The Wall.E Laptop (Sorry for Kids Only)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 26, 2008 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
Sometimes I wish the kids toys were for grownups — in this case the Wall.E Learning Laptop
Chrome Shelled Regios: First Look at the Anime Series
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 25, 2008 in Animation
Here’s the first trailer for the upcoming anime series Chrome Shelled Regios which is based on the light novel series by Shūsuke Amagi, with illustrations by Miyū. The series will go on the air in Japan on January 10th next year and is produced by Zexcs Animation Studio.
My Week in Cartoonland: Madagascar 2 and Bolt
Posted by Guest Author on Nov 23, 2008 in Animation
Editor’s Note: This week we’re lucky to have animation industry insider Joe Strike offers us his insights and first impressions of the films Madagascar 2 and Bolt.
My Week in Cartoonland
The week being November 3-7, which began in one jungle in Africa and wound up in another in the land of Nool, with a NY-Hollywood road trip connecting the two. Monday it was time for a Madagascar 2 screening, which was good since I had to review the co-directors the next day. Another hour and a half spent with a quartet of neurotic Central Park Zoo animals who didn’t bowl me over in the first place. (I live in Manhattan, have to deal with neurotic Manhattanites all the time, especially myself.) Read more…
Ka-Pow! The latest Show from the Folks Behind Happy Tree Friends
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 23, 2008 in Animation
As someone who’s involved with animation what’s interesting to me is how quickly Flash has become a tool for doing great looking broadcast quality animation. The studio behind Ka-Pow! is Mondo Mini Shows which has has been in business since 1988, and while they’ve done well with TV shows Happy Tree Friends which is a child of the web has really put them on the map. To me this is part of a long term where sites like YouTube and Hulu will become as important as Cartoon Network in terms of launching new shows.
Astro Boy Trailer: Why is He Dressed Up Like the Little Prince?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 21, 2008 in Animation
Why did the makers of the new CGI Astro Boy decide to “improve” upon Tezuka’s original design and outfit our hero in a preppie styled sweater and pants? The other thing that makes me sad about this first preview is that the rest of the characters make this look like every other CGI movie that’s ever been made. This won’t win over the old fanboys who might take the kids, it won’t win over the kids because it looks like everything else, and I can only guess how the Japanese will feel about this wardrobe upgrade. Read more…
Beauty and the Beast in 3D (I’m Sorry This Headline Isn’t a Joke)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 19, 2008 in Animation
In the good old days Walt would worry about the important things in film making: the story, character design, quality animation and of course sound. Disney rediscovered some of the magic later, but sadly they seem to be going backwards again and getting caught up in technique over theater. While I realize that the 3D is cool and of curse it will make money it sort of takes away the focus on what makes the film work on the silver screen: Read more…
Robotech Goes to Hollywood: Warner Brothers Film in the Works
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 17, 2008 in Animation
It’s starting to look like there is a very good chance for Hollywood to produce a Robotech film, although the project can still get shot down. After the Speed Racer film I have mixed feelings as to if Hollywood can get the film right, although on the flip side many fanboys seemed happy with the Transformers films. To me it’s not a question of special effects which Hollywood can do well, but if they can make the story and casting work: Read more…
The Drinky Crow Show
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 14, 2008 in Animation
I just caught an Adult Swim promo for The Drinky Crow Show which is based on Tony Millionaire’s indie comic strip Maakies. The animation looks pretty good and the theme song is by They Might Be Giants which scores extra points in my book. The show is set to premiere on November 23, 2008.
Maybe These Leaked Photos from the Dragonball Movie Should Be Unleaked?
20th Century Fox is spending over $100 million to make the Dragonball movie and yet you’re telling me that these leaked photographs is what I can expect? I’m getting this bad “straight to video” feeling looking at these images. Above is Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, and below is Emmy Rossum as Bulma. Read more…
Who Will the Best Animation Oscar Nominees Be?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 11, 2008 in Animation
Frankly I’m still a bit let down from last year when the Academy picked glossy Ratatouille over the more interesting Persepolis. This year fourteen films were submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, of those only three lucky picks will make the cut to be in the best animated feature category. This year the films come from every corner of the world, although as an anime fanboy I’m very happy to see two entries from Japan! Here’s a guide of who’s who this year: Read more…
South Park Obamamania
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 7, 2008 in Animation
Yes we can! I have to say that I’m blown away by just how fast South Park works current events into their show — even if everything is done with computers it still takes quite a bit of production work to put a show together.
Monsters vs. Aliens vs. King Kong vs. Godzilla and Godzuki
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 6, 2008 in Animation
Before I start trashing this trailer for Monsters vs. Aliens there are two things that I’ll admit to upfront (but if you’re a fanboy how could you blame me?):
1. Dreamworks has always been second banana to Pixar, and I’m not talking Coke vs. Pepsi but more like Coke vs. C&C Cola. In other words: If you thought that Shrek was good you don’t know what you;re talking about (unless by good you mean box office of course).
2. At this point in time if you’re going to do a CGI film you better damn well be ready to blow me out of the water because I’ve seen it all before — or — at least have a unique look for the film that I haven’t seen before.
Now I’m glad I got that out of the way! On paper the concept for this film sounds good, but alas the devil is in the details and from what I see here Dreamworks is determined to ummmm — well that’s a good question?
The Nekomimi-y Goodness of Moon Phase on Hulu
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 5, 2008 in Animation
FUNImation is starting to embrace online video by adding more shows to Hulu, including Moon Phase which will appeal to fanboys who appreciate animated catgirls (nekomimi 猫耳).
Found via animealmanac.
The Mickey Mouse Glove Flash Drive Honors the Golden Age of Cel Painting
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 5, 2008 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
This is the first look at the Mickey Mouse Glove USB Flash Drive, although right now there’s no info on pricing and availability. The gloves in the Mickey Mouse cartoons were in fact a silent tribute to the cel painters who had the painful task of coloring each inked frame of acetate. Having done this sort of work back in my art school days I can tell you that it’s a painfully slow task which is very easy to muck up, so it’s very gratifying to see this very modern tribute to the golden age of hand painted cel animation.
Found via geekalerts.
Test Drive a Sgt. Frog Episode
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 4, 2008 in Animation
FUNImation is starting to get this digital media thing! On YouTube they’ve posted a test episode of Sgt. Frog (ケロロ軍曹 Keroro Gunsō). I like what FUNImation is doing on two levels: First they’ve done a nice job with the voice overs, Keroro is a real challenge to translate as it’s about the humor. Secondly they’ve embraced online video — but instead of reinventing the wheel they’re using YouTube which everyone is already watching. I hope FUNImation keeps this up…
Strike Witch Yoshika Miyafuji Will Cute You to Death
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 1, 2008 in Animation, Hobbies and Collections
I think I’ve yet to see a Nendoroid figurine that didn’t cute me out — and in this case Yoshika Miyafuji (the already cute heroin of Strike Witches – ストライクウィッチーズ) becomes even more adorable in her Nendoroid treatment. Yoshika is available for pre-order now, but she won’t show up on your doorstep until April of 2009.
King of the Hill Dethroned, Deposed and Decapitated (Yes!)
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 31, 2008 in Animation
I respect Mike Judge — but I hated King of the Hill! I understand that Judge was trying to do something different, but at the end of the day the show was always like a second rate version of Mama’s Family except none of the characters seemed likable on any level.
Maybe you can argue that the show was a “Red State” thing, yet to me South Park seemed to capture that spirit a bit better. The other thing that got to me is that the show never seemed to take advantage of the fact that it was animated, there was never one episode that I caught that wouldn’t have worked better as live action. But yet for my fanboy snottiness I’m assuming that the show had some loyal following if it lasted this long, so props to Judge for keeping Hank Hill humming along:
Back to the Futurama?
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 30, 2008 in Animation
When Futurama first came out in (over 9 years ago!) I have to admit I had my doubts about the show — but it won me over in re-runs on Cartoon Network (maybe it was the voice over work by Katey Sagal?). Well now it seems that fans of the show might have more of the year 3000 to look ahead to:
“David X. Cohen, co-creator and executive producer of Futurama, told SCI FI Wire that work is nearly done on the fourth and final (for now) made-for-DVD movie, Into the Wild Green Yonder, and added that he’s hopeful the show might still return as a weekly series, a feature film or another DVD film.”
Side note: The clever tin sign above is on sale at bigbadtoystore.com.
Saku Saku Explores the Intimate Side of Mobile Suit Gundam
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 25, 2008 in Animation, Japanese TV
I could be wrong but it looks like in this episode of Saku Saku Morning Call that they’re looking at a line of Mobile Suit Gundam merchandise which includes a vibrator.
Toward the Terra: A Must See Classic
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 23, 2008 in Animation
The Right Stuf is releasing the classic 1980 anime film Toward the Terra on DVD just in time for Christmas. Back in the day as a 80s fanboy this was one of my favorite flicks, and it still holds up well today judging by the trailer above. Firstly the story line is A+ if your any sort of science fiction fanatic as the plot is very similar to A.E. van Vogt’s famous novel SLAN. Next you have the look of the film which holds up very well some 28 years later!
Bolt isn’t Blowing Me Away…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 22, 2008 in Animation
Shown above is the latest sneak peak of Bolt which is due out in theaters on November 21st and I have to say that I’m not getting excited by this clip. Now my understanding is that the film will be released in Disney Digital 3D and while that sounds cool it doesn’t mean that there can’t be a story up there on the screen. And from this small sample the whole flick looks like a bad action film which is already based on existing cartoons like Road Runner.
The other thing that’s missing here is that none of the characters seem lovable — the dog character Bolt seems to lack any charm, and even the bad guys in the scene above seem so generic. For crying out loud this is suppose to be a Disney film, having interesting evil characters is half the point! To me it looks like Disney was so obsessed with making a Pixar film that they forgot what makes Disney so special (hint: it’s charm, storytelling and imagination!).
The Golden Age of Jetsons Optimism
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 20, 2008 in Animation
This Jetsons Little Golden Book is from 1962 — and what’s refreshing to me about this cover is the bold sense of optimism which you don’t see much these days. Authors like Isaac Asimov always felt that dividing line of modern science fiction was that it viewed technology as a positive force in the universe. However I think science fiction (and other imaginative literature) is a reflection of how society views the world at that point in time. So while attempting to predict the future these cultural documents tell us more about the present — or in this case the past.
Found via stuffbywackystuff.
New Pixar Film Poster is Up
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2008 in Animation
Shown above is the latest official poster for the upcoming Pixar film Up — you can check out the official website here…
Found via movietrailertalk.com.
Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone , Scooby Doo AND Dorothy Hamill
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 12, 2008 in Animation
Children today are so spoiled — there’s not one but several channels full of kids shows on cable TV, and to top it off there’s an entire internet filled with tons of websites. But sadly 1979 was a dark age in children’s entertainment as seen in this above advert for Ice Capades: I frankly can’t think of anything more painful to do as a child than to watch some dufus dressed up as Jabber Jaw prance around on the ice. But oh wait if that hasn’t hade you want to play with your lint collection there’s more: We’ve got Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone , Scooby Doo AND Dorothy Hamill.