Our half-striped zebra is stealing hearts in Cannes and has been well received at the market.

“It is phenomenal how much attention there has been on both Khumba and Adventures in Zambezia” says Marketing Director, Kirsten Barwise who is there with director, Anthony Silverston.

“After the fantastic response we’ve had to Adventures in Zambezia, I’m really looking forward to sharing Khumba with our distributors from around the world.  It’s the culmination of many years of hard work and the market is a great opportunity to work together to make Khumba a success,” says Director, Anthony Silverston.

Khumba is being represented internationally by Edward Noeltner of Cinema Management Group who will also be attending the market.

These are exciting times for the studio and if anyone would like to meet with us while we’re in Cannes to discuss our future projects, contact: kirstin@triggerfish.co.za

See you there!

“Khumba is one of the most beautiful CG animated films I’ve seen in years. The landscapes are truly stunning and the characters wonderfully observed. As a rugby enthusiast, the Springboks are most definitely my favourites. The biggest challenge for us in the sound team has been the footsteps; herds of animals mean loads of foot fall foley to create – people with two feet are a lot easier!”, says Rhodes.

In addition to Rhodes who recently won his third BAFTA award, the sound team on Khumba includes Goldcrest mixer, Mark Paterson who won an Oscar for Best Sound Mixing for his work on Les Miserables.

Khumba Director, Anthony Silverston and Triggerfish producer James Middleton are in London this week to join the Goldcrest team.

“Sound is such a big part of animation and there are not many people in the world with Adrian Rhodes’ wealth of experience, so it’s wonderful to know that the film will be in such capable hands. And the fact that he is also the voice of Shaun the Sheep is any kid’s dream come true!” says Silverston.

Khumba tells the story of a half-striped zebra who is blamed for a severe drought by his superstitious herd. He leaves his home in search of the magic waterhole where legend has it the first Zebras got their stripes. Teaming up with a sassy wildebeest and a self-obsessed ostrich, this plucky young zebra meets an array of wacky characters in an unforgettable adventure through the Great Karoo to earn his stripes.

The film boasts an all-star voice cast including, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, AnnaSophia Robb, Jake T. Austin, Loretta Devine, Catherine Tate, Richard E. Grant, Anika Noni Rose and Liam Neeson. Khumba is slated for release in the third quarter of 2013 and will premier at the Annecy Animation Festival in June.

Additionally, Anika Noni Rose, the voice of “Princess Tiana” in Disney’s $250 million dollar-grossing film The Princess and the Frog, joins the team as Lungisa, Khumba’s mother and wife to Fishburne’s character, Seko.  Rose, a Tony Award winner, is also known for her starring work in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, the HBO series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and numerous other film and television projects.

Golden Globe and SAG Award-winner Buscemi plays the colorful vagabond character “Skalk” in Khumba and holds the lead in HBO’s critically-acclaimed series Boardwalk Empire. His work on Boardwalk Empire has also earned him two Emmy nominations. Buscemi has appeared in numerous films, including Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs and Trees Lounge, which marked his full-length feature film directorial debut. He has provided the voices for characters in many animated features including Pixar’s Monsters, Inc., Paramount Pictures’ Charlotte’s Web as the voice of “Templeton” the rat, Sony Pictures’ Oscar nominated animated film Monster House, and Columbia Pictures’ Hotel Transylvania as the voice of “Wayne.” Buscemi will next be heard reprising his role as the voice of Randall Boggs in Pixar’s Monsters University the much anticipated sequel to Monsters, Inc. Buscemi and Rose’s deals were brokered by WME and Ned Lott on behalf of Triggerfish Animation. Buscemi is also repped by The Gotham Group

Khumba tells the story of a half-striped Zebra (Austin) who is blamed for a severe drought by his superstitious herd. He leaves his home in search of the magic waterhole where legend has it the first Zebras got their stripes. Teaming up with an overprotective, sassy wildebeest (Devine) and a self-obsessed ostrich (Grant), this plucky young zebra meets an array of wacky characters in an unforgettable adventure through the Great Karoo to earn his stripes.

