Les Lye, better known as the only adult on the Canadian sketch comedy show You Can’t Do That On Television, has passed away. I remember watching this show on the early days of Nickelodeon… and yes, that’s a young Alanis Morissette in the above clip.
I always thought that Les Lye’s Barth character sounded a lot like Foster Brooks.
Les Lye was 84.
Back in Episode #178, we featured Andrew Sanchez’s thesis film “Egg Scramble”, which was super popular among CF viewers. He contacted us to let us know that he’s all graduated, and now interning at Nickelodeon! Way to go, Andrew!
Here’s the episode that made him rich and famous:
-Bailee DesRocher
Recently I had a sit down with one of my favorite people, multi-talented animator and director Sherie Pollack, whose body of work ranges from edgy primetime programming animating and timing on “The Simpsons” to directing “God, The Devil, & Bob” to the pre-K “Dora the Explorer” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” I took the opportunity to discuss her journey into animation success and her upcoming lecture “My Career in Cartoons”. Here, in the second half of her interview, Sherie goes in depth about her lecture.
BD: In your lecture, what kind of things do you cover for aspiring pro animators?
SP: I basically want to share everything I wish I knew when I started. You know, how to get a union job. What is a union all about. What do I do if I’m not doing well on a job - how do I get my groove back? Carpal tunnel. Everyone gets it. Eye strain. How to [Read more…]
Recently I had a sit down with one of my favorite people, multi-talented animator and director Sherie Pollack, whose body of work ranges from edgy primetime programming (like animating and timing on “The Simpsons” and directing “God, The Devil, & Bob”) to pre-K entertainment like“Dora the Explorer” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” I took the opportunity to discuss her journey into animation success and her upcoming lecture “My Career in Cartoons”.
Bailee DesRocher: What got you started in animation?:
Sherie Pollack: I was 17 when I first started thinking about colleges, I flipped a coin - it was either going to be theatre, or fine arts. That’s when my mother pulled me into the pantry and said,”Do ya have to do this? Isn’t there anything else?”
Going forward, I combined the two. I didn’t know I wanted to be an animator. As a kid I was always drawing and I was very lucky - my parents would [Read more…]
Spongebob Squarepants has turned ten! Animation Magazine has the full story. From the article:
Nickelodeon is set to kick off a year-long celebration in honor of the 10th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants. The festivities will include production of a SpongeBob documentary, the first-ever live cast performance, a new online destination, new episode premieres and a Seinfeld-esque TV movie due to air in November.
I have enjoyed the show quite a bit during its ten years. Certain gags stick out in my mind, such as the soup being blown in Squidward’s face, Gary catching Spongebob watching a Banana Slug on TV (and Spongebob quickly changing the channel to football), and Nosferatu flicking the lights at the Crusty Crab.
Let’s hope Spongebob has another ten year run as solid as its first ten, and lets hope that more offbeat, wacky cartoon series are given
-Floyd Bishop
New York Comicon (February 6-9 at The Javits Center) has posted most of its schedule and here are some top events for animation addicts. (Just my own personal picks. Complete schedule here.)
Friday 3:15-4:15: WILDBRAIN: Head of Creative Bob Higgins, CMO Mike Polis, and some artists showcase W!LDBRAIN’s animation work, including Yo Gabba Gabba!
Friday 4:45-5:45: SUPERJAIL: Christy Karacas and Stephen Warbrick, the creators and executive producers “speak about the most intense, violent, and complicated jail in the universe.”
Friday 8:39-10:30: WONDER WOMAN: Big screen premiere. Panel with Bruce Timm and some stars after the film.
Saturday 1:45-2:45: MARVEL ANIMATION: Iconic heroes; you know the drill. Wolverine and Iron Man become Nicktoons. A Black Panther show for BET. Thor is awarded his own animated series. Get yer hype here!
Saturday 1:45-2:45: ROBOT CHICKEN: Can you believe this is up against the Marvel event? The weird folk (I mean, cool people) will be in attendance.
Saturday 4:00-5:00: J.J. SEDELMAIER: With Howard [Read more…]
Moose A. Moose (Noggin mascot) sings about his vehement hatred of an innocent tri-colored treat. You can also watch an official Noggin version here.
His voice is by Paul Christie, who also provided the voice for Louie the Lizard in the Budweiser “frog” commercials. Lyrics by Matt Perreault.
Moose A. Moose was designed by illustrator Melinda Beck.
Candy corn also makes a cameo appearance in Western Spaghetti by PES:
The San Diego Comic Con has come and gone. It was pretty busy, with the entire show selling out. Preview Night was just as busy (if not more so) than any other day. I would love to see some sort of expansion of the Con to cut back on crowd size. Maybe a professionals only night, or perhaps making the Con a full week?
This interview was a treat for me to do because Alex Kirwan was one of my first champions and also the catalyst for me to get into Calarts’ animation program. His character design class was one of my fondest and funnest memories of Calarts. Alex was and still is one of the nicest, most genuine, brightest talents in the animation industry.
[Read more…]
drawing by Miah Alcorn
El Tigre has been cancelled. The show did not have the ratings that the network expected.
This is a weird time for the show, as “El Tigre” has been nominated for several Annie Awards. It’s a shame the series didn’t have more of a chance. March through October doesn’t seem like too long of a run, but I guess ratings are ratings?
At any rate, the series had a great look and interesting premise. I hope to have an interview with creators Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua in early 2008. In the meantime, check out this interview with Jorge from Cold Hard Flash.
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