Mickey Mouse is an cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks.
Animated documentaries – even partially animated ones – are in vogue these days. There have never been so many as in the last year. In the new feature doc The Wanted 18, directors Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan bring to life a remarkable story of nonviolent resistance during the First Intifada. Through a clever mix […]
My friend, entertainment writer, pop-culture historian and film music professor at USC, Jon Burlingame, has alerted me to the limited edition release of the CD soundtrack to the original series of Hanna Barbera’s Jonny Quest (1964). Jon penned the liner notes for the set. “This is the first official, authorized, JQ album,” Jon tells me. […]
Harmony is the second of three films based on the fiction of Satoshi Ito (who wrote under the nom de plume Project Itoh). But the novel “Harmony” feels like an improbable candidate for animation. The book is an internal monologue by Tuan Kirie (Jamie Marchi, who carries the film as its de facto narrator), the […]
My annual Halloween “Spook-tacular” screening and party is on in Los Angeles next week – on Halloween – and you’re all invited! Yes, that’s right. While everyone else is “trick-or-treating” all over town, I’ll be screening Halloween cartoons on the big screen – with rare film prints AND digital restorations from the “vaults”. I cannot […]
Disney has begun production on a reimagined Muppet Babies television series, which chronicles the playroom antics of the beloved Kermit the Frog, Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal and Miss Nanny. A co-production between Disney Junior, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media’s (DCPI) Content & Media group, and The Muppets Studio, the CG-animated series is slated […]
Animation Magazine has unveiled its list of this year’s distinguished Animation Hall of Fame award recipients. The honorees will receive their awards at the World Animation & VFX Summit Gala on November 1st, 6:30-10:00 p.m. at the beachside Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica. Fifth annual gala event will honor Cartoon Network’s founding president […]
The first feature based on a novel by Project Itoh (the nom de plume of Satoshi Ito), The Empire of Corpses (2015) is a striking, if often baroque, zombie adventure. The plot seems far more complicated than it needs to be, but the cyberpunk designs, which bolster the film’s curious premise, are stunning. The Empire […]
On Monday, October 17th, I attended the ASIFA-Hollywood screening of Ron Diamond’s annual 18th Animation Show of Shows, at the DreamWorks Animation Campanile Theater at the studio in Glendale. The Show of Shows is different this year in that fewer films than usual are actual winners of an award at a previous international film festival. […]
The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show is back and crazier than ever! After last season’s cliffhanger, Season 3 opens with Peabody and Sherman teaming up with alter-ego versions of themselves to defeat an evil cyborg version of Mrs. Hughes and fix the course of history! The zaniness continues when the Penthouse is invaded by neighbors, […]
Frederator Networks Sale Underscores the Challenges of Distributing Animation on the Internet
This week saw the announcement that Frederator Networks has been bought by Rainmaker Entertainment in a deal that combines it with Ezrin Hirsh Entertainment to create a new company called WOW! Unlimited Media. While it’s a welcome affirmation that web animation has a future, it nonetheless underscores the uphill struggle that animated content has faced […]