July 24, 2004

Did Aardman Get the Memo?

While USA TODAY is often criticized for being written at a fifth-grade reading level, the intelligence of its reporters is apparently at an even lower level. In this ARTICLE about DreamWorks Animation's decision to spin off into a separate publicly traded company, there's this gem of a line: "The SEC filing gives the public a first thorough look at the finances of the biggest part of the privately held company famous for computer-animated hits including SHREK, ANTZ and CHICKEN RUN." Tomorrow USA TODAY is publishing a piece on the third quarter financial results of McDonald's, or as they like to call it, "That fried chicken restaurant." But that's nothing compared to their story next week about Apple Computer and how the company revolutionized the world with its Windows software.

(Thanks to Fred Patten for the tip)


Posted by AMID at 01:52 AM

July 23, 2004

SAN DIEGO DAY ONE

As expected, the attendence and enormity of this Comic-Con is overwhelming.

Yesterday I enjoyed Mark Evanier's panel featuring Golden Age and Silver Age artists, writers and editors, then sat in on an intriguing panel about the origins of the San Diego Comic-Con itself, caught a few minutes of the FREAKS & GEEKS panel, and attended a panel on the origins of anime in the U.S. - but I blew everything else off my schedule later that day to explore the twelve-acre dealers' room. Stuart Ng's book booth is a jaw-dropper. If you are at the Con and reading this, find booth #1030 for an incredible collection of rare books of interest to cartoon and comic art fans.

Sensory overload has already set in. Today I interview Sid Jacobson (Harvey Comics) and sit in on a panel tribute to Bob Clampett. More when I get back on Monday.

Posted by at 09:40 AM

July 22, 2004

BREW GOES TO COMIC CON

I have no powerbook and no digital camera... but I'm on my way to the San Diego Comic Con this morning and have no idea when or if I can blog from there. Hopefully they have an internet cafe nearby or a "business center" in my hotel. That is, if I can get away from all the panels, dealers room, parties and dinners I have planned. If you are coming to the con, hopefully we'll run into you somewhere. Here are Jerry's plans and Amid's plans - feel free to tell us how much you like Cartoon Brew (we need the encouragement) and have a great weekend!

Posted by at 07:16 AM

JOHN K. ANIMATION FESTIVAL

uncut ren and stimpy
More details to come, but here's an early heads up: On September 7th and 8th at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, John K. will appear in person and program two days of animated cartoons.

On Tuesday Septemer 7th, John will present a retrospective of classic Spumco - including "director's cuts" of some of his most infamous Ren & Stimpy and Mighty Mouse cartoons. John will explain the painful process of working with network executives, explain in-jokes and answer audience questions.

On Wednesday night September 8th, John will introduce and discuss the classic Hollywood cartoons that have influenced him and his work. This will include many surprising choices, including animated films from Lantz, Terry, Avery, Jones, Fleischer and of course a heaping dose of Clampett.

I will have more information about these two evenings of animated bliss as we get closer. I just wanted you to mark the dates on your calender now. It's going to be fun!

Posted by at 07:04 AM

July 21, 2004

REMINDER - POPEYE MEETS SINDBAD

popeye
After the Comic-con, on Monday night (7/26) at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, there will be the first public screening of the restored Max Fleischer's two reel Technicolor cartoon, POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINDBAD THE SAILOR (1936), an incredible 35mm print with the original titles.

The admission is $5., they will also be running a 35mm print of the Our Gang short BORED OF EDUCATION (1936) and the feature film, ANTHONY ADVERSE (1936).
They say the showtime is 7:30pm, but they usually run the feature at that time. They run the shorts prior to that, so if you are coming, I urge you to be there by 6:45pm. For more info on this program, go here. And I'll see you there Monday night.

