“Billy Dare” gets a mysterious note from “Zmekberg” to meet him in the Uncanny Valley. The latest installment of Ruben Bolling’s comic strip, Tom The Dancing Bug, is a parody of Spielberg, Tin-Tin and a statement about the use of Mo-Cap. Boing Boing posted it here and it’s a must read. Hilarious, sad and true!
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting about Universal Pictures new plans to revive Walter Lantz’ classic cartoon star Woody Woodpecker in a CG feature film.
Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Hop and The Lorax) is now developing the film with Blades of Glory co-writers John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, who are planning to “modernize the character for contemporary audiences”. Altschuler and Krinsky were exec producers and writers on Fox’s King of Hill and currently on MTV’s Beavis and Butt-head.
Reviving classic cartoon characters is a hit-or-miss proposition. Alvin and the Chipmunks and Yogi Bear were huge commercial successes, but aesthetic disasters. Can Woody work in the 21st Century?
(Thanks, Paul Mular)
This is lookin’ real good to me… better and better with every trailer:
Hot on the heels of this week’s CTN Expo, animators and animation fans will be treated to the L.A. based Animation Breakdown festival at The Cinefamily (in Hollywood). Cartoon Brew and Animation Block Party are co-presenting this 6 day festival that celebrates the greatest in international animation, old and new, shorts and features.
Highlights include an advance screening of Pixar’s new short La Luna (with director Enrico Casarosa in person), new films by the Brothers Quay and Spike Jonze; live in-person appearances from animator Don Hertfzeldt, comics and cartoon creator Brad Neely (China IL), a cast & crew reunion of Cartoon Network’s Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Frank Zappa’s legendary go-to claymation freakster, Bruce Bickford. An extensive 35mm retrospective of Polish animation is planned, with prints being flown in from Europe; and Cartoon Network will present world-premeire of Pen Ward and Thomas Herpich’s short Thank You.
Other events include:
- Rare 35mm restorations of Disney’s Laugh-O-Grams, Walt Disney’s long-lost silent era shorts, presented by Brewmaster Jerry Beck.
- Don Hertzfeldt in person for the LA premiere of his new film It’s Such A Beautiful Day
- Space Ghost: Coast to Coast cast & crew reunion and panel, C. Martin Croker and Andy Merrill in person.
- Pixar’s La Luna with director Enrico Casarosa in person for an advance screening and behind the scenes presentation.
All this and more (to be announced). For information and tickets (seating is limited) visit cinefamily.org.
Here’s the list of qualified shorts, screened this past weekend for members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with links to all the films were you can find additional info, see the trailer or watch the whole film itself.
Members of the Short Film and Feature Animation branch will soon vote, creating a shortlist of ten films from this 45. A second round of voting, also restricted to members of the Short Films and Feature Animation branches, will narrow it down to the five nominees for Best Animated Short Film Oscar. The final vote, which determines the winner, is open to all Academy members provided that they have watched every nominated short. It’s a wide open field this year with a variety of techniques and themes; four major studio shorts (from Pixar, Warners, Sony, Disney) up against some of the best talents from around the world, along with student films and independent fare. Can’t wait to see who makes it to the shortlist. Good luck to all!
A Morning Stroll by Grant Orchard (Studio AKA)
Read Cartoon Brew’s post about A Morning Stroll.
I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about seeing an original Pixar film again. Just like old times – no more Cars, no more Mater, no more Toys. The It’s Art blog has scored these new pix from Brave (click here to see them in hi-def) and they look refreshing. I don’t intend to post everything they release from the film, but these images certainly bode well for the studio – and us.
My buddy Oscar Grillo will be attending the CTN Expo this weekend. That alone will be worth the the trip from anywhere. Oscar is one of the most incredible artists and animators you’ll ever meet – and this is one of his rare appearances in the US. Learn from the master – he’ll be speaking on stage one-on-one with Eric Goldberg on Sunday (at 1pm) and doing demonstrations, signings and other workshops all through the weekend.
Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Ralph McQuarrie, Andrea Deja, Ron Clements, John Musker, Nancy Beiman, Tony White, William Stout, Stephen Silver, Bill Plympton, Florian Satzinger, Louie Del Carmen, Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers are among the dozens of incredible guests who will explain it all. With over 150 planned sessions, a sold-out exhibit floor, book signings, gallery shows, live demonstrations, sneak peak screenings, networking… and, of course, The Cartoon Brew Over-Flow Lounge (stop by and have a drink!). You’ll probably find me there.
If you haven’t already, Register Now (save a few bucks by using the Cartoon Brew discount code: CBREWX11). For even more info on the CTN Expo, click here.
Who says they don’t use pencils to create animation anymore? Not Australian animator Jonathan “Dropbear” Chong, who just made this fun stop-motion music video for Melbourne indie-folk artist Hudson.
The Academy is considering about 45 films for this years Best Animated Short. We don’t have the list of what qualified, but here are trailers from three intriguing films we know were submitted:
A Morning Stroll by Grant Orchard (Studio AKA)
Birdboy by Alberto Vazquez
The Gloaming by NoBrain
For the past year Jesus Orellana’s epic sci-fi short Rosa has been winning awards at festivals and attracting attention in Hollywood (it’s already in development to be a live-action feature). The short was created by Barcelona-based Orellana with “no budget” and took a twelve months to produce. What’s all the fuss about? It’s now online:
Cartoon Network ran a preview of Warner Bros. Animation’s DC Nation programming block last night during its debut of Bruce Timm’s CG Green Lantern: The Animated Series. The Superhero Shows blog has some great frame grabs and video preview which show the range of styles for the interstitial material. Here’s a sample of the Aardman spots, which play like a super-hero version of Creature Comforts:
While we await their CG Arthur Christmas and their clay-mated Pirates feature, Aardman tempts us with this superbly crafted short from director Peter Peake. Produced by Aardman’s commercials division during downtime between jobs; here’s sneak peek of the designs and a brief interview with Peake at 3D Artist Online.
Okay, I’m stumped. I get mail like this all the time and I try to be helpful. But this one just sounds so strange, I want to know what it is myself. It all started a few days ago when I got this email from animator Christy Karacas (Superjail):
Jerry,
I’m writing to you because there was a cartoon I remember seeing at the public library as a kid and have no idea what it is but really want to see it again. I remember a line drawing of a pair of legs, a giant eyeball (maybe a spider?) running around a castle. It was hand drawn. I know this sounds weird but thought you were the one to ask… I remember thinking this was really awesome-i feel like you might know it. thanks either way.
I requested more information. Was it a short or a feature? Anime or Saturday morning cartoon? Christy responded:
No it was a short film… I wish I could remember more about it. I’m so curious what it is… Not sure, but had a hunch it might be European. I saw it at my public library as a double feature with The Red Balloon as a kid…but…yeah, I dont really remember much more. I THINK there was no talking but not sure… I could draw how I remember the characters if you want?
Yes, please!
Hey Jerry-
These are SUPER QUICK SKETCHES (Ugh, the talkback will be about how shitty they are… hahhaah!), but I remember them running around a castle… up stairs I believe… and I think the eyeball was a spider. I can’t remmeber if it bounced around or changed size… maybe i am crazy and i should just do a ‘remake’ from my memory… a mash-up of sorts… create the animation from my childhood as best as I remember it because I can’t find it? hahaha. Amid-if you see or read these let me know if you know what I’m talking about…
Thanks!
If this rings a bell with you… please let us know in the comments below!
UPDATE: Our readers identified the mystery film. Find out what it is and link to it, in our comments section.
Entertainment reporter Patrick Goldstein has some harsh words about Pixar’s Oscar chances in today’s LA Times:
“There’s no guarantee that “Cars 2” will even end up being a nominee with such a crowded field… In fact, the reviews for “Cars 2” were abysmal, with the film earning a lowly 38% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Just how lowly is a 38% rating? Put it this way: “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family” and “Cowboys & Aliens” got higher Rotten Tomatoes scores. It didn’t stop lots of people from seeing the film, but it is bad news for Pixar’s chances of winning the Oscar for animated feature, a category Pixar has won four times in a row and six out of the last eight.”
No doubt Pixar’s had the lock on the top awards the past few years, but Goldstein poses some intriguing questions. Will Cars 2 be nominated? Do any of the foreign or independent films have a chance? What feature is the realistic front runner for animation’s best of year?
