These Spongebob character expression and pose designs by Robert Ryan Cory raise TV animation to the level of art. The creativity and design in these drawings is invigorating and inspiring.

This has to be the most trivial post I’ve ever written - and I’ve written some pretty trivial posts - but at least it gives me the chance to once again plug the latest Pixar Little Golden Book tie-in.

Animator Ken Priebe discovered on the first page (center image, click thumbnails below to enlarge) of the Golden Book adaptation of UP, if you look carefully at Carl’s scrapbook, spin it upside down (below right), you can see a microscopic image of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit! Those sly devils at Disney Publishing. Tried to pull a fast one on us, aye? Last year we found an Oswald “cameo” in the Wall-E Little Golden Book. Perhaps this is the beginning of a trend?

Kudos to designer Stuart Smith and illustrators Jean-Paul Orpinas and Scott Tilley. You keep making these books look cool, and I’ll keep buying ‘em!

According to an article posted today in the trade publication Broadcasting and Cable, Cartoon Network will start advertising its new CN Real (live action) block with a marketing blitz, which will include a Facebook page and a “fanzine”. The article states:

“Cartoon is also relying on decidedly old-school technology in an attempt to lure viewers to the new lineup: a fanzine. The network is printing eight million copies of the fanzine, which will blend pop culture tips with promotional messaging related to the new shows. The publication will be distributed at movie theaters, Six Flags amusement parks, the Essence Music Festival, Cartoon Network live tours and other events.”

Wait a minute… “a fanzine?” Eight million copies? Any publication printing eight million copies, being bankrolled by a major corporation, and distributed in movie theatres and amusement parks isn’t exactly a fanzine. But then again, Cartoon Network isn’t exactly a Cartoon Network anymore…

P.S. While I was searching Facebook yesterday, I found this Boycott Cartoon Network’s “CN Real” Block page. Thought you should know.

What do you think?

Waiting at the Geneva Airport for my flight back to New York and thought I’d share pics of a few of the fine animation folk I hung out with this past week in Annecy.

New York crew: PES, Fran Krause and Signe Baumane

Eddie White, co-director of The Cat Piano from The People’s Republic of Animation

Directors Andreas Hykade (Ring of Fire, The Runt) and Bill Plympton

Director Candy Kugel of Buzzco Associates , designer Harald Siepermann, and director David OReilly

Filmmaker Ruth Lingford, Projector festival director Susie Wilson, animation curator of the Cinémathèque Québecoise Marco de Blois, and Studio AKA creative director and Lost and Found director Philip Hunt

Mike and Tim Rauch of Rauch Bros. Animation and designer Erin Kilkenny

Joost van den Bosch (l.) of Ka-Ching Cartoons and Tomm Moore, co-director of Brendan and the Secret of Kells

Director Cordell Barker (The Cat Came Back) surrounded by men from Annecy’s Popeye fan club.

I’ve been remiss in mentioning the new limited TV series from Warner Bros. - Man Vs. Cartoon - which began last night on cable’s TRU TV. It’s on every Saturday night at 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific. The premise of the program is watching a team of New Mexico tech engineers and students build and demonstrate a variety of Wile E. Coyote Acme contraptions. I caught the first episode and it was typical of these reality shows - lots of interviews, lots of preparation for the stunt and a mediocre payoff at the end. Not very exciting, but it held my interest nonetheless. This week they recreated the Rube Goldberg Road Runner trap from Hook Line and Stinker (1958).

In coming weeks they will create a real life version of the Indestructo-Ball from Chuck Jones’ Wild about Hurry (1959) and will maneuver a hot air balloon to unload an anvil onto an oblivious target below (i.e. 1957’s Scrambled Aches).

If Cartoon Network is moving toward live action reality, this is the kind of idea they could have started with.

The 2009 Annecy International Animation Festival wrapped up a few hours ago in Annecy, France. Here is the link to the complete list of winners. Top prize for short film, the Annecy Cristal, was awarded to the Swedish film Slavar (Slaves), a CG piece about Sudanese children forced to work as slaves. A special distinction for short film went to David OReilly’s Please Say Something and the Audience Award was awarded to PES’s Western Spaghetti.

The Annecy Cristal for feature film was divided between two films: Henry Selick’s Coraline and Adam Elliot’s Mary and Max. Audience award for feature film went to Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey’s Brendan and the Secret of Kells.

Other notable awards include Cristal for best TV production to Alexey Alexeev’s Log Jam, best TV Special to Philip Hunt’s Lost and Found, music video to Karni & Saul’s “Float” for Flogging Molly, and best graduation film to Carlo Vogele’s For Sock’s Sake.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has put up video excerpts of the panel discussions from the infamous Milt Kahl Tribute in April. Great memories of Milt from John Musker, Brad Bird, Andreas Deja, Alice Davis, Richard Williams, etc. Check it out

(Thanks, David Nethery)