Posted by at 09:31 PM

Down the 5 to SD

comic con
I'm off to San Diego this morning. I'll have my Apple Powerbook in tow so I may end up doing a photo-blog from the convention. Then again, there's a good chance I won't be updating until early next week. In either case, I'm looking forward to meeting Cartoon Brew readers in SD. Also remember to check out the AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER panel that I'll be moderating on Saturday from 1-2 pm (room 8) with show creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Should be a fine week. As long as you don't buy cheese from illegal street vendors. (Thanks to Mark Evanier for that last bit of wisdom)

Posted by AMID at 10:06 AM

Pes-tastic

Genius or stupidity? That's what was going through my mind when I saw Pes' film ROOF SEX last month, which you can see online HERE. Now I've found Pes' website - EatPes.com - where there are plenty more examples of his work and against my better instincts, I'm leaning towards genius. There's just something incredibly appropriate about a 20-second film called DROWNING NUT which simply shows a peanut drowning in peanut butter. The concept is pure and efficient and the execution is perfect. Nike can hand over millions to ad agencies, but they still won't get anything as inspired as Pes' "Wild Horses Redux" spot, which actually appropriated the soundtrack from a pre-existing Nike commercial. The intricate object animation of the longer works like PEE-NUT and KABOOM! is also quite impressive and wholly unique.With so much debate nowadays over pencils vs. CGI, it's easy to forget that animation is an incredibly rich medium full of possibilities, and in the area of peanut animation, nobody tops Pes.

Posted by AMID at 10:02 AM

Pablo Ferro's Dynamite Titles

I mentioned Saul Bass here yesterday and if there's another film title designer who can hold his own against Bass it's Pablo Ferro. He is perhaps best known for his quirky hand-lettering style and quick-cut techniques as exemplified in DR. STRANGELOVE and the split-screen techniques that he developed for THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. At Design Observer, Michael Bierut pens an appreciation of Ferro's latest title work for the indie film NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. Bierut's closing thought about Ferro's work on the DYNAMITE titles should ring as true for animation artists as it does for those in the design world:

In an age where computer-generated this and special effects that are within the reach of anyone who can afford a copy of Final Cut Pro, it takes real restraint, not to mention confidence, to stick with a simple idea, simply executed.

It's also interesting to note that Ferro comes from an animation background. He started working at New York animation studios in the early-Fifties at shops like Elektra, Academy, and Gifford Kim, as well as starting his own outfit Ferro, Mogubgub & Schwartz. Ferro credits his animation training for teaching him the value of each individual frame, a concept which became crucial when he began developing his quick-cut techniques. Here's an ARTICLE by Steven Heller examining Ferro's career and here is Ferro's own WEBSITE which is packed with film clips and articles.

Posted by AMID at 08:57 AM

Swedish Eye Candy

Stockholm's freshest animation studio Filmtecknarna has created one of the most excellent music videos I've seen in a long while - "Take Me Out" - for the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand. It's directed by Jonas Odell. The video, in addition to being highly entertaining, is jammed with all manner of references to early modernist art movements such as Dada, Surrealism and Constructivism; in one shot there'll be a De Chirico-esque background, in the next a pulsating El Lissitzky-inspired construction. Says Odell from a studio press release, "The band referenced a lot of artists and groups of the DADA movement, and all this is stuff that I always loved, but never found a chance to incorporate in a project, so naturally this was a dream project to work on. I dived headlong into the sea of art history and emerged at the other side soaked in references, trying to figure out ways of turning this into a contemporary piece, but the wonderful thing about this period in art is that it does feel completely modern. It is all about the moment, and it still feels very 'now.'" After you're done seeing the video, check out more of the studio's work at Filmtecknarna.com.


Posted by AMID at 06:59 AM

July 20, 2004

Ed Bell Boogie

The wildly talented Ed Bell now has his own website at EdBell.net. Ed's been working in animation since the days of Bakshi's MIGHTY MOUSE: THE NEW ADVENTURES, and in the past few years he's been up north directing some fine commercials for Wild Brain (Wrigley's "Urban Hip Hopper," Sprite's "Voltron," and Nike's "Playa's Delight") as well as directing the Emmy-nominated live-action documentary UNCHAINED MEMORIES (HBO). If you want to experience more of his artistry, Ed's going to debut a sketchbook in San Diego - a 64-page collection of sketches called GIRL BOOGIE which will be available exclusively at the Maverix Studios booth (D1/D2 inbetween rows 600 and 700). Maverix is a Bay Area collective of animation/comic book artists so show them some love while down in SD.


