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The Marx Brothers – mustachioed, stogie-smoking ring-leader Groucho, chatty, Italian-accented con man Chico, silent skirt-chaser Harpo and, early on, relatively “normal” matinee idol Zeppo – first got their start as a vaudeville comedy act at the turn of the 20th century. They would go on to conquer the Broadway stage before landing in films when “talkies” took off.

Zeppo would drop out of the act after five films, becoming an engineer and a talent agent. But his older siblings would continue their frenzied verbal and visual hilarity on the big screen until 1949, when the medium of television beckoned and competed for eyeballs. Groucho would host a TV version of his radio game show, “You Bet Your Life,” for 11 seasons on NBC and appeared on Dick Cavett’s TV talk show in the late ‘60s. That is when their Marx Brothers’ anarchistic approach to humor and word-play takedowns of hypocrites and stuffy high-society...

Brothers Leonard, Adolph, Julius, Milton, and Herbert Marx were born into a performing family. Their mother, Meine Shoenberg (known on stage as Minnie Palmer) was already the daughter of a ventriloquist and a professional yodeler, and their uncle was Al Shean of the comedy duo Gallagher and Shean, well known on the vaudeville circuit. Minnie Palmer encouraged her sons to perform; they had natural gifts for music and comedy, and would serve as their manager. Julius, the first to perform, made his stage debut in 1905. Leonard, Adolph, Julius, Milton, and Herbert would eventually adopt the stage names Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo, and Zeppo, respectively, and the Marx Bros. would swiftly become one of the premiere comedy acts of their generation.

To this day, no comedian hasn't been influenced by the Marx Bros. Chico's charming conman, Harpo's innocent cartoon, and Groucho's wisecracking Lothario are seared into the pop consciousness in perpetuity,...

Oi there, listen up! Amazon Prime Video’s list of new releases for June 2024 includes another season of its biggest, bloodiest hit.

The Boys season 4 premieres its first three episodes on Thursday, June 13. Based on the trailers, The Boys is really leaning into the political side of its social satire with a presidential election underway and Homelander on trial for the small matter of killing a guy last season. The season will continue to air on Thursdays, culminating with the finale on July 18.

Amazon is really leaning into its sports offerings this month as well. Fans will get to watch the New York Yankees, the WNBA, and the Nwsl several times throughout June. That’s in addition to a couple of sports docs: Power of the Dream on June 18 and Federer: Twelve Final Days on June 20.

But if you’re looking for something even more explosive than Homelander and Roger Federer,...

Coming up in June, Amazon’s collective streaming services Prime Video and Freevee are delivering series, films, and documentaries about all sorts of heroes. From the evil, increasingly fascist superheroes of “The Boys” to the record-setting tennis icon Roger Federer to the journey back to the spotlight for one of the greatest performers of all time, Celine Dion, there are a multitude of inspiring and entertaining stories arriving on the platforms in June.

In addition to Season 3 of “The Boys” premiering with three episodes on June 13, Prime Video has a host of documentaries that shine a new light on some of our most beloved performers and athletes. On June 18, “Power of the Dream” debuts and highlights the struggles of WNBA team the Atlanta Dream who were fighting off-court battles on two fronts in 2020. Then, “Federer: Twelve Final Days” premieres on June 20 looking at the tennis legend as he ended his...

Sola Media has boarded CGI animated movie “The Super Elfkins” as sales agent and will unveil first footage at the European Film Market in Berlin.

The film, which has a budget of Euros 9 million ($9.7 million), will be released in Germany in December 2024 by Tobis Film. It is a sequel to “The Elkfins – Baking a Difference,” which was sold to more than 200 countries worldwide, and won best feature film at Giffoni Film Festival.

In the new film, the world of the Elfkin girl Elfie is turned upside down when she discovers a technologically advanced Elfkin gang that surpasses her clan in fun and excitement. Can Elfie’s friendship with Bo, the youngest member of the rival gang, bridge the gap between the Elfkin clans that have been apart for over 250 years?

Solveig Langeland, managing director of Sola Media, said: “With a budget of Euros 9 million and enchanting character designs, this animation...

Up next from Willy’s Wonderland director Kevin Lewis is the home invasion movie Misdirection, and Deadline reports that Olga Kurylenko (Black Widow) will lead the cast.

Armand Assante (American Gangster) will also star in the film.

The film follows a desperate couple (Kurylenko and Oliver Trevena), who have pulled off a string of high-end break-ins to pay off a mob debt. When they attempt to rob their latest victim, they find themselves caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse…

The tables are turned and the hunters become the hunted.

“I am over the moon to be working with Olga, Armand, Oliver, and the rest of our amazing and talented team on crafting a tight, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will entertain audiences worldwide,” said director Kevin Lewis.

Lacy McClory wrote Misdirection. Marcus Englefield and George Lee produced for Storyoscopic Films along with Trevena (Another Day In America), Michael Mendelsohn for Patriot Pictures,...

