SHEEP IN THE BIG CITY creator and super-successful children’s book author/illustrator Mo Willems writes to express his admiration for François:

Just have to chime in that André François, with his droll satire, sketchy line, and wordless gags, is my hero as well. Tattooed Sailor and Half-Naked Knight are the most dog eared cartoon books in my collection. Add Anatol Kovarsky and Ronald Searle to the mix and you’ve got the perfect gag illustrators.

Another major cartoonist of the 20th century has passed away. Romanian-born André François, whose drawing style was imitated almost as frequently as Ronald Searle and Saul Steinberg during the 1950s and 60s, died a couple weeks ago at the age of 89. NY TIMES obit HERE. Ever since François arrived on the scene, he had a long line of admirers in the animation industry. Animation director/designer Len Glasser (who designed Ernie Pintoff’s THE INTERVIEW and THE OLD MAN AND THE FLOWER) told me that his two biggest influences in art school were François and Steinberg. Designer Dolores Cannata worked with François on some television spots at Elektra Films (NY) in the early-’60s, and Chris Jenkyns created some spots with him in Los Angeles, though I don’t remember for which studio (perhaps at Jenkyns, Shean & Elliot). His work was also adapted to animation by a number of French commercial studios. Fans in the modern animation world include Oscar Grillo and Yuri Norstein.

I have no idea what this film is about, but I sure enjoyed all the inventive cartoon movement in it. It’s a music video of sorts (sounds very Edith Piaf-esque) by Japanese director Koji Morimoto. I’ve enjoyed the few bits and pieces that I’ve seen of Morimoto’s work, including the “Magnetic Rose” sequence of MEMORIES and his trippy short film NOISEMAN SOUND INSECT– I should try to see more of his work. (link via BoltCity.com)

UPDATE: Joshua Smith writes, “The Koji Morimoto film you linked was not actually done by Morimoto; it is an example of Masaaki Yuasa’s animation from the 1992 Chibi Maruko-chan film My Favorite Song. As you know, Yuasa is the director of Mind Game and did layout, character design, and was animation director of Morimoto’s Noiseman Sound Insect. The link is from a short bio of Yuasa at kojimorimoto.net, which contains another clip from the same film.”

Well, I survived the income tax season - but now the missus and I are preparing to move during the month of May (less than a mile away). Thus more of my stuff is headed to ebay. Need the room and the extra cash for the move.So keep checking my ebay listings for cartoon rareties and bargains - like this so-ugly it’s-cool Looney Tunes frame tray “Super Brain Teaser” sliding puzzle (at right). Remember when cartoon merchandising art was this off-model?Ahh, those were the days!

From the San Francico Chronicle:James Robbins “Bob” Gardiner - Passed away April 21, 2005, in Grass Valley, California, where he resided from 1991 to 2005. He won an Oscar and other national and international awards in 1974, for the ground-breaking clay animated short film “Closed Mondays,” which he wrote, sculpted, directed and co-produced with Will Vinton.Bob’s career included art and music shows at venues around the northwest, numerous clay animated commercials and public service announcements, and other art projects in his adopted state of Oregon, where he lived for about 10 years.He worked as a comedy writer with his friend Mason Williams on two Smothers Brothers television specials and also on other writing and clay animation television projects. There will be a memorial on Saturday April 30, at 12 noon, at the Chapel of the Angels, 250 Race Street, Grass Valley, CA. There will also be a celebration of Bob’s art and life in Portland, Oregon, at a date yet to be announced.(Thanks to Karl Cohen for the link)

Brew correspondents Juan Alfonso and Jed Martinez went to the American Royal Arts Gallery in Fort Lauderdale FL, yesterday to celebrate Fleisher/Famous animator Myron Waldman (left) on his 97th birthday. Much to their surprise, voice actor Sid Raymond (Baby Huey, Katnip, et al. at right) was there too! Here are the exclusive photos courtesy of Juan & Jed. A short local interview with Myron appears here.

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ANIMATION MOVIE POSTERS

April 25, 2005 12:18 am

An incredible exhibit of vintage animation movie posters will go on display at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences starting Friday May 13th. Spanning more than 90 years, the exhibit will be featured in the Grand Lobby and Fourth Floor Galleries at the Academy on Wilshire Blvd. “Toon In: Animated Movie Posters from the Cudequest Family Collection” will be free and open to the public, Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. Rare posters, including one-sheets featuring Toby The Pup, Cubby Bear, Willie Whopper, Fox & Crow, Puppetoons, Mighty Mouse and Donald Duck, will be included. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The posters will displayed through August 21st. For more information check the oscars.org website.

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HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

April 22, 2005 8:34 am

I’ve always had a hard time deciding which of Hayao Miyazaki’s films I like best. Between Castle of Cagliostro, My Neighbor Totoro, Laputa: Castle In The Sky, Naussicaa, Kiki and his more recent works, it’s always been a tough decision. But now, ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner.HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE is a masterpiece - and maybe his best work. It’s certainly my favorite. I was invited to special screening several weeks ago and was planning to hold my comments till closer to the film’s release. However, I just saw the trailer and got excited all over again - and feel compelled to spread the word.This film is totally in a class by itself. It’s an incredible, romantic adventure - with a storyline even more bizzarre (and yet more accessible) to western audiences than Spirited Away. It concerns a young girl being placed under a magic spell causing her to literally become an old woman. The spell also prevents her from telling anyone about her predicament - so she packs up her things and goes off to seek help, moving in with a handsome wizard and his unusual companions, who live in an enchanted castle that travels between several war-torn dimensions. As you might already suspect, this is not your average Disney fairy tale.Miyazaki has a way of pulling you into his world within the first few seconds of a story; taking you on a wild ride and dropping you off at the end, leaving anxious to experience it all over again. This trip is no exception.Though filled with echos of past Miyazaki pet themes, Howl’s storyline feels fresh and exciting. There’s a new compelling idea or breathtaking visual in practically every minute of the film. The images, a combination of traditional anime, full character animation and dazzling CGI are lush and magical. I screened the Japanese language version, however I look forward to the U.S. release English dub being supervised by Pixar (Pete Docter is directing the voices - which includes Lauren Bacall (!) as the Witch).Clearly an early contender for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, Howl’s Moving Castle is not to be missed. It opens June 10th.

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Australian Blair Rip

April 22, 2005 2:29 am

Giuseppe Pantaleo, an eagle-eyed Brew reader from Melbourne, Australia spotted the following Preston Blair rip-off from down under. He writes:

I came across this shoddy looking flyer for a pasta & ribs restaurant near where I live. This time the image being ripped off is a drawing of Goose Gander. However, on the flyer the image has been flipped and traced
horribly, and quite frankly it looks worse than the public domain video covers for WB cartoons.

Previous Blair rip-offs HERE and HERE.

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