How to Animate Film Cartoons signed by Preston Blair

As an illustrator and animator, I have always had a copy of the Walter Foster publication How to Animate Film Cartoons by Preston Blair on hand. I've used the illustrations and exercises within countless times for myself and my students when I teach animation to kids.

So imagine my surprise when a recent trip to the local Goodwill 'Bargain Barn' yielded this: Not only did I find an older printing than my 17 year old copy, but this one was signed by Preston Blair himself!

How to Animate Film Cartoons signed on the cover (and inside the book too) by Preston Blair!

Now I know most people could care less about this as most people wouldn't recognize the name. But chances are you've seen Mr. Blair's animation work: Fantasia, Bambi, The Flintstones, the list goes on and on. Oh yeah, then there's this sequence too:

Yup, Mr. Blair is the animator responsible for 'Red Hot Riding Hood' etc. - the gals that made the Wolf go ga-ga and made a hero out of Droopy, and pretty much inspired every cheesecake drawing I've ever done myself. Which is a few.

So finding this book, signed, at the Bargain Barn - a place where the stuff that doesn't sell in the Goodwill stores gets piled in massive bins and sells by the pound  before being incinerated (I hope, man there is some JUNK there!) - was a real lucky score indeed, and I can't help but find it more than amazing that a guy like myself, who would actually appreciate this thing, found it and was able to rescue it one small step before the landfill.

League of Extraordinary Bloggers :: Waterworks

I haven't been able to take part in the last many 'League' assignments, but this is one is such a no brainer for me that I couldn't pass it up:

Who cried when Old Yeller got shot? What movie, TV show, book, etc. turns you into a blubbering baby every time you see it?

This one was easy (and I thought I had posted it in the past, but maybe not?)

I first saw this animated short at an animation festival around the time my first daughter was born. It may have been close beforehand, or when her mother was pregnant with her, or possibly shortly after she was born. Regardless, I cried like a baby in the movie theatre when this played and am now father to two daughters and this little animated short makes me cry just THINKING about it.

Every.

Single.

Time.

I'm choking up right now as I type this.

'Father and Daughter' by Michael de Wit.



Now grab your Kleenex box and check out a few other League members and what gets them misty eyed:

Green Plastic Squirt Gun
She's Crafti
Flashlights are Something to Eat

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Robin cops a feel!

At least it appears so in this screen grab from 'The Nine Lives of Batman' as spotted over at Superhero Shows.

Poisunday Ivy :: Super Best Friends Forever

Now THIS is a Poison Ivy design I can dig. (I was going to say 'get behind' but I don't need your filthy filthy minds sullying the comments section!)

Too cute!

Poison Ivy makes an all too brief appearance on last week's Super Best Friends Forever animated short.



via Superhero Shows

Poisunday Ivy :: Poison Ivy Animated

Although debuting way back in Batman #181 (June 1966,) Poison Ivy did not make her animated debut until Batman: The Animated Series Season 1 Episode 5 "Pretty Poison" which aired on September 14, 1992. Poison Ivy's initial animated designed was provided by artist Lynne Naylor, who designed Ivy to be shorter and more cherubic than the other gals in Gotham to give her more of a wood nymph vibe.

Cute...

...and even cuter when she's angry.

Ivy, along with the rest of Gotham's finest, was re-designed in 1997 for The New Batman Adventures, giving her more of a streamlined, plantlike vibe...

...and occasionally, a sweater.

This same design for Ivy later appeared in an episode of Justice League wherein a lobotomized Miss Isely prunes plants outside an alternate universe version of Arkham Asylum.

'The Batman' brought yet another Poison Ivy redesign in Season 3; Ivy takes on a more art nouveau look ...

...while also being re-imagined as a teenager (and 'fallen' friend of Barbara Gordon.)

Poison Ivy appeared in a few episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

This design takes the best of Batman Animated (curvy classy) while still giving Ivy the plant-enhanced vibe of TNBA with that green pallor. I personally love the flowers in her hair.

Most recently Poison Ivy appeared on Young Justice in episode 14 of Season 1, titled 'Revelation.'

Not my favorite design, those face vines make her look a little creepy; and if Poison Ivy is supposed to be anything, it is sexy, not creepy. Sexy is her schtick after all!

