Feb 22, 2026
Please contact us
with corrections
or breaking news
Please contact us
with corrections
or breaking news
Cohen’s Cartoon Corner Feb 26
by Karl F. Cohen
Cartman of 'South Park' was anti-woke before it was 'kuel.' photo: courtesy South Park PLEASE support our GoFundMe campaign to cover research expenses for our articles and rebuilding the cineSOURCE site.
The Power of South Park’s Trump Attacks
What will people think of “South Park”’s political content in the future? Will anybody remember who Trump administration officials like Pete Hegseth or Kristi Noem were when watching South Park reruns in a decade? Probably not, but they might still understand how hated the president was after seeing rude moments from the show’s 27th season. Gosh, the creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone fearlessly skewered Trump in brutally vulgar ways only “South Park” can get away with. Can Jimmy Kimmel or another late-night host get away calling the president a “r——d f—–t”)?
What is happening to American values and culture when Parker and Stone were offered and signed a new five-year $1.5 billion deal with Paramount Global to continue mocking whatever they want—including their own parent company? Nothing is sacred!
Turn Yourself into a Cartoon?
A friend of mine says, “People tell me I have a cartoon personality.” He asked me can AI help him create drawn cartoon images of himself? I asked Leonel Cortes if AI can do that. Yes, there are websites set up to do just that, he said. Just search for turning a photo of me into a cartoon. You will find “Cool Caricatures from Photos” etc. and may even be given a choice of styles.
Mind Blowing Digital Effects
See a demonstration of how special effects can switch the appearance of a person, set, etc. effortlessly in this 3-minute short for a “Superman” movie (see here).
Warner Bros and Paramount fight over Netflix Warner Bros Rejects Paramount
On Jan. 7th, Hollywood Reporter announced “No dice, Warner Bros. Discovery is still sticking with Netflix.” Larry Ellison has said he would sweeten the deal and financially back the offer to buy Warner Bros. On Jan. 12th Paramount filed suit against WBD in Delaware and the 20th Netflix sweeten its offer to make it an all cash bid instead of cash and stock. To be continued…
Zootopia 2 Wins Race
“Zootopia 2” surpassed ‘Frozen 2’ to become Disney’s highest grossing feature of all time! Indeed, it is now the 4th highest grossing animated feature of all time and it is still playing in first run theaters. Its gross hit $1.66 billion on Jan. 17. Compare that to “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961) which was reported by Charles Soloman to be “the first animated feature to earn more than $10 million on its initial release.”
Gay illustration from Toronto, Canada, circa 1925. photo: unknownHomosexuality in Pre-Code Cartoons
Queer culture, far from being a recent invention, appeared in cartoons pre-Hays Code, the self-imposed industry guidelines enforced from 1934 to 1968. See humorous clips from cartoons starring Betty Boop, Flip the Frog and other stars here.
IMAX Has Best Year Ever
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that IMAX, “a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters originally known for having very large screens” (Wikipedia), reported its strongest box office performance in the company’s history. That 2025 success was fueled largely by blockbuster animated franchises.
Handsome Music Videos
Mystic Video has used AI to produce several lines of really nice-looking music videos. The 20 videos presently in their visual poem series includes tributes to the early modern artists Renoir, Monet, van Gogh and Gustav Klimt. See it here
Character in a 'Fable for a time of unfettered greed,' 'The Girl Who Cried Pearls’. photo: courtesy Lavis/Szczerbowski The Girl Who Cried Pearls
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls” is a Fable for our time of unfettered greed, told through a haunting tale of a ragamuffin teen who puts wealth before love. It is on the Oscar shortlist and has three Annie nominations. “It was produced by the National Film Board of Canada and made by writer-directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski who are best-known for their amazing Madame Tutli-Putli (Putli received 46 major festival awards and an Oscar nomination),
Bandar Ka Pehli Flight
The "Bandar Ki Pehli Airplane Flight" video from the Monkey Phone Call Vlog is a silly and really stupid AI video, but an oddity since it is not in English. See it here.
A really old photo of Vince Collins. photo: courtesy V Collins Collins’ Malice in Wonderland
Vince Collins told me his short “’Malice in Wonderland’ has been on YouTube for 17 years and has been seen 1,600,000 views, and that, years ago, Cahiers du Cinema put ‘Malice’ up on Facebook and it got 13 million views in two weeks before it was taken down; so that was fun.”
You can see it on dozens of websites. There is even a shorter version that Vince didn’t create that has a soundtrack by the Jefferson Starship performing their hit “White Rabbit”.
Wickipedia says, “’Malice in Wonderland’ is a 1982 American experimental short film based on the 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol. It tells the story of Alice's journey in Wonderland through a series of psychedelic hallucinogenic animations of the novel's major characters featuring animated nudity, various character morphing, and a distorted soundscape. The film is considered Vince Collins' best known work.”
“Following its initial 1982 release, “Malice in Wonderland” caused controversy for its surreal sexual imagery. However, it had later gained a broader cult popularity by 2009 thanks to video sharing websites such as YouTube.” Vince’s wife Miwako contributed to its design.
A scene from Collins's 'AI and Me'. photo: courtesy V Collins Vince has just completed “AI and Me”, a fascinating continuous journey through an unusual landscape with just one cut near its end. He says, “The only AI is some pictures and little movies on the buildings—everything else is hand made as usual.” See a trailer here.
The Intimate Resistance of Michaela Pavlatova
Animation as an intimate form of resistance in the hands of some artists, take for example the pioneering vision of Michaela Pavlátová. Her work is widely recognized for treating animation not just as an art form, but as a deeply personal, feminist mode of resistance that foregrounds women’s interior lives, desires, and social constraints. The recent ASIFA profile on her career highlights how her films use intimacy, humor, and emotional honesty to challenge patriarchal norms and expand what animation can express. The article is posted here.
