|
Evangelion Mini Refrigerator
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 25, 2008 in Animation
If you’re a hardcore Evangelion fanboy you’re going to want to own your own Evangelion Miniature Refrigerator which comes in either Rei Ayanami Blue or Asuka Langley Red. What’s strange about this fridge is that you can also use it as a food warmer too, but my guess is that this time of year you’d use it to keep your sake cool. Pokemon vs. Haruhi Suzumiya
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 21, 2008 in Animation
I always preferred the Lucky Star opening to the Haruhi Dance, but I got quite a kick out of the work put into this fan made video. Found via kotaku.com. Animated Peter Max Anti-Smoking Commercial
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 19, 2008 in Animation
It’s funny to see this vintage early 70s animated commercial with features the work of psychedelic artist Peter Max encouraging folks to stop smoking cigarettes. While his work was very associated with hippy drug culture to my surprise it seems that Max was willing to speak out and urge folks to not smoke: Vintage Animated Japanese Commercials
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 18, 2008 in Animation
This first risque soap commercial from 1970 does a nice job of combing live action with animated characters. I love the design of the character with her smiling mouth touching her eyes. Not only is the stop motion animation in this advert great, but the music it catchy too! This hipsteresque spot is for Suntory Torys Whisky. And this last spot is for Vicks cough drops. Big Buck Bunny
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 14, 2008 in Animation
Big Buck Bunny is an “open movie project” which was produced by Ton Roosendaal, the author the 3D software tool Blender. It’s exciting to think that these tools for doing high quality 3D character animation are getting out there, so far these films are just shorts — but we could see a full length indie 3D film one day in the near future. Found via cgindia.org. Vintage Animated Korean Commercials
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 13, 2008 in Animation
This first commercial tells a of tale of the tortoise, the hare and an underwater sea king — it’s for some sort of drink. You can tell this Jinro spot is from the 60s from the go go dancing. This animated cosmetics spot seems to be inspired by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The animation on the second commercial is a bit more cute. This last spot is a public safety announcement from the 70s. Disney Distorted by Javier Gonzalez Burgos
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 11, 2008 in Animation
These distorted caricatures are great because Javier Gonzalez Burgos has taken these well known Disney icons of the 20th Century and added that extra special touch of 21st Century anxiety with just a dash of information overload. Javier is an illustrator based out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jim Henson on the Making of Dark Crystal
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 5, 2008 in Animation
I love watching this footage — it’s so sad that Jim Henson passed away so early in 1990. Henson could have gone on making Muppet films forever, but in 1982 he took a real chance and directed Dark Crystal which was so different than anything else at the time. The amount of faith it must have taken to think that puppets could sustain a serious film for over an hour. It’s because of Henson that the way was paved for someone like Tim Burton to make The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Video by Ira Gallen. Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 2, 2008 in Animation
I think my favorite Bakshi story is from Howard Beckerman: According to Howard (and it’s hard for me to tell if this is just a legend or not) it seems that Ralph was borrowing mob money to finish an animated film which was way behind schedule. He would keep begging his animators to please finish the scene so he pay off his backers. But sadly the poor animators couldn’t pull of the deadline and the next day Ralph Bakshi showed up in the studio with a broken arm. This story may not be true, although it’s a good reflection on just how hard it is to make an animated film — and Ralph was doing that in the late 70s and early 80s when it was very out of style and Disney was on the rocks. So it’s nice to see that Ralph’s work is being celebrated these days and there is a great book that’s out on him: On a related note I discovered this great interview with Bakshi from 1982 when he had just finished the film Hey Good Lookin’ which was shot by Ira Gallen: James Baxter Animation
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 27, 2008 in Animation
One of my favorite teachers Howard Beckerman taught me that “animation is the art of movement, not the movement of art”. The above pencil animation by James Baxter is a great example of this… Omakase Maidokuro: System Error
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 22, 2008 in Animation
Omakase Maidokuro: The Awesome Corpse-Housemaid is a series of animated short podcasts from Japan. I was attracted to this episode because of the computer theme, most notably the use of the now vintage first generation iMac. Crown Jewels of Anime: Planetes
Posted by Guest Author on May 21, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 10 on my top ten list: Planetes Before the world of anime clubbed me over the head and dragged me off to become its unholy bride, I was already head over heels for the US space program. It was and still is one of the few truly noble and unreproachable achievements of our country, and my only regret is that it isn’t moving as fast as it should be. Thus, I turn to stories about the potential future of space travel, and though space fantasy tales are great fun they lack the hard science that makes me feel like I’m seeing what could really happen. Crown Jewels of Anime: Panzer World Galient
