Animator Luiz Stockler is a talent I’m keeping my eye on. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Stockler moved to Wales in 1994. In 2007 he attended the University of Wales, Newport, where he made his graduation film Vovô. Home is his first year film from the Royal College of Art in London, where he is going for his MA in Animation. It’s short and simple, subversive and sweet.
Why is this night different from other nights? No, wait… that’s not exactly what I meant to ask. But on this day and night every year we celebrate the life and career of Miss June Foray, the First Lady of Cartoon Voices. September 18th is June’s birthday and today she is 95 years young.
This past Sunday, Jeanine Kasun and Stu Shostack organized a private party for June in a local restaurant and it was filled with friends like actors Rose Marie, Marvin Kaplan, Margaret O’Brien, animators Bob Kurtz, Tom Sito, Art Leonardi, Bob Balzer, Jane Baer, Carl Bell; pals Will Ryan, Mark Evanier, Linda Jones (Chuck’s daughter), and even my new Facebook friend Jill Howard Marcus (the grand daughter of Shemp!). I took the photo above of June at the party, David Nimitz snapped these below (click thumbnails to enlarge): Left to Right – June reunites with her Phantom Toolbooth co-star Butch Patrick; June’s incredible birthday cake; June about to blow out the candles, surrounded by Fred Frees (Paul’s son) and Cima Balzer (Bob’s wife).
Congratulations, June. We love you.
Here’s the pilot for animator Tim Bierbaum’s new mixed-media web series about young artsy types living in New York City: Real Artists. Bizarre looking characters, live action backdrops, hand-held shakey cam, teen angst… it has an MTV Animation vibe written all over it. And yet I find it oddly appealing – and worth a look.
The show is part of Ashton Kutcher’s Dream Bigger program, produced for the Thrash Lab You Tube network.
I’ve just heard that John Coates, best known for being the “production supervisor” on Yellow Submarine, a co-producer of Heavy Metal, and producer of several notable shorts (The Snowman), series (The World Of Peter Rabbit) and features (When The Wind Blows) has passed away at age 84.
Coates co-founded TVC London (aka TV Cartoons Ltd.) with George Dunning in 1957 and was known as the business partner of the duo. In the 1960s, TVC produced the original Beatles TV cartoons and the Cool McCool series for King Features – and that led to them being the studio behind Yellow Submarine (1968). Coates continued to align himself with quality work throughout the years, and was most recently nominated for an Academy Award for Joanna Quinn’s short Famous Fred in 1997. A legend of the British animation industry, John Libbey published a biography of Coates last year.
The Ottawa International Animation Festival will take place this week. At the festival, I will be speaking about the life, art and animation of Disney legend Ward Kimball. The talk is packed with artwork and film clips, and I guarantee you’ll learn new things about Ward, and perhaps even discover some creative inspiration. You have two chances to check it out:
Friday, September 21, 9:15—10:45PM – Arts Court (Theater)
Saturday, September 22, 1—2:30PM – Arts Court (Theater)
This literally hand drawn music video, made for the group Goodron by Swiss artist/animator Simon Eltz, features an entertaining selection of various walk cycles, heads and body shapes – and a darn good little song.
Australia’s coolest boutique design/animation studio Dirty Puppet recently created this unusual rectangle-shaped piece, commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne, under a super tight deadline. Animation director Cameron Gough told me, “It’s designed for the odd format of the new 6 x 1 metre LED screen. Evolution is a tapestry of poetic scenes inspired by the history of the Centre’s new Hamer Hall site”.
It all kicks off on September 27th at New York’s Museum of Art and Design (aka MAD) with a screening of the works of James and John Whitney. This is followed in mid-October every Friday and Saturday with a curated series of screenings dedicated to Ralph Bakshi, The Hubleys, Sally Cruikshank, Martha Colburn, Jim Trainor and Robert Breer. The restrospective is called Adults in the Dark: Avant-Garde Animation at MAD and it runs through mid-November. It’s an important compilation of landmark animated works by some of the true artists in the field. New Yorkers, check this out!
(Thanks, Aaron Anderson)
Still don’t have tickets to the largest animation festival in North America — the Ottawa International Animation Festival? You’re in luck! We’re giving away full passes to next week’s event. Two lucky readers will each win a full festival pass (valued at $220).
