The National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire will be presenting a comprehensive exhibit of the work of independent animator Joanna Quinn this fall. The show, which will be held from October 16, 2009 through the end of February 2010, will display works by artists that have influenced Quinn (such as Gillray, Daumier, and Goya), early artwork by Quinn, and plenty of production artwork from her short films (Famous Fred, Dreams and Desires: Family Ties, Britannia, Girls Night Out) and advertising work (most famously, her series of bears-wiping-their-asses commercials for Charmin). Over at Michael Sporn’s blog, there are scanned pages from the exhibit’s catalog with more artwork and details about what will be on display.

The Little Mermaid reunion in Burbank last night was a blast. Co-Directors John Musker and Ron Clements (and panelists including Andreas Deja, Reuben Aquino, Mark Henn, Duncan Marjoribanks, moderator Tom Sito, among others) told great stories on how the film got made and the highs and lows of casting, production, test screenings and the ultimate public reaction to the final product. (Asifa-Hollywood recorded the panel on video).

During the Q & A portion, John Musker mentioned seeing a remarkable (and a bit scary) You Tube video of Nick Pitera and his cover of Part Of Your World. Check it out below:

Even more interesting is Pitera’s “duet” of A Whole New World from Musker and Clement’s Aladdin.

Opening today in New York, L.A. and San Francisco is a wonderful documentary on the career of songwriters Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman - the Sherman Brothers of Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Winnie The Pooh, Charlotte’s Web and Snoopy Come Home fame. I saw this film the other night and it was very entertaining (loaded with their songs) and very enlightening (loaded with surprisingly intimate information about the duo).

It’s a really good film, but publicity for The Boys is not so good - and I think the film will only play for one week (in L.A. at the The Regent in Westwood, the AMC Meteron in San Francisco and Landmark Sunshine Cinema on Houston Street in NYC). Check it out this weekend - you’ll be glad you did.

For reasons unbeknownst to me, there are not a lot of Sheridan-produced student films which have been posted online. Below are two that I’ve found so far:

The Peasant and the Root by Brock Gallagher

The Chronicles of Turghot and Dragam by Kelly Turnbull

The students may not be posting their films online, but the school is presenting a screening of this year’s work on June 9 and 10 at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto (located at Bloor and Bathhurst). Admission is $5. The screening on June 9 is at 7pm and the screening on June 10 is at 9:30pm. The line-up for the screening can be found on the blog of Sheridan instructor Mark Mayerson. The trailer below, showing snippets from various student films, offers a sense of what was made in Oakville this year:

Static: An Interactive Approach to Animation is a thesis film created by Jack Lykins in SVA’s Computer Arts program. All the video and audio playback in the film is controlled by turntable, and zooms and rotations are manipulated through a MIDI interface. In other words, the filmmaker can remix their film live and create a completely original experience each time. It’s fascinating to think of the possibilities this presents; like a DJ or jazz musician, a filmmaker can now improvise within the cartoon by remixing continuity, adding new clips, and revising ideas over time. The next Tex Avery just may have to learn to use a turntable too.

A higher-res version of Static can be viewed on SVA’s website along with all the other student films produced in their computer animation and visual effects department.

(Thanks, Kevin)

A Cartoon Brew reader pointed out this blatant ad on Craigslist asking animation artists to work on a Cartoon Network pilot with no guarantee of payment unless the show gets picked up for series. The ad reads:

Deferred payment 1st episode (no-pay), action/adventure series, Cartoon Network, paid assignments and/or production contract after 1st episode.

We decided to take the bait and contact them to find out who’s blessing the Internet with this wonderful opportunity to work for free. Here’s the response from Associate Producer Sasha Tyler at McNeal Enterprises:

Pilot/series is being produced for Cartoon Network, deferred pay 1st-ep(no-pay), regular pay other eps and/or production contract, in moving forward contact the project’s executive producer Kenny Mack, let him know position your interested in, strengths, skills, availability, etc; KMack@McNealEnterprises.biz or 800 481-9754 x 4, PST.

Their website offer no information about what they do, but I found another website of theirs that displays an awfully lame and generic looking action-adventure show called The Savior Chronicles. Sounds like a good match.

The only question that remains: Is Cartoon Network stupid enough to give these amateurs a pilot deal or are they sneakily using Cartoon Network’s name to trick young and inexperienced artists into working on a lame project for free? Either way, this company’s business practices have fail written all over them.

I don’t actually recommend this film, but in the interests of animation history (and as a connoisseur of animation “worsts”) I must note the public screening this Saturday of Once Upon A Girl (1976) at the Silent Movie Theatre in Hollywood. The program begins at 10pm preceded by several hardcore porno-toons, including the silent-era classic Buried Treasure.

Once Upon A Girl was created in the wake of Fritz The Cat. If you ever wanted to know what an X-rated Filmation cartoon would look like… here it is. Strangely enough, it was actually made by a bunch of Hanna Barbera artists led by Don Jurwich. Larry Huber, Joel Seibel, and Barry Bunce are among the familiar names in the animation crew. And yes, that’s voice actor Hal Smith - in drag - as Mother Goose in the live action scenes. Here’s a censored version of the trailer:

It’s tonight and everyone’s invited. ASIFA-Hollywood Proudly Presents The Little Mermaid Twentieth Anniversary Reunion. Special guests for the panels will include the film’s writers and directors John Musker & Ron Clements, animators Andreas Deja (King Triton), Mark Henn (Ariel), Duncan Marjoribanks (Sebastian), Reuben Aquino (Ursula) and Tina Price (CAPS system and early CGI). The panel will be moderated by animator Tom Sito.

The event starts at 7pm at Woodbury University, Fletcher Jones Foundation Auditorium. Reservations are not required for this event. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of ASIFA-Hollywood and students of Woodbury admitted free; non-members $10. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Parking is free. Woodbury University is located at 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., in Burbank, California.