'Scarlet', a time-bending animated adventure about medieval-era, sword fighting. photo: courtesy Hosoda Visionary Film Coming to IMAX
“Scarlet”, which opens exclusively in IMAX on February 6th and opens nationwide on February 13th, is from visionary filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (born 1967). It’s a powerful, time-bending animated adventure about Scarlet, a medieval-era, sword-fighting princess on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father. After failing at her mission and finding herself gravely injured in the Otherworld, which exists somewhere between life and death, she encounters an idealistic young man from our present day who not only helps her to heal but shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage. When confronted again by her father's killer, Scarlet faces her most daunting battle: can she break the cycle of hatred and find meaning in life beyond revenge?
The film’s world premiere was at the Venice International Film Festival followed by screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. It has received three nominations for the 2026 Annie Awards, including Best Feature (Independent), Best Direction (Feature) and Best Writing (Feature). Tickets for “Scarlet” are now available via the IMAX website.
The heroes of 'Arco'. photo: courtesy Ugo Bienvenu Magical Arco Arrives
“Arco” is a magical and beautifully-animated journey through time which opened January 30th across the SF Bay Area, from Alamo Drafthouse in the Mission to Cinemark Century 16 in Pleasant Hill. The adventure is about the eponymous 10-year-old boy from a peaceful, distant future who accidentally travels back to the year 2075 and discovers a world in peril. As “Arco” develops a charming and touching friendship with a young girl named Iris, they band together and along with her trusted robot caretaker Mikki, set out on a quest to get Arco home, while the two children may also be the only ones who can save our planet.
“Arco” is a wondrous odyssey filled with hope and optimism for our future. It is an enchanting fable from breakout filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu, produced by Remembers’ Bienvenu and Felix de Givry, and mountainA’s Natalie Portman and Sophie Mas. Ugo Bienvenu is a French illustrator, director, screenwriter, comic book author, producer, publisher, artistic director, and entrepreneur. See trailer here.
Animated at IndieFest
The 28th San Francisco Independent Film Festival runs February 5-15, both at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and virtually at sfindie.com, is showing “Duckville” by Bill Plympton (USA), a spiraling comedy of errors about a town of ducks whose mayor fears they’re just too boring, so he hires a monster to liven things up. Hijinks inevitably ensue.
“Hidden Levels Machinima” by Andrew Callaway from Oakland, CA. Animated Short Documentary, Filkmmaker will be present for Q and A. A video podcast about the art of using video game engines to make movies, that uses a video game engine to make the video podcast. For more information and tickets, visit sfindie.com or call 415-662-3378.
Furbabies Are Here!
The first collection of ‘furbabies’ will be on sale soon. The first collection of Nancy Beiman’s FurBabies strips (most of the ones from 2023 and 2024) will be available for online purchase in a few weeks! Meet the family and friends, experience Kate's cooking, Floof's imaginary travels, Sirius' baby talk, and of course, the capybaras! Nancy has worked for Disney in several capacities (story development, animation and directing).
Nancy was recently added to Lambiek. It appears to be a well-researched, written and illustrated online directory of creative talent.’ It is also has an easy to use index (see here).
Scene from 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. photo: courtesy J. Cameron Golden Globe Winners
James Cameron’s latest epic, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" led the Golden Globes in visual effects and garnered 10 nominations, while ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Elio,’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ each snagged 5. The nominees are announced in 25 categories across film, television, real-time, and special venue projects with the ceremony set for February 25 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA.
Best Feature Sony/Netflix’s smash hit "KPop Demon Hunters", received 10 nominations, including Best Feature, Writing, Character Animation, Production Design and Best Music. Disney’s blockbuster sequel "Zootopia 2" and the philosophical French-Belgian import "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain" (GKIDS) got seven nominations each, including Best Feature. The Best Feature race is rounded out by DreamWorks’ "The Bad Guys 2", which bagged five nods.
The independent contenders for Best Feature reflect the diverse storytelling and artistic influences of the global animation industry. There is Sylvain Chomet’s "A Magnificent Life" (France/Belgium/U.S./Luxembourg), Ugo Bienvenu’s "Arco" (France/U.S.), which raked in five nominations, Roy & Arturo Ambriz’s "I Am Frankelda" (Mexico), Han Ji-won’s "Lost in Starlight" (South Korea) and Mamoru Hosoda’s "Scarlet" (Japan).
Best Shorts: "Cardboard" by Locksmith Animation, "Ovary-Acting" by Klipp og Lim and Jante Films, "Apparat" by Filmproduktion AB, "Pillowzzz" by Animoshe, "Snow Bear" by The Art of Aaron Blaise, and "The Girl Who Cried Pearls" from the National Film Board of Canada.
The winners will be announced Saturday, February 21, 2026 at a ceremony in UCLA’s Royce Hall. I assume the show will once again be available live online.
The gaggle of girls who are the 'Demon Hunters'. photo: courtesy Maggie Kang K-Pop Bigger than Gaga?
There are dubious claims in the press, notably by the marketing company Pulsar, that the fictitious young ladies of K-Pop’s latest success “Demon Hunters” are getting more mention in the media than real superstars such as Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish.
Statistical Trivia
With 482 million views, “KPop: Demon Hunters” (see here) was the most-watched title over a six-month period. Netflix surpassed 325M subscriber at the end of 2025. “Snow White” and “Smurfs” received Razzie nominations (The Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody award show honoring cinematic failures). “Snow” is up for worst feature, worst remake, worst director and 3 other dubious honors.
