Medium Large (10/31) by Francesco Marciuliano; Tundra (10/29) by Chad Carpenter; Ink Pen (10/24) by Phil Dunlap; The New Yorker magazine cartoon (9/27) by Joe Dator; and Moderately Confused (10/26) by Jeff Stahler.
(Thanks to Jim Lahue)
Even animation legends, like this guy, dress up for Halloween!
Nothing beats a homemade costume, especially when it’s this well done.
(via Super Punch)
A preview of the latest short from Walt Disney Animation Studios–Tick Tock Tale directed by Dean Wellins. Haven’t heard much about this one although it did screen in Ottawa last week.
(via Matt Jones)
Drawing by Jeaux Janovsky
Happy birthday to animation’s original bad boy, Ralph Bakshi, who turns 72 today! His attitude towards animation remains as inspiring and relevant now as it was forty years ago.
Check out the video below for one of the most inspiring animation pep talks you’ll ever see:
UPDATE: Brew reader Todd Wheeler says,
I just thought it would be worth an update on your Ralph Bakshi post: Fritz the Cat is today’s featured article on Wikipedia. I’m guessing someone over at Wikipedia HQ must be an animation fan.
Brad with Jeremy Renner (L), Tom Cruise and Paula Patton
As we continue to stalk cover Brad Bird’s travels around the globe, here are some new shots of him in Dubai at a press conference for Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. Brad will be shooting parts of the film in Dubai at the Burj Khalifa tower, the world’s tallest building. More photos after the jump. Click on each for a bigger version.
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Nick Criscuolo sent us his animated music video and is looking for feedback. As I am en route from Columbus to LA today, I thought I’d post it and ask our readers for their opinion.
He writes:
Dear Mr. Beck,
I am writing to see if someone of your experience finds what I do at all interesting. I have no formal training in animation, but I enjoy it very much. I majored in painting at school, and hope I carry something of value over to this media. That being said I realize my timing and drawing probably seem pretty raw to someone like you. Anyway, if you have the time and inclination; I would most appreciate any feedback you could offer.This is my animated music video for I Can’t Breathe by Sharon Van Etten. I did get permission to make a video for this song, though the content was not specifically approved by Sharon and probably shares no topical similarity with the song. It’s just what it meant to me, I guess.
The video depicts and fictionalizes the story of Laika the Russian space dog, the first animal sent to space. It’s a sad story, but don’t assume you know how the video ends just because you are already familiar with the story of Sputnik 2 and Laika.
For me, for a first film, I thought it was very interesting. Quite haunting. What do our readers think?
This is a long way to go for a visual pun, but here’s a literal Tramp stamp. Tonight, a lot of folks in Disney consumer products are thinking to themselves, “Why didn’t we think of that first?”
Brew reader Alex Rannie reminds us that Monday, October 25, marked the centennial birthday of animation legend Tyrus Wong and we hope you’ll join us in wishing him a very happy birthday. The Chinese-born artist worked at Disney between 1938 and 1941 where he famously art directed Bambi, though his contribution was never properly acknowledged and he was only credited as a background painter.
In spite of his contributions to the classic Disney feature, Wong considers animation to be “a minor, very small part” of his artistic life, that also included twenty-six years as a film production illustrator at Warner Bros. where he worked on films like Rebel Without a Cause, Around the World in Eighty Days and The Wild Bunch. He also worked for many years as a greeting card designer.
Below is a 2007 interview with Wong about his early artistic career:
More links about Ty Wong:
Five-part video series about his life on PBS
Appreciation of Wong’s work on Bambi by Hans Bacher
A bio and incredible examples of his art from an exhibition catalog
Among the gems discovered this year in Ottawa was Shin Hashimoto‘s The Undertaker and the Dog, a student short made at Tokyo’s Tama Art University. The story, which incorporates elements of Snow White, turns fairly weird by the end. I particularly like its flowing ink animation style that transitions smoothly from scene to scene, as well as all the idiosyncratic and humorous touches that seemingly come out of nowhere (the flies being scared off the princess, the turtle who is being beaten, the dog tits). The tags on his YouTube video give us an idea of his artistic influences: Caroline Leaf, Gianluigi Toccafondo, Ryan Larkin, and David Shrigley.
