Fox has released a trailer for their upcoming animated Napoleon Dynamite series based on the 2004 indie live-action comedy of the same name. The show is animated (quite poorly it appears) by Rough Draft Studios. In the cautious post-creator driven era of TV animation, Napoleon Dynamite and Flintstones revivals are as good as it’s going to get on Fox.
The meditative quality of Dan Deacon’s “Believer” is combined with paper sculpture visuals in this music video by Jen Stark. I like what she attempted, but the imagery has no clear focal point, and I kept having to look away from the screen to readjust my focus. Maybe that’s the point.
Sensual rotoscope animation about “overcoming the fear of commitment”, Fear Me Not by Malika Whitaker:
Reader Andres Silva shared with me this photo he snapped at a children’s playground in Ecuador.
Last year, some Bay Area artists began discussing the idea for an alternative to the overcrowded and rudderless San Diego Comic-Con International. They discussed their ideas on a Facebook page called Creator-Con, and threw around suggestions for what they wanted to see in a counter-festival: a dealers room filled with comics and artist-created products that they’d actually want to buy, in-depth classes and how-tos, and a casual and relaxed environment for catching up with old friends and making new ones. Most importantly, they wanted a place that celebrated creating art instead of the Comic-Con’s shift towards consumerism and its many tentacles including Hollywood, fandom and cosplay.
The idea found plenty of grassroots support, and lead to a new event called TR!CKSTER which will debut throughout the week of Comic-Con (July 19-24, 2011) literally across the street from the San Diego Convention Center. Here’s the map:
And here’s the place – the San Diego Wine and Culinary Center:
To understand the philosophy behind the event and the reason for its name, I’d suggest starting here. The lofty and admirable ambitions of TR!CKSTER–spearheaded by creators Scott Morse and Ted Mathot–include promoting a stronger bond between creator and audience, while eliminating barriers like convention booths and tables so that everyone can interact and learn from one another.
The three main components of the festival are:
* Symposia, a series of intensive workshops revolving around the theme of storytelling, with the participation of Mike Mignola, Mike Allred, Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson, Skottie Young, Jim Mahfood, Scott Morse, Ted Mathot, Derek Thompson, Greg Rucka, Craig Yoe, and others to be announced soon.
* A huge retail area where creators will be selling their wares and doing signings throughout the day. (Unlike Comic-Con, there is no admission fee. The Symposia events cost money, but everything else is FREE.)
* A coffee and cocktail bar, drawing areas with live models, a gallery space, live musical performances and DJs, and film screenings. (Note: Cartoon Brew is a proud sponsor of the inaugural edition and we’re planning some animation screenings. More details to come.)
For more information, visit TricksterTrickster.com or go to Trickster’s Facebook page.
Nikki Finke is reporting that Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) is going to reboot The Flintstones for both television series and theatrical movies. Apparently this deal was long time in negotiation between 20th Century-Fox (MacFarlane’s home base) and Warner Bros. (who own The Flintstones).
On a related/unrelated matter, the 1966 Adam West Batman series has been held up for years due to legal wrangling between Fox and Warners… perhaps this MacFarlane deal could help untangle that impasse.
(Thanks, Greg Chenoweth)
If so, Huggies has some “training pants” for you.
My favorites are the actresses who slip a snort in the middle. Evil tends to work best with a touch of unhinged crazy.
Full list of actresses after the jump:
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In his spare time, Carlo Vogele, an animator at Pixar, created Tango for Jansjo, kind of a sensual Luxo, Jr. starring Ikea lighting fixtures. Carlo’s student short For Sock’s Sake received a spotlight on the Brew back in 2008 when we noted his unique ability to infuse life and personality into inanimate objects.
Couldn’t let the weekend pass without sharing the latest episode of The Ambiguously Gay Duo from this week’s Saturday Night Live. This episode goes live-action with Steve Carell, Jon Hamm, Jimmy Fallon and Steven Colbert – never has a live action version of a cartoon been so accurate:
(Thanks, Ed Austin)
The New York Times shows how not to make an animation reference in this front page article about the parakeet boom in London:
Individually, any of the rose-ringed parakeets could be the star of a DreamWorks film, electric green with bright pink beaks and the voluble personalities that have long made the tropical species a popular household pet.
Because, you know, DreamWorks has done so many films featuring colorful tropical birds, like How to Train Your Parakeet, Kung Fu Parakeet 2, and MegaParakeet. It’s pretty obvious what film the writer was trying to reference, and for the record, the studio that made the film wasn’t DreamWorks.
Here’s another of my favorites from this year’s Cal Arts Producer’s Show, held last Thursday in North Hollywood: Brian Carter’s sci-fi comedy, Give Me Space.
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BulbousBoiler by Julio León (Mexico)
transmediale.11 (concept/idea: Büro Achter April; director: Moritz Reichartz) (Germany)
Kasper Rides by Ryan Magnusson(United States)
Tank Girl by Timothy McCourt (UK): “Based on two panels from page 7 of Jamie Hewlett’s the Comic Tank Girl the Odyssey. I animated this using Flash and composited in After Effects.”
The Crocodile and the Deer by Mr. Fogg
The war against terror didn’t end with Osama. Now it’s time to go after the root of Islamic terrorism — Disney’s 1992 feature Aladdin. The Tea Party Youth LA is starting its campaign in Orange County, home of Disneyland and patriotic Americans fighting terror.
The video was created by Sameer Asad Gardezi, a staff writer for TV series like Modern Family, and Outsourced. He created the satirical piece as a response to the fervid anti-Muslim rally (linked above) that took place a few months ago in Yorba Linda, California, which is Gardezi’s hometown.
(via Angry Asian Man)
One of my favorite films from last nights Cal Arts Producers Show was Glenn Williamson’s funny, touching look at parenthood and dentistry, Blueberry:
