Max Releases Trailer for Scott Mescudi’s Animated Series “Young Love”

Scott Mescudi is getting animated…

Max has released the official trailer for Young Love, the animated series spinoff of the Oscar-winning short Hair Love that stars the 39-year-old rapper/singer and actor also known as Kid Cudi.

Kid CudiThe 12-episode season premieres with four episodes on Thursday, September 21 on Max and continues with four episodes weekly, leading up to the season finale on October 5.

From creator Matthew A. Cherry and Sony Pictures AnimationYoung Love takes a look into the lives of African American millennial parents Stephen Love (Mescudi) and Angela Young (Issa Rae) as they experience the relatable ups and downs of modern life.

In remission following a battle with cancer, Angela struggles to balance her work as a stylist with the demands of parenthood, while Stephen attempts to carve out a career as a musician in an ultra-competitive industry. Along with their fearless daughter Zuri (Brooke Monroe Conaway), this tight-knit Chicago family juggles careers, marriage, parenthood, social issues, and multi-generational dynamics while striving to make a better life for themselves.

“Welcome to my castle,” Zuri tells one of her friends as they enter her apartment. “You can drop your bag on the floor. My mom and dad will get them.”

“Are we the help?” Stephen asks. “Worse,” Angela responds. “We’re parents.”

Voice cast also includes Loretta Devine (Gigi Young), Harry Lennix (Russell Young), Tamar Braxton (Star), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Sheree), Debra Wilson (Additional Voices) and others.

The series is produced in partnership with Sony Pictures Animation.

Fred Armisen Joins Voice Cast of R-Rated Animated Film “Fixed” 

Fred Armisen is playing Fetch… Literally!

The 56-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian has joined the voice cast of Genndy Tartakovsky’s upcoming R-rated animated film Fixed.

Fred ArmisenIn addition to Armisen, who will portray Fetch, the voice cast also includes Adam DevineIdris Elba and Kathryn Hahn.

The film, which will be completed in September, is an adult comedy about Bull: an average dog who discovers he’s going to be neutered in the morning. As the gravity of this life-altering event sets in, Bull realizes he needs one last adventure with his pack of best friends as these are the last 24 hours with his balls.

New Line Cinema and Sony Pictures Animation are on board.

Fixed Movie“Some people might get uncomfortable,” said Tartakovsky. “In 2010, when I pitched it to Sony, we still needed a concept. Then, lightning struck. Right in that room, within five seconds, I went: ‘They find out one of their friends will get neutered!’ Everyone laughed and that was it,” he recalled.

“Back then, adult animation was all about The Simpsons, maybe Family Guy. Now, it’s much more popular and accepted.”

Still, the goal wasn’t to shock, he admits, but to make “a classic movie.”

“Like Lady and the Tramp or 101 Dalmatians, but rated R. If you can look past the balls and the buttholes, you will find a very sweet, charming, sincere story of friendship and romance.”

The film’s unique combination of naughty and nice has attracted Adam Devine, who will voice Bull, and Elba, who will take on his buddy Rocco.

They are joined by Bobby Moynihan (voicing Lucky), Beck Bennett (Sterling), River Gallo (Frankie) and Michelle Buteau (Molasses).

“When Kathryn decided to do it, she told us: ‘I want to be just like the guys. I don’t want to be the sweet girl in the background who doesn’t have any depth to her. Make her a little raunchier.’ Hiring her made this character come alive,” admitted producer Michelle Murdocca. Christian Roedel co-produces.

“I have been doing this for 30 years and when you find someone who knows comedic timing as a voice actor, it’s everything. It makes our job so much easier,” added Tartakovsky.

“Also, I like the voices to disappear. When Idris is doing Rocco, you may recognize him, but then you just settle in.”

Despite its contemporary humor, Fixed actually celebrates the glories of 2D hand-drawn animation.

“It has become a lost art. These days, everything is computer-generated. It was my dream to do this,” he says, calling it a love letter to Bugs Bunny or Tex Avery, or even 1950s Disney. Murdocca added:

“It became this homage. We were able to secure animators we never thought we would be able to get. That’s when it became very exciting.”