Academy Award Nominations
Best Feature: “Arco” (Neon) Directed by Ugo Bienvenu, produced by Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman (Neon); “Elio” (Disney/Pixar) Directed by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi; produced by Mary Alice Drumm; “KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation), directed by Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans; produced by Michelle L. M. Wong; “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” (GKIDS), directed by Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han; produced by Nidia Santiago and Henry Magalon; “Zootopia 2” (Disney) directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard; produced by Yvett Merino
Best Shorts: “Butterfly” (France) by Florence Miailhe, “Forevergreen” (U.S.) by Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears; “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” (Canada) by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski, “Retirement Plan” (Ireland) by John Kelly; “The Three Sisters” (Russia) by Konstantin Bronzit
Notes on “Butterfly” and “The Three Sisters:” “Butterfly” (Papillon) tells the powerful story of the life of French Jewish Olympic swimmer Alfred Nakache who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Painted directly under the camera, the short is produced by Ron Dyens (Sacrebleu Productions), who also produced last year’s Oscar-winning feature “Flow”, the Cesar-winning feature “My Sunny Maad”, the Cesar-winning shorts “And Then the Bear” and “Sunday Lunch”, and the Cesar-nominated “Midnight’s Garden”. Chris Robinson, the artistic director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, has revealed why the film “The Three Sisters” was originally released under a fictious name Timur Kognov from Cyprus as a social experiment here (see here).
Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) VFX supervisor Richard Baneham; Wētā FX, ILM; “F1” (Apple TV/Warner Bros.) VFX supervisor Ryan Tudhope; Framestore, ILM, Red VFX, Lola VFX, Metaphysic; “Jurassic World Rebirth” (Universal) VFX supervisor David Vickery; ILM, Important Looking Pirates; “The Lost Bus” (Apple TV) VFX supervisor Charlie Noble; beloFX, Cinesite, ILM, RISE, Outpost VFX, Vitality Visual Effects, Mist VFX, Host VFX; “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) VFX supervisor Michael Ralla; Storm Studios, Rising Sun Pictures, ILM, Baraboom Studios, Light VFX, Base FX, Outpost VFX
The Bafta, Aka British Academy Awards
See Full List
Best Animated Film: “Elio”, “Little Amélie”, “Zootropolis 2”
Best British Short Animation: “Cardboard” by J.P. Vine, Michaela Manas Malina, “Solstice” by Luke Angus and “Two Black Boys in Paradise” by Baz Sells, Dean Atta, Ben Jackson
Best Children’s & Family Film: “Arco”, “Boong”, “Lilo & Stitch” and “Zootropolis 2”
Best Features: “How to Train Your Dragon”, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, “The Lost Bust”, “Frankenstein” and “F1”
Special Visual Effects: “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, “F1”, “Frankenstein”, “How to Train Your Dragon”, and “The Lost Bus”
Drawing depicting the giant puppet in Georges Méliès’ film 'Conquest of the Pole' (1912). illo: G. Méliès, 1945 Special Local Screenings
A live movie-concert of Georges Méliès, including drawing depicting the giant puppet used in his film “Conquest of the Pole” (1912) is coming to San Francisco on Feb. 21 at the Marina Theater, 2149 Chestnut Street. (Go here)
Signe Baumane’s ‘Karmic Knot’
Signe Baumane’s new animated feature film, has been invited to the Berlinale Co-Production Market, one of the biggest and most important film marketplaces in the world. Signe and Sturgis will travel to Berlin February 14-17 and join Latvian Producers Dominiks Jarmakovičs and Roberts Vinovskis along with German Producer Fabian Driehorst to meet with international producers, sales agents and distributors. Karmic Knot is one of 35 film projects from 27 different countries to be selected. She says, “It’s a great opportunity to find new partners to help us make the film and get it seen.”
Nipon Vibes Festival Feb 14
The Nipon Vibes Festival will show ‘Your Name,’ in San Francisco, Feb. 14th, only at 3:30 pm. The festival is showing the animated feature “Your Name” at the New People Theater at 1746 Post Street in San Francisco Mitsuha is dreams of leaving the boring town and trying her luck in Tokyo. Taki is a high school boy in Tokyo who works part-time in an Italian restaurant and aspires to become an architect or an artist. Every night he has a strange dream where he becomes…a high school girl in a small mountain town.
CCA Sells SF Campus
And now a big bummer: California College of the Arts in San Francisco has sold its campus to Vanderbilt University and is closing with the semester that ends May, 2027. (Its former campus in Oakland is also included in the sale.) The announcement came from Mayor Daniel Lurie and Vanderbilt University leaders. They said Vanderbilt plans to open a full-time campus in San Francisco, when Vanderbilt takes over CCA's current site in 2027.
"We stayed focused on making this happen," Mayor Lurie said. "Because we know if we want San Francisco to help lead the future, we must compete to get the institutions that shape it."
The new campus is expected to serve about 1,000 students, with a focus on innovation that blends engineering, entrepreneurship and the arts. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the university also plans to preserve CCA's legacy, but the transition does not include an automatic path forward for current students. "There will be an opportunity for students who may want to transfer to Vanderbilt." Diermeier said, "We will consider that, but that's a different conversation. We are not absorbing CCA in any way." (Vanderbilt. Whose main campus is in Nashville, Tenn., still needs regulatory approvals to operate in California.)
This is a great loss for local animation, as CCA has an excellent animation program that teaches both traditional, digital and stop-motion animation.
