Winds of earthly change

Bubbly Lizard

Ahh These Lazy February Days, so nice to sit back and enjoy the simpler things in life.

Most Dangerous Music (by Hironobu Kageyama)

This might be the flimsiest excuse for a post I have ever had. This is really only the soundtrack for an anime, but I do like it so. The actual anime is enjoyable, if completely over the top ridiculous. Definitely for people who think modern anime characters are too petite and especially for those who love the road warrior(which of course includes me).

I guarantee you will have a hard time forgetting what little English there actually is in this song out of your head. There's no real reason for liking it, it's just awesome rock-synth that is totally 80's. And from Japan no less! Preposterous, yet so delicious. (Incidentally, this is not the order presented in the anime, quite the opposite; and, yes, the middle is instrumental only).

Edit: The singer in these songs (the one whose combination of English and Japanese is so delightful) is called Hironobu Kageyama. I assumed he didn't do anything else but apparently this was his first of many songs for anime. And he has his own band of other vocalists. Hmm. Neat. Checkout more info here.

Klaymation Kat?!

I love stop-motion and I love newspaper strips, but I have rarely seen them combined. This makes me really wish there were more.

History redacted

Video Games from MUSCLEBEAVER on Vimeo.

A very bizarre video covering the history of video games (somewhat, and eccentrically). Done for a German documentary, stick through the minute of pong and you will be rewarded.

Hirshfeld challenges Disney

[Enlarge Here]

Originally from john k's site, I'm redirecting it here because it was posted a long time ago, and even then buried in a lengthy essay. Here, by itself, it has an entirely new meaning. Enjoy

Zombies, stop-motion Joes, and the Thing

Zombie Zomibe:Driving Clip Simon Gesrel Xavier Ehretsmann (6:25)


Continuing the music and animation theme:

Zombie Zombie is a band influenced by Goblin (a band headed by horror great Dario Argento, who score a great deal of his films) and the early electric score of director John Carpenter. They also pay tribute to his best film--and one of the best films ever-- The Thing by recreating it with G.I. Joes and scoring it themselves. I think it's one of the best remakes/reimagining of a superb film, which in itself is one of the best remakes/reimagining of all time. Well done.

Spider Tunes

67's Spiderman Bizarre Background Music Podcast!










WFMU's Kliph Nesteroff:

"The second and third season music tracks come from the KPM music library in England, they still exist, and they sound great. The podcast also features some reminiscence from the man who provided Spiderman's voice in the series (as well as "Hermie" in Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer), Paul Soles.

Perhaps the most revelatory piece of information that the discovery of these KPM masters unearthed is the name of the tracks themselves. Since the music was recorded for generic purposes to be used by anybody for any project or production, the sounds do not possess Spiderman related titles. However, if you've ever had the frightening experience of watching the notorious episode Revolt in the Fifth Dimension, you likely felt that it was a psychedelic cartoon made by animators high on acid. Turns out that the title of the crazy music in that episode was, indeed, titled LSD!"

My thoughts:

Although it is not cartoony is the slightest(and often verges on the abominable human style of Filmation) the Spiderman Series was often quite fun and(once Ralph Bakshi took over) very bizzare--but artistic; it's easy to seen prototypes of the work seen in Frtiz the cat and Wizards--. Once such way to note as such is the unusual background music played in the film itself.* I guess it does show that tone and intention can change even the drabbest material. As Ebert was fond of saying" Movies are not what they are about , but how they they are about ". Bakshi proved it only too well.

*Another thing to consider: how often the great music in Bakshi's films compliment his techniques. What would the fantastical mystique of Wizards be without Andrew Belling's great synthesizer score, or the instant retro felling of Hey Good Lookin" sans John Madara and Ric Sandler's great and authentic sounding 50's tunes? Even proponents of the aforementioned movies (such as Weirdo, who is otherwise very complete in his love for Hey Good Lookin') overlook what the full wonder of the medium of film/animation produces.

By the way, check out my previous post on Bakshi (including Revolt in the Fifth Dimension) here.

Also, I'm posting a lot of these at night and and setting for at a later time,as my work has been very consuming lately. Sorry if some incompressible ideas or misapplied words happen.

Mad Monster Party poster (by Frank Frazetta)

[Click to Enlarge]

Frank Frazetta and Rankin-Bass, an odd but wonderful combination. For the theatrical release only (and quite an enjoyable romp it is).

The secrect spaceman in Bakshi/Kricfalusi's past?

In a recent post, Eddie Fitgerald reveals that Rocket Robinhood, considered by some--including Jerry Beck-- to be one of the worst animated shows of all time.was a big influence on John K. Even as big as Clampett!

In the comments John K. had this to say about the show, when he chatted with Ralph Bakshi;

"It has the greatest theme song of any cartoon.It's like 12 songs in one. And it actually works, unlike Tiny Toons and Animaniacs.

How do you like that rocket on Little John's belt?

There were 2 seasons. the first season was by Shamus and that's the one I like.

The characters are cornier looking, like Clutch Cargo- sort of half cartoon-half realistically but drawn by people who couldn't draw realistically or cartoony.

Ralph (my hero) ruined the show when he took over for the 2nd season, because he made the mistake of adding quality to it.

He brought in serious talented comic artists like Gray Morrow to redesign it, lay it out and make it not look so campy. His heart was in the right place, but it was just much funnier when it was corny.

I was working on the Harlem Shuffle one day and Ralph called me into his office to shoot the crap (a daily ritual).

He had his huge fist wrapped around a bottle of whiskey or something and I could tell he was a bit stewed and in one of his mellow sentimental moods.

He wanted to talk about his adventures in the cartoon world. He talked about his Terrytoons days with much nostalgia, Fritz the Cat, Mighty Heroes and then I innocently asked, "Yeah, all that's great Ralph, but what about 'Rocket Robin Hood?'"

Holy crap. Ralph spat his whiskey all over me.

"What the F@*#$&?!!!" He flew out of his desk and looked out the door into the hallway to see who was listening. Then he slammed it and pulled his chair up close to me, sitting backwards in it.

His gargantuan head was an inch from mine and his eyes squinted. I could feel his hot whiskey breath melting my eyelashes. Dust mites leapt to their death.

He grabbed me by the shirt and said "What the f**k do you know about Goddamn Wocket Wobin Hood, asthhole?"

"What else do you know about me, you little punk? You follow me awound everywhere don't you?"

Then I told him all the reasons I thought it was a great show and how proud he should be to have his named on such a classic of Canadian culture.

It never dawned on him that it was funny. When he realized that, he tossed his head back and started guffawing at the top of his lungs until I thought he was gonna choke to death.

After he settled, he loaned close again and said "You kill me, Belushi. What the f**k else do you know about me thmart guy?

Do you know the story about me being chased across the Canadian border by mounted police?"

The story has to do with Rocket Robin Hood and is worthy of being added to our great animation legend. Maybe I'll tell the story on my blog sometime.

I also met the "creator" of Rocket Robin Hood - Al Guest, who is another real character. So many stories."


Very amusing, and an eye opener in the relative id of both cartoonists.

This is also the perfect chance to showcase an episode of the '69 Spider-Man show,which Bakshi also worked on, that borrowed heavily (or rather, ripped of) entire scenes from the show. Definitely trippy, and overcomes the stilted animation and somewhat bland human design.

Part 1

Part 2

Freakies Commerical

You may or may not have seen this commercials before, but here's something you didn't know: the one and only Preston Blair animated these commercials Yes, the same man held high for teaching the $100,000 animation course animated these bizarre little monsters. The dancing scenes are sure to ether load you with sugar-induced glee or scare you beyond belief. Which will it be?

