Several of the original animation puppets from the 1964 Rankin/Bass TV classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer have been found:
"Stored casually among the household holiday décor of a former Rankin / Bass employee, the Rudolph and Santa puppets came out every December to take their place under the family Christmas tree. With last year's 40th anniversary celebration of the television special, and the recent multi-million dollar merchandising of everyone's favorite holiday characters, the owner realized there might be some public interest in revealing these lost treasures."Kevin Kriess of TimeAndSpaceToys.Com purchased the models and is restoring them with plans to display them at various comic book conventions in 2006.
(Thanks to Jim Downey)
EAT DOG CAT MOUSE is the first animated film by Kwok Fung Lam. It was commissioned by Channel 4 in the UK. It's not a perfect film, but there's a lot of fun ideas in it, including a sort of "Russian nesting doll" visual theme. (And as a sidenote, it's a lot of fun saying the director's name out loud: Kwok...Fung...Lam. Yeah, it's definitely Friday around here.).
The fps magazine annual charity auction begins today and runs through December 9. All of the profits from the eBay auction will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Lots of nice cartoon stuff is available for bidding including:
Limited edition Gorillaz action figures donated by Kid Robot, including the sold-out Noodle Red Edition, limited to 2000 copiesFragile Machine posters signed by Aioneko's Ben Steele, donated by the Waterloo Festival of Animated Cinema
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride movie posters, including marquee posters signed by animation co-director Mike Johnson, donated by Warner Bros.
I've been wondering who did this Mastercard commercial I keep seeing on TV, which is a nicely done hand drawn piece, but perhaps a bit too derivative of the Mary Blair-designed Disney short THE LITTLE HOUSE (1952). A quick online search reveals that it was directed by Sarah Roper out of Sherbert in the UK. The Sherbert website has many nice examples of work by the studio's various directors. Also should be noted that Blair's LITTLE HOUSE is coming out on dvd next week, on the must-have Disney Treasures "Rarities" dvd.
Disney animator Clay Kaytis, creator of The Animation Podcast, has created a great new MAP that allows you to see exactly where different animation studios are located around the world. The map can be edited by other users, who can each contribute addresses that they know. Clay explains the idea on the Animation Podcast:
Wayfaring is a new site that allows anyone to make custom maps and stick pins in them for whatever purpose they want. Of course, my first idea instinct was to make an animation map. I started it by putting on all the studios whose locations I was sure about. I know there are many more, so if you know where you work, add it to the map. Anyone can add to it, but I think you need to register.
UPDATE: Stop motion animator Tennessee Reid Norton wrote to let me know that stop motion animators have been doing a similar map project for the past few weeks. Their map is HERE.
Animation writer Anne D. Bernstein ("Daria") has started a website to sell Odd Books Online, "eclectic books for eccentric people".
Amongst the odd books and mod books in her initial offering, THE GREAT AMERICAN CHEWING GUM BOOK (1976), a first edition of THE ALICE B. TOKLAS COOKBOOK (1954) and a rare first issue of COMEDY MAGAZINE (1980).
Anne has just started the site and plans frequent updates. Her descriptions of the books are fun to read too.
Meanwhile Channel Frederator has now posted episode 6 of their series of video podcasts, this one including the first classic cartoon in the bunch - "Breakfast Pals", a campy theatrical Rice Krispies commercial from 1939. I've been informed that further old-time cartoons are planned for this series. This week's episode contains four other highly entertaining independent animated shorts of recent vintage. If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now: this series of video podcasts is well worth subscribing to.
Here's the TRAILER for what promises to be the next great hand-drawn anima...oh...wait a second.
Great job by Yowza Animation on this.
UPDATE: Bill Turner has some enlightening comments on the above:
Besides the actual animation by Yowza, the Best Buy "Soar" spot was produced by John Smith and directed by Elliot M. Bour & Saul Andrew Blinkoff. They were the team behind the Annie nominated "Springtime With Roo" and the upcoming "Kronk's New Groove" from Disney. "Soar" was a freelance job, not Disney. Check out some of their other work HERE. Their sense of comedy and love of classic Disney really comes through, especially in "Kronk's New Groove."
Our pal, Didier Ghez, writes to us about a new limited edition book about Vladimir "Bill" Tytla. I hadn't heard of this, but boy, does it sound awesome:
Adrienne Tytla has recently released her long awaited book DISNEY'S GIANT. Part biography of Bill Tytla by his wife, part scrapbook, this huge volume (about 1000 pages) is extremely difficult to classify or to explain. Let's just say that Disney historians had been awaiting this document for years and that it will not disappoint them. Let's add that, because of its high price ($165) and its very specific focus (Bill Tytla), it is advised that only the most serious Disney historians buy it. To do so, send an email to Howard Green at howard (dot) green (at) disney (dot) com.
PES, one of the most singular talents working in animation today, has posted a couple great new films on his site -- THE MAKING OF KABOOM! and THE MAKING OF ROOF SEX -- which explain the thinking behind two of his best known films. I'd recommend watching the shorts first, and then the 'making of' films. And don't worry, despite its title, ROOF SEX is sfw -- unless you're offended by furniture going at it.
(via as far as the eye can see)
This Thursday, December 1st, I will be showing several cartoons in 16mm for my regular monthly gig as resident film historian for Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys at the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood. Be there!
Next Tuesday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will explore how animation and live action have blended together to create "a new cinematic language".
ROGER RABBIT, KING KONG, I-ROBOT, POLAR EXPRESS- where does the animated film end and the live action film begin? What is the future?THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL of the MOTION PICTURE ACADEMY PRESENTS: ANIMATION INVADES LIVE ACTION Tuesday December 6th, 7:30pm at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. Scheduled guests include John Dykstra, Bill Kroyer, Ken Ralston, Rob Minkoff, Alfred Molina, Bob Kurtz, Anthony LaMolinara, Steven Poster and Tom Sito. Plus lots of rare footage. Tickets on Sale NOW, $5.00 for the general public. Doors open at 6:30PM. For more info and how to order click here.
Andes also had signifigant guest parts on STAR TREK and THE RIFLEMAN - and was the co-star of GLYNIS (a short lived 1963 Glynis Johns TV show I watched when I was a kid), but I digress. My point is, Andes earned his wings.
"BIIIirdRrdMaAnnnnnn!"
Industry artists Kelsey Mann, Tim Szabo and Steve Meyer are working on an independent film noir short and they're documenting its production HERE.
Taylor Jessen writes an appreciation of the under-the-radar Hong Kong-produced animated feature MY LIFE AS MCDULL (2001). I'd heard good things about this film, but never really made an effort to check it out. After reading Taylor's piece though, I want to see it.
Jeremy Bernstein has posted some nice thumbnails from his scenes on MADAGASCAR.
Shannon Tindle, supervising character designer on FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS, now has a blog. (via Ovi Nedelcu)
Tee Bosustow's UPA website has a two-minute teaser for his forthcoming UPA documentary. Comments on the video are from Geefwee Boedoe, Leonard Maltin, Bill Melendez, Mike Kazaleh and Oscar Grillo, among others.