Happy 2007 Everyone!

Blotto celebrates with fireworks.... look out Blotto!

Blotto & The Fireworks
Uploaded by j-motion

More Warner Bros Animation DVD News

TVshowsonDVD.com has posted the back art to Loonatics Unleashed: Season 1!
http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6767
Also posted is the cover art of Scooby All Stars (a.k.a. Scooby Doo Where Are You?: Season 3)!
http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6768

Saddam Hussein is No Longer Among Us

Forgive me for taking the time to be political,
Have you heard the recent news about Saddam Hussein?
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4434219.html
(Guess we know which way he went.....)

Wile E Coyote Catches The Roadrunner

Sort of.
Follow the link to Cartoonbrew.com to view an original drawing by Chuck Jones that dictates what we all wanted to happen eventually.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/archives/2006_12.html#002595

Sonic the Hedgehog DVD News

TvshowsonDVD.com has listed the bonus material and cover art for the upcoming release of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Series.
http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6764
Sounds like a great amount of extras!

New Year = New Simpsons

According to Animation World Network, expect to see new episodes of The Simpsons premiring a week after New Years Eve!
http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=18755

Fantastic Four 2 Teaser

Check out the new Fantastic Four 2 teaser trailer introducing another classic Marvel Comics character to the big screen!

Fantastic Four 2 Teaser
Uploaded by j-motion

Homer's Home Renovations

The second trailer for The Simpsons Movie.

Simpsons Trailer 2
Uploaded by j-motion

Spawn.com's New HB Feature

Todd McFarlane's action figure line website has recently released a new feature.
Follow the link to see the second line of Hanna Barbera figures that have been released this month:
http://spawn.com/features/hb2/
You can see how the figures are packaged, get a 360 view of each figure and see concept art by Scott Shaw and Todd McFarlane himself!

Merry Christmas 2006

Blotto sets up his Christmas tree using an ACME Tree-In-A-Can.
Happy Holidays everyone!

Blotto & The Tree-In-A-Can
Uploaded by j-motion

New TMNT One Sheet

Check out the new one sheet for Warner Bros' CG animated feature, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".
You can see this among other posters and stills by following the link: http://www.cinemablend.com/gallery/previews/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-1328.html

Tinker Bell Put on Hiatus

Walt Disney Animation has pushed back the date of next year's debut of the "Tinker Bell Movie".
Hoping to cash in big on their new Disney Fairies line, Tinker Bell was slated for the fall of 2007.
Animation executives have decided that the movie needs some retooling in it's storyline. Animation has been ceased on the production until such matters are resolved.
Don't expect to see the NeverLand Fairies animated until sometime in 2008.

The Purple Smurfs

This was my favorite episode of The Smurfs. The Smurf village is infected with a plague that turns them purple and evil. Ah, memories.

New Archie Redesigns

Looks like that 2007 is the year when the world of Archie gets a new realistic make over...
Jerry Beck lends a little insight on Cartoon Brew and then there is a link to the new issue of Betty & Veronica.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/archives/2006_12.html#002567

Joe Barbera 1911 - 2006 R.I.P.

One of the last great animation people of the Golden Age has past away at the age of 95.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061218/en_nm/barbera_dc_1
Joe Barbera was the other half responsible for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon studio. (Bill Hanna passed away in 2001)
The team was paired together for the first time at MGM studios in the early 1940s. That would lead to the creation of Tom & Jerry.
After the cartoon division closed down, Hanna and Barbera were quick to round up the artists they worked with and started to develop cartoons for television. Hanna Barbera became famous for their use of stylized animation which would reuse animation cycles and backgrounds.
Ironically, I created this little HB tribute animation just a little while ago.

The studio was responsible for such stars as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby Doo, among a thousand others.
R.I.P. Joe and thanks for the memories.

A "What-A-Cartoon" Cartoon

What's a Saturday morning without watching a wacky cartoon? Seems that this story is totally inspired by Tex Avery's Screwy Squirrel. Funny stuff!

Does anyone know who the creators for this short was? And what is the name of the lead characters?

Shrek The Third Teaser Released

Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots and the rest of the gang return again for their third outing, to be released next year.
Follow the link to see it yourself!
http://movies.aol.com/movie/shrek-the-third/21802/main

Shrek The Third Sneak Peek

With the trailer premiering online today, the entertainment show Extra had exclusive footage of the upcoming movie.

Sneak Peek
Uploaded by j-motion

Random Take: Scrooge McDuck

Well, it's not really a "take", but it's a bit of animation from "Mickey's Christmas Carol" that I've always enjoyed. I've added my own music and sound effects.

Scrooged Off
Uploaded by j-motion

New Trailer for TMNT

Warner Bros has released a new trailer for next year's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
See it here:
http://tmnt.warnerbros.com/cmp/trailer.html?id=trailer&type=quicktime&speed=500000

Behold! A Hero is Born!