Welcome to Creators on the Rise, where—in partnership with global creator company Jellysmack—we find and profile breakout creators who are in the midst of extraordinary growth.

Scott Christian Sava really, really wanted to draw Spider-Man.

As a kid, he watched the original 1967 Spider-Man TV show and “instantly I just fell in love,” he says. He was already cultivating a passion for art, so it seemed like the best thing in the world, being able to draw Spider-Man for Marvel.

That dream stayed with Sava through high school, and then to college, where his ideal major–comic book artist, of course–wasn’t a thing yet. He had to settle for illustration, but it turned out that wasn’t too bad. It focused on a lot of the same things as comic book art: intense anatomy studies and figure drawing, plus experience in media like painting and graphic design.

The journalist and podcaster talks about some of her favorite cinematic grifters and losers with Josh and Joe.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Third Man (1949) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings

All About Eve (1950)

The Hot Rock (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Die Hard (1988)

Sunset Boulevard (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Producers (1967) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Music Man (1962)

My Fair Lady (1964)

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s review

The Band Wagon (1953) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary

A Night At The Opera (1935) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review

The Cocoanuts (1929)

Animal Crackers (1930) – Robert Weide...

Deadline’s Contenders Film returns to New York this morning with a hybrid in-person and livestreamed showcase at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, and a lineup of 23 films spotlighting the best motion pictures this awards season has to offer. The in-person event kicks off with a breakfast sponsored by United Artists Releasing at 8 a.m. Et, with panels and livestream coverage kicking off at 9:30 a.m.

Click here to register and watch the livestream.

While last year’s supply of movies during a Covid-embattled awards season may have slimmed down, this year, the studios aren’t holding back. This year’s lineup features films from A24, Amazon, Apple Original Films, Focus Features, MGM/United Artists, Netflix, Neon and Warner Bros, and a roster of panelists that includes stars Matt Damon, Mahershala Ali, Tessa Thompson, Dakota Johnson, Amy Schumer, Andre Holland, Richard Jenkins, Ruth Negga, Oscar Isaac,...

Watch the Short Film Sleep Tight: "Josh is a young gamer confined to a wheelchair. He is also a teenager craving a bit more independence and wants to assert himself, especially with his father Frank, who is having a bit of a mid-life crisis himself.

One night Josh asks to keep the light on as his father helps him get to bed. Josh hopes to exercise a little autonomy in his life, but Frank resists, seeing the request as proof that Josh is still a young child in need. But as it turns out, when the lights go out, Josh discovers he's not alone -- and needs his dad more than ever.

Written and directed by Lewis Taylor, this horror-comedy is as much about a transition in a father-son relationship as it is about things that go bump in the night. But these weighty themes are offset by a stream of cheeky British wit,...

Hong Kong- and Paris-based sales agent All Rights Entertainment has picked up representation of upcoming animated film “Agavia and the Forgotten Kingdom,” depicting Mexican mythology, tradition and heritage.

The film is being produced by Guadalajara-based Metacube Entertainment, which previously produced “Salma’s Big Wish” (aka “Dia de Muertos”). It is now in pre-production with delivery anticipated for 2023.

The picture reunites “Salma’s Big Wish” team of writer Pancho Rodriguez, producer Estefani Gaona and director Carlos Gutierrez. Also attached to the project is Simon Vladimir Varela, production designer on “Animal Crackers,” “The Croods” and “Finding Nemo,” and art directors Ricardo Nino and Mario Ruiz.

Based on an idea by Gaona and Gutierrez, the story will follow Valen, a young, brave Maguey with a hidden talent who is recruited by the Queen of Agavia to embark on a journey through fantastic kingdoms to obtain the ingredients for a potion to fight a...

Despite the proliferation of streaming services, it’s becoming increasingly clear that any cinephile only needs subscriptions to a few to survive. Among the top of our list are The Criterion Channel and Mubi and now they’ve each unveiled their stellar April line-ups.

Over at The Criterion Channel, highlights include spotlights on Ennio Morricone, the Marx Brothers, Isabel Sandoval, and Ramin Bahrani, plus Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, Frank Borzage’s Moonrise, the brand-new restoration of Joyce Chopra’s Smooth Talk, and one of last year’s best films, David Osit’s Mayor.

At Mubi (where we’re offering a 30-day trial), they’ll have the exclusive streaming premiere of two of the finest festival films from last year’s circuit, Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Labyrinth of Cinema, plus Philippe Garrel’s latest The Salt of Tears, along with films from Terry Gilliam, George A. Romero,...

Hulu's Palm Springs and HBO's Lovecraft Country lead the nominations for the inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards, which are best described as being more pop culture and genre-oriented version of the Critics Choice Awards.

