I’ve been neglect in mentioning the forthcoming publication of Maureen Furniss’s wonderful collection of Chuck Jones interviews, Chuck Jones: Conversations. The volume, which goes in sale April 1st, spans thirty years of talks with Jones and includes several previously unpublished interviews. Furniss is the editor/publisher of Animation Journal, the only regularly published scholarly publication on animation history. She has recently moved back to Southern California to teach at Cal Arts.Chuck Jones Conversations is available at discount on amazon.com

Here is the cover of the new book – on sale in October – by cartoon music historian Daniel Goldmark.Tunes for ‘Toons: Music and the Hollywood Cartoon presents a set of case studies on cartoon music, with chapters on Carl Stalling, Scott Bradley, jazz, classical music, and opera in Hollywood cartoons, with particular attention to Warner Bros. & MGM. With this book your knowledge and insight on cartoon scores will double – and, more importantly, you’ll now be able to understand why Stalling used Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse,” and Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2,” (among others) so skillfully in so many Looney Tunes.

I went to the unveiling of a wall sculpture dedicated to Bill Hanna & Joseph Barbera – and a birthday luncheon for Joe Barbera (94 years old!) – today. Mark Evanier explains it all HERE.

Here’s a clever use of Carl Stalling music – a Flash animation by Brian Emling that’s a tribute to Chuck Jones’ DOT AND THE LINE and NOW HEAR THIS.(Thanks to Charles Brubaker for the link)

Here’s an update on the Golden Awards Banquet that The Animation Guild is holding on April 9th, 2005 at Pickwick Gardens in Burbank, California.This event honors animation veterans with fifty years in the industry of screen cartooning and related fields. This year’s honorees began their careers between 1943 and 1955. The list of honorees includes:

John C. Ahern, Frank Andrina, Gerard Baldwin, Robert Balser, Carole J. Barnes, Kathy Barrows, Vincent Bassols, Howard Beckerman, Oliver “Lefty” Callahan, Paul Carlson, Rudy Cataldi, Cornelius Cole, Janis Cornell, Fred Crippen, Tissa David, Gene Deitch, Robert Dranko, John Emerson, Edward Faigin, Becky Fallberg, Ray Favata, Eve Fletcher, Rita Giddings, Lee Guttman, Victor Haboush, Ed Hansen, Martha Harrison, Bud Hester, Willie Ito, Sam Jaimes, Chris Jenkyns, Don Jurwich, Louie Kachivas, Darlene Kanagy-Brown, Sammi Lanham, Don Lusk, Bill Matthews, Burny Mattinson, Peggi R. Matz, Charles McElmurry, Jimmy T. Murakami, Ann Oliphant, Lew Ott, Doris A. Plough, Lloyd G. Rees, Rick Reinert, Robert Allen Revell, Beverly M. Robbins, Phil Roman, Joanna Romersa, Carmen Sanderson, Mel Shaw, Marcia Sinclair, Charlene Singleton, Ken Southworth, John Sparey, Herb Stott, Iwao Takamoto, Cliff Vorhees, Manon Washburn, Merle Welton, Robert “Tiger” West, Gwen A. Wetzler, John Wilson, Alan Wilzbach, Fred Wolf. Special Award: June ForayUnderline denotes those honorees whose attendance has been confirmed as of 3/14/05.

If you want to attend the banquet, tickets are $37.50 each with a choice of New York Steak, Chicken Marsala or a Vegetable Plate. Please note: Last day to buy tickets is next Wednesday, March 23rd, so if you’re thinking about attending, you’d better hurry. They are expecting an attendance of 300+.Presenting awards will be Floyd Norman, Mark Kausler, Tim Walker, Tee Bosustow, Scott Shaw, Tina Price, Leonard Maltin, Gary Owens and yours truly, Jerry Beck. MC Tom Sito is preparing a 4-minute introductory film with clips from cartoons and vintage footage of the period. Floyd Norman is preparing a series of short film clips to be interspersed throughout the evening, showing documentary footage, vintage TV commercials, rare home movie footage and other surprises.Photographer Moses Sparks will be photographing every aspect of the event from arrivals to departures, and all his pictures will be online and available for purchase on the internet about a week after the banquet. Martha Sigall’s new book, Living Life Inside the Lines: Tales from the Golden Age, will premier at the banquet and will be available for signing at Stuart Ng’s tables in the back of the room. Animation-related books, magazines and DVDs will be available at Stuart’s booth at the back of the room. The 64-page program book will be crammed with good reading, including a great 3,000-word article on the era by Tom Sito. Quite a few people have been very generous with the use of their vintage photos. Bios on each of the honorees will take up 17 pages of the booklet, and the usual sprinkling of cartoons and ads will fill out the program book.For further ticket information, please contact Dave Brain. Any questions, suggestions or if you’d like to advertise in their program book, please contact event organizer Bob Foster at bfosterla@aol.com or check the Animation Guild website.

