Here’s an intriguing trailer for a new, adult animated feature coming out of Sweden. Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh, uses still photography, stop motion cut-outs and 2D animation. It’s due for release later this year via ATMO.

(Thanks, Ivan Sarosacz)

Mike Peters takes a few shots in our direction this week:

Spline Doctors, one of the smartest animation podcasts around, has finally released a new episode, and the guest is UP production designer Ricky Nierva. I haven’t had a moment to listen to it yet, but I understand that Nierva speaks at length about his relationship with Maurice Noble. Can’t wait to hear it.

We’ve mentioned Eddie White and Ari Gibson’s stylish short The Cat Piano on the Brew several times before. They’ve just posted the entire short online. Enjoy it below, and get more info about it at their studio website The People’s Republic of Animation.

I will be off the internet for most of the next four days, enjoying my holiday weekend at Cinecon (the classic movie festival at the Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard). Cinecon specializes in screening rare films and recent studio restorations not available on DVD, TCM or anywhere else.

King Kelly of the USA (Monogram, 1934) is the kind of offbeat B-movie Cinecon would show – except that this film can be found easily on DVD, as it is one of hundreds of Hollywood orphan films that have fallen into the public domain. It’s not a particularly good picture (though co-stars Edgar Kennedy and Franklin Pangborn have some funny scenes, and they’re always worth watching), however it has this curious animation sequence about 18 minutes in.

Here, Broadway singer Guy Robertson (starring in his only film) tries wooing co-star Irene Ware in song, with a little help from his table cloth drawings. The animation looks familiar, but I can’t quite place who did it. Bizarre in a fun way – check out the mouth action – very much like something a New York studio would do. It certainly isn’t from Terrytoons or Van Bueren. Anyone want to take a guess who’s behind this… Ted Eshbaugh? Les Elton?

I ragged on an upcoming Brazillian production last week, but have since been alerted by several of our South American readers of a more ambitious, adult skewing, hand drawn film, Lutas. Buriti Movies and Gullane Filmes are producing, with animation production being done at LightStar Studios. Luiz Bolognesi is directing, with a scheduled release date in 2010.

(Thanks, Fabiana Catunda)

“My Favorite Way” is a colorful and visually inventive video for Black Drawing Chalks directed by Marck Al at the Brazilian studio Nitrocorpz. Virgilio Vasconcelos, who was responsible for the CG animation, has posted some interesting ‘making of’ footage and production details on his blog. In his email, Virgilio also told me that two of the band members animated on the project.

CREDITS
Production: Nitrocorpz / Bicleta sem Freio
Direction: Marck Al
Dir.Photography: Jovan de Melo
Illustrations: Douglas Castro, Victor Rocha, Jovan de Melo
2D Animation: Douglas Castro, Victor Rocha, Jovan de Melo
3D modelling: Virgilio Vasconcelos
3D animation: Virgilio Vasconcelos
Aditional animations: Suryara Bernardi, Daryn Wakasa
Composition: Victor Rocha, Marck Al

WOW! A real rarity today. It’s A Nose, an animated short from 1966 directed and designed by Mordi Gerstein (who prior to this had worked at UPA). The film is based on a surreal piece of satire by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, and was produced at Jack Zander’s NY studio Pelican Films. There’s some impressive bits of animation in the film, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering that Emery Hawkins and Jack Schnerk are credited as animators. Nowadays, Gerstein is illustrating children’s books, including the well-received The Man Who Walked Between the Towers.

(Thanks to Mordi’s son, Aram Gerstein, for posting the film onto YouTube.)