Buzzing about the internet today was news concerning the Tom and Jerry Golden Collection, Volume 1. Whereas I’m working on this set and had been sworn to secrecy about it, I couldn’t mention it before. Since the box art was leaked and a bunch of mis-information is now being spread, I have no choice but to violate my arrangement with the studio and clear up some facts.

First of all, some basic information about this set: It goes on sale October 25th on both Blu-Ray and standard DVD discs. The DVD will go for $26.99 and will present the cartoons in their original 1.33:1 “full frame” video aspect ratio. The Blu-Ray set will cost $34.99 and will feature the shorts also in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, but with video in 1080p high definition. Both will no doubt sell for less on Amazon.

Each set will contain the first 37 Tom & Jerry shorts, in chronologic release order (from Puss Gets The Boot to Professor Tom, for those keeping score at home). There will be audio commentaries and bonus documentaries – but none of these are finalized yet. These sets will contain new, pristine transfers from CRI negative elements. These are not the Turner TV broadcast prints used on previous releases.

Many are asking about Mouse Cleaning. The original nitrate negative has been found on this rare title and it is being restored at great expense. This film is planned for release on T&J Golden Collection volume 2. Don’t even think of asking me about that set yet.

The information leaked about Vol. 1 today was early data made available to solicit sales from the retail trade. It was not intended to be spread publicly. A formal press release about the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection, with updated information, will be released in a few weeks.

P.S. I will be moderating a Warner Home Video Cartoon panel on Thursday July 21st at 3pm at the San Diego Comic Con – with guest panelists including George Feltenstein – to discuss forthcoming Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes collections on DVD. If you are going to the Comic Con, I advise you (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) to attend this panel for more information.

(Special thanks to David Lambert)

The brilliant but rarely seen 1962 Academy Award nominated animated short Icarus Montgolfier Wright has finally been posted on You Tube by animator Mike Kazaleh, who had a 16mm print given to him by exec producer Herb Klynn many years ago.

This is another of those films I saw several times back in my elementary school years, in English class, and never forgot the haunting images by Joe Mugnaini — who had done illustrations for many Ray Bradbury books. Icarus is based on a story by Ray Bradbury with a script co-written by Bradbury and George Clayton Johnson. Jules Engel produced it at Format Films and actors James Whitmore and Ross Martin provide the voices.

The film was released in 1962, but takes place in what was then the near future. In this story, it is the night before the first manned flight to the moon: August 22nd 1970. The date turned out to be off only by a year, a month, and two days.

UPA veteran Osmond Evans directed the picture. Evans was a very astute filmmaker, always careful about using shapes and motion from one scene to the next to give his films a flowing but dynamic feel. Although Icarus Montgolfier Wright has very little animation, it moves at a brisk pace because of the creative use of camera moves and editing.

In 2009 we posted about VFX artist Ryan Leasher’s forthcoming book about illustrator Joseph Mugnaini. His book, Wilderness of the Mind: The Art of Joseph Mugnaini, contains a foreward by Bradbury and is planned for publication in later this year from Art of Fiction.

(Thanks, Mike Kazaleh)

I love Bob Clampett, and I’m happy to announce that BeanyandCecil.com is now online! This is the official family website of Bob Clampett and for his characters Beany & Cecil.

The site is still a work-in-progress, and you’ll note a hard-sell for Beany and Cecil Vols. 1 & 2 DVDs (and everyone reading this blog should own these – two of the best DVD compilations ever, loaded with great cartoons and important historical bonus material). That said, the site has much to offer as is – and I recommend you visit there today.

A couple of tips: When you check it out, hold your curser over the black and white logo in the top left corner…after a second it animates! The video on the TV will be rotated out regularly. The first video is Beany and Cecil taglines.

There are video interview clips under “Our Creator/The Surreal Side of Bob Clampett.” Much more will be added over time including interviews with people who worked with Clampett. I’ve been told there will also be feature pages added like, “The Night Ronald Reagan Opened for Beany and Cecil“.

