“The Bravest Warriors” Random! Cartoons
Created by Pendleton Ward
Directed by Randy Myers and Pendleton Ward
Premieres Saturday, January 10, at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT on Nicktoons Network
Frederator Postcards Series 7.19, mailed December 19, 2008
What better way to transition into 2009 than with some of our favorite films from Channel Frederator circa 2008! We’re bringing back some excellent cartoons by our favorite artists, plus updates on what they’ve done since we featured them last, what they’re doing now, and what they’ve got lined up for ’09. The past, present, and future of awesome animation is right here on Channel Frederator! Happy New Year!
“Welcome to My Life”, submitted by Elizabeth Ito – A documentary film about a family of monsters just trying to fit in.
“Boxhead and Roundhead: Brothers in Arms”, submitted by Elliot Cowan – Best friends Boxhead and Roundhead are unwittingly pitted against each other in battle.
“Pushkin”, submitted by Trevor Hardy – Sometimes it’s better to let your little lost pet stay lost.
“St Laleeloo”, submitted by Jiwook Kim – A musical monk can resolve any problem with the combined powers of song and dance!
The 8th Annual San Francisco Sketchfest kicks off on January 15th. This year there are some animation-related events sure to please. You can see the complete schedule and buy tickets to all the laugh-inducing festivities here.
January 15th at 8 PM: Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Tour 2009: $25
January 16th at 8 PM: TV Funhouse Live with Robert Smigel, Dino Stamatopoulos and Doug Dale featuring the Anipals and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog: $30
January 18th at 2 PM: Sunday with Moral Orel Panel with Dino Stamatopoulos and Scott Adsit: $15
January 31 at 8 PM: Cartoon Dump with Frank Conniff and special guests Andy Kindler and Mary Lynn Rajskub $20
If only I had deep pockets and a plane ticket in hand because there are lots of other incredibly rare ocassions that I would hate to miss, include a performance by The State (and, on another night, an interview with the group hosted by Janeane Garafalo) and a Fernwood Reunion with Martin Mull and Fred Willard!
“Call Me Bessie!” Random! Cartoons
Created by Diane Kredensor and Dana Galin
Directed by Yvette Kaplan
Premiered Saturday, December 20, at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT on Nicktoons Network
Frederator Postcards Series 7.10, mailed January 5, 2009
BuyThe Animation Journal issues. Read some of the essays online. If you think for more than a millisecond about serious issues in animation you probably already do, but for newbies, check it out.
I read the most recent issue after I was visited with Maureen Furniss‘ class at CalArts (Maureen isn’t just a animation historian and professor, she’s also The Animation Journal editor). An article about black Hollywood animation veteran Floyd Norman fed my continuing interest in the underrepresentation of minorities and women in our industry, and Maureen’s article on television for the under 2 year olds (!) frightened even my liberal attitude about kids and TV. And I caught up on some of the newest books about animation that I’d missed (I miss a lot).
I briefly started working with animation during college, when I was in my most abstract intellectual phase. I came of age over 15 years in the New York indie animation scene, with filmmakers like Eli Noyes & George Griffin. It was natural for my friends to discuss the artistic side of the equation. Reading the Journal and books like Chris Robinson’s The Animation Pimp remind me of one of the less traveled, exhilarating side of what we all do. Maybe you’ll like them too.
The Animation Pimp By Chris Robinson (published by AWN/Thompson, June 2007)
I read an awful that has nothing to do directly with animation and that probably wouldn’t really interest our blog readers. So when I do, like I’ve been lately, I don’t post either, which is kind of dumb. The last few weeks I’ve been catching up with stuff I shouldn’t have been neglecting. Like The Animation Pimp (disclaimer: I think he says a nice thing about yours truly in the book).
Many of you know about Chris Robinson as the director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, but the sharper among you might have read his five years of columns at AWN called “The Animation Pimp” (or his TAP blog) which were edited and collected last year in this book of the same name. Influenced and inspired by writers wonderful and just awful, Chris is that rare thing in animation, a non-fanboy, serious thinker and writer. There’s a glimpse of that kind of thinking (though sometimes shallow in their narrowness) in Amid Amidi’s Cartoon Brew posts , and in The Animation Journal (great thinking, rarely good writing). Chris tries to inject soberness in his editing of the ASIFA Magazine but, geez, serious is as serious does, and it’s a little too dour for me sometimes.
But I have to say, as often as Chris irritates me with his overly stylized prose, he’s a lot of fun. And strangely enough, “fun” is not really a word one thinks of in animation writing. How dumb is that?
Everyone who gives a damn about animation or cartoons (though Chris doesn’t have that much interest in the cartoon subset it seems) ought to just flip over to his columns or buy the book right away. It’s rare that anyone provokes real thought in my head about what we do (unless it’s my own team, or John K, or Amid) and The Animation Pimp sure does. And in book form it’s way different than monthly columns too. Altogether in one spot, read in a short period of time, Chris’ incitement to dare to think differently, to even dismiss the form he’s writing about, is refreshing, liberating, and ultimately exciting. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my thoughts, or maybe I’ve been doing things with them all along, but I’m thankful to Chris for resurrecting them in me. Maybe he’ll do the same for you.
Artist extrodinaire Amanda Visell emailed me about a very important event this Tuesday. Amanda’s friend Justin is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Here is the info I got from Amanda:
Heres an update for anyone who can help in the LA area. In conjunction with City of Hope Swindle magazine is hosting a bone marrow drive for Justin at their office. Heres the info:
Tuesday Jan 6th
10 am-2 pm
R. Rock office
3111 Los Feliz blvd
suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90039
323-669-8819
No blood! Just mouth swabs. No cost! Donations would be great.
Please be aware that by getting tested for Justin, you will be added to the national bone marrow donor registry. When a volunteer registers as a potential donor, his/her tissue type is listed on the donor file and is compared with the tissue type of all patients in need of a transplant. You can withdraw at any time, but keep in mind that you may be someone’s only hope for survival.
This is so important to Justin and the easiest way to help if you can show up.If you end up getting tested no matter where you are, send me an email with your address and I’ll send you a drawing.
If you’re in the LA area, be sure to help if you can.
Den of Geek has posted their list of what they consider the top movie special effects of all time. It’s a pretty solid list, and the best part is that they have included video clips of the shots on the list. This is NOT a list of CG effects. While the T-Rex from the first Jurassic Park takes the top spot, there are many other films on the list that you may not expect, including many you may not have even heard of.
What are your favorites? Are there any shots from films you would have like to have seen included?
