Another week, another oddball adult-skewing Paramount cartoon from the 1960s. Unlike previous films I’ve posted recently, this one was indeed shown on theaters and on Saturday morning TV (hence the The New Casper Cartoon Show titles), but was left off the recent Complete Harveytoons dvd set.

Written by Irv Spector, Crumley Cogwheel features Paramount’s usual vocal team of Eddie Lawrence and Eddie Lawrence, using his two stock voice characterizations. If you enjoy his voices (and I do), you’ll like this picture. Once again, adult frustrations are at the core of the scenario: nebbish corporate employee Cogwheel hasn’t asked for a raise in 20 years and his boss challenges him to do so. Cogwheel eventually gets the nerve to ask, and becomes a man — but only after getting bombed at the local bar. It’s amazing this was considered suitable for Saturday morning. Note Casper in the end titles, shrugging his shoulders as if to communicate to the kids at home that he has no idea where this cartoon came from.

I’m still on the fence about whether I’ll subject myself to Monsters vs. Aliens, but I’ve been getting a kick from reading other people’s thoughts about the film on Twitter. The usefulness of a service like Twitter is in its aggregation of opinions, while its 140-character limit forces users to boil down their thoughts into a clear opinion. You can keep up with a steady stream of average moviegoer’s thoughts by looking at the following search results: “Monsters vs Aliens” and “MVA”.

Here is a random selection of Twitters about MvA:

gobzero Saw Monsters vs Aliens tonight. It was pretty damn funny!

jttiki MvA was better than I thought it would be, but it ain’t Pixar.

mattholley Went and saw Monsters vs Aliens…hilarious! I love a good animated flick

michaelkwan Just got back from Monsters vs. Aliens. The 3D made for a fun movie experience.

hownottowrite MvA: The real sad thing is that the jokes in the trailers are funnier than they are in the movie. Dang, and I thought I was a bad writer…

kmvassey Back from MvA. It was great, and the 3D was really good. Definitely the best 3D I’ve seen from any film or ride yet. Good stuff. :)

FyodorFish Glad I saw MvA at a advance screening then. Don’t know if I’d pay that much to see MvA.

linuxrebel MvA was so funny at so many levels kid and adult. You gotta go.

Ske7ch MvA was cute. Superb animation but character development was lacking. Oh well, it’s just a kids’ movie.

shdowchsr Monsters vs. Aliens was fun. I suspect that most people had no idea why what they were laughing at was funny.

KuraFire Monsters vs. Aliens is fun, but not very polished. Lip sync was mediocre; lot of missed opportunities for jokes; too high a Disney factor.

crossstreet monsters vs aliens. good movie. lots of geek reference, esp liked part with a missile saying “ET go Home” soundtrack at the time was from ET

dylanthunter MvA gets my seal of approval, very entertaining… the last 5 mins were sorta wtf but sshh… that’s just b/w me and the internet

jesusnerd4ever really enjoyed Monsters vs Aliens. I totally think everyone should see it!

fynesy Dreamworks latest movie (MvA): good fun. Seeing it on IMAX in 3D.. Amazing…

And, of course, our very own jerrybeck: Saw MvA. Here’s my first impression. The good news: The art direction is superb. The bad news: There are no laughs. A major disappointment.

The L.A. Times is reporting the passing of cartoon voice actor Bob Arbogast. Not exactly a household name, Arbogast nonetheless entertained me greatly as General Brassbottom on Roger Ramjet and as various characters on numerous Saturday morning cartoons. He was also a well known radio personality and one of the writers behind Jay Ward’s ill-fated live action pilot The Nut House (1963) - of which I’ve posted the opening and closing credits below:

This is Nic Cage as the Sorcerer in Jerry Bruckheimer’s live-action version of Disney’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” More photos of Cage as the Sorcerer at FilmDrunk.com. This news has inspired me to start a new tag category on Cartoon Brew, and yes, I plan on using this tag often.

(via Topless Robot)

Can’t wait to check this one out! Tatia Rosenthal’s stop-motion drama $9.99 has its New York premiere this weekend. It’s playing at 7pm on Sunday, March 29, at the MoMA, followed by a screening next Wednesday, April 1, at the Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center. For additional info, including online ticket purchases for either screening, visit the Film Society of Lincoln Center website. The Film Society also has an article about the film on their blog.

Roger Ebert offers thoughts about 3-D after watching Monsters vs. Aliens:

I will say this first and get it out of the way: 3-D is a distraction and an annoyance. Younger moviegoers may think they like it because they’ve been told to, and picture quality is usually far from their minds. But for anyone who would just like to be left alone to see the darned thing, like me, it’s a constant nudge in the ribs saying never mind the story, just see how neat I look.

[I]f this is the future of movies for grownups and not just the kiddies, saints preserve us. Billions of people for a century have happily watched 2-D and imagined 3-D. Think of the desert in “Lawrence of Arabia.” The schools of fish in “Finding Nemo.” The great hall in “Citizen Kane.” Now that flawless screen surface is threatened with a gimmick, which, let’s face it, is intended primarily to raise ticket prices and make piracy more difficult. If its only purpose was artistic, do you think Hollywood would spend a dime on it?

Ebert also disliked Monsters vs. Aliens, although he suggests that kids might enjoy it, “especially those below the age of reason.” Ouch!

Something funny for Friday. Australian animator David Blumenstein made this spot for a local Melbourne comic event called Comic Book Funny. David tells me, “I animated it in a day (Wednesday, to be exact).”

Remember the Warner Bros. cartoon mural that adorned the Burbank studio lot at Olive and Pass Avenues? I noted back in December that the studio took down the 15 year-old cartoon wall and I wondered what would take its place.

Well the good news is that Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and the animated DC Comics characters will return. In fact, you’re all invited to the public unveiling of the new billboard. Warner Bros. is holding a free, open to the public, Animation Celebration on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. At 7:00 p.m. a public entertainment program will precede the billboard reveal at 7:20pm. A live, special performance by the Beat Freaks, “the phenomenal all-girl dance crew from the 2009 edition of America’s Best Dance Crew.” The studio is encouraging people come dressed as your favorite DC Comic super hero (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc.) or other Looney Tunes or Hanna-Barbera character and there will be prize giveaways, including tickets to the Warner Bros. Studios VIP Tour, as well as DVDs, toys and more. Free refreshments will be provided. Get there early… this is guaranteed to snarl traffic.