I’m way overdue in mentioning this traditional hand drawn adult feature now in production at IDT Film Roman in Burbank.I was visiting some friends on The Simpsons yesterday and wound up checking out some of the pre-production art for the Rob Zombie animated feature The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto. There’s no doubt in my mind that this, at worst, will become a cult classic — and at best, it just might inspire other traditional animators to produce something equally innovative, commercially atractive and as artistically satisfying as this.Based on a Zombie-authored comic book from a few years back, the film is an R-rated action-comedy cartoon about a retired Luchador and his sexy secret agent sister and their battle against an evil super villian, his zombies and… oh yes… Hitler’s head in a jar. It’s loaded with female nudity and lots of gratuitous bloodshed… and it looks hilarious. Laugh out loud funny. It’s got funny drawings and an all-star voice cast (Paul Giamatti is Dr. Satan, pictured above) — it looks a lot better than it has any right to be.Mr. Lawrence (Spongebob Squarepants) is the director on the project and Rob Zombie himself has a hands-on creative role as co-writer and executive producer. Bob Jaques (Ren & Stimpy) is involved with the timing. The film was originally a direct-to-video project but it’s turning out so well that a theatrical release is being planned. I’ll try have more info on this film as the production continues on – it’ll certainly be one to keep your eye on for next year.

Tomorrow night, August 18th, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills will present A Salute To Norman McLaren, hosted by animation critic Charles Solomon. The evening will include the screening of thirteen newly restored and remasterd 35mm prints of McLaren’s pioneering work for the National Film Board of Canada. Films include NEIGHBORS (1952), A CHAIRY TALE (1957), BEGONE DULL CARE (1949), STARS AND STRIPES (1940), BLINKITY BLANK (1955) and eight others. A panel discussion will precede the screening; panelists include animator and former McLaren colleague Chris Hinton, USC animation professor Christine Panushka, McLaren colleague and Oscar nominated animator
Ishu Patel, and Simpson’s director David Silverman. Tickets are $5. and the event will be presented at 8pm in the Academy’s Goldwyn Theatre at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. More information is posted on the Academy’s website.

A bunch of fine articles were sent our way…First, The New York Times ran a small piece in yesterday’s Sunday edition, about our friends in the New York animation scene, calling them The Real Cartoon Network.Next, Keith Lango, a character animator on The Ant Bully, discusses what it was like working on a project that he describes as “a big stinking pile of average corporate mush”. Keith Lango on The Ant Bully.And finally… think film piracy is bad in U.S.? BBC News is reporting that CARS 2 is on sale in Peru!(Thanks Gary Meyer, Bryan Ballinger and Signe Baumane)

The Sunday L.A. Times mentioned that a new film called ROMEO AND JULIET: SEALED WITH A KISS was being released in southern California this Friday. That was news to me, so I did a quick Google search and found its website. Sheesh! Traditional 2-D animation has enough problems without theatrical releases like this! I support the efforts traditional animation artists (and in this case, the co-director of WE’RE BACK and FIEVEL GOES WEST) who choose to ignore current market trends and find funding for personal projects or commercial independent productions – but this clearly low-budget effort may set the cause back another five years. Don’t believe me? Check the trailer.This feature is being distributed by Indican Pictures, a small L.A. based outfit, and it may be fine kiddie fodder for home video – but theatrical audiences, even those who might attend Saturday matinees, have moved on from this sort of thing. At least the film gave work to several talented local animators – Indican’s next release, the Norwegian import Capatin Sabertooth, looks even more aesthetically horrendous.

This is a lot of fun…An MP3 of The Shell Show (January 16th, 1937) starring Joe Cook, with special guest Mae Questel (as the voice of Betty Boop). Betty (Questel) shows up about half way through and she joins Cook in a musical fairy tale skit. Betty sings the Gordon and Revel “Shirley Temple” hit, Oh My Goodness and it could easily be the track of a lost Fleischer cartoon. Hmmm… Perhaps someone will be inspired to make it.(Thanks, Mark Mayerson)

Sounds like John Canemaker, Bill Plympton and hundreds of South American animation fans had a great time at the Anima Mundi festival last month in Brazil. Celbi Pegoraro of the Portuguese language Animation Animagic website posted a report in English (with pictures) here. Looks like everyone had a blast.

One of the coolest things about Nickelodeon during the past 12 years has been its print magazine, particularly “The Comic Book” section which regularly features story and art by underground and alternative cartoonists such as Sam Henderson, Justin Green, Kaz, David Mazzuchelli, Wayno, Johnny Ryan and Kim Deitch. Now Nick editors Dave Roman and Chris Duffy haved started a Nick Mag Comics Live Journal, a new blog, which will give us the lowdown on the artists who contribute to The Comic Book. This little sub-section of the magazine is one of the best kept secrets in the cartooning world and it deserves some long overdue recognition. Take a look.

Warner Bros. has announced the November 14th release date for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4. See the trailer here. The contents have been leaked to TVshowsondvd.com and I recommend going there to read the full list of the cartoons that will be included on this volume.As usual, the 60 uncut digitally remastered cartoons are only half the story. The other part is the bonus materials that enhance our appreciation of the Looney Tunes legacy. Here’s what they are:BUGS BUNNY – Disc 1Commentaries
• Rabbit Hood by Director Eric Goldberg
• Operation: Rabbit by Writer Paul Dini
• Mississippi Hare by Director Eric Goldberg
• Hurdy-Gurdy Hare by Writer Paul Dini
• 8 Ball Bunny by Historian Jerry Beck
• Rabbit Romeo by Actor June Foray and Historian Jerry BeckAlternate Audio Programs
• Operation: Rabbit Music and Effects Track
• Knight-Mare Hare Music Only Track
• Southern Fried Rabbit Music and Effects Track
• Sahara Hare Music Only Track
• Barbary-Coast Bunny Music Only Track
• To Hare is Human Music Only Track
• Rabbit Romeo Music Only TrackBehind the Tunes
• Twilight in Tunes: The Music of Raymond Scott
• Powerhouse in PicturesBugs Bunny Superstar Pt. 1 (1976 documentary)Fifty Years of Bugs Bunny in 3 ½ Minutes (1989 short)The Bugs Bunny Show
• Ballpoint Puns Bridging Sequences
• Foreign Legion Leghorn Audio Recording SessionsTrailer Gallery
• Bugs Bunny’s Cartoon Carnival
• Bugs Bunny’s All-Star RevueFRANK TASHLIN – Disc 2Commentaries
• The Case of the Stuttering Pig by Animator Mark Kausler
• Now That Summer is Gone by Historian Michael Barrier with Director Frank Tashlin
• Porky in the North Woods by Animator Mark Kausler
• You’re an Education by Historian Daniel Goldmark
• Plane Daffy by Filmmaker Greg Ford
• Cracked Ice by Historian Michael Barrier with Director Frank Tashlin
• Puss N Booty by Historian Jerry Beck
• I Got Plenty of Mutton by Filmmaker Greg Ford
• Porky’s Poultry Plant by Historian Michael Barrier with Director Frank Tashlin
• The Stupid Cupid by Director Eddie FitzgeraldBugs Bunny Superstar Pt. 2 (1976 documentary)Porky and Daffy in “The William Tell Overture”Frank Tashlin’s Storybooks
• Little Chic’s Wonderful Mother
• Tony and ClarenceFrom the Vault
• The Goldbrick (1943 Snafu short)
• The Home Front (1943 Snafu short)
• Censored (1944 Snafu short)SPEEDY – Disc 3Commentaries
• Cat-Tails for Two by Actor Stan Freberg and Historian Jerry Beck
• Mexican Boarders by Filmmaker Greg Ford with Director Friz Freleng
• Nuts and Volts by Animator Art Leonardi and Historian Jerry Beck
• The Wild Chase by Writer Paul DiniAlternate Audio Programs
• Cat-Tails for Two Music and Effects Track
• Tabasco Road Music Only Track
• Mexicali Schmoes Music Only Track
• West of the Pesos Music Only Track”Friz on Film” (A new one hour documentary)From the Vault
• 90 Day Wondering (1956 Army reinlistment film by Chuck Jones)
• Drafty, Isn’t It? (1957 Army recruitment film by Chuck Jones)CATS – DISC 4Commentaries
• Conrad the Sailor by Filmmaker Greg Ford with Director Chuck Jones
• The Aristo-Cat by Director Eddie Fitzgerald
• The Aristo-Cat by Filmmaker Greg Ford with Director Chuck Jones
• Dough Ray Me-ow by Historian Jerry Beck
• Pizzicato Pussycat by Daniel Goldmark
• The Unexpected Pest by Actor June Foray and Historian Jerry BeckAlternate Audio Programs
• Cat Feud Music Only Track
• The Unexpected Pest Music Only Track
• Go Fly a Kit Music Only Track
• A Peck of Trouble Music and Effects TrackBehind the Tunes
• One Hit Wonders
• Sing-a-Song of Looney Tunes
• The Art of the Gag
• Wild Lines: The Art of Voice Acting
• Looney Tunes: A Cast of ThousandsFrom the Vault
• Porky’s Breakdowns
• Sahara Hare Storyboard Reel
• Porky’s Poor Fish Storyboard Reel