Contest closed! Winners will be notified on Saturday. RULES: Please enter this contest only if you plan on attending. To enter into a random drawing, simply comment on this post. Contest closes at 11:59PM Eastern Time tonight (Sept. 14). Do not comment multiple times or you will be disqualified. Make sure to leave a real contact in the e-mail field (it is hidden from view and will not be used for any purpose other than to contact if you win).
Good Lord, no…
Here we go again… trendy New York hip-hop clothing maker Mishka is tying its new fall fashion line to Harvey Comics characters. I’m going to assume this deal was put in place before Dreamworks bought the characters…
From their press release:
“We were elated to pay tribute those characters by using them as the basis for the entire Mishka x Harvey Comics Collection. Here’s the Harvey Comics for Mishka Fall 2012 Lookbook starring none other than Casper The Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, Spooky, The Ghostly Trio, Hot Stuff The Little Devil, Baby Huey, and Wendy The Good Little Witch. These beloved icons can be seen sporting the very best of our Fall Collection, decked out in everything from Richie’s khaki’s + button-up country club ready outfit, to The Ghostly Trio’s imposing camo uniforms.”
The Ghostly Trio’s “Camo uniforms”? I won’t even begin to dissect the schizo-illogic of invisible characters needing camouflage uniforms… But I’m also going to assume the characters are in better hands now and crap like this won’t be happening again.
(Thanks, Mark Bieraugel)
Bare is a film about a bear who moves to the woods, but soon finds out that he doesn’t like nature’s messy ways. Helen Dallat’s quiet, delicate and charming 2011 graduation film from University of Wales, Newport.
With Halloween just around the corner, Warner Bros. has started selling a new crop of character costumes on their on-line store. Is it just me or do Scooby, Tom, and Jerry all look like demented PEZ dispensers about to vomit up small children?
(Thanks, Alex Rannie)
After several months of ghosts, ghouls and creatures of the night… Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph is looking like a breath of fresh air – in more ways than one. This looks like fun:
This charming music video for the Australian bearded folk-rock quartet The Beards (who only perform songs about beards) was written and directed by Chris Edser with Joshua Fielder, Joel McMillan and Tom Bettany, Michael Bidstrup. Funny song, funny animation. Enjoy!
Legendary Warner Bros. cartoon director Chuck Jones was born on September 21st, 1912. He was the creator of characters like Pepe le Pew, Marvin Martian, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, and the director of classic shorts like Duck Amuck, Feed the Kitty, One Froggy Evening, Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century and What’s Opera, Doc?, to name just a few. He passed away ten years ago at age 89, but this is his 100th year and Jones family is celebrating with three (count’em 3) special events in Southern California – all of them worth your time.
First and foremost – Chuck’s daughter Linda is presenting a Chuck Jones Centennial Celebration Film Festival on Friday September 21st (Chuck’s actual birthday) at the Alex Theatre in Glendale (at 8pm). The program will include a screening of 35mm cartoons from Chuck’s personal vault – with on-stage introductions by veteran animators Eric Goldberg and Carl Bell, and some animation historian named Jerry Beck. There will also be artwork on display and other surprises. Cartoon Brew readers can get a 20% discount off the admission price by using the promo code: Cartoonbrew921
The next night, Saturday September 22nd, from 6pm to 10pm The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity in Costa Mesa will host a gala fundraising event entitled Creativity Season, which includes a three-course sit-down dinner with wine, special presentations by celebrities, and live auction. Those celebrities will include writer Leonard Maltin, musician George Daugherty (Bugs Bunny on Broadway), director Rob Minkoff (Lion King), producer Jeff DeGrandis (Dora the Explorer), director Chris Bailey (Kim Possible), Kelly Asbury (Gnomeo and Juliet), Director/animator Eric Goldberg (Pocahontas) and many others.
Last but not least, Cal Arts is presenting Jones at 100 – a birthday celebration of Chuck Jones (Chouinard ’30) featuring a special screening of his classic films with remarks by John Lasseter in person. Its 8pm on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, with a reception immediately following at REDCAT/Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater in Downtown LA. Tickets are $50. with proceeds to benefit the Joe Ranft/CalArts Alumni Scholarship and the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity.