Still, Tartakovsky – who co-writes with Jon Vitti – also mentions The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and Knocked Up among his inspirations, especially when developing the “camaraderie” between the characters. As well as his own friends.

“One guy is loud, one nerdy, another one is, well, a little slower,” he howled.

“We have known each other since high school, so when we are making fun of each other, everything is exaggerated. These are caricatures of real people and then we adjusted them to be a little more real.”

At the end of the day, he just wants people to laugh.

“Comedy is the hardest thing, always, but in animation, you create it from nothing. It’s why I got into it. I could draw a little stick figure running, my friends would look over my shoulder and laugh. It’s such an amazing illusion,” he admitted.

“We have four layers of humor here: The raunchy stuff, the physicality, some character humor and dog owner humor. We don’t talk about pop culture; we don’t make fun of the Kardashians. It’s only within this one world.”

The world that includes such places like “The Hump House,” where Bull and his friends end up as well. But it’s nothing compared to the film’s explosive ending, which – teased Tartakovsky – is “raunchy, very sexual but also very heartfelt.”

“Most studios would go: ‘Maybe we make the film, but you can’t have that scene.’ But it defines this movie! I said I wasn’t doing the film without it and luckily, we found the right partners,” he said.

“Doing kids television for most of my career, I have a boundary. I will hit it, but I will never cross it. For this movie, everything had to be over that boundary.”

Trailer Released for Selena Gomez’s “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania”

Selena Gomez is transform(ania)ing

The first trailer has been released for the 28-year-old Mexican American actress/singer’s Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, the fourth and final film in the franchise that has bitten off $1.36 billion worldwide — thus far — with each of the three films grossing more than its predecessor.

Selena Gomez

Since the original film hit theaters in 2012, the Fang gang has expanded their lodging to include humans and welcomed a baby (2015’s Hotel Transylvania 2) and took a decidedly unrelaxing sea cruise (2018’s Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation).

Fast-forward to 2021, and Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan) has perfected his mysterious invention that allows humans to become monsters. But the Monsterfication Ray goes haywire, and Drac (Brian Hull, replacing Adam Sandler) and his monster pals are all transformed into humans, and Johnny (Andy Samberg) becomes a monster. In their new mismatched bodies, Drac — now stripped of his powers, sporting a “dad bod” and making dad jokes — and his exuberant son-in-law Johnny, who’s loving life as a monster, must team up and race across the globe to find a cure before it’s too late. With help from Mavis (Gomez) and the human Drac Pack, the heat is on to find a way to switch themselves back before their transformations become permanent.

Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, David Spade, Asher Blinkoff, Brad Abrell, Fran Drescher and Molly Shannon also lend their voices to the film from first-time feature helmers Jennifer Kluska and Derek Drymon. Amos Vernon and Nunzio Randazzo and Genndy Tartakovsky penned the screenplay.

“In Hotel Transylvania: Transformania we wrap up the franchise with a bang as we see our familiar, beloved cast of monster characters in a hilarious new light when they accidentally transform themselves into humans,” helmers Kluska and Drymon said. “The bond between the mismatched comic pair of human Drac and monster Johnny is put to the test on a ridiculous road trip to South America while Mavis leads the humanized Drac Pack on an adventure to find the cure. At their heart, the Hotel Transylvania movies are about family – monster style. We think the final chapter will bring the story full circle in a thrilling fun theater experience for the whole family.”

After a few pandemic-forced release-date moves, the toon from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation hits theaters Friday, October 1

Sony Pictures Animation & Columbia Pictures Release New Trailer for Luna Lauren Velez’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse”

Luna Lauren Velez is spinnin’ a new web…

Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Pictures has unveiled a new trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, featuring the 53-year-old Puerto Rican actress as part of the voice cast.

Luna Lauren Velez 

The film, an animated take on the Spider-Manfranchise masterminded by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, will be released in theaters on December 14, with a New York Comic-Con appearance later this week in the offing.

