The guys and gals of the HI HI PUFFY AMIYUMI crew at Renegade Animation have put up a blog HERE. There’s a lot of talented artists on the show so expect to see some good work. I hope they also get around to posting more of the show’s excellent designs and layouts, especially the work of Mike Giaimo and Shakeh Haghnazarian.

Now that you’ve returned a creative producer - an animator, no less - to head Disney Feature Animation and Imagineering, and you’ve righted a 77-year-old wrong by returning Oswald The Lucky Rabbit to the studio, why stop there? There are a couple of other loose ends in Disney history you might consider tying up.First off, there is a little film you own the rights to called THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER. Ask Roy Disney about it. This feature film was taken away from its creator Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) by the Completion Bond Company and reworked into a mess called ARABIAN KNIGHT (released by Miramax in 1995). Restoring this film to Williams’ intended vision would be a great way to get the traditional animators back up to speed while Pixar’s story team begins developing new films to revive this now-neglected art form.Secondly, there is a wealth of material in the Disney vaults and archives, developed and produced under Walt’s watch, which never made their way to completion. DESTINO was one of those projects. The two in particular I’m thinking of are Mickey Mouse shorts: THE TALKING DOG and PLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE BEE. Both were shelved late in their respective production schedules, in the early-1950s. Both have existing dialogue and music tracks, storyboards and were 98% animated (by the likes of Freddy Moore!). Two new classic shorts - just sitting there, simply waiting for ink-and-paint!You’ve already suceeded in returning some magic to the Disney name. These requests are rather simple compared to the two coups you’ve recently pulled off. Just consider them food for thought.(Oswald button, above, was distributed to employees on the Burbank lot last Thursday.)

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive has just noted that April 6th marks the 100th birthday of animation. James Stuart Blackton created “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” in 1906, and the artform that it spawned is one of the greatest creative contributions of America, second only to Jazz. ASIFA’s Steve Worth has posted the story of Blackton and a link to a Quicktime movie of the film that started it all on the Archive blog.

Mexican reader Uriel Durán writes to let us know that Oswald is popular nowadays in Mexico, as well as Japan:

The situation is that in the 1950s and ’60s, many comic books based upon American cartoon characters were translated and published here for Mexican audiences. Then, when the American imprints stopped making comics, Mexican companies bought licenses and kept making new stories, written and drawn by Mexican artists. Some characters like Pink Panther, Droopy and Tom & Jerry still appear weekly in small comic books (5.5×8in) aimed at children. Some of the cartoons are still on air too on some local networks.

Now, Woody Woodpecker is also a character that still has a comic book series. About two or three years ago, as a request from Universal, the comic was cancelled and relaunched to fit the new character designs used in the most recent TV series - until then, the characters were still drawn in the softened style used in the first Woody cartoons. Oswald did not appear in the new cartoons but he kept appearing in short stories in the Woody comics, now using a retro look very much like the Japanese toys. Art could be better though, as the current artists are not very talented and not very familiar with the original black-&-white Oswald cartoons. Just wanted to let you know about the situation of the character as it seems he’s used almost everywhere except his native country.

Uriel also sent along a few examples of the Oswald comics. Click on images for larger versions. This is what the older comic looked like:

And here are a couple pages from more recent Oswald comics, using the old-school redesign also seen in current Japanese merchandise.

Tags: Comics, Disney, Animation

A week and a half later - and the Disney/Oswald Rabbit news just won’t die down! For those of you who need to get up to speed, two good pieces have appeared this weekend: Online, Mark Evanier has posted an excellent general history of the character on his POV website; In print, Monty Cook has the story in Sunday’s Baltimore Sun A&E Today section.

There’s a lot of animation nowadays that has a retro-pixel look with blocky graphics. None I’ve seen execute the look as elegantly as the British short WELCOME TO GLARINGLY (2003) by Grant Orchard. The film’s Orwellian theme is a perfect match for the style, and the animation is smartly done to take advantage of the pixelated look. With over a half million public surveillance cameras installed around London, the film’s idea is not far removed from current realities, and eloquently points out the pitfalls of relying on technology as judge, jury and executioner.

Grant Orchard has directed commercials for StudioAKA (like this terrific spot for MTV) and also is one of the founders of the studio The Hope & Anchor. Also, it should be pointed out that the graphics and sound on GLARINGLY are not too great on this online version I linked to, but it’s the only complete version I could find online. Here’s a CLIP that gives a more accurate sense of the film’s quality.

This is an interesting, if not entirely successful, CG ad for Johnnie Walker produced by Aardman Animations. The one-minute spot brings to life the paintings of Delacroix, Hokusai, Seurat, Miro and Magritte. View ad HERE.
(via Hydrocephalic Bunny)

Next Thursday night I will be giving a talk at the Van Eaton Galleries, discussing and screening some of the best non-Disney cartoons of all time - surrounded by original art from the films themselves. This is a benefit for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive - there will be an admission charge ($8) and a healthy pitch for further donations to this worthy cause. Cartoons I’ll be discussing at the event will include Happy Harmonies (Dance of the Weed pictured above), Woody Woodpecker, Screwy Squirrel, the Fox & Crow and Popeye. Seating is very limited and you must RSVP (to vegallery4@aol.com) if you are interested in attending. The fun begins at 7:30pm, Feb. 23rd, at Van Eaton Galleries, 13613 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks.