My friend Bruce Schwartz runs the Comic Book and Sci-Fi Convention at the Shrine Auditorium (near USC) in Los Angeles each month. And he always invites down some great in-person speakers, the famous and the infamous. I want to give a heads up for his November 4th show because it features two of my favorite people – from two completely different ends of the cartooning spectrum.

Actor Marvin Kaplan, the voice of Choo-Choo (pictured above left) from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Top Cat, will be there signing autographs from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Marvin is also known for his role as Irwin in the comedy film It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and has done many cartoon voices throughout his career, such as The Smurfs.

Animator and Playboy magazine cartoonist Dean Yeagle will be signing copies of his books, Mandy’s Shorts, and his new book, Melange: The Art of Dean Yeagle, from 10:00am – 5:00pm. Dean is an amazing artist and his drawings of the ladies define the term “good-girl art” (sample above right).

For more information on the monthly Shrine Auditorium Comic Con, check the website at www.comicbookscifi.com.

Citizens of Los Angeles – please note: tonight we are once again presenting Cartoon Dump Live at the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood. That’s Joel Hodgson (creator, Mystery Science Theatre 3000) above with Dumpster Diver Dan. He once again joins our regulars Frank Conniff (Moodsy), Erica Doering (Compost Brite), Eddie Pepitone (Morty the New-Age Agent), Joe Keys (Hangover Hound), along with a new character, Lizzy Cooperman (as Quack Whore), and guest comedian Blaine Capatch. It’s our Halloween show, so expect some scary cartoons and a visit from a friendly ghost. And free candy!

The fun starts at 8pm. Ticket info here.

Historians Jayne Pilling (from London, editor of A Reader in Animation Studies, Animation: 2D and Beyond, among others) and Giannalberto Bendazzi (from Italy, author of Cartoons:100 Years of Cinema Animation) will be in Los Angeles next week for a symposium, Animation: From the Avant-garde to Popular Culture, being organized by the San Diego Museum of Art. It includes three separate events, the first of which takes place at the University of Southern California.

Redefining Animation will be held at USC’s Davidson Conference Center, Embassy Room, on Thursday, November 1 from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. (plus a reception follows). Pilling and Bendazzi will be joined by animator and digital artist Greg Araya and multi-media performance animator Miwa Matreyek, as well as artists and educators Christine Panushka, Kathryn Smith and Sheila Sofian (moderator), all from USC’s John C. Hench Department of Animation and Digital Art.

Details on the other two symposium events, Animating Cinema in La Jolla and Animated Painting in San Diego, which take place November 2 and 3, can be found at: http://anim.usc.edu. All symposiums are free and open to the public.

Calling all New Yorkers. Check out Treasures from a Chest at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) this Friday.

The annual program, mostly live action, presents rare silent films curated by film preservationist/entertainer Serge Bromberg (artistic director of the Annecy International Animation Festival). Bromberg’s Lobster Films archive is one of the best in the world – and Serge is one of the world’s great animation historians and film preservation heroes. The program at BAM is distilled from nearly 200 pounds of old film discovered in a hidden chest in a house in France, and includes comedies, fantasies, trick films, newsreels, cartoons, and “talkiesâ€? selected to recreate the magic of the first cinema screenings. Bromberg will be present for live piano accompaniment and commentary. If I were in New York on Friday, I’d have a front row seat (as it is, I’ll be in Burbank celebrating June Foray that night). Click here for more information. Go!

ASIFA-Hollywood is planning a special screening and panel discussion in honor of the 30th Anniversary of Richard Williams’ Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure. This event will take place on Saturday November 17th in the Mark Goodson Auditorium at the American Film Institute (2021 N. Western Blvd.) in Hollywood. At 3pm, a rare CinemaScope 35mm print will be screened, followed by a panel discussion at 5pm with a large group of production personnel. Light refreshments will be available.

Williams’ Raggedy Ann was the subject of John Canemaker’s first book, and the film was unique at the time, as it was based in New York (with satellite studios in L.A. and London). Veteran animators, such as Art Babbit, Grim Natwick, Emery Hawkins, Tissa David, Gerry Chiniquy, Willis Pyle, Corny Cole, Irv Spence and Williams himself, were joined by a who’s who of talented newcomers including Michael Sporn, Eric Goldberg, Tom Sito and Dan Haskett. This event is a benefit for the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. Admission will be $15 for ASIFA members, $20 for non-members.

Ty Wong standing in front of his illustrations for The Wild Bunch at the opening of the show a couple weeks ago. (Matt Petit/©A.M.P.A.S.)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences recently opened a new show at their LA headquarters called “The Art of the Motion Picture Illustrator.” The show recognizes the work of three illustrators who worked in the art departments of live-action film studios: William B. Major, Harold Michelson and Tyrus Wong.

To animation fans, Wong is best known as the artist who devised the lyrical watercolor art direction of Disney’s Bambi, but this exhibit examines his film career following his brief stint at Disney. For twenty-five years afterwards, Wong worked at Warner Bros. creating storyboards and illustrated key sets for live-action films such as The Sands of Iwo Jima, Calamity Jane, Rebel Without a Cause, Around the World in 80 Days, Auntie Mame, Harper, and The Wild Bunch. The exhibition runs through December 16 and admission is FREE. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday (10am-5pm) and weekends (noon-6pm). The Academy is at 8949 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA.

Set design painting by Wong for an unidentified Warner Bros. musical

The second annual 2D OR NOT 2D Animated Film Festival will be held at the New Everett Theatre in Everett, Washington, on November 2nd and 3rd.

This year’s fest is promising to be even bigger and better than last year. The theme of Friday night’s event (11/2) will be Girls Night In (Animation), hosted by Nancy Beiman (Ex-Disney animator), Kathie Flood (Microsoft Games Producer) and Kureha Yokoo (Pixar supervising animator). On Saturday afternoon, artist/designer/animator Michel Gagne will show a unique selection of his amazing work for publishing, TV and the Movies. Saturday evening’s keynote speaker is Don Hahn (producer of Disney’s The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas).

There’s also an international animation competition, meet-and-greet networking opportunities and special feature screenings. For festival information contact Ken Rowe, Festival Director at ken-at-animaticus.com, or visit 2dornot2d.org. For ticket information contact The New Everett Theatre.

Next Monday (10/15) at 8pm in Los Angeles, REDCAT presents Highlights From The Platform International Animation Festival. This is highly recommended to all who may have missed the festival in Portland back in June. The film program includes new animation by award-winning independent filmmakers such as Don Hertzfeldt and Miwa Matreyek, plus work by the acclaimed Luis Cook from Aardman Animations (pictured above). There will be a cocktail party (sponsored by Cartoon Network) following the screening. Free parking at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. More information here.