Netflix and Animal Logic are excited to announce today that Netflix plans to acquire the Australian animation studio.* This acquisition will support Netflix’s ambitious animated film slate, building on films like Academy Award-nominated Over the Moon, Academy Award-nominated Klaus and the recently released The Sea Beast.

Animal Logic has been producing award-winning design, visual effects and animation for over 30 years. Headquartered in Sydney, Animal Logic set up a second studio in Vancouver, Canada in 2015 and has worked on Hollywood blockbusters including Happy Feet, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, The LEGO Movies and Peter Rabbit 1 & 2, alongside a catalogue of amazing visual effects work including The Matrix, Moulin Rouge!, 300, and The Great Gatsby.

The announcement builds on an already strong partnership between the two companies, with a full slate of films across Animal Logic’s Sydney and Vancouver studios including  The Magician’s Elephant, directed by Wendy Rogers, and the recently announced The Shrinking of the Treehorns, directed by Ron Howard, for Netflix.

“Netflix has been investing in animation over the past few years and this furthers our commitment to building a world-class animation studio,” said Amy Reinhard, Netflix Vice President of Studio Operations. “Animal Logic is a leading animation studio with innovative technology that will strengthen our existing business and increase our long-term capacity in the animation space, so that we can better entertain our members around the world.”

Working with Animal Logic will accelerate the buildout of Netflix’s end-to-end animation production capabilities. The Animal Logic and Netflix Animation teams together will create a global creative production team and an animation studio that will produce some of Netflix’s largest animated film titles. Netflix will continue to work with many other studios around the world for animated series and film needs. 

Led by CEO and co-founder Zareh Nalbandian, the Animal Logic teams and leadership will remain operating under the Animal Logic brand and will fulfil production of existing and ongoing commitments and continue to collaborate and work with longstanding studio partners. 

“After 30 years of producing great work with great people, this is the perfect next chapter for Animal Logic,” said Nalbandian. “Our values and aspirations could not be more aligned with Netflix, in working with diverse content makers, producing innovative and engaging stories for audiences around the world. Our collective experience and talent will open new doors for all our teams and will empower a new level of creativity in animation.”

“The strength of our partnership across a number of projects is testament to our shared creative vision,” said Animal Logic’s COO Sharon Taylor. “Solidifying our future together felt like a mutually beneficial, natural progression and I am so excited to continue to build on our success together.”

Animal Logic Entertainment, the producers behind Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole, Peter Rabbit 1 & 2 and The Shrinking of the Treehorns, will remain independent and continue to collaborate with iconic filmmakers and major studio partners to develop and produce elevated family entertainment with universal appeal. 

Netflix’s fast-growing original slate of animated features and shorts includes Academy Award-nominated Robin, Robin,Academy Award-nominated Klaus,Kris Pearn’s The Willoughbys,Academy Award-nominated Over the Moon, Back to the Outback directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood from Richard Linklater, and the recently released The Sea Beast; as well as upcoming releases including Henry Selick’s Wendell & Wild, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Wendy Rogers’ The Magician’s Elephant, and an Aardman sequel to Chicken Run.  Recent animated film acquisitions by Netflix include the Academy Award-nominated The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Vivo!, Spongebob: Sponge on the Run (ex North America), and Wish Dragon. 

 *Note to editors: Completion of this transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. We expect to close the transaction later this year.

About Netflix Netflix is one of the world’s leading entertainment services with 222 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries, feature films and mobile games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

About Animal Logic Studios  Animal Logic is recognised as one of the world’s leading independent digital production studios, producing award winning design, visual effects, and animation for over 30 years. With incredible teams across Sydney, Vancouver and Los Angeles, Animal Logic continues to develop strong partnerships with leading filmmakers to produce stories that resonate with a global audience

Summer’s here and there are few greater pleasures than taking a trip to the beach to help beat the heat. And taking just a little time to gameplan on how to make a VW ID.4, Atlas or Tiguan beach-ready can help maximize fun in the sun while protecting your car from sand, sun and other road trip elements. Here are four ways to prepare the car ahead of the next beach trip:

1. Ensure your car’s maintenance is up to date

Regularly scheduled maintenance is important to help keep your VW operating in optimal condition. Before hitting the road, check to ensure the following elements have been recently addressed:

