The origins of Sam the Snowman

A little late, but whatever, I was out of town!

Merry Christmas

Well, one more.



Yeah, it's this guy.

The Critic (1963)

I was reading an article about the recent Twin Peaks revisit, specifically Part 8, and it reminded me that Mel Brooks wanted David Lynch to direct The Elephant Man. He'd seen Eraserhead and was impressed enough to make that call.

I'm just imagining Brooks' critic, watching Eraserhead.

While you still can

Battle For The Net Video Bumper from FFTF on Vimeo.

Who's smart enough?

UNPLUG! from Eduardo Quintana on Vimeo.

Long ago, Danno had asked me if I listened to music when I was writing.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. He mentioned this story.

I still listen to music, just to piss off his ghost.

Oh boy! Leftovers!

See? The holidays make everyone crazy.

Stay healthy

I meant to post this earlier today, but I was busy cooking. Try to eat well this weekend.

Anime Crimes Division

Maybe we'll have a contest on who can sing the theme song.

I've been a terrible mother

The cat's cat is losing his kitten teeth and I have not been teaching anyone proper oral hygiene. I feel awful.

ANIMATION B.C. (Before Cuphead): A look at retro 30's-ish animation

While probably a pointless article to bring to the masses via this blog, I felt given the success of a certain video game which cribs its makeup from a medium so dear to my heart, I felt it was only necessary to highlight noted attempts at replicating animation's early Golden Age of the black & white and the emerging color era, the 1930's.

The first on the chopping block is an underground effort from director Whitney Lee Savage (father of Adam "Mythbusters" Savage) and designer Milton Glaser, calling attention to what we already knew of a losing battle...


We forward a couple years and sample an ad touting a soft drink, using nostalgic, rubber-hosed characters and a familiar tune with re-written lyrics.  It can only inspire thirst for the Uncola!  You can thank Yellow Submarine for having opened those floodgates to this look!


Inspiration for a simplier time can also be had in Sally Cruikshank's "Quasi and The Quackadero" from 1975...


Though I question why I bring this in here, I'm reminded of a moment in the 1984 feature "Johnny Dangerously", where a film reminding of the dangers of pre-marital sex is bluntly explained.  The animation comes around the 45 second mark (as brief as it is, I loved it)!


Forwarding another 15 years, we come to this clever music video for the Squirrel Nut Zippers, with keen attention to the proper Fleischer bounce in every frame!  Think of this as a nice stepping stone of what may follow!


Probably not very memorable, this video for Wilco, featuring some of the clunkiest animation that makes one wish its source material deserved better!


At the height of the Presidental electrion of 2008, comes this plea for change, "Brother, Can You Spare A Job?"


From 2011, comes this public service announcement in which a frisky feline reminds us how life isn't like it is in cartoons!


Possibly the most anticipated work of all time was 2013's filler to Disney's Frozen, "Get A Horse!", with its pulse on the modern era as traditional and CG animation clash to produce a unique blend of whimsy and fun!


And lastly, a little number based on JAY-Z's latest album!


In closing this article, let me leave you with something we could've had, but they always take it away from us.  :-(

An Advertisement

Really, the things people get away with in some countries!

Cat with Hands (2001)

Oh man, is this thing 16 years old already? This film is old enough to drive.

Animaniacs LIVE! (in Arlington)

If you're an Animaniacs fan, you've probably seen this video already. How'd you like to see it performed LIVE? This Friday, October 27th, in Arlington, there's gonna be a show. You can find tickets through here.

Doesn't that sound like fun? Well, more on all that here. If you can make it out, let me know how it goes.

Here's The Plan (2017)

Here's a sure Oscar contender!


"A married cat-dog couple of cupcake bakers dream of opening their own bakery. One day their oven breaks and they have to postpone their dream in order to earn money and replace it. Somewhere down the line, they drift apart from their dream and from themselves."
---
"Here's the plan" ("Este es el Plan") is a 18-minute CG animated short film from Chile. Directed by Fernanda Frick and financed by the National Council of Culture and Arts, it took almost 2 years of work and a talented team of 32 professionals to finish it.

Selected at various international festivals such as Nashville International Film Festival, AnimaMundi Brasil, Chilemonos, SANFIC, FICV, KDIAF, Anima Cordoba, SDCC Independent FIlm Festival, Chicago Children's Film Festival and Siggraph Asia.

Awards:
- "Best Chilean Short Film" (Chilemonos 2017)
- "Best Short Film for Youths" (Fan Chile 2017)
- "Best Short Film for Children" (FICV 2017)
- Honorable Mention "Animated Short Category" (Shorts Mexico 2017)

© Fernanda Frick 2016

How to induce vomiting in kittens

Maybe I would enjoy this more on some nip.

Awesomesauce

Can I just say this was not the best sauce in the world?

I know a lot of people are really unhappy right now. You didn't get the sauce. I mean, let's really look at this stuff.

That's not terribly exciting. But! Here's a fun Sunday afternoon activity. Make some!

1/2 cup katchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons ground ginger
3 crushed garlic cloves
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili paste (or 2 teaspoons dried chili)

Simmer at low heat, stirring with a whisk.

You can adjust this to taste. Less sugar, more chili, it's up to you. I used the last of my Habanero Ketchup and couple packets of chili paste from some noodles. The more sugar you add, the thicker the sauce will become. Don't let this come to a boil!

But this was never about the actual sauce, was it?

Uli Meyer's "The Duck" (1998)

In the classic tradition of Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, Looney Tunes: Back In Action, Cool World and perhaps that Evil Toons slop, comes yet-another live-action/animated feature pitch sure to evoke pleasant memories of yesteryear with it's fine 2.5 Dimensions of Animation Prowess!

RIP Harry Dean Stanton

Oh, should have posted this last week. That's Harry Dean Stanton as Breaveheart the Lion's singing voice.

Harry Dean Stanton once asked an interviewer why they were questioning him about The Care Bears Movie.

"You were in it."
"Fuck, was I?"

— Michael Spicer (@MrMichaelSpicer) September 15, 2017

An anniversary of sorts

Five years ago today, at about this time, my father died. I missed the whole thing. I was on vacation and asleep.

I know, that's not really funny, but it kinda is. You'd have to understand my dad first.

The cartoons of 1982!

Travel back to a time when music, arcades and movies were at their hottest and animation was still treated like a second class citizen!










Technically this one's from '83 but showed up halfway during the last season, I'm sure it didn't help matters that they couldn't get "Bo" and "Luke" for this until the second season worth of episodes.


And there you have it, a waste of your time watching products of a wasted childhood!

Never lamb alone

Which reminds me: Thanksgiving is going to be here any minute. I should start planning now.

The new way of hiring your employees...

Thank you VR!

Anime Hell at AWA 2017 Sept. 29

it's all happening at Anime Weekend Atlanta -  Sept. 28-Oct. 1 2017!! 

A little cartoon for Labor Day

Had a nice visit with CW from NinjaHell! and his wife yesterday (Yes! We have gas in Dallas again). We got talking about some weird things, like old Disney flicks that touch on...sensitive subjects. I was reminded of this and an old reggae song, so I thought that would be perfect for Labor Day.

Oh, not that kind of labor? Sorry.

EMPRESS THERESA: A LECTURE

SATURDAY SUPERCADE!!!

Put down your joysticks everybody, case Saturday morning is now in session!

MAMA LUIGI!

Phil Harnage's legacy was not ignored!

Mattress Mack

Residents of Houston are banding together to help flood evacuees in Texas. Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale has turned his two furniture stores into temporary shelters. --NPR

More on this story and what he's doing.

We don't agitate the dots

At work, we have a monthly celebration of everyone's birthday for the month. Today, we had both strawberry and chocolate cake.

Of course, chocolate cake makes me think of this ad.

Yes, that is Mac from Night Court. I work nights. I feel this.

A new spin on an old theme

We've posted a fair number of anime music videos, but not that many maga videos.

Animefest de-brief

The most terrifying and unsettling thing I've ever played. There's no blood, no gore, and no grotesque; just pure and unadulterated unease. Some of our stuff might gross you out, but this one will keep you up at night, and it's only a minute long (with credits). You've been warned.

