April 09, 2005

Weekend Thought

Here's a quote from a 1954 interview with UPA background painter/experimental filmmaker Jules Engel. Though the Hollywood context has changed, Engel's message remains as relevant today as it was fifty years ago:

"Since the advent of 3-D and CinemaScope, there has been a great deal of talk by film executives about how they are going to 'save the industry.' It's my opinion if there's any saving to be done of a business based on creative talent--it will be done by creative talent--not by the men behind the big, oak desks."


Posted by AMID at 07:26 AM

April 08, 2005

CLAMPETT'S TWEETY

tweetyisyellow.jpg

LINK via LINK


Posted by at 10:43 AM

DVNR: When Cartoon Restoration Goes Bad

Bimbo's Initiation DVNR
There's been a lot of griping and grousing recently on animation message boards (HERE, HERE and HERE) about DVNR. What's that you say? DVNR stands for "digital video noise reduction" and it's one of the many ways that studios ruin classic cartoons when they release them onto home video. The telecine technology was originally intended as an affordable way of digitally cleaning up dirt and grain when film is transferred to tape. It typically works fine for live-action films, but if used carelessly with animation (as it most often is), it ends up erasing and distorting parts of the image.

For a more detailed explanation of DVNR (also known as DNR) and how it compromises the integrity of the cartoon image, here's a link to a piece I wrote back in 1999 while I was working at ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE. You'd think six years later, the studios would have learned something, but they're as negligent as ever. Recent releases of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Woody Woodpecker, Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes have all been marred by DVNR technology. The irony is that many times when studios release a "digitally restored/remastered" version of a cartoon, it looks worse than in previous "unrestored" editions.

Here's a terrific new piece at Lyris-Lite.net that specifically illustrates the DVNR artifacting in WB, Disney and MGM cartoon releases. Though the article shows examples of a DVNR'd Disney cartoon, they are incidentally the studio that has been best at preventing DVNR and deserve praise for their generally careful restoration of classic cartoons.

UPDATE: Thanks to Boing Boing for their post about DVNR.

Tom and Jerry DVNR


Posted by AMID at 03:00 AM

April 07, 2005

Brew 1000

Our 1000th post on Cartoon Brew! It took us just over a year to reach this mark. A huge thanks to all of our readers who check out the site daily, and a shout out to our Guest Brewers who have contributed to the site: Mark Mayerson, Ken Pontac, Harry McCracken and Rita Street. We both still have plenty to write about so let's commence the next thousand.


Posted by The Brewmasters at 08:51 AM

April 06, 2005

Kartoon Kocktail

This sounds like a fun Bay Area event taking place this Friday, April 8:

Kartoon Kocktail 2005 is the second annual screening of independent animation and comics performance, set to coincide with the Alternative Press Expo. This shimmery, silly two hours of cartoon fun is organized by Stefan Gruber, Davey Oil, Fausto Caceres, and Jesse Reklaw.

Featuring Kartoons by Tom Neely, Stefan Gruber, Melody Yenn, Shynola, Rebecca Rojer, Irene Arifin, Peter Richardson, Seattle Experimental Animation Team, Chris Romano, Kristen McCormick, Jeff Roysdon, Amy Lockhart, Monkmus, Hickee, and Tim Miller.

Complete details HERE.

Tom Neely cartoon


Posted by AMID at 03:32 PM

Flight 2

Rodolphe Guenoden

FLIGHT 2 debuts this weekend at the Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco. FLIGHT is, in short, one of the most original and visually satisfying comic anthologies being published today. It's the type of comic that makes me excited about making a trip to the comic book shop, which is indeed a rare occurence for me nowadays. There's a lengthy preview for the second volume posted HERE. The book has plenty of contributions from animation folk including Michel Gagné, Doug TenNapel, Ovi Nedelcu, Ryan Sias and Justin Ridge. FLIGHT editor Kazu Kibuishi, who I had the pleasure of meeting a couple months back, also has a background in animation. In fact, he left animation last year to focus purely on comic book work. He told an interviewer recently, "Working in animation, I felt I was being stretched a little too thin on multiple aspects of 3D production... My love was not in the technical aspects of production, but in the writing and storytelling aspect of it all." Now with FLIGHT, Kazu has created a wonderful outlet where all types of great artists have the opportunity to tell great stories.

Doug TenNapel


Posted by AMID at 08:28 AM

Bring me the bandwidth of Charlie Brown

Animehell.org, the host of Jim Reardon's student film BRING ME THE HEAD OF CHARLIE BROWN (originally linked HERE) had to take down the film because our plug used up all of their bandwidth (sorry guys!). They explain the situation on their BLOG and offer a torrent and an alternate link where you can download the film (HERE).


Posted by AMID at 05:33 AM

OH YEAH! CARTOONS

ohyeah.jpg
Heads up all you creative types: Frederator Studios is calling for new submissions for a fourth season of Oh Yeah! Cartoons to be broadcast in the fall of 2006. After three seasons - with 99 original cartoons, and three successful spin-off series - Oh Yeah! Cartoons returns to production for Nickelodeon.