After the success in June of the first trailer, which scored 44 million views in its first 24 hours, comes more of the storyline this time around.

It centers on a new Spider-Man, Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), who discovers he is only the Spidey in his, well, “soggy, weird, gross” French Fry universe, as portals open and many other versions come through. Others include a past-his-prime Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) who acts as Miles’ mentor, Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Penny Parker and her robot SPDR (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) and Spider-Ham (John Mulaney).

In addition to Velez, the loaded voice cast also includes Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin and Liev Schreiber.

Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman are the directors, and Rothman wrote the script with Lord who created the story.

First Trailer Released for Gina Rodriguez’s Animated Holiday Film “The Star”

Gina Rodriguez’s star is rising this holiday season…

The first trailer has been released for the 32-year-old Puerto Rican actress and Jane the Virgin star’s The Star, an animated holiday film in which the animals run the village.

Gina Rodriguez

Steven Yuen stars as Bo, a donkey who yearns for a life beyond his daily grind. When finally he summons the courage to break free, his adventure leads him to make friends with a flockless sheep (Aidy Bryant) and ambitious dove (Keegan-Michael Key). Little do they know, but they and a group of eccentric camels and stable animals are about to become unlikely heroes in the Greatest Story Ever Told.

Directed by Timothy Reckart from Carlos Kotkin’s script, the toon features a diverse, big-name voice cast that also includes Zachary Levi as Joseph and, Rodriguez as Mary.

Gina Rodriguez's Mary in The Star

Christopher Plummer plays the villainous King Herod. The animal characters include Kelly Clarkson, Patricia Heaton, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Anderson, Ving Rhames, Gabriel Iglesias.

Meanwhile Tyler Perry, Tracy Morgan and Oprah Winfrey voice the trio of wise-cracking camels.

The film from Sony Pictures Animation and Affirm Films in association with Walden Media features a new title song by Mariah Carey, and the trailer sports a contemporary take on Stevie Wonder’s yuletide classic “That’s What Christmas Means to Me.”

Columbia Pictures will release The Star on November 10.

Gomez’s “Hotel Transylvania 3” to Open in July 2018

Selena Gomez has a special hotel booking next summer…

Sony Pictures Animation has scheduled Hotel Transylvania 3, featuring the voice of the 24-year-old Mexican American actress/singer, on a new prime summer release date of July 13, 2018.

Selena Gomez

The film previously was scheduled on September 21 that year.

The series’ first two titles have harvested the fall time frame, combining to earn $830M worldwide and owning the top two September openings of all time with a 32% increase in worldwide box office from the original to the sequel ($358.3M for the first tile, $473.2M for the second worldwide).

The new summer date for the Genndy Tartakovsky-directed feature provides greater access to kids off from school and a greater seasonal multiple. The midsummer date is also a perfect match for the storyline of the film, which takes Drac’s Pack on an exciting adventure aboard a Monster Cruise Ship.

The voice ensemble of favorites returns, including Gomez (Mavis), Adam Sandler (Dracula) and Andy Samberg (Johnny).

Rodriguez Joins Voice Cast of Sony Pictures Animation’s “The Star”

Gina Rodriguez is wishing on a Star

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican actress has joined the A-list voice cast of Sony Pictures Animation’s The Star.

Gina Rodriguez

The story follows a small but brave donkey named Bo (Steven Yeun) who yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. As the logline states: “One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a lovable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with lofty aspirations. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become accidental heroes in the greatest story ever told – the first Christmas.”

In addition to Yeun and Rodriguez, the Golden Globe-winning star of the CW’s Jane the Virgin who will voice Mary in the film, the star-studded voice cast includes Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Tracy MoranKris Kristofferson, Kristin ChenowethKelly ClarksonGabriel Iglesias, Ving Rhames and Christopher Plummer who will voice King Herod.

Directed by Oscar-nominated writer-director Timothy Reckart, the family-friendly film will be released wide on November 10.

The screenplay was written by Carlos Kotkin from a story by Kotkin and Simon Moore.

