That New PEANUTS Special

Have they gone TOO FAR with this new PEANUTS special?!?!

No, just kidding.

The above image is a 1963 parody of Mr. Schulz's runaway best seller by the great Hank Ketcham, from the 17th Annual National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards newsletter.

Seriously ... there is a new PEANUTS special. But it won't be on TV. Not yet.

From what I have heard, this special is reverently done in the Lee-Melendez style and it's good. I haven't seen it. It comes out, direct to DVD, on March 29, 2011.

Titled HAPPINESS IS A WARM BLANKET, CHARLIE BROWN here is director Andy Beall talking about it and showing some pencils tests via Animation Brew:



The special is longer than the classic ones, 46 minutes, and the DVD has many special features:

• Deconstructing Schulz: From Comic Strips to Screenplay - How the Peanuts comic strip was made into a special
  
  
• Happiness is...Finding the Right Voice - Meet the stellar new voice cast (Peanuts Specials, for those who may not know, have always employed children actors for the voices)
  
  
• 24 Frames Per Second - Drawing and Animating a Peanuts Special
  
  
• Deleted Scene with an Introduction by Director Andy Beall

Related: the new PEANUTS graphic novel HAPPINESS IS A WARM PUPPY, CHARLIE BROWN from Boom! Studios ships in April. The book is written by original creator Charles M. Schulz, adapted by Craig Schulz & Stephan Pastis, with art credited to Bob Scott, Vicki Scott and Ron Zorman.

Pop Culture Zoo has a preview.

Disney/Pixar's UP! the 1965 "Pre-make"

What if the movie UP! was made in 1965?



Hat tip to Drawn!

This is just one of a series of "Premakes" by Whoiseyevan.

Related: THE AVENGERS 1952 Premake.

A Walt Disney Christmas Story

Above image from Vintage Disney Collectibles.

Author Jim Korkis shares a story about the young Walter Disney and a Christmas present that changed his life in a way that no one could foresee. (This is not in his book THE VAULT OF WALT.)

It all starts with Walt's paper route:

"Walt never forgot his days as a newsboy and some of those memories weren't always pleasant ones ....

"Young Walt's route was in a fairly wealthy neighborhood. Those folks were certainly much better off financially than the Disney family at the time. Walt would start out at 3:30 a.m. Some of the kids in the neighborhood had wonderful toys and often they would leave them out on the porch after playing with them the previous evening.

"Walt didn't have any toys. If he got a top or marbles or something, it was a big deal. Everything his parents gave him was something practical like underwear or a winter jacket. His older brother Roy was the one who set aside some extra money from his job so that Walt and his younger sister Ruth would always get some small toy for Christmas.

"Anyway, there would be kids' toys out on these big porches. At 4 a.m., in the dark, Walt would put his paper bag down and go up and play with these wind-up trains and things. He'd sit there and play all alone with them. One time he came to a porch and there were some toys, as well as a box of half-eaten candy. So he sat there and ate some of the half-eaten candy and played with the toys."

The rest of the story, which goes on to tell about that particular present that would change his life, is here.

Jack Davis TV Commercials

Here is 6 minutes of Jack Davis TV commercials from years ago. Some unseen Davis work here.



Commercials:

• McCracken's Apple Chips (with voice talents June Foray and Gary Owens)
• Utica Club Beer
• Cask Mountain Wine
• True Temper Uni-Spin fishing rods
• Gillette Trac II (with (I think) the voice talent of Jackson Beck)
• Sominex
• Utica Club Beer (another one)
• The Dodge Boys (1969 Polara)
• Chex Cereal (with Ruth Buzzi)
• Pennsylvania Lottery
• Lectric Shave

Thanks to chiefzabu for posting this!

Another treat: a collection of General Electric appliance commercials created by Rankin Bass for its original 1964 GE-sponsored broadcast of the 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' TV special. I've never seen these!

MEET BUCK by Teamcerf

Meet Buck from TeamCerf on Vimeo.

Just some of the best animation I've seen. Go to Salesman Buck for more information.

Big hat tip to Anton Emdin via Jason Seiler.

Review: THE LOONEY TUNES TREASURY by Andrew Farago

THE LOONEY TUNES TREASURY, an oversized, slick, thick hardcover volume, full of much Looney Tunes goodness. It's an immersive experience.

Author Andrew Farago is a friend and colleague. He sent me a review copy of the book. I was nervous about reading it since I felt I already knew a lot about Looney Tunes and, well, I thought this was a kids' book. I was wrong on both counts.


Above: the title page gatefold.



Above: an Acme Company faux catalog insert.

