Artist Christopher Panzner is promoting a new animation technique that he has dubbed Re:Naissance, which is essentially rotoscoped key frame drawings with traditional in-betweens. He plans to use this technique to create “homages” to older live-action films. This interview with the website Eye For Film offers more details about his process. Panzner says:

“Re:Naissance can be succinctly defined as ‘the re-creation of live-action films in animation’. It’s a new spin on adaptation and the remake. For the first time ever in the 100-year history of animation, Re:Naissance is going to invert the adaptation process by taking existing live-action films and faithfully reproducing them in animation, in a totally original graphic style unique to each film. We use a process known as ‘rotomation,’ which is a combination of rotoscopy and traditional animation. Our goal is not merely to rotoscope the original film - we are creating an entirely new film while remaining faithful to the original; an homage to the source film. The end result is an original animated feature film, meaning the stars in the live-action film will be caricaturized in some form but the movements and expressions (and original dialogue) will remain true to the original actors, although the animated characters will be completely new original graphic representation.”

The first live-action feature that Panzner is adapting via his Re:Naissance method is George Romero’s cult classic Night of the Living Dead. Below is a line-test based on the French film La Traversée de Paris that gives some sense of what the finished product will look like. The animation was created by Hong Ying studio in Shanghai. Panzner has a blog LicenseToIllustrate.blogspot.com that offers progress updates on the production of his first feature.

The Orange is a droll and effective piece of storytelling directed by Nick Fox-Gieg and based on a story by Benjamin Rosenbaum. It was created in Flash and AfterEffects. Gieg’s earlier short A Good Joke is another fun diversion.

This trailer, created by Studio Anima, is for a proposed anime series called Cat Shit One. It’s based on a manga by Motofumi Kobayashi, released in the U.S. as Apocalypse Meow.

(Thanks, Sandra Khoo)

I don’t keep up with the world of limited edition animation art - in fact, I’m not sure how large that market is anymore. Chris Jackson of Acme Archives just sent me some information on their latest offerings and I like what I see. My favorite pieces are these two black and white silent era limiteds - the first (above) from Plane Crazy (150 of those) and an Oswald Rabbit from Rival Romeos (pictured below, only 95 of those). I can’t afford them, but they are cool.

Tomorrow, Acme is launching DisneyStudioArt.com, but the site is up and running now. There they are offering original production art from The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, The Little Mermaid and several others. Acme is also producing two extremely limited (only 23 pieces each) hand-painted cels, offered through the new D23 site. One from the 1933 Mickey Mouse short, The Mad Doctor and the vaulted Song of the South. It’s just nice knowing the company is aware of these titles.

In response to Amid’s earlier post on Oscar Winning shorts, Tom Knott located the extremely rare Oscar winning John Hubley cartoon, A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature (released by Paramount in 1966). Written and Produced by John and Faith Hubley and animated by Gerard Baldwin, Phil Duncan, Emery Hawkins, Barrie Nelson, Rod Scribner and Ed Smith. Enjoy!

(Thanks, Tom Knott)

Starting today, Warner Bros. begins opening their film vaults by making hundreds of previously unavavilable movies available on DVD. For $19.95, Warner’s will ship a made-to-order DVD, in a shrink-wrapped case with cover art, to customers within five days of purchase. These films will only be available through Warner’s website, WarnerArchive.com - not on amazon, not at Wal-Mart, nowhere else. The first 150 feature films in this initiative are now listed. You can also order each film as a computer download for $14.95. More details on this “movies-on-demand” project are discussed in today’s LA Times.

What does this have to do with classic animation? Warner Home Video Sr. VP George Feltenstein is behind this project. I’ve been told Warner’s will eventually make available its shorts (Joe McDoakes, anyone?), TV series (Marine Boy, perhaps?), and cartoons (Happy Harmonies??) in this program. Plans for animation collections are being brainstormed now… Any suggestions?

Here’s a delightful way to begin the week. Cartoon Brew reader Saturnome writes:

Your post last week featuring Bob Godfrey’s Great made me realize how some of the animated film Oscar winners are nowhere to be found on the Internet. I have uploaded some of the rarest ones: “Is It Always Right To Be Right?,” “The Box,” and “Leisure.” It’s all on my YouTube page. From what I know, this make “Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature” the only Oscar-winning short I haven’t seen anywhere around.

For convenience, I’ve also embedded the videos below. Thank you, Saturnome!

The Box (1967) directed by Fred Wolf

Is It Always Right To Be Right? (1970) directed by Lee Mishkin with design by Corny Cole and narration by Orson Welles

Leisure (1976) by Bruce Petty

Los Angeles Filmforum is a local organization that regularly screens experimental and avant-garde films, documentaries, and animation. They’ve just announced two programs of animated documentaries, April 5 & 13, presented in two different locations.

Part 1 is on Sunday night April 5, at 7:00 pm at the Egyptian Theatre (6712 Hollywood Blvd at Las Palmas) and deals with biographical profiles and interviews. It features recent animated shorts by Marie-Josee Saint Pierre, Nanette Burstein and Bob Sabiston, among others.

Part 2 is on Monday April 13, 8:00 pm at the Silent Movie Theatre (611 N Fairfax Avenue), and will present The Sinking of the Lusitania (1916) by Winsor McKay, Enter Life (1982) by Faith Hubley, Disney’s Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom! (1953), Never like the First Time (2005) by Jonas Odell, among others. More info here.