The dancing fire fairy “Ho-Ho” runs around Tokyo spreading happiness – or something like that – in this inventive cut-out music video by Masanori Okamoto. Okamoto is currently an animation student at Tokyo University of the Arts. The music is by 8-bit artist Saitone.

Sure is a strange way to sell yogurt – but I’m sold! This new spot for Müller Dairy makes clever use of Yogi Bear, Mr. Men, Kitt (The Knight Rider) and Muttley! Directed by Mustashrik Mahbub for UK’s Partizan Lab.

(Thanks Betsie Beadling, via Facebook)

It’s unlikely that you’ll miss this, but for the sake of posterity, let us note that Google’s homepage is celebrating the birth of Gumby and Davey and Goliath creator Art Clokey. Clokey, who passed away last year, would have been 90 years old today.

(Thanks to all who emailed us about this.)

I love Popeye cartoons as much as the next guy – maybe a little more than the next guy – but even I can’t afford the new clothing line now on sale at Bloomingdale’s. The store is promoting its new King Features Collection featuring designs using Popeye, Beetle Bailey, The Phantom and Hagar the Horrible at its stores this week. Popeye T-Shirts for $40 bucks, a pair of socks (left) is $45 and a Popeye scarf for $145? Blow that down! The department store even took out full page ads in major newspapers yesterday to hype its annual “New York Nights” event, taking place tonight at 6pm in stores in New York (including the Men’s Store on 59th street and Third Avenue in Manhattan) and Los Angeles (in Sherman Oaks, Santa Monica, and at The Beverly Center). “Attendees are invited from 6 to 8 p.m. to see the merchandise, which includes everything from T-shirts and overcoats to sneakers and toys. All of the merch will be available for purchase through the holiday season.” All of it way overpriced! In this economy, I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday (2016) for those Popeye socks at today.

Bob Iger, we hardly knew ye. Last Friday, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that he will step down as chief executive in 2015. Prior to that, Iger will add the title of executive chairman in March 2012, and will remain in that role until June 2016, at which time he will retire from the company at the age of 65. The announcement of his impending departure was a surprise to the business world, but according to the Wall Street Journal’s analysis, the decision to also make him executive chairman “was a sign the board is eager to lock Mr. Iger in for a significant period of time, while also assuring an orderly transition when he departs.”

The paper reports that the top two candidates to replace him in 2015 are Thomas Staggs, who used to be the company’s chief financial officer and now runs the theme park division, and Jay Rasulo, who used to run the theme park division and currently is the company’s chief financial officer. As for Iger, the WSJ suggests that he has “often privately expressed interest in government and politics,” but that “politics isn’t the only option Mr. Iger is considering.”

I know, I know… you think I’m simply a shill for everything Craig Yoe and Steve Stanchfield produce. I admit I’m a minor contributor to many of their projects… but ya gotta believe me: their stuff is great! Both are back this week with two new items I can’t recommend highly enough:

Making ‘Em Move:Rare Behind the Scenes footage of Vintage Animation Studios, is the new DVD from Stanchfield’s Thunderbean Animation studio. I really thought I knew of all the classic studio “behind-the-scenes” films – like the Paramount Popular Science short (from 1939) at the Fleischer Studio (included on the Warner Bros. Popeye Vol. 2 dvd set), Disney’s Reluctant Dragon feature (1941), the Universal Cartoonland Mysteries (1936) short that goes to the Walter Lantz studio, heck even Gertie The Dinosaur (1914)… but none of those are included here. Instead Steve packs this disc with ten rarely seen films made from 1919 through 1967 that are equal parts educational, entertaining and eye-opening!

The set begins with the long lost educational film, How Animated Cartoons Are Made (1919), featuring animator Wallace Carlson showing us how they did it at the pioneering Bray Studio. This print has been gorgeously restored from an uber-obscure 28mm original! Other incredible finds on this disc include the Jam Handy Drawing Account (1941) featuring animator Robert Allen explaining the nuts and bolts (literally) of cartoon production in the 1940s; Old Chinese Proverb (1941) featuring a look inside the Jerry Fairbanks (Speaking of Animals) Studio; rare color footage of animators at work at Terrytoons in the 1940s; Disney animator Clair Weeks setting up a modern (1956) animation studio in India; and Otto Messmer animating the giant electric Time Square billboards. There is also a Disney behind-the-scenes promo from a forgotten RKO Newsreel; a rare Paul Terry Social Security sales pitch; and just for fun, Van Bueren’s rubber-hose animation classic Makin’ ‘Em Move (1931) – which is probably the most accurate film in the whole bunch!

This is a must-have video compilation for everyone reading this blog – yeah, even you! Animators, educators, students, vintage cartoon collectors. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore – here’s everything you need to know about how they did it. Buy it today.

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Wowie-KaZowie! Speaking of “not making ‘em like this anymore” – The Carl Barks Big Book of Barney Bear is the latest Craig Yoe hardcover collection of classic comic book stories, this time bringing together the 1940s Barney Bear comics – written and drawn by Disney Legend Carl Barks (Uncle Scrooge)! Barney Bear was an MGM animated cartoon star and these stories originally appeared in Dell’s Our Gang Comics. They feature Barney teamed with one Benny Burro – a team that began on screen in MGM’s The Prospecting Bear (1941) and ended with Half Pint Palomino (1953); though Benny also appears solo in Rudolph Ising’s short Little Gravel Voice (1942). Barks was a major creative figure in comics: an outstanding gag writer and story-teller who’s work has gone on to influence comic artists, filmmakers and animators. Everything he did is worth a read – and this is no exception. Barney and Benny may not been Disney characters, but these stories are pure Barks – superbly drawn, cleverly staged and very funny. My favorite is one where Barney tries to catch an escaped convict, Klepto Klippo – a character designed to look like a 8-foot Mickey Mouse. I almost forgot to mention that Jeff Smith provides an Introduction and a wonderful tribute cover. If you love cartoons, MGM cartoons in particular or Carl Barks you need to buy this right now.

Paramount has named David Stainton president of its new animation division. Stainton, the controversial former president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, will now report to Adam Goodman, President of the Paramount Motion Picture Group and will begin setting up shop this week. According to the Paramount press release:

“Paramount Animation aims to focus on high-quality animation with budgets per picture of up to $100 million, with an initial target of one release per year. The division’s mandate will be the development of the broadest range of family CGI animated films, with a key piece being titles under the label of Viacom’s Nickelodeon, the No. 1 entertainment brand for kids worldwide. Paramount will also build on Viacom’s already thriving global consumer products business by seeking to capitalize on merchandising opportunities tied to all Paramount Animation releases.

“David’s accomplishments speak for themselves, and I am glad to welcome him to the lot as we start this exciting new chapter,” Adam Goodman added. “With David’s leadership, we will look to build on what has been a very strong year for our studio in animation, with Rango and the upcoming Adventures of Tintin pointing to the kind of artist-driven, broad-appeal films we intend to make at Paramount Animation.”

Paramount announced last July that it was launching an in-house animation division. It expects to release its first feature under Stainton in 2014.

Our friends at Pepper Melon, a motion graphics company based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, sent us their latest project, created for client MTV Stockholm. I don’t completely understand what’s going on, and there is considerable live action, but it’s certainly visually arresting. Tomas Garcia directed and designed.

(Thanks, Fernando Sarmiento)