What makes the book stand out is the depth of Andrew Farago's knowledge and the many, many special features: behind the scenes sketches, background paintings, comic books, scripts, etc. Over 200 pieces of concept art, memorabilia, and photos.



Above: at left, a Dell Comics Porky Pig insert.


Andrew Farago tells you the stories of the stars (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Elmer Fudd, Pepe Le Pew, The Tasmanian Devil and others). This is all written in first person. Perfect for one to read out loud to kids. As it was, since I was reading silently, I could hear Mel Blanc in my head.


Above: some of the great behind the scenes sketches in the book.

Second, the production sketches and the terrific inserts (Bugs Bunny's Rabbit Hood shooting script, reproductions of Dell Comics, a Yosemite Sam "wanted" poster, etc.) make this large glossy color hardcover lots of seductive fun.



Yes, that's a Tasmanian Devil mask!



THE LOONEY TUNES TREASURY has the depth of subject matter that'll capture the attention of the older fan (like me, the person who grew up with Looney Tunes). The production sketches for What's Opera, Doc alone kept me staring at the page for a couple of minutes. It introduces the younger ones to things like Dell Comics adaptations and fascinating factoids like Porky Pig being the initial Looney Tunes star before Bugs' big star breakout. The book also showcases some lesser known and one-off characters like Michigan J. Frog, Ralph Wolf & Sam Sheepdog and Witch Hazel. Andrew is very good about crediting the directors and artists behind the scenes.

This is a slick book, that, along with the sizzle of the cool Pepe Le Pew Valentine's Day cards and the Speedy Gonzalez postcards -- there is also the steak of the proficient knowledge of the cartoons and their creation. Bullseye.

THE LOONEY TUNES TREASURY by Andrew Farago, with a foreward by Ruth Clampett. Running Press, Philadelphia, 2010. It's in stores today.

Related: THE LOONEY TUNES TREASURY Facebook Page.

SISTER MARY DRACULA by Gerry Mooney

My friend Gerry Mooney has finished his SISTER MARY DRACULA graphic novel. He sent me a copy, which I read and liked very much. I'm posting some information and links below that Gerry sent. Please consider looking at SISTER MARY DRACULA.

Take it away, Gerry:

---

press release
For immediate release

Sister Mary Dracula Halloween Treat, No Trick!

For the month of October, you can read "Sister Mary Dracula", the graphic novel by Gerry Mooney, online at www.sistermarydracula.com.

The 103-page story, in the works for 4-1/2 years and completed this summer, tells the tale of Terry Malloy, a ten-year-old at St. Egregius the Stricter Catholic School, who is convinced that his teacher is a vampire. Even his best friends think he's crazy.

Sister Mary Dracula began as a Flash animation created in 2000. It gained a following online and was selected to be shown at the San Diego Comic Con's Independent Film Festival in 2004. The animation can still be seen on the Sister Mary Dracula website.

Gerry Mooney has been drawing funny for most of his life, doing humorous illustration in the New York market for 20 years for such clients as Forbes, Parents Magazine, American Express, The Daily News, Newsweek, Mad and lots more, including a dozen covers for The New Republic.

His humorous feature "Mooney's Modules" (www.mooneysmodules.com) appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine for three years and spawned the now-legendary Gravity Poster (www.thegravityposter.com) which has sold over 4,000 copies and has been cited in Scientific American.

Lately Gerry has moved into animation and is developing independent projects as well as being involved currently in two online animation jams, one of which is Bill Plympton's "Guard Dog" animation jam, a project that includes 70 animators from all over the world, each one animating a single shot from the five minute short.

---

A real paper edition of the graphic novel will be available later this month.

Related: I reviewed the first chapter of SMD when it was released as a comic book in 2007.

Studio Ghibli Closing?

Hayao Miyazaki says in this Cut Magazine interview (Google translation here) that Studio Ghibli may close if their new feature, ARRIETTY THE BORROWER, does not do well at the box office.

More at Geekosystem.

Below: the original trailer:



There is no US release date at this time.

Hat tip to Eddie Pittman via Kazu Kibuishi.

Sergio Aragonés in FUTURAMA

Sergio Aragonés appears in a "San Diego Comic Con 3010" episode of Matt Groening's FUTURAMA series Thursday night on Comedy Central.

Wired has the details and some more pics:

The “world’s fastest cartoonist” and the world’s most badass viper pilot make special voice appearances in this week’s episode of Futurama, which features a glimpse of what Comic-Con might look like in the year 3010.

Sergio Aragonés, the speedy comics legend who made his mark with Mad magazine and Groo the Wanderer, plays himself and appears as a head in a jar at the comic book convention on a panel discussion with Futurama creator Matt Groening and head writer/executive producer David X. Cohen.