Posted by AMID at 11:51 AM

THE INCREDIBLES AT COMIC CON

The fun starts in two days...

Howard Green at Disney sent us this update on THE INCREDIBLES panel:

Pixar Animation Studios offers a sneak peek at its much-anticipated new computer-animated feature, "The Incredibles" (coming from Walt Disney Pictures on November 5th), as it spotlights the career and creative genius of Brad Bird.

Join Brad ("The Iron Giant"), producer John Walker, and moderator Mark Cotta Vaz (author of The Art of Finding Nemo, etc.) as they discuss the filmmaking process and present the World Premiere of a scene from the film, along with other surprises. Those attending this presentation will receive an exclusive Comic-Con poster for "The Incredibles" designed by the legendary Mike Mignola. Mike and Brad will be on hand for a special limited signing immediately following the program. Other giveaway items too for those in attendance.

Posted by at 11:31 AM

Cartoons for Men

JimSmithCartoons.com!!! Need I say more. As California governor Schwarzenegger might say, this is most definitely not a website for "girlie men." The site is just getting started and so far there's a preview of Jim's amazing new personal project called CHESTACLESE and info on how to order his sketchbook. You can also pick up his sketchbook in San Diego at the Asylum Press booth (#2103 in the IP Pavilion) where Jim will be signing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He'll also be showing animated clips of CHESTACLESE. While there be sure to check out the comics of the talented Frank Forte who runs Asylum Press and is responsible for bringing Jim Smith on-line.

Posted by AMID at 11:22 AM

Directed by Monkmus

Here's Badly Drawn Boy's "The Year of the Rat" music video as directed by Canadian animator Monkmus. I wasn't familiar with Monkmus' work, but a quick search on-line reveals that he's represented by Klasky Csupo's commercial division ka-chew! You can see more examples of his work HERE. Pleasant and appealing work if not particularly groundbreaking.


Posted by AMID at 10:55 AM

Saul Bass in London

This past weekend, the Design Museum in London opened an exhibition about designer Saul Bass (running through October 10). The retrospective presents a look at his entire career, but focuses on how Bass "transformed the film title into an art form." Bass was responsible for many classic film titles including ANATOMY OF A MURDER, VERTIGO and WEST SIDE STORY, as well as the animated closing credits to AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. The museum's website is DesignMuseum.org.


Posted by AMID at 10:51 AM

July 19, 2004

NICKTOONS FILM FESTIVAL

nick film fest
This just in: Frederator Studios and Animation Magazine are joining forces to present The Nicktoons Film Festival, a showcase of independent cartoon filmmaking by animators from around the globe. Fred Seibert, President of Frederator Studios will serve as Executive Producer of the Festival; Rita Street, Publisher of Animation Magazine and Eric Homan, VP of Creative Affairs for Frederator Studios will be the Festival Producers.

Animators can download entry forms on nicktoons.com starting today and entries will be accepted through Sept. 10. Submissions should be "animated shorts no longer than 7 minutes that combine a unique look, great character designs and a funny plot."

A selection of shorts chosen by a pre-selection jury will broadcast on
Nicktoons as part of a 13-episode compilation series launching this fall. One winner will be chosen by a grand jury and awarded a $10,000. prize.


Posted by at 11:54 PM

Biskup & Baseman in San Diego

What, you say you're still not sick of SD Con news and want more? On Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1-2 pm and on Sunday from 3:30-4:30 pm, Gary Baseman will be signing copies of his new book DUMB LUCK at the Chronicle Books booth (#1360). Sunday, at the Dark Horse booth (#2715), Tim Biskup will be signing copies of his new book 100 PAINTINGS from 3-3:30 pm. And on Saturday you can kill two birds with one stone and get both Baseman and Biskup at the Super 7 booth (#4623) from 2-3 pm. Super 7's Neo-Kaiju Project signing will also include Seonna Hong and Todd & Kathy Schorr.

