I don’t know much about the new Pink Panther and Pals series - which premieres this Sunday March 7th on Cartoon Network at 7:30am Eastern (4:30am Pacific) - except I like the redesigns of the Ant and the Aardvark. The new show features three six-minute cartoons - two featuring a “teenage Pink Panther” and one Ant and Aardvark short in the middle. 26 episodes were produced by MGM Animation. There’s no animation online, but here’s a bunch of still images to tide you over till Sunday.

(Thanks, Bob Spang)

As far as CG spots for salsa go, this one directed by Nicholas Weigel at Laika offers some impressive art direction. An in-depth interview with Weigel and production credits can be found at Motionographer. For a more immersive version of the ad, watch it on Vimeo where it takes over the screen.

(Thanks, Mike Johnson)

Lou Scheimer tells all . . . like about the time he produced something crappy, or that other time he produced something crappy, or those few decades where he had an impressive streak of producing lots and lots of crap in a row. There’s also an uplifting personal story about the time he vowed to produce something decent, but then realized it was more important to stay true to himself and produce crap.

Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation drops in July.

Another live action filmmaker tries his hand at directing an animated film. Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300) brings Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’hoole novels to the screen this fall when Warner Bros. releases Legend of the Guardians on September 24th. Animal Logic (Happy Feet) in Australia produced the animation. Here’s the trailer:

(Thanks, Iain Robbins)

Ambitious new spot for Washington State Lottery. A fine example of PES doing what he does best. This is the one-minute director’s cut; a thirty-second version is airing on TV right now.

That’s a clip from Joe Murray’s Frog in a Suit, a new short film that doubles as a pilot. Here’s the set-up:

Peete Moss has just moved to Croakville ( a town full of toads) with his family. Croakville is a town on the fast track, with Industrialist Harvey Croak running everyone crazy. Peete Moss tries to fit in, sports a suit, and tries to “run with the bulls”. In this clip, he has a run in with a local coffee shop, and offends the love of his life, Lilly Patt, who is the local school teacher.

Murray, who is the creator of Rocko’s Modern Life and Camp Lazlo, has a book (with a really long title) coming out later this year: Creating Animated Cartoons with Character: A Guide to Developing and Producing Your Own Series for TV, the Web, and Short Film. He also writes an online journal.

(Thanks, David Essman)

Ronald Searle with Walt Disney. Click for bigger version

Happy birthday to Ronald Searle, one of the true legends of 20th (and now 21st) century cartooning and illustration. His artwork is the first thing that greets visitors to my pad, which should give some clue as to how highly I revere his work. In addition to his print work, he’s worked on numerous animation projects throughout his career including Energetically Yours and Dick Deadeye, and has indirectly been responsible for the look of countless other works of animation, most notably Disney’s 101 Dalmatians. My pal Matt Jones has been posting lots of birthday celebration news on the Ronald Searle blog.

Here’s a new interview with Searle on the occasion of his birthday:

I like the simple but direct graphic concept that Stéphanie Cabdevila employs in this video for Mary’s Dream. She produced it at Paris-based Metronomic. If it’s not already clear from this video and the front page of her website, Cabdevila’s work has a playfully twisted visual sensibility. It’s also on display in this video for Claire Diterzi’s “La Vieille Chanteuse”.