The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will be holding it’s 9th Annual Marc Davis Lecture on Animation Wednesday March 23rd at 7:30pm at it’s Samuel Goldwyn Theatre on Wilshire Blvd.This year, the focus is on the work of Academy Award winner Frédéric Back, one of the world’s most honored animator-directors. Back earned his first Oscar with Crac! (1981), a chronicle of the changes the 20th century brought to life in rural Québec. Back followed Crac! with The Man Who Planted Trees, which won the Oscar in 1987. He spent more than five years on that film, with only a single assistant to help color the drawings.Back’s influence and work will be discussed by a panel of animators and historians including Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.), Production Designer Paul Felix (Lilo and Stitch and The Emperor’s New Groove), Glen Keane (Tarzan, Pocahontas), Bob Kurtz (owner of Kurtz and Friends animation studio, & creator of Cool Cat), and Charles Solomon (animation critic for The Los Angeles Times).Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences building, 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more program information, check oscars.org

Submitted for your approval: the trailer for A SCANNER DARKLY

Brew reader Bob Foster found a trio of dvds that compile the best of the industrial and advertising films produced between the 1930s & 1960s. These collections contain mostly the work of the Jam Handy Corporation and John Sutherland’s studio, and - although you can download most of these for free at Archive.org - they seem like a good deal for a dvd hardcopy. Check out the contents of the 1930s-40s disc, the 1940-50s disc and the 1950s-60s disc.

Unlike Amid (see commentary below), I’m not against the idea of reviving classic cartoon characters. For me, it’s all about how they are revived. There is a right way and a wrong way.We’ve seen disasters (The New Jonny Quest) and we’ve seen successes (Bakshi’s Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures). As long as a character’s name has market value, the corporations that own them are going to try to pump life into these franchises - hence the live action/CG GARFIELD, CASPER, and ROCKY & BULLWINKLE films (not to mention the strictly live action feature fiasco’s MR. MAGOO, INSPECTOR GADGET, and DUDLEY DO-RIGHT). It’s a fact of life, and we better get used to it.It’s a good business decision for them - evergreen characters (i.e. Winnie The Pooh & Scooby-Doo) are worth billions to these companies. Attempting to continue a cartoon star with a proven track record is seen as low risk. If the original creators, artists, voice actors are gone - the less strings attached - the potential for profits are even higher. The company can now control every creative aspect of the revival initiative. No fussy creative types to kowtow to. In an era of creator-driven cartoons, a corporate-owned property is the safest bet they can place.But with or without their original creators, reviving popular characters is always risky. When classic characters are beloved, reinvention can be (and usually are) disastrous. Think back to the talking Pink Panther series or talking Tom & Jerry movie; anyone remember the “new” Speed Racer series or the American Godzilla flick? These changes were made to achieve certain short-term marketing goals, to capitalize on exploitational buzz, and to make a fast buck. There was no attempt to build on the already existing “pre-sold” audience. And the pre-sold crowd was totally burned by the “new” aspects being foist on their favorite characters. New viewers never had any interest in these ill-concieved ideas in the first place. The results: everyone loses - a failed project for all parties involved.Even if the character can be revived semi-successfully (one’s I’ve liked include Cartoon Network’s FLINTSTONES ON THE ROCKS, Kricfalusi’s BEANY & CECIL and YOGI BEAR, Hanna-Barbera’s SUPER SECRET SECRET SQUIRREL, Carbunkle’s BABY HUEY, Universal’s WOODY WOODPECKER) there is no guarantee it’ll catch on with the public in any meaningful way. It’s clearly a gamble - but no more so than originals like CATDOG, DAVE THE BARBARIAN and KENNY THE SHARK. I see nothing wrong with reviving a well known, but flawed, cartoon character (why not Heckle & Jeckle, Herman & Katnip, Chilly Willy, and heck… even The Ant & The Aardvark has possibilities). The right take, with the right people enthused about making funny cartoons - not just in getting a temporary paycheck - can possibly yield a terrific show. Corporate executives can’t will a success into being. It takes a passionate crew, who understand the characters, the proper context - and are dedicated to restoring the property’s original appeal.I agree with Amid - leave the classics alone. Mickey Mouse has seen better days (and you can see them on Disney’s Treasures dvds) and nobody can do Popeye better than the Fleischer studio. But I also feel that if Genndy Tartakovsky wants to revive Atom Ant or if John K. gets his mitts on Deputy Dawg, I’ll be the first in line to watch.

Click here for a large size image of the Loonatics poster.

Brew reader Lee Burack sent in this fuzzy image (at right) with a note:

We ran this graphic of the new Bugs design on CNN this morning, thought you might want to see it, if you haven’t already….
all I can say is, “Good God”.

Read the complete story in today’s Wall Street Journal. What’s your opinion of Bugs new look? Leave your COMMENTS HERE

This Thursday, Feb 17, four of the best alternative comics artists will have a joint… a joint art show in the gallery at FILM ROMAN, that is.Jordan Crane, Sam Henderson, Johnny Ryan and Steven Weissman present WIMP ATTACK 2: THE SEARCH FOR CURLY’S GOLD from 5:30pm-7pm. To see what they are all about, click on each of their names above to sample their work.FILM ROMAN
12020 Chandler Blvd. (2F)
N. Hollywood, CA

CALVIN AND THE COLONEL ran on ABC in primetime from October 3, 1961 through September 22, 1962. It was on Tuesday nights at 8:30. Today it’s completely forgotten.CALVIN AND THE COLONEL featured the exploits of two backwoods animals from the south who had taken up residence in a large northern city. The series was created, and the lead characters voiced, by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, who patterned the cartoon after their long-running “Amos ‘n’ Andy” radio and television series. Gosden and Correll, two white men, had created and played the parts of the two black leads in the radio version of “Amos ‘n’ Andy”. They felt that, by using animals as their principal characters, they could avoid the touchy racial situation which “Amos ‘n’ Andy” had become in the early 1960’s.
They were wrong.Simply because of Gosden and Correll’s participation, the show has been banned from distribution for 40 years. There is nothing racist about the series. In fact, it’s one of the funniest TV cartoons ever produced. The series was produced for Kayro Productions by Bob Mosher and Joe Connelly, whose credits include “Leave it to Beaver”, and “The Munsters”.On Saturday afternoon February 26th at 3:00pm, Asifa-Hollywood will present a screening of several rare color episodes of the series, 16mm prints, some with original network commercials. Special guests from the cast & crew will attend and a Q & A after the screening will include voice actress June Foray and animators Phil Roman, John Sparey and Frank Andrina. The screening takes place on The American Film Institute campus, in the Ted Ashley-Warner Bros. Screening Room, 2021 N. Westen Ave. in Hollywood, CA. It’s a rare opportunity to see these episodes and meet the people behind the scenes.