Happy New Year
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Monthly Archives: December 2010
New Tintin shots NOT very encouraging…
It’s lookin’ worse….
…to me, at least. I never liked the idea of a mo-cap Tintin movie (and of course I’m referring to the forthcoming Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn). But I bided my time, placed my trust in Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and am taking a wait-and-see attitude. However, these new photos posted online today (on Comics Alliance) do not bode well.
Conclusion: It’s a live action film, with mocap-added make-up effects. What is the point of this? Is Popeye next?
1965 Bugs Bunny commercial by Tex Avery & Rod Scribner
Ever wonder what a 1965 Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery and animated by Rod Scribner might be like?
By 1965, Warner’s had let the original animation studio go and was sub contracting low budget Looney Tunes work to DePatie-Freleng. Bugs Bunny’s papa, Avery, and his looniest animator, Scribner, had moved on to the greener pastures of TV commercials. As fate would have it, Avery’s studio wound up with the job of creating a series of Bugs Bunny Kool-Aid spots and Scribner animated many of them. I found this black & white one on one of my old reels (a washed-out color version is also on You Tube) and think its worth a look. Yes, that’s Paul Frees as the Judge and Hal Smith as Elmer.
“The Beauty of Pixar” by Leandro Copperfield
This well-edited Pixar tribute by Leandro Copperfield weaves together clips from all of the studio’s movies. “Pixar’s films have always been very important in my life,” he said. “I was 6 years old when I watched Toy Story the first time, and his films made my childhood more happy. So this video is a personal tribute for, in my opinion, the best animation studio of all time.”
(via Kottke)
Pixar U.S Postage Stamps
The US Postal Service unveiled today its commemorative postage stamps for 2011. This year’s animation tribute goes to Pixar. The stamps go on sale August 19th and, as pictured above, feature characters from Toy Story, WALL*E, Ratatouille, Cars and Up.
Current First Class postage is 44 cents. Beginning in 2011, all U.S. First Class stamps will be “Forever” stamps – thus these stamps will always be good for first class postage no matter what price the first-class rates may eventually rise to.
(Thanks, Ed Austin and Joel O’Brien)
National Film Registry adds “Pink Panther”, “Tarantella”
Each year the National Film Preservation Board of The Library of Congress names 25 “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant films to the National Film Registry, a collection of movies selected to be preserved for all time. In previous years, Chuck Jones’ What’s Opera Doc?, Bob Clampett’s Porky In Wackyland, Fleischer’s Snow White (1933), Pixar’s Toy Story and many Disney titles, including Steamboat Willie and Three Little Pigs, have made the grade.
This year there were only two films selected with a connection to animation. The first was Blake Edward’s 1964 feature film, The Pink Panther – the film which introduced Friz Freleng/Hawley Pratt’s iconic cartoon character (see the original trailer above). When it was first released, the animated titles garnered better reviews than the movie itself! It led to a long running series of theatrical shorts and numerous TV series for producers DePatie-Freleng.
The other film honored was Mary Ellen Bute’s experimental short Tarantella (1940). Bute was a pioneering avant-garde animator of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, who frequently combined classical music with abstract images. She collaborated with electronic musician Leon Theremin and was one of the first to create films, before computers, using electronically generated images. The short bio-film below offers many clips from her films, and quotes from John Canemaker and Cecile Starr:
The complete list of 2010 National Film Registry honorees is posted HERE.
“Extreme Nuts” by M.R. Horhager
A few weeks ago, animator Juan Manuel Urbina sent me this odd little short, directed by M.R. Horhager, about three squirrels who get their kicks crossing a busy road.
Rango: Behind The Scenes with Johnny Depp
This behind-the-scenes video, which first appeared last week on Entertainment Tonight’s website, showcases the way Gore Verbinski is directing his voice actors and filming them as reference for the animators – a cross between traditional recording and motion capture articulations.
