The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present Normand Roger on The Animation Soundtrack, on Sunday, August 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater on Vine Street in Hollywood.

For this special presentation, Roger will discuss his creative approach to the animation soundtrack in an onstage conversation with composer Michael Giacchino (THE INCREDIBLES, RATATOUILLE). They will be joined by animator Frédéric Back (CRAC, THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES), with whom Roger collaborated on six films. In addition, four Animated Short Film winners which feature Roger’s scores and sound design will be screened in their entirety: EVERY CHILD (1979, directed by Eugene Fedorenko), CRAC (1981, directed by Frédéric Back), THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (1999, directed by Alexander Petrov) and FATHER AND DAUGHTER (2000, directed by Michael Dudok de Wit).

This program is presented in conjunction with the opening night of the exhibition Frédéric Back: A Life’s Drawings on display in the lobby of the Linwood Dunn Theater. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved. Tickets may be purchased online at oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. For more information, call (310) 247-3600

(Image above from Synchromie (1971) by Norman McLaren)

The ASIFA-Hollywood panel with Ralph Bakshi will be a particular highlight at the Comic Con next week. The blurb for this event posted online was not accurate. Here’s the correct description:

ARTISTS ONLY: A Chat With Ralph Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi is responsible for some of the most wildly original animated features ever made- including Heavy Traffic, Coonskin and Wizards. Working in a largely collaborative medium hide-bound by the legacy of Walt Disney, Bakshi was able to rip the lid off of the moribund medium and create films with remarkable honesty and a startlingly unique point of view.

The legendary cartoonist Ralph Bakshi will be on hand to be interviewed by ASIFA-Hollywood Archive Director Stephen Worth on his life and career. He will be offering advice to aspiring cartoonists and reflecting on what it means to be an artist in today’s world. Whether you’re lucky enough to make a living doodling or whether you still dream of being paid to create, you won’t want to miss this important presentation.

Don’t miss it - Saturday, July 26th 4:30 - 5:30 in Room 10.

The San Diego Comic Con commences next week and I’ll be there. If you want to meet me and say hello, I’ll be signing copies of my book The Hanna Barbera Treasury on Thursday July 24th, 2pm to 3pm and again on Friday 7/25 from 11am till noon, at the Insight Editions/Palace Publishing booth 2913-J (located in the Lucas Pavilion). Later that day, at 9:30pm, I’ll be screening my latest compilation of THE WORST CARTOONS EVER in room 6CDEF.

Otherwise, when I’m not looking at old comic books in the dealers room, I’ll try to check out the following panels:

Thursday (Complete Thursday Schedule)

• 10:00-11:00 Click & Clack’s As the Wrench Turns, Behind the scenes with the creators Tom Sito, Bill Kroyer, Stephen Silver, Floyd Norman, and Tom Minton. Room 2

•10:30-11:30 Tiny Toons and Freakazoid panel featuring Bruce Timm, Paul Rugg, Paul Dini, Jean MacCurdy, Rich Arons. Room 6A

•10:30-11:30 Spotlight on Noel Neill in Room 7AB

•11:00-12:00 The Disney Animation Story Process with Nathan Greno (head of story, Bolt), Don Hall (head of story, The Princess and the Frog), Mark Kennedy (head of story, Rapunzel), Joe Mateo (story artist, Bolt), Michael LaBash (story artist, Bolt), Paul Briggs (story artist, The Princess and the Frog), and Josie Trinidad (story artist, The Princess and the Frog). Room 32AB

•3:30-4:30 Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan. Chip Kidd lifts the veil on officially licensed, original Batman manga stories from 1966 Japan, not previously collected or translated in over 40 years. Narrated slide show, with Q&A to follow. Room 30AB

•5:00-6:00 Spotlight on Floyd Norman, moderated by cartoonist Scott Shaw! Room 7AB

•6:00-7:00 Bill Plympton will screen the first 20 minutes of his animated feature Idiots and Angels, plus a Q&A session to follow. Room 7AB

•7:00-9:00 Comedy Central TV Funhouse with Robert Smigel. Room 6CDEF

Friday (Complete Friday Schedule)

•2:00-3:00 That ’70s (Animation) Panel. Mark Evanier talks to animation legends Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. Room 8

• 5:00-6:00 Nickelodeon’s Making Fiends with creator Amy Winfrey and supervising producer Dave Wasson . Room 7AB

• 5:30-6:30 Spotlight on Kim Deitch. Room 10

• 7:15-8:15 Mystery Science Theater 3000 20th Anniversary Reunion with creator Joel Hodgson, producer Jim Mallon and performers Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Mary Jo Pehl, Paul Chaplin, J. Elvis Weinstein, Bridget Nelson, and Bill Corbett in a Q&A panel hosted by self-professed “MST3K nerd” and comedian Patton Oswalt. Room 6B

• 9:30-10:30 Worst Cartoons Ever! Room 6CDEF

Saturday (Complete Saturday Schedule)

•10:00-10:45 Futurama Secrets Revealed! with creator Matt Groening, executive producer David X. Cohen and series regulars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, and Maurice LaMarche, producer Claudia Katz and director Peter Avanzino. Ballroom 20

•10:15-11:15 Spotlight on Ralph Bakshi. Moderated by Jon M. Gibson and Chris McDonnell. Room 6B

• 12:30-2:00 Cartoon Voices I. Co-hosts Mark Evanier and Earl Kress welcome Jason Marsden, Wally Wingert, Phil LaMarr, TV legend Chuck McCann, and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants). Room 6CDEF

• 12:45-1:45 Q&A with the writers of The Office. Moderated by cast member Rainn Wilson, panelists include Greg Daniels, B.J. Novak and Mindy Kaling. Room 6A

• 2:30-3:30 Scott Shaw!: Oddball Comics. Room 5AB

• 2:30-3:30 Disney Pixar preview: Bolt and UP. Directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard (Bolt) and Peter Docter (UP) presents the first-ever look at Disney and Pixar’s new animated features.