Special Effects Master Pederson Passes
Con Pederson, the special effects supervisor on “2001: A Space Odyssey” died. Pederson, the CGI pioneer who spent two and a half years alongside Doug Trumbull creating the dazzling Oscar-winning visual effects for the Stanley Kubrick’s masterwork “2001 a Space Odyssey” died in Woodland Hills, California from Alzheimer’s complications at 91.
The star, Speedy Gonzales, in the new movie by Jorge R. Gutierrez. photo: J Gutierrez In the Loop with Leo (Leonel Cortes)
NETFLIX COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU The crazy bidding war for Warner Brothers has changed Netflix’s tune when it comes to cooperating with theaters. The New York Times interviewed Netflix’s Co-Ceo Ted Sarandos on the decision to purchase WB. Sarandos responded to criticism involving Netflix’s stance on theaters and has stated that they will commit to having a 45-day theatrical run for future Warner films. This might be good news for the troubled theater industry. Sarandos also promised that the merger would bring in more work for the rest of Hollywood as Netflix will increase its film and show production if the buyout succeeds.
One of the issues is that it’s easier to say all this to an interviewer, but will Netflix keep their promise? It could be possible that they will since “KPop: Demon Hunters” and the “Stranger Things” finale showed that people are willing to head into theaters for something they can just watch at home.
SPEEDY GONZALES IS RACING TO THEATERS Warner Brothers Discovery has announced a Speedy Gonzales movie with Jorge R. Gutierrez chosen to direct. Not much else is known about the film, but Gutierrez has plenty of experience with comedy shows and films. With works like El Tigre and The Book of Life under his belt he will definitely make a fun film. Gutierrez has also released a 40-minute pilot for his adult-oriented miniseries. El Guappo Vs the Narco Vampires shows off his ability to mix comedy and action with ease. You can find the full pilot on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-zZqrdybGE
AI ELSEWHERE I was speaking to someone about AI the other day, and they brought up how the wine industry is starting to adopt AI. It made me think about the acceptance of AI outside just the animation industry. While Hollywood is flocking to AI, it looks like other industries are taking a more cautious approach. The wine industry is only recently incorporating AI but is much more welcoming towards AI programs. Unlike Hollywood, most wineries are willing to adopt AI as AI companies promise wineries the ability to increase their consumer base.
Preferabli, an AI wine startup, promises to improve consumer experiences by learning a consumer’s tastes and will recommend other types of wine and pairings. Other startups are less focused on the consumer and instead want to work with growers. Their goal is to automate the grape growing process without taking away from labor.
After doing a quick look into a different industry, it seems like there is a lot of potential for AI to be used as a powerful tool with plenty of benefits. The only issue is that just like in the animation industry, AI is still in its early stages. There’s a long road ahead for it before we start seeing how impactful AI actually is.
ASIFA News
I have proposed that ASIFA chapters around the world establish an online museum honoring the best works that their area has created. Museums are created to showcase specific kinds of works and honor them as great examples of that subject. I think an online animation museum is a realistic project for the ASIFA board and its chapters to consider.
There can be both a permanent collection and special exhibits along with educational information. The works can be represented by short texts about them and with a still image or two so the visitor can decide if they want to see all or part of the work. One logical way to access the films is to provide links to them, ones that are already posted on the internet. Having taught animation history online at SF State we used that system rather than trying to create programs with all the films linked together.
Each chapter should curate the content of their contributions to the site and if needed obtain permission to use it. To improve the looks of the online museum there might be a master designer, but each chapter should be responsible for the content. Long established chapters might divide what they show into sections such as independent shorts, work from small studios, feature productions, etc. All kinds of work can be included: entertainment, educational, TV commercials, propaganda, etc. The main thing is to show off your best work and not bore visitors.
There needs to be an introduction page or two to welcome visitors and to explain that ASIFA wishes to showcase all kinds of creativity from around the world. I think the number of things on a chapter’s area should be up to the chapter. Visitors to museums may want to see just a few things or spend hours exploring.
There may come a time when special exhibits are organized with several chapters working together on a theme such as world peace, world health, or another important issue. It could also include college students speaking up about an issue or something else that is controversial like eye candy animation, artistic uses of AI, or expressing political dissent with animation. Other themes might be explored such as 100 years of animated humor, or new directions in presenting animation (outdoor projection mapping, drone light shows, etc.)
I think an ASIFA museum can play an important role in bring people from around the world together. The world needs a forward-thinking museum about animation that will excite the imaginations of visitors. Let’s celebrate creativity.
ASIFA in the future will probably rely more and more on the Internet or on a more advanced communication system. ASIFA-SF started as a small local association with local in-person events including lectures, demonstrations and screenings. Now our friends and members live and work all over the country and world (also many artists can no longer afford to live in this city). I think the idea of an online museum, perhaps with an Internet bulletin board, is a way for ASIFA to reach a wider audience and it should help ASIFA grow and prosper in the future.
Anastasia Dimitra, the president of ASIFA responded, “It is a very good and meaningful idea, and we sincerely thank Karl for bringing this issue back, which we had already discussed in Zagreb in 2024, during our first meeting on the activities of the 65th anniversary ASIFA project, funded from the reserve. The next necessary step is to carefully examine the technical requirements and specifications needed to ensure the realistic and sustainable implementation of this program. Let's put it in our next EB agenda. “ (The message was sent by her to all ASIFA groups).
ASIFA-SF is Volunteer Run
The editor is Karl Cohen and contributors include Nancy Denney-Phelps, Leonel Cortes, Jim Middleton, and other friends of ASIFA, with proof reading by Jim Middleton and Scott Kravitz. To volunteer, contact .
