A quick update about last week’s story about the new Israeli animated feature Waltz with Bashir. The Hanuka brothers—Asaf and Tomer—created art for the film and have posted some examples on their blog. It just goes to show that a director who understands art and knows who to hire can get impressive artwork even into a low budget animated feature like Waltz which cost only $2 million.

(Thanks, Meghan Kinder)

Links to a few nice creator interviews I’ve recently run across:

Wired offers a nice interview with Nina Paley in which she discusses how she made an animated feature, Sita Sings the Blues on her Mac for $200,000.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone reflect on 11 years of South Park in the Onion’s A.V. Club.

An old Entertainment Weekly interview with Brad Bird that was never published in their print magazine. Lots of good behind-the-scenes on Ratatouille.

Duct tape + empty wall + 24 hours = Interesting animation experiment.

(Thanks, Karl Cohen)

Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal attempts to make sense of the spectacular box office failure of Speed Racer, which raced to becoming a bona fide flop both in the US and overseas. He writes:

“[C]haos isn’t a surefire selling tool, not even when the target audience is sensation-hungry kids…Kids need inoculation against media-generated chaos. That’s not to suggest seeking out entertainment that preaches, peddles homilies, hustles uplift or shies away from the darker areas of human experience that inform some of our most cherished fairy tales (or, for that matter, one of my most cherished films, Carol Reed’s “Oliver!”). It’s more than enough when movies enhance a sense of wonder (and, as a byproduct, a capacity for concentration); when they delight and surprise (as Pixar productions do so dependably); when they open up the world through the window of thrilling fiction.”

Director and animator Will Finn also shares some worthwhile filmmaking insights on his blog about why Speed Racer was so poorly received by audiences.

The Telus World of Science in Vancouver, which I believe is a children’s museum, is hosting an exhibit called Disney: The Music Behind the Magic, 1928-Today. It runs from June 8th to September 7th. Sounds interesting, though I’m not sure how scientific it is. If you live in the area and check it out, let us know what it is.

(Thanks, Corey McDaniel)

Ron Stark of S/R Laboratories in Westlake Village, California, sent me his latest animation auction catalog and it’s loaded with goodies. There are some amazing Disney, Warner Brothers, UPA, and Hanna-Barbera cels, drawings and backgrounds, but I was especially excited by several Private Snafu (above) and Seaman Hook originals. Most of the catalog is a collection of jaw-dropping Disney cels and backgrounds (like the Donald Duck title card below).

The event takes place Monday, May 26 and 27th, 2008 and it is not an internet auction - it’s a telephone auction, and Ron personally speaks to all bidders. You can preview all 255 lots online starting Monday, May 19th at S/R’s WebCenter. If you need assistance or have questions the telephone number is 818-991-9955.

One more plug for the The 2nd annual Animation Book Look this afternoon in Sherman Oaks. The Creative Talent Network and Van Eaton Galleries are presenting this all day book signing event on Ventura Blvd. It’s free and open to the public from 1:00pm-6:00pm. Join me at the Van Eaton Gallery, 13613 Ventura Blvd., with Martha Sigall, Tom Sito, Rik Maki, Tony White, Willie Ito, Jim Smith, Amanda Visell, Stephen Silver, Maureen Furniss, Jon Gibson, Mike Kunkel and dozens more. For a complete list of authors and books visit the Book Look website or call Van Eaton Galleries at 818-788-2357.

In case you were wondering what Tom & Jerry were doing:

Here they are selling cars - in Germany! I’m sorry, but these commercials from 1994 don’t quite recapture the Hanna Barbera magic (except the last one using vintage clips from MGM cartoons), but I certainly encourage the use of classic cartoon stars selling products aimed at adults (as opposed to toys, sugared cereals and vitamins).

(Thanks Andrew J. Lederer)