So! Had the show tonight and things could have gone better. It wasn't a total disaster, but the problem I was facing was something I never would have been able to fix on site on that machine. It took another computer for me to find the problem and once I found it, I was so god damned mad I could have punched something because it was so simple and un-there-fixable.

And I'm really glad Danno hadn't been faced with something like this. I was able to kinda re-create what I had planned, but only because I'd spent so much time putting it together. I don't know what he would have done. Maybe this was his ghost tripping me up. I'm sorry it took as long as it did for us to get going, but then I think of how much worse it could have been.

Anyway...

So, threw a list together based on what I remembered and looking at my watch and everyone had a good time. We had the room from 11-2:30, but I had to wrap things up around 2 simply because everyone was freezing. As people filter out of the show, they take their 100 calories per head per hour with them and so the temperature in a room drops. The poor lady running sound for us had her hoodie over her nose and the kid behind me in the grass skirt was shivering fierce.

But did do a mild encore with the Dover Boys of Pimento University, maybe one of the longest videos I've ever played (I prefer to keep things under 3 minutes).

Meanwhile, some one had asked how I find things. Well, here's the deal: I go looking for something in particular, and then I don't find it.

Hell show at AnimeFest

This Saturday, folks! At 11 PM in our usual location (P5--2nd floor, around the corner). The surviving members of AnimeHell Texas will be there with a Hard Gay pose-off, a Camay walk, and lots of new stuff. We've got some timely sing-a-longs and a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT that may affect YOUR LIFE. If you miss it, you'll just be left wondering....

Lightsabers make everything cooler

Man, I'd love to show it, but more than three minutes? I dunno.

Big Chicken. Small Movie (2017)

Well this is certainly inspirational!

Carlo Sommer and The Crusade of Love

A friendly reminder for our time....

YAKETY YAK, TAKE IT BACK (1991)

Now here's a relic of a forgotten time. Guess all the celebs/artists who appear in this 3 minute environmental music video.  You won't win anything besides the admiration that you still remember these guys!

"Yakety Yak" Written By Mike Stoller & Jerry Leiber
Animation Director: Chris Bailey
Animation by Chris Bailey
Directed By Candace Reckinger, Michael Patterson & Tim Newman
Video Production: Warner Bros. & Nixon/Masai
Released by Elektra Entertainment, Elektra Entertainment Group & Take It Back Foundation
Executive Producer: Jolie Jones Levine
Dancers: Salim "Slam" Gauwloos, Darrin Henson, Tina Landon, LaVelle Smith, Terry Bixler, Michelle Whitney-Morrison, Cari French, Deidre Lang, Carrie Ann Inaba, Rosie Perez, Jennifer Lopez, Jasmine Guy, R.C Cru, Art Palmer & Anthony Thomas
Kids: Delphi Academy of Campbell
Recorded at A&M Studios

Kish Kash (2003)

 This video combines some of my favorite things:

• Social commentary 
• Nifty CGI from the same folks that gave us Beauty Kit for Girls 
• Siouxsie Sioux 
• Adorable cosplay opportunity
• Possible real-world relevance 

Video Games with Pigs and Wolves!

Why, why not? It was the 80's!

America Rock (1976)

This little ditty has been stuck in my head for the few days.



Taxation without representation is still a bit of a thing.



Maybe I'm just a wistful, first-generation American. There's great promise here and we can do this, together.

AUTOMANIA 2000 (Halas & Batchelor, 1963)

From IMDB.com...
An animated, dark satire of America's automobile-obsessed, consumerist culture. An anonymous, brilliant scientist toils tirelessly in his ivory tower satisfying the public's ever-increasing demands for novelty and status consciousness, with predictable environmental consequences.

- Written by Leo L. Schwab {ewhac@best.com}

June Foray (1917-2017)

God Speed Rocky!

What could have been

"An artificial intelligence system being developed at Facebook has created its own language. It developed a system of code words to make communication more efficient. The researchers shut the system down as it prompted concerns we could lose control of AI."

The 2016 Academy Award Nominated and Winning Animated Shorts!

Blind Vaysha by Theodore Ushev




Borrowed Time by Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj




Pear Cider and Cigarettes by Robert Valley




Pearl by Patrick Osborne




And the winner is...

Piper by Alan Barillaro

Alike (2016)

Also from the same co-director, a decade earlier!