These awards are a special event honoring the most popular, fan-obsessed genres across both television and movies, including Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, Action, and Animation.

The winners will be revealed in a special television presentation, which will be produced remotely following Covid safety protocols, hosted by writer/director/podcaster Kevin Smith and actress/writer Dani Fernandez.

The ceremony will air on The CW Network on Sunday, January 10, 2021 (8:00-10:00pm Et/Pt) and will stream the next day for free on The CW App and cwtv.com.

Film Nominations

Best Action Movie

Bad Boys For Life (Sony)

Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)

Extraction (Netflix)

Greyhound (Apple TV+)

The Hunt (Universal)

Mulan (Disney+)

The Outpost...

Today brought the inaugural nominations for the Critics Choice Super Awards. As a voting member of the Critics Choice Association, seeing this list of nominees is a welcome reminder that there’s still been a wonderful assortment of films released in 2020. Of course, there are tons of Oscar contenders to come, including a bunch that have not been released, and the Critics Choice Awards will cover them, but it’s nice to see some movies listed here that the Academy Awards and other groups will surely ignore. Co-hosted by Kevin Smith, the show will take place in January and surely will be one to watch! Here are all of the nominees: Film Nominations For The Inaugural Critics Choice Super Awards Best Action Movie Bad Boys For Life (Sony) Da 5 Bloods (Netflix) Extraction (Netflix) Greyhound (Apple TV+) The Hunt (Universal) Mulan (Disney+) The Outpost (Millennium Media) Tenet (Warner Bros.) Best...

The Andy Samberg comedy “Palm Springs” led all films in nominations for the first annual Critics Choice Super Awards, a new honor from the Critics Choice Association devoted to superhero, sci-fi/fantasy, horror, action and animated films and television series. “Lovecraft Country” was the most nominated program in the television categories.

The winners will be announced during a special on The CW on Jan. 10, 2021, with Kevin Smith and Dani Fernandez hosting.

The Critics Choice Association, which has been presenting the Critics Choice Awards for 25 years and the Critics Choice Documentary Awards for five years, added the Critics Choice Super Awards during a year in which many of the big genre films that would have been competing for prizes — among them the James Bond film “No Time to Die” and Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” — were rescheduled for 2021 releases because of coronavirus-prompted theater closings.

In addition, the early timeline for...

Paul Feig knows how to keep busy. He’s currently the executive producer of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Love Life, and has a new series, This Country, underway. The actor and filmmaker appeared on Rolling Stone‘s The First Time to share his experiences.

Feig kicked off with the first album he ever bought: 1966’s Snoopy vs. the Red Baron by the Royal Guardsmen. “It was this crazy song about Snoopy fighting the Red Baron in World War I,” he says. “But I always thought it was a real catchy song,...

Industrial Light & Magic’s Dennis Muren will receive the View Conference’s 2020 Visionary Award during this year’s event, which is taking place both in-person in Turin, Italy, and virtually.

The longtime VFX maven is best known for his work on the original “Star Wars,” as well as “The Abyss,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and “Jurassic Park.” Currently he is creative director and senior visual effects supervisor and Ilm, working on the company’s ground-breaking techniques and technologies. He’s won nine Oscars.

“Dennis Muren is a force of nature and a real living legend,” said conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “Throughout his career, he has elevated his craft to the highest levels and inspired young artists to follow him into the stratosphere. He is, without question, a worthy recipient of this year’s Visionary Award.”

Muren will give a keynote address on Friday, Oct. 23, the last day of the conference,...

Over the past 16 years View conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez has been steadily growing the event held in Turin – historically the first Italian city to develop a film industry — into one of Europe’s top international symposiums on computer graphics, animation, and visual effects. It’s regularly attended by top creatives and execs coming to Italy to hobnob and take the pulse of the latest digital developments in film, 2D/3D animation, VR and Ar, gaming, and VFX.

This year of course the effects of Covid-19 posed a major challenge. One that Gutierrez, who was born in Mexico, raised in central California – she has a PhD from Stanford – and has long been living in Turin, managed to turn into an advantage of sorts for the event’s upcoming 21st edition that will be held virtually Oct. 18-23.

Gutierrez spoke to Variety about how she navigated the coronavirus crisis and turned...

The View Conference is offering free streaming access to its 2020 program, which runs from Oct. 18-23 in Turin, Italy.

“There has been so much bad news in 2020, so I’m thrilled to be able to share some great news for a change,” said conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “Everyone could use some extra light and joy in their lives, so we have made the unprecedented decision to make this year’s conference completely free.” Those who register will have streaming access to the conference’s 125 online and on-site talks, workshops, master classes and panels.

“Every session will be available online, allowing anyone to attend anywhere in the world,” said Gutierrez. “This is a fantastic chance to grow the View community and to welcome into our family participants who are unable to travel to Torino or buy a full access pass.”

Keynote speakers include Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull, Industrial Light & Magic’s Dennis Muren,...

