In addition to discounts and/or free admission to local animation events, ASIFA members (of any chapter in the U.S. or worldwide) also recieve a great new magazine edited by the Ottawa Animation Festival’s Chris Robinson. The second issue of CARTOONS, The International Journal of Animation (published by John Libbey, dated Winter 2005) has just arrived in my mailbox. This new edition has 64 color glossy pages of worthwhile articles, reviews and images, including excellent pieces on Dana Parker by John Canemaker, Bob Clampett by Martin Goodman, and a review of Mind Game by Andre Coutu. There are informative articles about animation in Agentina, Israel, China, stories about filmmakers Jean Image, Zagreb’s Bordo Dovnikovic and much much more.Kudos to Libbey and Robinson for creating such a superb package. It’s another great reason to join ASIFA. With seven local chapters in the U.S., and twenty more groups internationally, ASIFA sponsors international festivals (like Zagreb and Annecy), the ANNIE Awards, an animation archive, informative websites, and a worldwide linked community. Local Hollywood members get free DVDs and exclusive screenings of virtually all new animated features. The price of the yearly membership pays for itself. Now with CARTOONS, a free first class publication not available for sale anywhere, a membership in ASIFA seems vital. For more information on joining your local area group, click here.

Just a quick note to follow-up on Jerry’s post below. Prior to the screening, there will be a private reception at the Egyptian Theatre from 4:30-5:30. If anybody wishes to mingle with the UPA veterans in a more intimate setting, you can attend the reception by RSVP’ing by this Saturday to Tee Bosustow: bosumedia [at] yahoo.com. The cost is $15 and can be paid at the door.

You all probably know this already (and I’m sure we’ll remind you once again over the weekend) but Brewmasters Jerry and Amid will be participating in the big ASIFA-Hollywood / American Cinematheque UPA Tribute this Sunday at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. The fun begins at 6pm when we will be screening 35mm prints of rare commercials, industrials, TV productions, behind the scenes footage and Scope prints of classic theatrical cartoons (including ROOTY TOOT TOOT and TELL TALE HEART). We will have panels featuring UPA veterans (Bill Melendez, Willis Pyle, Alan Zaslove, Fred Crippen, Sam Clayberger) and guest animators (Mark Kausler, Pixar’s Lou Romano). ASIFA members will recieve a discount on admission. Advance tickets are on sale at the box office now. See you there!

Jenny Lerew has posted some wonderful rare photos of master animator Fred Moore. She writes that she’ll soon be posting a lot more Moore-related goodies on her blog Blackwing Diaries. To do my part, here’s a late-1930s gag drawing by Tom Oreb of Ward Kimball (left) and Freddie Moore, documenting some long-forgotten moment at the Disney studio:

The Annecy International Animation Festival announced this week their film selections for the 2006 edition, which takes place June 5- 10. Two hundred and sixty films were selected for competition and panorama screenings out of 1732 films submitted. A complete list of selected films can be found HERE.

Kudos to the anonymous writer at the Associated Press who managed to sneak in a subtle Warner Bros. cartoon reference into the title of this news article.

Nobody does a better job of parodying “retro” styles of animation than J.J. Sedelmaier. He’s done it time and time again from his Filmation-style AMBIGUOUSLY GAY DUO shorts to commercials like the ’50s-style Home Savings Bank ad to his revival of the 1970s interstitial series SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK. The genius of these works is that they’re never so over-the-top as to be instantly obvious as parody. This faithfulness (and reverence) to the original source material is exactly what makes the new works so funny. A perfect example of this can be found in Sedelmaier’s latest commercial, a 45-second spot that spoofs the classic theatrical ad “Let’s All Go To The Lobby”. J.J. kindly sent over a copy of the spot to share with CartoonBrew readers:

Because the spot was produced for the Fellowship Bible Church, the marching popcorn box, candy bar and soda cup featured in the original “Lobby” short have been replaced by a cross, a Bible, a cup of wine and a communion wafer. “The idea was to make it look like it was produced in the late ’40s, and add little things that would appear in the context of that era’s visual language, while having some fun with it,” says Sedelmaier. “The original was most likely produced by moonlighting animators who probably weren’t much better than third-string. Now it’s become a style unto itself.”

The piece was conceived by Jeff Hopfer, a creative group head and art director at Dallas-based The Richards Group and a longtime member of the church. The film theatre analogy is quite appropriate for the Fellowship Bible Church, which recently completed an 18-month project to remodel what had been a three-screen multiplex into a tabernacle that can accommodate 1,200 worshippers. The church’s real lobby is now equipped with industrial-size urns serving 20 coffee flavors and cabaret tables.

A lot of effort was put into capturing the quality of an older piece of animation. From a press release about the commercial:

The creative team wants to give the film a vintage feel, so Hopfer has arranged to output the finished digitally produced animation to film and have Sedelmaier scratch it up, add dust, and distress it manually before transferring it back to digital video - a low-tech technique he’s employed in the past on other projects, including the Episcopal Church spot he did with Hopfer in the ‘90s, the Speed Racer spot he did for Volkswagen through Arnold Worldwide, and the classic “Home Savings Bank” commercial produced for Chiat-Day. In this particular case, J.J. added bad tape splices to cause the film to jump slightly as it travels through the film gate.

Commercial credits are as follows: J.J. Sedelmaier, director/producer; Dave Lovelace, production manager and animator; Dan Madia and Claire Widman, storyboard and design; John Bonarrigo, animation and design; Steve Jackett, animation and assisting; Gene DiCiccio, design and assisting; and Heather Krumm, models, backgrounds and assisting. For more about Sedelmaier’s work, read this great interview with him at HOGAN’S ALLEY.

Wednesday night (3/22) at the Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks, H.B. Lewis will be on hand to discuss his work in illustration and animation. His credits include character design for Pixar (CARS and RATATOUILLE), Walt Disney Feature Animation (TARZAN and TREASURE PLANET), DreamWorks Animation (MADAGASCAR, OVER THE HEDGE) and Blue Sky/Fox Animation (ICE AGE and ROBOTS). You must RSVP to attend (818) 788-2357. Click here for more info.