Forget those mo-fo snakes on the plane. Samuel L. Jackson is voicing the lead character in an original Spike TV anime series AFRO SAMURAI. This 5-part series is being produced in English by Japan’s Gonzo Digimation. Jackson as also apparently developing a live action version. The anime series will debut this fall, and a trailer for it can be seen here.

In case you haven’t noticed, CG animated penquins are apparently hot (at least among the Hollywood movers and shakers). Just take a look at MADAGASCAR, HAPPY FEET and SURF’S UP. Now Berkely Breathed has chimed in on the CG debate in the current storyline of his comic strip, OPUS.(Thanks, Mark Bunker)

No, this isn’t a picture of the latest Disney Treasures DVD. It’s a new trade paperback from Gemstone Publishing, and another labor-of-love compiled by Gemstone’s Archival Editor David Gerstein (whose previous Mickey and the Gang: Classic Stories In Verse is a must-have). I did not grow up reading Disney comics myself (I was immersed in everything else, from Spider-Man to Baby Huey), but even back in those days I admired the stories and artistic skill of those books from afar.This new collection is truly special. In the tradition of the Maltin DVD collections, it compiles the best and most interesting examples of Disney comic art during the last 75 years and puts the stories in historical context. Gerstein begins the book with a detailed, yet concise, two page overview of the entire history of Disney comic strips and comic books. He then presents rare, restored Mickey newspaper strips from 1930 (by Floyd Gottfredson), prime examples of Sunday pages (including a rare Uncle Remus strip), and un-P.C. Carl Barks material that has never been reprinted. Great comics from Disney legends Paul Murry and Al Hubbard through the modern works of Don Rosa, William Van Horn as well as great European cartoonists like Cesar Ferioli and Vicar fill the 160 pages. I think anyone who loves Disney animation will enjoy this journey through their rich comics history. But if the names Walt Kelly, Gil Turner or Al Taliaferro mean anything to you, or if Bucky Bug, Gyro Gearloose or Super Goof rock your world, Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Comics 75 Years of Innovation is definitely for you.

Joe Dante sent us what must be the first article ever published about Warner Bros. cartoons. It’s from the December 7th 1930 edition of the L.A. Times and you can read it here. If anyone knows of any print publicity dated earlier than this, please let us know.

Michael Dobbs has had a lifelong obsession with the Fleischer Studios. And his efforts to write a book – and the subsequent book he has written – are now being blogged via his new site Made Of Pen & Ink.(Thanks, Michael Sporn)

Animated cartoons with a point of view on current world wars and the political scene are relatively scarce compared to the days of World War 2. Luckily, Adolf Hitler is still a villain we can all agree on. German cartoonist Walter Moers has taken on Adolf Hitler in comics, and now has a music video adapting his Adolf, Der Bonker which has been posted on the internet. It’s fun, and the tune is catchy. Here’s an English translation of the lyrics.(Thanks, Peter Krause)

Rankin-Bass historian Rick Goldschmidt has now started a companion blog to his already massive Enchanted World Of Rankin Bass website. Considering that Rick eats, drinks and breathes Rankin-Bass on a daily basis (when he’s not performing his own music, that is), this will be the place for updates, new finds, and R/B news on a regular basis.