The BREW mailbox has been flooded with colorful postcards for Artists gallery openings. Here’s two of note:Glenn Barr (Ren & Stimpy, et al) will present new paintings and prints under the title “Haunted World”, at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Feliz, CA. The Artists reception is Friday April 2nd at 8pm.A Sick & Twisted favorite, Miles Thompson (Brian’s Brain) has a new exhibit “Idol Time” at the Copro Nason Gallery in Culver City. The Artists reception is Saturday April 10th at 8pm.

For those of you who haven’t choked on your Scooby snacks yet - here’s the trailer for the forthcoming live action/CG GARFIELD THE MOVIE, with Bill Murray as the voice.
I’m just wondering how much mileage is left in this new hybrid genre (CASPER, SCOOBY-DOO, ROCKY & BULLWINKLE, STUART LITTLE, KANGAROO JACK, CATS & DOGS and others). I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of it already. And this GARFIELD flick looks horrible.

Check out this article posted on THE TOQUE (Canada’s version to THE ONION), which asks “Whatever Happened to Wholesome Cartoon Violence”?

As a fan of both SEINFELD and SUPERMAN, I’m delighted with the new combination live action/animation “webisode”, premiering today, entitled “A Uniform Used to Mean Something”.
Sponsored by American Express, the four-minute film was co-written by Seinfeld and directed by Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man). Patrick Warburton does Superman’s voice. There’s also a nice Behind The Scenes piece, but it doesn’t say who animated Superman (the original AmEx Seinfeld/Superman commercial in 1998 was animated by the Warner Bros. Classic Animation division - these webisodes were animated by UNPLUGGED STUDIOS in Toronto using Flash).

Stop-motion legend Ray Harryhausen will discuss and present five newly restored prints of his classic fairy tales which he produced, directed and animated in the forties and fifties at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Friday April 23rd at 7:30pm.Mother Goose Stories (1946), The Story of Little Red Riding Hood (1949), Hansel and Gretel (1951), The Story of Rapunzel (1951) and The Story of King Midas (1953) will be presented in new 35mm prints, blown up from the best surviving materials of the 16mm originals by the Academy Film Archive. Additional footage of abandoned projects also will be screened.A panel discussion with Mr. Harryhausen and those who helped him preserve the films will be hosted by Leonard Maltin. This program is part of the Academy’s annual George Pal Lecture on Fantasy In Film. Admission is only $5.00 for the general public. Check the Academy’s website for further details and ticket information.

Tying-in with today’s debut of SCOOBY-DOO 2, Slate.com posted a piece trying to figure out the worldwide appeal of Shaggy, Velma and the rest of the Scooby gang.
They talk to group of reporters and TV producers, but are unable to come up with any concrete conclusions. The Washington Post’s Hank Stuever summed it up best: “Kids should meddle, dogs are sweet, life is groovy, and if something scares you, you should confront it.” What needs to be explained about that?
(Thanks to Mark Mayerson for the link.)

Not to dwell on the FILMATION library, but this follow-up story of its sale to ENTERTAINMENT RIGHTS notes that the company plans to use the library to start another “kids channel”. Seeing as Ted Turner began CARTOON NETWORK on the bulk of the Hanna-Barbera library, this is an intriguing idea.But do we need another “kids channel”? The obvious answer is: No. We’ve already got CARTOON NETWORK, NICKTOONS, TOON DISNEY, BOOMERANG… not to mention NICKELODEON, DISNEY CHANNEL, ABC FAMILY, HBO FAMILY, WAM!, DISCOVERY KIDS to name but a few.What we need is a “Classic Cartoon channel” aimed at grown-ups. A TV LAND or TCM for vintage animated films. A home for the UPA cartoons, the Terrytoons, the Harveytoons, Walter Lantz, Screen Gems, Ub Iwerks, Fleischer and Famous Studios libraries; classic independent and international animated shorts and feature films; as well as episodes of Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Roger Ramjet, Beany & Cecil and Q.T. Hush.ENTERTAINMENT RIGHTS and VOOM’S ANIMANIA HD are poised to enter a crowded marketplace - hoping to build a business using classic (and not-so-classic) animation as cornerstone programming. I wish them luck. To paraphrase HE-MAN: “They have the Power!”. The power to create a new kind of animation station - one that doesn’t exist, but can and should.

Here’s a press release from ADULT SWIM. Most interesting thing, in my humble opinion, is Matt Groening introducing his favorite episodes of Futurama during a weeklong stunt, Sunday, May 23 through Thursday, May 27.