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Animation

Hong Kong Phooey: The Movie

Aug 10th, 2011
by rodney.
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Forgive yourself if you don’t recall Hong Kong Phooey… The 1970’s Hanna Barbera cartoon seems to have developed a cultural fame that transcends its ratings or its running time (16 episodes total). The show regained some fame back in the mid-1990s when the band Sublime (just prior to singer Bradley Nowell’s untimely death) re-recorded the Hong Kong Phooey opening theme song, which had originally been recorded by Scatman Crothers. (Crothers was also the voice of the character). In the original series, the rather slow-witted funny animal dog named Penry worked as a janitor at a police station… but then in secret he would change to become Hong Kong Phooey, a rather slow-witted kung fu crimefighter. So why bring this all up now? Well it seems that Hollywood is at it again: A brand new Hong Kong Phooey live-action/animation movie is in the works. And taking over for the late Scatman Crothers? None other than the Donkey himself, Eddie Murphy. Cinemablend has a write-up that includes this: “The comedian will voice Hong Kong Phooey for Alcon Entertainment’s upcoming production, a live-action/animation hybrid (much like The Smurfs or Garfield) that will take its cues from the Saturday morning cartoon of our childhoods. Variety reports Murphy will lend his voice to Penry, a mild-mannered dog who stumbles into a secret ceremony and is accidentally granted mystical powers, including the ability to walk, talk and do kung fu.” Actually, it sounds more like the recent Underdog movies to us. Stay tooned for more.

image c. 2011 Hanna Barbera Productions

Snuggling Like Cats and Dogs

Aug 8th, 2011
by rodney.
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You’ve seen Feed the Kitty, right? The well-known Warner Brothers cartoon short (directed by Chuck Jones) starring Marc Antony (the big, burly, barking dog) and Pussyfoot (the ridiculously adorable kitten)? Well if somehow you haven’t, get your paws on any number of Warner Brothers cartoon collection, because this cartoon is a must for any and all furry fans! Marc Antony starts off trying to frighten the tiny kitten, but overcome by a wave of cuteness, the dog ends up falling in love with… him. Yes, him. Though the Wikipedia entry refers to Pussyfoot as a female, in the cartoon Marc Antony’s human owner distinctly refers to Pussyfoot as “he” and “him”. So, why bring all this up now? Because the Looney Tunes comic book (published by DC Comics) is featuring our smitten canine and feline pair in issue #202, on the shelves right now. It’s written by Bill Matheny, with cover art by Dave Santana.

image c. 2011 DC Comics

Battle Bears!

Jul 31st, 2011
by rodney.
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It’s a game series, a comic book, a collection of plushies, an animation project in the works… It’s Battle Bears! It tells the story of a well-armed little bear named Oliver — and his well-armed companions — who crash-land on an alien world populated by cute pink teddy-bears called Huggies… who, if they get your mitts on you, will promptly hug you to death! Fortunately Oliver has guns to spare — he’s well-prepared to blow off the huggies’ heads, at which point rainbows shoot out of their necks. Yes. It’s all the creation of one Benjamin Vu (a graduate of the animation program at Cal Arts) and his company, SkyVu Pictures. Seriously, this just scratches the fuzzy surface of what SkyVu is up to. Visit their Battle Bears web site to find out more about new games and other projects they’re still busily developing.

Battle Bears at San Diego Comic Con. Photo by your ever-lovin' Ed-Otter

 

The Pitch Party 2011

Jul 27th, 2011
by rodney.
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Once again Animation Magazine released a special issue at Comic Con, and once again the issue (July/August) included the results of the annual Animation Magazine Pitch Party. Here new and upcoming animators are given a chance to “pitch” their ideas for a new animated TV series to a select group of industry executives from places like Adult Swim, The Hub, Cartoon Network, The Disney Channel, and so forth. They do so by creating a single panel comic that explains the concept of the show. Now some folks (like Cartoon Brew) have been questioning the value of the Pitch Party — as in, do folks actually get a real chance to have their shows produced in exchange for their entry fee?  Well, it must be popular to try, because people keep on submitting their entries every year. This time around, entries that furry fans might find interesting included Marco and Polo by Samantha Wheeldon (her web site is here), VA Team by Melissa Delamar (her web site), Duck & Monster by Base 14 (their blog), Kiko the Brave Little Bat (who has his own web site), Fireflyz by Don and Julie Farmer, A Cock Tale by Greg Bro (no, seriously — check out the web site), Yugo & Lala, Hydro Bull, Plunger Pup by Michael Grassia (yes, he has a web site too), Iron Bugs, and Spiny Life by Days View Animation.

