Author Archives: Jerry Beck

“Learn Our History” by Mike Huckabee

By
on
94

If you thought Superbook was didactic… TPM.com is reporting that former minister-turned-Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is producing a series of Learn Our History animated videos that tell the “true” story of American history, the story our “schools are afraid to tell”. Says Huckabee:

“Some teachers and education boards are using history and social studies classes as their soap box to promote their own political opinions and biases! Using animated videos that kids love, this series tells the tales of…a group of friends who create an incredible time machine that takes them back in time to relive history in the making.”

This one is going right into the Cartoon Dump. It’s so poor, it looks like a Saturday Night Live parody… but it’s for real! Here’s a sample:

(Thanks, Frank Conniff)

“The Film Daily” 1922-1929 archives

By
on
4

Good news, animation historians! The complete 1922 through 1929 run, 22,000 pages, of industry trade paper The Film Daily has just been posted online at Archive.org. Reviews of rare and now-lost silent cartoon shorts, trade advertising (like the Krazy Kat ad above) and articles of historic interest are here – but you’ll have to diligent and scour each and every page to find nuggets like this ad for Winkler Felix the Cat and Disney’s Alice Comedies or this review of the second Mickey Mouse cartoon, Gallopin’ Gaucho. This is truly a gold mine for researchers like myself.

(Thanks, Leonard Maltin)

Free Comic Book Day

By
on
22

There’s a new tradition every May in the U.S. – Free Comic Book Day. It was created to help promote new wares by comics publishers as well as an attempt to lure new consumers into local comic book shops.

Free Comic Book Day was last Saturday, but if you visit your comic store this week you can most likely pick up some of the leftover freebies. This year’s batch included several animated tie-ins, including comics based on Kung Fu Panda and Batman: The Brave and The Bold.

The one I was most interested in was the new version of Richie Rich from Ape Entertainment (under their Kidzoic line) and I able to snag one today. This is not your grandfather’s Richie Rich. In fact, the Richie here is pretty unrecognizable to old purist’s like me. The old Richie was the ultimate kid’s wish-fulfillment fantasy – you know, a bowling alley in the basement, a fully stocked soda fountain in the den, tons of comic books to read.

This new Richie retains the old cast: girl friend Gloria, rival Reggie and pet Dollar Dog, along with super-robotic maid Irona and his buff, ass-kicking butler Cadbury. Everyones gotten a makeover to look more like characters in comics today – and that’s okay with me. I’m not sure how kids will relate to their globe-trotting adventures or Richie’s new personality, which is touted as a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones, “with the bank account of Donald Trump” (they might want to change that). But the artwork by Jack Lawrence (covers) and Tina Francisco (interior stories) is somewhat attractive (check out her drawings of Casper, Scrappy, Bosko and Betty Boop here), so more power to them.

If I ever get nostalgic, I still have my old, pulp paper, 12-cent Richie Rich books from the 1960s and 70s. As for these new comics… let’s just say I paid the right price for the first issue.

“Travelers with short legs” by Leo Campasso

By
on
6

Adventure Time – The Next Generation? Maybe. Travelers with short legs, by 23 year old, independent animator Leo Campasso from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has its own pace and sense of style. He mixes 2D, 3D and Flash animation to tell the story of a teen traveller on a strange journey, finding new friends and foes. Campasso’s previous film,Wild Wind, was featured on the Brew two years ago.

MTV ID “Balloons”

By
on
25

Dilcidio Caldeira at Paranoid in Sao Paulo directed this one minute station ID for MTV Brazil using images drawn on hundreds of balloons. They were popped by a needle-tipped camera, mounted on a dolly which traveled at a speed fast enough to pop and film 10 balloons each second.

CREDITS
Production: Paranoid
Director: Duldicio Caldeira
Photography: Alexandre Ermel
Animation/Illustration: Daniel Semanas
Sound Track: Hilton Raw

(Thanks, Kent Osborne and Grey Wears)

Classic Media’s retro-cartoon channel: PB&J

By
on
57

Kidscreen is reporting that Luken Communications, the owner of broadcast channel Retro TV (which currently airs much of the Filmation cartoon library), is partnering with Classic Media to create a new retro-style cartoon network called PB&J. According to the press release:

The 24-hour network, set to launch in the US this summer, will feature Classic Media titles from the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Those include The Archie’s, Mr. Magoo, The Lone Ranger, Gumby and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. PBJ will be available to broadcasters, cable and satellite providers.

If they have the Classic Media library, this new channel could also air the Harveytoons (Casper, Herman and Katnip, et al), the Jay Ward library (Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, etc.), Roger Ramjet, Underdog, Felix the Cat, Rankin-Bass Specials, UPA’s Boing Boing Show, Dick Tracy cartoons and Magoo’s Christmas Carol – among others…

I admit it – I would love to program a channel like this. A retro-cartoon channel is very much needed, and Classic Media has amassed an impressive collection of vintage properties. As the basis for such a channel, I dare say they have more potential than the material endlessly rerun on Turner’s tired Boomerang network. And with all the possibilities of future acquisitions (Universal’s Woody Woodpecker Walter Lantz library, Viacom’s Terrytoon collection, Beany and Cecil, and on and on…) this could be a dream come true. If anyone from Luken Communications is reading this, gimme a call…

UPDATE – Reader Steve Cook found a promo for the new channel on You Tube:

“Pure Funk” by Marc Adamson

By
on
15

Pure Funk is Marc Adamson’s graduation film, from his third year of animation at the Arts University College at Bournemouth. It’s a 3-minute mixed 2D/3D animation set in a version of the future when the world is ruled by an oppressive dictatorship and music has become illegal. The film took almost a year from the idea to completion. More production information and a gallery of pre-viz art at Freedom to Funk.com.