As the most popular streaming service in the world with over 100 million more subscribers than their closest competitors, Netflix are obligated to serve up a steady stream of fresh content to keep their customers occupied. They might be spending close to $20 billion on in-house originals this year alone, but it’s extremely difficult to maintain a platform made up entirely of exclusive titles, which is why so many licensed movies and TV shows are added each month.

Due to the restrictions put in place around the world as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, people are spending a lot more time at home than usual, and understandably, viewership figures for all of the major services have gone through the roof, which has led to some pretty unexpected titles dominating Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched list.

The most recent is Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West, which...

A movie constantly finding itself among the Top 10 most-watched titles on Netflix is by no means an indicator of quality, with the list of features that have proved hugely popular with subscribers over the last few months running the entire spectrum from critically acclaimed favorites to arguably the worst of the year.

Extraction, Da 5 Bloods, The Old Guard and most recently, Project Power all found big success after becoming available on Netflix, and they fully deserved their spots after proving to be gripping and massively entertaining entries in their respective genres. However, The Last Days of American Crime and steamy Polish thriller 365 Dni also found themselves among the most popular movies that Netflix had to offer, and yet both of them hold the rare and unwanted distinction of a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Then there was Animal Crackers coming out of nowhere after spending years on the shelf,...

Chances are that up until a few weeks ago the vast majority of Netflix subscribers had never even heard of Animal Crackers, which seems a little strange when we’re talking about a family-friendly animated comedy based on a well-known brand that featured the vocal talents of John Krasinksi, Emily Blunt, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito and Sylvester Stallone.

However, it would be an understatement to say that the $17 million feature suffered from some serious problems trying to make it to the big screen, having initially been scheduled for a theatrical release in April 2017 before financial difficulties saw original distributor Relativity Media pass it off to Serafini Releasing, who promptly went bust.

From there, it was picked up by Entertainment Studios and set for an August 2018 release, where it was abruptly pulled from the calendar just two months before the intended launch. Besides a weak run in China where it brought in just $9.5 million,...

Action thriller, “Deliver Us From Evil” had a $10.6 million opening weekend in South Korean cinemas, lifting the country’s overall box office by 75%.

The film, directed by Hong Won-chan (“Office”) and starring Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae, was released on Wednesday and ran off with a $15.0 million total over five days. Measured by admissions, 1.39 million people bought tickets to the film over the weekend, and more than 2 million people were willing to brave anti-coronavirus restrictions between Wednesday and Sunday.

The film’s weekend score was achieved from 1,997 screens and accounted for 78% of the total market. Distribution is handled by Cj Entertainment.

The aggregate nationwide box office leaped from $7.68 million to $13.4 million, with two other local titles claiming top three spots. That stands in contrast with the mainland China market where box office has plateaued at $17 million for the past two weekends, and where there has yet to be a supply of strong new local titles.

It’s been a very long and painful road to release for animated film Animal Crackers, but it’s finally seeing some success as it’s currently one of the most-watched movies on Netflix. Specifically, it sits in the number 7 spot on the Top 10 most-watched list. And for a low profile children’s flick that arrived without much buzz, the fact that it’s even on the chart at all is impressive.

Featuring the vocal talents of John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, Ian McKellen and Sylvester Stallone, Animal Crackers follows the members of a travelling circus and has actually been around since 2017. However, due to what can only be described as a series of tough breaks, it never managed to secure a theatrical release in North America. And that’s despite the excellent cast. Not to mention that the film itself isn’t that bad, either, as its Rotten Tomatoes...

Netflix‘s biggest content drops typically come on the very first day of a new month, and August was no different in that regard. Extremely popular flicks like Seabiscuit, Mad Max and Being John Malkovich landed on the 1st, but not every new arrival hits Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched movies list.

Currently, the chart is being populated by some beloved classics – the wildly successful 90s adventure Jurassic Park is sitting comfortably at #2, for instance – and also a few of the usual suspects, but #9 is home to a sometimes overlooked Adam Sandler film that’s guaranteed to get some laughs out of you.

See for yourself below:

Top 10 Movies on Netflix US (August 5th)

1. Malibu Rescue: The Next Wave

2. Jurassic Park

3. The Kissing Booth 2

4. Latte and the Magic Waterstone

5. Rogue Warfare: The Hunt

6. Animal Crackers

7. What Keeps You Alive

8. Zookeeper

9. Mr. Deeds

10. Seriously Single

— What's on Netflix (@whatonnetflix) August 5, 2020

Mr. Deeds...

Animal Crackers (L-r) Emily Blunt as Zoe Huntington and John Krasinski as Owen Huntington . Netflix © 2020

One of the sweetest and funniest animated movies is playing on Netflix. Animal Crackers stars the voices of John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, Ian McKellen, Patrick Warburton, Sylvester Stallone and more. It’s a lovely story and one everyone needs right now.

