June Animation Preview: Pixar, the Old Testament, and KPop...there's something for everyone!

Now that summer is here and schools are out, animation is kicking into high gear. This is a super busy month, particularly at home, with all kinds of good stuff coming. Let's take a look.

In Theaters

The month starts off right with GKIDS releasing DAN DA DAN: Evil Eye on June 6. This is a package that allows you to watch the first few episodes of the new season of the incredible anime in theaters. One of my first posts on this site was when GKIDS did a similar release for the first season, so this is a nice little full-circle moment for me. If you haven't seen the show, it's certainly worth catching up on (and there's only one season out so far, so easy to catch up). 

The show follows Momo, who's from a family of spirit mediums, and her classmate Okarun, who's fascinated by the occult. They become unlikely friends and allies dealing with all sorts of weirdness, ranging from a penis-snatching granny demon to aliens, and everything in between. I can't wait to reunite with these idiots. The show is such a great mix of silly, scary, fun, action. A little bit of everything.

Also releasing June 6 is Dragon Heart: Adventures Beyond This World, about a boy from Tokyo who visits his cousin for the summer. After an accident, they find themselves in a spirit world, trying to find a way to return the life. I honestly don't know a lot about this movie (I actually just found out about it while double-checking I wasn't missing anything for this article). The director made a strange but pretty enjoyable religious propaganda movie a few years ago called The Laws of the Universe: The Age of Elohim. Not sure if this one will have any nefarious underlying purpose, but I'll be glad to check it out.

On June 20, we get one of the marquee animated releases of the year, courtesy of Pixar: Elio. This movie got delayed a while back, with new talent attached and the story getting reworked. Animation is so iterative and time-intensive, and these things happen. I think Pixar's highest-profile case of such events was Brave, which turned out well, even if it's not one of the studio's strongest.

Elio follows a little boy who doesn't quite fit in on Earth, and is desperate to be abducted by aliens. His wish comes true, and he gets whisked away into the stars, where he makes new friends, goes on an adventure, and who knows what else. The trailer hits me just right -- this looks sweet and fun and colorful. I always prefer when Pixar releases original movies rather than churning out sequels, so I'm super jazzed for this one. I'll be there will bells on!

At Home

The month's first animated release comes on June 3: the faith-based Book of Joshua: Walls of Jericho. If you know your Bible, the title tells you what you need to know. This is likely hoping to find the same goodwill that made The King of Kings a solid hit earlier this year. I reviewed the movie earlier this week and found it to be quite enjoyable, a very solid telling of a solid chunk of the Old Testament. This is skipping theaters for a VOD release, so I imagine it'll be available to rent/buy wherever you prefer to watch digitally.

Hulu has one of the month's coolest animated releases, as they launch Predator: Killer of Killers on June 6. Dan Trachtenberg, who gave the franchise a much-needed shot in the arm with Prey a couple years ago, is at the helm for this one, too. Prey was such a cool entry in the series because it dropped a Predator in a striking setting, facing off against a badass Native American warrior. This anthology film follows suit, bringing three stories of warriors throughout history facing off with the sci-fi legend: a Viking warrior, a ninja in feudal Japan, and a WWII pilot. It's such a cool idea for a movie, and should serve as a nice complement to Predator: Badlands, the next live-action theatrical release that drops later this year (also from Trachtenberg...dude is busy).

At least on my corner of Twitter, the buzz around KPop Demon Hunters is deafening. The Sony Pictures Animation release is coming to Netflix on June 20, and it looks so cool. Just the premise is enough to sell me on this: it follows a KPop girl group who moonlight as demon hunters, and their latest target is a demonic boy band. Like...how is this not going to be the movie of the year? On top of that, the animation looks amazing, super stylish, gorgeous. There will be some new music in it. Just like, everything about this is a big yes from me. I can't wait!!

I stan

A movie I've been trying to get a screener of for months and months is finally getting a release in the US, after playing lots of festivals and opening theatrically in a lot of countries overseas. Into the Wonderwoods has been known by a few different names, but it looks like that's the name it'll bear here when it hits VOD on June 24. This adorable-looking movie follows 10-year-old Angelo who, after being left behind at a rest stop by his family, ventures into the woods to try to find his way back to them. I love that little dude already.

Finally, one last (?) mention of a movie I've pinged on here time and time again. The wonderful The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Toons Movie finds its way to HBO Max (just Max? Who knows?) on June 27. I can only sing this movie's praises so many times, but here I go again: this is so great! Super funny! A great blend of humor old and new! I'm glad it made its way to theaters and has been warmly received, and I hope it finds an even bigger audience once it's streaming for free. It deserves it.

Festivals

I would be remiss not to mention that Annecy is happening June 8 - 14. This is the animation festival, full of big showings from Hollywood studios and smaller features from all over the world. The program is always absolutely stacked, and I hope to someday attend. I don't even know how to highlight a few titles, because there are so many amazing offerings. Just pop over to their site and check it out.