Following the unveiling of its massive 2024-2025 animation slate, Netflix presented sneak peeks of upcoming films and series earlier today at the Annecy Festival, currently underway in France.
Five years after releasing its first animated feature, Netflix has gone on to receive eight Oscar nominations and one win for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; four BAFTA noms and two wins for Klaus and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; 273 Annie noms and 79 Annie wins across film and series, including this year’s Oscar nomination for Nimona and BAFTA nomination for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, plus wins at the Annies for Arcane.
Award-winning filmmakers and creators took audiences behind the scenes with world-exclusive clips and sneak peeks from their highly anticipated new projects during the “Next On Netflix Animation: From Wallace & Gromit To Twilight Of The Gods” panel.
Hosted by the multi-talented producer Anna Higgs, the panel got underway, welcoming Alain Chabat and Fabrice Joubert, directors of the French series Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight, produced by French studio TAT and based on the beloved comic strips created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The directors showcased a world-exclusive clip from the show.
“After the extraordinary experience of making the film Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra and the audience’s reception, it is an immense pleasure to dive back into the universe and characters created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo!” Chabat said. “Animation brings us back to the very essence of the work and offers new creative spaces to have fun in different ways. Revealing the first images (even WIP) at Annecy is a privilege and a great joy shared with the team!”
Up next, Aardman’s Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham took to the stage to discuss the much-buzzed-about Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and treated audiences to a clip.
“Annecy has welcomed Wallace and Gromit warmly and generously for many years, and so there couldn’t be a more perfect festival for us to share a special sneak peek of our latest upcoming Wallace and Gromit extravaganza, Vengeance Most Fowl,” the duo commented. “It’s so exciting to return to Annecy again, stepping away from production for a couple of days, to share a special taster of the latest madcap adventure we’ve been cooking up for the duo over the last couple of years and to reveal the return of our most infamous villain, Feathers McGraw!”
Fan favorites and the new animated drama series Twilight of the Gods showrunners, Zack and Deborah Snyder, alongside the art director Slimane Aniss also participated in a Q&A.
“We are so excited to make our first voyage to Annecy, such a remarkable showcase for groundbreaking animation, with our series, Twilight Of The Gods, a monumental tale, steeped in the rich lore of Norse Mythology, of mortals and gods facing off in a pitched battle, where the lines between honor and revenge are blurred,” the Synders said of their first experience of Annecy. “It has been an amazing journey creating this epic series in partnership with both Netflix and Xilam. We’re thrilled for audiences to finally see it — on a big screen.”
Other highlights from the presentation included director Vicky Jenson, talking about Skydance Animation’s Spellbound.
Jensen shared a sneak peek from the film on stage and her thoughts in the lead-up to the festival: “I am so looking forward to bringing a preview of Spellbound to Annecy,” she said. “The audiences there are some of the most enthusiastic in the world and are filled with not only animation fans but also students, professionals and old colleagues! Spellbound is a truly special film, and I could not be more proud of it and every artist who helped to make it happen. It is a new fairytale that, while feeling rooted in classic storytelling, has a twist that is both unexpected and universal at the same time.”
Higgs also introduced a clip from The Twits, Netflix’s new animated Roald Dahl project, led by writer/director/producer Phil Johnston.
Netflix’s Annecy activities include:
Ultraman: Rising world premiere tonight at the Theater Bonlieu ahead of its June 14 Netflix debut.
Writer and director Shannon Tindle expressed his excitement: “Every frame of this film was crafted by our team to connect with the audience in an emotional, visceral way. Debuting Ultraman: Rising at Annecy, where so many films that have moved and inspired me have premiered, is truly a dream come true.”
Plus, on June 13, a Making-Of Session will go behind the scenes of the final creative processes, with Tindle, co-director John Aoshima, art director Sunmin Inn, VFX supervisor Hayden Jones and composer Scot Stafford.
Throughout the festival, a Wallace & Gromit Exhibition featuring select puppets from Aardman’s new film will take center stage and celebrate these beloved stop-motion characters. For fans wanting more, Netflix members can also delve deeper into Aardman’s world with the Netflix game Chicken Run: Eggstraction, available later this year.
Yesterday saw a Work-In-Progress session for Locksmith Animation’s That Christmas exploring the various stages of production. The session featured award-winning writer Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Yesterday), animation veteran and director Simon Otto (Love, Death & Robots, How to Train Your Dragon), producer Nicole Hearon, and production designer Justin Hutchinson-Chatburn.
Today, Arcane’s Making-Of Session featured Showrunner Christian Linke (Riot), Scriptwriter Amanda Overton (Riot), Senior Concept Artist Arnaud Baudry (Riot), Director Bart Maunoury (Fortiche), and Producer Christine Ponzevera (Fortiche).
On June 13, a Big Mouth Making-Of Session will celebrate the final series of this comedic hit with co-creators and EPs Andrew Goldberg and Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin.
The Imaginary will receive its English-language world premiere on June 14, ahead of its Netflix debut on July 5. It will also be in official competition at Annecy.
In addition, Blue Eye Samurai and Pokemon Concierge will be in official competition.
