The second contestant’s answer on this “Final Jeopardy” question is quite possibly one of the worst answers I’ve ever heard on a gameshow. (via)

Michael Jantze, former art director at ILM and former newspaper cartoonist (The Norm), has started animating cute little films in flash with traditional animation and Adobe After Effects that have a nice UPA feel. At Your Service is the first in a series.

UPDATE: Recieved some further information about the Mr. Lux shorts direct from its lead animator:

My name is Kelly McNutt, lead animator for Jantze Studios.

It’s great to see that Mr. Lux found its way to Cartoon Brew! But allow me a quick note on how we produced the Mr. Lux shorts: we used a combination of traditional animation (scanned inks, no less) and Adobe After Effects, but no Flash. The individual hand-drawn animation segments were assembled and selectively augmented with AE animation for the sake of efficiency due to a very small production team and relatively short production schedule. The goal was to retain a traditional feel as much as possible and to capitalize on AE’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses by designing around them. I would point you to this other short we created using the same method, but with more traditional animation (as it was a far shorter production): Tech Tips with Boy Norm.

Also, we’ve just this week received word that Mr. Lux has been accepted for Cannes Short Film Corner, so we’re feeling rather enthusiastic these days.

(Thanks, Adam Perry)

This note just in from Bill Kroyer:

I think this would be of interest to some of your readers: I’m hosting a public program at the Motion Picture Academy on Friday, May 16th about the changing world of production design.

You might remember I do these programs as a member of the Science & Technology Council. The first two were strictly animation focused: THE ANIMATED PERFORMANCE and ANIMATION INVADES LIVE ACTION.

Talking to Ralph Eggleston I was struck by the similarities in spirit but radical differences in tools when comparing his experience as a designer with the classic guys like Robert Boyle. So we put together a show with all the latest technology and lots of Oscar winners to showcase what’s changing and what’s coming.

The Art, Science and Psychology of Production Design will feature onstage presentations by production designers Alex McDowell (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Minority Report), Doug Chiang (Beowulf, The Polar Express”) and Ralph Eggleston (The Incredibles, Finding Nemo). It will also present a real-time pre-visualization demonstration by pre-visualization director Daniel Gregoire (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Spiderwick Chronicles) and a review of new technologies by art director Daniel Jennings (G-Force, Matchstick Men). The program will also include a brief history of production design under the studio system, featuring an onstage conversation with legendary production designer Robert Boyle.

Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Doors open at 7 p.m. All seating is unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For additional information, visit oscars.org.

Got a postcard from Marv Newland today. He wrote:

The Vancouver Art Gallery is launching a large scale exhibit on May 16th, to run until September 7th. It is called Krazy!, with a tip of the hat to the Kat. Comics, graphic novels, manga, games (computer) and animated films. Tim Johnson of Dreamworks co-curated the film selection and he did a good job!

This installation is tied into co-curator Bruce Grenville’s new book. Art Spiegelman also helped curate the show and will give a talk May 15th (as will Newland, May 20th, on the history of animation in Vancouver). A list of lectures tied into this exhibit is here. If you are in the Northwest, check it out!

In North America, more kids think of Popeye as a Fried Chicken resturant chain. In Chile, Popeye represents a bar of soap. Brew reader Diego Cumplido sent this in. “I remember doing little sculptures in school made of Popeye’s Soap when I was a kid. It reads “since 1949″ and “the power of cleaning”.

If you find unusual food or product merchandising using classic cartoon characters (aka characters no longer running on American television), please share an image with us.