In honor of Labor Day, enjoy this early Disney cartoon, “Alice’s Egg Plant”—from the Alice series, natch! The portrayal of Little Red Henski (a Communist Rooster set on unionizing the factory) is extra amusing, considering Walt’s later run-in with the Cartoonists Strike of 1941.
As a huge fan of Flight of the Conchords, I was curious about the mock animated series “Albi, The Racist Dragon” that showed up in Episode Seven. Well, after some intense Googling, I found out that the guy responsible for directing this terribly touching toon is Oliver Dear. Director, Illustrator, Animator, Painter, Production Designer, Actor–he has got it going on! (And his dad, William Dear, directed Harry and the Hendersons.)
After the jump, a bonus Conchords clip on that subject of getting it going on (warning: silly adult content)… [Read more…]
Minuscule is a series of buzzworthy animated shorts from France that explore the itty bitty world of insects. The creators describe it as “a cross between Tex Avery and Microcosmos.” Created by Thomas Szabo and Hélène Giraud, Minuscule shorts have aired erratically on Toon Disney in the United States.
Their techinique is a seamless combination of 3-D animation and live action footage. You can view a large selection of Minuscule videos on this YouTube page. Here’s the official website.
Tease yourself with this trailer for the DVD release. (Don’t bug out, but so far, it is only available as a set of Region-2 DVDs, so unless you have a fancy dancy Euro DVD player, you’re out of luck!)
Former Poet Laureate Billy Collins loves cartoons!
Back in June, Collins wrote an article for The Wall Street Journal called “Inspired by a Bunny Wabbit” which explained how his poetry has been influenced by cartoons.
“…my own poetry would have not developed in the direction it did, for better or worse, were it not for the spell that was cast over me as a boy by Warner Bros. cartoons. The very first time I heard the pulse-quickening blast of the zany theme music by Carl Stalling–enough to bring any American boy to attention–and saw the colorful bull’s-eye emblazoned on the big screen, I was hooked.”
The article includes the poems “Bugs”, “Porky”, “Elmer”, and “Daffy” (from his first collection, Pokerface).
Porky
Happy only
when he is gardening alone
far from conversation
and the terrible stammering
far from Petunia, nag and tease
just resting on a hoe
unembarrassed
as he contemplates
the blue background of his flat world –
a Zen pig.
So, I was going to post [Read more…]
Being a Mac person from way back, I haven’t paid much attention to Microsoft’s entry into the digital media player pack, Zune. But I have taken an interest in Zune-Arts, a related experiment that commissions artists to create original content. Above, you will find an example: an animated very-short short with a great deal of heart (viewable on the Zune-Arts site as well as YouTube)…no Zune required!
Earlier this year, Yves Geleyn (of the animation production company Hornet) created “Mother Like No Other” using fabric, textured paper, and photographs. A beaver and his cardinal sidekick search for ingredients for an appropriate Mother’s Day bouquet.
Music is “Come as You Were” by The Bird and the Bee.
See a behind-the-scenes podcast after the jump. [Read more…]
I admit to being a bit late to the waffle party, but I just discovered the wonderful world of cartoon waffle testimonials. It all started with the above video, made by Nathan Mazur to go along with the song “Do You Like Waffles?” by Parry Gripp of the band Nerf Herder. (The song is from his solo album For Those About To Shop, We Salute You.) This is the “official” animated video for the delicious ode to round morning goodness.
But then fans started making their own videos, starring famous cartoon characters. After the jump, links to a whole bunch of manic breakfast lovers including Sonic, Pucca, and Naruto.
And please don’t be tempted to drown me in maple syrup (the real stuff!) if you dream about this song.
There’s no way to describe this animated short without using the word adorable. If you are in a down mood, the lively song is sure to cheer you up. “Galinha Pintadinha” was made by Brazilians Marcos Luporini, Juliano Prado and Alex Leão. And in case you are wondering what the birds are going on about:
“It’s about a hen and her mate. She wears a skirt, he wears a jacket. She got sick and he didn’t even notice/pay attention. So the little chicks ran to tell the doctor, who is a turkey, and his nurse, who is some kind of bird I never heard of (an urubu), and the needle of the injection they gave was a feather of a peacock.”
(Translation by Carmen Morais. Thanks!)
I did some googling and you can find out what an urubu is after the jump. [Read more…]
Noferin is the product of two artist/writers from Melbourne, Australia New Zealand named Candy and Nicho. They have created an idyllic world on the mythical Carrara Island, populated by deadpan cute characters with names like Pecan and Pandacake. Candy is a self-trained designer and painter; Nicho is a writer who is studying Environmental Science. [Read more…]
Before you hit the road, watch the classic 50s cartoon “Stop Driving Us Crazy” and follow its advice. Remember: “Reckless driving is a sin”. Rusty the Martian says so!
Commissioned by the Methodist Church. Animated at Creative Arts Studio. Character design by Cliff Roberts. Music by Benny Golson with Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers. Also, Howard Morris does the voice. (He was “Uncle Goofy”–among other characters–on Your Show of Shows!)
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