Monthly Archives: April 2011

Two new books you MUST buy!

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If I can make each and every one of you buy a book this week, it would be one or both of these – Simply put, these are two of the best animation books of the year. Each completely different from the other, both are absolute must-haves for anyone, everyone who loves animation.

I’ve personally been a fan of Bill Plympton’s since I first saw his print cartoons in the Soho Weekly News (an NYC alternative newspaper in the 1980s). I actually met Bill at a comic con back then, but he wouldn’t remember that. However, I was lucky enough to become a personal friend of his since the time of his first short Your Face, which I helped distribute through the Tournee of Animation.

That said, I had no expectations for this large coffee-table art book, except to see lots of artwork from Bill’s films and comic strips. Boy, was I in for a surprise. First off, Bill got David Levy to co-write the book with him. Readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of Levy’s writings and previous books. Chris McDonnell (Meathaus; Bakshi’s Unfiltered) did the layout, so the book is gorgeous. What I didn’t expect was how moved, dazzled and entertained I was by Bill’s story and the abundance of varied art and images.

This is Bill’s journey, told through his voice, and every page of this 264 page book is pure joy to read or to look at. Your Face (1987) was the film that introduced us to Plympton and was a breakthrough for him as an artist. It’s fascinating to see his early work fill the first 75 pages, as you can see his many influences (Yellow Submarine, Milton Glaser, David Levine) in his drawings. Your Face really nails what we are to know as Bill’s style – and from there on, in this book, we are able to see how he’s grown as an animator through storyboards, rough comics, production cels and pencil drawings. The text recounts his entire professional career. As “the king of the independent animators”, aspiring artists will find lots of inspiration in his story.

Terry Gilliam contributes a hilarious Foreword in the front, and Bill provides a detailed Filmography in the back, along with a list of his personal inspirations (it’s a great list and includes Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Rod Scribner, Hayao Miyazaki and R. Crumb among many many others) as well as his all time favorite and worst films (where Bill counts The Chipmunk Adventure as one of the worst – even though he animated on it!).

Independently Animated: Bill Plympton is available now on Amazon.com and at whichever book retailer still exists in your city. Also, New Yorkers can pick up the book directly from Bill on Monday May 2nd. Plympton is opening the doors of his New York City studio (153 W. 27th St. #1005) Monday from 4pm to 8pm to have a gala Starving Animator’s Sale of discounted artwork from all his classics: Your Face, How to Kiss, Guard Dog, The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger, Idiots and Angels. Refreshments will be served!

Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: “Race to Death Valley” (Vol. 1) is a brand new hard-cover comic strip compilation from Fantagraphics (Peanuts, Dennis the Menace, etc.). However unlike the others, this should be of particular interest to animators and Disney fans. The book reprints several early continuities (more than 200 pages of comics, all unedited) of the Mickey Mouse comic strip by Floyd Gottfredson (whose occasional collaborators included Win Smith, Jack King, Earl Duvall, Al Taliaferro and Walt Disney himself). The strips themselves are great. In fact, it’s a crime these aren’t more well known. These daily strips are part of why Mickey Mouse became a popular character and world famous icon. The serialized adventures are exciting and fun, establishing a real personality for Mickey beyond what was possible in the animated shorts. The book has lovingly restored these strips from the original negatives and proof sheets – each one crystal clear and absolutely beautiful.

If that were all there was to this book, I’d recommend it highly. But that’s not all. Co-Editor David Gerstein has, as he did with his previous Mickey and the Gang volume, loaded this book with over 60 pages of supplementary articles and features that are a MUST for all Disney history buffs. Gerstein has packed the pages with all manner of extremely rare promotional material, newspaper clippings, artwork, rare strips, publicity art, merchandising, still photos, etc. none of which I’ve ever seen published anywhere before. These “sidebar” pieces include an appreciation by Floyd Norman, an introduction by Warren Spector and a Foreword by Thomas Andrae. Gerstein himself writes over 10 articles filling in the backstories of the cast of characters, as well as bios of Gottfredson and his collaborators.

I cannot praise this volume highly enough. I want to thank Fantagraphics for sending me an advance copy hot off the press. It will be available next month in book stores and comic shops, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. Order it NOW! You will not regret it.

Cartoon Brew TV’s Student Festival is Coming!

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Quick reminder: We’re getting ready to accept submissions for the second annual Cartoon Brew TV Student Animation Festival. If you’re finishing up a student film this year, we hope you’ll consider submitting it to our festival. All student films that have been completed after May 1, 2010 and haven’t been posted on-line yet are eligible. Full details coming soon!

A Response to Harry Partridge’s Silly Go! Animate Rant

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“It’s not a gay lobster but still funny” – a response by “reddplague” to Harry Partridge’s anti-Go! Animate cartoon rant.

For the record, in spite of mixed feelings about automated animation software like Go! Animate, I am absolutely in favor of tools like this. As contemporary society extends itself beyond writing and still images, animation will continue its ascendancy as a vital communication form of the 21st century.

