Monthly Archives: November 2009

Mr. Lawrence

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The artwork above was from a presentation I created when I was an exec at Nickelodeon 13 years ago. It was (and still is) my mission in life to revive Viacom’s Terrytoon characters, then under Nickelodeon. This Heckle and Jeckle piece was drawn and designed by my friend “Mr. Lawrence” – and I’ve always loved it, as it retains their classic look, yet feels updated in a smart, slick way.

Mr. Lawrence is one of the true multi-hyphenates working in the animation industry today. He’s been a stand up comedian and actor, he’s made live action short films and created comedy series (Lost on Earth). He’s also written and directed TV cartoons – and is the voice of such Nickelodeon characters as Filbert on Rocko’s Modern Life and Plankton on Spongebob Squarepants. What’s he up to now? In addition to his continuing role on Spongebob, Lawrence is developing for Nick a new series The Kumquat Kwadruplets and, in his spare time, boarding his own independent animated horror-comedy feature.

One of the best pilots I’d ever seen was one he created for Film Roman about ten years ago, Hairballs. It’s co-directed by Lawrence and Craig Kellman, with character layouts by Kellman, Carey Yost and Mark Colangelo, and timing by Genndy Tartakovsky. The rights to this show have since reverted to Mr. Lawrence and I’m still hoping someone (Fox? Adult Swim? Comedy Central?) will pick this gem up.

A Proper Home for Cartoon Modern

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Cartoon Modern

It makes me real happy knowing so many folks in animation enjoy my book Cartoon Modern, but it’s no less a delight when I discover people outside of animation have also taken a liking to it. Above is a photo of Sandi Vincent’s perfectly curated mid-century modern home. If you look closely, you’ll see a certain book laying on her Danish wall unit. On the photo’s Flickr page, she generously labels Cartoon Modern as the “best picture book on the shelf.” Thanks, Sandi. Be sure to check out the rest of her Flickr photostream for more mid-century mod goodies.

TONIGHT: Cartoon Carnival in Glendale

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Tonight in Glendale, Joe Bev will be doing a live taping of his radio show at the Glendale Library Auditorium with special guests June Foray, Bill Marx (son of Harpo); Mark Evanier; Earl Kress; Gregg Berger,and more. Tonight at 7:00 pm at 222 E. Harvard St. in Glendale, California. Admission is FREE. No reservations are required. Autographed books by the participants will be on sale – Proceeds from the sale of books to benefit the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archives.

Looney Tunes on Cartoon Network

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Cartoon Network takes a lot of heat around here, but when they do something right we’ll report it and celebrate it. Starting today, classic Warner Bros. cartoons return to the channel in a six-hour marathon (1pm-7pm EST), and the network has scheduled a regular daily hour of Looney Tunes at 11am Eastern (8am Pacific) each weekday. You can check the schedule here. Let’s support this move. Watch some Looney Tunes today, and tell your friends. Let’s show them that cartoons belong on a Cartoon Network.

Chinese rip-off of Presto

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Trying to find a free online version of Doug Sweetland’s Pixar short Presto, reader Michael Rianda instead found this: a Chinese knock-off.

Rianda writes:

Some group of people completely reanimated and remodeled, a shot-for-shot remake of Presto (except for the crucial addition of a color changing iguana). And it’s a complete testament to the power of character animation. It’s the exact same story, timing and sound as Presto, except it’s about 100 times worse because the animation is so bad. The gags don’t come across, you don’t feel as much for the characters….it just doesn’t work.

Check it out for yourself:

Raymond Scott, Doc!

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Film editor Stan Warnow has made a documentary about his father, the musician/composer/inventor Raymond Scott. Deconstructing Dad: the Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott is now playing film festivals around the world. The six minute preview above explains it all, with commentary from musicians Mark Mothersbaugh, John Williams, historians Irwin Chusid, Will Friedwald, producer Hal Willner and many more. I can’t wait to see the whole thing.

(Thanks, Craig Clark)

Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden

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Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden isn’t going to win any awards for its animation, but it packs a real punch as a short film. Actually, it’d be hard to screw up the story, which is a colorful recording by former baseball pitcher Dock Ellis describing how he pitched a no-hitter in 1970 while under the influence of LSD. Much of the short’s success comes from Ellis’s storytelling–his line “Ooh, I just made a touchdown” is hilarious even without drawings–while Blagden’s semi-realistic illustration style and oddball eye movements on the characters provide enough visual accompaniment to make it work. Even the amateurish filmmaking elements, like unnecessarily dividing the film up into parts, didn’t ruin the overall effect for me. Ellis, for his part, became an anti-drug crusader before he passed away last year.

