RIP: Gahan Wilson (1930-2019)

Some classic moments of a cartoonist!

Caninabis (The National Film Board of Canada, 1979)

Kaj Pindal's animated short from the late 1970s features a canine narcotics officer who burns out after sampling a little too much product. Driven by his love of cannabis, a street dog displays incredible promise for the drug squad when he chases down a local dealer. He makes headlines worldwide as he takes on smugglers and crime lords. But when his drug habit and his work inevitably collide, a clear message emerges: dogs and cannabis don't mix.

Electronics: Graphic Arts Medium of the Future (Demo Tape, 1973?)

A little something for you Scanimate/early CGI fans!

Zing (2015)

My poor old cat (17 this April!) is feeling poorly. Here's hoping she still has a couple cards left.

Christmas Starts Now

Christmas does indeed last twelve days and ends on January sixth, or the Epiphany. That's when the wise men showed up.

Now THAT's love

"This year marks the 76th anniversary of the Warner Bros.’ The Dover Boys at Pimento University, an experimental theatrical short directed by Chuck Jones that pushed stylized animation in new directions."

Honestly, I was trying to figure out if the guy who did Mr. Cat had done any work on the new TMNT, based solely on Leonardo's smile, and found this instead. It's some great work.

Wee Timorous Beastie

There is a rat that lives at the station where I catch the train to work. I see it, sometimes, run out from under the platform and along the rail, then back again.

I had no idea my little furry friend has been tasked with such an onerous quest.

NEPHTALI (2015)

Just a nice interlude at lunch.

TIE Fighter (2015)

Animation: OTAKING77077/ Paul Johnson
(approved by OTAKING https://puu.sh/uHbZJ/967e9aefaf.png )
SFX: Starwars: Battlefront DICE/Electronic Arts/LucasArts
Music: SW: Rogue One/LucasArts

Brush: A Fox Tale (2018)

An animated short film by Willi Anton & Faustina Arriola

A painting fox has a crush on his neighbor. When he tries to hide it his other paintings come to life to try to convince him otherwise.

Produced at California College of the Arts 2018.

Ah, He's Sick (2018)

AH, HE'S SICK from Yugo Limbo ( YUGSLY ) on Vimeo.

An instant classic.

R.I.P. Fred Crippen

Fred Crippen (1928-2018) Animator, Designer, Director.

Born in Michigan, he attended Michigan State and served in the Marine Corps before moving to New York City, where he worked for Shamus Culhane Productions and UPA-New York. During a layoff, Crippen earned some money by repainting the UPA studio. In 1955, he was invited to join the Burbank studio and work on The Boing-Boing Show. Crippen animated and/or directed many of the most distinctive pieces on the show, sometimes in collaboration with Ernest Pintoff, Jimmy Murakami, and John Whitney. In 1958, Crippen left UPA to form Pantomime Pictures, which created television shows and commercials for over fifty years.


And since I know you only came here for THIS, here you go!

The Song for Rain (2016)

Very sweet. Happy vernal equinox.

The Fox and the Whale

It's been a hectic week for me, and maybe you as well, so here's a slow and quiet piece to calm things down. Full screen, headphones. Don't think about anything. Just relax and let it wash over you.

DEATH VAN (2017)

DEATH VAN (animated space-rock adventure) from Michael Enzbrunner on Vimeo.

H/T Dangerous Minds for finding this one.

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.  :-(

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

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

Fox and Mouse (2016)

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

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.