Todor & Petru is an unofficial music video for The Thunderclaps’ “Judgment Day” made by Gobelins students Remi Bastie, Nicolas Dehghani, Jonathan Djob Nkondo, Nicolas Pegon and Jérémy Pires during an internship at Paris-based WIZZ.
I’ll admit that I dismissed the piece as nothing special the first time I watched it, but I was quite impressed the second time around when I paid closer attention and realized what they were actually doing. The combination of drawn animation (Flash?) and pixilated live-action is mixed together very smartly. It’s done in such a way so that the piece has the cinematic bravado of a computer animated film while retaining the organic and expressive design qualities of drawn animation. It’s a worthwhile experiment that merits further exploration, and pushes Todor & Petru beyond the typical combo of 2D animation over live elements.
Their Vimeo account also features this earlier piece that appears to be a test or development for Todor & Petru:
(Thanks, DVO and Rohit Iyer)
The family of Max Fleischer has set up an attractive new website devoted to the characters and legacy of Fleischer Studios — or at least the parts of it they still own the rights to. Max’s granddaughter, Ginny Mahoney, and Max’s lawyer Stanley Handeman are behind this site, which is clearly geared toward attracting potential licensees. Is there anything for the fans? Yes – a three page photo gallery of personal photos, clippings and studio memorabilia. More please!
On Thursday October 28th I’ll be doing a book signing (at 6pm) and screening (at 7pm) to celebrate The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons at the Wexner Center For the Arts at Ohio State University in Columbus. Join me, I’ll be screening several 35mm prints of classic cartoons on the big screen. Check the WexArts website for more information.
Two prominent events this weekend in NYC… Tom Stathes’ Cartoon Carnival Halloweenie on Saturday, and the MoMA screening of rare Disney Laugh o Grams and Ub Iwereks cartoons on Sunday. Tom’s screening is a marathon of rare 16mm prints from his personal collection. It starts Saturday, October 30th at 2:00pm in Vaudeville Park (26 Bushwick at Devoe – L train to Graham St / G to Lorimer) in beautiful Brooklyn, New York. And don’t dare miss Serge Bromberg at MoMA on Sunday October 31st, hosting rare prints and providing piano accompaniment. Go! More info here.
Bill Plympton is in L.A. to open is new feature, Idiots and Angels. Bill has a special screening/autograph signing event planned for next Monday, November 1st at the Cinefamily/Silent Movie Theatre. I’ll be there moderating a Q & A, and Bill will present a program of his classic shorts, new films, works-in-progress and a selection of vintage cartoons that inspired him! Bill’s session with us includes: Shuteye Hotel, a film noir murder mystery; Santa: The Fascist Years, which uncovers Santa’s un-jolly past (featuring Mathew Modine); clips from his forthcoming animated feature Cheatin’ and much much more. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In the Beginning, a senior film made at RISD by recent grad Katie Wendt, recounts the Genesis creation myth with quirky cartoon touches and funny voice acting.
“Railroad Non-Objective” (detail) by Walt Peregoy
Opening next month is “Animators as Artists,” an exhibit at the Nan Rae Gallery at Woodbury University (7500 Glenoaks Blvd, Burbank, CA). The exhibit features personal work by eight animation artists–Rasoul Azadani, Mike Gabriel, Sunny Apinchapong-Yang, George Scribner, Margie Daniels, Mauro Maressa, Walt Peregoy, and Dan Hansen.
The reception is Wednesday, November 3, from 6-8:30pm. Make sure to attend, if only to kick it with the legendary Walt Peregoy who was responsible for color styling 101 Dalmatians. The exhibit runs through November 27. Regular gallery hours are Thursday-Sunday from 12-5pm.
(Thanks, Julie Svendsen)