ASIFA-SF is a chapter of Association Internationale du Film d’Animation with over 40 chapters around the world. We are presently planning to announce a zoom meeting to discuss our developing a new animation bulletin board/website to replace our old site that was hacked. Details soon!
Karl F. Cohen is an animation scholar, author and longtime cineSOURCE contributor who can be reached . Posted on Feb 07, 2026 - 04:57 PM
by Karl F. Cohen
Cartman of 'South Park' was anti-woke before it was 'kuel.' photo: courtesy South Park The Power of South Park’s Trump Attacks
What will people think of “South Park”’s political content in the future? Will anybody remember who Trump administration officials like Pete Hegseth or Kristi Noem were when watching South Park reruns in a decade? Probably not, but they might still understand how hated the president was after seeing rude moments from the show’s 27th season. Gosh, the creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone fearlessly skewered Trump in brutally vulgar ways only “South Park” can get away with. Can Jimmy Kimmel or another late-night host get away calling the president a “r——d f—–t”)?
What is happening to American values and culture when Parker and Stone were offered and signed a new five-year $1.5 billion deal with Paramount Global to continue mocking whatever they want—including their own parent company? Nothing is sacred!
Turn Yourself into a Cartoon?
A friend of mine says, “People tell me I have a cartoon personality.” He asked me can AI help him create drawn cartoon images of himself? I asked Leonel Cortes if AI can do that. Yes, there are websites set up to do just that, he said. Just search for turning a photo of me into a cartoon. You will find “Cool Caricatures from Photos” etc. and may even be given a choice of styles.
Mind Blowing Digital Effects
See a demonstration of how special effects can switch the appearance of a person, set, etc. effortlessly in this 3-minute short for a “Superman” movie (see here).
Warner Bros and Paramount fight over Netflix On Jan. 7th, Hollywood Reporter announced “No dice, Warner Bros. Discovery is still sticking with Netflix.” Larry Ellison has said he would sweeten the deal and financially back the offer to buy Warner Bros. On Jan. 12th Paramount filed suit against WBD in Delaware and the 20th Netflix sweeten its offer to make it an all cash bid instead of cash and stock. To be continued…
Zootopia 2 Wins Race
“Zootopia 2” surpassed ‘Frozen 2’ to become Disney’s highest grossing feature of all time! Indeed, it is now the 4th highest grossing animated feature of all time and it is still playing in first run theaters. Its gross hit $1.66 billion on Jan. 17. Compare that to “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (1961) which was reported by Charles Soloman to be “the first animated feature to earn more than $10 million on its initial release.”
Gay illustration from Toronto, Canada, circa 1925. photo: unknownQueer culture, far from being a recent invention, appeared in cartoons pre-Hays Code, the self-imposed industry guidelines enforced from 1934 to 1968. See humorous clips from cartoons starring Betty Boop, Flip the Frog and other stars here.
IMAX Has Best Year Ever
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that IMAX, “a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters originally known for having very large screens” (Wikipedia), reported its strongest box office performance in the company’s history. That 2025 success was fueled largely by blockbuster animated franchises.
Handsome Music Videos
Mystic Video has used AI to produce several lines of really nice-looking music videos. The 20 videos presently in their visual poem series includes tributes to the early modern artists Renoir, Monet, van Gogh and Gustav Klimt. See it here
Character in a 'Fable for a time of unfettered greed,' 'The Girl Who Cried Pearls’. photo: courtesy Lavis/Szczerbowski “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” is a Fable for our time of unfettered greed, told through a haunting tale of a ragamuffin teen who puts wealth before love. It is on the Oscar shortlist and has three Annie nominations. “It was produced by the National Film Board of Canada and made by writer-directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski who are best-known for their amazing Madame Tutli-Putli (Putli received 46 major festival awards and an Oscar nomination),
Bandar Ka Pehli Flight
The "Bandar Ki Pehli Airplane Flight" video from the Monkey Phone Call Vlog is a silly and really stupid AI video, but an oddity since it is not in English. See it here.
A really old photo of Vince Collins. photo: courtesy V Collins Vince Collins told me his short “’Malice in Wonderland’ has been on YouTube for 17 years and has been seen 1,600,000 views, and that, years ago, Cahiers du Cinema put ‘Malice’ up on Facebook and it got 13 million views in two weeks before it was taken down; so that was fun.”
You can see it on dozens of websites. There is even a shorter version that Vince didn’t create that has a soundtrack by the Jefferson Starship performing their hit “White Rabbit”.
Wickipedia says, “’Malice in Wonderland’ is a 1982 American experimental short film based on the 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol. It tells the story of Alice's journey in Wonderland through a series of psychedelic hallucinogenic animations of the novel's major characters featuring animated nudity, various character morphing, and a distorted soundscape. The film is considered Vince Collins' best known work.”
“Following its initial 1982 release, “Malice in Wonderland” caused controversy for its surreal sexual imagery. However, it had later gained a broader cult popularity by 2009 thanks to video sharing websites such as YouTube.” Vince’s wife Miwako contributed to its design.
A scene from Collins's 'AI and Me'. photo: courtesy V Collins The Intimate Resistance of Michaela Pavlatova
Animation as an intimate form of resistance in the hands of some artists, take for example the pioneering vision of Michaela Pavlátová. Her work is widely recognized for treating animation not just as an art form, but as a deeply personal, feminist mode of resistance that foregrounds women’s interior lives, desires, and social constraints. The recent ASIFA profile on her career highlights how her films use intimacy, humor, and emotional honesty to challenge patriarchal norms and expand what animation can express. The article is posted here.
