If the opening titles written on what appear to be toilet paper rolls aren’t an indication, “Le Soleil Chante” (“The Sun Sings”) has a certain quirky, hand-crafted charm. It was made over eighteen months by Delphine Burrus for French musician Ignatus, who has also used animation in past videos like “Dans l’herbe” and “Les p’tits chiens”. There’s some behind-the-scene photos here, which show the tiny set, as well as all the fabric, plaster, wire and cardboard that went into its making.

CREDITS
Director, Script, Sets, Puppets, Camera: Delphine Burrus
Additional Artist: Violaine Lecuyer
Editing: Biljana Labovic

Nightingales in December is a hauntingly beautiful three-minute short by Theodore Ushev (Lipsett Diaries, Drux Flux). The film’s aggressive flood of painterly imagery, alternately violent and melodic, leaves a powerful impression on the viewer. Perhaps that’s because Ushev makes animated films with an emphasis on the filmmaking part of the equation. He understands that when space, time, and light are manipulated thoughtfully, animation can express a deeper emotional resonance. The individual pieces of artwork in Nightingales in December are lovely, to be sure, but it’s the way that Ushev builds it into an animated film that truly sings.

Watch the film after the jump (due to auto-play on the video):
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Here’s another clever stop motion music video for Jesse & Joy, directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada (Chocolate). Cameron Clark was the director of animation and Charles Pieper was lead animator on the piece, made with 3500 individual photographic paper cut outs, animated all in one month. Go behind the scenes here.

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Tonight in Manhattan: a FREE retrospective screening of work produced by J. J. Sedelmaier Productions. Among the projects that’ll be screened are episodes of “The Ambiguously Gay Duo” from Saturday Night Live and “Tek Jansen” from The Colbert Report, as well as animation from The Daily Show and the Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law pilot.

The outdoor screening, projected onto a beautiful HD-format LED screen, begins at 7pm at 851 6th Avenue (between 29th and 30th St., behind the Eventi Hotel). The screening is part of the Big Screen Plaza, where Cartoon Brew had a screening earlier this month too. There’s a fancy food court and bar connected to the screening area so come hungry!

Midnight in Paris: a stop motion Book Revue? Embroidered handbag designs by Olympia Le-Tan inspired director Spike Jonze to make this animated short, Mourir Auprès de Toi (To Die By Your Side). The film, co-directed by Simon Cahn and animated by Sylvain Derosne, made its debut out of competition at Annecy last spring.

(Thanks, David Zweig via Nowness)

Pixar fans are a breed apart.

(Thanks, Rosa)

Never judge a book by its cover – especially the one pictured at left. The artwork inside is more like the fantastic painting above. I haven’t seen the new Puss In Boots movie yet, but two books in particular are being released this month, tying into the Dreamworks feature, that are seriously worthy of your bookshelf space. Puss In Boots: The Cat. The Boots. The Legend, adapted by Tina Gallo and illustrated by character designer/story artist Ovi Nedelcu, is a delightful children’s book made moreso by Nedelcu’s appealing images. This 24-page book is part of Simon & Shuster’s Spotlight line (their equivalent of Little Golden Books) and it only costs $3.99. Wanna see more? Check out all the cool art on Ovi’s blog.

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Never judge a movie spin-off by its preceding Shrek connections, nor how good its “Art-of” book looks – but once again the concept art connected to a new Dreamworks film looks amazing. My friend Ramin Zahed has penned an informative text to accompany the gorgeous inspirational pieces (Richard Daskas, Ronald A. Kurniawan, Guillaume Aretos, etc.), character designs (Patrick Maté), storyboards (Bob Logan, Paul Fisher, Bob Persichetti), color script (Nate Wragg), and all the paintings, paintings, paintings (by Nathan Fowkes, Dominique Louis, Kirsten Kawamura and so many others) collected in the new The Art of Puss In Boots. I just got a copy and highly recommend it – a worthy addition to the collection. Now, let’s hope the film lives up to all this great visual material.