Nowadays, when a major event happens, more often than not I don’t read about it or see a photo, but rather I watch a video of the event on YouTube. We live in a video culture, and in tandem with these developments, younger generations are learning to express their opinions through the animation process. As the sophistication of easy-to-use animation tools increase, so will the ability of users to express themselves in unique ways.

To those who fear that these tools will replace the traditional role of animator, think about it this way. Today, a majority of the population knows how to write, but that hasn’t eliminated professional writers nor the specialized study of literature and writing. There is nothing wrong with a society in which writing is second nature to everybody, and it can be argued that a populace that knows how to write will be more receptive to quality writing by professional writers. That’s a good reason to look forward to a time in the future when everyone has a basic understanding of animation.

Bugs and Daffy at the White House

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Allright, I admit it. I’m a sucker for any modern day use of Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes characters. Here’s Bugs and Daffy at the White House yesterday. No birth certificates required…

Here’s the Press Release that accompanies this photo.

HARE TO THE CHIEF IN 2012?

The Looney Tunes Show stars and animation icons Bugs Bunny (left) and Daffy Duck (right) joined President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in welcoming more than 30,000 guests to the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll today, Monday, April 25, at The White House.

While in Washington, Bugs and Daffy adamantly denied persistent rumors that they are forming an exploratory committee to enter the 2012 presidential race. Pundits have noted that together they would form a balanced ticket: Bugs is an Independent, while Daffy is Highly Dependent.

The pair insist that they remain focused on next week’s launch of The Looney Tunes Show, an all-new animated comedy series from Warner Bros. Animation premiering May 3 and airing Tuesdays at 8/7c on Cartoon Network.

Animation at MOCA’s “Art in the Streets” Show

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Art in the Streets

“Art in the Streets,” the first major museum survey of street art and graffiti, opened last week at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and I highly recommend it. It ranks among the most fun art exhibits I’ve ever attended, and features lots of eye candy in the form of large-scale installations that at times can feel more like an amusement park than a museum. As a first-of-its-kind exhibition, it’s also guaranteed to spark plenty of vigorous debate about what was chosen for inclusion and what wasn’t, not to mention all the controversy it’s already generated from the Blu mural debacle to irrational police fury.

Wild Style

Though minimal, animated works do have a presence in the show. A sequence of animation drawings from the opening of the influential early-1980s documentary Wild Style is displayed in one area. The sequence (watch it HERE) was designed by Charlie Ahearn, who directed the film, and graffiti writer Zephyr. In the “Battle Station”, a fantastic recreation of the Tribeca loft of the late Rammellzee, a mograph music video called “Alpha’s Bet” is screened on a television. The video, posted below, was directed by Celia Bullwinkel in 2002. (Disclosure: I am a personal friend of Celia and attended the show with her.)

Graffiti/street art has a complicated relationship with animation, which is a thread that the curators of the exhibit never explore. While the show features a handful of artists, like the aforementioned Rammellzee, who have the ability to express personal ideas beyond the confines of referential pop culture, many of the artists from Kenny Scharf to Banksy to the anonymous graffiti writers who painted on the sides of subway cars have relied on animated characters as their lingua franca for communicating with the general public. These cartoon characters, to my surprise, are rarely used to make any statement or to subvert the original intentions of the characters, a la Wally Wood’s infamous Disney “orgy” drawing. For graffiti and street artists, the act of recreating popular cartoon iconography is considered an accomplishment in and of itself.

If one looks only at the art displayed in the show, the conclusion could be drawn that things are beginning to change. More recent artists, like the Brazilian twins Os Gêmeos, have dispensed with drawing pre-existing animated characters and are creating libraries of new cartoon characters drawn in their personal styles. Like any vital art form, street art is evolving, and the evolution points in a positive direction that emphasizes personal creativity.

Below are a few of the cartoon references I saw in the show.

Will you take the Mickey or Woody train?
Art in the Streets

Kenny Scharf began doing Hanna-Barbera tributes in 1981, long before anybody else considered celebrating Hanna-Barbera’s cruddiness.
Art in the Streets

Only in the world of graffiti could Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng characters co-exist.
Art in the Streets

Ward Kimball would have totally appreciated this.
Art in the Streets

Donald and Franken Berry
Art in the Streets

Banksy-caliber wit
Art in the Streets

Airbrushed Felix
Art in the Streets

B”art”
Art in the Streets

“Bow Tie Duty for Squareheads” by Stephan Flint Müller

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Bow Tie Duty for Squareheads

Berlin-based Stephan Flint Müller has made plenty of films in his young career, but my favorite remains his 2004 short Bow Tie Duty for Squareheads (or Fliegenpflicht für Quadratköpfe if you prefer the German). The film’s no-budget punk production style is teeming with creativity and humor, and with that comes the timeless lesson that effective visual ideas don’t require money, technology or huge crews, just imagination.

