Sprite Heaven: Kings of Power 4 Billion

Shown above is the animated film Kings of Power 4 Billion by Paul Robertson. It’s hard to see all of the detail in the YouTube video (I’d suggest downloading a torrent) but Robertson’s animation technique is drawn pixel by pixel like an old school video game. In addition to video games he also draws quite a bit from anime and pop cultural references. Here’s part two:

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Kung Fu Panda: The Latest Trailer

I’ll always root for Pixar over Dreamworks, but this film may not be half bad…

The Animation Show: Trailer for Year Four

The Animation Show is a showcase for independent animated short films which is put together by Mike Judge (of Beavis and Butt-Head fame) and Academy Award nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt. If the film isn’t coming to your local town don’t worry too much as they play to release a DVD as well.

Retro Animation: The Fruit Stripe Zebra

The above commercials for Fruit Stripe Gum and Lifesavers date to the mid-70s. The design for the characters on the Lifesavers spot are wonderfully creative, it’s sad to think that so much similar food advertising today is just so bland.

Vampz: French Goth Animation

Vampz is a entertaining short animated student film from France. This movie is the work of three students of the EESA school: Adrien Barbier Lambert, Adrien Annesley and Lâm Le Thanh. Collaborating on music was Olivier Michelot, and the sound design is by Tamara Demicheli.

Found via dekku.blogspot.com.

Maidokuro: The Awesome Corpse-Housemaid

I first ran across Maidokuro: The Awesome Corpse-Housemaid on iTunes as a video podcast and I was hooked right away watching episodes on my daily subway ride. Each episode (which only last s a few seconds each) stars a cute corpse maid who kills her client in a new clever way. The show looks better as a podcast but you can always catch episodes at YouTube.

Russian Animation: Struggle of Love in a Dream

Surrealism is always more disturbing to me than anything I’ve ever seen in the horror genre, which I think is due to the lack of conventional storytelling that we see in a typical slasher flick or monster movie. The above animated film Struggle of Love in a Dream (Hypn-eroto-machia —Гипнэротомахия) is a good example of how a lack of coherent structure itself can be somewhat chilling. Andrei Svislotsky was inspired by the paintings of Salvador Dali when he directed this film in 1992, however I also sense the chaos of the post-cold war under the surface the artwork.

Will Funimation Fumble Online?

Exhibit A: Manga Entertainment offers only four anime series on iTunes, and it’s $50 for a season pass for 26 episodes of Ghost in the Shell — which you can watch for free on your DVR. I’d prefer the latest offerings from Japan in real time, and yes I don’t mind spelling errors in the subtitles.

The one thing entertainment companies never seem to get is the concept of “not invented here” which is the kiss of death in the tech business. This isn’t limited the ghetto of anime here in the United States, in fact a good example of this boneheaded behavior is when you see Viacom suing YouTube/Google. So while reading this Variety article on Funimation, this quote leaped off the page at me:

“Fukunaga is also confident in the company’s pay-per-download system, which is basically an HTML-based iTunes, but for anime. “There were a lot of rights issues, and we couldn’t monetize it fast enough last year,” he says apologetically — anime sites that don’t bother with copyright laws, like the recently reformed Crunchyroll.com, have become must-visit web destinations for anime fans. Now that Funimation is getting back its piece of that action, Fukunaga predicts that the download sales will soon exceed the company’s second-biggest asset, merchandising.”

Instead of reinventing the wheel why doesn’t Funimation focus on iTunes? If they priced each episode at $1 and put their entire catalog online I’d bet they increase their revenues. Now to be fair Gen Fukunaga has to negotiate each of those series with the Japanese, but I think the Anime studios have to understand that the market is in a bit of a glut and that their target audience has grown up with Napster. Or maybe Funimation and the Japanese studios should cozy up to Crunchyroll a bit more?

I’ve seen the other side and it isn’t pretty — Hulu was just launched by the networks and I have to say that the site just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve visited it only a few times, while I still find myself visiting YouTube and DailyMotion several times a day. Although it’s a different culture showbiz should embrace rather than emulate the techies.

It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown

Isn’t it great how Peanuts manages to address the over-commercialization of the holidays? Happy Easter Beagle Sunday…

Me & My Goldfish Were Going to the Pub

I love this little animated film which was written and read by Rik Mayall, the comic genius behind the Young Ones. How often do you see bathroom humor mixed with a Shakespeare reference? By the way this film was done for Mastercard, there are several other animated films in the series here.

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Disney Goes Anime

What I’d love to see would be for Disney to allow the Japanese studios to reinterpret all of the traditional Disney characters:

Disney to team with Japanese companies to produce animation in Japan

“Entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. will team up with several Japanese companies to produce animation for television in Japan, a leading market, a Disney official said Thursday. Disney will work with Toei Animation Co., Madhouse Co. and Jinni’s Animation Studios, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to comply with company rules.

