured on about 50,000 items in some 130 countries. Lady Gaga has performed in Hello Kitty costumes, and rock band Kiss produced T-shirts last year featuring Hello Kitty in its trademark-Kiss makeup and costumes. A sitting Kitty decorated with 14,000 Swarovski stones sells for 476,280 yen ($470) in Japan. Taiwan's EVA Air launched a Kitty-inspired Airbus A330-300 flight between Taipei and Sapporo in 2011, and Kitty-themed luxury spas have opened in Bangkok and Dubai.

Her future? There will be some ups and downs ahead, Yano says, but "I think it has a presence, a long-lasting presence."

Watch Hello Kitty in English

25th Anniversary of Tim Burton's BATMAN

The film that changed comic-book 

movies... and Hollywood forever

[Source: blastr.com] Today (June 23) is the 25th anniversary of the release of Batman, the 1989 film directed by Tim Burton that arguably paved the way for the modern era of comic-book movies. Starring Michael Keaton (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Jack Nicholson (the Joker), Kim Basinger (Vicki Vale), Michael Gough (Alfred) and Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon), the movie was a blockbuster success that changed the way both Hollywood and the general public viewed superheroes and movies based on their comic-book exploits.

Batman was the first movie to be based on a popular comic-book superhero since the Superman series petered out in 1987 with the all-but-unwatchable Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and the first to become a monster hit since the first two entries in that series, Superman (1978) and Superman II (1981). But whereas even those two films tended to veer a little more toward camp -- a hangover from the days of the Batman TV series that ran for three years on ABC -- Burton's Batman was the first film to take its hero seriously and attempt to portray his twisted, obsessive psychology. It also presented the Caped Crusader's iconic nemesis, the Joker, as something deadlier than a buffoon, and made Gotham City itself into a character of sorts.

Batman was far from a perfect film -- it has major script problems, for one thing -- but its effect on Hollywood and the way that movies based on comic books were made was profound. Although it would take a decade-plus before those effects were fully felt -- with the arrival of films like X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002) -- Batman was a turning point in many ways. Here are 10 of them (complete with memorable lines from the film) ...

1. "My life is really...complex.": Until Batman came along, the general public mainly knew the character through the campy version essayed by Adam West in ill-fitting tights on the 1966 Batman TV series. In the intervening years, the character had become progressively darker in the comics, culminating in the double whammy of Frank Miller's gritty, dystopian The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Alan Moore's disturbing The Killing Joke (1988). The 1989 movie took its cue from those books and others, dropping the juvenile attitude and turning the Caped Crusader into the noirish figure that's been the template for the character on screen ever since. 

2. "Money, money, money.": Although the first couple Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve had done well at the box office a decade earlier, Hollywood didn't believe that superhero comic books were a lucrative enough genre to mine. Batman showed how wrong they were, setting an opening weekend record with a three-day haul of more thn $43 million and becoming the first movie to reach $100 million at the box office in 10 days. It ended up with a worldwide box office total of $411 million -- the highest grossing film based on a DC comic book property until, appropriately enough, 2008's The Dark Knight. 

3."I'm Batman.": The announcement that Michael Keaton had won the coveted dual role of Bruce Wayne and Batman was greeted with shock and skepticism among fans. After all, Keaton was primarily known for his comedic roles, leading many to believe that Burton would pursue a humorous vision similar to the TV series. But the director's hunch on his star was correct, as Keaton delivered a brooding, tortured performance worthy of the role. Casting against expectations continues to this day, with sterling examples such as Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Heath Ledger as the Joker.

4. "I make art until someone dies.": Just as the casting of Michael Keaton proved controversial, so did the hiring of Tim Burton to direct. With just two quirky comedies under his belt, Burton hardly seemed like the right person to bring a massive superhero tentpole to the screen. But his vision was one of the keys to Batman's success and put a format into place that many comic book movies have followed since. He was also the first in a long line of unusual directing choices, ranging from Jon Favreau (Iron Man) to the Russo Brothers (Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

5. "Wait 'til they get a load of me.": Jack Nicholson may have earned top billing in Batman thanks to his iconic Hollywood status, but his portrayal of the Joker also dominated the film. Over the top, chewing scenery like Godzilla rampaging through downtown Tokyo, killing people at random and hysterically laughing through it all, Nicholson set the gold standard for almost all future film supervillains, including Heath Ledger's own demonic take on the same character 19 years later. From Jim Carrey's Riddler to Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin to Michael Shannon's General Zod, the bad guys of the superhero movie genre all owe something to Jack. 

6. "I made you, you made me first.": Did you know that the Joker, when he was known as thug Jack Napier, killed Bruce Wayne's parents and sowed the seeds of the Batman? Neither did we. Batman played things a little fast and loose with both the Caped Crusader's origin story and that of his arch-enemy -- and while diehard fans bristled at the retcon, it didn't seem to hurt the box office one bit. Batman showed that filmmakers could take liberties with the source material and get away with it, and while it's a bit more difficult to do that in the age of the Internet and instant fan protests, it still happens on a regular basis (see the entire X-Men franchise).

7. "Gotham City. Always brings a smile to my face.": When Superman was released in 1978, it was clear for all to see that Metropolis was nothing more than a barely disguised New York City. Burton and the late, brilliant production designer Anton Furst took things in the other direction with Batman, creating a wholly fictional, heavily stylized Gotham City that brooded over its inhabitants like a living, breathing, crouching colossus. The city as a character -- real or otherwise -- has been part of the superhero genre ever since.

8. "Where does he get those wonderful toys?": The arrival of Batman launched a marketing and merchandising blitz not seen since the peak of Star Wars, which didn't even roll out its toys and such until months after the movie came out. But for months before the release of Batman, as "Batmania" swept the nation, the studio and its merchandising partners capitalized on that with an endless barrage of toys, action figures, costumes, games and other paraphernalia. Before all was said and done, some $750 million in Bat-junk was sold -- opening the floodgates for merchandizing blitzkriegs ever since.

9. "Have you shipped a million of those things?": Batman was released on home video (just quaint little VHS at that point) in November 1989 -- just five short months after it came out in theaters. This was virtually unheard of at the time, with most films on video going the rental route for months (if not a year) before showing up priced to buy. Wanting to sieze on the movie's momentum, however, Warner Bros. got it out on videocassette in time for Christmas. Although it was not the massive seller the studio expected, Batman changed the landscape irrevocably for movies making the jump from the big screen to the small one. 

10. "It's not exactly a normal world, is it?": Batman didn't just make the superhero movie a lucrative option for Hollywood -- it was really the prototype for the pre-branded, pre-sold, pre-marketed modern blockbuster. Sure, Star Wars and Jaws created the "summer tentpole," but Batman was based on a pre-existing property -- and 25 years later, Hollywood is almost all about pre-existing properties. Rarely will a movie get the green light if it's not connected to a comic, a best seller, a TV show or an earlier film. The success of Batman also led to the acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, which itself was the launching pad of the DC Animated Universe -- with the shared universe concept now consuming movie franchises at every turn. The world of film today may not be a normal one, but Batman played a major role in inventing it.

Darwyn Cooke's Batman 75th Anniversary Short

Batman Beyond vs. the Dark Knight

A brand new short from artist Darwyn Cooke returns fans to the world of Batman Beyond as Terry McGinnis' futuristic Dark Knight faces his most formidable foe of all--himself.

Superman 75th Anniversary Animated Short

From the creative minds of Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) and Bruce Timm (Superman: The Animated Series) and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, this short follows Superman through the years, from his first appearance on the cover of Action Comics #1 to Henry Cavill in this year's Man of Steel...all in two minutes!