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PES, one of the most singular talents working in animation today, has posted a couple great new films on his site — THE MAKING OF KABOOM! and THE MAKING OF ROOF SEX — which explain the thinking behind two of his best known films. I’d recommend watching the shorts first, and then the ‘making of’ films. And don’t worry, despite its title, ROOF SEX is sfw — unless you’re offended by furniture going at it.
(via as far as the eye can see)

I’ve mentioned these before, but am compelled to mention them again as the dates get close.This Thursday, December 1st, I will be showing several cartoons in 16mm for my regular monthly gig as resident film historian for Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys at the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood. Be there!Next Tuesday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will explore how animation and live action have blended together to create “a new cinematic language”.

ROGER RABBIT, KING KONG, I-ROBOT, POLAR EXPRESS- where does the animated film end and the live action film begin? What is the future?THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL of the MOTION PICTURE ACADEMY PRESENTS: ANIMATION INVADES LIVE ACTION Tuesday December 6th, 7:30pm at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Scheduled guests include John Dykstra, Bill Kroyer, Ken Ralston, Rob Minkoff, Alfred Molina, Bob Kurtz, Anthony LaMolinara, Steven Poster and Tom Sito. Plus lots of rare footage. Tickets on Sale NOW, $5.00 for the general public. Doors open at 6:30PM. For more info and how to order click here.

Actor Keith Andes passed away November 11th. His obituaries play up the fact he was Marilyn Monroe’s leading man in one film - but neglect to mention his most immortal role: that as the original voice of Hanna-Barbera’s BIRDMAN.Andes also had signifigant guest parts on STAR TREK and THE RIFLEMAN - and was the co-star of GLYNIS (a short lived 1963 Glynis Johns TV show I watched when I was a kid), but I digress. My point is, Andes earned his wings. “BIIIirdRrdMaAnnnnnn!”

Industry artists Kelsey Mann, Tim Szabo and Steve Meyer are working on an independent film noir short and they’re documenting its production HERE.Taylor Jessen writes an appreciation of the under-the-radar Hong Kong-produced animated feature MY LIFE AS MCDULL (2001). I’d heard good things about this film, but never really made an effort to check it out. After reading Taylor’s piece though, I want to see it.Jeremy Bernstein has posted some nice thumbnails from his scenes on MADAGASCAR.Shannon Tindle, supervising character designer on FOSTER’S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS, now has a blog. (via Ovi Nedelcu)Tee Bosustow’s UPA website has a two-minute teaser for his forthcoming UPA documentary. Comments on the video are from Geefwee Boedoe, Leonard Maltin, Bill Melendez, Mike Kazaleh and Oscar Grillo, among others.

Way back in August I plugged this book, but now that I’ve got it in my hot little hands and have spent hours perusing its pages - I gotta demand you go out and buy it as soon as you can.Don’t judge this book by it’s cover - that’s its weakest point. This is one of the most throughly researched histories of Disney’s classic cartoons ever published. Most of the artwork in this book has never appeared in print (or been reprinted anywhere). Each page has new facts, new art, new details on Disney that appear no where else. If it sounds like I’m raving, I am!MICKEY AND THE GANG started as a simple collection of the famed Good Housekeeping monthly pages produced by the Disney studio for ten years (1934-1944) - pages which usually highlighted the latest Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphony or Disney feature-length release. If it were only that, the book would be well worth having as is. But author/editor David Gerstein supplements each GH page with a plethora of bonus materials: the film’s complete story, commentary, movie materials (posters, press ads, etc.), model sheets, other print adaptations, merchandising - and much more.This 360 page full color glossy book is a real treat. In a year of some great books (including Canemaker’s WINSOR McCAY, Goldmark’s TUNES FOR TOONS and something called THE ANIMATED MOVIE GUIDE) this one may top them all. My highest recommendation - at $29.95 ($19.79 on Amazon) it’s a steal - and a must for any fan of Disney’s classic characters, animation art and those interested in the history of the studio.

The new Kanye West music video “Heard ‘Em Say,” animated by Bill Plympton, that I mentioned earlier can now be viewed HERE. In the BET interview before the video, West says he used Plympton’s hand-drawn animation style because he wanted “something new, refreshing” and also that he wanted visuals that expressed “how natural the song feels, how organic the song is.” Now, Kanye West is certainly not a bellwether for animation trends, but I found those statements really interesting. Suddenly, it’s no longer computer animation that is considered hip and exciting, but rather hand-drawn animation, an art form over a hundred years old. Indeed, the raw messy esthetic of Plympton’s drawing style is a welcome change of pace from today’s endless parade of mathematically perfect CG models and animation, and the video is a great example showing that hand-drawn animation is still a vital and powerful art form, especially when used by artists like West who are savvy enough to know the technique’s strengths and the appropriate places to use it.
(via fps magazine)

Best wishes to all our readers!

QUICK PLUG: Nice little interview with Henry Selick posted on Animated News.