News Bytes: Warner & Discovery to Merge, V-CRX Sets 1st Guests, ‘Sweet Tooth’ Trailer

AT&T to Spin Off and Combine WarnerMedia with Discovery
The to-be-named new standalone media company will be headed by Discovery CEO David Zaslav with the aim of creating a “streaming giant” to compete with Netflix. The deal is expected to take effect in mid-2022.

WarnerMedia owns streamer HBO Max, home to animation brands including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, Toonami and Warner Animation Group, as well as DC Films and the Warner Bros. Pictures catalog. The platform debuted hybrid family flick Tom and Jerry day and date with theaters earlier this year. Discovery, which launched its own streamer Discovery+ in the U.S. in January, hosting a library of content from 14 networks including TLC, HGTV, ID, OWN and many more; Discovery Family (a joint venture with Hasbro) is the home of animated originals Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy and My Little Pony: Pony Life.

Virtual Crunchyroll Expo Announces First Wave of Guests, Programming
Highlights of the 2021 event (streaming August 5-7 at expo.crunchyroll.com) will feature the premiere preview of TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You OVA (trailer here), new and returning guests and exclusive merch — including a commemorative t-shirt available for preorder. Guests include:

• English voice actor Cherami Leigh (Asuna Yuuki in Sword Art Online, Minako Aino/Sailor Venus in Sailor Moon, Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail)
• Japanese vegetable carver Okitsugu Kado returns to showcase his talent of carving edible anime characters
• Cosplayer Vampy Bit Me and content creator Mario Bueno will be back to co-host the Crunchyroll-Hime’s Cosplay Cup international cosplay competition

Production Begins on Disney’s ‘Disenchanted’
The live-action musical comedy sequel to Enchanted is slated to debut exclusively on Disney+ in 2022. Directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray, The Wedding Planner), the movie again stars six-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams as Giselle, Patrick Dempsey as her husband, Robert Philip; James Marsden as Prince Edward of Andalasia and Idina Menzel as his wife, former dressmaker Nancy Tremaine; Maya Rudolph as Malvina, Giselle’s new adversary in Monroeville, Kolton Stewart as her son; Yvette Nicole Brown as Rosalyn; Jayma Mays as Ruby; Oscar Nunez as Edgar; and introducing Gabriella Baldacchino as Robert Philip’s now grown daughter, Morgan.

Watch the video of 19-year-old Badlacchino getting the news of her feature film debut from Shankman:

Watch: ‘Sweet Tooth’ Official Trailer
Based on the beloved DC Comic, and executive produced by Susan Downey & Robert Downey Jr., Sweet Tooth is a post-apocalyptic fairytale about a hybrid deer-boy and a wandering loner who embark on an extraordinary adventure. All 8 x 1-hour episodes premiere June 4, only on Netflix. Showrunners are Jim Mickle and Beth Schwartz. Stars Christian Convery (Gus), Nonso Anozie (Tommy Jepperd), Adeel Akhtar (Dr. Aditya Singh), Aliza Vellani (Rani Singh), Stefania LaVie Owen (Bear), Dania Ramirez (Aimee Eden), Neil Sandilands (General Abbot), with Will Forte (Father) and James Brolin (Narrator).

Platige Image Creates a Cyberpunk Style Anime Spot for Sasa
Art Director Michał Niewiara, CG Supervisor Marek Gajowski and CG Producer Agnieszka Górna present the various stages of the stylized 2D/3D work and reveal some behind the scenes details of the spot, commissioned by MilkyWay Studio in Jakarta.

Watch: WEBTOON Partners with Singer-Songwriters Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler on MV
Set to their song “this is how you fall in love,” the music video brings together webcomic Suitor Armor protagonists Modeus and Lucia over the ethereal vulnerability of Zucker and Cutler vocals, and captures the essence of what has made the series an instant favorite among the webcomic cognoscenti.

Goblins Student Animation Wins at Atlanta Film Festival
The Academy Award-qualifying prize went to Un Diable dans la Poche (A Devil in the Pocket) at the 45th ATLFF. Directed by Antoine Bonnet and Mathilde Loubes, the film centers on a group of children who witness a crime and are forced to keep the terrible secret. August, the youngest, finds the burden too great to bear and breaks the silence — turning the rest of the children against him. Miyu is handling distribution for the short. Watch on Vimeo here.

Moonbug Expands Original Programming to Peacock
Hit programs Blippi, My Magic Pet Morphle and Little Baby Bum are already available for streaming on the platform in both English and Spanish. Moonbug’s other programs joining the streaming platform include Arpo, Gecko’s Garage, Go Buster, Playtime with Twinkle, Supa Strikas, T-Rex Ranch and Ring-A-Tangs. Learn more at moonbug.com/shows.

• Little Baby Bum is an animated show for children ages 1-4. Sing along with Mia and her friends, in a world where animals can dance, buses are friends, and rainy days are never boring! The program supports toddlers’ emotional, physical and cognitive development through classic and original nursery rhymes.
• My Magic Pet Morphle, an animated show loved by children ages 3-6, follows Little Mila and her magical pet Morphle as they turn playtime into a series of fun and educational adventures while teaching themes of friendship, problem-solving and creativity.