A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a run-down circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.

Animal Crackers is an absolute delight, so grab your family, get a pizza and check out the movie at the link below.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81191856

Check out this interview with Blunt and Krasinksi, as well as the cast.

The film is filled with a wonderful score and songs. Huey Lewis and Howard Jones provide two of the liveliest songs from the film.

In this video,...

It’s been a very long and painful road for Animal Crackers, but it’s finally tasting some success as it’s currently the #2 movie on Netflix and the fifth-most popular piece of content overall on the platform. If you’re not yet aware of it, it’s a 3D animated film about the members of a travelling circus and stars the vocal talents of actors like John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, Ian McKellen and Sylvester Stallone. But why does this innocuous animated movie have such a tortured history?

Well, it appears to be cursed. Animal Crackers began its studio sessions with the cast way back in 2015, was finished in 2017 and it premiered at the Annecy International Film Festival soon afterwards. The reception was positive but then the company that was set to release the movie in theaters went bankrupt. Following that, Animal Crackers was scooped up by another studio,...

For only the second time in the five months of parallel theatrical/Video on Demand releases, one film led grosses both in available theaters and on at least one home viewing chart. Dave Franco’s “The Rental” (IFC) grossed $404,000 in 250 theaters, two thirds of them drive-ins, to easily best several library titles made available this week. “The Karate Kid” (1984) was #2 with about half that gross from a larger number of theaters.

The horror thriller, starring Dan Stevens and Alison Brie, about two couples at a vacation rental facing unexpected terror, also placed #1 on Apple TV’s list of most viewed titles. With the film only released on Friday (too late for inclusion on other current charts), this is likely only a harbinger of more success as other lists are updated.

Unlike “Trolls World Tour” (Universal), the previous dual top placer, this is a standard price rental ($5.99-$6.99 depending on venue...

The Coronavirus pandemic may still be continuing to devastate the entertainment industry, with plenty of movies packing up and heading to 2021 as the sense of uncertainty surrounding theaters around the world continues, but Netflix seem to be making the most of the opportunity presented by having millions of people largely confined to their homes for the last four months.

Unsurprisingly, viewership numbers are up across the board for all of the major streaming services, and as the industry leader, Netflix has been leading the charge by releasing a series of acclaimed original projects that have been racking up huge numbers like Extraction, The Old Guard, Warrior Nun and Cursed.

However, with the competition really starting to heat up in the streaming wars, Netflix are also adding plenty of pre-existing content to keep their subscribers occupied. In fact, the company added five notable movies to their library last week and given...

John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone. That sounds like the cast of either a big budget blockbuster movie or an awards-baiting drama, but it’s actually the list of actors and actresses starring in an animated comedy that just landed on Netflix yesterday after having sat on the shelf for years collecting dust, unable to secure a theatrical release in the US.

Though it did manage to land a run in cinemas over in China, Netflix is now giving audiences in the States the chance to check out Animal Crackers, a co-production between Blue Dream Studios and the China Film Group Corporation. And already, it’s absolutely dominating on the streaming site, securing the #3 spot on the Top 10 movies list and the #7 spot on the Top 10 overall list. Which isn’t too bad for a film that arrived with next to no buzz.

Of course, as...

It’s the weekend, it’s the summer, but because we’re in the middle of a pandemic, that means you might end up spending a lot of it inside. In which case, the various streaming services on offer have got you covered for fresh content to watch over the next few days. Across Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Prime and HBO Max, there are many new movies and TV shows coming from Friday to Sunday for you to binge, and you can take a look at the full list below.

July 24

Netflix

¡A cantar! (Sing On! Spain) — Netflix Original

Animal Crackers — Netflix Film

Dragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing — Netflix Family

In the Dark: Season 2

The Kissing Booth 2 — Netflix Film

Ofrenda a la tormenta — Netflix Film

Disney+

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Wild Congo (S1)

Wild Sri Lanka (S1)

Disney Family Sundays – “The Jungle...

John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Ian McKellen, Danny DeVito, Sylvester Stallone. While that might sound like the cast of either a mega-budget blockbuster movie or an awards-baiting prestige drama, it’s actually the list of talents that lent their voices to a forgotten animated comedy that just landed on Netflix today, having sat on a shelf gathering dust for three years.

Animal Crackers is indeed a movie based on the titular snacks, with the co-production between Blue Dream Studios and the China Film Group Corporation running into some difficulties over the years. The family film was originally set to be released in April 2017, before financial issues forced distributor Relativity Media to hand it off to Serafini Releasing.

From there, the situation didn’t improve as Serafini ended up going bust, before Entertainment Studios picked it up in November 2017 with an eye to releasing it in August the following year. However, Animal Crackers...

