Last night, THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO premiered the new Jibjab short GOOD TO BE IN DC, which is a sequel of sorts to their Webcartoon hit from a few months back called THIS LAND. This new cartoon has many funny moments, but it doesn’t quite achieve the charm of THIS LAND. The JibJab brothers, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, concede as much on their blog: “Our next animation will not be another THIS LAND. We could spend the rest of our lives trying to make another THIS LAND and it’d never happen. That’s okay. We’ve accepted that on some deep metaphysical level.” View both cartoons at JibJab.com.

The only positive legacy of Bush’s presidency may be that he inspired the production of a lot of terrific animation. A new short that is well worth recommending is WHAT BARRY SAYS, a stunning Constructivist-styled commentary on US foreign policy and the “Project for the New American Century.” The short, which can be downloaded HERE, was directed by British designer Simon Robson. (link via BoingBoing.net)

“Toonhounds and Teabags” - it sounds dirty, but it’s the name of a BBC Radio report about the history of British animation. IMDB’s Jon Reeves sent me the link for the 30 minute broadcast which went out today and will available online for a week.Fifty years ago, Halas and Batchelor released Animal Farm, Britain’s first full length feature film. To celebrate this anniversary, BBC’s Phill Jupitus interviews animators Bob Godfrey, Aardman’s Peter Lord and Oliver Postgate. Find Toonhounds and Teabags under “T” on this page and click to hear it via streaming RealPlayer.

DAWS BUTLER: CHARACTERS ACTOR, the official biography of the voice of Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound, by Joe Bevilacqua and Ben Ohmart will be released on Daws 89th birthday, November 16th from Bear Mountain Media.Daws Butler was of course the voice of an astounding number of the cartoon characters, including Quick Draw McGraw, Baba Looey, Snagglepuss, Augie Doggy, Mr. Jinks, Peter Potamus, Elroy Jetson, Cap’n Crunch and hundreds of others. He worked with nearly every major animation director, including Messrs. Hanna-Barbera, Jay Ward, Walter Lantz, Chuck Jones, and Tex Avery. He worked puppets for Bob Clampett (Beany and Cecil).The book features personal reminisces by Daws’s colleagues, including Joe Barbera, Bill Hanna, Doug Young (Doggy Daddy), Don Messick (Boo Boo, Ranger Smith), June Foray (Rocky the Flying Squirrel) and Stan Freberg, as well as Daws’s friends and family. Best of all, the biography includes the words of Daws Butler himself telling his own story, through never-before-published interviews, letters and personal phone conversations. Nancy Cartwright wrote the book’s foreword.Need I say more? You can order it now through www.dawsbutler.com

11 Films by Dan McLaughlin is a new DVD compilation featuring eleven short films by filmmaker Dan McLaughlin, head of the world-renowned UCLA Animation Workshop.Dan is an old friend, former ASIFA-Hollywood board member and is a huge influence on animation and animators in Southern California. Dan has been making personal films, mostly experimental, for over forty years, and is a winner of the Winsor McCay Award for outstanding contribution to animation.This collection features two of my all-time favorite independent films: CLAUDE (1963) a UPA-ish cartoon about clever boy and his clueless parents, and RED/GREEN (1985) an experimental piece featuring the world’s longest dissolve from a red screen to a green screen. Dan’s filmmaking skills, imagination and wide variety of techniques make this dvd a pleasure to watch. The DVD also includes 48 minutes of commentary. You can order the disc through Pyramid Films.

Talk about “below the radar”. Has anyone heard of this upcoming 2-D feature film? Does anyone care?THE EASTER EGG ESCAPADE is supposedly scheduled for release next Easter, but it’s having it’s west coast premiere on Sunday, October 17th at 5:00 p.m., at the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood. Actress/author/comedian/singer Sandra Bernhard (”King of Comedy) will attend the screening at the 8th Annual Hollywood Film Festival. Bernhard voices one of the main characters and will help Director John Michael Williams introduce the movie.According to the press release:

“Guests will be greeted by the film’s seven-foot mascot, Good Gracious Grasshopper. A 30-minute Q&A with Bernhard and Williams immediately follows the screening. The film tells the tale of Egg Town; an idyllic village where neighboring chickens and rabbits live together in harmony. However, beyond the borders of this humble burg lurk the mysterious and thieving Take-Its, who constantly conspire to steal anything they can from the quiet and industrious town — including its optimistic spirit.The film features a host of heart-warming characters such as Good Gracious Grasshopper, Terrible Timothy Take-It, Big Boring Benedict Bunny, Claralyne Cluck and Horrible Harriet Hare. The impressive celebrity voice cast features Bernhard, Brooke Shields, Joe Pantoliano, James Woods, Nancy Kerrigan and Eli Wallach.After a limited run late this year, the film is set to go into general release in April 2005, just in time for the spring and Easter Holiday season.”

Nancy Kerrigan? The skater?You’ve been warned! Click here to see the film’s trailer.

Animator Joe Gilland has posted a fine PHOTO ALBUM from this year’s Ottawa Animation Festival, including a section about NFB animator Ryan Larkin and another that elucidates the fine art of pumpkin carving. Only in Ottawa, only in Ottawa…

BREW pal, New York cartoonist/animator Mark Newgarden, has written a new book which I’m very much looking forward to picking up when it’s released later this month - CHEAP LAFFS: THE ART OF THE NOVELTY ITEM. PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY says that in the book, Newgarden “turns his attention to the ‘once thriving, if marginal, industry devoted to the creation of a modest product of questionable quality, taste, originality and necessity for fleeting high-impact diversion’ - in other words, the novelty item - in this suitably quirky and expertly designed catalogue.” The Funny Dribble Glass, Trick Smashed Finger, Beatnik Beard, hand buzzer and fake dog poop are all finally given their due in CHEAP LAFFS. The book is designed by PictureBox, a snazzy design firm run by Dan Nadel and Peter Buchanan-Smith. I’ve been lobbying Chronicle to let these guys design my next book, though it remains to be seen whether this will actually happen.

I’ve said this before but one of my favorite book illustrators today is Lane Smith. He always graciously sends me a copy of his new books and they are, without fail, aesthetic delights. In his latest effort, SCIENCE VERSE, he teams up with frequent writing partner Jon Scieszka, to create a book that painlessly introduces kids to the poetic stylings of Poe, Carroll, Longfellow and others. The highlight for me is obviously Lane’s exquisite illustrations which combine an uninhibited fine art sensibility with playfully wry humor. This begs the question, Do children who enthusiastically watch cartoons like FAIRLY ODDPARENTS deserve such beautiful artwork? Frequent exposure to Lane’s work will perhaps instill some sense of visual taste into today’s youngsters.

Tuesday, July 19, 2004
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The day is a blur of work, my efforts obscured from memory by a fog of exhaustion. All for the best; the LazyTown Secrecy Oaths I’ve taken would preclude me from disclosing any details even if I could remember them. After work I grab a bite with Steve Blevins, the lead storyboard artist and a fellow ex-pat.

Steve and I enjoy a typically delicious Icelandic meal served by an obliging blond goddess. Later, as we walk down the street, we see a sign for a local brand of ice cream called “emmessis.” This is noteworthy because, in English, “emesis” means “vomit.” My nurse wife finds this very amusing, but nevertheless the ice cream is delicious.

Ken Pontac
Barfing up ice cream,
Iceland