Author Archives: Jerry Beck

New trailer for “Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet”

By
on
24

Everything Michel Gagné does is worth seeing and owning. His latest project is a video game (which we teased back in 2009): Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, the final trailer for which has just been released. Gagné dropped us this note:

“After 5 years of work including the most intense year and a half of my career, ITSP is finally wrapped up and ready for release. Being a fan of classical animation, I think you should really enjoy looking at the game (and playing, if you’re a player). Five years ago, game veteran Joe Olson and I set out the goal of bringing feature quality 2D classical animation to video games. Working with the amazingly dedicated crew at both, Fuelcell Games and Gagne International, I believe we pulled it off!”

Various videos following the evolution of the game, and a bunch of new screen shots, can be found on Gagné’s blog. Here’s the new trailer:

“Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was”

By
on
16

To commemorate the 2012 centennial of Chuck Jones’s birth, IDW’s Library of American Comics will publish Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was. This is the new name for the “Crawford” book project we’ve plugged several times before. Now that it’s getting closer to publication, the cover (above) has just been released. The press release says:

Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was follows the twenty-seven year journey it took Jones to bring “Crawford” to the public, from conception to storyboard to newspaper strip. This incredible volume is loaded with never before seen sketches, drawings, storyboards and production notes, and the six-month run of the Crawford newspaper comic strip from 1978. Accompanying the artwork is a biography of Chuck Jones’s career in the sixties and seventies and how it influenced the creation of Chuck’s only foray into the world of comic strips.

The book is being edited by Kurtis Findlay and Dean Mullaney, and designed by Lorraine Turner. Visit the official Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was website where all-new, never before seen Chuck Jones art will be added in the coming weeks and months leading up to the book’s release in December. I think you will also “like” the Crawford Facebook page.

Warner Bros. announces new “Looney Tunes” 3D theatrical shorts

By
on
107

Warner Bros. Animation today publicly announced three new 3D theatrical cartoon shorts to be released within the next year. Two of the films feature voice recordings by Mel Blanc from songs recorded for Capitol Records in the 1950s. The new shorts, according to the press release, are:

Daffy’s Rhapsody: In the first of the new shorts, a persistent Elmer Fudd chases Daffy Duck (Blanc) on stage during a musical performance. The short features Blanc performing the song “Daffy Duck’s Rhapsody.” Daffy’s Rhapsody is scheduled to debut in theaters on November 18, 2011, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Pictures’ release of Happy Feet 2.

I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: A classic game of cat and bird transpires in Granny’s apartment as Tweety Bird goes to great lengths to avoid the clutches of his arch-nemesis Sylvester the Cat. The short also features the hit song of the same name, which was performed by Blanc, and sold over three million copies worldwide.

Untitled Coyote & Road Runner: Wile E. Coyote’s epic quest to capture the Road Runner continues in this all-new short. Will the Coyote finally get his paws on his elusive prize?

The three new shorts are all directed by Matthew O’Callaghan and executive produced by WBA’s Sam Register. The producers are Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone. Click the photo above to view larger version.

Shane Acker’s “Plus Minus” trailer

By
on
8

Shane Acker (“9″) is back with a new sci-fi fantasy, now in production at Gnomon Studios – part of L.A.’s Gnomon School of Visual Effects where Acker is on the faculty. Here’s the teaser for Plus Minus:

UPDATE: In breaking Shane Acker news, it’s just been announced that Acker will direct a live action Thomas The Tank Engine feature film.

(Thanks, Justin James via Twitch)

“Tatsumi” trailer

By
on
9

Here’s the intriguing trailer for a new animated documentary celebrating the life of Japanese comic artist, Yoshihiro Tatsumi. A disciple of Osamu Tezuka, Tatsumi established an alternative style of comics called Gegika. Tatsumi was screened recently at the Cannes Film Festival and is presently seeking U.S. distribution.

UPDATE: Singapore has now qualified this film with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s as its official entry in the Best Foreign Language category.

“The Boy With The Cuckoo-Clock Heart”

By
on
20

Tim Burton, move over. Stephane Berla is co-directing a Burton-esque animated feature based on Mathias Malzieu’s novel The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (aka The Mechanics of the Heart), co-produced by Luc Besson. Writer Malzieu is the lead singer of French rock group Dionysos, and will provide the soundtrack for the film. A work-in-progress screening will be held on Friday at the Annecy Animation Festival (which opens today). Here’s an intriguing viral trailer created a few years ago by Berla and Malzieu to promote the original book:

TUESDAY in LA: “Allegro Non Troppo”

By
on
14

For those of us stuck in L.A. and not attending Annecy this year, take heart. I’ll be hosting a rare 35mm screening of the 1976 Bruno Bozzetto feature-length masterpiece, Allegro Non Troppo, at my Animation Tuesday screening on Tuesday night (June 7th).

The film, a feature length parody of Disney’s Fantasia, is a masterpiece unto itself – and if you haven’t seen it you are required to attend. Bozzetto visualizes Ravel’s “Bolero” as an Evolutionary Fantasy, one that supposes life began as germs from a discarded Coke bottle; Vivaldi’s “Concerto in C” is the backdrop of an insect revenge senario; and, Sibelius’ “Valse Triste” is used for a poignant tale of an abandoned house cat. Bozetto also skewers Dvorak and Debussy using full blown character animation, and the film is framed with zany live-action bridging sequences featuring the “Woody Allen” of Italy, Maurizio Nichetti. And just to get things started, we’ll begin the show with several vintage Hollywood cartoon shorts (also in 35mm) that use classical music as their basis.

Join me tomorrow, June 7th, at The CineFamily (aka The Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax in Hollywood) at 8pm. Advance tickets now on sale.

“Little Ghostly Adventures of Tofu Boy”

By
on
17

I’m not sure I like the trend of anime going CG, but this 3D children’s film – which opened last April (via Warner Bros.) – looks like Japanese folklore on acid. Gisaburo Sugii’s Little Ghostly Adventures of Tofu Boy is filled with the stuff of children’s nightmares – and will probably never see the light of day in the US.

“Kung Fu Cooking Girls” and other tales by Wolf Smoke

By
on
30

Wolf Smoke is a small animation studio from the Peoples Republic of China. A kick-ass sample film, Kung Fu Cooking Girls, has just been posted on You Tube with this message:

“We did key frames on paper first then used vector software to do the between frames and color painting. This is the first time that we use this way to do stuff. Over 4000 key frames hand drawing and over 10,000 inbetweens in this movie.”

The studio posted three other shorts – and all are worth a look:

Mountain Shu: The Warriors From The Magic Mountain

“We did this three years ago. It’s an original short sample for a TV movie. But for some reason, it’s did not become a movie in the end. So we post it out just as our work sample.”

Little Big War:

And an attempt at humor – Full of Cats by Jin Roh

(Thanks, Rajesh Bhavnani)