'Scarlet', a time-bending animated adventure about medieval-era, sword fighting. photo: courtesy Hosoda “Scarlet”, which opens exclusively in IMAX on February 6th and opens nationwide on February 13th, is from visionary filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (born 1967). It’s a powerful, time-bending animated adventure about Scarlet, a medieval-era, sword-fighting princess on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father. After failing at her mission and finding herself gravely injured in the Otherworld, which exists somewhere between life and death, she encounters an idealistic young man from our present day who not only helps her to heal but shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage. When confronted again by her father's killer, Scarlet faces her most daunting battle: can she break the cycle of hatred and find meaning in life beyond revenge?
The film’s world premiere was at the Venice International Film Festival followed by screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. It has received three nominations for the 2026 Annie Awards, including Best Feature (Independent), Best Direction (Feature) and Best Writing (Feature). Tickets for “Scarlet” are now available via the IMAX website.
The heroes of 'Arco'. photo: courtesy Ugo Bienvenu “Arco” is a magical and beautifully-animated journey through time which opened January 30th across the SF Bay Area, from Alamo Drafthouse in the Mission to Cinemark Century 16 in Pleasant Hill. The adventure is about the eponymous 10-year-old boy from a peaceful, distant future who accidentally travels back to the year 2075 and discovers a world in peril. As “Arco” develops a charming and touching friendship with a young girl named Iris, they band together and along with her trusted robot caretaker Mikki, set out on a quest to get Arco home, while the two children may also be the only ones who can save our planet.
“Arco” is a wondrous odyssey filled with hope and optimism for our future. It is an enchanting fable from breakout filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu, produced by Remembers’ Bienvenu and Felix de Givry, and mountainA’s Natalie Portman and Sophie Mas. Ugo Bienvenu is a French illustrator, director, screenwriter, comic book author, producer, publisher, artistic director, and entrepreneur. See trailer here.
Animated at IndieFest
The 28th San Francisco Independent Film Festival runs February 5-15, both at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and virtually at sfindie.com, is showing “Duckville” by Bill Plympton (USA), a spiraling comedy of errors about a town of ducks whose mayor fears they’re just too boring, so he hires a monster to liven things up. Hijinks inevitably ensue.
“Hidden Levels Machinima” by Andrew Callaway from Oakland, CA. Animated Short Documentary, Filkmmaker will be present for Q and A. A video podcast about the art of using video game engines to make movies, that uses a video game engine to make the video podcast. For more information and tickets, visit sfindie.com or call 415-662-3378.
Furbabies Are Here!
The first collection of ‘furbabies’ will be on sale soon. The first collection of Nancy Beiman’s FurBabies strips (most of the ones from 2023 and 2024) will be available for online purchase in a few weeks! Meet the family and friends, experience Kate's cooking, Floof's imaginary travels, Sirius' baby talk, and of course, the capybaras! Nancy has worked for Disney in several capacities (story development, animation and directing).
Nancy was recently added to Lambiek. It appears to be a well-researched, written and illustrated online directory of creative talent.’ It is also has an easy to use index (see here).
Scene from 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. photo: courtesy J. Cameron James Cameron’s latest epic, "Avatar: Fire and Ash" led the Golden Globes in visual effects and garnered 10 nominations, while ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ ‘Elio,’ and ‘Zootopia 2’ each snagged 5. The nominees are announced in 25 categories across film, television, real-time, and special venue projects with the ceremony set for February 25 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA.
Best Feature Sony/Netflix’s smash hit "KPop Demon Hunters", received 10 nominations, including Best Feature, Writing, Character Animation, Production Design and Best Music. Disney’s blockbuster sequel "Zootopia 2" and the philosophical French-Belgian import "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain" (GKIDS) got seven nominations each, including Best Feature. The Best Feature race is rounded out by DreamWorks’ "The Bad Guys 2", which bagged five nods.
The independent contenders for Best Feature reflect the diverse storytelling and artistic influences of the global animation industry. There is Sylvain Chomet’s "A Magnificent Life" (France/Belgium/U.S./Luxembourg), Ugo Bienvenu’s "Arco" (France/U.S.), which raked in five nominations, Roy & Arturo Ambriz’s "I Am Frankelda" (Mexico), Han Ji-won’s "Lost in Starlight" (South Korea) and Mamoru Hosoda’s "Scarlet" (Japan).
Best Shorts: "Cardboard" by Locksmith Animation, "Ovary-Acting" by Klipp og Lim and Jante Films, "Apparat" by Filmproduktion AB, "Pillowzzz" by Animoshe, "Snow Bear" by The Art of Aaron Blaise, and "The Girl Who Cried Pearls" from the National Film Board of Canada.
The winners will be announced Saturday, February 21, 2026 at a ceremony in UCLA’s Royce Hall. I assume the show will once again be available live online.
The gaggle of girls who are the 'Demon Hunters'. photo: courtesy Maggie Kang There are dubious claims in the press, notably by the marketing company Pulsar, that the fictitious young ladies of K-Pop’s latest success “Demon Hunters” are getting more mention in the media than real superstars such as Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish.
Statistical Trivia
With 482 million views, “KPop: Demon Hunters” (see here) was the most-watched title over a six-month period. Netflix surpassed 325M subscriber at the end of 2025. “Snow White” and “Smurfs” received Razzie nominations (The Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody award show honoring cinematic failures). “Snow” is up for worst feature, worst remake, worst director and 3 other dubious honors.
