Another nice one from the Selzer family: making his characters work over the holidays, to clean the studio (at 1351 N. Van Ness, still on the Warner Sunset lot in this pre-1955 card) so the artists will have a clean office when they return in the New Year.

(Courtesy the collection of Tim Walker)

Linnea Sterte is an artist living in Stockholm Sweden. Lonely Little Teacup is her first film, a poignant little film that’s as soothing as a cup of… tea.

We interrupt this animation blog with a discovery of tremendous historical signifigance. Or at least, I think so. Warner Bros. cartoon art super-collector Eric Calande just found this postcard (from the 1950s?) depicting Harman & Ising Bosko and Honey dolls which we’ve never seen before. It’s known Harman and Ising continued to license Bosko (in comic books and coloring books, and home movies) into the 1950s. But postcards? With plush dolls? Anyone with further information on what this “series” is part of, please let us know.

In the meantime, cool image, huh?

This smartly crafted book trailer for Patrick Ness’s YA novel A Monster Calls actually makes me want to read the book. The After Effects animation was done by Eric Guémise based on artwork by Jim Kay.

(via Super Punch)

This was another in the series of Bugs Bunny Christmas cards commercially released in the 1940s – this particular one sent by WB cartoon producer Edward Selzer to musical director Carl Stalling. The front is above, click to see the interior image (below) at a larger, readable size:

(Courtesy the collection of Tim Walker)

Here’s a real treat to start the weekend: Aaron Springer (SpongeBob SquarePants, Korgoth of Barbaria) created this series of Periwinkle shorts in the mid-2000s for Cartoon Network. Originally intended as a pilot, the network asked him to instead transform it into a series of two-minute vignettes that it wanted to use as cell phone content. They eventually aired them on a short-lived CN series called Sunday Pants and they’ve been out of sight since then. That’s a shame because they are among the most inspired, laugh-out-loud pieces of animation that Cartoon Network has ever produced. If I had to make a list of the necessary ingredients for a funny animated short, I couldn’t do better than what’s contained in Periwinkle: appealing characters who are fun to watch, simple set-ups that allow for visual storytelling, gags that build in intensity, and inventive animation.

Best. Batman/Lego Film. Ever!

(Thanks, Jay West)

Earlier this week, I traveled to the Bahamas for the wedding of my pal Rob Kohr (seen above in his self-designed cake topper). Rob is not only a friend, but also the webhost and tech guru for Cartoon Brew. He’s the unsung hero who keeps us up and running, and without his attentive daily management and skillful problem solving, there’s a very good chance you wouldn’t be reading this site right now.

Of course, it’s only fitting that Cartoon Brew’s tech genius would also be an animator. Rob’s day job is at Viacom where he works in their on-air promo department, animating Nick Jr. projects in both Maya and Flash, like this:

But having a full-time job and running a webhosting company isn’t nearly enough for Rob, who gives new meaning to the term workaholic. He also recently completed his first independent animated production, the anime-flavored The Lift, which has screened in nearly fifty festivals and won multiple awards. Take a look:

So here’s three cheers for Rob—for finding a great lady AND for keeping Cartoon Brew pumping!