Games

‘Johnny Bravo’ Creator Van Partible Talks About New Dance-Combat Game

Van Partible, the creator of Cartoon Network’s Nineties series "Johnny Bravo," is making the rounds with a new third-person video game concept called Dancers of War. In the game, Marine Sgt. Jack Dancer is out to save the world from a maniacal pop star by strapping on an exoskeleton/leotard called “The Exo-Tard 3000.”

Cartoon Brew Pick

‘Yellow Sticky Notes: Canadian Anijam’ by Jeff Chiba Stearns

An ‘Anijam’ is a collaborative animation where various artists create individual short animated segments that are linked together to make one larger film. For the first time in Canadian history, 15 of Canada’s most acclaimed independent animators have come together to create a collaborative animated film. "Yellow Sticky Notes: Canadian Anijam" is an innovative and global approach to animation filmmaking and unites animators from coast to coast, from Vancouver to Halifax and all parts in between, to self reflect on one day of their lives using only 4x6 inch yellow sticky notes, a black pen and animation meditation.

Feature Film

Teaser Trailer for Aardman’s ‘Shaun the Sheep Movie’

Starting out as a side character in the Wallace and Gromit short "A Close Shave" (1995), Shaun the Sheep became an unlikely franchise star. After getting his own line of merchandise and a spin-off television series (which was popular enough to spawn its own spin-off, "Timmy Time") Shaun is set to become the subject of Aardman’s next feature in spring 2015. The film currently doesn't appear to have a U.S. distributor.

Business

Patreon Offers a New Way to Crowdfund Animation

There are countless crowdfunding sites nowadays, but none have offered a viable alternative that challenges Kickstarter and Indiegogo's dominance. Patreon may change that though. The crowdfunding site offers a twist on the crowdfunding model that may prove attractive to filmmakers who want to produce content regularly.

Recaps

‘Steven Universe’ Recap: ‘Onion Trade’

There’s something about Steven’s dad Greg that doesn’t add up. Will we ever really know why Greg distances himself from his son? This week in “Onion Trade," we explored a dad’s horrible ability to remember things, witnessed Steven’s lack of male role models, and learned a lot more about Onion, a character who revealed quite a few new layers.

DVD

Latest Issue of ‘Believer’ Contains Exclusive DVD of Restored Hubley Shorts

"The Believer" is one of the magazines in "McSweeney’s" indie publishing empire. Published nine times a year, it focuses primarily on books, but occasionally devotes an issue to another topic. This year, the March/April film issue includes a DVD of shorts by John and Faith Hubley, in tribute to John Hubley’s centennial, which happens on May 21st.

Interviews

Animation Breakdown’s Alex McDonald and Kevin Sukho Lee on Launching A New Festival

The Los Angeles indie animation event of the season takes place tomorrow, Saturday March 8th, at The Cinefamily. Animation Breakdown Roundup! is a collection of over two dozen shorts by seasoned indie stars (Vince Collins, Emily Hubley), current filmmakers (Kirsten Lepore, Takeshi Murata, Devin Flynn, Allison Schulnik, Galen Pehrson, Amy Lockhart, Matt & Paul Layzell, Garrett Davis, Charles Huettner, Caleb Wood, Alex Schubert) and next-wavers (Peter Millard, Sean Buckelew, Quique Rivera Rivera.)

Award Season Focus

Definitive Proof That Academy Voters Are Ignorant About Animation

Those of us in animation always gripe that the rest of Hollywood doesn't care or know the first thing about animated films. There are tons of anecdotal stories to support this position, but finally, we've got some definitive proof. And if you think Hollywood doesn't understand animation, it's even worse than you could imagine.

Award Season Focus

‘Get a Horse!’: The Art of the Oscar-Nominated Shorts

In this special Cartoon Brew series, we asked the five nominees of the 2013 Best Animated Short Academy Award to discuss the artwork of their films. Today we conclude this exclusive look at the short contenders with "Get A Horse!," a Walt Disney short directed by Lauren MacMullan.

Fine Art

The Left Front: Radical Art in the 1930s ‘Red Decade’

Politically-conscious graphic art has a long history, from Daumier up to Lynd Ward and Eric Drooker. The 1930s and '40s were a rich period in this respect, as the rise of Communism and Fascism coupled with the Great Depression brought issues of social justice to the fore.

Award Season Focus

‘Feral’: The Art of the Oscar-Nominated Shorts

In this special Cartoon Brew series, we asked the five nominees of the 2013 Best Animated Short Academy Award to discuss the artwork of their films. Today we begin this exclusive look at the shorts with "Feral," an independent film directed by Daniel Sousa.

Recaps

“Steven Universe” Recap: “Arcade Mania”

Admiration was the theme this week and it was only coming from Steven and heading towards Garnet. She can do no wrong – a point on which I think we can all pretty much agree.

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