Posted by Guest Author on May 20, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 9 on my top ten list: Panzer World Galient The ‘real robot’ craze of the early 1980s inspired anime studios like Nippon Sunrise (now called simply ‘Sunrise’) to mash them up with every possible genre or setting. Writer/creator Ryusuke Takahashi was particularly good at this, pulling from many different tropes to construct his first two hits, Fang of the Sun Dougram and Armored Trooper Votoms, and a later one called SPT Layzner. He also crafted a little-known yet fondly remembered series that fit between the last two on that list called Panzer World Galient. It was barely a blip in the record books, but as with any Takahashi program, it stays with you forever after you’ve seen it. (Especially the bilingual opening and closing titles, both haunting and unforgettable.) Crown Jewels of Anime: The Leijiverse
Posted by Guest Author on May 19, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 8 on my top ten list: The Leijiverse As one of those fans whose head was blown off by Star Blazers in 1980, I was an easy mark when it came to other anime by Leiji Matsumoto. After all, they looked just like my fave—or near enough. Turns out it was the same for Japanese fans. Matsumoto’s touch on Yamato naturally made them hungry for more, and he delivered it in spades: Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, Queen Millennia, Endless Road SSX and numerous other projects turned him into a creative tornado. Then for some reason he went away for a while. Crown Jewels of Anime: Giant Gorg
Posted by Guest Author on May 18, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 7 on my top ten list: Giant Gorg Among the pantheon of superstars who were responsible for all the best anime of the early 1980s was a phenomenal artist who works just as hard today as he ever did: Yasuhiko Yoshikazu. He rose through the ranks of character designers in the 1970s, contributing to Yamato, Combattler V, and ultimately Mobile Suit Gundam to explode into American consciousness with the phenomenal Crusher Joe feature film. As the director, Yas supervised the production so closely that in the end it was as if he’d drawn every frame in his signature style, which is a gorgeous combination of effortless organics and rock-solid mechanics. Crusher Joe was a triumph of design and story. And Giant Gorg was its successor. Crown Jewels of Anime: Fist of the North Star
Posted by Guest Author on May 17, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 6 on my top ten list: Fist of the North Star You don’t have to see much of this series to find your tolerance level. It takes a really long time to watch (well over 100 episodes), a lot of the animation is bare-bones at best, the drama is so far over the top you can see right up its dress, and entire episodes can roll by with practically nothing accomplished. So what earns it a spot on my top ten list? Style, man. Pure, shredding, murderous, unapologetic STYLE. Crown Jewels of Anime: Galaxy Drifter Vifam
Posted by Guest Author on May 16, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 5 on my top ten list: Galaxy Drifter Vifam 1983 was a banner year for SF anime on Japanese TV. The best writers were producing their best stuff at this time, and despite the preponderence of seemingly endless dynasties of giant robots every story had new turf to stake out. Vifam was a shining jewel in this crown, artfully combining said robots with a group of 13 children (who pretty much summed up the target demographic of the time) who are forced to grow up fast after their entire planet is swarmed by an alien enemy and strands them on a spaceship in the middle of hostile territory. If that sounds a little like Battlestar Galactica or maybe even Infinite Ryvius, that’s because it is. But the resemblance ends there. Crown Jewels of Anime: Blue Meteor SPT Layzner
Posted by Guest Author on May 15, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 4 on my top ten list: Blue Meteor SPT Layzner If dark, complex, emotional stories are where it’s at for you, this one has it all. Created by Ryosuke Takahashi (who struck gold earlier with Armored Trooper Votoms), it’s a hard-edged SF action series about a robot pilot named Eiji Aska, who gets stuck between a rock and hard place when he breaks with his own army to prevent them from invading the Earth. The first Earth people he approaches with this story, a group of refugees who narrowly escape an attack on their Mars colony, aren’t sure what to make of this (and neither is anyone else for that matter). As time goes on, Eiji wins the hearts and minds of a select few, but the opposition stacked against him is not only enormous — it’s personal. Beavis & Butt-Head as a Live Action Flick
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 15, 2008 in Animation
I guess Mike Judge can use the cash — although it’s sort of sad for us fans of the original show: ‘Beavis & Butt-Head’ Creator Mike Judge Says He Might Be Ready For The Duo’s Live-Action Debut “Now, Beavis & Butt-Head might be getting ready to do it all over again — and wait until you hear what they’re gonna look like. “I feel like it’s something I can come back to and do,” creator Mike Judge told us when he stopped by our studios to promote “The Animation Show,” an eye-popping theatrical/DVD cartoon extravaganza that has occasionally featured the dimwitted duo.” …Oddly enough I wouldn’t mind seeing a Daria live action film. Desu Deluxe!
