Check out Loom, an amazing piece from German studio Polynoid:
CREDITS
Directors: Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, Csaba Letay
Technical director: Fabian Pross
Production company: Filmakademie BW
Producer: Regina Welker
Sound: Joel Corelitz / waveplant
Artists:Felix Mertikat, Jin-Ho Jeon, Roman Kälin, Tom Weber, Christian Hertwig, Silke Finger, Jacob Frey, Leszek Plichta, Georg Schneider, Anja Wacker, Andreas ‘Felix’ Gebhardt, Falko Paeper, Sarah Eim
(Thanks, Charlie Gore)
For your listening pleasure today, a classic recording of the Abbott and Costello radio show from November 18th, 1943. This one features guest stars Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc) and Lucille Ball. In this episode, Lou goes to extremes trying to score a pair of nylon stockings… and if you listen carefully might also hear Elvia Allman, Iris Adrian or maybe Sidney Fields.
(Thanks, Mark Trost)
Today’s must-read/must-view history lesson: Conelrad (which covers the Atomic Bomb era of the 1950s) has posted a thorough history of A Short Vision, the acclaimed 1954 animated short by artists Peter and Joan Foldes.
The Conelrad post, by Bill Geerhart, essentially recounts the surprising U.S. reaction to this short, which was broadcast twice on the top-rated Ed Sullivan Show in 1956. The fact that a mainstream U.S. variety show ran this art-film-with-a-message in primetime is almost as shocking as the film itself.
Hungarian born Peter Foldes was a painter and experimental animator whose work won prizes at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals. Foldes went on to create several pioneering computer animated films including NFB’s Hunger (the first CG short nominated for an Academy Award, in 1974). He passed away in 1977.
Watch the film (below), read the post. Still packs a strong punch.
(Thanks, Brenden Hyde)
The latest music video for the French pop group, The Betwitched Hands, is a psychedelic a love story; “a metaphor for two people who miss each other”. It’s co-directed by graphic artist Sanghon Kim and Paris studio Machine Molle, in a mix of animation technics including traditional hand drawn and CG animation. And the song is catchy, too:
Buzzing about the internet today was news concerning the Tom and Jerry Golden Collection, Volume 1. Whereas I’m working on this set and had been sworn to secrecy about it, I couldn’t mention it before. Since the box art was leaked and a bunch of mis-information is now being spread, I have no choice but to violate my arrangement with the studio and clear up some facts.
First of all, some basic information about this set: It goes on sale October 25th on both Blu-Ray and standard DVD discs. The DVD will go for $26.99 and will present the cartoons in their original 1.33:1 “full frame” video aspect ratio. The Blu-Ray set will cost $34.99 and will feature the shorts also in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, but with video in 1080p high definition. Both will no doubt sell for less on Amazon.
Each set will contain the first 37 Tom & Jerry shorts, in chronologic release order (from Puss Gets The Boot to Professor Tom, for those keeping score at home). There will be audio commentaries and bonus documentaries – but none of these are finalized yet. These sets will contain new, pristine transfers from CRI negative elements. These are not the Turner TV broadcast prints used on previous releases.
Many are asking about Mouse Cleaning. The original nitrate negative has been found on this rare title and it is being restored at great expense. This film is planned for release on T&J Golden Collection volume 2. Don’t even think of asking me about that set yet.
The information leaked about Vol. 1 today was early data made available to solicit sales from the retail trade. It was not intended to be spread publicly. A formal press release about the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection, with updated information, will be released in a few weeks.
P.S. I will be moderating a Warner Home Video Cartoon panel on Thursday July 21st at 3pm at the San Diego Comic Con – with guest panelists including George Feltenstein – to discuss forthcoming Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes collections on DVD. If you are going to the Comic Con, I advise you (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) to attend this panel for more information.
(Special thanks to David Lambert)
We normally don’t post live-action trailers on Cartoon Brew, but there are exceptions to every rule, and Brad Bird is always an exception. Watch the trailer for his film Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol at MissionImpossible.com.
Rancho Girl by Jorge Ruiz (USA/Venezuela)
Various Fluid Experiments by Vladimir Jankijevic (Switzerland)
Myslivci by Jan Saska (Czech Republic)
SVA Dusty Animation Night Intro by Kaukab Basheer (USA/India)
“Bully” Album Teaser by A3+ (France)
Browse through the Animated Fragments on Cartoon Brew or subscribe to our channel on Vimeo to see most of them.
The brilliant but rarely seen 1962 Academy Award nominated animated short Icarus Montgolfier Wright has finally been posted on You Tube by animator Mike Kazaleh, who had a 16mm print given to him by exec producer Herb Klynn many years ago.