Harley Qwednesday :: Happy Birthday Bruce Timm!

Today, February 8th, is Bruce Timm's birthday! Mr. Timm is of course co-creator of Harley Quinn (along with Paul Dini) and was responsible for the look of the animated DC Universe that began with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and carried through Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League and JLU among others and still influences animation, comic books and action figures to this day.

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Hey Catwoman, are you afraid of heights...?

...because your zipper sure is!

From the Catwoman Animated Short that comes with the Batman: Year One DVD/BluRay on sale 10/18 everywhere cartoon boobies are sold!

Check out an exclusive clip at MTV Geek.

Harley Qwednesday :: Two of a Kind

Harley Quinn made her 'The Batman' debut in the season 4 episode 'Two of a Kind.' As of writing this I haven't even seen the episode myself, but I was able to find it at veoh.com. That's how much I loves all my kiddles out there in cyber land!

So check it out!


Watch The Batman - Two of a Kind in Animation  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Avengers vs. GI Joe

I am loving the new cartoon series Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. After decades of being in the shadow of DC, finally Marvel does an animated series right. Avengers takes all that was great about Justice League Unlimited in terms of scope and story, but of course is rocking the Marvel Universe. And like JLU, Avengers packs tons and tons of superheroes and villains into almost every episode. The comic book eye candy alone is worth the price of admission.

I am more of a DC guy than a Marvel guy, so a lot of the subordinate characters are either new to me or I'm only barely aware of, which is a fun change of pace since my DC knowledge is pretty encyclopedic.

But beyond the Marvel Universe, the recent episode 'Gammaworld Part 2' featured a cameo I did recognize and was surprised as hell to see:

Piloting a helicopter and attempting to subdue the Hulk is none other than Wild Bill of GI Joe fame!

Okay so he never says 'Hi, I'm Wild Bill of GI Joe fame. Now you know...and knowing is half the battle!' but if that ain't Wild Bill I'll eat his hat!

Stuff like this makes me all giddy inside. Thank you to whomever was involved in bringing this little Easter Egg to the Avengers cartoon.

And if you haven't already seen them or need to watch again to catch Wild Bill's cameo, you can watch parts one and two of Gammaworld at Marvel.com

Harley Qwednesday :: Brave and the Bold!

Harley Quinn made her 'Brave and the Bold' animated debut on the recent episode entitled 'Emperor Joker' which, as of writing this post (Harley Quesday night) is available for viewing on Cartoon Network.

If you haven't seen it yet, DO IT!

Harley appears as a Betty Boop-esque silent film comedienne as Joker and some other goons (all dressed as silent film comedians) rob a comedy museum. Joker later gains Bat-Mite's power and hilarity ensues.

You can see Buster Keaton goon and Charlie Chaplain goon in the background. There were also Harold Lloyd and Fatty Arbuckle goons. How cool is that?! And my daughter couldn't stop laughing at Joker's whoopie-cushion crown. The concept really tickled her funny bone, I can't imagine where she gets her sense of humor from!

Similar to Harley's Batman: The Animated Series debut, Harley's personality plays a bigger part than her costume in this episode. In fact, she never wears her 'usual' duds in this Batman: The Brave and the Bold - although they do appear...

...on Bat-Mite! And get a load of Joker-Mite looking all Jack Nicholson. Love it!

Well, that's it for today's Harley Qwednesday. Say 'goodnight,' Harley.

"Goodnight, Harley!"

Batman Under Where?

Like every other Geek in Geekdom worth his Geekredentials, I too got my hands on Batman: Under the Red Hood this week. Under the Red Hood is the latest in a long and almost always awesome line-up of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

So how was it? Amazing. One of the best DC Universe animated flicks yet.

But be warned, it isn't for the feint of heart. Under the Red Hood is pretty damn brutal at times. Many times. But that certainly shouldn't surprise anyone even vaguely familiar with the comic book source material it's based on.

This ain't no Brave and the Bold!

I won't get all spoilery; I'll keep my review here general and brief. The voice talent is great, John DiMaggio (currently best known for his work as Aquaman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold) does an excellent Joker. Jensen Ackles does very well as Red Hood, Bruce Greenwood does a Batman that at times even sounds a bit like Kevin Conroy, and fan favorite Neil Patrick Harris steals the show with some great lines as Nightwing.