“Animal Crackers” has led a charmed life. In fact, too charmed to be believed. The animated indie, about a family that rescues a rundown circus with magical animal cookies, endured distribution hell after premiering at the Annecy festival in 2017 (thanks to a series of setbacks that began with Harvey Weinstein), before Netflix came to the rescue (streaming begins Friday).

“It’s the little engine that could that was definitely easier to make than to distribute,” said director Tony Bancroft (“Mulan”), who was charmed by its premise, along with everyone else involved, including John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, who paired up to voice the feature before embarking on their horror blockbuster, “A Quiet Place.” They voiced the married couple Owen and Zoe, who are determined to save the circus from Owen’s maniacal uncle, Horatio P. Huntington.

“Animal Crackers” began as a graphic novel from character designer Scott Christian Sava, who...

Well, it’s official: Thanks to the coronavirus — and the kind of real-world disaster-movie mayhem that even Hollywood couldn’t invent — summer movie season is canceled. Now that “Tenet” and “Mulan” have both scrapped their summer U.S. theatrical release plans, there’s nothing even remotely resembling a blockbuster on the horizon.

The good news — and there is good news — is that we’re deep enough into this pandemic that distributors have figured out how to release their films virtually, and in some cases, to drive-ins and those few hardtop venues safe (or stubborn) enough to remain open. That means moviegoers can see thrillers “The Rental” and “Amulet,” as well as Vinnie Jones starrer “The Big Ugly,” in select theaters this week, while movie-stayers — those living under lockdown, or simply too cautious to return to cinemas — can order the same movies on demand.

Meanwhile, the streaming services continue to thrive.

It’s Friday today and Netflix has got you covered for some early weekend viewing with eight new additions being added to the streaming giant’s library. Family audiences have a couple of new animated films to enjoy, teens are being treated to a sequel to one of Netflix’s most popular romcoms and there’s even a western.

Check out the full list of everything that’s coming to the service today below:

Animal Crackers (2017) Netflix Original Dragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing (2020) Netflix Original Hickok (2017) Nimbe (2019) Offering to the Storm (2020) Netflix Original Romance Doll (2020) The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) Netflix Original Sing On! Spain (Season 1) Netflix Original

It’s a solid selection of content, to be sure, and first up is Animal Crackers, an American-Chinese co-production that’s had a ridiculously difficult time getting released in the U.S. Though it hit China back in 2017, it’s been...

It has been a long six years since Scott Sava persuaded some Chinese investors to give him $13.5 million to make an animated film.

An illustrator from Franklin, Tenn., Sava had written a graphic novel for his twin boys about a magic box of animal crackers, and he wanted to adapt it to the screen. Since then, he has been sued twice, represented himself in court against Hollywood bulldog Marty Singer (with predictable results), gotten entangled in Ryan Kavanaugh’s bankruptcies, and was threatened with the loss of his house.

Ultimately, he was forced to turn over the film to an angry seafood distributor.

After all that, “Animal Crackers” is finally landing on Netflix at midnight on Thursday.

But even then, the legal wrangling won’t be over.

At 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Netflix is due to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court to fend off a last-minute bid to cancel the film’s release.

The absurd path of this silly and rather enjoyable animated movie is all the more startling because it turned out kind of…decent. It all started in 2010 when screenwriter and eventual co-director Scott Christian Sava wrote an innocuous family comedy about a man who saves his family’s circus with the help of some magic cookies that can turn people into animals. The journey to get it made was almost as strange: “Animal Crackers” scored investment from Harvey Weinstein three years later, a flotilla of Chinese firms agreed to put up the rest of the money, “Mulan” co-director Tony Bancroft came aboard to help steer the ship, and “Despicable Me” character designer Carter Goodrich was hired to help with the animation. With those pieces in play, a rather astonishing variety of famous voices came aboard to help bring the story to life.

John Krasinski — at that point still two years...

After a brief drought in new programming, Netflix are back into adding fresh content and have several new movies and shows lined up for the week of July 20th to July 26th. With the likes of The Old Guard representing another original content success for the streamer, ahead of returning favorites like The Umbrella Academy, the platform continues to go from strength to strength. What new material can we expect, then, this week?

Well, on the series front, we’re getting the tenth and penultimate season of Showtime’s Shameless, which has weathered the departure of Emmy Rossum to continue to bring in audiences. As the only Showtime original now licensed by Netflix for new episodes, fans will be able to catch up on the long-running series before its eleventh and final season.

Other notable shows coming to Netflix this week include season 2 of How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast...

Netflix has confirmed most of its upcoming content for July, so it’s time to take a look at what’s on the horizon. It’s a quiet-ish month for the streaming giant, but we assume it’ll only get quieter in the next part of the year as the industry shutdown continues to impact release schedules everywhere. Nonetheless, Netflix still has some intriguing projects to offer, for the time being.

