From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:
Link: Sneak peek at Corner Gas’ upcoming ‘toon up
Ran into some characters Tuesday night in Toronto: the Corner Gas cast, to be specific.
Brent Butt, Nancy Robertson, Gabrielle Miller, Eric Peterson, Lorne Cardinal and Tara Spencer-Naim joined animators and producers at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s comfy Hugh Jackman theatre to screen an episode of Butt’s latest passion project: Corner Gas Animated. Continue reading.Â
From Jane Stevenson of Postmedia Network:
Link: Corner Gas reinvented as a cartoon
“None of this was what we expected at all. I remember thinking, ‘Well, this is cool. Somehow we tricked them into letting us do a show. And we’ll do 13 episodes over the summer. Then, we’ll all go our separate ways. Nobody will watch.’It just became this thing unto itself.” Continue reading.
From a media release:
As announced earlier today by CORNER GAS creator, executive producer and star Brent Butt, The Comedy Network confirms that actor and long-time friend of Janet Wright, Corrine Koslo, has been cast as the voice of the series’ beloved character, Emma Leroy, for the upcoming animated reboot. Koslo joins original CORNER GAS cast members, Butt, Gabrielle Miller, Eric Peterson, Fred Ewanuick, Lorne Cardinal, Tara Spencer-Nairn, and Nancy Robertsonin the voicing of their respective characters Brent, Lacey, Oscar, Hank, Davis, Karen and Wanda. Voice recordings are currently underway in Vancouver and Toronto, with the animation process slated to begin in May. The 13-episode, half-hour series is expected to premiere on The Comedy Network in 2018.
A versatile actor born in France, Corrine Koslo grew up in Halifax, Manitoba, and Edmonton. She is a graduate of the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School and has performed on stages across Canada for the last three decades, and has been a member of the Shaw Festival acting ensemble for twelve years. She received two Dora Mavor Moore Awards for her roles in the Young People’s Theatre productions Seussical The Musical and Bunnicula in Toronto; Jessie Richardson Awards for in Love And Angels (Vancouver Playhouse) and Sweeney Todd (Arts Club) in Vancouver; and a Sterling Award for her portrayal of Madame Arcati in Blyth Spirit at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. On television, Corrine is known for her memorable voice work as Lady Rataxes in the popular children’s series, BABAR. Most recently, Corrine joined the cast of the series ANNE where she plays the indomitable Rachel Lynde.
The new series comes from CORNER GAS executive producers Brent Butt and David Storey from Prairie Pantoons (335 Productions), and Virginia Thompson from Moving Mountoons (Vérité Films), in association with The Comedy Network. Animation will be produced by Prairie Pantoons, Moving Mountoons, and Smiley Guy Studios. The series began pre-production this month in Vancouver and Toronto, with the main cast confirmed to return. In December, producers confirmed that the character of Emma will live on in the animated world with the blessing of the late Janet Wright’s family.
CORNER GAS brings together Butt’s comedy style and love for comic books. Before pursuing his passion as a stand-up comedian, Butt and a friend started a publishing company – Windwolf Graphics. His first comic, Existing Earth, was nominated for a Golden Eagle Award. Windwolf Graphics published two issues before Butt hit the stand-up circuit full time. Butt’s passion for comics lived on through his work, a common theme in the CORNER GAS franchise. Bringing CORNER GAS into the animated world allows Butt’s comedy to be as limitless as his imagination.
CORNER GAS: THE ANIMATED SERIES is an inter-provincial co-production produced by Prairie Pantoons (BC), comprised of Brent Butt and David Storey from 335 Productions; and Moving Mountoons (ON), comprised of Virginia Thompson and Robert de Lint from Vérité Films, in association with Bell Media, Canada Media Fund, Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, Ontario Computer Animation and Special Effects Tax Credit, Film Incentive BC Tax Credit, Digital Animation, Visual Effects and Post Production Tax Credit, Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.
From Lauren La Rose of the Toronto Star:
Link: Corner Gas creator lives his cartoon dream
Before pursuing a successful career in comedy, Corner Gas creator and star Brent Butt had designs on a career in animation.
But after Butt was accepted into the animation program at Ontario’s Sheridan College, he opted instead to forge forward with his dream of standup stardom. Continue reading.
One can’t help but think of the irony that Corner Gas is returning to television on The Comedy Network as an all-new 13-part animated series. That’s because reruns of the live-action sitcom air on CTV on Saturday mornings where traditional cartoons are shown.
“We’ve become the live-action cartoon,” Virginia Thompson says with a laugh. “Only to become a real cartoon.” Thompson, the show’s executive producer, alongside fellow executive producers Brent Butt and David Storey, says the idea for an animated take on the lives of the folks living in small-town Saskatchewan has been in the works for years, but really gained momentum after the success of 2014’s Corner Gas: The Movie.
After six seasons of the live action series on CTV and a final goodbye to fans with the feature film, Thompson figured that was it for the franchise. But the outpouring of support—and demand for more stories from Dog River—caused the three to recall something they’d kicked around as a joke years ago: an animated series.
“Brent, David and I got together and had lunch and said, ‘What do we want to do?'” Thompson recalls. “The animated concept kept popping up. We’re really excited about this because it really does come from Brent’s imagination and brand of comedy. It’s a different angle to Corner Gas.” Butt’s love of comic books—he and a friend started a publishing company and his first comic, Existing Earth, was nominated for a Golden Eagle Award before he left that for a standup career—and skills as an illustrator (he designed Corner Gas’ gas station logo) means that the world can expand beyond the limitations of physical television production.
The upcoming series has been in the works for two years and begins production in Vancouver and Toronto next month. All of the original cast have signed on—Butt as Brent, Gabrielle Miller as Lacey, Eric Peterson as Oscar, Fred Ewanuick as Hank, Lorne Cardinal as Davis, Tara Spencer-Nairn as Karen and Nancy Robertson as Wanda—and casting is underway for the voice of Emma after the untimely death of Janet Wright.
Unlike the live-action series, the animated Corner Gas has fewer constraints. That means the quick-cut fantasy sequences from the original can be expanded and explored more fully and don’t need to be tied to the real world.
“Fans of Corner Gas are going to see a similarity to the series and movie that they love,” Thompson says. “But we can expand the fantasy sequences and get into the characters’ heads and see what’s going on in there.” (Or, perhaps in the case of Hank, what isn’t going on in there.)
“I remember, in the old days, coming out of the writing room and saying, ‘Geez, it would be great if we could do that,’ and in some ways, Brent was restrained by live action,” Thompson says. “He’s not restrained in any way in animation and that’s great. It’s given him more freedom to have fun.”