Producer Fred Seibert is seeking storyboard pitches for comedy shorts, 7 minutes in length, in any style of animation. Oh Yeah! Cartoons remains TV's biggest animation
development program, and was the birthplace of the Nick shows The Fairly Oddparents (created by Butch Hartman), ChalkZone (Bill Burnett & Larry Huber), and My Life as a Teenage Robot (Rob Renzetti).

Storyboards and pitches can be submitted to:

Melissa Wolfe
Frederator Studios
231 West Olive Avenue
Burbank, California
818 736-3847
melissa@frederator.kz

P.S. Next week, on Wednesday April 13th, Asifa-Hollywood members are invited to Nickelodeon Studios to get a behind the scenes look at the production of My Life as a Teenage Robot. More details at Asifa-Hollywood.org


Posted by at 12:17 AM

April 05, 2005

PIXAR! PIXAR! PIXAR!

Brad Bird will be on Fresh Air with Terry Gross Wednesday, April 6th.

Meanwhile, Dateline: Hollywood bets Pixar will sign up with Harvey Weinstein's new distribution company.


Posted by at 11:17 PM

JANET KLEIN

jkdarling.jpg
Yessir, it's that time again - the monthly plug for my cartoon/short musical 16mm film show, as opening act for the fabulous Janet Klein And Her Parlor Boys. It's a fine night of time travel - back to the late 1920s/early 1930s with obscure and forgotten old time jazz, rag-time, blues and novelty songs. The fun starts at 8pm Thursday night April 7th at the Steve Allen Theatre in the Los Feliz area, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., (West of Vermont, across from Barnsdall Park). We do this the first Thursday of every month. Please check Janet's website (under "Showtime") for more details.


Posted by at 11:05 PM

April 04, 2005

The Girls Productions

Undertaker Band by Amanda Visell

The Girls Productions is a new animation company founded by illustrator/painter Amanda Visell and writer Michelle Valigura. Both of them used to work in stop motion as sculptors and fabricators, but they're now developing their own animation projects. Currently posted on their site are a number of Visell's paintings, which have a playful quality with pleasing colors and shapes. There are promises of more content to come.


Posted by AMID at 08:15 PM

Bring Me the head of Charlie Brown

BRING ME THE HEAD OF CHARLIE BROWN is an amusing late-'80s student film parodying the Charlie Brown animated specials. When I first watched it, I thought it really felt like a CalArts film, and indeed the credits reveal that it is, but what's interesting to note is that it's the student film of longtime SIMPSONS director Jim Reardon. Other familiar industry names also appear in the credits. Download the film HERE (33mb). (Video posted at AnimeHell.org). (Thanks, Chris Sobieniak)
Update: New link HERE.

Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown


Posted by AMID at 02:01 AM

POwerpuff Girls Z

Powerpuff Girls Z
From the "Isn't This Incestuous Dep't.": At the recent Tokyo Animation Fair, Toei Animation, Aniplex and Cartoon Network announced a new series tentatively titled DAMESHITAA! POWERPUFF GIRLS Z. So the POWERPUFF GIRLS, an American cartoon that was originally inspired by Japanese anime, has now been optioned by the Japanese and translated back into a very conventional-looking piece of TV anime. Noticeable differences in the new version are that the Powerpuff Girls are now older, have fingers instead of stub-hands, carry weapons, and the Professor has been turned into an angry-looking preschooler. Promotional art can be seen HERE and HERE, while stills from the pilot episode are HERE. (Thanks, Scott Warren)


Posted by AMID at 01:45 AM

April 03, 2005

FELIX CHEVROLET

felixchevy.jpg
Another L.A. cartoon landmark is the subject of an L.A. Times article (registration may be required) today.

Felix Chevrovet has been a fixture in downtown Los Angeles since 1923. According to the article, Winslow B. Felix traded Pat Sullivan a new car in exchange for use (apparently in perpetuity) of the Felix character as a mascot for his car dealership. The earliest example of animation licensing? Unless there is a long lost Gertie the Dinosaur hamburger stand or Farmer Alfalfa action figure, it may well be!


Posted by at 02:16 PM

RADIO RIOT

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It isn't often that cartoons are discussed on talk radio - so it is with great pleasure that I alert you to my next radio appearence, Tuesday April 5th at 10:00am (Pacific Time, 1:00pm EST). Film Club of the Air on San Diego's KPBS radio (89.5 FM), an NPR affiliate out of San Diego State University, will be discussing the current state of animation and I believe they will take phone calls. The show will be available on-line, both live and archived.
I hope you'll "toon" in.

UPDATE: At the last moment, I was informed that I won't be on the show this week - however, they are rescheduling me for another day. Still - they will be discussing cartoons and its worth a listen, regardless.


Posted by at 08:40 AM