July will see the return of The Umbrella Academy for its highly anticipated second season, but Netflix also has a few new gambles in the form of its Unsolved Mysteries and The Baby-Sitters Club reboots, along with a brand new spin on the Arthurian legend with its Lady of the Lake series, Cursed. Elsewhere, Charlize Theron stars as an immortal badass in comic book adaptation The Old Guard and we’ll take another trip into teen rom-com territory with...

"You are now the proud owners of one rundown circus." Netflix has released a brand new trailer for the animated comedy Animal Crackers, made by Blue Dream Studios. The family movie is about a down-on-his-luck guy who tries to revive a circus. The catch - he finds a magical box of animal crackers that allows him to transform into any of the animals in his box. He thinks this might save the circus, until he discovers he has to go up against his long lost evil uncle - Horatio P. Huntington. The extensive voice cast in Animal Crackers (seen at the beginning of this trailer) includes John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, Ian McKellen, Raven-Symoné, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Warburton, Tara Strong, Lydia Rose Taylor, Wallace Shawn, Gilbert Gottfried, Harvey Fierstein, and Kevin Grevioux. This originally premiered at the Annecy Film Festival back in 2017, but it has taken a full three...

Netflix is out with its list of everything coming and going in July, and it includes Netflix originals like “Warrior Nun,” season one of “The Baby-Sitters Club,” the final football season of “Last Chance U,” and “The Kissing Booth 2.”

Some classic movies and beloved romantic comedies coming to the streamer include the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” the Ryan Reynolds rom-com “Definitely Maybe,” the Mandy Moore-lead “A Walk to Remember,” and the Jim Carrey 2004 film “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

Leaving at the end of the month are favorites like the Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams heartbreaker “Blue Valentine,” the Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller love story “Spectacular Now,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” and all three “Back to the Future” movies.

Also Read: What's Next for Chris D'Elia's Films After Sexual Misconduct Accusations

Here is the full list of everything coming and going:

July 1

Anne Frank...

With June now coming to an end, it’s time to begin looking at what’s to come next month on all the various streaming services, and after hearing from the likes of Disney Plus, HBO Max, Amazon Prime and Hulu, the top dog has now announced their line-up for July, and it’s a big one.

Yes, Netflix has revealed today what subscribers can expect over the next few weeks and the list of new arrivals is as impressive as ever. Boasting a ton of great licensed content, several big new original shows which are sure to take the world by storm and, of course, more than enough original movies, too, there’s definitely something for everyone here.

As usual, the biggest batch of new material will arrive on the first of the month, with the rest of the titles trickling in over the following days and weeks. And below,...

Sometimes finding a distributor can be harder than making the movie. So it was with the charming animated fantasy “Animal Crackers,” which premiered at the Annecy French animation festival in 2017, and returns to Annecy 2020 Online (June 15-30) after being acquired by Netflix. The streamer, which dropped the trailer on Monday, also announced that it will stream the feature July 24 in nearly 200 countries.

Directed by Tony Bancroft (“Mulan”) and Scott Christian Sava (the character designer and owner of Blue Dream Studios), “Animal Crackers” sends a magical box of cookies to rescue a rundown circus. The CG animation conjures a Disney retro vibe, and boasts voice work by John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Danny DeVito, and Ian McKellen. Meanwhile, Carter Goodrich (“Despicable Me”) provided the warmly appealing character design work.

Both the trailer and online making-of presentation with Bancroft, Sava, and Goodrich tout the nostalgic slice of Americana at the heart of “Animal Crackers,...

Annecy 2020 Online’s second wave of special programming for its world-class French animation festival (June 15-30) will include a preview from the highly anticipated “Connected”, the latest feature from “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and a Masterclass from stop-motion director Henry Selick and composer Bruno Coulais, who collaborated on Netflix’s upcoming demon comedy, “Wendell & Wild”, and Laika’s “Coraline.”

Also in the mix will be discussions with director Dean DeBlois (DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy), Disney’s legendary directing duo Ron Clements and John Musker, Disney’s chief creative officer/director Jennifer Lee and director Chris Buck on their upcoming Disney+ doc, “Into the Unknown: Making ‘Frozen 2′” (streaming June 26), the art of storyboarding at Cartoon Network Studios (“Summer Camp Island”), a 20th anniversary remembrance of “Chicken Run” with Aardman’s Nick Park and Peter Lord, and a conversation with the...

Netflix, Disney Sony, Cartoon Network Studios, Dean DeBlois and Aardman are reading presentations at France’s Annecy Film Festival — as 2020’s Annecy, even online, once more proves to be the biggest animation fest in the world and the international event with the largest Hollywood and now global platform presence.

Put together, Annecy’s latest big wave of programming announcement suggests that its move online will mean no world premiere of a potential Hollywood blockbuster – such as, in the past, the “Despicable Me” movie series. With more studio involvement most probably still to be announced, many of the good and great of the English-speaking animation world do look more than willing, however, to roll up their sleeves to update accredited festival viewers on upcoming releases such as, of titles now announced, Netflix’s “Wendell & Wild” and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Connected.”