• Tire pressure
• Fluid refills
• Brake inspection  
• Battery inspection  
• A/C and Heater inspection 

2. Protect & equip the exterior 

Getting beach gear into and onto your car can be a feat, especially when planning to surf, paddle board or kayak. Thankfully, VW SUV models have options: Base carrier bars^⁠2 provide secure rooftop foundations for transporting gear and support any number of add-ons. For example, a kayak holder^⁠2 can be installed for the Atlas or a cargo box^⁠2 for the Tiguan. For the ID.4, a hitch-mounted bike rack^⁠2 can accommodate fat-tired mountain bikes and sleek road bikes for exploring coastal cliffs or cycling among the sand dunes.

3. Protect & equip your interior 

The beach is a blast, but its memories can be messy. From sandy feet and wet towels to melting ice cream cones, keeping the car clean can be a challenge. Rear seat covers  for the ID.4 help prevent sand and seawater from being tracked in by children or four-legged friends. MuddyBuddy trunk  and floor liners for the Atlas and the Tiguan help protect against spilled beverages and BBQ grills. With these accessories, there’ll be less worrying about stains or scrapes—leaving more time to focus on fun in the sun.

Prepare the car for the sunshine & heat

Too much sun can dampen anyone’s day, so it’s a good thing Volkswagen vehicles are designed to help keep everyone inside cool. The ID.4, Atlas, and Tiguan are all available with ventilated seats and moonroofs—perfect for keeping you comfortable and improving air flow. In addition, VW offers a 5-piece set of rear sunshades that help keep the car seats and steering wheel cooler.

As summer settles in, Volkswagen is here to help shuttle everyone to the beach, in order to enjoy its beauty, spontaneity, and cooling effects. Whether it’s cruising down coastal highways or lounging and cooking out on the sand, the Volkswagen ID.4, Atlas, and Tiguan are all perfectly equipped to make every beach excursion a breeze.

Today, at the 2022 HBCU Philanthropy Symposium, The Walt Disney Company announced it is joining Propel, a first-of-its-kind education hub for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), as the arts, media, entertainment, and hospitality lead sponsor. Disney will work with Propel to expand opportunities for historically underrepresented students to have future careers as storytellers and innovators.

Propel is an innovative learning hub for the HBCU community with a focus on career readiness. Through its network of HBCUs, Propel will provide a variety of career services and best-in-class learning experiences both in-person and through a state-of-the-art online digital platform that will be accessible to every HBCU student located anywhere across America.

“The Propel Center is a bold and transformational initiative impacting the entire HBCU ecosystem,” said Waymond Jackson, CEO of Education Farm. “Through cutting-edge curriculum, innovative technology, trending thought leadership, and other opportunities like the ones this exciting new Disney collaboration presents, Propel aims to positively influence how HBCU scholars see and experience the world. By equipping them with the resources, training, and tools they need to become leaders who advance equity, transform the talent pipeline, and tell their stories, we are ensuring that they are prepared to fill and create the jobs of the future.”

Through this collaboration, Disney will work with HBCU faculty and other industry leaders to create curriculum that will prepare students for future careers in arts, media, entertainment, and hospitality. In addition to curriculum support, Disney will provide a series of guest speakers to introduce students to the breadth of opportunities available to them and will deliver meaningful career support through Disney mentors and internship placements to prepare students for careers in entertainment and technology.

The initial curriculum will focus on the areas of technology and hospitality, where Disney has a significant number of entry-level career opportunities. The hope is to create a bridge between the academic training students receive and the job opportunities available to them in the industry.

“At Disney, we know that technology and hospitality play a huge role in telling great stories and creating seamless consumer experiences. We want to give HBCU students the opportunity to build the skills necessary in these areas to help them succeed in their careers,” said Jennifer Cohen, executive vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility, The Walt Disney Company. “With the help of Propel’s network and expertise, we hope to reach more students and empower them with the experience and confidence to push storytelling forward.”

This collaboration with Propel is part of the Disney Future Storytellers initiative. Through social investments and collaborations such as these, Disney is increasing access to careers in storytelling and innovation for those who have been historically underrepresented. From arts and STEM programs for school-age children to scholarships, storytelling, and technical skills-building programs for teens and young adults, Disney is helping today’s youth to pursue their dreams, build their talents and skills, and become who they imagine they can be.

In addition to the Disney Future Storytellers initiative, Disney continues to strengthen its work with HBCUs to build a robust, long-term pipeline of Black talent through an enterprise-wide HBCU Engagement Task Force. In 2020, Disney launched Disney on the Yard, a multifaceted initiative to deepen its relationships with HBCUs.

• The EUR 2.8 billion NeuConnect project, which will create a vital new energy link between two of Europe’s largest energy markets, reached financial close today
• Work on the new interconnector, which will link Germany´s and the UK´s power grids for the first time, is to begin later this year
• NeuConnect could deliver a net reduction in carbon emissions of over 13 Mt of CO2 over 25 years and power up to 1.5 million households

Takeaways

• You can now remix public photos on Instagram — choose from new Remix layouts or add your clip to the end of an existing video for more storytelling options, like providing commentary on someone’s content.
• We’re also making it easier to create reels using Templates with preloaded audio and clip placeholders, and a new Dual camera feature to record content and your reaction at the same time.
• In the coming weeks, new video posts will be shared as reels.

Today, we’re announcing new features to Instagram that make it more fun and easy to collaborate, create and share reels.

More Ways to Collaborate With Enhanced Remix Features

We’re expanding our tools for Remix to help enhance the way you tell stories on Instagram when collaborating with your favorite creators and friends, including:

• Remix for photos: Photos are core to the Instagram experience. In the coming weeks, you will be able to remix public photos. This gives you limitless inspiration to create your own unique reel. 
• Expanded Remix layouts: Choose between a green screen, horizontal or vertical split-screen, or picture-in-picture reaction view to add your own video commentary to existing reels.
• Add your clip: Have a hot take? Rather than having your remix appear at the same time as the original reel, you can now add your clip after the original so it plays sequentially.

Easily Create Reels With Templates and Dual

We want everyone to be able to easily express their creative ideas, so we’re adding more features that allow you to capture, edit and share them — right from your phone.

• Templates: Need a little inspo? Templates allow you to easily create reels by preloading audio and clip placeholders, so you can simply add your own photos or video clips. You can find template ideas by tapping the camera icon on the Reels tab.
• Dual: Record content and your reaction at the same time. You can record using your phone’s front and back cameras simultaneously to share another perspective using the Dual feature in the Instagram camera.

New Video Posts on Instagram Will Be Shared as Reels

Since reels offer a more immersive and entertaining way to watch and create videos on Instagram, we’re bringing these creative tools and the full-screen experience to your video posts, too. In the coming weeks, new video posts shorter than 15 minutes will be shared as reels. Videos posted prior to this change will remain as videos and won’t become reels.

• Discovery: If you have a public account, your new videos – now reels – may be eligible to be recommended and seen by more people on Instagram. This currently applies to reels that are under 90 seconds long. If your account is private, your reels will still only be shown to your followers.
• Profile: We’ll also consolidate the video and Reels tab on your profile, so there will be one home for all of your videos.

We’re always working on ways to improve your Instagram experience. We’ll continue to build features that make it easier and more fun to create and share reels on Instagram.

More likely than not, your recent purchase in Amazon’s store was from one of our nearly 2 million selling partners—the vast majority of which are small and medium-sized businesses. Amazon’s mission of helping customers find the best prices and widest selection on hundreds of millions of items every day is only possible through the success of our selling partners and our helping them provide a trustworthy shopping experience.

We continue to invest in powerful tools, services, and support that enable our community of selling partners to build successful businesses. We are constantly talking to sellers to help us innovate on their behalf and continue to improve the selling experience in Amazon’s store. This includes helping our selling partners adhere to our policies and ensure a great customer experience. For many years, we have continued to invest in—and improve on—assisting our sellers through clearer communications, faster response times, clearer indication of policy violations, and more.

Our latest innovation—the new and improved Account Health Rating—helps sellers adhere to our policies and maintain great account health. We will begin to roll out the new version of the Account Health Rating in August to sellers in our U.S. and Canada stores, and to sellers in our other worldwide stores in 2023. The new Account Health Rating is an easy-to-understand metric that gives sellers an overall state of their account health, including if the numerical value makes their account “Healthy,” “At-Risk,” or “Unhealthy.”