“The Colors of Mary Blair” is a major new exhibit of Mary Blair’s artwork that has opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Japan. Over five hundred pieces of original artwork are on display, including her animation work, book illustrations, package designs, watercolors, and personal artwork. The show’s website is in Japanese, but there is an English section with basic address and admission details. These photos on Flickr (HERE and HERE) give a sense of the exhibit’s scale, and this image shows that the exhibition is accompanied by merchandise and a catalog. The show runs through October 4.

(via Disney History)

If you’re stuck in Los Angeles, and you can’t get into tonight’s Academy program with John Lasseter and Hayao Miyazaki, take heart! Cartoon Dump goes on this evening at 8pm with our gala 2nd Anniversary Show!

That’s right! It’s our second birthday (our first performance was in July 2007) and tonight we celebrate with special guests David Feldman (from Conan, Comedy Central, and Bill Maher) and Dave “Gruber” Allen (Freak & Geeks, Naked Trucker, Two Headed Dog)!

Join me, Frank Conniff, Erica Doering, J. Elvis Weinstein, and Mighty Mr. Titan (putting the spotlight on his ass, above) tonight at the Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd. • Free Parking! • Advanced Tickets here • Phone: (323) 666-9797 • Map & Directions

I’m just back from “Comic Con” aka the San Diego Comic Con (for the record, I refuse to call it Comic Con International) and, all said and done, I had a pretty good time. I’m one of those who has been distressed by the Hollywood domination of the convention, and the massive attendance of fans/pros and Hollywood types (125,000 plus) that have made this one-time delightful experience a literal nightmare for the uninitiated.

I’ve finally accepted the Con for what has now become, planned my own schedule of events, met up with my friends, made my way into all the parties and panels I wanted to attend, and just decided to enjoy myself.

I’m not going to recount or review specific panels in great detail; I haven’t even unpacked yet and probably have a bunch of comics, fanzines and freebies worth noting… that’ll wait for later. For now, here’s an overview of selected highlights over the last few days:

Wednesday: I was planning to leave at noon, in hopes of arriving in San Diego before 5pm, so I could attend the Preview Night. I got an email at 8:30am from my friends with the Astro Boy movie and they wondered if I could show up at the Con by 3:30pm to run-through the panel I was to moderate on Thursday morning. Knowing it would take at least four hours (especially if I stopped for lunch), that meant I had to leave at 11am - which I did. At 3:30, I was inside the convention hall reviewing the plans for the panel with the folks from Summit and Imagi.

Thursday: Began the day moderating a 10:30am panel on the new Astro Boy movie (looks great, by the way). Got to meet Freddy Highmore and Kristen Bell, and interviewed them on stage. Superhero Hype.com posted a transcript of the panel here.

Later that day I got to see the Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs panel. The clips they ran were excellent. It’s going to be a very funny movie - unlike almost any CG animated film we’ve seen yet. It’s much more a “cartoon comedy” than I expected and I’m quite jazzed to see the full length film.

Friday: At 8:30am I had breakfast with Craig Yoe, Harry McCracken and Tom Knott. At 12:30pm, I got into Hall H to see the big Disney presentation - and it was superb. John Lasseter was the M.C. and he did a great job presenting the clips and talking about each film. He would tell the crowd how great something would be, then showed a clip to prove it. He showed the first ten minutes of Toy Story 2 in 3D (it looked incredible). Lasseter then introduced the new 3D teaser trailer for Toy Story 3 which was very funny. He also showed a hilarious new short featuring Ken (Barbie’s boyfriend), voiced by Michael Keaton and probably directed by Teddy Newton (that was Teddy’s voice narrating it). This short will probably be a bonus extra on the Toy Story 3 DVD in a year and a half. The short, Groovin’ With Ken, was presented like an old 1970s 16mm promo film (Academy leader countdown, lines, splices, abrupt cuts, etc.) and was a parody of Ken’s supposedly swingin’ life style.

The footage from The Princess and The Frog reassured me that Disney is on the right path with this film. The animation is superb and the storyline is looking to be a lot more clever than I had thought. They showed two long sequences and both were terrifically entertaining. Nothing to worry about here.

