In case you haven’t been following news developments in the “real world”: Gawker is reporting that the “suspected Israeli operative” whose phone was being tapped by the NSA in conversations with representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) — was none other than our ol’ friend Haim Saban (the animation schlockmeister who became a zillionaire after dubbing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). That’s him, pictured above, on the far left (in more ways than one). The Gawker piece has a nice profile of Saban’s illustrious career.

I got a peek at the latest Disney Book Group catalog, prepared for this week’s London Book Fair. There are plenty of things coming up this fall of interest to our readers, for example:

THE PIXAR TREASURES by Tim Hauser (similar to The Disney Treasures with all sorts of removable “keepsakes”) - publication date September 2009.

THE MAKING OF DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Diane Landau (based on the Zemeckis motion capture film) - publication date September 2009

SEASON’S GREETINGS FROM DISNEY by Jeff Kurtti (a collection of vintage studio Christmas cards) - publication date September 2009

SOUTH OF THE BORDER WITH DISNEY by J.B. Kaufman (major history of Disney’s South American films) - publication date October 2009

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS ARCHIVE SERIES: ANIMATION, Intro by John Lasseter - publication date October 2009

WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING - a sequel to a previous Imagineering book, with a Forward by Bob Iger Intro by John Lasseter - publication date November 2009

WALT DISNEY’S PETER PAN by Dave Barry (yes that Dave Barry) and Ridley Pearson, Illustrated by Mary Blair - publication date September 2009

I was also intrigued by the catalog’s listing of two children’s books based on upcoming shorts: Pixar’s Partly Cloudy and Disney’s Prep & Landing. Click thumbnails below to see the catalog pages about these two unusual projects.

Videokrauting, created by Italians Nicola Ferrarese, Corrado Agnese, Valentina Mantello and Marzia Pellegatta, is a tribute to videogames animated entirely with sauerkraut. References are made to Tetris, Pac-Man and Prince of Persia.

They’ve also made Super Mario with beans and Asteroids with tomatoes. My favorite work by these filmmakers is an original creation however—D’Altra Parte è Così by Nicola Ferrarese. This two-minute film (posted below) uses simple stop-motion tricks to transform the ordinary and mundane—a spoon and other everyday objects—into a nail-biting action-packed episode.

(via Kotaku)

Speaking of Chuck Jones, an anonymous Argentinian Youtube user called “Lafacukur” recently uploaded a video of an edited version of the debut Coyote & Road Runner cartoon, Fast and Furry-ous, with an obviously tacked-on ending where the Coyote actually catches the Road Runner. The video has become viral and the Latin American press and TV media have made a big deal of it. Most of the press reports say that this is cartoon made by an animator by request of a Japanese millionaire that was sick of never seeing the Coyote succeed. I rather doubt it—but it’s a nice try.

(Thanks, Andrés Sanhueza)

Did you know Chuck Jones made an adaptation of The Jungle Book? Sadly, I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t. It’s even available on DVD.

This clip below offers a taste. Like most of Jones’s work from the 1970s, it’s dripping with cloying preciousness. And yet, it’s difficult to dislike it. Even Jones at his Jonesiest is a cut above the rest of the animation that came out of Hollywood during that decade.

(Thanks, Jupey Krusho)

George Pal came to America in 1940 with a contract to make animated shorts for Paramount. His Madcap Models (later Puppetoons) were a instant success, and Paramount played up, for publicity purposes, the unique methods Pal used: stop motion and replacement animation.

Mike Van Eaton recently shared this rare publicity photo with me (click picture above to see larger, fuller image). That’s actreses Martha O’Driscoll with Pal in the Paramount commisary, with “Sarong-Sarong” the star of the third puppetoon, Hoola Boola (1941). The caption on the back says “More than 7000 miniature, stringless manikins were used for the eight minute film”.

Here’s a short scene from Hoola Boola, featuring Jim Dandy and Sarong-Sarong:

Golden Age animation artist Homer Jonas (1928-1979) now has a Facebook fan page courtesy of his son, artist Jeff Jonas. The Facebook page includes artwork from Jonas’s work at Disney (101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty), as well as unpublished artwork, gag drawings, and vintage photos. Jeff says he’s planning to add more items in the future.

Too Art for TV, the annual art show exhibiting the fine art work of New York’s animation community, is gearing up for its fourth edition. The application deadline for this year’s show is April 30. The show is open to anybody who has worked in the animation industry, and while the focus remains on artists in New York City, they are also open to entries from animation artists outside of the city. Full entry details are available on the Too Art for TV website.