Cartoon Round-up 17: Heckle & Jeckle

Sticking with the Terrytoons theme from last week, I present to you the two talking magpies Heckle and Jeckle!

"The Intruders" (1947) directed by Eddie Donnelly



"The Power of Thought" (1948) directed by Eddie Donnelly



"House Busters" (1952) directed by Connie Rasinski



"Steeple Jacks" (1951) directed by Connie Rasinski



"Out Again, In Again" (1948) directed by Connie Rasinski

June's 11 Second Club - WIP - Take 2

Here is the latest pass of my entry for June's 11 Second Club competition. I still have some more work to do but the deadline is looming.

(I'm not sure why the background is pink. That's not the way it's supposed to look.)

The line is from "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome." The character rigs are provided by Animation Mentor. I dressed up the rigs myself. The identity discs and Clu's helmet were modeled by Richard Vant Hul.

"Paperman" Images Released

Entertainment Weekly has released the first images from Disney's "Paperman", their new animated short that will be shown with the November release of "Wreck-It Ralph." Click here for the full article.

Simon's Cat in "Window Pain"

Cartoon Round-up 16: Donald Duck

"Who's got the sweetest disposition?

One guess, that's who.

Who never never starts an argument?

(Hmm?)

Who never shows a bit of temperment?

Who's never wrong but always right?

(Yeah?)

Who would never dream of starting a fight?

(That's who?)

Who gets stuck with all the bad luck?

(AWAWAWAWAWAWA!!!)

No one but Donald Duck!

(YEAH!)"

"Donald in Mathmagic Land" (1959) directed by Hamilton Luske

"Donald's Snow Fight" (1942) directed by Jack King



"Donald's Happy Birthday" (1949) directed by Jack Hannah



When I was younger my Dad got us a VHS of Donald Duck cartoons. My little sister and I would watch them all the time, Dad included. These next two cartoon shorts were on this VHS tape and I remember them to this day. I STILL quote some of the lines, not out loud though.

"Your HAT, sir!"

"Modern Inventions" (1937) directed by Jack King



"A Good Time for a Dime" (1941) directed by Dick Lundy

***BONUS CARTOON***

I had to post this next clip specifically because back in 2000, I got to meet the director Francis Glebas. I was in Orlando, FL at The Disney Institute for their Animation Celebration. Here I got to meet directors, artists and animators from several of the great Disney films. The theme for that year was the just released "Fantasia 2000." I was part of a group of about ten fellow animators and together we put together a ten second piece of animation set to music. More on that later. But what I was getting at was that Francis was there with us checking out our work and giving us tips and pointers, EVERY DAY! I even got him to autograph a lithograph for me. (pic coming soon.) It was one of the best vacations I have ever had, followed closely by the same Animation Celebration trips I took in 1999 and 2001.

So sit back and enjoy Donald Duck in "Pomp and Circumstance"

"Pomp and Circumstance" from "Fantasia 2000" (2000) sequence directed by Francis Glebas

"Brave" director Mark Andrews

"Hotel Transylvania" Trailer

The full trailer was released today for Sony Pictures Animation's "Hotel Transylvania". This one finally gives a bit more of the plot story.

Monster University Teaser Trailer and Images

"Pony"






"Homework"

"No clothes"



"Class President"

Cartoon Round-up 15: Mighty Mouse

HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY!!!

"That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!"

Surprising fact, in the first seven Terrytoons cartoon shorts he was originally called "Super Mouse". "The Mouse of Tomorrow" tells the origins of Super Mouse. He was just an ordinary mouse living in a small town that was full of cats. While being chased by a cat, one mouse escaped into a super market. He bathed in "super" soap, ate "super" soup,  ate "super" celery and then some "super" cheese. It was then he turned into SUPER MOUSE. By using his newly acquired super powers of flight and super strength, he rescued his fellow mice and got rid of all the cats!

So he got super powers by eating food from a "Super Market"?! I need to start shopping at Super Wal-Mart!

"The Mouse of Tomorrow" (1942) directed by Eddie Donnelly



Mighty Mouse was part of my early animation education. I remember seeing "Mother Goose's Birthday Party" all the time. We had it on Super 8mm film! It was always a treat when my dad would set up the projector and we would watch it on the big screen. I still have it here with me. I may have to set up the projector again soon and take another look.

"Mother Goose's Birthday Party" (1950) directed by Connie Rasinski



"Wolf! Wolf!" (1944) directed by Mannie Davis



Mighty Mouse had two recurring female leads through out the series. One of them was Little Nell.

"A Cold Romance" (1943) directed by Mannie Davis



But the love of his life had to be Pearl Pureheart. If Mighty Mouse was a spoof of Superman, then Pearl Pureheart was his Lois Lane. And you can't have a good guy without a bad guy, Oil Can Harry then has to be his Lex Luthor.

"Beauty on the Beach" (1950) directed by Connie Rasinski



And I cannot talk about Mighty Mouse without humming the Mighty Mouse theme song!

MIGHTY MOUSE THEME SONG

(Philip Scheib / Marshall Barer) - circa 1955

Mr. Trouble never hangs around,

when he hears this Mighty sound!

"Here I come to save the day!"

That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!

Yes sir, when there is a wrong to right,

Mighty Mouse will join the fight!

On the sea or on the land,

He gets the situation well in hand!

So though we are in danger, we never despair,

'Cause we know that where there's danger he is there.

He is there! On the land, on the sea, in the air.

We're not worrying at all.

We're just listening for his call.

"Here I come to save the day!"

That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!

(instrumental)

We're not worrying at all

We're just listening for his call

"Here I come to save the day!"