And if anyone from DC/WB is listening, based on his appearance here, I think a Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing animated feature length film would be pretty sweet! Just saying.

The animation and action are tops (although there were a few too many 20+ foot vertical backwards jumps and other push physics a little too far, even for a cartoon leaps for my liking,) and the story has some surprising depth and a few great cameos and flashback sequences.

The Jonah Hex Showcase Short before the feature is good too. Not great, but fun. I think the Spectre Showcase Short that appeared before Crisis on Two Earths sort of set the bar a little too high for JH to reach, but it's a nice add and probably seventeen hundred times better than the recent Jonah Hex movie.

I picked Under The Red Hood up at Best Buy, and was able to get the last exclusive copy, which comes with a Red Hood figurine (similar to Crisis' exclusive Owlman figurine.)

A fun little add-on; I wouldn't have worried about it if I didn't get it, but it cost the same as the 2 disc special edition DVD with or without it, so I'm all over the free toy angle!


The second disc includes a featurette called Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson. I'm pretty sure you can guess what that's about; and two episodes of Batman the animated series. I haven't popped that DVD in yet so I don't know which episodes.

Also included is a "First Look" at the next DC/WB animated offering: Superman/Batman Apocalypse. That one should be fun!

Buy stuff by me at Zazzle!

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

I took my lunch break today and ran down to Best Buy to get the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths DVD on the day of it's release. I have been loving all the DC/WB direct to DVD animated movies, and although some have been stronger than others the fan-boy in me has never been disappointed. While I don't always run right out to buy them on day one, the exclusive mini Owlman offered with the Best Buy release, in addition to all I had heard and seen regarding this newest feature (Spectre short, people!) had me waiting in breathless anticipation for it's release today.

Let me start at the beginning. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is the first DC/WB animated feature to include a short "Showcase" cartoon. I imagine this is going to be a common occurrence now, and damned if they didn't blow the concept completely out of the water with their Spectre short.

Holleee Hanna!

I had tears in my eyes this thing was so good! Set in Los Angeles in the seventies, Jim Corrigan is a detective on the case of a murdered Hollywood mogul. The storytelling style is very old-school horror flick with an era relevant cop movie flavor, with a lot of homages to the genres mixed in. If you've ever read a good Spectre story, THIS is a damn good Spectre story!

After such a power packed opening act, I wasn't sure the main feature could live up to the adrenaline charge. My fears were put to rest about two seconds into the title sequence, and the fun didn't end until the credits rolled.

The story for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths was originally envisioned as a bridge between the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series, and fans will immediately feel the vibe. But those who did not follow the two series won't be lost or left behind, it hits all the right notes and doesn't leave anyone feeling like they "missed an issue."

The story is deep, the characterizations are spot-on, and the fight sequences are choreographed to near perfection. There's real gravitas to the threat hovering over our heroes, and real victory in their achievements. Cameos abound for the geeks, but again (and I can't emphasize enough the value of this component) the casual viewer will enjoy it without feeling like they aren't "in on the joke." For instance, my daughter enjoyed the film immensely without having to know that Superwoman's minions are Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr. and Uncle Marvel (in evil form, of course.) But I knew it. And I squeed a little on the inside.

So here's my recommendation. Buy it. Rent it. Borrow it. Steal it. Do whatever you gotta do to SEE IT!

I personally set out for the Best Buy release because of the Owlman figurine, which I recommend if you're into that sort of thing. It's smaller than DC Infinite Heroes figures, so it doesn't really fit into any current DC toyline, and it isn't really an action figure anyways as only the arms and head have articulation (and the arms are pretty useless with that massive cape.) But it's a nice add-in and the 2 disc DVD set with him included is only $19.99 right now at Best Buy, so it's worth it if you can get it.

The second disc includes a featurette with the DC editorial/creative team that came up with the recent Crisis comics storylines and two episodes of the Justice League animated series (appropriately enough: A Better World parts 1 and 2.)

Also included is a "First Look" at the next DC/WB animated offering: Batman Under the Red Hood. Man oh man, I am SO looking forward to that one!