New Trailer Released for Lovato’s “Smurfs: The Lost Village”

Demi Lovato’s world is turning blue

Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation have released a new trailer for Smurfs: The Lost Village, starring the 24-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress.

Demi Lovato

The new clip for the Kelly Asbury-directed, fully animated film, which features Lovato voicing the character of Smurfette, seems designed to erase memories of the franchise’s latter-day live-action/animated hybrids entries.

The reboot, written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon, has been touted as a return in tone to the blue gang’s original comic book adventures.

Sony describes the new movie’s plot thusly: “a mysterious map sets Smurfette and her best friends Brainy, Clumsy and Hefty on an exciting and thrilling race through the Forbidden Forest filled with magical creatures to find a mysterious lost village before the evil wizard Gargamel does. Embarking on a rollercoaster journey full of action and danger, the Smurfs are on a course that leads to the discovery of the biggest secret in Smurf history!”

In addition to Lovato, the cast includes Rainn Wilson (Gargamel), Joe Manganiello (Hefty), Jack McBrayer (Clumsy), Danny Pudi (Brainy) and Mandy Patinkin (Papa Smurf).

Smurfs: The Lost Village opens in theaters on April 7, 2017.

Lovato to Voice Smurfette in The Smurfs Reboot “Get Smurfy”

Smurf’s up for Demi Lovato

The 22-year-old part-Mexican American actress/singer has joined the cast of Sony Pictures Animation’s fully computer-animated The Smurfs reboot Get Smurfy.

Demi Lovato

Lovato, who recently launched her own record label, will voice Smurfette.

She joins a cast that includes Mandy Patinkin as Papa Smurf and Rainn Wilson as evil wizard Gargamel.

The castings were announced in conjunction with Global Smurfs Day on Sunday.

“We have gathered a group of filmmakers and artists who have grown up with these loveable characters, and Get Smurfy will be imbued with the same spirit of adventure that first made all of us lifelong fans of these little blue guys…and girl,” says Kristine Belson, president of Sony Pictures Animation.

The film, which hews back to Smurfs creator Peyo Culliford’s original style, will follow Smurfette and her fellow blue creatures as they search the Enchanted Forest for the fabled Smurfs Village. The film will answer some long-held questions about the Smurfs, including why there’s only one girl among them.

“We felt it was important to take a very different approach with this origin story. It returns to the roots of Peyo’s creation in this CG-animated adventure,” explains producer Jordan Kerner in a statement. “I hope it will delight not only fans but audiences worldwide. We couldn’t be more excited with the talented new cast we’re starting to assemble for our ‘Smurfy’ reboot. ”

The film is being helmed by Kelly Asbury.

“The continued popularity of the Smurfs is unmistakeable, and this new outing will return them to the fully animated world that launched them,” said Asbury.

Sony Pictures Animation plans to release the film on March 31, 2017.

Bratt Back for “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” Sequel

It looks like Benjamin Bratt will be heading back to the world of broadcasting…

The 48-year-old half-Peruvian American actor will be returning to lend his voice to the character of Manny the cameraman in the sequel to the animated film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Benjamin Bratt

Along with Bratt, Sony Pictures Animation has reunited most of the original voicecast for the sequel, titled Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers.

Bill Hader and Anna Faris return as the two leads, inventor Flint Lockwood and weather girl Sam Sparks. Also back are James Caan as Flint’s dad, Andy Samberg as a local celebrity and Neil Patrick Harris.

New to the voicecast is The Expendables 2 star Terry Crews, who will play a cop in the town of Swallow Falls. Will Forte, who had a role in the first movie, is back in a new role, that of Chester V, an inventor and idol of Lockwood’s who invites him to join others bright minds at a technology company.

According to the studio, Cloudy 2 picks up where the first movie left off, with Lockwood discovering that his evil machine, which turns water into food, “is still operating and now creating mutant food beasts. With the fate of humanity in his hands, Flint and his friends must embark on a dangerously delicious mission, battling hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, apple pie-thons, double bacon cheespiders and other food creatures to save the world… again!”

Cloudy 2 is set for release in 3D on February 7, 2014.