The big surprise of the Disney presentation was the the clip (the first five minutes) of Prep and Landing a new CG Christmas special from Disney Animation Studios. I knew very little about this before… the five five minutes are wonderful and it could be a new Christmas classic. It’s about two Santa’s elves who prepare each home for Santa’s arrival. Check this out when it airs in December.

Lasseter showed a sequence (and trailer) for Beauty and the Beast in 3D. This was interesting because it’s not only in 3D, but the new technique they use adds 3D to the 3D, making the “flat characters” feel even more dimensional than the “viewmaster” feel of previous 3-D cartoons like Melody or Lumberjack Rabbit. Not sure if it’ll work based on the clips I saw, but it’s an interesting experiment.

Lasseter then brought out Hayao Miyazaki (to a standing ovation) and they did a little Q & A, showed a great scene from Ponyo and then took questions from the audience - comedian Patton Oswald took over at this point as a moderator. The questions from the audience - mostly directed to Miyazaki - were respectful and intelligent. This was a great panel, perfectly coordinated and produced. Photo above is from Toonzone.com - pictured left to right, Lee Unkrich, Kirk Wise, Ron Clements, John Musker, translator, Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter and Patton Oswalt.

Later that day, I attended Mark Evanier’s tribute panel to Stan Freberg, which was delightful - and hilarious. That night I attended a Disney Publishing party. Great party with great food, free books and t-shirts! At 9pm I screened my latest collection of Worst Cartoons Ever to a capacity crowd (2000 plus). If you are interested in obtaining a dvd of my 2009 compilation, please write to me at jbeck6540-at-aol.com.

Saturday: I began the day doing jury duty - as one of the celebrity judges for Titmouse Animation’s new reality series (in production), 7200 Frames. The judging took place on a yacht docked behind the Marriot Marina hotel, next door to the convention center. Loads of fun.

Later that day, Mark Evanier and Earl Kress did a panel with June Foray. It was a love fest between her and the audience. That night was the annual Writers Guild of America/Animation Caucus cocktail party. Again, great food and drink and wonderful conversation with old friends like Michael Uslan, Patric Varrone, Tom Kenny, Craig Miller, Marc Zicree, Jim Wheelock, Stan Berkowitz and others. This party was on a fourth floor Terrace ballroom at the Hyatt Hotel, and ended with a perfect view of a fireworks show over the Marina.

All of the above accounted for only fifty percent of the last five days. I ran into many old friends, Brew readers and business contacts in the exhibit hall (aka dealers rooms) - and I bought way too many things. My head is still spinning but, unlike last year, I’m ready to do it again - next year!

The sixth annual edition of Animation Block Party runs this weekend in Brooklyn. The event is the closest thing there is to an animation festival in the New York City area. There are five programs of the latest animated shorts from around the world, as well as a few parties. Tonight at 8pm is the opening night screening, which takes place outdoors on the roof of the Automotive High School in Williamsburg. More screenings follow on Saturday and Sunday. Film line-up, ticket info and locations are all available on the Animation Block website.

Animation artist Jeremy Bernstein will be at booth C05 from Thursday to Sunday with his new book: Neon Lights in the Golden Hour. It’s filled with illustrations of owls and poetry. 56 pages. 28 illustrations. 28 original poems. Full color. 6 x 9. Only 200 copies printed! Plus every buyer will get a drawing done inside as well as a 4×3 sticker. Check out Jeremy’s blog to see more images.

In case you were wondering where our buddy, artist/cartoon historian Craig Yoe will be during the San Diego Comic Con, here’s an abbreviated checklist:

THURSDAY JULY 23RD
- 12:00 to 1:00 pm Fantagraphics Book Signing “The Bizarre Comics of Boody Rogers” booth # 1716

FRIDAY JULY 24TH
- 3:00 to 4:00 pm Abrams Book Signing “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster” booth # 1216

SATURDAY JULY 25TH
- 11:00 am to 12:00 pm Abrams Book Signing “Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster” booth # 1216