Posted by AMID at 09:31 PM

REN & STIMPY RETURN

"Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon," which hasn't aired a new episode in over a year, will finally resume first-run installments on Friday, August 20 at 12:00pm on Spike TV.

Posted by at 04:03 PM

Dice Tsutsumi

Daisuke 'Dice' Tsutsumi is a talented designer/color stylist who has been working for the past few years on Blue Sky's upcoming animated feature ROBOTS. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dice for the book THE ART OF ROBOTS, but didn't realize he had a site until last night. His website, SimpleStroke.com, has many fine examples of his paintings and sketches and is well worth a visit. He can also do some pretty amazing things with Photoshop. You'll be able to see much more of his work in the ROBOTS book which will be out in January.

Posted by AMID at 08:44 AM

TV CRITICS SEE PRIDE

The Television Critics Association meets twice a year in LA to screen new TV shows in advance and meet the stars involved. Aaron Barnhart at TV BARN writes about the presentation on NBC's FATHER OF THE PRIDE:

The late Gene Siskel used to follow a rule of thumb when judging a bad movie: Would he rather watch a documentary with the filmmakers talking about their movie?

I thought of that last weekend when NBC had us watch a screening of “Father of the Pride.” This is the network’s other new sitcom, the one not spun off from “Friends.” It features computer-generated likenesses of the Las Vegas animal tamers Siegfried and Roy interacting with the family of animated lions who live behind their hotel. I sat in the second row, directly behind Carl Reiner, the legendary comedian who voices one of the lions. Reiner roared on the screen and in his seat. His enthusiasm, and that of his co-stars, made up for the critics, most of whom sat through the screening stone-faced.

Afterward, the cast assembled on stage and was about to take questions when Reiner, who had a wedding to get to, stood up and yelled into his clip mike, “I’m going to take that as an opportunity to say everything I want to say!”

So he interviewed himself. “The question was asked many times before: ‘Why are you doing this?’ You know, I’m 83 years old. Why do I have to bother? … I have a feeling this is historic for television. If anybody disagrees with me here, you’re wrong!”

As Reiner stepped off stage, John Goodman, who voices another lion, stood up and declared, “I have a bris that I’m late for." But Goodman stayed. Squeezed into his chair, he mugged and shrugged and got big laughs from the critics. I know I wasn’t the only one wishing someone would televise him instead of “Father of the Pride.” (As it turns out, he’s also starring in a non-animated CBS comedy called, confusingly enough, “Center of the Universe.”)

Later that day Keith Marder, an affable publicist at the WB network who also moonlights as a joke writer, joked “Who’s going to watch Siegfried & Roy? The tigers don’t even like them anymore.”

Posted by at 08:32 AM

Alvin Lustig

I'm a big fan of the work of mid-century designer Alvin Lustig, but it's difficult to come across examples of his work. That's why I was pleased to discover this ARTICLE by Lustig's widow Elaine Lustig Cohen on "Alvin Lustig's Top Ten Designs" with, you guessed it, ten examples of his work. Looking at his work, like the FORTUNE cover in the above article, it's difficult not to conclude that animation designers were influenced by his work in the Fifties. Lustig also has a small, albeit significant, connection to the animation world. In the mid-Forties he designed two logos for United Productions of America including the studio's famous primary-colored ovals with the studio letters - U.P.A. - inside of each.


Posted by AMID at 08:30 AM

2004 POLITICAL ANIMATION

retro
In addition to the hilarious Jibjab.com This Land Is Your Land webtoon making the rounds, is this clever 7 minute 30s-style black & white cartoon, "Brother Can You Spare a Job?" by Tom Neely and Greg Saunders.

The short version (30 seconds) of this film was a "Best Animation" finalist in MoveOn.org's "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest. This new full-length version is packed with the same Max Fleisher, Chuck Jones and Charlie Chaplin inspiration and style.