A newly digitally remastered Bob Clampett’s Beany and Cecil The Special Edition: Volume 1 is in the final stages of authoring. It will have some ADDED elements including new menus and audio commentaries by Bob’s kids: Cheri, Rob and Ruth Clampett. It will have a rare unproduced storyboard, Cecil’s Scrapebook, with Rob’s commentary. This same storyboard will be added to the website in sections. The first section is up now, you can find it under Creator/My Life As a Sea Serpent. Readers will be notified when the DVD available, if they go to the order page.

The family has also just set up a “BeanyandCecilChannel” on youtube.com and an Official Beany and Cecil FanPage on facebook.com. You should “Like” that too!

Much Clampett goodness to explore and enjoy. My highest recommendation!

Another student film from The Netherlands’ Utrecht School of Arts (HKU), this one called Rooted. It’s an (unintended?) update of Disney’s Flowers and Trees (1932) that plays like the first five minutes of some bizarre Pixar feature about two characters who can’t go Up, two trees who fall in love with each other:

Credits:
Director: Edwin Schaap
with: Jeroen Hoolmans, Pim Reinders, Floyd Angenent
Music by Vidjay Beerepoot
Behind the Scenes film: Here

Here it is. Looks great. Can’t wait.

It’s that time of the month again. Monday June 27th, the perfect time for the apocalyptic hilarity of Cartoon Dump, with its rapturous mixture of sketches, songs, puppets, stand-up comedy and actual Saturday Morning Cartoons from the 50s, 60s and 70s that are so bad you’ll be praying for the destruction of the Earth.

I’ll be introducing Frank Conniff (MST3K), Erica Doering along with guest comedians Carlos Alazraqui (voice of Rocko on Rocko’s Modern Life), Emo Phillips and our usual gang of animated suspects, Mighty Mr. Titan, Johnny Cypher and who knows what-the-hell else…

Join us Monday (6/27), 8 PM at the Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd. (two blocks west of Vermont). Buy advance tickets here!

Always loved Commando Cody and was the biggest fan of Dave Stevens’ homage The Rocketeer. Disney made a live action film in 1991, so why couldn’t Pixar make a new one today? French animator John Banana couldn’t wait and made this “fan film” in tribute to Stevens and his creation:

Canlandiranlar is a new animation society in Turkey, which organizes free educational courses, holds panels and supports independent animation in Istanbul. They held a project called “Animation Talent Camp” last year and produced several short films themed around “Istanbul” supported by professionals from the industry. Idil Ar’s film is a beautiful example of bold animation design in service of telling a story, setting a mood and capturing a moment:

Credits:
Direction: Idil Ar
Animation: Idil Ar, Emre Ergenç
Art Direction: Idil Ar
Music and Sound: Can Ünal
Voice: Osman Poroy, Idil Ar
Producer: Berat İlk, 2010 Avrupa Kültür Başkenti

Best Animation Award ‘22.Ankara International Film Festival’
Best Script ‘Canlandiranlar Talent Camp 2011′

(Thanks, Karl Cohen and Betsy DeFries)

Independent animator David O’Reilly (The External World) is hosting two animation programs next Saturday (7/2) at the Cinefamily theater in Los Angeles. Both are extremely intriguing and well worthwhile for our more adventurous readers.

1) Found Animation @2pm

From the deepest, most corrupt corners of David O’Reilly’s hard drive comes a collection of lost animated wonders, forgotten by time and YouTube, destined to break hearts, minds and sense of common decency. David says: “There will be work I found from now-defunct private torrent sites, old video tapes, friends & places I cant remember, gorgeous 3-D tentacle porn, footage of bizarre video games, and work by surrealist animation genius Charley Bowers (who was forgotten in his own lifetime and died in poverty). If you love Pixar, you will hate this!”

In other words, he’ll be running stuff like this:

2) The Agency @11:59pm (aka Midnight Show)

The world premiere of The Agency, which O’Reilly co-wrote with Vernon Chatman (creator of Wonder Showzen). He’s claiming it’s the world record for fastest created feature length animation – from conception to completion in one week.

