Bruno and the Banana Bunch, a series created by Cuppa Coffee’s Adam Shaheen, has just been added to the Discovery Kids Latin America line-up. The Flash-animated show which follows Bruno around Banana Land, will premiere later this year.

In the meantime, here’s a clip from the show.

Noodlesoup was originally started by Jeff Nodleman when he “took out more credit cards than anyone should ever touch in his life,” according to an AWN article. He was a producer on ‘The Venture Bros,’ and a creator of numerous other original properties. Jeff left Noodlesoup late last year to join The Creative Group as creative director in charge of animation. Having met Jeff on several occasions, I can say that they’re lucky to have him on board.

With Jeff departing, it only makes sense that Noodlesoup, its name surely inspired by Jeff, would be re-branded. The company’s new name is World Leaders Entertainment, and they’ve announced their first project under the new banner - ‘SuperNormal,’ a Flash-animated partnership with UK-based Granada Kids. Head over to the World Leaders site to see their reel, which is packed full of Flash-animated goodness.

As reported in the British magazine, Digit, Renegade Animation has created a new Flash-animated commercial for Texas-based grocer H-E-B. As far as I can tell, the spot isn’t available for viewing on the web yet, but I’ll put up a link when it is. Here’s a great quote from Ashley Postlewaite:

“Flash allows us to create beautiful design effects — and it also holds down the cost of animation,” explained Renegade Animation executive producer Ashley Postlewaite. “It brings high-quality animation within reach of a lot of clients who might otherwise not consider it. It was a perfect choice for this campaign because of its kid appeal — but it can work for a lot of product categories, including products aimed at adults. It can push through the clutter because the look is so different from other ads you see on TV.”

Thanks to Frank Forte for the tip.

Mukpuddy has released yet another episode from their show ‘Sparkle Friends.’ You can download Episode 7 from the Mukpuddy site.

‘Tigga and Togga,’ the preschool show from Cuppa Coffee, was recently reported on a few weeks ago. I was just tipped off that 6 episodes are available for viewing over at the official website. Great looking work, guys!

Cuppa Coffee Studios in Toronto are a rather unique operation. They seem to handle multiple mediums with ease - live-action, claymation and, of course, Flash animation. They helped bring MTV’s ‘Celebrity Death Match’ (MOV) back to life for this summer’s relaunch, and they produced dozens of short-form episodes of ‘Bruno’ a Flash-animated original aimed at pre-school children.

Another Flash animated property of theirs ‘Tigga & Togga,’ was reported on here back in May of 2005, but now an elaborate Flash-animated website has launched. Under the creative direction of Warren Brown, who also worked on ‘Bruno,’ the site features multiple scenarios “where every object has a sound and every creature has a song waiting to be discovered,” according to the official website overview.

It’s all very appealing, and clever, getting the point across with almost no verbal communication.

Brown studied at Sheridan College, and more recently at the Canadian Film Centre in their Interactive Art & Entertainment Program.

Back in April, Cold, Hard Flash reported on Toronto’s Cuppa Coffee Animation, and their preschool property, ‘Bruno and the Banana Bunch.’ So far, Bruno has been animated in 50 one-minute shorts, which have aired all over the world. And according to a recent KidScreen Magazine article, ‘Bruno’ is about to explore the longer format in 26 11-minute Flash-animated episodes, which are set to bow later this year. The article mentions how the show is adding some new dimensions, as Bruno will be “interacting with real kids in a live-action setting to fuel more imaginative adventures.”

Toronto’s Cuppa Coffee Animation recently redesigned their website, and included are links to two Flash-animated projects worth checking out.

The first is ‘Bruno and the Banana Bunch,’ a series of 1 minute shorts aimed at the preschool crowd. It’s currently airing on Nickelodeon, and it looks poised to become a major preschool property. You can see 6 full episodes at the official site. It’s simple animation with very clean design. The animation is done in Malaysia by Fat Lizard Animation.

The other is ‘Tigga and Togga,’ a 3-minute animated series that “explores non-verbal communication through rhythm and sound.” Not sure if this is on the air yet, but you can see an episode here.

Nickelodeon, CiTV and Teletoon have recently ordered a whole heap of Flash animted programming.

As reported in Animation Magazine, Nickelodeon will go global with ‘Bruno and the Banana Bunch,’ a Cuppa Coffee production. There’s not much information available on this show, but what I did read is that it will marry live-action with Flash animation. The article also mentions a separate Flash production, but I’m not sure which title he’s refering to. It’s great to see Flash being used in a variety of production methods - this time compositing against what I’m guessing will be video footage. Can’t wait to see more when the show launches next year.

The UK’s CiTV and Canada’s Teletoon networks ordered some Flash compositing of their own. Aardman Animation and Decode Entertainment have teamed up to bring us ‘The Animated Sketch Show’ (I wonder if they know the show’s inititals are A.S.S?). The project will mix CGI animation with 2D Flash animation, and I’m guessing Aardman will be handling the CG portion. It may not be evident in the image above, but there character models have a great deal of complicated shading and highlights (not to mention gradient shading), and there doesn’t seem to be any of the telltale joint structures built in yet. In layman’s terms, expect these 2D models to look a bit different when the show airs. I haven’t read yet when the show will first air, but, with Aardman at the helm, you can bet it’s going to look amazing when it does.