All Things:Animated

Mel Blanc to Voice New 3D LOONEY TUNES Shorts

THE LOONEY TUNES ? AND THE LEGENDARY MEL BLANC ? RETURN TO THE SILVER SCREEN, STARTING IN 2011

Warner Bros. Animation Announces Three New 3D Theatrical Cartoon Shorts

Two of the Original Films Feature Voice Recordings Made by Mel Blanc

ANNECY, France and BURBANK, Calif. (8 June 2011) ? ?Thufferin thuccotash!? Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Daffy Duck, Elmer

Fudd, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner will all return to theaters in three original Looney Tunes 3D theatrical cartoon shorts produced by Warner Bros. Animation and directed by Matthew O?Callaghan (Coyote Falls). Two of the new shorts ? Daffy?s Rhapsody and I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat ? will feature the voice of the late, great Mel Blanc. The legendary actor/comedian known as The Man of a Thousand Voices brought to life some of the most revered characters in animation history during a celebrated career spanning six decades. Blanc will appear in the shorts ? which are created using state-of-the-art CG animation and rendered in stereoscopic 3D ? via original songs he recorded in character in the 1950s.

The announcement was made today by Peter Roth, President, Warner Bros. Television, who oversees television animation for the Studio, and Sam Register, Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Animation (WBA). Register unveiled news of the three original shorts ? which also include an as-yet-untitled adventure featuring the Coyote and Road Runner ? during a presentation at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

?Everyone at Warner Bros. Animation grew up loving the Looney Tunes characters, and it has been both a great honor and an enormous challenge to continue the legacy of these animation icons and introduce them to a new generation of fans,? said Register. ?And to have the incomparable Mel Blanc voicing these characters once more is nothing short of a dream come true for all of us.?

Register added, ?This will probably be the last time that Looney Tunes fans will have an opportunity to see an original Mel Blanc short featuring these characters. We are honored to bring Mr. Blanc and his legacy to Looney Tunes fans once again.?
?Daffy?s Rhapsody: In the first of the new shorts, a persistent Elmer Fudd chases Daffy Duck (Blanc) on stage during a musical performance. The short features Blanc performing the song ?Daffy Duck?s Rhapsody.? Daffy?s Rhapsody is scheduled to debut in theaters on November 18, 2011, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Pictures? release of Happy Feet 2.
?I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat: A classic game of cat and bird transpires in Granny?s apartment as Tweety Bird goes to great lengths to avoid the clutches of his arch-nemesis Sylvester the Cat. The short also features the hit song of the same name, which was performed by Blanc, and sold over three million copies worldwide.
?Untitled Coyote & Road Runner: Wile E. Coyote?s epic quest to capture the Road Runner continues in this all-new short. Will the Coyote finally get his paws on his elusive prize?
?The three new shorts are all directed by Matthew O?Callaghan and executive produced by WBA?s Sam Register (The Looney Tunes Show, Teen Titans, Ben 10). The producers are Spike Brandt (The Looney Tunes Show, Duck Dodgers) and Tony Cervone (The Looney Tunes Show, Duck Dodgers).

The new theatrical shorts follow closely after the launch of The Looney Tunes Show, an all-new modern comedy series from Warner Bros. Animation which debuted in May and airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on Cartoon Network. The animated sitcom finds Bugs and Daffy living together as unlikely roommates: Bugs is as brazen, sarcastic and ahead-of-the-game as ever, while Daffy ? despite his narcissistic, sociopathic and paranoid tendencies ? is Bugs? best friend and seemingly permanent houseguest.
 
Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation

I didn't even know this thing still existed. I'll be attending tomorrow night at the Art Theatre in Long Beach.

Feels like the 90's!!!

Thanks for the heads up Doc. Actually, Kq & I found out at SDCC last year that Mike died...which put a damper on things. I, of course bought all the dvd's I did not currently own...but there is something special about when that first NO NECK JOE hits the big screen. Kq, we may have to check this in a theater old school.
 
MGM Animation Returns With ‘Punk Farm’ | /Film

MGM: re-animate! There was a point where MGM was noted as an animation house that employed talents like Friz Freling and introduced William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. But the old MGM Cartoon Studio is long since shuttered, and the last theatrical feature to come out of MGM Animation was All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, in 1996.

Now MGM is going back to animation, and the first feature to be developed is one of the few non-remake projects at the studio: an adaptation of the children?s book Punk Farm.

Variety says that The Simpsons Movie director David Silverman will rewrite Jim Hecht?s script and then direct the project. The story, based on Jarrett Krosoczka?s book, is about ?five barnyard animals (Sheep, Pig, Chicken, Goat and Cow) who form an underground rock band.? The book got no small amount of acclaim, and a sequel (Punk Farm on Tour, in 2007). DreamWorks was once developing a film, but the rights passed to MGM at some point.
 
Joel Silver Developing a Live-Action BEN 10 Movie

Silver is not so quick to accept such high praise:


?I tried to do (something similar) with Speed Racer and failed miserably. You always learn more from the ones that don?t work than the ones that do work.?



I am a defender of that film, and continue to believe Speed Racer was a creative success. But yes, at the box office: total failure. That doesn?t mean they?re going out of their way to mitigate risk. Said Richards:


?We really see this as a large, big-budgeted tentpole movie.?