It’s official: one of the most twisted new animated works we’ve seen in a very long time is also a new record holder. The film very, very loosely follows several office-bound characters as they plot their upwardly-climbing corporate destinies, continuously insult each other with non-stop vicious flair, and morph their reality with that of a duo of cute panda bear-looking creatures for whom the office dimension is just a dream…? This baffling slice of cough syrup-like comedy dementia was created entirely with “Xtranormal”, an online service that lets users make their own CGI mini-movies through a limited library of characters, sets and music, and with awkward text-to-speech synthesis — serving to produce a sublimely blobby experience that’ll sautée your cerebellum with love!

He made it with Xtranormal– an online service that lets users make their own CGI mini-movies through a limited library of characters, sets and music, and with awkward text-to-speech synthesis –and basically has them streaming dialogue of insanity, profanity, and other craziness.

This excerpt NSFW:

These programs are part of CineFamily’s 2nd annual Everything Is Festival, a festival of odds, ends and found footage. For more information, visit the Cinefamily website.

Richard Corliss has compiled a list for Time Magazine of “25 All-Time Best Animated Features”. I’ve posted his choices below.

1. Pinocchio (1940)
2. WALL-E (2008)
3. The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979)
4. Dumbo (1941)
5. Spirited Away (2001)
6. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
7. Up (2009)
8. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
9. Finding Nemo (2003)
10. The Little Mermaid (1989)
11. Toy Story 3 (2010)
12. Toy Story (1995)
13. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
14. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
15. Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
16. Happy Feet (2006)
17. Akira (1988)
18. The Lion King (1994)
19. Tangled (2010)
20. Paprika (2007)
21. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
22. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
23. Yellow Submarine (1968)
24. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
25. Lady and the Tramp (1955)

With all due respect, Mr. Corliss, this list is flawed. Very flawed. Where’s Bambi, The Incredibles, Toy Story 2, The Iron Giant, or Ice Age? What about Fritz the Cat or Heavy Traffic? Allegro Non Troppo and My Neighbor Totoro? Perhaps Nightmare Before Christmas or Mr. Bug Goes To Town?

And c’mon, even I can’t put The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie on such a list, much less at #3. It was essentially a compilation from classic shorts. Horton Hears A Who? You’ve got to be kidding.

Check out the original post on Time’s website. Each of his choices includes a brief write-up and an embed of the trailer. What else do you think Corliss forgot? Perhaps we’ll compile the Cartoon Brew Top 25 Animated Features as a rebuttal.

Variety loved it. Maltin hated it. What did you think?

Me? I set the bar pretty low and wasn’t as disappointed as I thought I’d be. On the plus side, this is one slick piece of family entertainment, with visual opulence to spare. Great action sequences and yeah, even a few laughs. On the downside, the story (Pixar’s usual strong suit) was surprisingly cliche. For this film, you have to buy into the world of “Cars” or you might as well go home. There isn’t the emotional pull of the previous several Pixar blockbusters, and no relatable characters – just regional stereotypes (and several annoying ones at that). Oh, and be sure to understand that this is a “Mater” Movie. He’s the star, not Lightning McQueen.

The spy stuff is fun, but I couldn’t help wondering if this story would’ve been more fun if it were enacted by human characters. My biggest disappointment: Cars 2 feels like the first Pixar picture aimed at children exclusively. Before, audiences were delighted that a Pixar family film could be so sophisticated. Here, Pixar’s made a children’s film first, with numerous references to things children won’t understand.

There’s an old Hollywood saying I just made up: “When in doubt have a character fall into a tub of shit”. Nice to see Pixar include such a scene here. Here’s my prediction: this film will get Pixar’s poorest critical reception, and it’ll be Pixar’s all-time biggest moneymaker.

So, is it the “Best Cars movie Ever?” or has Cars run out of gas? Now it’s your turn. As with all of our other talkbacks, please comment only if you’ve seen the film.

Interesting way to market the latest Pixar movie – by leaking posters, images and a trailer (coming soon) to the next Pixar film (a year away). Okay, I’ll bite, because Brave looks (to me) so damn good… here’s the cast, above our heroine Merida; and below left to right (click thumbnails to enlarge): Queen Elinor, Lord Macintosh and the Wise Woman.

(Thanks, Elena Ceballos via Nerd Reactor – and reader Darrin for the image above)