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 15, 2008 in Animation
I don’t know why but this sort of thing always makes me so happy! This fan video is a mash up of scenes from Rozen Maiden featuring the character Suiseiseki. Crown Jewels of Anime: Mobile Suit Gundam
Posted by Guest Author on May 14, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 3 on my top ten list: Mobile Suit Gundam If you’re having trouble sorting out one Gundam anime from another, you’re not alone. If you’ve heard that Gundam is a legendary saga that everyone has to see, you heard right‹but it’s not the current stuff (the latest being a TV series called Gundam Double O) that earned it this reputation. If you want to cut to the bone, you need to go all the way back to 1979 for the original no-extra-title-added Mobile Suit Gundam. It’s inescapably clunky and rough around the edges, a low-budget show even by those early standards, which was prematurely cancelled but went on to become a theatrical blockbuster. Crown Jewels of Anime: Armored Trooper Votoms
Posted by Guest Author on May 13, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 2 on my top ten list: Armored Trooper Votoms You gotta hand it to a series that starts out riffing on a movie you really like and then blows way past it into completely new territory. For me, the movie was Blade Runner (1982) and when I saw the first few episodes of Votoms I thought, cool‹a Japanese take on one of my faves! And then Votoms kept going?and going?and GOING. By the time it got all the way to its finale in episode 52 it had left Blade Runner far behind and found its own path to become something wholly original that has never been equaled, though some well-meaning imitators have tried. Crown Jewels of Anime: Space Battleship Yamato
Posted by Guest Author on May 12, 2008 in Animation
In this exclusive series our guest author Tim Eldred picks the top ten crown jewels of anime: As a guy who started watching anime in 1980, I was lucky enough to catch the virus when the medium was in a creative upswing the likes of which simply hasn’t been seen since. Of course, there was great stuff before that, but never in quite so much abundance. The early 80s in particular were chock full of shows that had the power to make me (A) cry like a baby or (B) leap out of my chair like a sports fan. And any show that could do both became a crown jewel in my eyes. They haven’t all been officially exported yet, which means a lot of people still have an opportunity to experience them for the first time. Here’s number 1 on my top ten list: Space Battleship Yamato
How does one objectively describe an anime saga that changed one’s life? You can’t, so there’s no point in trying. Space Battleship Yamato is simply the greatest of them all. The proof of this is that you didn’t even have to see it for it to change your life. If you became an anime fan after the year 1977, you have Yamato to thank. That was the year the first movie hit theatres in Japan with the same impact that Star Wars had here. (It was a compilation of the inaugural 1974 TV series, but that’s beside the point.) It was the first ever ‘anime boom’ and everything that’s come out of Japan since then has been an echo of it. Robochi Gets Flamed
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 11, 2008 in Animation
Any forum posting fanboy will love the above animated short Robochi Gets Flamed by Jonathan Kim who likes robot girls and holding giant plush cats. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2024 Fanboy.com All rights reserved. Theme by Laptop Geek.