Well, maybe not.
On the bright side, if Disney promotes this well enough, they might break even with production costs.... ummmm, yeah.

A New Simpsons Teaser

http://animated-news.com/ has released a link to the 3rd Simpsons teaser trailer.
The teaser starts off with the same bunny rabbit CGI, but goes on to focus on Homer's home renovations.
See it here: FoxFilm.at

Very Early CGI Test by Disney

I came across this on another blog,
http://theseaofwakingdreams.blogspot.com/2006/12/original-where-wild-things-are-tests.html
There was a test conducted by Walt Disney Animation combining Traditional animation with that of CG backgrounds. It looks really cool for a piece created in the '80s.
It was based on "Where the Wild Things Are" and is directed by the man who is presently in charge of the Disney Animation Unit, John Lasserter.

PVP: The Series

Scott Kurtz's popular web comic "PVP" is being transformed into an animated series that will be broadcast on the web. I have a link to the PVP web comic on the right.
Here is more information about the series:
http://www.pvponline.com/blog/2998/pvp-the-series
Here is a sneak peek of the series:

Here is some conceptual work about the series:

Happy Birthday Walt!

December 5th marks Walt Disney's 105th birthday!
Read more about the famous cartoonist/ animator/ theme park creator here:
http://www.who2.com/waltdisney.html

Just a Plug for Today's Releases

Thought I'd remind everyone again that today, Warner Bros Home Video is releasing Animaniacs: Vol 2 and Pinky & The Brain: Vol 2!
Remember to pick them up so that Warners will eventually release all their animated shows to DVD!
Check out the official websites for both releases:
"Animanics Volume 2" DVD website
"Pinky and The Brain Volume 2" DVD website

A Muppet Family Christmas - Uncut Edition

It's not christmas until I've watched the "A Muppet Family Christmas". Great freakin' xmas special!
This a 1987, forty-minute special that stars all of Jim Hensons creations up to that point. Expect to see characters from "The Muppet Show", "Sesame Street", "Fraggle Rock" and "The Muppet Babies" under one roof.
The plot involves Doc (from Fraggle Rock) escaping city life to spend the holidays in the country. The country house he chooses to stay at happens to be owned and operated by Fozzie Bear's mother. She is on her way for a Hawaian vacation. When Fozzie comes home for the holidays—bringing all his Muppet friends with him—everyone gets snowed in and chaos and hilarity ensue.
Due to christmas song copyrights, the North American home video releases had portions of the special cut out. But now is your chance to see the special in it's uncut version!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

Shirley Walker R.I.P. 1945 - 2006

Due to complications of a stroke, composer Shirley Walker died November 29th in Los Angeles, California. She was at the age of 61.
Born in Napa, Calif., Walker began her career in industrial films and jingles work in the late 1960s and later worked as a musician on Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. In the 1980s, she found work as a composer on such television series as Falcon Crest and China Beach, and lent her talents to such B-movie classics as 1985’s The Dungeonmaster and Ghoulies. Walker would find a comfortable niche in the superhero genre.
In 1986, Walker scored Disney's Fluppy Dogs, a pilot for a rejected television series.
Later, she orchestrated music for the first live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film (1990).
She also orchestrated and wrote music for Dick Tracy (1990), while arranging its Oscar-winning song "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)."
It was with Batman (1989) that Walker began a professional relationship with the Caped Crusader, conducting music for the Tim Burton hit and orchestrating the score for its second sequel, Batman Forever (1995). Furthermore, she composed music for Batman: The Animated Series (1992), which landed her an Annie nomination. She also scored episodes of Warner Bros.’ 1990 television series The Flash, based on the DC Comics property. After Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) and The New Batman Adventures (1997), Walker finally won a Daytime Emmy for her work on Batman Beyond (1999).
Meanwhile, Superman: The Animated Series (1996) brought Walker another Annie nomination, while The Zeta Project (2001) delivered that and a Daytime Emmy nomination. In-between those projects, she composed music for HBO's Spawn animated series (1997). Walker’s next project was to be Bruce Timm’s DC: The New Frontier, a direct-to-video comic book-based feature which is currently in pre-production.
(information gathered from Animation Magazine.net & Animated-News.com)

More & More Spiderman 3 Pics

Check out these (conceptual?) images of the Spidey Villians!

To see more Spiderman 3 set pics follow the link!
http://www.filmwad.com/spider-man-3-353-p.html

To Be Released on DVD Tomorrow

Don't forget to ask Santa for Warner Bros Animation's new DVD Releases: Animaniacs Volume 2 & Pinky and The Brain Volume 2! To be released on Dec.5th!

Hopefully I've been good enough to open these on Christmas morning!

