The Making of Snow White (1938)

Show above is an amazing behind the scenes look at the making of Snow White from 1938. The funny thing is that Disney still uses the “behind the scenes look” to promote their fimls today, but to be fair when you have a high level of craftsmanship you should show it off.

Mel Blanc on David Letterman (1981)

Above is a classic interview with Mel Blanc, who did pretty much every great Warner Brothers voice from Bugs Bunny to my favorite Foghorn Leghorn. What’s nice about this interview is that Blanc goes into detail on his creative process, and he also reveals that Bugs Bunny was a cross between a Bronx and Brooklyn accent. It’s amazing to think that those classic cartoons would require 125 people, take 9 months to produce, all for a cost of $50k (which was half a million in 1981 dollars). By the way you can tell from the interview that Dave respects Mel (which is pretty rare). Sadly Blanc passed away eight years later after this interview, but it’s always nice to see the face behind the voice.

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Futurama ‘Movie’ Trailer

You know I wouldn’t mind seeing an actual theatrical Futurama film, but this looks like the next best thing:

Trailer For The Futurama ‘Movie’

“As you’re likely aware – or if you’re not you’re about to be very excited – Futurama, Matt Groening’s unjustly cancelled follow up to The Simpsons, is to return to screens. Groening and his crew are producing three feature length episodes which will be released on DVD, the first out by the end of the year, and then cut up into episode length for TV broadcast.

Benders Big Score is set at Xmas (as Christmas has officially been abbreviated to in the future) 3007 and Professor Farnsworth and the rest of the Planet Express crew must battle nudist alien internet scammers who wish to take over Earth. Having discovered the secret to time traveller tattooed on Fry’s arse, they reprogram Bender and sent him back in time to steal Earth’s treasures.”

The Best Anime Songs

A Japanese fanboy on YouTube has posted a video featuring the top 101 anime songs of all time. What’s interesting to me isn’t so much the music but the wide range of shows represented which go back to the 60s in some cases. In countdown style shown above are songs #101 to through #51, and below is #50 through number #1.

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Playful Play-Doh Rabbits Spot

I love the above commercial spot for Sony which was animated by London based Passion Pictures. Animation director Darren Walsh worked on the Angry Kid series prior this this latest spot.

Pixar Promo for Wall-E

The design of Wall-E reminds me quite a bit of V.I.N.CENT from the Disney Black Hole film and also the droids Huey Dewey and Louie from the 70s ecology/sci fi themed film Silent Running.

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First Look: Imagi Animation’s AstroBoy

Shown above is the first still from the new CGI AstroBoy which is slated to come out in 2008. I don’t want to be too judgemental at this point as it’s hard to tell from a still how well the animation will or won’t work:

Jensen has ‘Astro Boy’ flight plan

“For Danish-born animator Jakob Jensen, to animate Japan’s classic manga “Astro Boy” at Hong Kong’s Imagi Animation Studio seems like a difficult challenge, despite his background at DreamWorks. After all, Astro Boy is virtually a national treasure of Japan, but far less well known in the rest of the world. But Jensen has confidence that he can make “Astro Boy” fly.

” ‘I want to apply my DreamWorks experience and implement philosophies I learned at that company into the work flow and the pipeline of the studio in Hong Kong to make Astro Boy as empathic in the U.S. as he is in Japan,” said Jensen, 32, the animation acting director for “Astro Boy” at Imagi.”

Wallace and Gromit Return to TV

I think without the Hollywood pressure of doing a big screen epic this production might be much more interesting to watch:

Wallace and Gromit return to TV

“Wallace and Gromit are to return in a half-hour television adventure – the first since 1995’s A Close Shave. Aardman Animations has announced that the cheese-loving inventor and his loyal dog will star in Trouble at’ Mill – to screen on BBC One in late 2008. Creator Nick Park said: “The story takes Wallace and Gromit in a direction we haven’t seen before – both emotionally and technically.”

Shooting starts in January at Aardman studios in Bristol. Trouble at’ Mill is a murder mystery that sees Wallace and Gromit running a bakery business – with their house converted into a granary with ovens and robotic kneading arms.”

…also check out this great gallery showing Wallace and Gromit pre-production sketches.

James Wong to Direct Dragonball Z Movie

Slashfilm slags James Wong for the Final Destination films, but to be fair he also played a major role in the X-Files:

James Wong to direct Dragon Ball Z Movie

“Good News: 20th Century Fox are making a Dragon Ball Z movie. Bad News: James Wong, the guy behind the sh*tty Final Destination films is the guy directing it.”

More Anime Trailers for Fall 2007…

Shown above are a few more trailers and omake for the Fall 2007: MapleStory, Strait Jacket, ChocoMimi, Tensai: Dr. Hamax, 静止画らしい, Keitai Shojo and a live action Negima.

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New Anime Trailers for Fall 2007

Shown above are promotional trailers for Clannad, D.C. II (Da Capo II), Shakugan no Shana 2nd, Prism Ark, Kimikiss Pure Rouge, Ef – A Tale of Memories, Night Wizard, Kodomo No Jikan (A Child’s Time), Myself ; Yourself, Blue Drop, Rental Magica, Mokke, Sketchbook, Bamboo Blade, and Dragonut the Resonance. And here’s a second set of trailers:

The trailers from this set are Koharu Biyori, Genshiken 2nd, You’re Under Arrest: Full Throttle, Hidamari Sketch, Suteki Tantei Labyrinth, Shugo Chara!, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Jyushin Enbu: Hero Tales, Yattokame Tanteidan, Ultimate Survivor Kaiji, Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro and Ghost Hound.

My First Crush

There are no giant robots or spaceships blowing up, but I love the look of this short film My First Crush which is by English animator Julia Pott. What makes the film enjoyable is that it’s telling a very personal story, it turns out that Julia was inspired by performance diva Miranda July. make sure to also check out her website as it has quite a bit of nice illustration work on display:

Found via MetaFilter.

Anime Pulse Interviews Madhouse Studios

The podcast crew of Anime Pulse has scored two amazing interviews with Hisahi Abe and Itagaki Shin of Madhouse Studios (they’ve worked on an amazing range of projects from Millennium Actress to Paprika). In the interviews, the Madhouse staffers discuss various projects that they have worked on as well as their latest one, the anime adaptation of Devil May Cry. You can check out the interviews here:

Itagaki Shin Interview

Abe Hisahi Intervew

Let the Death Note Backlash Begin…

It’s only been a day or two (although it might as well be 100 years on the net) since the announcement of Death Note coming to Adult Swim. So you’d think that every anime fanboy would be setting up the DVR, but not everyone is pleased with the news:

New Low for Adult Swim

“It looks like Adult Swim will be showing Death Note on October 20th. I thought Adult Swim was redeeming itself by showing Cowboy Bebop again but I guess not. Of course, Adult Swim has been going down the crap shoot for a few years now. Honestly, I only use Adult Swim at night to help me go to sleep. I’m so glad that I don’t get my anime from TV anymore.

Now, I’d like to point how I can see why Adult Swim picked this show. It’s due to the fact that for some odd reason Death Note is very popular and this would only bring more viewers to Adult Swim. But I really don’t see it as all the great. There are a ton of other series they could have chosen from but I guess they will continue to pick crappy series.”

…I have to admit that I’ve been following * cough * one or two shows on the net, but it is always nice to see stuff on my actual television. The fanboys of today are spoiled! Back when I first discovered anime we had to watch it on 12th generation VHS tapes and guess what was going on and then * maybe * if we were very lucky the darn show would come to America on TV years later but edited to death.

By the way the photo shown at the top is the Misa CraftLabel Statue from Death Note which is available here.

Lucky Star: The Last Dance!

Shown above is an out take from the latest and last episode of the season of Lucly Star. While it’s a comedy show at heart, I rather enjoyed the sentimental touches of the last episode. I hope that they do a second season, and that the show comes over to the States.

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My Favorite Anime Pirate: Captain Harlock

To honor o’ Talk Like a Pirate Day I reckoned that I ortin’ ta write about me favorite anime shipmate, which be Space Sea dog Captain Harlock! Harlock (which be also known as Herlock) be th’ first anime series that I watched in Japanese wi’ subtitles in th’ late 70s. Prior t’ that me introduction t’ anime be through dubbed shows like Star Blazers like Speed Racer, but I be lucky as local UHF station called WNJU had a block o’ Japanese programmin’ ever’ weekend. E’en tho ‘t be science fiction, Harlock be a very odd mix o’ spacecraft an’ steampunk design. Needless t’ say I be hooked, in a pre-VCR era I made ‘t a point t’ catch ever’ episode, an’ ‘t be thanks in part t’ that space shipmate that I still love anime today.

An Experimental Tezuka Film from 1962

Before Astro Boy went on the air in 1963 (although it was a well known manga before that), Osamu Tezuka made the above experimental animated film Male in 1962.

The film was made in a hurry to meet the exhibition date and is a Tezuka take on the novel Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (“I am a Cat”) by the Japanese author Natsume Soseki. The novel was written in 1905-1906 (about a hundred years ago!) and is a satire on Japanese society in the time of the Meiji Emperor. In the novel a cat observes his master’s ordinary life, however Tezuka’s twist in the film is that his cat observes an extremely odd situation in which a man kills the woman he loves and then waits for the police to come.

Although Tezuka would go on to experience success with his more commercial work he did continue to make a few more very well done experimental shorts including my favorites Broken Down Film and Jumping.

Ugū!

Shown above is the character Ayu Tsukimiya from the anime series Kanon whose favorite catch phrase is (you guessed it) Ugū!

I Lived on the Moon

I lived on the Moon is an animated short created by Yannick Puig who draws inspiration from Tim Burton and Hayao Miyazaki. Yannick works as an animator in Europe (France and Spain), here is his explanation of the film:

“In ‘I lived on the moon’, a father speaks to his son. He explains how was his life on the moon. A place filled with flying snakes, fireflies and three tailed monkeys. A beautiful place, safe and far away from the human culture. A place for imagination, a place in which you’ll find the entrance only if you open your mind.”

Tex Avery Documentary

Shown above is the first part of a very well done documentary from 1988 on the life and work of animation legend Tex Avery.

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Wallace and Gromit Statue Planned

Well this will make Preston a must see fanboy tourist destination:

Wallace and Gromit statue planned

“A statue of Wallace and Gromit is to be built in Preston, Lancashire – the home city of their creator Nick Park. The Oscar-winning animator is working on designs for a permanent bronze tribute to the pair. Preston City Council must raise £100,000 to build the statue which it says would give a “boost” to the area. Mr Park, who dreamt up the characters as a student, said the statue would be “a wonderful honour”. He said: “This is a really exciting project and I’m delighted to be working on the designs.”

Family Guy Star Wars Poster

Shown above is a special promotional poster for Family Guy from the season premiere episode which pays tribute to Star Wars.

Found via iesb.net.

Live Action Dragonball Z Movie

If done correctly Dragonball Z fanboys might get a kick out of this film:

Live-Action DBZ Movie Announced!!

“After years and years of rumors about a potential live-action Dragonball Z movie, it has finally been announced that work is soon to commence! April 1st was a long time ago, so I am guessing this time the news is for real. The film will be produced by 20th Century Fox (as had always been rumoured) and will have a budget of US$100 million. Filming will take place in Montreal this fall and winter. There is good potential Fox will screw the film up, but is is certainly extremely interesting news for DBZ fans nonetheless.”

Korean Animation Renaissance

At long last Hollywood is starting to discover the animation industry in Korea. Shown above is a still from the film Yobi the Five-Tailed Fox which is featured in this recent Variety article:

Korean cartoons draw audiences

“Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the country was a prime destination for outsourced animated work, with companies such as Akom Prods. (which produced much of the animated work behind “The Simpsons” TV series and recent film) leading the way. Nonetheless, few locally conceived and financed projects caught on with auds, or made much of a mark overseas. But newfound ambition and a rising generation of talent are raising hopes for a local renaissance.

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