22 Comments »   posted in Advertising, TV

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Yesterday Michael Sporn posted a commentary about how the musical composers at animation studios of the past served as a trademark for a particular studio. Each had a unique style and sound which immediately identify the cartoon to its makers.

Scott Bradley, who composed the music for MGM cartoons from 1934 through 1957, was one of the best. His delightful scores are upbeat and lush sounding, and perfectly capture the right feel of the upscale MGM animation. But what if Bradley had composed a score for a B-Studio like Universal? Well it just so happens that Bradley did take on such a freelance assignment in 1938 just prior to joining MGM full time, where he’d be under contract for the rest of his career (He had previously been a composer at large, creating music for Ub Iwerks and Harman-Ising cartoons).

Baby Kittens (1938) is an unremarkable, run-of-the-mill Universal short, directed by Alex Lovy for Walter Lantz Productions. It’s made even more unbearable by the voice-over “thoughts” of the dog character. Print uploaded (embedded below) has time code obscuring part of the picture, but we present it here for its soundtrack not the animation or story. Bradley’s trademark themes and music cues are all there, and are much more sophistcated than what Lantz house composer Frank Marsales was doing at the time. If you close your eyes and just listen to the track (and try to ignore the dog), you might think you are listening to a 40s MGM cartoon – proving Michael Sporn’s point entirely.

13 Comments »   posted in Classic

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Advertise!

July 4, 2009 12:05 am

Comic-Con International: San Diego is coming up in less than three weeks. If you are running a booth or promoting a sketchbook, comic or toys, why not advertise on Cartoon Brew? We are offering a special Comic-Con rate for a limited number of small box ads (at right) that will run for two weeks (July 13th through 27th). Use the ad to let people know where you will be at the Con—or use it to reach thousands world-wide who cannot make it. The deadline to reserve space at this special rate is July 9th. Drop an email to our sales rep at Reachout Media and we will connect you to the Brew.

2 Comments »   posted in Advertising

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Ice Age 3 talkback

July 3, 2009 7:00 pm

We haven’t seen it yet… Did you? Give us your feedback in the comments below.

49 Comments »   posted in Feature Film

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TONIGHT IN LA: “Seductive Espionage: The World of Yuki 7″

July 3, 2009 11:33 am

Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra is quickly becoming the the hub in LA for awesome animation and illustration-related art shows and programs. If you haven’t already noticed their ad on the right side of the Brew for tonight’s show, take note. From 7-11pm tonight, they’re hosting the opening for Kevin Dart’s art book project “Seductive Espionage: The World of Yuki 7,” in which Dart concocted an imaginary Sixties female super-spy and developed an entire history around her film career. In addition to Dart’s artwork, the book project includes contributions from other artists, many of whom work in animation: Bill Presing, Bob Logan, Bobby Pontillas, Brigette Barrager, Brittany Lee, Chris Turnham, Clio Chiang, Daniel Arriaga, Don Shank, Elizabeth Ito, Horia Dociu, Joey Chou, Jon Klassen, Josh Parpan, Justin Parpan, Megan Brain, Scott Morse, Sean Szeles, Stephane Coedel, Ted Mathot, and Victoria Ying. Full details about tonight’s event on the Gallery Nucleus website. If you can’t pick up the book at Gallery Nucleus tonight, it can also be ordered from the Fleet Street Scandal website.

Here is a trailer for the project, directed by Stephane Coedel and Kevin Dart:

26 Comments »   posted in Books, Events, Jon Klassen, Kevin Dart

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The Slow Death of Cartoon Network

July 3, 2009 2:51 am

Guess who else doesn’t like the new CN? The people who used to make cartoons at the network, like Chowder creator C.H. Greenblatt. He posted the following comment on his blog a couple days ago: “As I sit here on an empty floor of an empty building looking at all the empty animation offices, I can at least put this on endless loop for some comfort.” The endless loop refers to this ignominious piece of video.

Meanwhile, at Cartoon Network’s executive offices, where the blind continue to lead the blind into irrelevance, they’re convinced that they’ve discovered what kids really want to watch on TV nowadays: golf. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the farcical details about one of the network’s new programming initiatives, which involves teaming up with the PGA of America to offer live-action golf shows for kids. “We have to work hard to ensure that we continue reaching families and young people for golf to be relevant in the future,” said Joe Steranka, chief executive officer of the PGA of America. “The Cartoon Network complements the PGA of America’s leadership in junior golf.”

If you wish, there’s a Boycott CN Real group on Facebook. Frankly, I’m just about ready to label it a lost cause and move on.

79 Comments »   posted in Bad Ideas

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2009 Holiday Animation

July 3, 2009 12:30 am

For Thanksgiving: Planet 51 is lookin’ a whole lot better in this new trailer.

As for Christmas: Furry Porn!

You know where I’ll really be on Christmas Day? Probably seeing The Princess and the Frog for the third time.

(Thanks, Mathew Gaastra)

33 Comments »   posted in Feature Film

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