What we do is what we do

So, you've never been to an Anime Hell show? Well, I slapped together a playlist of some of our more popular videos. When I say "popular", I mean stuff we've shown. This is--by no means--a complete list, but it might give you some a feel for what's in store for you if you come to one of the Texas shows.

Of course, no two shows are alike. We're always finding new things, pruning here, planting there, changing the order...

And it's not like this is some kind of DIY Anime Hell kit, even if you try to use it as such. You have to work with a convention to get a room, round up prizes, get some candy, be aware of your time limitations, buy some kazoos, heard some cats, sacrifice a black goat under a full moon, etc. The usual.

One thing I've always loved about the Texas shows is the audience participation. Contests! Sing-a-longs! Hell, even you guys just shouting random stuff from the dark. Our shows wouldn't be anything without you. Take away the audience and we're just...a playlist. We can't stay static because that kind of thing gets boring pretty quickly. Heck, if we play the same things all the time, why bother coming to a live show?

I was talking to Dave about this a while back. The Texas shows are so unlike any of the others due to the contests, and there was that whole thing with Danno dying in 2015, and maybe it's time to retire Anime Hell in Texas. Danno pretty much was Anime Hell and doing a show under that name almost feels like trying to make a marionette out of a corpse.

But there's still the audience. We still want to give you guys a good time and a place to have fun and cut loose and yell silly things at silly videos while we throw candy at you.

So, this year, our 17th at Anime Fest, we're going to retire the name "Anime Hell" for what we do in Texas. Like a jersey number, we're going to pack that away and try a new name that really reflects what we do.

We're going to officially become Otaku Hell.

And I think that better reflects how we do things. "Anime Hell" is something you watch, but "Otaku Hell" is something you are.

It's still a show of fun video, fun contests, and fun times. You're still going to laugh or recoil in horror or scratch your head and ask WTF but you're still going to be the best audience in the world.

And, going through some archives, I think Danno would agree.

Twin Peaks bento box

Thanks to the lovely Shaindle for finding this!

Raymond (2010)

Live your dreams, Raymond.

Tibs (2015)

Just spending a relaxing Sunday afternoon with the kitties....

Hevisaurus (Finland)

Here's a Finnish heavy-metal dinosaur rapping about Christmas. If you had an argument of any kind, it is now invalid.

Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952)

Don't discount those kids. You might need them later.

Ring any bells?

A simple PSA

Yes, I know. The rate of gravity is actually 9.8 not 9.2. Sorry. The warning still applies.

Fox and Mouse (2016)

"To run from a tiger, only to meet a crocodile."

Nine Short Film (2017)

This ring any bells for anyone?

Hot Dog Hands (2017)

Eat your heart out, Salad Fingers.

There's a lot about this that just Is Not Right, so I'm just gonna post it here and you can watch it during your lunch break.

On second thought, don't do that.

Paul Frees: A Man of Words

Sound and Fury

OK, I have to tell you a little thing.

My folks thought I was deaf for a long time. I didn't talk until I was well into my third year. Turned out, I just didn't talk because I didn't have to. Adults always spoke for me.

But, because of all that, my folks became very interested in the Theater for the Deaf here in Dallas. Now, I'd like to point out the above trailer is for Deaf West Theater in Pasadena, but there used to be one in DFW. Let me tell you how those go:

For every character on stage, there are two actors: one signs the other speaks. In the production for the trailer above, Charlie has a child actor as his speaking voice at the start of the show. As his intellect develops, he gains an adult speaking actor. I can tell you now, when the child speaking actor returned to the stage, the audience gasped. They could see what it meant.

The first production I ever saw was a biopic of Edgar Allen Poe. The program listed the actors and the signs for everyone's name: speaking Poe was a P to the head. Signing Poe was a P to the heart. When they did "The Tell-Tale Heart", there were speakers with heavy bass for the heartbeat.

They also did productions of The Last Unicorn and Pippin. Man alive, I love me some puppets. Pretty sure the Red Bull was at least five puppeteers.

So let me show you this:



Lemme tell you something: all of those dancers are deaf. Some of them are even blind. The choreography includes them blowing on each other's necks so they can work out the timing.