That means that Mighty Mouse is on the way!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!

Behind the Scenes - "Frankenweenie"

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season 5 Trailer

I was not too into this show when it first came out. I think it was due in part to my disappointment in the theatrical film. I felt they were targeting the younger audience too much without giving it much story and substance. Then a few years ago I started watching it to see what's been going on. I am now addicted to this show. The story lines have gotten more intense. The animation has been improving over the seasons. The set and backgrounds have become more elaborate and intriguing. So you better believe I am ready for the new season to begin.





You can watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network...

OR you can watch it here with no commercial interruptions! They also have a lot of clips and behind the scenes featurettes. I did not know that the voice of Darth Maul in the series also did the voice of Starkiller in The Force Unleashed games. He also looks a lot like Starkiller.

June's 11 Second Club - WIP

So here's what I've been working on all week. This is going to be my entry into this month's 11 Second Club competition. The line is from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.

"Now when men get to fighting it happens here! And it finishes here! Two men enter...one man leaves."

The first few days were dedicated to designing the characters and building the set. Not an easy task in the beginning but smooth sailing once I got the hang of it. Big thanks to Richard Vant Hul for sending me the tutorials to unlock the characters and figuring out some of the special effects.

This is my first blocking pass. The body movement is just the basics of what I'm looking for. It still needs lots of work. Still trying to figure out the camera angle and whether or not to move the camera in closer on the last line "Two men enter..." I do plan to add some slight movement to the other two guys, "Clu" and "Sam". I want them to seem alive but not steal anything from "Jarvis".

So you know what I'll be doing for week two of my Animation Vacation (June 2 - June 17).

Here is a rendered scene of what the final product will look like. Not sure if I'm going to keep the guards in the shot or not.

Cartoon Round-up 14: Mickey, Donald and Goofy

Nothing beats seeing the old gang together again!

I started thinking about it and I would have to say my very first introduction to Mickey Mouse has to be "Lonesome Ghosts". And the way I came about it was through my Fisher Price Movie Viewer.

I remember watching it over and over and always being amazed that I was watching a cartoon in the palm of my hand. (Now we have smart phones for that and they have sound, too.) I really loved it! Of all the things I could bring back from my childhood it would be this.

For me, the funniest moment happens around the 2:54 marker. Still cracks me up to this day!!

"Lonesome Ghosts" (1937) directed by Burt Gillett



"Clock Cleaners" (1937) directed by Ben Sharpsteen



"Hawaiian Holiday" (1937) directed by Ben Sharpsteen



"Boat Builders" (1938) directed by Ben Sharpsteen



"Mickey's Trailer" (1938) directed by Ben Sharpsteen



"The Band Concert" (1935) directed by Wilfred Jackson

First Trailer for Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph"

Madagascar 3 Featurette and Clips

Disney's "Paperman" Featurettes

Here is an excellent article about the look and technology behind Disney's Paperman.


Paperman will be playing in front of Disney's Wreck-it Ralph opening November 2, 2012.

More "Brave" featurettes

I am so ready for this movie!!!

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Cartoon Round-up 13: Disney's Silly Symphonies

Since I started reading "The Illusion of Life" lately, it has made me nostalgic for some of the classic Disney animated shorts.

"Beginning with The Skeleton Dance the Silly Symphonies series served as a training ground for the Disney artists, testing new techniques and technologies that would later be used in their ground-breaking features. Musical themes were the basis for these cartoons, which were produced until 1939 and won a total of seven Academy Awards." - Jerry Beck from Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the History of Cartoon, Anime & CGI

"The Skeleton Dance" (1929) directed by Walt Disney



"Technicolor had introduced a two-color system as early as 1929, but it had been used sparingly by the major studios which, with good reason, thought it had little more than novelty value (its chief limitation was that the color values were somewhat distorted). By 1932, however, Technicolor had a three-strip system ready which offered far more accurate color reproduction, and Disney at once saw its advantages. Flowers and Trees had been partly made as a black-and-white film. This footage was scrapped and the whole thing was done again in color. It was premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood along with Irving Thalberg's production of Strange Interlude." - Christopher Finch from The Art of Walt Disney - From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms (1983 ed.)

"Flowers and Trees" (1932) directed by Burt Gillett



"In 1933, (Albert) Hurter designed the settings and main characters for what turned out to be the greatest Disney success up to that time - the famous Three Little Pigs. It is hardly necessary to recapitulate here either the plot or the success of Frank Churchill's hit tune, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" The movie was a smash. Theaters retained it week after week and its impact reflects the fact that it went far beyond any of the earlier Symphonies in terms of plot and character development. The story line is so strong that social commentators have seen it as a parable about the Depression (Disney insisted that it was intended as entertainment and nothing more, but the film had such an archetypal ring to it that it invited interpretations of this sort). The animation was excellent and the characters had a real existence of their own - something which, to that date, had only been achieved with Mickey and Minnie." - Christopher Finch from The Art of Walt Disney - From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms (1983 ed.)

"The Three Little Pigs" (1933) directed by Burt Gillett



Released on October 31, 1936, The Country Cousin won the 1936 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It was based off of Aesop's fable, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. As was popular with most Silly Symphonies, it was accompanied by a children's picture book.

"The Country Cousin" (1936) directed by Wilfred Jackson



"Famous for being the first animation to make use of the multi-plane camera technique, pioneering Silly Symphonies. The Old Mill was made in 1937. Developed by the Disney studio, the multi-plane camera gave added depth to background shots." - Jerry Beck from Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the History of Cartoon, Anime & CGI

"The Old Mill" (1937) directed by Wilfred Jackson

Brave - EPK Featurette