First Look at Simpsons Series 1 Figures

Released by Spawn.com is their first photographs of the long-awaited Series 1 line of The Simpsons Action Figures!
http://spawn.com/news/news2.aspx?id=13003
Check 'em out!

Disney To Release New Theatrical Shorts

Posted By The New York Times on December the 3rd,
"For Disney, Something Old (and Short) is New Again" by Charles Solomon
The article goes on to say that Disney animation is going to once again start producing new animated shorts to be played at the beginning of Disney features.
As taken from the article:
"Four new shorts are in development at Disney: “The Ballad of Nessie,” a stylized account of the origin of the Loch Ness monster; “Golgo’s Guest,” about a meeting between a Russian frontier guard and an extraterrestrial; “Prep and Landing,” in which two inept elves ready a house for Santa’s visit; and “How to Install Your Home Theater,” the return of Goofy’s popular “How to” shorts of the ’40s and ’50s, in which a deadpan narrator explains how to play a sport or execute a task, while Goofy attempts to demonstrate — with disastrous results. The new Goofy short is slated to go into production early next year."
Read more of the article here (free membership may be required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/03/movies/03solo.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Things look good in the field of animation again! Hopefully these new shorts will be better than the 2003 attempt of Larry Doyle's Looney Tunes.

Final DVD Sets for DC Heroes

Announced earlier this week by TVshowsonDVD.com,
The final DVD set for Batman Beyond!
http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6663
And the final DVD set for Justice League Unlimited!
http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6664

Rollercoaster Rabbit: Behind the Scenes

Here is an article that was printed in a 1990 Comic Scene Magazine. This article reveals what went into producing Roger Rabbit's 2nd Maroon Cartoon, "Rollercoaster Rabbit".

Now you can view the final product here:

Rollercoaster Rabbit
Uploaded by ToonEGuy

A Casting Call for The Frog Princess

Follow the link to view a listing for the casting call of Disney's upcoming animated feature, The Frog Princess. http://manhatttheatresource.forumcircle.com/viewtopic.php?p=278&sid=4a5dc7eac4d0dfb2effb45083fbfd463
You can see the characters that are going to featured in the film from the list given!

THE FROG PRINCESS . Animated Feature Film SAG
Directors: John Musker, Ron Clements Composer: Randy Newman
"The Frog Princess" is an animated American fairy tale musical, set in New Orleans, in the 1920's Jazz Age. SINGING ROLES:
[MADDY] A 19-year-old African American chambermaid. Bright, resourceful, ambitious, intense. A little too grown-up for her age. Dialect: Mild southern colloquial.
[CHARLOTTE] 18 years old. A spoiled, southern debutante. A diva. Comic "steel magnolia". Bossy but insecure. Dialect: Southern belle.
[DR. DUVALIER] A 30-40 year old Voodoo magician/fortune teller. African American. Charming, charismatic, smooth and a sinister bad guy. Theatrical and grandiose. Dialect: Elegant, possibly New Orleans Creole.
[MAMA ODIE] An elderly, 200 year old Voodoo priestess/fairy god-mother. African American. Broad, comic, eccentric. Benevolent, wise and all knowing. A mixture of Moms Mabley & Yoda. Dialect: Southern colloquial.
[RAY] A 25-35 year old lovesick Cajun firefly. Warm, friendly, laid back and easygoing. Comically obtuse. Missing front tooth, has a lisp and occasionally speaks in Cajun French. LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC CAJUN ACTORS.
[LOUIS] A 20-40 year old Jazz singer alligator. Comic, manic, high strung. Can be African American or white. Has extraordinary jazz singing voice since he, in effect, "sold his soul" to get it. Dialect: New Orleans hipster.
NON-SINGING ROLES:
[PRINCE HARRY] A gregarious, fun-loving European Prince, in his early twenties. A young Cary Grant. Charming, witty but irresponsible and immature. Loves jazz. Dialect: British upper-class.
[LAWRENCE] Harry's pompous roly poly valet. In his forties. Stiff, snobbish and sarcastic. Secretly envious and resentful of Harry. Dialect: Overly affected British upper crust.
[BIG DADDY LA BOUFF] Wealthy, Southern plantation landowner. Doting father of Charlotte La Bouff. A "good ol' boy." Warm, affable, courtly, imposing and powerful. Dialect: Thick southern drawl.
[EUDORA] Maddy's mother. In her fifties. Eudora used to be Charlotte's nurse maid. Warm, homespun and nurturing. Overly fretful.
[GEORGE] The cook for the La Bouff family. African American 50s-60s. Curmudgeonly.
[YOUNG MADDY] Six years old, African American.
[YOUNG CHARLOTTE] Six years old.

Yogi Bear Forgets his ID

This takes me back to when Cartoon Network aired cartoons.