TV Guide on Prime Time Animation (1961)

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Whenever I appear on Shokus Internet Radio, I get to plow through Stu Shostack’s incredible library of TV Guide back issues – and I always seem to find something of interest for Cartoon Brew. This time I grabbed the July 1st 1961 issue, with the Flintstones cover (click thumbnail at left to see at full size), which contains a good article on the then-current trend towards prime time animation. It’s a pretty nice piece. The writer includes an intriguing list of forthcoming shows that were apparently never made: Sir Loin and the Dragon, Waco Wolf, Muddled Masterpieces and The Late Late War.

(Click thumbnails below to read pages at full size)

Fantastic Mr. Fox talkback

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Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox opens today in New York and Los Angeles. The mainstream movie critics love it. Rotten Tomatoes is saying 91% Fresh on the Tomatometer based on the 77 reviews garnered so far.

The film has stirred debate among animation fans. Those who have seen clips or the trailer are not thrilled. However, most who have actually seen the film, love it. I loved it.

I love that this stop motion film is as far away from Coraline (which I love equally), Mary & Max and A Town Called Panic (two incredibly strong films) as it can get. I love Anderson’s take on the story, the performances of the voice cast …and even the intentionally funky character animation won me over.

What did you think? If you’ve actually seen the film, post comments below.

Tim Burton’s MoMA Spot

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The Tim Burton retrospective opens on November 22 at MoMA. Animation has played a significant role in Burton’s career, and continues to figure into his work as evidenced by this animated trailer he created to promote the exhibit:

CREDITS
Directed by Tim Burton
Produced by Mackinnon and Saunders
CGI Animation: Flix Facilities
Animation: Chris Tichborne
Lighting Camera: Martin Kelly
Music by Danny Elfman

(Thanks, Craig)

Fumiko’s Confession

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The film’s sound track is a bit annoying, but this short has an energy that’s undeniable. It’s called Fumiko no Kokuhaku (or Fumiko’s Confession) and apparently it’s an independent production produced by 21-year-old student and aspiring animator, Hiroyasu Ishida. Ishida has also posted a production blog (in Japanese) featuring storyboards, backgrounds and character designs.

Director/Animation/Background/3D CG/Editing/Sound: Hiroyasu Ishida (a.k.a. Tete)
Background/3D CG Textures: YÅ«ko Iwase
3D CG Textures/Background: Kazuhiro Murakami
Animation: Tatsurō Kawano
3D CG Modeling: YÅ«saku Nagata

(Thanks, Marc Gagnon and Anime News Network)

Next Weekend: CTN-X Animation Expo

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Next weekend (11/20-22) is the CTN Animation Expo, and that’s where I’ll be with several hundred of my friends. It’s a convention/trade show/seminar for those in, those who want to be in, and just plain fans of, the world of animation. If only the invitees show up, it’ll be a success – and very well attended. Tina Price is running the event and she says, “Everyone will walk away from this event with more than the walked in with whether an idea, a job opportunity or a career mentor.”

Some of the highlights of the event:

• Simon Wells and Rob Minkoff discuss the differences of directing live action vs. animation.

• Don Bluth and Gary Goldman interview (with me, Jerry Beck)

• Peter de Sève, Harald Siepermann, Kent Melton, Mike Mignola, Lou Romano talk about their careers and share industry secrets. Maquette artists Kent Melton and Ruben Procopio discuss maquettes.

• Special screening of The Secret of Kells followed by round table discussion with the Producer and Director moderated by LA film critic Charles Solomon.

• Pixar in the house with Art Director Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi, Animator and founder of Spline Doctors Andrew Gordon, Character Designers Derek Monster, Scott Morse, Bill Presing and more…

• Exhibitors will include Blue Sky Studios, Cal Arts, Disney Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, Rik Maki, Mike Mignola, Stuart Ng Books, Nucleus Gallery, Bill Pressing, Renegade Animation, Stephen Silver, Dean Yeagle and many many more artists, animation studios and organizations.

CTN-X takes place at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center with ample discounted parking, conveniently located near the Burbank Airport and an Amtrak Station. Early bird pricing and discounted rates are available to students, active military and professional industry organizations. Early bird prices extended to Nov 15th. Prices start at $25 for exhibit floor only. For more information and to register, please visit www.ctnanimationexpo.com for more info.

PSSST: Cartoon Brew will hold a contest within the the next few days to give away a few tickets – AND a two night FREE stay at the hotel during the Expo. Stay Tooned…

KNTV The Act Of Sex

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You’ll be singing this one all day…

Believe it or not, this is from a kids show which just won a Scottish Bafta Award last week for Best Children’s TV! The KNTV Show is an educational TV program that has been broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom since 2006. Previous seasons tackled science and philosophy – this year they take a frank look at sex. Wikipedia describes the show this way:

The show is presented by two animated fictional teenagers from Eastern Europe (specifically the fictional state of “Slabovia”, the “last remaining communist state in Europe”), called Kierky and Nietschze, named after Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. The show melds comedy and education into one as form of edutainment.

If you enjoyed this video, you might enjoy the others devoted to Puberty, Pregnancy and the Male Body.