Magical Animals to the Rescue

Jul 5th, 2011
by rodney.
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Things do move quickly these days. The Familiars, a hardcover fantasy novel by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, was published by HarperCollins last September. Now, it’s already in development as an animated feature film for Sony Pictures. Here’s the story synopsis from Amazon.com and Booklist: “Aldwyn, a scruffy, quick-witted alley cat on the lam, poses as a magical animal when he ducks into a shop to avoid capture and ends up purchased as a boy wizard’s familiar. Despite needing to keep his mundane nature hidden, Aldwyn settles easily into his new role, bonding with his human loyal, Jack, and befriending two other children’s familiars: Gilbert, a tree frog, and Skylar, a blue jay. When an evil witch kidnaps the children and kills their mentor, only their familiars can save them.” The second book in the series, The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown, is heading for bookshelves this coming September. Meanwhile, here’s news about the movie from Bookyurt.com and Variety: “Doug Sweetland, a Pixar veteran of 16 years, has signed on to helm The Familiars for Sony Pictures Animation. Based on the novel by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, The Familiars is the story of the animals chosen to be familiars for young wizards in training. Sam Raimi and Josh Donen will exec produce.While at Pixar, Sweetland worked on animated features including Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo.” You can also find out more by visiting The Familiars web site.

 

image c. HarperCollins

Punky Pets!

Jul 3rd, 2011
by rodney.
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The newest cartoon band exploding on the scene is called Punky Pets, and this one is all funny animals! Well-connected funny animals it seems, as they not only have a whole line of t-shirts and plush dolls associated with them, but also sponsorship from the Vans Warped Tour and San Diego Comic Con. As you can see on their web site, they also have a whole set of Warped Tour bands promoting their stuff. The web site also features animated videos by the Punky Pets. Here’s what we can’t tell: Are they a “real” band, or just cartoons? Their web site is mum on that point. Stay tooned and you’ll find out more when we do!

 

image c. 2011 Punky Pets

Furry Musicians on the Dance Floor

Jun 24th, 2011
by rodney.
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Word is just starting to get out about the band The Studio Killers and their song “Ode to the Bouncer”. If you haven’t seen it, the video is up on YouTube, along with several re-mixes. Yes, the thought of a cartoon band making dance music does bring Gorillaz to mind. But that band doesn’t feature a fox and a mink performing the music, like the Studio Killers do! Several other “interview” and “behind the scenes” videos are up on YouTube as well, where we get to meet the mink and fox as well as the band’s human singer, Cherry. And of course, the Studio Killers have their own web site too. While we were researching that, we came across this interesting video by Swedish House Mafia called “Save the World”. We’ll let you see it for yourself, but suffice it to say: If you’re a “dog person”, you’ll love it.

Apes and Kitties

Jun 21st, 2011
by rodney.
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Two newly-released trailers give us some further insight on a pair of films coming up later this year — films that furry fen might find interesting. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is directed by Rupert Wyatt, previously best known for his film The Escapist. Rise tells the story of a genetic scientist (played by current hot property James Franco) whose experiments with a brain-cell regenerating treatment lead to the creation of Caesar, a chimpanzee with the intelligence and will to lead his fellow apes in revolution against humans. Besides Mr. Franco and Andy Serkis (who plays the body-model for Caesar much as he did for Gollum in Lord of the Rings and King Kong in King Kong), Rise also stars Brian Cox, John  Lithgow, Freida Pinto, and Tom Felton (Draco from the Harry Potter movies). The film is set for release on August 5th, and the latest trailer up on YouTube shows how Caesar is raised by hand by humans, coming to care for them — and later, to resent them. Okay, so… from chimpanzees on to kitties. The newest trailer for Puss in Boots is out, though the film won’t hit theaters until November 4th. Antonio Banderas (of course) plays Puss, who hooks up with Humpty Dumpty (yes, the egg) and a flirty filcher of a feline named Kitty Softpaws, voiced by Selma Hayek.

A First Look at Upcoming Films

Jun 15th, 2011
by rodney.
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The International Licensing Expo, held every year in Las Vegas, is a great change to get a first look at cool upcoming new movies as various merchandise companies compete to get a chance to serve the movie studios with new character-themed lunchboxes, t-shirts, cel phone app’s and more. The folks at ComingSoon.net and Cartoon Brew recently presented a report on this year’s expo, with the latter of course mostly looking at animated films of note. Among them are two from Dreamworks, Madagasgar 3 and Rise of the Guardians, and one from Illumination, the Lorax. In Madagasgar 3, hitting theaters next June, Alex the Lion and his friends join a traveling circus in hopes of getting back to New York City. Rise of the Guardians (formerly The Guardians of Childhood) is based on an upcoming book by William Joyce (creator of Rolie Polie Olie and Meet the Robinsons). It tells the story of four childhood heroes — Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost — who join forces to prevent The Boogeyman from sending the world into eternal darkness.  It’s scheduled for release in November of 2012. And of course The Lorax is based on the popular (and shamelessly controversial) children’s book by Dr. Seuss, telling the story of a forest spirit who attempts to save his home from destruction by industry. It’s coming to theaters next March from Universal Pictures.

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