If only the new mo-cap Tintin movie had half the charm of this film, the first Tintin animated feature – a stop-mo adaptation of the The Crab With Golden Claws. Animated by Claude Misonne in 1947 with puppets, the film (embed below, in French no subtitles) closely follows the original story by Hergé.

(Thanks Johane Matte via Cartoon Brew’s Facebook page)

Serbian animation outfit GlossyRey came up with Be a Vegetarian, which if not particularly effective at making its case for vegetarianism is at least cute. Pre-production artwork from this brief After Effects piece is posted on their website.

CREDITS
Production Company: GlossyRey Animation and Design
Story: Nemanja Zivkovic
Art Direction: Stanko Stupar
Art Direction: Nemanja Zivkovic
Animation: Stanko Stupar
Rigging: Nemanja Zivkovic
Music and Sound Design: Rajko Stupar
Special Thanks to: Marko Bugarski and Nemanja Saric

California animation studios have had satellite studios in Asia since the 1980s, when Disney operated out of Japan and Hanna-Barbera had Fil-Cartoons in the Philippines. It’s the same today, only the names of the companies have changed, like Lucasfilm with its studio in Singapore and Digital Domain in India. Now, according to this Reuters story, DreamWorks is aggressively pushing forward with its plans to launch a studio in Shanghai, a development that we first reported last September. The new studio, DreamWorks East, could be up and running by January, and its first feature is slated for 2015. DreamWorks and a consortium of Chinese companies will invest up to $2 billion over five years in the joint venture, and the studio will also develop theme park rides and distribute films.

I really like these limited edition Peanuts Special posters by artist Tom Whelan. The Great Pumpkin piece (below) sold out a few months ago. Now the Christmas special (above) will go on sale Thursday in three editions:

450 Standard Edition ($75)
100 Variant Edition ($125)
50 Silver Bells Edition (on metal with Variant image imprinted) ($250)

It’s pretty mysterious how these are being distributed. eMoviePoster.com will release all 3 editions exclusively on Thursday (12/1) at a random morning hour. The next day, Friday (12/2) publisher Dark Hall Mansion will make them available in their online Store. For more information on Tom Whelan and his amazing poster art, check Whelan’s blog.

(Via Fire Wire)

Cartoon Brew is co-presenting Animation Breakdown at the Cinefamily this weekend. It kicks off Thursday night with Don Hertzfeldt in person with his brand new short (first two screenings sold out – but a 12:35am show has just been added). Tomorrow night is an opening reception for the gallery show at Synchronicity Space being done in conjunction with the fest – it’s also how we’re kicking the whole thing off. The show features artwork from animators, including Bruce Bickford (in his first L.A. gallery appearance), Adam Beckett, Andy Ristaino (of Adventure Time), Jim Tozzi (of Xavier: Renegade Angel), David O’Reilly, Amy Lockhart and more. So join us at Synchronicity Space (713 N. Heliotrope, LA, CA, 90029) Wednesday, November 30th for our opening night reception!

Clay-animation madman Bruce Bickford will also be on hand Sunday night (12/4) at 8:30 to present, in person, a rare evening of shorts, experiments, and brand-new works highlighting his vastly underseen and equally remarkable hand-drawn animation — plus, the world premiere of Bickford’s finally-finished, twenty-plus-years-in-the-making magnum opus Cas’l. A trailer for Bickford’s show is above.

A bittersweet childhood memory, beautifully recalled by German animator Hendrik Rost:

Calling all Flintstone freaks! My friend David Nimitz is an animator, caricaturist and Flintstone fanatic par excellence. He always wanted a toy based on the first aired episode of the series, The Flintstone Flyer, but since none existed he built one himself. He took his prehistoric helicopter out to the Vazquez Rocks and shot a few pix (above and below) – and I just had to share. Well done, Dave! Perhaps these will inspire some toy-maker to create a mass-market version. Till then we will play vicariously through your photos…

Click thumbnails below to enlarge. Second row are some of Dave’s tributes to our favorite cartoon voices.

---

Going once, going twice… a long lost Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon by Walt Disney. It will be up for auction next month, December 14th, at Bonhams in Los Angeles.

The only known copy of Hungry Hobos (1928) has been found in UK’s Huntley Film Archives based in Herefordshire. It is being estimated to sell for $30,000-40,000. The Bonhams press release says:

Stephanie Connell of Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia department comments, “Hungry Hobos” an incredible find, a lost masterpiece and a cartoon with a unique and vital place in animation history.” Comprising a 16mm double perforated celluloid acetate positive print, silent, probably dating from around its distribution date of late 20s/early 30s, total running time 5 minutes, 21 seconds and 2 frames at a running speed of 24 frames per second.

The Huntley Film Archives recently re-discovered the film and when they realized its significance they decided to sell it, and will devote the proceeds to their collection of 80,000 films, which are badly in need of restoration. Amanda Huntley of Huntley Film Archives comments, “When we checked this film we couldn’t quite believe our eyes. For an archive, finding a lost masterpiece is incredible – you just don’t think it will happen to you. We are excited and delighted to offer this gem to animation aficionados and collectors.”

$30,000-40,000? Has any silent-era cartoon ever been sold for more than $1000? Is this cartoon really worth five figures. All I know is, I want want to see it. If you want to place a bid, or need more information: visit Bonhams website.