Shea Fontana: Last News

Michaela Zee editor Domee Shi and six of Variety’s animation honorees gathered at this year’s Variety 10 Animators to Watch event, presented by Nickelodeon, on Thursday night. The in-person awards ceremony and cocktail reception took place at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, Calif., where fellow creatives and representatives in the animation space celebrated this year’s class of rising storytellers. The honorees in attendance included Fawn Veerasunthorn, Arthur Fong, Shea Fontana, Sergio Valdivia, Natasha Kline and Juston Gordon-Montgomery. Pixar Animation Studios filmmaker Shi received the 2022 Creative Impact in Animation award.

EXCLUSIVE: Max has boarded Mermicorno: Starfall, an animated series from Canada’s Thunderbird Entertainment.

More Monster High is coming to Nickelodeon. The animated series has been renewed for a second season, the network announced Thursday.

William Earl Variety and Nickelodeon are joining forces again for this year’s 10 Animators to Watch event in Los Angeles. The in-person cocktail party and awards ceremony on Oct. 6 will celebrate rising creators in the animation space who are leaving their mark on the industry. This year’s class of trailblazing storytellers includes: Fawn Veerasunthorn, director, “Wish” (Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2023); Karissa Valencia, creator and showrunner, “Spirit Rangers”; Juston Gordon-Montgomery, creator, “Invincible Fight Girl”; Christian Linke and Alex Yee, creators, “Arcane”; Neeraja Raj, creator, “Meow or Never”; Shea Fontana, co-EP, “Monster High”; Arthur Fong, art director, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”; Sergio Valdivia, stop-motion animator, “Pinocchio”; Natasha Kline, creator, “Primos”; and Joe Bennett, director, writer, animator, “Scavengers Reign.”

EXCLUSIVE: Monster High, the ghoulish toy line, is getting another stab at television with a new animated series and the franchise’s first live-action project.