Katee Sackhoff, who played Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica, guest-stars in the role of Grrl, a hot young Omicronian who wants to hook up with Lrrr, the ruler of Omicron Persei 8 who is facing a midlife crisis.

Comic-Con serves as the setting for Lrrr’s unsuccessful takeover of Earth at the beginning of the episode, which is titled “Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences.” See the screenshots above for a sneak peek at the episode. Futurama airs Thursdays at 10 p.m./9 p.m. Central on Comedy Central.

Images courtesy MTV. Futurama TM and © 2010 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

Read More http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/08/futurama-guest-voices/?pid=602&pageid=44242&viewall=true#ixzz0xd1b5Fpm

Video: Simon Ellinas Draws Caricatures of Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkington and Kate Garraway

Looney Tunes Backgrounds

Ooh! Lotsa backgrounds from the Looney Tunes cartoons! It's all at the Comicrazys blog!

Hat tip to Comics Reporter!

Video: Martha Goldman Sigall Remembers Termite Terrace

Martha Goldman Sigall talks about the practical jokes that Looney Tunes cartoonists used to play on each other during her years at Termite Terrace.

PIXELS by Patrick Jean

This is the viral video of the moment!


PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Discover more animation and arts videos.

Hat tip to Sherm Cohen! Thanks, Sherm!

Pulitzer Prize Winner Mark Fiore on Your iPhone? Not Any Time Soon!

Via the Nieman Journalism Lab, article by Laura McGann:

This week cartoonist Mark Fiore made Internet and journalism history as the first online-only journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize. Fiore took home the editorial cartooning prize for animations he created for SFGate, the website for the San Francisco Chronicle.

... In December, Apple rejected his iPhone app, NewsToons, because, as Apple put it, his satire “ridicules public figures,” a violation of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, which bars any apps whose content in “Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.”

The link includes Apple's email rejecting Mr. Fiore's work.

H/t to Drawn!

Video: CUL DE SAC by Richard Thompson

Richard Thompson's CUL DE SAC comic strip has a couple of new animated shorts from Ringtales. Here's one of the two and there's more at the link.

Chuck Jones' A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1971)

OK, it's the Holiday season. Let's go watch an Oscar-award-winning adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, executive produced by Chuck Jones with the voice of Alastair Sim as Scrooge! For now, there's only one -- just one place -- to see this: YouTube.

It's not on DVD. Ands that's crummy. This show has some serious pedigree; the guy who brought us THE GRINCH (the cartoon, not the Jim Carrey monster) is the executive producer and it's directed by the animation director of WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT. I remember seeing it in 1971, and once or twice since then -- but only by chance. It's not a holiday TV tradition ala CHARLIE BROWN or those Rankin Bass puppet specials or the MISTER MAGOO special. Go figure!

YouTube's rules means a 28 minute vid has to be sliced up into smaller segments. Here are the links if you have the time to watch.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Stave One

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Stave Two

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Stave Three

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Stave Four

Thanks to Grant Miehm for reminding me of this special, which I had forgotten about until now!


- The above was originally posted on December 11, 2007. And this is still not available on DVD or Blu Ray or whatever so far as I know.

Video: Editorial Cartoonist Jim Morin

The Miami Herald's Executive Editor Anders Gyllenhaal talks about the paper's editorial cartoonist Jim Morin and the difference between a cartoon and an animation.



Jim Morin's Miami Herald animations are here.

Charles Schulz Audio Interview

Via YouTube: here's a radio interview with Charles Schulz by radio personality Dennis Daily. The interview focuses on the Charlie Brown specials, the initial struggle to make A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, voice-casting over the years, and some other musings about holidays and the fame of the strip.

There is no date given, but it was in the 1980s or 90s. Better guesses most welcome.

Video: Émile Cohl FANTASMAGORIE

Via Émile Cohl's Wikipedia entry:

Cohl made "Fantasmagorie" from February to May or June 1908. This is considered the first fully animated film ever made. It was made up of 700 drawings, each of which was double-exposed, leading to a running time of almost two minutes. Despite the short running time, the piece was packed with material devised in a "stream of consciousness" style.

TV'S NEW ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO

Sam Henderson posts some pages from the Dell comic book titled TV'S NEW ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO, which was based on an early 1960s TV series of the same name, produced by Rankin/Bass. I agree with his assessment:

"I put this up because it has some of the weirdest perspective in a mainstream comic. The artist and editor probably didn't care, though I bet it had a circulation higher than any comic now."

And, for comparison, below is one of the syndicated series of 5 minute cartoons, animated in the puppet "Animagic" style, made famous in their later production of RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER.