Lemon Jelly: The Shouty Track

Lemon Jelly is an electronica band from France. This video done for the ‘the Shouty Track’ does a great job of putting together doodled cartoon monsters and music:

NBC 1967 Lineup

I love the design and and playful animation style of these 1967 promos for the NBC television lineup:

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Dorothy Sanchez Music Video

This is a music vdeo from France for the punk/surf rock group Dorothy Sanchez, even though it was done in Flash I love the scratchy hand drawn quality to it:

The 1963 Chevrolet

This commercial features has a nice “Cartoon Modern” look to it, but what I love most about is the innovative use of the typography:

Wildroot Hair Tonic

This 1957 commercial for Wildroot Hair Tonic is a great example of the “cartoon modern style” that’s becoming popular today:

A Coca-Cola Dog with Bite

This is a great looking animated Coca-Cola commercial from France:

I love the fact that they aren’t afraid to have the dog fart and burp, that sort of thing would get shot down by most ‘branding experts’ in a minute…

Potatoes and Dragons

Potato and Dragons (Patates et Dragons) is an animated tv series from France which went on the air in 2001. The show is set in ‘the Kingdom of Potatoes”, and features the exploits of King Hugo III, his daughter and a cute looking dragon. The character designs in this show have a very hip and cartoony look to them:

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Dark Crystal 2: It’s Official!

This is good news, it sounds like they’re spending their time and trying to get the film right:

Dark Crystal 2: it’s official!

“A week ago we thought it had been scrapped. Earlier this week we heard it may not have been. So to end the rumours and confusion, SFX went straight to the source on this and have obtained an official statement from The Henson Company about The Power of the Dark Crystal. And it’s good news: it’s definitely on! This morning we received the following statement from Lisa Henson, the company’s co-CEO and producer of the film:

“The Jim Henson Company remains committed to producing Power of the Dark Crystal. The film has not been ‘cancelled’ or ‘put on hiatus’ or any of the other rumored status changes that have been floating around. This film is an ambitious undertaking for us and it continues to move forward as we work to secure the financing and distribution that a project of this scope requires; and yes, these are factors that will most likely have an impact the production timeline. We are grateful to the fans who support Power of the Dark Crystal and we are excited to make this new chapter in the Dark Crystal story a reality”.”

Head of Cartoon Network Resigns

It’s odd to me that people just don’t see that Boston had an overreaction, but I don’t think that the Cartoon Network is in the wrong here:

Head of Cartoon Network resigns

“The head of the Cartoon Network resigned Friday following a marketing stunt that caused a security scare in Boston. The announcement about Jim Samples resigning was made in an internal memo sent to Cartoon Network staffers.

In a statement to employees, Samples said he regrets the stir that the stunt caused. “It’s my hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages,” Samples said.”

…by the way check out this great game making fun of Boston:

dyewell.com/saveboston/

Found via BoingBoing.net.

Reddy Kilowatt

Just plug in I’m readdy! This is a very camp animated commercial for Pacific Gas and Electric:

The Toonpedia has a great article on Reddy Kilowatt:

“Information supplied by Reddy’s owners indicates the character was created by Ashton B. Collins Sr., general commercial manager of Alabama Power Company. At the time (middle 1920s), electricity wasn’t exactly brand-new technology, but a lot of people could still remember when most homes weren’t wired, and not everyone was entirely comfortable with the stuff. Collins, just home from an industry convention where a big problem under discussion was how to sell electricity as a servant of mankind, was gazing out the window into a thunderstorm, wondering what an electric servant might look like. All of a sudden, two lightning bolts merged and struck the ground as one. For a split-second, they reminded Collins of a human figure, and at that moment Reddy Kilowatt sprang from his brow full-grown, like Athena from that of Zeus.”

Jackie Chan New Year’s Celebration

To celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year (the Year of the Fire Boar, Oink! Oink!) on February 18th, Jetix (the comedy/action/adventure programming block on Toon Disney) will be running a mini-marathon of the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures. Playing up the theme of a Chinese New Year’s celebration each episode will feature a different zodiac animal from previous years in the Chinese calendar, ending up with the boar for 2007.

By the way Jetix looks like it’s worth checking out, they have Power Rangers, Pucca, and Digimon as part of their programming lineup. And old school fanboys take note: They’re also running * gasp * Dungeons and Dragons! In addition they also have a new show called Super Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! which features some nice anime and Ultraman inspired character design work (t-shirt and toy worthy to say the least).

New Henson Films in the Works

It looks like the folks behind the Muppets are set to tackle some interesting films, I love the idea that they might be using a Edward Gorey book:

Henson Co. moves on ‘Boggart’

“Jim Henson Co. is launching development on a trio of literary properties — “The Boggart” by novelist Susan Cooper (“The Dark is Rising”), “The Doubtful Guest” by Edward Gorey and the fantasy adventure trilogy “Monster Blood Tattoo” by D.M. Cornish. Henson’s Creature Shop, the company’s visual and f/x division, will bring work on the characters in each film using a blend of CGI and animatronics.”

Pre-Disney Pocahontas

This is a very silly 1951 animated commercial for Babo Cleanser starring Pocahontas:

Snagglepuss is a Chocoholic

Man that Snagglepuss digs his Coco Krispies:

Donald Duck: Automotive Salesperson

This is an interesting 1955 commercial for the Hudson Hornet and Wasp which features Donald Duck:

New Wallace and Gromit Project

According to ToonZone.com there will be a new Wallace and Gromit film! I think the best news here is that the use of CGI will be ‘flushed away’:

New Wallace and Gromit Project in the Works

“A day after the announcement that DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Studios would be ending their partnership, Aardman spokesperson Aaron Sheriff has stated that, “There is a project on the table right now” for Wallace and Gromit, the studio’s most famous stars. The characters will be done in Aardman’s trademark claymation rather than the CGI used for the recent Flushed Away.”

Snackbar Space Rocket

This is a space themed intermission promo pushing snacks from 1959

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The Lion, the Mouse, and Coca Cola

This is a very cute Walter Lantz commercial from 1953 for Coca Cola:

Aqua Terrorist Hunger Force?

It looks like there was a false terrorism scare involving a promotion for the Aqua Team Hunger Force:

‘Suspicious Packages’ in Boston Part of Marketing Campaign
Turner Broadcasting Says Devices Found in City Were Meant to Promote Show on Cartoon Network

“As many as nine suspicious packages found throughout the Boston area were part of a marketing campaign for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim program, “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” according to Turner Broadcasting. A statement from the company indicates that it is in talks with law enforcement officials to diffuse the situation.

The ‘packages’ in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger,” said the statement from Shirley Powell, senior vice president of corporate communications for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

“They are part of an outdoor marketing campaign in 10 cities in support of Adult Swim’s animated television show ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force.’ They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco and Philadelphia. Parent company Turner Broadcasting is in contact with local and federal law enforcement on the exact locations of the billboards. We regret that they were mistakenly thought to pose any danger”.”

Beer Cartoons

Can you imagine the outcry today if they used animated cartoons to sell beer? In the golden age of television the sponsor was king as seen in this 1960 commercial for Carling Black label beer:

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Amazing Stop Motion AMV

This is a very well done fan made anime music video! Hare Hare Yukai (ハレ晴レユカイ lit. Sunny Sunny Fun) is the ending theme to the Japanese anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya:

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie Trailer

Yeah, flaming chickens are cool:

Behind the Scenes: The Golden Age of Disney

I came across two great blog entries that give a good insight into the golden age of Disney:

Seven “Little People”
Michael Sporn’s blog has a scan of several pages of an internal meeting at Disney in which they’re working on the concepts behind the character designs of the seven dwarfs from Snow White. We’re all so use to looking at this film as a finish product that it’s hard to imagine a point when the concepts for the characters were only half formed. It’s also amazing to me that in an era of typewriters and mimeograph machines that Disney took the time to transcribe this working meeting.

The Ropes at Disney
Jerry Beck at CartoonBrew.com has scanned an entire employee booklet from Disney during the 40s (and there are quite a few World War II references to be found). What I love is that the last page gives you a map of all of the various departments at Disney, so you get to know your way around the studio.

Mouse Killer

For most of animation history the mouse is always shown as cute creature, but in this 1960’s commercial for ‘Raid Mouse Killer’ the goal is send Mickey six feet under:

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