I remember that Danno always liked the music I played in my car, but I have to also remember he'd blown out his eardrums a few years prior. The reason we showed what we did at Anime Hell was it was what he could hear. He was practically deaf himself.

Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion. Her mantra is what saw a dying cat off.

We show a lot of cruel videos at hell. Sure it makes us laugh, but I'll only ask one thing of you:

Stay safe.
Have fun.
Be kind.

That makes me sad

The memers may die, but the memes live on.

I remember telling my mom that cancer doesn't care. You could be a rotten person or a wonderful person and it just doesn't care either way. I'm sorry to see the family of such a gentle man who brought light to so many lives go through this.

We tried. We did our best. Sometimes our best isn't enough; but, hopefully, some of that work will save someone wonderful we don't know yet. Maybe we'll at least get the chance to meet them.

Will you be ready? WILL YOU BE READY?

I'm sure everything will be fine.

MAGIC GOLDBERG (2017)

Produced by David Pruiksma and the animation students of the Laguna College of Art & Design.

Johnny Express (2014)

I have some stuff due in the post and always worry about things like this.

The First Brickfilms!

Just a little something I just happen to think about...

JOURNEY TO THE MOON (Denmark, 1973)
One of Lego's top men liked this!

LEGO WARS (1980)

SPORT LEGO (Hungary, 1986-87)
Officially Licensed Series

And now, two projects that Lego tried to sue the filmmakers' ass over!

The Magic Portal (Australia, 1985-89)

MUSIC VIDEO (UK?, 1989)

A recent video on the techniques behind "The Lego Movie"

Happy 35th Birthday 2600 Pac-Man!

Make your voice heard

Got some fun email from A-Kon yesterday. There are now feedback forms!

Yes, you can tell us how well (or how badly) we're doing. Just visit the form and complete that baby to your heart's content.

I'm not really sure if we stayed on topic. By the same respect, I'm not sure if you could even say we had a topic. Ratings are the only place I feel iffy on. We've always skirted the edge there.

That is NOT what it says. Get your mind out of the gutter

Every so often, we find something the audience really likes. Based on how they were clapping in time and making weird, Steve Reich like rhythms, I'd say they like this one.

Betamax Salesman Training

Sorry about the picture and sound quality on this one.

Animazement 2017 Report

This year was Animazement 20, so we celebrated the occassion with a sprinkling of old Hell favorites among the new selections. Here's the complete rundown.

R.I.P. Adam West (1928-2017)

A little something he was in that's not Batman (or Family Guy)...

A-Kon 28

New digs! We were in the main programming room at the Sheraton: the "all the panels we can't define" hotel. Lovely line of people and no horrific wait at an elevator. How can you go wrong? Panel was from 11:30 to 1:30 and we cleared the room on time and everyone did a wonderful job of tidying up after themselves. We really appreciate that. It's the kind of thing that lets us come back next year.

And we had a wonderful full moon this year. I think we even managed to start the show with one. I know that Channel 58 has a rough start, but the payoff was worth it.

I'm still surprised the McDonald's "Mulan" commercial got the reception it did. You guys really liked that chicken nugget sauce, huh?

Our contests ran a little long this year. So there was a lot I didn't get to show. I'd set up one-and-a-half hours of material, with some of our more...out there stuff in the last bit, as a reward to our die-hard fans. I'm sorry we didn't get to it, but we're still tuning the process and things are always wonky in a new space.

I think--next time--we will be collecting our kazoo orchestra as folks come in, as a filler activity so we don't have to stop a contest to start that. And yes! You guys played "Livin' la Vida Loca"! I knew you had it in you.

Congratulations to our contest winners! I see someone took one of the bottles of Dr. Bronner's Curiously Strong Peppermint soap. DO THE BRON. Good luck to whoever took the cucumber plant and shout-out to the new owner of the blue bubble wand. Don't get that in anyone's eyes.

All in all, a good show, even with the hiccups we had. And yes, A/V crew, I do bring my own adapters. I like to be prepared. You never know what kind of surprises life is going to throw at you.

Tonight! Hell! A-Kon! 11:30! That's PM!

We are in this hotel, far away from everything else.



We will be in this room, right next to the bathrooms.

Hope to see you there!

Happy 70th Anniversary Howdy Doody!

First off, the earliest known recording, from April, 1948!

Howdy wins the Presidency (and a new marionette takes it place)!

Next, the 10th Anniversary Show from 1957!

The FINAL program... IN LIVING COLOR!

The 70's reboot!

And now, the 40th Anniversary Special!

And lastly, a webcast interview with one of the few souls who knew Buffalo Bob ran a liquor store!

HOT DOG!

The Meat....

The Condiments....

Can't find any bun ads, so here's some random bread ones!

Winds of Change (1979)

A buddy and I were joking about the women's only screenings of Wonder Woman and the story of Actaeon came up; only in our version, Diana throws popcorn at him.

Anyhow, he's a re-cut and re-dubbed version of the anime Metamorphoses, narrated (or riffed--depending on your point of view) by Sir Peter Ustinov. Actaeon's story is first.

Gods, I had forgotten how bad the music was.

it's anime north time

YES! Hop on down to Anime North and grab yourself two fistfuls of ANIME HELL Friday night at 10!  And before you do, stop by a newsstand or a street corner and pick up the latest issue of Toronto's free weekly NOW, which features an article all about  - yes - Anime Hell! 

It's all happening here in Hogtown this weekend. Be here! And bring an umbrella! It's raining pretty good out here!

Annecy 2016

#Ripaille - Animation Short Film 2016 - GOBELINS from GOBELINS pro on Vimeo.

How the hell did I miss this?

Anime Hell at Anime Central 20!

Anime Hell returns for the 20th (!!!) Anime Central convention. Friday night at 10pm in the Rosemont Ballroom. Don't forget to ask when Midnight Madness starts!!

Animated American (2008)

Animated American - Short Film by James Baker & Joe Haidar from James Baker on Vimeo.

Set at the end of traditional animation at American feature studios, the future is about to collide with the past. Eric, a digital loving executive on a mansion hunting expedition finds himself crossing swords with his realtor, Max, an out of work toon rabbit. Like it or not, Max will make Eric see things through the eyes of an "Animated American." www.animatedamericanmovie.com

Anime North 2017 Anime Hell 4U

Anime Hell returns to Anime North, and it also returns to the Plaza Ballroom at the International Plaza Hotel, because the Tories have the ballroom where we were last year and we can't kick 'em out as much as we'd like to, darn it. Anyway, it's a much shorter walk and a fine ballroom for us to go to Hell in - Friday at 10pm!  Also at Anime North this year, Neil Nadelman will be bringing his Totally Lame Anime and Mike Toole is back for Dubs Time Forgot and some crazy Korean knockoff anime and gosh, who knows what else? If you've paid someone an outrageous amount to smuggle you and your family across the border, you cannot afford to miss Anime North's Anime Hell!

Something

Yes. Yes it is.

MAX HEADROOM

The Original!

Foxed! (2016)

FOXED! from James Stewart on Vimeo.

The Day After (1983)

Oh, wow. The whole thing.

OK, let me tell you a story about when this first aired.

In 1983 I was in 2nd~3rd grade. Yes, that makes me old. Shut up.

But anyway, this is the shadow that me and my generation grew up under. Sure, we had "tornado" drills all the time (growing up in Texas), but lining up the hallway and facing a wall, with your hands over the back of your neck, is just a way of making the bodies easier to count. Protecting your face was just a way of giving your folks something intact to kiss good-bye.

When this aired, I remember that all us kids had a PARTY. We all went over to someone's house and there was cake and ice-cream and games and we had a grand old time, even though it wasn't anyone's birthday. We thought this was just fine, but we didn't know any better. We were just kids.

What was really going on was all our parents (except the ones hosting the party) were at someone else's house, watching this made-for-TV movie. They were taping it and talking about it and deciding if us kids were going to get to see it and how they were going to talk about it.

And I remember that I didn't get to see it until some time much later.

One of my coworkers is from Ukraine and he told me this was the first American movie they got to see after the wall fell. I guess it's a kind of propaganda, a message of "If we had done this, they would have lost." I don't know how I feel about it now.