Looney Tunes Stoners – III
Yesterday, as a Christmas gift to its listeners, New York area radio station WFMU posted on its Beware of the Blog a series of rare 1982 Mel Blanc anti-drug public service announcements. In them, Blanc speaks as himself and five of his most famous Warner Bros. cartoon characters. The PSAs were found by collector Drew Dobbs (aka “Mindwrecker”) who says, “Thrill to Porky at a smoky, scary drug party and being offered animal tranquilizers, Yosemite searching for tough guys not softened up by hard drugs to duel with, and so much more.” They’re a hoot! Listen for yourself:
Bugs Bunny
Daffy Duck
Foghorn Leghorn
Porky Pig
Yosemite Sam
Mel Blanc himself
(Thanks, Devlin)
The Sunday Funnies (12/26/10)
Rhymes With Orange (12/20) by Hilary Price
Editorial Cartoon from the Indianapolis Star (12/21) by Gary Varvel
Medium Large (12/24) by Francesco Marciuliano
Medium Large (12/23) by Francesco Marciuliano
(Thanks Jim Lahue and Billie Towser)
Season’s Greetings Redux
Jerry already shared a few of the holiday greetings he received so I thought I’d share a few of my favorites too.
Hands down my favorite greeting of the year: Joe Pelling designed and directed this one for London-based production studio Sherbert. All the models were cut from wood and hand painted (see the making of photos). The spirit of George Pal lives on!
CREDITS
A film by Nicos Livesey, Azusa Nakagawa, Joseph Pelling, and Becky Sloan
Photographed by Thomas Bolwell
Sound by Andrew Kinnear and Joseph Pelling
Colorado-based filmmaker Corrie Francis Parks depicts snow with an ironic use of sand animation.
Queens, NY-based David Sheahan, whose short film Together! earlier appeared on Cartoon Brew TV, created this cheery holiday ditty.
Rio de Janeiro-based artists Cristina Eiko and Paulo Crumbim, who publish a webcomic in both Portuguese and English at QuadrinhosA2.com, created this greeting.
TODAY in Glendale: “The Greatest Cartoons Ever” on the BIG screen!
Yeah, you’ve seen ‘em before – but not like this! If you are in SoCal with nuthin’ to do the day after Christmas, The Alex Film Society is running these classic cartoons – 35mm studio vault prints – in what they hope will be the first in an annual tradition: The Cartoon Hall Of Fame.
This afternoon at 2pm and repeated at 7pm, the program includes Warner Bros. The Rabbit of Seville (Bugs & Elmer), One Froggy Evening (Michigan J. Frog), and Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a half Century (Daffy & Porky), Disney’s The Band Concert (Mickey Mouse), and the Silly Symphony, Three Little Pigs, and Max Fleischer’s Snow White (Betty Boop), Mechanical Monsters (Superman) and a brand new restored print of Popeye The Sailor Meets Sindbad The Sailor – all projected as they were meant to be seen, on the big screen. On-line tickets are available now for two shows, at 2pm and 7pm, and will also be available at the door – at the historic Alex Theatre, 216 North Brand Blvd. in Glendale. See you there.
“The Good Little Bunny with the Big Bad Teeth” by Jessica Borutski
As promised, the latest short from Jessica Borutski. She has been working on it for about 4 years on the side and it’s been a labor of love. A sweet little film, perfect for a Christmas Day treat! And don’t forget to visit Jessie’s new website: Foolish Kingdom!
(Thanks Jessica Borutski and Chris Dainty)
“The Illusionist” talkback
Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist opens today on 3 screens in the United States. They are:
Laemmle Royal (11523 Santa Monica Blvd., LA, CA 90025)
Showtimes (Sat/Sun): 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
Landmark Sunshine Cinema (143 E. Houston St., NY, NY 10002)
Showtimes (Sat/Sun): 11:00am, 1:00, 3:00, 5:10, 7:10, 9:10, 11:15 (last screening only on Sat)
City Cinemas Paris Theatre (4 W. 58th St., NY, NY 10019)
Showtimes: 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:00
If you see (or have seen) the film, let us know what you think. This post will serve as our official “talkback” thread for the film.
A Yuletide Offering
The Grinch and sexy Cindy Lou Who…just for you!
(Artwork by Erin Ptah. Artist’s statement: “I’m a sucker for pairings involving brilliant little girls and the monsters they aren’t scared of. Integra/Alucard, Mandy/Grim, and, here, Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch. Drawing the Grinch as a quasi-bishounen was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever done. Cindy Lou grew up hot.”)
