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Digging up Positivity - November 2023

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Hello you! Welcome to the last Digging Up Positivity of the season and trust me, we are ending with a bang... or shall we say squeek? With the Mother of the Dutch Angel Dragons, the Matriarch herself: Telephone. And we also have more charity news, animation, creativity and much more. I just can’t wait to show you all the things! But first the charities.

Review: 'Captain Laserhawk: Blood Dragon Remix'

Your rating: None Average: 3.7 (3 votes)

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Captain Laserhawk: Blood Dragon Remix is a Netflix animated series from Ubisoft Film & Television. The executive producer, Adi Shankar, previously worked on Castlevania, another Netflix animated series. The show is loosely based off of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. In fact, this show references multiple Ubisoft franchises, which has led to the show gaining interest online. Most of the notoriety that this show has been gathering has been its depiction of Ubisoft's former mascot, Rayman. I know seeing Rayman swear like a sailor piqued my interest for the show. Luckily, the show is a lot more than just showing beloved gaming mascots swear.

Current and upcoming animated films (2023-2024)

Your rating: None Average: 4.7 (3 votes)

It's been 18 months since the previous list of current and upcoming animated films, so why not do an update? Last time, I thought I did a pretty good search, and then Mink found more.

What's become clear is that thanks to Covid, film distribution is a mess. Some animated films are endlessly delayed, some get shown early at film festivals before getting a limited release up to a year later in their home country, and some just... show up, and it's anyone's guess which streaming services will carry them, or for how long.

For many of the films below, I can't find streaming versions yet - this might be because I'm in Canada. If you find out they're available in your area, let us know in the comments. (Justwatch has been a great help.)

I'll provide ratings from IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes with [I=] and [RT=], if available. This list relied largely on Wikipedia. It's an okay source for older films, but isn't especially reliable for upcoming titles. So this is definitely an incomplete list. For babysitting films, Sturgeon's Law usually applies (90% of everything is crud). But perhaps there will be a few unexpected surprises - time will tell! So first, let's talk trends.

She’s Not From Kansas

Found this thanks to our friends at Animation World Network: “Jellyfish Pictures’ kids and family content division, Jellyfish Originals, has acquired rights to adapt Dermot O’Leary’s book series Toto the Ninja Cat into an animated series. The book series, illustrated by Nick East, is inspired by Dermot’s own cats. The show will be based on Toto, a partially sighted cat with razor-sharp senses, a nose for danger and a crime-busting spirit of adventure, incorporating themes of friendship, inclusivity, and winning in the face of adversity.” No word yet on when and where we’ll see it, as production has only just begun.


image c. 2023 Jellyfish Originals

 

Trailer: 'Hazbin Hotel' on Amazon Prime

Your rating: None Average: 3.8 (6 votes)

Better late than never, but a release frame and streaming service has finally been announced for Hazbin Hotel, sister series of the Ursa Major Award-winning adult animated web-series Helluva Boss. This is the one creator Vivienne "Vivziepop" Medrano and her SpindleHorse animation studio are not giving away for free.

After the series pilot released to YouTube all the way back in 2019, it was picked up by cult distributor A24 (Hazbin Hotel is not their first demonic rodeo), and the series has found a home on Amazon Prime, to begin streaming next January, with a second season planned.

Update 10/14/23: A voice cast has been announced (Keith David as Husk!) and an preview of the show's theme tune have been released at New York Comic Con.

Trailer: 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Season 4

Your rating: None Average: 2.1 (10 votes)

Bear with us here, as if you just watch the following trailer, you may be a bit confused as to what it actually has to do with the furry fandom. You'll just have to take our word that there is actually a fairly important, fun furry character in this series, despite the fact she's in less than a second total of the trailer. (If the video below isn't visible, try this link.)

Star Trek: Lower Decks is the eighth television series (if you count streaming series as such) and the second animated series in the long running Star Trek franchise. The first three seasons of the show are available from the Paramount+ streaming service; the fourth season will begin airing September 7. In a tribute to the original animated Star Trek series's catperson alien Caitian crewmember Lt. M'Ress, Lower Decks's supporting cast includes Dr. T'Ana.

Movie review: 'The Great Wolf Pack' (2022)

Your rating: None Average: 4 (1 vote)

The Great Wolf Pack ®: A Call to Adventure is a 45-minute 2D animated mini-movie produced in 2022 by Great Wolf Resorts, an American chain of family-friendly hotels featuring indoor waterparks. Most of the animation was outsourced to Mexico, directed by Chris Bailey and written by Kent Redeker. The IMDB page mentions an additional writer I couldn't find in the closing credits, M.J. Offen.

The movie is for young kids and can pretty much be skipped. There's a group of young animal friends in the forest: Violet the wolf and Sammy the squirrel (action girls), and Oliver (a raccoon tinkerer who always talks using the most loquacious and unnecessarily wordy vocabulary), who are joined by newcomer Wiley (the coyote wolf), and finally Brinley, a young bear with self-confidence issues, who of course gets chosen as the Special One by a spoon-wielding spirit and is given the Magical Rock to guide them on their quest.

