Sorry for the late notice. There is a sale today at Clars Auction Gallery that is offering several lots from the estate of Preston Blair. Among the material being offered is (click thumbnails below to see enlarged image): original art to pages of his essential Walter Foster Animation book, several autographed copies of the same, the storyboards for Journey Back To Oz, rare magazine articles on Red Hot Riding Hood, cels and production art from his commercial films, as well as this transparancy negative (pictured above, flipped to positive) for the rare original titles of Columbia’s 1930s Krazy Kat cartoons. If you act fast you may still be able to place a bid on some of these items. If not you can, like me, simply enjoy some of these images online.

(Thanks, Robert Forman)

“Yo! You down wit’ dis? Listen up, I hear Cupid got some new dope powers…” Man, I love classic cartoon posters, but this one from 1917 is not only ugly, unappealing and racist (click image at left to enlarge), but it seemingly anticipates hip-hop slang from 90 years into the future. The word “dope” on this one-sheet poster is indeed a drug reference: for a new love potion - which Cupid in the cartoon uses to create mischief. The word “Powers” is not part of the film’s title, its the name of the series (A Pat “Powers Cartoon Comedy”). The text is so poorly laid out it, it can be read the wrong way (at least, by me). I found this poster while browsing at Moviegoods.com, they are selling this repro for $19.99 - the original would be worth thousands. For the record, Pat Sullivan’s Cupid Gets Some New Dope (1917) features his character Sammy Jonsin as “Cupid”. Two years later, Sullivan would find lasting success with the creation of Felix the Cat.

NPR.org posted these thoughtful two-cents from a female Pixar viewer. Linda Holmes writes:

“Of the ten movies you’ve released so far, ten of them have central characters who are boys or men, or who are anthropomorphized animals or robots or bugs who are voiced by and imagined as boys or men. These movies feature women and girls to varying degrees — The Incredibles, in particular — but the story is never “a girl and the things that happen to her,” the way it’s “a boy and what happens to him.”

While you’re checking in at NPR, don’t miss the interview with Pete Docter recently broadcast on Fresh Air. Docter talks about UP and animation in general. Good stuff. Here’s the link.

(Thanks, John Paul Cassidy and PJ)

If you think the U.S. has a monopoly on ruining its classic cartoon stars… have you seen Little Lulu´s Brazilian-made comics revival as a teenager?

Here is more info (in Portuguese) and pictures. Check out the slim Tubby - according to this info, Tubby left his violin to lead a rock band, Annie is the gang’s geek and a videogame freak, Gloria is a fashion expert and Alvin has become a skater and surfer.

(Thanks, Alfons Moline)

When I saw this short last month at the student film screening for the School of Visual Arts, I instantly knew it was something that we had to put on Cartoon Brew TV. To be perfectly honest, part of the reason was pure selfishness. It’s because I wanted to watch the film again…and again…and again. Jake Armstrong’s The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9! is not only one of the best student shorts I’ve seen in a long time, it’s one of the finest animated shorts, period.

From the opening scene with its striking blood-red color styling, you know you’re watching a short of uncommon quality. The personality animation in this film is superb, and the physical movement of the alien is Mars and Beyond worthy. The use of cutting and camera shows a confident filmmaker at work. The visual style is refreshingly different and a treat for the eyes. Where the film really shines though is in its storytelling; the humor isn’t gag driven, but rather evolves organically from the interactions between the two main characters. This is a cartoon that is sophisticated in all respects, yet done so expertly that the end results appear effortless.

I could praise this film till the cows come home, but the best thing I can do is to invite you to watch The Terrible Thing of Alpha-9! exclusively on Cartoon Brew TV.

I haven’t seen UP yet, mostly owing to the fact that there aren’t any local theaters showing it in a regular non-eye pain inducing theatrical version. The good news is that if I wait until August, I can check out the GoodTimes Home Video version called What’s Up: Balloon to the Rescue. As long as it’s got a flying house, an old man and a kid, I’ll be happy.

(via I Watch Stuff)

Awesome news from The Hollywood Reporter: Monster Safari, a project created by the boys at LA-based Screen Novelties—Mark Caballero, Chris Finnegan and Seamus Walsh—is being turned into a stop-motion feature by the Jim Henson Co. Craig Zobel and Matt Chapman, creators of Homestarrunner.com, are scripting the feature. According to THR, the story “revolves around what happens when the Earth’s monsters come out of hiding and a pair of bumbling crypto-zoologists spring into action to save them from a ruthless big-game hunter.”

I’m really excited about this! It’s rare to see stop-motion animation that is as cartoony, energetic, and fun as what they do at Screen Noveltiess, and their cartoons are never anything less than super appealing and entertaining. I can’t wait to see them show off their stuff in a full-length film.

Check out some images posted on their blog from the original Monster Safari short. Below is one of the studio’s earliest shorts, Mysterious Mose, made in 1999:

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NY is putting on a major retrospective about Tim Burton’s career this fall. It will run from November 22, 2009 through April 26, 2010. There is a page about the show on MoMA’s website, which includes the following information:

Following the current of his visual imagination from his earliest childhood drawing through his mature work, the exhibition presents artwork generated during the conception and production of his films, and highlights a number of unrealized projects and never-before-seen pieces, as well as student art, his earliest non-professional films, and examples of his work as a storyteller and graphic artist for non-film projects. The opposing themes of adolescence and adulthood, and the elements of sentiment, cynicism, and humor inform his work in a variety of mediums—drawings, paintings, storyboards, digital and moving-image formats, puppets and maquettes, props, costumes, ephemera, sketchbooks, and cartoons.

In conjunction with the show, MoMA is publishing a 64-page catalog that can be pre-ordered from Amazon. The images in this post are taken from a promotional item from the book. Tim Burton’s official website advertises that a new book called The Art of Tim Burton will soon be released that is 400 pages and has over 1000 illustrations. This appears to be a different book from the MoMA catalog.

More Burton images from the MoMA book after the jump.

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