Academy Award Nominations
Best Feature: “Arco” (Neon) Directed by Ugo Bienvenu, produced by Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman (Neon); “Elio” (Disney/Pixar) Directed by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi; produced by Mary Alice Drumm; “KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix/Sony Pictures Animation), directed by Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans; produced by Michelle L. M. Wong; “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” (GKIDS), directed by Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han; produced by Nidia Santiago and Henry Magalon; “Zootopia 2” (Disney) directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard; produced by Yvett Merino
Best Shorts: “Butterfly” (France) by Florence Miailhe, “Forevergreen” (U.S.) by Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears; “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” (Canada) by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski, “Retirement Plan” (Ireland) by John Kelly; “The Three Sisters” (Russia) by Konstantin Bronzit
Notes on “Butterfly” and “The Three Sisters:” “Butterfly” (Papillon) tells the powerful story of the life of French Jewish Olympic swimmer Alfred Nakache who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Painted directly under the camera, the short is produced by Ron Dyens (Sacrebleu Productions), who also produced last year’s Oscar-winning feature “Flow”, the Cesar-winning feature “My Sunny Maad”, the Cesar-winning shorts “And Then the Bear” and “Sunday Lunch”, and the Cesar-nominated “Midnight’s Garden”. Chris Robinson, the artistic director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, has revealed why the film “The Three Sisters” was originally released under a fictious name Timur Kognov from Cyprus as a social experiment here (see here).
Best Visual Effects: “Avatar: Fire and Ash” (20th Century Studios) VFX supervisor Richard Baneham; Wētā FX, ILM; “F1” (Apple TV/Warner Bros.) VFX supervisor Ryan Tudhope; Framestore, ILM, Red VFX, Lola VFX, Metaphysic; “Jurassic World Rebirth” (Universal) VFX supervisor David Vickery; ILM, Important Looking Pirates; “The Lost Bus” (Apple TV) VFX supervisor Charlie Noble; beloFX, Cinesite, ILM, RISE, Outpost VFX, Vitality Visual Effects, Mist VFX, Host VFX; “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) VFX supervisor Michael Ralla; Storm Studios, Rising Sun Pictures, ILM, Baraboom Studios, Light VFX, Base FX, Outpost VFX
The Bafta, Aka British Academy Awards
See Full List
Best Animated Film: “Elio”, “Little Amélie”, “Zootropolis 2”
Best British Short Animation: “Cardboard” by J.P. Vine, Michaela Manas Malina, “Solstice” by Luke Angus and “Two Black Boys in Paradise” by Baz Sells, Dean Atta, Ben Jackson
Best Children’s & Family Film: “Arco”, “Boong”, “Lilo & Stitch” and “Zootropolis 2”
Best Features: “How to Train Your Dragon”, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, “The Lost Bust”, “Frankenstein” and “F1”
Special Visual Effects: “Avatar: Fire and Ash”, “F1”, “Frankenstein”, “How to Train Your Dragon”, and “The Lost Bus”
Drawing depicting the giant puppet in Georges Méliès’ film 'Conquest of the Pole' (1912). illo: G. Méliès, 1945 A live movie-concert of Georges Méliès, including drawing depicting the giant puppet used in his film “Conquest of the Pole” (1912) is coming to San Francisco on Feb. 21 at the Marina Theater, 2149 Chestnut Street. (Go here)
Signe Baumane’s ‘Karmic Knot’
Signe Baumane’s new animated feature film, has been invited to the Berlinale Co-Production Market, one of the biggest and most important film marketplaces in the world. Signe and Sturgis will travel to Berlin February 14-17 and join Latvian Producers Dominiks Jarmakovičs and Roberts Vinovskis along with German Producer Fabian Driehorst to meet with international producers, sales agents and distributors. Karmic Knot is one of 35 film projects from 27 different countries to be selected. She says, “It’s a great opportunity to find new partners to help us make the film and get it seen.”
Nipon Vibes Festival Feb 14
The Nipon Vibes Festival will show ‘Your Name,’ in San Francisco, Feb. 14th, only at 3:30 pm. The festival is showing the animated feature “Your Name” at the New People Theater at 1746 Post Street in San Francisco Mitsuha is dreams of leaving the boring town and trying her luck in Tokyo. Taki is a high school boy in Tokyo who works part-time in an Italian restaurant and aspires to become an architect or an artist. Every night he has a strange dream where he becomes…a high school girl in a small mountain town.
CCA Sells SF Campus
And now a big bummer: California College of the Arts in San Francisco has sold its campus to Vanderbilt University and is closing with the semester that ends May, 2027. (Its former campus in Oakland is also included in the sale.) The announcement came from Mayor Daniel Lurie and Vanderbilt University leaders. They said Vanderbilt plans to open a full-time campus in San Francisco, when Vanderbilt takes over CCA's current site in 2027.
"We stayed focused on making this happen," Mayor Lurie said. "Because we know if we want San Francisco to help lead the future, we must compete to get the institutions that shape it."
The new campus is expected to serve about 1,000 students, with a focus on innovation that blends engineering, entrepreneurship and the arts. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the university also plans to preserve CCA's legacy, but the transition does not include an automatic path forward for current students. "There will be an opportunity for students who may want to transfer to Vanderbilt." Diermeier said, "We will consider that, but that's a different conversation. We are not absorbing CCA in any way." (Vanderbilt. Whose main campus is in Nashville, Tenn., still needs regulatory approvals to operate in California.)
This is a great loss for local animation, as CCA has an excellent animation program that teaches both traditional, digital and stop-motion animation.
Special Effects Master Pederson Passes
Con Pederson, the special effects supervisor on “2001: A Space Odyssey” died. Pederson, the CGI pioneer who spent two and a half years alongside Doug Trumbull creating the dazzling Oscar-winning visual effects for the Stanley Kubrick’s masterwork “2001 a Space Odyssey” died in Woodland Hills, California from Alzheimer’s complications at 91.
