Heads up!On Friday, June 18th, Turner Classic Movies will devote a day to LOONEY TUNES IN HOLLYWOOD with cartoons, and the movies that are associated with them.

6:00 AM Acobatty Bunny (McKimson ‘46) (Bugs Bunny sings “Laugh Clown Laugh”) followed by Lon Chaney’s Laugh, Clown, Laugh (’28)
7:30 AM Birth of a Notion (McKimson ‘47) (Daffy Duck tangles with mad scientist Peter Lorre) followed by Mad Love (’35)
9:00 AM Miss Glory (Avery ‘36) followed by Page Miss Glory (’35)
11:00 AM A Star is Hatched (Freleng ‘38) followed by A Star is Born (’37)
1:15 PM Yankee Doodle Daffy (Freleng ‘43) followed Yankee Doodle Dandy (’42)
3:45 PM The Bird Came C.O.D. (Jones ‘42) followed by The Bride Came C.O.D. (’41)
5:30 PM Roughly Squeaking (Jones ‘45) followed by Roughly Speaking (’45)
8:00 PM A Tale of two Kitties (Clampett ‘42) followed by A Tale of Two Cities (’35)
10:30 PM Robin Hood Makes Good (Jones ‘39) followed by The Adventures of Robin Hood (’38)
12:30 AM Thugs with Dirty Mugs (Avery ‘39) followed by Little Caesar (’30)

This news is just to exciting to hold: Harry McCracken is building a new website devoted to Columbia’s biggest original cartoon star - SCRAPPY!SCRAPPYLAND isn’t ready for prime time just yet, but Harry’s got a lot of goodies planned. Says McCracken, “We’re trying to put together the definitive reference on the most famous 1930s cartoon character that nobody remembers. Eventually, we plan to offer a virtual museum, a filmography, essays, and other stuff. If you know Scrappy, you’ll like it here. If you don’t know Scrappy, you’ll be completely confused!”

Here, without comment from me, is the first image of Mainframe’s CG POPEYE, from a forthcoming TV special written by comedian Paul Reiser. This picture comes from the current TIME magazine (4/19/04).In POPEYE’S VOYAGE: THE SEARCH FOR PAPPY, this updated Popeye will hunt for his dad and confront relationship issues.If you have any thoughts on this image please post them on our FORUM

The upcoming mega-budget live-action monster movie VAN HELSING will be supported by an animated prequel released direct-to-DVD: VAN HELSING: THE LONDON ASSIGNMENT. Universal Pictures is also releasing another animated DVD in May - THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK FURY - which bridges the gap between the live-action film PITCH BLACK and its sequel THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK which will be released theatrically in summer ‘04. I mention these two animated works to point out the larger trend of animated films being created to specifically promote and support the stories of live-action films. Other recent examples include the ANIMATRIX and the forthcoming prequel to Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL series. I expect we’ll be seeing quite a few more of these projects over the next couple years, although it remains to be seen whether it’s a legitimate new outlet for animation or simply a temporary fad among “hip” live-action directors like Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers.

Getting rave reader reviews on Amazon.com is Animatrix: A Female Animator, How Laughter Saved My Life By Heidi Guedel.I haven’t read the book yet, but Guedel is a well respected figure. She started at Walt Disney Productions in 1972, where she progressed up the ranks becoming one of the first women promoted to Animator at Disney in 1978; having worked on Robin Hood, The Rescuers, Pete’s Dragon, and The Small One. She’d begun work on The Fox and the Hound, when, in 1979, she and 15 other animators left Disney Studios to work with Don Bluth on The Secret of NIMH (she was part of the original core group of “Disney Defectors”).At Bluth, she also worked on An American Tail and Dragon’s Lair. After Bluth moved his animation studio to Ireland, Heidi remained in the states, free-lancing on many computer games and educational projects. In 1995, Heidi animated for Warner Brothers Feature Animation, earning screen credits on Space Jam and Quest for Camelot.Read a sample page at AuthorHouse.com

Just when you think it can’t get any worse for Michael Eisner:TIGGER starts groping Disney World patrons (via Orlando Sentinel)And an item that made me smile: the New York Post is reporting that Pixar will return to Disney if they oust Eisner. (via The Mac Observer)

The new issue of THE COMICS JOURNAL: SPECIAL EDITION is well worth picking up. There are varying combinations of interviews with Al Hirschfeld, Jules Feiffer, Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware: for example, a joint interview between Feiffer and Ware, Spiegelman separately interviewing Hirschfeld and Feiffer, and so on. Lots of good material to soak in. The issue also features a critical analysis of THE SIMPSONS, a look at an unpublished Jack Davis comic strip, an interview with WWII cartoonist Bill Mauldin who died last year, and a look at the work of early-20th century cartoonist/fine artist Lyonel Feininger. All this terrific material is contained within the first 100 pages or so. The second half of the 192-page book is hardly as inspiring, comprised mainly of comics from 31 different modern artists addressing the theme of “The Shock of Recognition.” Fortunately, the good is separated from the bad, and one can conveniently tear out the entire second half of the book without missing anything of value. Here’s the link to order the JOURNAL at Amazon.com.

Here’s an excellent interview with David DePatie (of DePatie-Freleng) by John Cawley which has just been posted on AWN.