- 1:00 to 2:00 pm 1:00-2:00 Comics Arts Conference Session #11: The (Strange) State of Siegel and Shuster Scholarship— Brad Ricca (Case Western Reserve University), director of Last Son, a scholarly documentary on Siegel and Shuster, moderates this conversational panel featuring Craig Yoe (Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman Co-Creator Joe Shuster) and Lauren Agostino, an independent scholar, who will share letters connected to the 1947 lawsuit and portions of the original Superboy script that completely upset a lot of myths about who created Superboy. Room 30AB

Meanwhile, Variety reported that Yoe’s book Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster has optioned for major motion picture by the Gotham Group. Below is an animation made up of images from Yoe’s Secret Identity book. It is not suitable for children, its for adults only and definitely not safe for work. Click at your own risk:

Oh, and if you are in L.A. next Wednesday, check out the “Secret Identity” West Coast L/Raunch Party - Wednesday July 29th from 8:00 to 10:00 pm at MeltDown Comix, 7522 W Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood California.

I’m driving down to San Diego today and will be wandering the Comic Con dealers room tonight. I have two big commitments, so if you are looking for me these are the only two places/times I’m guaranteed to be at:

• Thursday morning at 10:30am (note the new time), I’m moderating the Astro Boy Panel, showing clips from the forthcoming movie and doing a Q&A with director David Bowers, producer Maryanne Grager, and stars Freddie Highmore and Kristen Bell. In Room 6BCF.

•Friday night at 9pm, I’m screening The Worst Cartoons Ever! All-new, all terrible, all hilarious. In Room 6BCF.

So come to my panels and say hello. Beyond this, I will be spending the next four days wandering the con, trying to get into panels, looking for comics, meeting up with friends, and simply hanging out.

Click on thumbnails below to see full-size images.

First, this just in from Eric Goldberg:

Hi, guys-
Thought I would pass along a pre-San Diego Comic Con plug for my various attempts to become the world’s most hard-to-avoid animator. First, I will be part of the panel discussion, hosted by the illustrious Don Hahn and sponsored by AnimationMentor.com, celebrating the teachings and years of inspiration to Disney artists by Walt Stanchfield, whose class handout sheets are now lovingly compiled into a two-volume tome, Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes. Alongside me on the dais: Glen Keane, Tom Sito, and Ruben Procopio.

Thursday, July 23, Room 32 AB, 3:00 – 4:00 PM (Note the time change from previously published posts)

Then, my new collection of sketchbook cartoons, Enjoy It While You Can, Kid, is debuting at the Con, courtesy of Stuart Ng, who also happens to be the publisher. (What a coincidence!) I will be shamelessly signing and plugging it, as well as copies of Character Animation Crash Course!, at these times and locations, all a hair’s breadth away from Stuart Ng Books at Booth 5012:

Thursday, July 23, 4:30 – 6:30 PM, Booth 5022, hosted by Creative Talent Network

Saturday, July 25, 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM, Booth 5022, hosted by Creative Talent Network

Sunday, July 26, 12:00 – 2:00 PM, Booth 5019, hosted by Flesk Publications

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Andy Suriano, one of the character designers for Samurai Jack, Clone Wars and the soon-to-be Genndy’s new show, and his partner’s (Ben 10 creator Joe Casey) comic book, Charlatan Ball (from Image), is being collected and released as a trade paperback at SD Comic Con this year. It’s got our mutual friend (and Suriano’s Plastic Man collaborator) Tom Kenny providing a forward. Suriano will appaer at the Image Comics booth this year (booth #2729) and have an “official” signing @ table 1, Thursday, July 23rd from 2-3pm. He’ll also be at his own table selling swag and his sketchbooks.

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Mills James Productions, based in Columbus Ohio, has produced a feature length documentary on BONE creator (and former animator) Jeff Smith. The film, titled The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, BONE and the Changing Face of Comics, will debut at Comic-Con on Friday July 24th. The Comic-Con screening will be 7:30 pm in Room 5AB of the San Diego Convention Center. Writer/director Ken Mills, president of Mills James Productions, and co-producer and editor Mike Meyer will be present to introduce the film and answer questions. For more information on the documentary, visit its Web site.