Anyway, set a little time aside for yourself to watch this. It's not good, per se, but it did help shape a generation. It might help you to understand why some of your older coworkers are a little antsy. You might want to talk about it with your parents or your kids. The message here seems more clear now than it was when I was a kid.

No one wins a war like this. Make sure it never comes to this.

Double King (2017)

Not that we know anyone like that or anything.

Ferdinand (1938)

So, they're remaking this. Enjoy the classic while it lasts. There was even a cute little song about it.

Spice Girls "Fantasy Ball" Lollipops

And the people who ate them years later!!!

ANIME HELL at ANIME BOSTON 2017

Just got the official Straight Dope from Boston hellmeister Mike Toole: 

Anime Hell@Anime Boston is in Hynes Panel C at 8:30pm on April Fool's Day, baby!!

So if you're in Boston and you're at Anime Boston 2017 and you're mentally prepared Saturday night, be in Hynes Panel C for some Hell!

Song stuck in my head

Something you can hum to yourself over the weekend.

Happy Birthday, Jerry Lewis

I loved reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slapstick. I hate this movie with unbridled passion.

"I'm Scared" (2017)

There's a lot out there to be afraid of.

Lasagna Cat

I really don't know what to think of this. It's a terribly unfunny comic strip, so to extrapolate it to relatively unfunny video seems only rational.

But then there's this. Described as "Jim Davis tribute set to the entire original motion picture score of 'Kundun' by Philip Glass featuring the philosophical musings of John Barrymore III." And there's a lot of levels there.

The ghost of Andy Kaufman is alive and well.

Family Dog (1987)

Forgot to post this yesterday, but thirty years ago on that day, this aired on NBC one fateful evening!

Disorder in the Court (1936)

This is one of my fave Three Stooges flicks. If you're really feeling it, I guess you could watch this while playing some Velvet Underground in the background.

Gogo over Gaga

These Super Bowl half-time shows are really getting out of hand.

A Day with Bill Cosby (1971)

Brought to you my MATTEL!

Hell's Fire (Ub Iwerks, 1934)

Now that's a WHOPPER!

Nazis are da kwaziest peeples!

Don't Be a Sucker (1947)

Hat-tip to Wil Weaton for finding this one. Wikipedia sez:

"Don't Be a Sucker!" is a short film produced by the US War Department in 1943 and re-released in 1947. It has anti-racist and anti-fascist themes. The film was made to make the case for the desegregation of the United States armed forces.

The sound skips a bit at the start, but this little flick is probably older than your parents, so it's excused. Still relevant.

A Kitten for Hitler (2007)

No actual kittens were harmed in the making of this film.

I was reading about mongooses and somehow stumbled into this. So I'm sharing it with you!

Wikipedia has this to say about it:

Following a discussion about film censorship with British broadcaster Melvyn Bragg while they worked on The South Bank Show, Russell was challenged by Bragg to create a film which Russell himself would want banned. A Kitten for Hitler was the result of the process that followed. After Russell sent Bragg an initial draft, Bragg responded "Ken, if ever you make this film and it is shown, you will be lynched."

Adolf Hitler was played by Phil Pritchard. Those auditioning for the part were asked to attend the casting dressed as Hitler, creating a bizarre waiting room scene. Due to the content of the film, dwarf actor Rusty Goffe was hired to play the role of the boy as Russell could not convince any child actor's parents to allow their son to appear. The child's mother was played by Russell's wife Lisi, and the costumes were organised by his daughter. The entire film was filmed in a studio in Shoreditch against a green screen with the backgrounds added in digitally later. The film was broadcast on Comedybox.tv, after Russell was introduced to Dan Schreiber by screenwriter Emma Millions.

Today was Holocaust Remembrance Day. The United States celebrated it by making sure refugees from war-torn countries who faced genocide would be turned away from our borders. You can celebrate by punching a Nazi.

A Political Cartoon (1974)

Fun little film to watch on your lunch break.

Yes, that is Mel Blanc doing the voice for Bugs.

Shopliftin' at Kmart (cir. 1979)

Some Super 8 goodness for you guys!

Gotta catch 'em all!

Dunno if I'm looking forward to the movie or not, but it looks cute.

What are y'all doing on Friday?

I was thinking about bustin' up a wedding.