The move was aimed at localizing contents of Disney products for a wider audience, she said. “We need to make contents which fit the Japanese market to further boost the popularity of Disney in Japan,” she said.

With Madhouse, Disney will produce a 30-minute TV program “Stitch!,” an offspring of the Lilo & Stitch series, to be aired in Japan, the official said, adding that the company has not decided when the show will go on air.”

Speed Racer International Trailers

Above and below are the latest international trailers for the upcoming Speed Racer film. I have no idea if the movie will be any good, but the art direction sure looks great! The film feels like a live action video game.

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Kap10kurt Music Video

I love the look of this animated music video which features Kap10kurt, it sort of reminds me of a cross between a video game and the look of a Jamie Hewlett comic book. The video was animated by mathematic, who are based in Paris, France.

Found via Nerdcore.de.

The Story Behind Ponyo on a Cliff

There’s an interesting interview with the former head of Studio Ghibli who has some interesting insights into the upcoming Hayao Miyazaki film Ponyo on a Cliff:

Executive Producer & Former President of Studio Ghibli Suzuki Toshio Reveals the Story Behind Ponyo

Found via FilmTwitch.net.

New Pixar Wall*E Poster

Shown above is a detail from the new poster for Wall*E from Pixar/Disney which will hit theaters on June 27th, below is the whole thing:

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My Paper Mind by Javan Ivey

Shown above is a wonderful short animated film by Javan Ivey in which each frame is cut out of 4″ by 6″ bit of card stock — very creative!

Found via metafilter.

Evangelion: Anime of the Year Award

And the winner is Evangelion:

Tokyo Anime fair announces winners
‘Evangelion’ takes animation of the year award

“The Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF), the world biggest trade fair for toons, has presented “Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone” with its Animation of the Year award, organizers announced on Monday.

Receiving the Grand Prize in the Nominated Works section was “Adventures in the NPM,” a Taiwanese short by Helen Huang that is an animated guide through the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Grzegorz Jonkajtys’ “Ark” and Moin Samadi’s “The Lost Puppet” were selected as Notable Entries in the General Category, the section’s second prize. Young-kwang Jo’s “Christmas in Taxi” scooped the Special Award, while Takashi Kato’s “The Clockwork City” and Guillaume Briet’s “BistRobot” won Notable Entry prizes in the Student Category.”

Tags: Anime, Evangelion

El Señor Rossi

That’s a catchy tune, no? El Señor Rossi was an Italian animated series of films that ran from the early 60s to the mid-70s created by Bruno Bozetto. Although as an animator Bruno Bozetto for his film Allegro non troppo which was a humorous take on the Disney classic Fantasia. These days he’s been doing quite a bit of Flash based animation.

Found via thisspartanlife.com.

The First Anime CD-ROM: The World of U.S. Manga Corps

In 1991 for some odd reason Brian Cirulnick and myself were able to talk John O’Donnell of Central Park Media into making the first Anime themed CD-ROM. The CD-ROM featured 1,000 targa images taken from various Anime TV shows and movies (everything from from Project A-ko to Urusei Yatsura) and 100 digital video clips which were produced using the then new technology QuickTime from Apple Computer. In fact the CD-ROM was the 2nd commercial title to feature QuickTime, the first I believe was a porno title. The other cool thing about the project was that it featured a multimedia presentation which contained a catalog showing a thumbnail sketch of each image. After it’s release the CD-ROM started to sell well and was even picked up by Educorp (one of the early CD-ROM catalogs). However sadly the title was spotted in Japan by one of the copyright holders who mistook it for a video game and thus ending the shelf life of the project.

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Zero-sen Hayato

Shown above are the opening titles for Zero-sen Hayato (０戦はやと) an anime series that ran for 41 episodes back in 1964 and was produced by Fuji TV. The series got started as a manga by Naoki Tsuji and deals with fighter pilots during World War II.

Kung Fu Panda Trailer

This latest trailer for Kung Fu Panda doesn’t look too bad, although to be honest I’ve always preferred Pixar to Dreamworks. I think it’s that Dreamworks always relies upon sitcom jokes with well known actors while Pixar films are always about the story itself with the humor playing a supporting role. Also Pixar uses animation to tell the story while with Dreamworks you might as well use puppets.

Post-It Notes Animation from Russia

The above film was produced by 18 animators living in St. Petersburg, Russia. I love how the entire film was created by drawing on Post-It Notes. The song featured is by Oppa Novy God.

Found via MetaFilter.

Year of the Rat: The Rat on Chaos

Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year, so we’re exploring fanboy themes relating the Year of the Rat. Shown above is The Rat on Chaos a clever short animated film I found on YouTube from sanewave. Warning: This film contains some profanity and an animated rat going to the bathroom. Although no rats were harmed in the production…

Year of the Rat: Dougal and the Rat

Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year, so we’re exploring fanboy themes relating the Year of the Rat. Shown above is Dougal and the Rat a short animated film directed by Morgan Williams of Club Cocoanut Animation (which also features the work of illustrator/designer Julie Williams).