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Charlie Brown For Sale!

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

Charlie Brown ChristmasI know there are people out there who’d kill to have the image of Jesus appear to them on a potato chip. And there are those who get a thrill out of bumping into a celebrity - even a D-List one - at the local Costco. There’s also a group of people who’d love to live in a house that was once owned by a famous person.

As in: “I love this person so much that I want to live in his house after he’s dead.” It’s an odd fetish to have and thank goodness it’s not mine.

But if you love Charlie Brown, Peanuts and Snoopy and the Fantagraphics reprints can’t satisfy your love, there’s something that might. The Santa Rosa house on Montecito Avenue that creator Charles Schulz lived in back in the 1970s is up for sale. The two-story, 14-room house, originally built in 1949, has two master bedrooms (make of that what you will), five full baths and a powder room. There’s also a swimming pool, a cabana, a 1000 square-foot guest house (with two bedrooms and a full kitchen), and a chapel on the gated property.

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Read More | San Francisco Chronicle

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Monsters, Inc. Blu-ray review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Disney, Animation, Family, Comedy, DVD Reviews,

Monsters Inc Blu-ray reviewMonsters, Inc. is the fourth feature-length film put out by , and in our opinion, it’s the one that pretty much put a stamp on the company’s reputation for their superior work in combining great storytelling, well-thought out characters, and mind-blowing technology. Monsters, Inc. hit theaters in 2001, which happens to be the same year that Shrek made his big screen debut, but Monsters ended up grossing more in the end. Part of the allure was the way Pixar pioneered the CG-animation to a whole new level of realism. The textures of the skin, scales, and especially fur on the animals was something not yet seen, and any viewer was impressed. Now that the movie is available on , we get to enjoy those details all over again. Of course, our Monsters, Inc. Blu-ray review will be focused on much more than just the visuals, but we have to say, it’s hard not to notice. wanna know if Monsters, Inc. on Blu-ray is worth it? Read on.

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Weekend Reading: Mo Willems, Bruce Timm, TMNT and Wally Wood

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

batgirlAnother big week for people with money to throw around as Nickelodeon just bought the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for $60 million. This is yet another reason why it’s great to hold onto your copyrights. If you’re just working on Batman And The Outsiders #128, you already know it’s a basically a boilerplate work-for-hire contract, but if you’ve created Dingo, Rescue Dog Of The Outback get that thing copyrighted in your name and hold onto it. Because it’s always better for you to have the control - and any related money - than it is to just give it away to a corporation. In the meantime, if you’re tired of reading about contract negotiations, take a look around the internet and discover what folks like Mo Willems, Alan Kupperburg, Bill Crider and Bruce Timm are up to. Here’s how you can fill up your weekend:

Alan Kupperburg: Steven Thompson over at Hooray for Wally Wood, has a nice interview with Alan talking about his days working for Wood. Great stuff. Here’s a taste: “So then he (Wood) asked me if I could pencil Cannon for him. I took the pages home and opened up my T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and copied out the appropriate panels and adapted them to the situation. And Woody flipped out. He said, ‘You’re hired.’ Within three weeks I was also writing Sally and Cannon.”

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Mo Willems, Bruce Timm, TMNT and Wally Wood


Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition Blu-ray review

Snow White Blu-ray review diamond editionNot many people realize this, but Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is ‘s very first full-length animated motion picture. Some would say it is the most prized possession inside the Disney Vault, since one could argue that this movie not only pushed the still-young Disney studio well on its way to being the global powerhouse that it is today, but it also expanded and legitimized the art of animation. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first movie to be released as part of the Disney Platinum Series, which has been around for a while now. However, when it came time to get the Blu-ray treatment, Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio were both released before Snow White, as Disney wanted to get this one just right. The result? The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition Blu-ray set.

Is it worthy of the title? Journey with us as we dig deep into the Snow White Diamond Edition and find out.

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Marge Simpson: From TV Mom to Playboy Bunny

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Animation, Comedy, Prime Time, FOX, Gossip,

Description

It’s not a joke. Marge Simpson will soon be featured in a special three-page Playboy spread that showcases her various charms - and yes, she’ll be nude. The November spread will also offer an in-depth interview. It’s all part of the 20th anniversary celebration for , which is signed up to run on FOX for the next few years.

Playboy readers will still be treated to the usual, non-animated form of Playmate in the issue - Marge is just thrown in as an interesting extra.

Read More | E! Online

Remake News: Hong Kong Phooey, The Smurfs and More


Hong Kong Phooey: There’s nothing audiences love more than talking dogs, so why not have them fight crime as well? Alex Zamm (Inspector Gadget 2) has been tapped to direct a live-action/animated version of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon. In the original TV program, Scatman Crothers voiced the kung fu fighting title character. When Hong Kong Phooey wasn’t cleaning up a police station as a janitor, he was fighting crime on the streets. The series first debuted in 1974.

Click to continue reading Remake News: Hong Kong Phooey, The Smurfs and More


Submit Shorts to The Hyde Tube

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Movies,

The Hyde Tube Screenshot

Budding filmmakers, there is a new site for you to put up your stuff, the Hyde Tube. Submit live action, animation, 3D and mixed media of no more than 3 minutes under a pseudonym. Their jury will screen to make the final selections. After the process, if an agent or record company likes your stuff, they will contact you. Make the cut and join the best shorts to be shown at screenings in Paris, London and New York with awards to be given out. We have to admit, though, you are going to have some competition.

 

Read More | The Hyde Tube

WEEKEND READING: BILL PEET, WALT DISNEY, and WUMPS

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

BillPeet
Unless you’re caught up in the nerd world of animation credits, the names of some of the top animators in the business are probably not on the tip of your tongue. They should be, though.

BILL PEET is definitely one of those guys. One of Disney’s great “storymen” – terrific artists who wrote scripts and gags in storyboard form. He worked for Disney on classic animated films from Song of the South and Pinocchio to Jungle Book. He’s the only storyman in the history of Disney Studios who did all the storyboards for an entire animated film and he did it twice: The Sword And The Stone and One Hundred And One Dalmations. You can read more about Peet at his website.

Even in his spare time, he was prolific and managed to publish a pile of children’s books that he wrote and illustrated: The Wump World, Huge Harold, Jennifer and Josephine, Pamela Camel, The Whingdingdilly are just a few of his titles and you can get the list here along with a nice cover gallery.

There’s also an essay from Peet that’s been culled together from his speeches. It’s called Bill Peet’s Approach To Writing and it has a lot of snippets of great advice for anyone who wants to create. Here’s a taste:

Click to continue reading WEEKEND READING: BILL PEET, WALT DISNEY, and WUMPS


Early Reviews for Pixar’s Up


Although opening night at the is usually dedicated to a French film, the 62nd annual event will be going in an entirely new direction. On May 13, a Disney production is getting the spotlight.

Up, the first animated feature to ever kick off the international event, is Pixar’s first PG-rated film since 2004’s The Incredibles. The comedy tells the story of a retired balloon salesman (voiced by Ed Asner) who decides to carry out his deceased wife’s dream of traveling to South America. Unfortunately, he accidentally takes an 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer along for the ride.

The film, which is also being released in 3-D, was directed by Pete Docter, the same man who helmed Monsters, Inc. and co-wrote . Up doesn’t officially debut until May 29, but you can read a few of the glowing reviews after the jump.

Click to continue reading Early Reviews for Pixar’s Up

Read More | Disney

DoInk Simplified Animation

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Internet,

DoInk

Enjoy, discuss and create animation. That is the description that DoInk uses to describe their super-easy online drawing tool that needs only Java to work. Similar to Paint, drag and drop others’ single shots or animation or come up with your own and share it. The online app also leaves ghosts to help animate and can layer clone individual frames that are adjustable. When completed, you can email it, put it on your blog or social network for others to appreciate.

 

Read More | DoInk

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