The original story was penned by Triggerfish writers Raffaella Delle Donne and Anthony Silverston in consultation with Jonathan Roberts, co-writer of The Lion King. Silverston is also the director. Stuart Forrest of Triggerfish Animation Studios (Zambezia) produced the feature. The film is represented internationally by Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group. Millennium Entertainment will be releasing the film in the US later this year.

Noeltner and team have closed over 30 international distribution agreements covering some 50 international territories on the film.  While major territories such as the US/Canada, Germany, France, Russia, S. Korea, Eastern Europe and all of Latin America have already been pre-sold, CMG has been holding on to the UK, Australia, Italy, Spain  and Scandinavia until the final film screens in 3D.

Edward Noeltner, CMG head stated, “With his trademark voice, Steve Buscemi took the character of Skalk in a new and exciting direction. Anika Noni Rose as Khumba’s mother brought a wonderful sense of warmth and tenderness to her character of Lungisa. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have them both onboard to complete the voice cast for Khumba.”

Stuart Forrest, CEO of Triggerfish Animation, adds “We are continuously impressed with the amount of gifted actors that our film has attracted. Buscemi brings a unique skill set to Khumba and the voice work he’s recorded gives us a great deal of humor in the film. Anika Noni Rose likewise brings alive her character in a way that not many could.”

“Steve Buscemi was the original reference when we were first developing the character, so to have him actually voice the part is just incredible,” says writer and director, Silverston. “Anika Noni Rose joins fellow Princess and the Frog actress, Jen Cody who voices one of the other zebras and it’s fantastic to have both actresses in the same herd, so to speak,” says co-writer, Delle Donne.

Noeltner’s CMG will be presenting the film in Cannes.  The CMG team going to Cannes includes Dene Anderberg, Agatha Altarovici and Daniel Bort and their Cannes sales office will be located in the Palais des Festivals – Lerins S.15 from May 14-24th.

 About Triggerfish

Triggerfish Animation Studios is a Cape Town based media and entertainment company that brings unique stories to the world through family-friendly animated feature films. The company employs South Africa’s most talented animation specialists, software developers and visual artists. The studio has completed its first award-winning feature film, Adventures in Zambezia, and is in post production on its second feature film, Khumba, scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2013. www.triggerfishstudios.com

About Millennium Entertainment

Formed in 2010 and led by CEO Bill Lee, Millennium Entertainment is a leading independent supplier that acquires and distributes feature films. Recently the company released The Paperboy, directed by the Oscar-nominated Lee Daniels (Precious) and starring Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray, John Cusack and Nicole Kidman and Richard Linklater’s Bernie, co-written by Skip Hollandsworth and Linklater, starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey. Other releases include Little Birds, starring Juno Temple and Kay Panabaker, with Leslie Mann and Kate Bosworth; Red Lights, written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés, and featuring an all-star cast led by Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Toby Jones, Joely Richardson, Elizabeth Olsen, Craig Roberts, Leonardo Sbaraglia and Adriane Lenox; and Jay Chandraekhar’s The Babymakers, starring Olivia Munn, Paul Schneider, Aisha Tyler, Kevin Heffernan, Wood Harris and Constance Zimmer.

About CMG

CMG is a full service international sales company with over 100 titles in its catalogue. For more information, please consult www.cinemamanagementgroup.com.

Set in a bustling bird city on the edge of the majestic Victoria Falls, ‘Adventures in Zambezia’ tells the story of Kai, a naive, but high-spirited young falcon who travels to the bird city of Zambezia where he discovers the truth about his origins and, in defending the city, learns how to be part of a community.  The film won best SA Feature at the Durban International Film Festival, a SAFTA for Best Animated Film and was nominated for two Annie Awards. So get your copy today – it’s ama-zing!

