Much has been said about how the pandemic is benefiting the animation industry. Here on Cartoon Brew, we’ve also been tracking how lockdowns have spurred the creativity of individual artists. A new case in point: this video from RAE (a.k.a. RAE BK), in which the New York City street artist “quarantines” himself inside Tex Avery’s 1955 short Cellbound.
In the remix, posted on his Instagram, RAE has composited himself into the classic MGM cartoon, which features Avery’s canine character Butch (a.k.a. Spike) as a prisoner hell-bent on escaping. RAE plays an accomplice to the break-out, deftly dropping himself into spaces in the layouts and weaving his actions around the film’s pin-sharp comic timing. RAE also incorporates graffiti from other NYC street artists into the backgrounds; eagle-eyed viewers might recognize callouts to the work of PK Kid, Giz, Hindue, Mecro, and Elik, among others. Watch it below:
