Wanna have fun? Check out the paintings of animation artist Nouar Boldy (aka Noir Nouar). Even better, check them out and meet the artist in person, Saturday night at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York. The opening reception is tomorrow, February 21, from 7 - 9 p.m. The gallery is located at 529 W. 20th Street, suite #9E, between 10th and 11th Avenues. For more Nouar check her interview in Juxtapoz magazine and her delightfully designed website.

I’m not sure I understand the gag here. Today’s Dinette Set by Julie Larson.

(Thanks, Charlie Jacob)

The 14th Annual International Family Film Festival starts next week in Los Angeles. It’s a kids movies and children’s television conference with competition screenings, industry panels and opportunities to network with filmmakers.

On Friday February 27th at 1pm, there’s an animation panel with guest Phil Roman and on March 1st the festival gives an annual Friz Freleng Award for Excellence in Animation (which Mr. Roman will receive this year). There will be several outstanding animated shorts and features shown, including Kyung Hee Shon’s La Lune (pictured above) on 2/28 at noon, and Gili Dolev’s The Happy Duckling (pictured below) on 2/26 at 2:30pm.

For more information on this festival, screening showtimes and admission charges, check the festival website.

Emily Hubley swings into L.A. to screen her feature film, The Toe Tactic, at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, California, on Friday night (2/20). The program begins at 7:30pm with several classic films by John and Faith Hubley including restored prints of The Tender Game and Windy Day. A Q & A moderated by yours truly follows, and then the screening of her new live action/animation feature film at 9pm. For more information on this screening check the Aero website.

UPDATE: David Moniger posted a video of my Q&A with Emily on Facebook.

Look who made it to the front page of this week’s Village Voice! Animator Jake Friedman just spotted the latest issue on the news stand, snapped this pic and sent it in to us. The cover portrait illustrates an article on the despicable treatment of ducks bred for food. But what we want to know is: who painted this wonderfully unauthorized homage to our favorite water fowl?

Steve Stanchfield is back, doing the Lord’s work at Thunderbean Animation, restoring and releasing rare cartoons from the 1930s on DVD. This time it’s Uncensored Animation from the Van Beuren Studio, featuring outrageous pre-code animated cartoons from the obscure New York studio that was Max Fleischer’s biggest east-coast rival. The prints, as always, are from best available 16mm and 35mm sources. In addition to the politically incorrect Laundry Blues, and several classic Aesops Fables and Tom & Jerry cartoons, the highlight of the set (for me) is the inclusion of the only two Amos and Andy cartoons ever made, featuring the voices of the original cast (I even do an audio commentary on one of them)! Milton Knight Jr. drew the cool box art. Support the cause - buy it from Steve directly at Amazon.com.

Opening May 1st, from Lionsgate, is Battle For Terra (formerly known simply as Terra). This film actually won the Best Feature award at the 2008 Ottawa International Animation Festival. It’s no Delgo… but that’s not saying much.

Four scary words: Motion Capture from Bollywood.

Submitted for your approval: Sultan The Warrior. This new Tamil-language animated feature opens in India in May through Big Pictures, a Reliance Group company (Dreamworks recently partnered with them). It will then be distributed throughout the rest of the world by Warner Bros. Consider yourself warned.

(Thanks, Liam Scanlan)