Who needs Viagra??? Just get a bar of Camay Soap!

Check out this set of five smokin’ hot animated spots from the 1950s that our friends at Something Weird Video just unearthed (first one embed below; then watch #2, #3, #4 and #5). The animators were not shy about letting us see the leading lady’s charms in the bath tub, and each commercial is packed with unsubtle Tex Avery-inspired “erection” double takes. Check them all out.

Inquiring minds want to know: who did them? What year? New York, L.A. or elsewhere? And for what market (Latin America? Europe?)? The credit to Technicolor on the main title might suggest these spots were intended to play movie theatres. Do any of our reader have any answers?

(Thanks, Joe Bacon)

Production artist Nicolas Marlet will be among those taking part in an artist panel at Alhambra’s Gallery Nucleus on Sunday March 28th, talking about and showing some of their work from Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon. Other artists in attendance will be: Alessandro Carloni (Head of Story), Pierre Olivier Vincent (Art Director) and Simon Otto (Head of Animation).

This event is free and its highly recommended you arrive early - seating is limited. The panel will begin at 3pm. For more information please check the Gallery Nucleus website.

Elk Hair Caddis is another mini-masterpiece from those crazy kids at Denmark’s Animation Workshop: Peter Smith, Alice Holme, Anders Brogaarde and Magnus Moller.

Peter Smith told us:

One of the goals with this piece of animation was to explore some of the boundaries of the 3D media, and how close we could bring it to a 2D feel in terms of broadness and flexibility. One of the very important inspirations that made us think along these lines was the work of the Swedish company Meindbender. Particularly the short Football vs. Rabbit was a very helpful source of inspiration. For the animation we used Maya and Blender (Anisculpt) and for comp we used Fusion.

Only on Cartoon Brew do you get scoops like this:

Just in time for Passover: Brew reader Afonso Bruno snapped this pic of the new rodent-head shaped ham slices now available in Paris supermarkets. It’s right up there with our previous posts on Disney food tie-ins like Aristo-Cats Cat Food, Old Yeller Dog Food and Mickey Mouse Liver Paste.

Chris Meledandri and his Universal-based Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me) have acquired the rights to Charles Addams famous cartoon family for Tim Burton to direct as a stop-mo 3D feature film. Michael Fleming at Deadline Hollywood has the scoop.

The article also outlines Universal’s future animated feature release plans: the April 1, 2011 release of I Hop with Russell Brand voicing the Easter Bunny; the Ricky Gervais creation Flanimals coming later 2011. Planned for 2012 is Where’s Waldo and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax.

The video for Bright Orange Air by Inlets (a.k.a Sebastian Krueger), directed by Benjamin and Stefan Ramirez Perez.

(Thanks, Doug Wallen)

One more plug for Craig Yoe’s Milt Gross book (it deserves it) now that you can order it on Amazon (for $29.19). Craig searched high and low for unseen Gross art to illustrate his 40-page introduction. I told him I had an unpublished Gross sketch given to me by Bob Clampett, but unfortunately I could not find it in time for inclusion in the book. I just found it yesterday.

So here it is - Gross caricatures Clampett (and himself?), with Clampett as a director yelling “Cut!”. Gross asks “With what?” What is Gross about to eat? A sausage covered with ketchup? A drippy eclair? It’s autographed to “Battling” Bob Clampett - what does that refer to? Lots to read into here. Enjoy!

Film collector Tom Stathes is quickly becoming the expert and archivist of cinema’s silent cartoon history. Check out his website and blog, buy his home-made DVDs and attend his local New York area Cartoon Carnivals (the next one is this Saturday, March 20th). Good stuff!