Neely and Saunders will be at the comic con this week, selling the cartoon on dvd ($6 to cover the production costs) and giving away posters at booth #1620.

Posted by at 08:09 AM

July 18, 2004

Enrico & Ronnie in San Diego

One booth where I'll be plunking down some cold, hard cash is that which belongs to Ronnie del Carmen and Enrico Casarosa (booth #1422). Their boundless energy for pursuing their own projects while holding down full-time gigs at Pixar is inspiring, not to mention that the personal work they publish is consistently top notch. Among their new offerings at the San Diego Comic con, Ronnie will debut PAPER BISCUIT #2, a 40-page comic featuring his charming character Nina, while Enrico will bring his new art book FRAGMENTS: INTERMEZZO and the second issue of THE ADVENTURES OF MIA. Enrico was kind enough to send over a copy of the new MIA and dare I say it's even more impressive than the first issue. The elements that remain from the earlier MIA are his beautiful panel composition and cinematic sensibility, as well as his sensitive ink-and-wash style, but this second issue also adds to the mix an exciting WWII-era story with a cliffhanger ending that left me eager to find out what happens next. And while there is plenty of action in the issue, Enrico never misses an opportunity for character development. A superb example is in the middle of a chase sequence where as the spy is being pursued by the military, he stops to discard a cigarette that he's smoking. This thoughtful attention to detail and character is a big reason why MIA #2 is such an enjoyable read and why I can't wait for future issues.


Posted by AMID at 08:13 PM

STEPHEN SILVER AT THE CON

kim possible
This blog is turing into a giant plug for various events and booths at the San Diego Comic Con. Someday we are going to have to start accepting paid advertising (hint, hint).

Here's one more: Stephen Silver will be selling his book The Art of Silver at his booth #2202 - and will be doing a slideshow lecture THE ART OF SILVER: ANIMATION CHARACTER DESIGN on Thursday, July 22 from 1-2:30pm in Room 7B. He's one of the best, so this should be a great lecture.

Posted by at 03:42 PM

COOL CATS

red tango
I had a wonderful time on Friday at the grand opening party of Toby Bluth and Dave Kuhn's new character animation studio, CAAT Studios in North Hollywood. I wish them a lot of luck - they have incredible talent, fantastic ideas, an amazing studio and a great team of people on board.

While there I ran into another cool "cat", Cynthia Petrovic, the creator of RED TANGO, a product line based on her designs, and the webmaster of Tangoland.com. I've written about Petrovic before, she's an ex-Disney, ex-Klasky (and ex-other studios) animator, artist & hyphenate who decided to create her own business, based on her own ideas and art. And she's succeeding at it. Her website is a lot of fun and her products are neat. In an era when character animators are scrambling to find a position, Petrovic has used her head and found a nice niche for her ample talents.

Posted by at 08:50 AM

STILL MORE COMIC CON PLUGS

BREW Co-editor Jerry Beck has two more comic con highlights to plug:

teen titans
#1 Wonderful World of Animation Art gallery (booth #215) along with Clampett Studio Collections will welcome the top voice talents from the popular Batman, Justice League of America, and Teen Titan cartoon series on Saturday July 24th, from 1:30-3:30pm for an exclusive two-hour authorized signing event. Scheduled to attend are ADRIENNE BARBEAU (Catwoman), KEVIN CONROY (Batman), SUSAN EISENBERG, (Wonder Woman), PHIL LAMARR (Green Lantern), SCOTT MENVILLE (Robin), GEORGE NEWBERN (Superman), TARA STRONG (Batgirl) and NICHOLLE TOM (Supergirl).

plankton
#2 SpongeBob SquarePants writer and voice of Plankton and Larry Lobster, Mr. Lawrence, will sign cels on Sun. July 25th from 11:00 -12:30 PM at a special Nickelodeon booth (check with booth #215 for details).

Needless to say, there are literally too many things of interest for fans of animation, comic books and motion pictures at this mega-event. My head is already spinning...

Posted by at 08:12 AM