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.

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.

If you happen to be in Bucks County Pennsylvania sometime in the next two months, It would be well worth the effort to get over to James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown to catch Steve Schneider’s exhibition of original art - That’s All Folks! The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons.Steve has amassed perhaps the largest and finest collection of original Looney Tunes animation art, including model sheets, cels, backgrounds, layouts, exposure sheets… heck, everything! The exhibit includes incredible pieces from WHAT’S OPERA DOC, PORKY IN WACKYLAND and COAL BLACK AND DE SEBBEN DWARFS. In addition, there will be several panels, lectures and workshops and of course, screenings of classic Looney Tunes. I’ve seen Steve’s exhibit in New York and in Los Angeles - it’s a must-see. It’s on display from this Saturday April 23rd until July 3rd.

Tuesday’s opening of I AM 8-BIT at Gallery 1988 was quite the scene. Tons of animation and illustration folk packed the place. Congrats to curator Jon Gibson for pulling together the event. Tony Mora has pics from the opening posted HERE. (photo link via fwak! blog)

This will be the last post on Leon for a while, but Jaime J. Weinman weighed in recently with some thoughtful comments on the merits of Leon Schlesinger as an animation executive. They’re posted at his blog SOMETHING OLD, NOTHING NEW. Previous discussion of Schlesinger HERE and HERE.

The great Jim Smith (REN & STIMPY, SAMURAI JACK) is coming out with a new sketchbook, DEADLY ARE THE NAKED, a follow-up to his first sketchbook LONELY ARE THE NAKED. The 64-page book from Asylum Press ships in July. It wll include a 16-page color section with a preview of Jim’s new comic character Chestaclese. Preview is at JimSmithCartoons.com.

Why we love ebay: MGM Studio resturant menu from 1958. Note how MGM was still using its cartoon characters on the menu even a year after they’d fired the entire cartoon staff!(Thanks Leonard)

I was re-reading the Ward Kimball section in John Canemaker’s masterful WALT DISNEY’S NINE OLD MEN AND THE ART OF ANIMATION and ran across these tips from Ward. They were taken from his notes for an Action Analysis class that he taught at Art Center during the 1960s. Man, it would have been something to live in LA back when master animators like Kimball and Benny Washam were teaching around town. Nothing revelatory in these notes, but I’d wager it’s still more insightful than anything they’re teaching in animation schools nowadays.

> Elimination makes your drawing better.

> A cartoon character who is funny to look at before he is animated is going to be made funnier by the movement.

> The young filmmaker should draw what he or she pleases, not what any adult tells him or her to do.