The star, Speedy Gonzales, in the new movie by Jorge R. Gutierrez. photo: J Gutierrez NETFLIX COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU The crazy bidding war for Warner Brothers has changed Netflix’s tune when it comes to cooperating with theaters. The New York Times interviewed Netflix’s Co-Ceo Ted Sarandos on the decision to purchase WB. Sarandos responded to criticism involving Netflix’s stance on theaters and has stated that they will commit to having a 45-day theatrical run for future Warner films. This might be good news for the troubled theater industry. Sarandos also promised that the merger would bring in more work for the rest of Hollywood as Netflix will increase its film and show production if the buyout succeeds.
One of the issues is that it’s easier to say all this to an interviewer, but will Netflix keep their promise? It could be possible that they will since “KPop: Demon Hunters” and the “Stranger Things” finale showed that people are willing to head into theaters for something they can just watch at home.
SPEEDY GONZALES IS RACING TO THEATERS Warner Brothers Discovery has announced a Speedy Gonzales movie with Jorge R. Gutierrez chosen to direct. Not much else is known about the film, but Gutierrez has plenty of experience with comedy shows and films. With works like El Tigre and The Book of Life under his belt he will definitely make a fun film. Gutierrez has also released a 40-minute pilot for his adult-oriented miniseries. El Guappo Vs the Narco Vampires shows off his ability to mix comedy and action with ease. You can find the full pilot on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-zZqrdybGE
AI ELSEWHERE I was speaking to someone about AI the other day, and they brought up how the wine industry is starting to adopt AI. It made me think about the acceptance of AI outside just the animation industry. While Hollywood is flocking to AI, it looks like other industries are taking a more cautious approach. The wine industry is only recently incorporating AI but is much more welcoming towards AI programs. Unlike Hollywood, most wineries are willing to adopt AI as AI companies promise wineries the ability to increase their consumer base.
Preferabli, an AI wine startup, promises to improve consumer experiences by learning a consumer’s tastes and will recommend other types of wine and pairings. Other startups are less focused on the consumer and instead want to work with growers. Their goal is to automate the grape growing process without taking away from labor.
After doing a quick look into a different industry, it seems like there is a lot of potential for AI to be used as a powerful tool with plenty of benefits. The only issue is that just like in the animation industry, AI is still in its early stages. There’s a long road ahead for it before we start seeing how impactful AI actually is.
ASIFA News
I have proposed that ASIFA chapters around the world establish an online museum honoring the best works that their area has created. Museums are created to showcase specific kinds of works and honor them as great examples of that subject. I think an online animation museum is a realistic project for the ASIFA board and its chapters to consider.
There can be both a permanent collection and special exhibits along with educational information. The works can be represented by short texts about them and with a still image or two so the visitor can decide if they want to see all or part of the work. One logical way to access the films is to provide links to them, ones that are already posted on the internet. Having taught animation history online at SF State we used that system rather than trying to create programs with all the films linked together.
Each chapter should curate the content of their contributions to the site and if needed obtain permission to use it. To improve the looks of the online museum there might be a master designer, but each chapter should be responsible for the content. Long established chapters might divide what they show into sections such as independent shorts, work from small studios, feature productions, etc. All kinds of work can be included: entertainment, educational, TV commercials, propaganda, etc. The main thing is to show off your best work and not bore visitors.
There needs to be an introduction page or two to welcome visitors and to explain that ASIFA wishes to showcase all kinds of creativity from around the world. I think the number of things on a chapter’s area should be up to the chapter. Visitors to museums may want to see just a few things or spend hours exploring.
There may come a time when special exhibits are organized with several chapters working together on a theme such as world peace, world health, or another important issue. It could also include college students speaking up about an issue or something else that is controversial like eye candy animation, artistic uses of AI, or expressing political dissent with animation. Other themes might be explored such as 100 years of animated humor, or new directions in presenting animation (outdoor projection mapping, drone light shows, etc.)
I think an ASIFA museum can play an important role in bring people from around the world together. The world needs a forward-thinking museum about animation that will excite the imaginations of visitors. Let’s celebrate creativity.
ASIFA in the future will probably rely more and more on the Internet or on a more advanced communication system. ASIFA-SF started as a small local association with local in-person events including lectures, demonstrations and screenings. Now our friends and members live and work all over the country and world (also many artists can no longer afford to live in this city). I think the idea of an online museum, perhaps with an Internet bulletin board, is a way for ASIFA to reach a wider audience and it should help ASIFA grow and prosper in the future.
Anastasia Dimitra, the president of ASIFA responded, “It is a very good and meaningful idea, and we sincerely thank Karl for bringing this issue back, which we had already discussed in Zagreb in 2024, during our first meeting on the activities of the 65th anniversary ASIFA project, funded from the reserve. The next necessary step is to carefully examine the technical requirements and specifications needed to ensure the realistic and sustainable implementation of this program. Let's put it in our next EB agenda. “ (The message was sent by her to all ASIFA groups).
ASIFA-SF is Volunteer Run
The editor is Karl Cohen and contributors include Nancy Denney-Phelps, Leonel Cortes, Jim Middleton, and other friends of ASIFA, with proof reading by Jim Middleton and Scott Kravitz. To volunteer, contact .
ASIFA-SF is a chapter of Association Internationale du Film d’Animation with over 40 chapters around the world. We are presently planning to announce a zoom meeting to discuss our developing a new animation bulletin board/website to replace our old site that was hacked. Details soon!
Karl F. Cohen is an animation scholar, author and longtime cineSOURCE contributor who can be reached . Posted on Feb 07, 2026 - 04:57 PM