“Rio” Rocks US Box Office

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Rio

In its second weekend, Carlos Saldanha’s Rio dropped a slim 32% to retain the top spot at the US box office. Its estimated $26.8 million weekend pushed the US gross to $81.3M. More impressive, its worldwide total stands at $283.9M, pushing it ahead of Rango‘s $235.1M worldwide take as the top grossing movie of 2011. The other animated film in the US top ten was llumination’s Hop which benefited from a 16% Easter Weekend boost to place fourth. Its estimated weekend take of $12.5M pushed its domestic total to $100.5M.

For those keeping track, this is the fourth straight week that an animated movie has topped the US box office. Through the first four months of 2011, four of the top seven films at the worldwide box office have been animated. Even more noteworthy, only one of those films was released by Disney or DreamWorks. In a year when fewer people in the US are attending the movies than any year since 1995, animation is coming into its own and dominating Hollywood as never before. With any luck, these successes will encourage greater experimentation and diversity within the medium.

“Apache” by Ned Wenlock

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Apache

Circular continuity is one of animation’s oldest concepts — think phenakistoscopes and zoetropes — so it takes a certain amount of creativity to build on the idea. Ned Wenlock, from Wellington, New Zealand, offers a fresh approach in his music video “Apache” for Danger Beach. The digital “paper-roll” concept isn’t used to fulfill any particular demand of the story, and as such, it comes across as a bit of a gimmick, but the appeal and novelty of Wenlock’s approach is worthy of recognition. I fully anticipate seeing his technique ripped off by multiple ad agencies within the next few months. Rodney Selby did character animation on the piece. Wenlock speaks about some of his ideas for the video on his blog.

“Stussy x Marvel: The Ultimate Teamup”

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Hip-hop clothing retailer Stussy is coming out with a line of Marvel T-shirts and is collaborating with several notable animation talents in the process. Animator Morgan Kelly directed this viral (below), with animation by Ken Perkins, Sean Szeles, Scott Wright, Jeremy Bernstein and Matt Williames; backgrounds by JJ Villard and effects by Nalena Kumar and Eric Deuel.

The first series of Stussy x Marvel shirts will be released on April 27th and uses vintage art of Marvel characters. The second set of tees, the Special Edition Artist Series, will be released on May 6th and features artwork by such artists Bill Plympton, Gary Panter, John K., Will Sweeney, David Shrigley, James Jarvis, Todd James, Mister Cartoon and Noah Butkus.

MONDAY in LA: CARTOON DUMP!

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It’s Easter time and Cartoon Dump has been resurrected for another disturbing high mass of sketches, songs, puppets, stand-up comedy and actual Saturday Morning Cartoons from the 50s, 60s and 70s so bad that not even Jesus could forgive the animators of knowing not what they do.

Join us Monday night at 8pm with Frank Conniff (from MST3K), Erica Doering (as Compost Brite), Emo Philips (as our resident Cartoon Musicology Professor), along with me (Jerry Beck), J. Elvis Weinstein, Mighty Mr. Titan and special stand-up comedy guest Jimmy Dore – at the Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd. • Free Parking! • Advanced Tickets here • Phone: (323) 666-9797 • Map & Directions. Tell us you’re coming on Facebook!

UPDATE! By popular demand, here is the first six minutes from last months live show!

Terry, Lantz and Quimby: The Producers Write Back!

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Question for my fellow historians: When was the last time you saw a letter from Paul Terry or Fred Quimby? Today is your lucky day! Animation collector Martin Almeyra has been sharing with me some material from his collection of cartoon correspondence, and I thought these pieces were particularly delightful. First (click thumbnails below to enlarge) is a letter from Walter Lantz (Universal), who apparently didn’t approve the hideous cover to Gerald and Danny Peary’s 1980 book, The American Animated Cartoon (at left, click cover to enlarge). Next is note from Fred Quimby on his MGM stationary – note the cute images of Tom & Jerry at the bottom – to MGM musical director Johnny Green. Finally, a Paul Terry letter to radio broadcaster Mary Margaret McBride displaying more wit than any ten (make that twenty) Terrytoons combined! Is he coming on to her?

CBeebies Shorts by Matthias Hoegg

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CBeebies by Matthias Hoegg

Matthias Hoegg, whose graduation short Thursday appeared on the Brew recently, just completed two delightful mini-shorts — “Ollie” and “George” — for CBeebies, the BBC’s channel for preschoolers.

A few details on the production from Matthias:

We had 3-4 weeks for each of them and were working with a small team (in fact just myself for most of it) in the London based studio Beakus. The production process was all-digital using After Effects, Flash, Photoshop and a tiny bit of Maya.

Cbeebies provided us with the edited voice recordings of the kids and gave me pretty much free reign over how I interpreted their narrative. They were really a perfect client and got on board with my direction from an early stage. Working for preschool kids meant an emphasis on characterisation and bold, colourful designs, which were definitely part-inspired by Mary Blair. I wanted to create the impression of discovering the world with child’s eyes and frame everything from a low angle, so you’re in with the flowers and rabbits.


Full credits after the jump:
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