April 30th has been declared International Scrappy Day by Asifa-Hollywood. That’s when an officially sanctioned Scrappy-Con – dubbed (with permission) SCRAPPY-LAND – will take place at the American Film Institute campus in Hollywood, California.From 1pm till 5pm, participants will gorge themselves with various Scrappy related events – a screening of several brand new 35mm restored prints of Dick Huemer (Mintz, Screen Gems) Scrappy cartoons (Courtesy of Columbia Pictures), preceeded by a panel discussion, exhibits of Scrappy memoribilia, and a live performance by the Scrappy Puppet Theatre Players!More details will be announced next month, as we get closer to the date. In the meantime visit Scrappy-Land online or Asifa-Hollywood for more information.

Once again, our friend and colleague Fred Patten is back in the hospital.Fred, who just recovered from a bout with pneumonia, suffered a stroke early Saturday morning (around 12 midnight). Fred is in stable condition, in the Intensive Care Unit, at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Marina Del Rey, CA.Amid and I wish him a speedy recovery.

If you are as big a BATMAN fan as I am – or you like the 1966 camp Batman, the 1989 Burton Batman, the 1992 animated Batman, are a fan of Mark Hamill, Dick Van Dyke and Adam West – or Lego toys – you really should watch this: Batman – New Times

Friday is the day I usually walk over to Golden Apple and see what’s new. I’ve noticed that I’ve become very picky in recent years. I usually only buy fanzines like Alter Ego and Comic Book Marketplace and the occasional alternative comic that catches my eye. This week I noticed for the first time the incredible 9 inch tall Fleischer-style limited edition, hand-painted cold-cast porcelain maquette of LOIS LANE. This has been out for a while, and I’d known about it – but I hadn’t seen it until now. It’s fantastic. (click on image above to see the full figurine). I wish I could afford it.More affordable was an excellent new anthology (right) from Chris Pitzer’s Ad House Books. Pitzer has commisioned over 3 dozen indy cartoonists and alternative artists to create a superhero image or comic strip and filled 288 pages in color with the coolest comics I’ve read in a long time (well at least since a few weeks ago when I bought BIZARRO WORLD). PROJECT: SUPERIOR features story and art by Brew favorites Ronnie Del Carmen, Tim Biskup, Seonna Hong, Scott Morse, and Brandon Ragnar Johnson – and many many others. Much fun, much eye candy. I don’t buy many of these anthologies, but this is one of the best I’ve seen.
It was a good week.

Here’s a good one for the New York area Cartoon Brew readers.The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria (Queens) Thursday, March 24, 2005 at 7:00 PM presents Looney Tunes and Silly Symphonies, a special presentation by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. There will be a shorts screening and panel discussion with author & animator John Canemaker, cartoonist Ben Katchor and Raymond Scott Archivist Irwin Chusid. Additionally, Six members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will perform, live, selections of the music of Raymond Scott.Looney Tunes and Silly Symphonies will explore the relationship between cartoons and the concert hall, comedians and composers. John Schaefer of WNYC Soundcheck is the moderator/curator of the event.Riklis Theatre
Museum of the Moving Image
35 Avenue at 36 Street
Astoria, N.Y. 11106
To reserve a seat please call 718/784-4520

Animation designer Alex Kirwan (My Life As A Teenage Robot) sends us this link to a new animation production blog:

“This one belongs to my friend Elizabeth Ito, novel in that it’s one of the first female production blogs I’ve seen. Adventures on the Animation Rollercoaster shows Elizabeth documenting (among other things) the development of television projects and the recent excitement over her student film “Welcome to my Life” – which won producer’s pick in the Nicktoons film festival, and can be viewed here.”

Tonight – Voice actress June Foray signs her book PERVERSE, ADVERSE AND ROTTEN VERSE at the Barnes and Noble, in The Grove at the Farmer’s Market at 7:30pm – 189 Grove Dr. (Suite K30).March 19th – Voice actor Trustin Howard (Philbert) signs his new book My Life with Regis and Joey, 2:00pm at Borders Books, 14651 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, CA.

Barely a week old, but quickly becoming a favorite: DRAWN!, a new multi-author blog devoted to illustration, art, cartooning and drawing. Eight super-star contributors, including Ward Jenkins, Jared Chapman, Jay Stephens, John Martz, Patricia Storms and Claire Robertson… Enough talk!
Go there! Now!

A friend of mine just pointed out this item on ebay – he called it a Holy Grail of cartoon collectibles, but I’m not too sure of that – but it sure brought back a flood of memories to me.I guess finding a Sparkle Paint set in mint condition would be a rather rare find. And get a look at this example of UPA merchandising in its waning days.The Dick Tracy Show with it’s wealth of ethnic stereotyped dectectives and policemen – and Mr. Magoo and his Chinese houseboy, “Cholly” (not Charlie). No wonder we rarely see these cartoons anymore.Ahh, the good old days…