This is another of those films I saw several times back in my elementary school years, in English class, and never forgot the haunting images by Joe Mugnaini — who had done illustrations for many Ray Bradbury books. Icarus is based on a story by Ray Bradbury with a script co-written by Bradbury and George Clayton Johnson. Jules Engel produced it at Format Films and actors James Whitmore and Ross Martin provide the voices.
The film was released in 1962, but takes place in what was then the near future. In this story, it is the night before the first manned flight to the moon: August 22nd 1970. The date turned out to be off only by a year, a month, and two days.
UPA veteran Osmond Evans directed the picture. Evans was a very astute filmmaker, always careful about using shapes and motion from one scene to the next to give his films a flowing but dynamic feel. Although Icarus Montgolfier Wright has very little animation, it moves at a brisk pace because of the creative use of camera moves and editing.
In 2009 we posted about VFX artist Ryan Leasher’s forthcoming book about illustrator Joseph Mugnaini. His book, Wilderness of the Mind: The Art of Joseph Mugnaini, contains a foreward by Bradbury and is planned for publication in later this year from Art of Fiction.
(Thanks, Mike Kazaleh)
I love Bob Clampett, and I’m happy to announce that BeanyandCecil.com is now online! This is the official family website of Bob Clampett and for his characters Beany & Cecil.
The site is still a work-in-progress, and you’ll note a hard-sell for Beany and Cecil Vols. 1 & 2 DVDs (and everyone reading this blog should own these – two of the best DVD compilations ever, loaded with great cartoons and important historical bonus material). That said, the site has much to offer as is – and I recommend you visit there today.
A couple of tips: When you check it out, hold your curser over the black and white logo in the top left corner…after a second it animates! The video on the TV will be rotated out regularly. The first video is Beany and Cecil taglines.
There are video interview clips under “Our Creator/The Surreal Side of Bob Clampett.” Much more will be added over time including interviews with people who worked with Clampett. I’ve been told there will also be feature pages added like, “The Night Ronald Reagan Opened for Beany and Cecil“.
A newly digitally remastered Bob Clampett’s Beany and Cecil The Special Edition: Volume 1 is in the final stages of authoring. It will have some ADDED elements including new menus and audio commentaries by Bob’s kids: Cheri, Rob and Ruth Clampett. It will have a rare unproduced storyboard, Cecil’s Scrapebook, with Rob’s commentary. This same storyboard will be added to the website in sections. The first section is up now, you can find it under Creator/My Life As a Sea Serpent. Readers will be notified when the DVD available, if they go to the order page.
The family has also just set up a “BeanyandCecilChannel” on youtube.com and an Official Beany and Cecil FanPage on facebook.com. You should “Like” that too!
Much Clampett goodness to explore and enjoy. My highest recommendation!
Another student film from The Netherlands’ Utrecht School of Arts (HKU), this one called Rooted. It’s an (unintended?) update of Disney’s Flowers and Trees (1932) that plays like the first five minutes of some bizarre Pixar feature about two characters who can’t go Up, two trees who fall in love with each other:
Credits:
Director: Edwin Schaap
with: Jeroen Hoolmans, Pim Reinders, Floyd Angenent
Music by Vidjay Beerepoot
Behind the Scenes film: Here
Here it is. Looks great. Can’t wait.
Defective Detective is the week two film in our Cartoon Brew Student Animation Festival. It’s directed by Avner Geller and Stevie Lewis from Ringling College of Art and Design. To comment on the film, read their production notes, or watch their Student Academy Award acceptance speech, click HERE.
Cartoon Brew’s second annual Student Animation Festival is made possible through the generous support of Titmouse and JibJab.
Zoetrope-inspired animation techniques have made a big comeback this year. It’s a flexible technique that allows for many creative interpretations, as evidenced in this music video for The Weekend People’s single, “We Are Police.” The directors are Melbourne, Australia-based Sarah Phillips and Lachlan Dean. Phillips tells me that, “The music video was made using a record player and was made with no budget–even the record player was found as rubbish on the sidewalk.”
Sheila Barbera, the wife of the late Hanna-Barbera co-founder Joe Barbera, has listed their Studio City estate for $6.795 million dollars. According to the LA Times, Mrs. Barbera “will be making her primary residence at her Old Las Palmas estate in Palm Springs.”
The 2-acre property has a 6,900 square foot feet home with 4 bedrooms, staff quarters, and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace in the living room. There’s also a 7,200 square feet car garage, lighted tennis court, pool and spa. The home was built in 1988 so it’s not the site of any real animation history, unless you’re an admirer of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Jetsons: The Movie.
The home is listed by Karen Misraje of Partners Trust, Beverly Hills. Here’s the ALL-CAPS listing from her site:
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