]]> http://triggerfishstudios.com/en/index.php/2013/04/adventures-in-zambezia-now-on-dvd-and-blu-ray/feed/ 0 http://triggerfishstudios.com/en/index.php/2013/04/laurence-fishburne-is-triggerfishs-latest-catch-for-3d-animated-feature-khumba/ http://triggerfishstudios.com/en/index.php/2013/04/laurence-fishburne-is-triggerfishs-latest-catch-for-3d-animated-feature-khumba/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:16:06 +0000 Triggerfish http://triggerfishstudios.com/en/?p=2787 South Africa based Triggerfish Animation Studios, the company behind the worldwide 3D Animated hit Adventures in Zambezia (Highest Grossing South African film in last 30 years) announced today that they’ve added the voice talents of Laurence Fishburne to join Liam Neeson, AnnaSophia Robb, Jake T. Austin, Loretta Devine and Richard E. Grant in their new 3D Animated feature Khumba. Fishburne will play Seko, Khumba’s father, opposite Austin.  Robb will voice Tombi, Khumba’s female friend and Neeson voices the ferocious leopard Phango.

Khumba tells the story of a half-striped Zebra (Austin) who is blamed for the drought by his superstitious herd. He leaves his home in search of the magic waterhole where legend has it, the first Zebras got their stripes. Teaming up with an overprotective, sassy wildebeest (Devine) and a self-obsessed ostrich (Grant), this plucky young zebra meets an array of wacky characters in an unforgettable adventure through the Great Karoo to earn his stripes.

The original story was penned by Triggerfish writers Raffaella Delle Donne and Anthony Silverston in consultation with Jonathan Roberts, co-writer of The Lion King. Silverston is also the director. Stuart Forrest of Triggerfish Animation Studios (Zambezia) produced the feature. The film is represented internationally by Edward Noeltner’s Cinema Management Group. Millennium Entertainment will be releasing the film in the US later this year.

Noeltner and team have closed over 30 international distribution agreements covering some 50 international territories on the film.  While major territories such as the US/Canada, Germany, France, Russia, S. Korea, Eastern Europe and all of Latin America have already been pre-sold, CMG has been holding on to the UK, Australia, Italy, Spain  and Scandinavia until the final film screens in 3D in Cannes in May.

The Oscar nominated Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do with It) has starred in such films as The Matrix and its sequels, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Mystic River, Akeelah and the Bee, Mission: Impossible III, Bobby, 21, and received a Tony award for his acclaimed performance as an ex-con in the play “Two Trains Running”. Fishburne’s deal was negotiated by casting and voice director Ned Lott.

AnnaSophia Robb currently stars in The Carrie Diaries and was in last year’s Soul Surfer and Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Liam Neeson (Taken & Taken 2, Batman Begins & the Star Wars trilogies) was recently added to the cast to play Phango, a malevolent leopard who controls the waterholes where Khumba lives.

Edward Noeltner, CMG head stated, “Fishburne’s performance as Seko was terrific. His powerful voice and amazing acting talents really show off in his role as Khumba’s father and we are honored to have him on board as our newest voice cast member. We’ll be adding the final voice cast members before the film screens in Cannes.”

Samuel L. Jackson, voice of Tendai in Adventures in Zambezia, made a special appearance at the award ceremony to present the trophies for Best Actor and Actress.

This weekend also saw Zambezia being nominated for an Africa Movie Academy Award. The film released in SA theaters in December and won Best SA Feature Film at Durban International Film Festival last year. It was also nominated for 2 Annie Awards. The DVD will be available for rental from April 5th and will be available to buy at all major retail outlets in SA April 12th.

Stuart will be speaking on the media and entertainment panel alongside Daniel Ogbonna, Founder & CEO of PanaTV, Michael Ugwu, CEO of Iroking, and Michelle Atagana, Editor of memeburn.com.

Triggerfish is very excited to be bringing its story to Silicon Valley and Stanford University.

More details here: http://saf.stanford.edu/