Netflix

A masterclass between stop-motion luminary Henry Selick and composer...

Annecy 2020 Online’s first wave of special programming for its world-class French animation festival (June 15-30) will include making of sessions, previews, and works-in-progress. The biggest news is that indie feature “Animal Crackers,” which premiered at Annecy in 2017, returns as a making of program, having been acquired by streamer Netflix.

The CG children’s fantasy, directed by Tony Bancroft (“Mulan”) and Scott Christan Sava, concerns a magical box of cookies coming to the rescue of a rundown circus. It contains voice work by John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and boasts the work of character designer Carter Goodrich (“Ice Age”).

Netflix is also bringing a work-in-progress presentation of “The Cuphead Show!” series for 2021, adapted from retro-style video game by showrunners Dave Wasson (“Mickey Mouse”) and Cosmo Segurson (“SpongeBob Squarepants”). Drawing on the classic ’30s rubber hose animation style of Disney and Fleischer, the comedy follows the misadventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his naive brother,...

Netflix, China’s Alibaba and France have thrown their weight behind the Annecy Animation Festival, with the festival set to showcase an in progress reveal of the U.S. streaming giant’s “The Cupcake Show!” plus a look back at cult movie “Animal Crackers,” as well as six French productions in its Work in Progress section, Annecy’s single most important program strand.

Distributed by Alibaba Pictures Group, “New Gods: Nezha Reborn,” from Ji Zhao, follows on the highest grossing animated movie ever in a single territory, earning over $700 million in China.

French productions are led by the hugely awaited “The Summit of the Gods,” produced by Jean-Charles Ostorero and the most ambitious movie to date from Didier and Damien Brunner.

Also in the French Wip mix is “The Island,” the latest from Romania’s Anca Damian, who won Annecy’s top pirize with “Crilic: The Path to Beyond,” as...

Movies to watch when you’re staying in for a while, featuring recommendations from Dana Gould, Daniel Waters, Scott Alexander, and Allison Anders.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Destroy All Monsters (1969)

Planet Of The Apes (1968)

Beneath The Planet of the Apes (1970)

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)

Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes (1972)

Battle For The Planet Of The Apes (1973)

Suparpie

The Wizard Of Oz (1939)

Hello Down There (1969)

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)

Thirteen Days (2000)

Stalker (1979)

Last Year At Marienbad (1961)

No Exit (1962)

The Exterminating Angel (1962)

Sleeper (1973)

The Tenant (1976)

Final Cut: Ladies And Gentlemen (2012)

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)

La classe américaine (1993)

The Sex Adventures of a Single Man a.k.a. The 24 Hour Lover (1968)

The Omega Man (1971)

Soylent Green (1973)

Knives Out (2019)

The Hunt (2020)

Banana Split (2020)

The Cocoanuts (1929)

Animal Crackers (1930)

Monkey Business (1931)

Horse Feathers (1932)

Duck Soup (1933)

A Night At The Opera (1935)

The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971)

Susan Slade (1961)

My Blood Runs Cold...

The great Larry Wilmore joins us to share some very personal double features.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

1917 (2019)

Animal Crackers (1930)

Duck Soup (1933)

My Little Chickadee (1940)

A Night At The Opera (1935)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

The Parallax View (1974)

Singin’ In The Rain (1952)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Jaws (1975)

The Stepford Wives (1975)

The Party (1968)

The Return of the Pink Panther (1975)

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

Richard Pryor: Live In Concert (1979)

Richard Pryor: Live And Smokin’ (1971)

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)

Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

Lenny (1974)

The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)

Lolita (1962)

Caligula (1979)

The Night of the Iguana (1964)

The Elephant Man (1980)

What Would Jack Do? (2020)

Blue Velvet (1986)

The Apartment (1960)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Double Indemnity (1944)

The Sting (1973)

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid...

Tony Sokol Mar 2, 2019

Graphic novel Giraffes on Horseback Salad puts together the Salvador Dalí Marx Brothers film that was never made.

The iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí was obsessed with the anarchic harpist Harpo Marx and wrote a screenplay for what he hoped would become a Marx Brother movie. Or Dalí didn't hope, as he considered the screenplay art enough. The upcoming graphic novel Giraffes on Horseback Salad pieces together what some papers have called one of the greatest movies never made. Written by Josh Frank, Giraffes on Horseback Salad comes out from Quirk Publishers on March 19.

"Grab some popcorn and take a seat," reads the official book synopsis. "The curtain is about to rise on a film like no other! But first, the real-life backstory: Giraffes on Horseback Salad was a Marx Brothers film written by modern art icon Salvador Dalí, who’d befriended Harpo. Rejected by MGM, the script was thought lost forever.