Move over Paris and Britney. I’ve made The New York Post Page Six today.

Nothing scandalous. Just a clever plug for the new coffee table art book, Not Just Cartoons, Nicktoons!. It was my sincere pleasure to interview all the creators of Nicktoon series for this project, and the book turned out to be quite a visual feast. You’ll find it at your local bookshop this week. It’ll be easy to spot - It’s the one with a dust jacket covered in green slime.

I wish this festival were in Los Angeles - or anywhere in the United States. But I’m thankful it’s presented anyplace at all. Located in beautiful Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario Canada, The Waterloo Festival of Animated Cinema is the annual film retrospective dedicated to showcasing the latest unreleased international animated feature films - in an actual movie theatre, the way they’re supposed to be seen.

This year the four day festival runs from November 15-18. Screenings will be held at The Gig Theatre (the Hyland Cinema) in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The festival opens Thursday Nov. 15 with the Canadian premiere of Leslie Iwerks’ The Pixar Story. Other films screening this year include: A-Film’s The Ugly Duckling and Me; Korea’s Aachi and Ssipak; France’s The Killer of Montmartre; Bjork’s Anna and the Moods; the Czech puppet horror film One Night In The City; and the infamous Norwegian CG feature Free Jimmy.

Two films document the development of one of Brazil’s leading animators, Otto Guerra: Wood & Stock: Sex, Oregano and Rock ën Roll, and Rocky and Hudson. Anime is represented with Five Centimeters Per Second, and SOS Metro Tokyo Explorers. Other Festival selections and premieres include RH+ and Film Noir.

Last but not least, the Festival will be holding the premiere of Ladd Ehlinger Jr.’s Flatland the Film. Director and animator Ehlinger will present the film in person and take Q&A after the screening - and the festival will be presenting the film and the Q&A session not only to the attending audience, but to the entire world via the Internet.

For more information contact program curator Joseph C. Chen via email wfac-at-wfac.ca or through the festival website.

Mark Webster of Motion Design blog offers a preview of a fascinating film which I hadn’t heard of: a full-length animated documentary about legendary film title designer Pablo Ferro (Dr. Strangelove). The film which is scheduled for release in ‘08 is based on interviews with dozens of Ferro’s friends and colleagues including Angelica Huston, Andy Garcia, Beau Bridges, Stan Lee and Norman Lear. Before becoming involved in film titles, Ferro worked in animation at NY studios like Elektra and Academy, as well as co-owning his own commercial studio in the early-60s called Ferro, Mogubgub and Schwartz.

A brand-new online pop culture website, Bridgerack, has posted a really good Conversation With Don Hertzfeldt (Part One of Four starts here). The site is still in beta test, so please bear with any technical glitches if you aren’t using Firefox or a Mac.

Not as exciting as the new Lucky Luke film, but the Argentinean feature, The Ark (el Arca), certainly looks ambitious - and should have the furry fans salivating. Here’s the trailer. Interesting that it is distributed by Buena Vista International (aka Disney). The Ark will screen in Los Angeles, one time only, on Saturday November 17th at 5pm, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. (I’ll be at the Raggedy Ann reunion at the AFI that day myself).

In case you haven’t been following it, the debate over David Michaelis’ Charles Schulz bio rages on. Fresh comments from daughter Amy Schulz Johnson, Peanuts comic book artist Dale Hale and Peanuts animation producer Lee Mendelson add to the conversation. Join the discussion here.

Coming up in November is a series of unique animation programs at the Wexner Center for the Arts, on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus. All of them are well worth your time - and take particular note of the one on November 8th.

Tuesday November 6th - The Short Films of the Brothers Quay - 7pm
Thursday November 8th - The Worst Cartoons Ever (with Jerry Beck in person) - 7pm (book signing at 6pm)
Tuesday November 13th - Lillian Schwartz: Selected Works - 7pm
Thursday November 15th - The Best of The Ottawa International Animation Festival - 7pm
Friday November 16th - Experimental Animation since 1933 - 7pm (I highly recommend this show).

If you can get to central Ohio on November 8th, please drop by and say hello. And while you are there don’t forget to check the Ohio State University Cartoon Research Center (and see their current exhibit of rarely seen Milton Caniff art).

Like Schulz’ Peanuts, Bill Watterson’s classic comic strip Calvin and Hobbes was beloved by many and still has a devoted following - despite it’s retirement in 1995. Tim from the Calvin and Hobbes: Magic on Paper website has unearthed a selection of Watterson’s student artwork, from his days at Ohio’s Kenyon College, drawn for the school newspaper and the 1980 yearbook. Considering that new Watterson art is rare, it’s great to see some old stuff that’s new to our eyes.

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