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Executive-level animation leader with deep experience guiding global teams through…
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Randy Dormans shared thisI'm helping to produce Roye Okupe's next film! This opportunity feels incredibly special—the script and the concept are inspiring and the creative energy is unmatched. Having started my career as a traditional 2D artist, helping bring a story this distinct to life in a medium I love is an absolute dream. Thanks to Doug Schwalbe for bringing me onboard, looking forward to the journey and excited for everyone to eventually experience the distinct world Roye is building.Randy Dormans shared thisA new chapter begins... Malika, your time has come ⚔️👸🏾 "Set in a richly imagined 15th-century West African empire, Malika: Warrior Queen is billed as an epic tale of power, family, and destiny, following a young queen’s rise from tragedy to legend as she unites a divided land under her rule. Okupe, who is writing and directing the feature, says it will combine the emotional precision of anime with the soul and rhythm of African storytelling, blending breathtaking action, political intrigue, and a visual style inspired by the pulse of Afrobeats. The feature is produced by Doug Schwalbe at The Co-Production Company and multiple Emmy Award-winner Randy Dormans (Kung Fu Panda, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous). Award-winning Nigerian actress Adesua Etomi-Wellington (The Wedding Party) will lead the cast as the voice of Malika and serves as Executive Producer, alongside Impact X Studios’ Erica Motley and Okupe via his YouNeek Studios banner." https://lnkd.in/e-FKiUUr‘Iyanu’ Creator Roye Okupe & The Co-Production Company Team On ‘Malika: Warrior Queen’ Animated Feature Starring Adesua Etomi-Wellington‘Iyanu’ Creator Roye Okupe & The Co-Production Company Team On ‘Malika: Warrior Queen’ Animated Feature Starring Adesua Etomi-Wellington
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Randy Dormans shared thisLeaving Annecy I had the privilege of sharing a shuttle with Imogen Sutton, widow of Richard Williams and Magdalena Osinska who directed the Aardman episode in the second installment of Star Wars: Visions.
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Randy Dormans shared thisThanks Zare Oganesyan for going above and beyond to send me the Spirit wrap gift. Spirit holds a special place in my heart having worked on the original 2002 film as an animator and then again in 2015 to help produce the series. Not an easy series but with so many great partners it was always inspiring and fun! So many great memories across two decades! #netflixseries #dreamworks
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Randy Dormans liked thisRandy Dormans liked thisFinally! I'm getting ready to launch the Kickstarter for K'Nayha and the Crow. K'Nayha is written for anyone to enjoy, but underneath it's inspired by my wife's struggles with Lupus and by anyone else pushing through a rough time. The book is 100% done and ready to print. Scan the QR at the end of the video to sign up for updates. #childrensbook #lupus
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Randy Dormans liked thisRandy Dormans liked thisThe snake has officially swallowed its tail... Last week, I made what I thought was a pretty innocuous post about a client who took part of the work we were doing for them in-house by using AI editing tools. That post immediately exploded in a way I've never experienced on LI, with well over 50k impressions. And a few days later, I woke up to have LI point me to a "news" article based on my post. I am reposting that article here to complete the ouroboros, but I wanted to clear up a few things: - I'm not mad. Nor am I defiant. Disappointed? Sure. - No one contacted me about this "news" story. Heck, maybe AI wrote it! - The company is not using generative AI to replace us. They are using AI editing software. - I am not anti-AI, although I am against generative AI not trained on ethical training data. In fact, we have used AI as part of our pipelines for years. AI has made us better, but hasn't replaced any of our artists. We are constantly trying to stay alert to the state of the industry and expect more tools to be integrated into big software packages this year. We will use them if they work well. - I am NOT going to out this company, for gosh sakes. Not only are they still a client, but it's a lame thing to do! They are free to do what they want. And I think they do amazing work. - I still have not seen the work that has replaced ours, so I offer no commentary as to how good or bad it is. - My in process takeway is that while AI is not very good (yet) at being creative, it is very good at doing routine activities. And since much of the work we did on these particular projects was of the more routine variety (that's how we could churn them out cheaply), it might actually be ripe for AI tools. If that's the case, it means we need to lean in harder on what AI can't do -- animation that requires a ton of creative decisions. Frankly, that kind of work makes up the lion's share of our work anyway. Will post more when I know more... https://lnkd.in/gdBfwVBMPipsqueak Animation’s Mike Blum remains defiant after long-term client turns to AIPipsqueak Animation’s Mike Blum remains defiant after long-term client turns to AI
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Randy Dormans liked thisRandy Dormans liked thisMan… Genndy Tartakovsky and his team are giving some core lessons on animation, storytelling, and composition with the new episodes of Primal. It may be too edgy for some but…. I’m loving it. Every episode he is giving us these kinds of frames!!! Come on…. Some Frezetta inspired goodness…
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Randy Dormans reacted on thisRandy Dormans reacted on thisA group of us from our union paid Willie Ito a visit this Sunday. He has had such an amazing career and at 91 has so many stories to share. He talked about one of his great mentors, Iwao Takamoto. The drawing here was a “throwaway” that Willie saved. It may be the only drawing Iwao did with his opposite hand. He drew it as a little test while another artist in the room was demonstrating his ambidextrous skills. As a young boy Willie saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Dopey made a big impression on him and kind of inspired his career in animation. Amazingly, on the first day he visited the lot, he got in the elevator and Walt Disney himself stopped it to hitch a ride up. Willie brushed elbows with so many of the greats! It was fun to hear crazy stories about his good buddy, Corny Cole — my own mentor. That really highlighted how our industry is a big family. If you happen to go to Disneyland on its birthday, you may find Willie Ito at Carnation Restaurant holding court and sharing his life’s stories. It’s an annual tradition he does on his own birthday. And, if you can find that rare book, there are great character drawings of his in it.
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Randy Dormans reacted on thisRandy Dormans reacted on thisHappy New Year Everyone! Wishing industry friends and colleagues a successful 2026 ahead... I'll be heading to San Diego next month to attend #KidscreenSummit2026 where I'll be taking part in the Pitch Prep 2 Session on Sunday 22nd February at 2pm. Plus, as Triggerfish Animation expands its international footprint into the UK, I'm keen to talk to partners about exciting new service opportunities, co-productions and original content collaboration. Get in touch!
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Randy Dormans liked thisRandy Dormans liked thisGonna keep posting these - never shared them here on LinkedIn- this was day 4 of the countdown! It’s available now:) In Amazon Prime Video and YouTube https://lnkd.in/gdXXVCSE
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Randy Dormans liked thisRandy Dormans liked thisDisney legend Andreas Deja, behind all-time great villains including Scar (‘The Lion King’) and Jafar (‘Aladdin’), has provided a major update on his Milt Kahl book: “I got Disney's verbal approval, and I am determined to make this one of the best books on Disney Animation ever.”
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