If the movie is based on the first series, it?ll look something like this:


When ten year old Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen, and their grandfather Max are on their summer camping trip, Ben finds an alien pod on the ground. When he examines it he finds a mysterious watch-like device called the Omnitrix. The device permanently attaches itself to his wrist giving him the ability to transform into a variety of alien life-forms each with its own unique powers. Ben soon realizes that he has a responsibility to use his abilities to help others. Along with Gwen and Grandpa Max, Ben embarks on a summer-long adventure to fight evil both extraterrestrial and terrestrial. [Wikipedia]

Personally, I LOVE Speed Racer, and wish I had seen it in IMAX. That movie is visual orgasm material.
 
The Best of The Venture Bros. Cosplay

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‘Alois Nebel’ Trailer Rotoscopes Itself a Dark Thriller | Film School Rejects

“The end of the eighties in the twentieth century. Alois Nebel works as a dis*patcher at the small railway station in B?l? Potok, a remote village on the Czech-Polish border. He’s a loner, who prefers old timetables to people, and he finds the loneliness of the station tranquil – except when the fog rolls in. Then he hallucinates, sees trains from the last hundred years pass through the station. They bring ghosts and shadows from the dark past of Central Eu*rope. Alois can’t get rid of these nightmares and eventually ends up in sanatorium.

In the sanatorium, he gets to know The Mute, a man carrying an old photograph who was arrested by the police after crossing the border. No one knows why he came to B?l? Potok or who he’s looking for, but it is his past that propels Alois on his journey…”

That’s the synopsis for the Czech film Alois Nebel (which you might need since the teaser isn’t in English). It promises a great story based off of the Jaroslav Rudiš and Jarom?r 99 graphic novels, but it’s the look and feel of the teaser trailer that sells it.
 
"...working overtime fighting crime..."

SuperHeroHype (6/20/11)
This Summer, loyal fans and collectors can finally bring home one of the most enduring animated adventures from the 80?s when the long-awaited M.A.S.K.: The Complete Original Series DVD box set debuts nationwide on August 9, 2011 from Shout! Factory, in collaboration with FremantleMedia Enterprises. Poised to attract an audience of kids, young adults and parents who grew up with this animated series, this 12-DVD box set contains all 65 action-packed episodes ? known to fans as the original series aired in 1985, as well as insightful bonus features. A must-have for collectors to complete their pop culture video library, M.A.S.K.: The Complete Original Series is available for pre-order now from Amazon.com and major retailers.
 
Review: ‘Cars 2’ Features All New Parts, But With Less Than Pleasing Results > The Playlist

Why was “Cars 2” made? Well, for the money, of course. While the first film is one of Pixar’s underperformers when it comes to box office, it has made billions (with a capital bee) annually on merchandise and licensing and has become the centerpiece of a billion dollar (again, with a capital bee) expansion of Disney’s California Adventure theme park. In the years since the original film’s release, it’s become one of Disney’s most recognizable brands, with the sequel serving as an incredibly expensive commercial for bed sheets, Crocs, and matchbox toys. At one point, Mater actually sings the State Farm insurance jingle (yes, they’re one of the movie’s multitude of promotional partners) and that’s when the ungainly muddle of a movie really, truly became clear. [C-]
 
Patton Oswalt 'Futurama' | Inside TV | EW.com

Patton Oswalt is no longer just a comedy giant in the figurative sense. The comedian is voicing an unsightly 50-foot-tall human-like alien ? call him ?Unattractive Giant Monster? ? that will wreak havoc all over ?Benderama,? an episode of Futurama that airs Thursday night on Comedy Central. (?Benderama? airs at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, after ?Neutopia? kicks off the animated comedy?s seventh season at 10 p.m.) The 35-word summary: The hot-headed UGM attacks the Futurama crew after Bender insults him. When he returns to apologize, he loses his cool, which ultimately leads to an epic showdown with a supersized Bender.

If you can?t wait until Thursday to see Oswalt in action, check out this clip in which UGM is insulted by Zap Brannigan before having one of his ?temper-control incidents.?
 
Herman And Katnip Coming To DVD For A Bit Of The Old Ultraviolence Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors

Reputedly the inspiration for Itchy and Scratchy, the Tom & Jerry knock off Herman and Katnip is infamous for going rather too far with its comedy violence.

Indeed, I don?t think I?ve ever seen these toons at full throttle, because they were censored sometime after their premiere and have spent decades on TV in snipped-down form.

I assume that some cuts were also made to reign in the apparent racial stereotyping of Buzzy the crow.

Note: Arnold Stang, famously the voice of Top Cat, was previously on the other side of the eternal divide, essaying the role of Herman the mouse; Katnip?s voice was provided by Sid Raymond, who was also the man who quaked on behalf of Baby Huey, the diapered up duck of Harvey Comics.

Classic Media have today announced that they?ll be releasing a Herman and Katnip collection this September. So far, there?s no indication if the toons will be uncut or restored, but I wouldn?t hold my breath for too much ? the current Amazon price tag is short of $8.

With a run time of 60 minutes we can be sure that this won?t be a comprehensive collection either. Nonetheless, I have some hope that we?ll get at least a taste of the barbarism, surreal excess and blood thirsty lunacy to have inspired the cartoon charnel house that is Itchy and Scratchy.
 
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