• 4:30-5:30 pm: Artists Only: a Discussion with Ralph Bakshi - Ralph addresses the issue of what it means to be an artist in animation today. Moderated by Stephen Worth. Room 10

Sunday (Complete Sunday Schedule)

•1:15-2:30 Cartoon Voices II. Co-hosts Mark Evanier and Earl Kress welcome Chris Edgerly (Harvey Birdman, Celebrity Deathmatch), Dee Baker (American Dad, SpongeBob SquarePants), Cheryl Chase (Rugrats), Katie Leigh (Dungeons & Dragons, ), and Billy West (Futurama, Ren & Stimpy). Room 6B

Also: I strongly recommend all panels moderated by Mark Evanier - Click Here for complete list.

Oh, and if you can’t make it to the San Diego, I can also be seen on G4’s live TV coverage of Comic Con ‘08 on July 24 and 25 at 7pm each night.

Next Tuesday, July 22, indie filmmaker Brent Green is performing a FREE show of his animated shorts at the Hammer Museum in Westwood. I say “performing” because his mixed-media and stop-motion animated shorts are combined with live musical performance by Green and his backup band. I saw a show by Green last year and it’s an incredible experience that marries music and animation in ways that I hadn’t previously thought possible. Some of his films can be viewed online but the full effect really shines through during the live performance.

More details about the show are at the Hammer website:

Expect a full body experience including live music, short films, and improvised narration—an evening spent on the verge of collapse with wobbly guitar, musical saw, banjo, fiddles, trumpets, accordion, drums and adamantly hand-made animations. Watch Brent Green’s films (Susa’s Red Ears, Hadacol Christmas, Paulina Hollers, Abe Lincoln, Carlin, Louisville/Gravity, and Walt Whitman’s Brain) accompanied by Brendan Canty of Fugazi, Jim Becker of Califone, Alan Scalpone of the Bitter Tears, Rodney McLaughlin, and Brent Green himself.

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (212 West 83rd Street, NY, NY) has opened a new exhibit “Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Book”. It runs through August 28. Cartoonist Mark Newgarden, who told me about the show, reports: “The show features vintage original art by many animation folks on the wall—Mary Blair, JP Miller, the Provensens, etc. I did notice that all the Tenggren art were digital prints. It’s a small show but worth popping in when you’re on the Upper West Side.”

(Mary Blair artwork above scanned in by the Animation Archive)

Brooklyn’s homegrown cartoon festival Animation Block Party will return for its fifth edition from July 25-27. Over 100 animated shorts will screen during the three-day festival, chosen from 800 plus entries.The line-up of films and ticket info was officially announced today. If the event’s promotional materials (above) are any indicator, this is not to be confused with traditional festivals. It has an informal and indie spirit with plenty of opportunities for mingling and partying. I’ve heard positive things from everybody who has attended. Here are more details from their press release about the various festivities:

ABP opens on Friday July 25th at Rooftop Films, featuring live music from Plushgun, followed by a screening of ABP’s most fun and fan friendly cartoons. A party at Bar Matchless will follow ABP-Rooftop screenings with free beer from Radeberger.

ABP continues on Saturday July 26th at Bam Cinematek, with experimental works and music vids in Program One and a storytelling focus in Program Two. Screenings will be followed by an after party at Cherry Tree with free Newcastle courtesy of America’s Finest News Source, The Onion, Inc.

ABP closes on Sunday July 27th at Bam Cinematek, with top professional-independent works in Program Three and narrative local-international shorts in Program Four with an after party at Habana Outpost, featuring streaming toons, food specials and free beer courtesy of Autodesk.

Bonus Amid Geek-Note: The guy who did the drawing above is Doug Crane, who was the primary inker on the Terrytoons classics Flebus and The Juggler of Our Lady.

Kristen Morgan, an artist and professor at Cal State Long Beach, has a current installation in Hollywood which combines pop culture itself (mainly cartoon character comics, board games, coloring books and merchandising artifacts) with sculpture, using found objects to create statues of animation icons Mighty Mouse and Popeye. The show, Objects for Everyone I Have Ever Known, runs through August 16th at Marc Selwyn Fine Art Gallery on Wilshire Blvd. The L.A. Times reviewed the show in today’s Calendar section.

Heads up on yet another animation event at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The Sound Behind The Image II: Now Hear This! is an evening celebrating the art of sound in animated films. It will take place at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills on Friday August 8th. Hosted by sound editor Mark Mangini (Looney Tunes: Back In Action, Runaway Brain, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.), the presentation begins at 7:30. You can order tickets ($5./students $3) here.