Now I don’t want to be a party pooper, because I know Disney’s already been saved and all, but has anybody else noticed that through July of this year, Disney is in sixth place for movie studio market share, or in other words, last place among the major Hollywood studios. On top of that, in 2005 they’ve released more movies (16) than any of the top five studios (Fox, WB, Universal, Sony, Paramount). Their sixteen films have grossed a combined total of $380 million domestically, or an average of just under $24 million each. To put that a bit into perspective, Pixar’s last two films for Disney — FINDING NEMO (2003) and THE INCREDIBLES (2004) — had a domestic gross of $601 million (an average of $300.5 million per film). On the bright side, just imagine how much worse things would be right now if Roy hadn’t saved the studio.

I just noticed that one of the top search terms on Technorati, the site that tracks blog postings, was Mighty Mouse, which led me to wonder, why the sudden interest in this long-forgotten Terrytoons character? Has America suddenly discovered the joys of Mighty Mouse animation by Jim Tyer and Carlo Vinci? Are mice who sing opera back in fashion? Did some enterprising DJ do a remix of a Phil Scheib music score from a Mighty Mouse short? Rest assured folks, nobody has started caring about Mighty Mouse. As it turns out, Apple has just released a new computer mouse called Mighty Mouse, accounting for the name’s popularity on Technorati. At least Apple is putting the name to better use than Viacom, which has been sitting on the Terrytoons library for years, without the slightest intention of doing anything with the Mighty Mouse shorts. The question remains though, when will companies start marketing products named after Gene Deitch-era Terrytoons characters. I know I’d buy a “John Doormat” and a “Gaston Le Crayon.”

Christian Ziebarth has just posted an interview with master Disney animator Andreas Deja at Animated News.We also highly recommend the audio interview with Andreas on Animation Podcast.

Design Observer recently took a look at those graphic atrocities known as “station identification bugs.” The article offers few solutions, but the piece (along with its reader comments) make for an interesting read. One point the article doesn’t address is that if the true purpose of these bugs is to identify a network, then why do the channels insist on making the bugs as obtrusive as possible, with animation, sound and all manner of bells and whistles. My hunch is that it’s a ploy by cable channels: make the shows so unwatchable on cable that you’re forced to buy the dvds of the same show. Fortunately, I have neither cable nor buy any dvds of TV series, but I think I’m in the minority on this one.

LA’s monthly RES MAGAZINE screening is tonight, August 2. This month’s program has a lot of animation in it, with the main feature being a retrospective of films by NY animator PES. He’ll also be at the screening to discuss his work. Other films on the program include the US premiere of Valérie Pirson’s short PISTACHE and music videos for Smoosh, Royksopp, Fischerspooner and American Analog Set. The screening is at 8pm at the Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Blvd.) and tickets are $10.

Craig Yoe said it best in the recent anthology THE EDUCATION OF A COMICS ARTIST: “Those who don’t study the ‘toon past are doomed not to repeat it! And that’s a bad thing because the only good cartoonists are dead cartoonists; with maybe one or two errant exceptions.” One of the best places to keep up with dead cartoonists (and a few masters who are still alive, like Ronald Searle) is the Illustration section of the Cartoon Retro forum. There are currently some excellent posts on there filled with artwork by the likes of Aurie Battaglia, Abner Graboff, Ronald Searle, and other great illustrators that I hadn’t heard of. Also, if you have interesting art to share, join in and post to the forum. It’s open to all.