Movie review: 'The Amazing Maurice' (2022)

Your rating: None Average: 4 (4 votes)

The Amazing Maurice poster. Cat not to scale.The Amazing Maurice (trailer) is a 93-minute UK-Germany computer-animated film released in late 2022. Directed by Toby Genkel and Florian Westermann, the screenplay by Terry Rossio (Shrek, and many others) is an adaptation of the 2001 children's fantasy novel The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett.

"One day, when he was naughty, Mr. Bunnsy looked over the hedge into Farmer Fred's field and it was full of green lettuces. Mr. Bunnsy, however, was not full of lettuces. This did not seem fair."
-- from Mr. Bunnsy has an Adventure

Set in Pratchett's Discworld comedic fantasy universe, The Amazing Maurice is the story of a cat (Maurice, voiced by Hugh Laurie) and a group of rats who have acquired speech and intelligence. Together they travel from town to town with a young human musician named Keith, running a pied piper scam. Maurice wants them to make as much money as possible, but the rats would like to move on and find a place where they can live in peace and harmony, finding inspiration in their revered text, Mr. Bunnsy has an Adventure.

Trailer: 'Lackadaisy' Season 1 teaser

Your rating: None Average: 3.8 (4 votes)

Lackadaisy, from Iron Circus animation, based on the webcomic by Tracy J. Butler, has put out a teaser trailer for a first season of episodes. This season of episodes will be crowdfunded through BackerKit, which has currently reached the million dollar total donations mark, which is enough to fund the full goal of five episodes.

The comic Lackadaisy (sometimes known as Lackadaisy Cats) tells the story of the titular speakeasy in a fictionalized version of St. Louis, Missouri during the Prohibition Era of United States history. The cast is comprised entirely of fictional cats, so it is furry. The crowdfunding campaign is prominently mentioning it's 2011 nomination for an Eisner Award in the category for Best Digital Comic, but it also has won the Ursa Major Award for Best Graphic Story. A pilot episode of the show was released earlier this year to YouTube.

Digging Up Positivity July 2023

Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

Welcome to the July edition of Digging Up Positivity! Time flies when you are having fun and fruit flies like a banana. This episode is filled to the brink with charities, because boy, you lot have been busy! Our guest is one of the most known mice from the Netherlands: Miesdo Mouse.

We have a few announcements and if you like the British furs, you DEFINITELY want to watch till the end of the video. From now on you can become a member of this channel and usually you can see the episodes a wee bit earlier just like my other supporters. But of course, you know the deal: Like and subscribe. I would love to spread the positive goodness from this fandom a bit further thanks to your help!

And now, on with the charities, because boy, there are a lot of these this month:

Trailer: 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem'

Your rating: None Average: 3 (4 votes)

How about a trailer for a movie that comes out early next month this time?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is seventh theatrical movie to star the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and either the fourth or fifth cinematic continuity, depending on whether you count 2007's TMNT as a continuation of the first three Ninja Turtle movies or not.

Trailer: 'Migration'

Your rating: None Average: 3 (6 votes)

The studio behind the furry Secret Life of Pets and Sing duologies, Illumination's next movie after their super-successful Super Mario Bros. Movie (well, at the box office, anyway; less so with critics) will be a movie about ducks called Migration.

'Helluva Boss' Season 1 episodes ranked

Your rating: None Average: 4.2 (9 votes)

'Helluva Boss' season 1

With the (very delayed) release of episode 8 of Helluva Boss to YouTube June 24, the first season of the show is now officially over. With eight episodes released, beginning Halloween 2020 (plus a pilot episode released November 25, 2019, which will be part of this ranking even if it's not officially part of this season), the show is the creation of Vivienne "Vivziepop" Medrano, and is produced by SpindleHorse Toons.

Set in a version of Hell, the main cast consists of Brandon Rogers as the titular "boss", imp Blitzø (the "o" is silent), leader of demonic assassination business Immediate Murder Professionals, or I.M.P.; Richard Steven Horvitz and Vivian Nixon as Moxxie and Millie, a married couple of imp employees; Erica Lindbeck as Loona, his hellhound adopted daughter and I.M.P.'s receptionist; and Bryce Pinkham as Stolas, a member of Hell's ruling class who serves as a sort of silent backer for I.M.P. while also becoming romantically entangled with Blitzø.

The show's second season is up to its fourth episode, out of twelve, and a third season has been confirmed. Currently, Helluva Boss is only available on YouTube, though completely for free; there are no rumors or even much desire for a physical media release.

Digging Up Positivity - March 2023

Your rating: None Average: 5 (1 vote)

This episode of Digging Up Positivity we feature charities, animation, and this time our featurette is a short documentary about Kitwana, lion, role model, and more. Do stay until the end to find out who has won that Thabo T-shirt from my Artwork Tee store. But first, lets hop into the charities.

Digging Up Positivity - January 2023

Your rating: None Average: 3.5 (10 votes)

Welcome to the first Digging Up Positivity of 2023! Of course we start off with a bunch of charities, animation news, and our guest of this month is a staple from the virtual furry scene: BioGodz, we will discuss his new projects and how he got into the wonderful world of virtual reality!

But first things first, lets hop into the charities: