Looking for holiday gifts for that special animation someone…or maybe just for yourself. Look no further than Cartoon Brew’s 2010 Holiday Gift Guide compiled by Jerry and Amid.

LEONARDO – THE COMPLETE CODEX

Animator Jim Capobianco (Pixar) first created a beautiful hand drawn short, Leonardo, then packaged it for sale so attractively, it’s a model for what we’d like to see all animators do. Included in the beautiful DVD boxed set is the complete preliminary storyreel, deleted scenes, audio commentary – as well as a flipbook, a notebook and a pencil. And much much more. A perfect gift to all animators and those aspiring to be.


23 More Animated Gift Ideas after the jump!

JAPANESE INDIE ANIMATORS DVDS
Calf DVDs

CALF is the most exciting new indie animation label of 2010. The Japan-based company aims to make the work of Japan’s young indie animators accessible to everybody. Their first three releases are dedicated to the works of three important artists: Atsushi Wada, Mirai Mizue and Tochka. Each DVD comes with a booklet in both English and Japanese, and they ship to anywhere in the world.


PVT. SNAFU GOLDEN CLASSICS DVD COLLECTION

This is the classic cartoon DVD event of the year – and it hasn’t been released yet. Producer Steve Stanchfield tells me the DVD will be finally available to order next Monday, December 13th, on Amazon, and the first orders will ship December 16 & 17th. What is it? It’s the Ultimate Snafu – 30 rare World War II era cartoons made by Warner Bros. for the U.S. Armed Forces, starring Private Snafu (directed by Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin and Friz Freleng). These are newly restored from 35mm elements – Even if you’ve seen these before, you haven’t seen them like this before. Plus bonus features and audio commentaries by Eric Goldberg (who also drew the cover, above), John K., Mike Kazaleh, Mark Mayerson and Jerry Beck. It’s not just a must-have, it’s an absolute requirement!


LUCKY IN LOVE: A POOR MAN’S HISTORY (VOL. 1)
Lucky in Love

Lucky in Love: A Poor Man’s History by George Chieffet and Stephen DeStefano (Venture Bros., Sym-Bionic Titan). Read Win Wiacek’s review of the book.


HAIR HIGH BY BILL PLYMPTON

Bill Plympton’s “Greaser” masterpiece, Hair High, with voices by Sarah Silverman, David Carradine, Don Hertzfeldt and Matt Groening, on DVD with directors commentary track.


METAL SCULPTURES BY LORI SAMSEL
Sculptures by Lori Samsel

Animator Lori Samsel (previously on Cartoon Brew) has recently been making these striking, one-of-a-kind metal light sculptures. They’re “hand banged from flat sheet metal, welded, hand filed and metal brushed.”


MOONSHINE BY DREAMWORKS ARTISTS… AFTER DARK

Forty-five DreamWorks Studio art directors, character designers, production designers and visual development artists contributed to this beautiful oversized softcover book showcasing the work these artists create for the sake of creation. It’s called Moonshine. Incredible stuff.


ABSOLUTELY BEASTLY CHILDREN
Absolutely Beastly Children

Absolutely Beastly Children is the latest children’s book by Dan Krall (Chowder, Coraline). Straightforward ABCs with delightfully nasty children and a macabre Edward Gorey-ish sensibility. The inclusion of ethnic children throughout is a nice touch–D is represented by Deon, H is Hameed, and Y is Yoshi.


FRAMED INK BY MARCOS MATEU-MESTRE

Marcos Mateu-Mestre is a artist/designer for Sony and Dreamworks and his new book, Framed Art, on drawing and composing shots for films and graphic novels is both detailed and incredibly gorgeous.


EPIC MICKEY FOR WII

Even the reviews that criticize the gameplay admit that the story and animation are top-notch. If you have a Wii, don’t miss Epic Mickey.


SHAZAM BY CHIP KIDD AND GEOFF SPEAR
Shazam

This book has nothing to do with Filmation cartoons or the animated Justice League — it’s simply a celebration of all things Captain Marvel of the 1940s. I loved writer/designer Chip Kidd and photographer Geoff Spear’s Batman Collected (1996) and this is a companion volume based around “The Big Red Cheese”. 246 pages of pure full-color joy.


BACKING INTO FORWARD: A MEMOIR
Backing into Forward

Backing Into Forward: A Memoir by Jules Feiffer. He even talks about working at Terrytoons in the 1950s. Read Michael Sporn’s thought about the book.


WACOM CINTIQ 12WX 12-INCH PEN DISPLAY
Cintiq

C’mon, you know you want one. If you can’t splurge for the 21 inch Cintiq, try the 12-inch Wacom Cintiq Pen Display.


REFLECTIONS OF JIMMY T. MURAKAMI DVD
Jimmy Murakami Shorts

Animation legend Jimmy Murakami is selling a DVD of his shorts on his website for £18. Includes Breath (1967) which won the Grand Prix at Annecy, the Oscar-nominated Magic Pear Tree (1968) and the BAFTA-nominated Insects (1963), among other shorts.


ELEMENTAL ANIMATION: THE ART OF SPECIAL EFFECTS ANIMATION
Elemental Animation

Elemental Magic: The Art of Special Effects Animation by Joseph Gilland. Read Pat Smith’s review of the book.


THE DISNEY DOCUMENTARIES

It’s rare to see any documentaries on the history of animation, but Disney recently released three (Count ’em! Three!) and they’ve just hit the video stores: the incredible true story of the song writing Sherman Brothers, The Boys; behind the scenes of Disney animation’s rebound in the 1990s, Don Hahn’s Waking Sleeping Beauty; and the fascinating real-life tour of South America by Walt Disney, Mary Blair, Frank Thomas and others, in Walt & El Groupo.


TWO GUYS NAMED JOE: MASTER ANIMATION STORYTELLERS JOE GRANT & JOE RANFT

Real insights into the creative process at Disney and Pixar can be found in Two Guys Named Joe: Master Animation Storytellers Joe Grant & Joe Ranft by John Canemaker. See our interview with John Canemaker about the book.


RAYMOND SCOTT DOLL AND CD

Because every good cartoon buff needs a Raymond Scott doll (and CD).


DECONSTRUCTING DAD

And don’t forget the spectacular feature length documentary directed by Raymond Scott’s son Stan Warnow, just out now on DVD, which examines the “the music, the machines and the mystery” behind this mad musical genius. Goes great with the doll (above).


BORN MODERN: THE LIFE AND DESIGN OF ALVIN LUSTIG
Born Modern

Long-awaited monograph on the graphic design legend who designed the UPA studio logo: Born Modern: The Life and Design of Alvin Lustig.


STOP-MOTION MARVELS DVD
Stop Motion Marvels

Steve Stanchfield and his company Thunderbean Animation does it again with Stop Motion Marvels, a DVD of super-rare vintage stop motion films. A MUST for any stop motion fan. Read Jerry Beck’s review of the DVD.


JAPANESE ANIMATION: TIME OUT OF MIND
Time Out of Mind

Japanese Animation: Time Out of Mind by Chris Robinson. Read Richard O’Connor’s review of the book.


KOJI YAMAMURA DVD COLLECTION

For the anime fan who has everything. Kimstim and Zeitgeist’s DVD release of Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor and Other Fantastic Films by Yoji Kamamura collects the works of Japan’s greatest independent animator. The set includes his Oscar nominated Mt. Head (2002) and thirteen other film previously unreleased in North America. Good stuff.


CELESTIAL NAVIGATIONS: SHORT FILMS OF AL JARNOW DVD

Animation for the smart kids: Celestial Navigations: Short Films of Al Jarnow

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