Pogo's Special Birthday Special (by Chuck Jones)

Part 1 (08:25)


Part 2 (08:58)


Part 3 (07:41)

Made in 1969, for the 20th anniversary of the Pogo Strip, Pogo's Special Birthday Special was Chuck Jones'(along with Ben Washham) faithful adaptation, similar to the more famous Grinch Special. But while the latter was universally hailed, Birthday Special is a matter of debate among both fans of and not of the original strip(as well as Jones'); some viewing it as a failure to capture the spirit of Walt Kelly's original work(it should be noted that Kelly himself contributed to the story,as well as voicing some characters).

Personally I find it very much an enjoyable program, with the small caveat of it being rather wordy, which is odd considering how critical Jones was of illustrated radio animation, the guidelines of which Birthday Party rarely deviates from.

Tell you what, you decide whether it trashes the source material or not, with scans of it courtesy from the asifa archive, and an introduction from Mike Fontanelli.

Walt Kelly's Pogo

Extra:
Concept Art
(From Abe Levitow's site)

Forbidden Animation (thematically of Batman)

This single shot was promoted to show the glass ceiling of subjects the Batman animated series was allowed --which you can see by turning upside down--, although it was still a little looser than 1980's cartoons. Also, it's a really nice, well constructed picture (courtesy of Bruce Timm), which I always appreciate.

Dinosaurs by Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien

When I was younger there was no greater point of fascination than dinosaurs. I drew them, read books, and watched movies about them. One of my favorite parts was from the film The Animal World. It was only years later I found out it was by Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien , who made two of my favorite films, Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Mighty Joe Young (respectively). This segment, originally planned as a series of static toys, is among of the best of both stop motions gods. Let's see if they inspire the same enthusiasm in you.

Oh, and

From Russia, with Pooh

Pooh has become such a corporate icon over the last few years (thanks primarily to Disney) that its hard to remember what an imagination encouraging creature he was in his original books (the great director Werner Herzog mentioned a Marshall Plan copy of Winnie is among his favorite possessions). However, this film does much to recall that kernel of wit the original story had, as well as allowing famous Russian animator Fyodor Khitruk to show his imagination as well. It's also strangely similar to a NES game, reminding me of a certain post.

Enjoy!

Part I (09:20)


Part II ( 10:41)


Part III ( 10:24)


Part IV (09:15)

Alice by Jan Svankmajer

From Disney to the polar opposite, Czech surrealist stop motion animator Jan Svankmajer. I've heard people who say they hate stop motion, but, along with Trnka, Svankmajer is usually the exception, moving the process of moving objects to an art. I also recommend Faust.

Part I

Part II

Walt Disney- "Secret Lives"

This is part of a UK documentary series(Secret Lives) about the darker side of Walt Disney (or at least the un-PC side, to show he wasn't as boring as depicted in most history books). It everything said true? Probably not.But then nobody every said a documentary is completely accurate and one sided. However, I do find it funny Schultz is adamant about showing the potentially embarrassing side of Disney after his death, only to have the same fate happen to him with the recent book.

"Includes interviews with artists Bill Melendez, David Hilberman, Mary Eastman, Bill Hurtz, Marie Beardsley, and Bill Littlejohn, screenwriter Joan Scott, and biographers Marc Eliot, Richard Schickel, and Bob Thomas."

Part I (09:17)

Part II (08:11)

Part III (09:35)

Part IV (08:11)

Part V (06:53)

Part VI (08:28)

"Huh?" by Mike Judge

I never understood why Office Space was the most popular of the early Judge shorts, because every other one was way better, including this one. It may not be that great graphically(hence not a cartoon) but it does deserve to be animated. I'm not sure why, maybe its the color or the way he's so sincere. Anyway, enjoy this oldie.

Quizzical Much?

Bill Peet on writing for animation

This is probably one of the best interviews I have ever read about not only Disney and its mad environment (including all the cutthroats) but also writing and drawing for animation. A must read.

http://www.cagle.com/hogan/interviews/peet/home.asp

Who is the real stooge?

Sadly, that southern producer has brought me more laughs than all of Zemeckis projects beyond(and including) Forest Gump. The ones before, however, are a different story.