Hallowe'en is coming!

It's October! That means Halowe'en time, and that means Treehouse of Horror time! Check out this clip of this year's opening. The couch gag was conceived by Guillermo Del Toro.

2013 Animation Festival Preview

Hi! Long time no blog. The Ottawa International Animation Festival starts next Wednesday! It is basically the best thing that happens in Ottawa all year. This year I am busy with friends' weddings so I won't be seeing much of it, but fortunately a lot of the films are available online! Here's a preview of what you are missing by not going:


I Am Alone and My Head Is On Fire by David OReilly - McLaren's Workshop App from National Film Board of Canada on Vimeo.

Can't sleep

It's been several weeks! Well, tonight I just can't get to sleep. Here is the kind of thing that my mind dregs up on a sleepless night. Prepare for nostalgia (assuming you are from Ontario and grew up on mid-nineties YTV, that is).

All Shapes and Sizes

This is from Imaginaria. YTV used to air these things as "Short Circutz." Remember, "Chomp chomp! Got to eat a record, uh-huh," and "He's Styro, Styro the Dog?"

Actually, I liked all of these so much that it's hard to pick one to post so I think I'll post another one.

Bells and Whistles

Don't forget, we are of the butterfly. Whatever that meant.

College Humor Highlights

Saw some stuff on College Humor today that I thought was worth sharing.



1)In this video, College Humor clarifies the meaning of the title "Paperman." I knew that magical flying paper stuff was all too good to be true.

2) Click here to see an article about candle scents that you might like but which will probably never exist. I think my favourite one would be "tennis ball can." I would add "Canadian Tire" and "That Powder Soap They Have at Walt Disney World" to my personal wish list.

Mickey Mouse in "Croissant de Triomphe"

Mickey Mouse - Croissant de Triomphe by Flixgr

I used to be a big fan of Mickey Mouse, but recently I've lost interest. Why? Because for a long time it's felt like Disney lost interest in him. CG Mickey? No thanks. Not even Kingdom Hearts Mickey could resuscitate his character for me. I know, I hear you gasp.

But wait! It looks like Disney is staring to remember that they make cartoons! They are making 19 to be exact, starting with this inexplicably french one. Is there an English dub? I have no idea; Disney only lets Americans watch stuff on their site, so I found this video on a french site. Don't worry, the french isn't difficult.

Maybe there's hope that Mickey will be redeemed. There's also talk of a Mickey Mouse/Roger Rabbit movie. Take a look at the news here.

Via ign.

Destino

Here's a curiosity. Many years ago Walt Disney and Salvador Dali collaborated to make a short film, but it was not completed in the end because it was too expensive. Then, years later, Roy E. Disney decides to pull out the storyboards and make the film, and it was completed in 2003. The results are... interesting.

Having trouble understanding it? Read on for my thoughts on interpretation.

Disney Animation

I've seen a few articles today mentioning that Disney has posted their Paperman animated short to their youtube account. Which is cool. I checked out their channel and I thought it was even cooler that Disney's been putting up some stuff about computer animation and the tech they use. Check out this video demonstrating hair shaders:



Entertainment weekly's got some stuff about the next Muppets movie. You should check it out.

Love on the Line

Happy New Year world! A cartoon I once saw at the animation festival popped into my head today and I thought I would share it. This is what teenagers got up to in the time before the internet and the telephone. Haven't we come a long way?

This is What Happens When You Show Aliens a Baby and a Microwave

I saw this posted over at io9 and I had to share it! These aliens are obsessed with microwaving this baby. Clay alien gore follows.



The creator, Lee Hardcastle has a slightly disturbing low budget claymation website that you can visit here. If you're into that sort of thing. I won't judge.

Zelda is What?!?!?

This video is further proof that Link from A Link to the Past needs to wear pants.

Super Mario Stuff That Must Be Seen

It's been a very Mario kind of day.

Thing #1 I have to share comes via GoNintendo:

The cover of the final issue of Nintendo Power. This is the same layout as the cover of the first issue from 25 years ago with vastly improved clay figures and a newly added flag pole to signal the end. I was thinking it would be sad to see the very last one, and then they went and did this and it's so awesome! How can you see this and be sad? I think it's a nice way to wrap things up.










Thing #2:


...is this amazing stop motion video. This is actually the third one these guys have done and all the figures were made with those bead kits that you bake to melt the plastic together. It always reminds me of Teeny Little Super Guy. I call him Teeny Little Super Mario.

To see a making of video hit the jump. Make sure to turn on the captions unless you are fluent in Swedish. I'm somewhat passable in Swedish Chef.

And now for something silly

Warning: strong language. And other weirdness.

Impressive Lego Music Video

Someone with too much time on their hands made this amazing music video for Foster the People's Houdini using Lego people. I actually think it's as appealing as the real video. Also, the song is good. Check it out!

Fix-It Philip Jr.

I made this Fit-It Felix Jr. cake with a Super Mario pan today for my brother's birthday party. After supper I'M GONNA WRECK IT!

Japanese Wreck it Ralph trailer has AKB48 and new footage

I just learned that the theme music for the Sugar Rush game seen in Wreck it Ralph is performed in Japanese by the girl group AKB48. In the english version a well. Very odd choice. I guess it's supposed to be a Japanese developed fictional game then? Anyway, if you get past the intro by AKB48, there is a japanese trailer with a few new scenes. One that stood out to me was Veneloppe being bullied by a character I haven't seen in other trailers.



The short playing with Wreck it Ralph is called Paperman and I saw it at this year's Ottawa Interational Animation Festival. Visually, it looks amazing. The story is told without spoken lines and is, well, pretty sappy, but it's sweet. The cool part about it is that the figures of the characters were rendered without pupils in their eyes and missing other facial features, and artists animated the facial expressions by hand! You can read a quick explanation about this process here. They were trying to achieve a hand drawn look while still getting the best of the computer's capabilities. It's a cool effect but it may be impractical for a whole film.

The director of this short signed a poster for me. He wrote, "Good luck in animation."

Le sigh.

Hit the jump to see a clip from the Toy Story short Partysaurus Rex, playing with the re release of Finding Nemo.

Hotel Transylvania Review + Q&A with Genndy Tartakovsky

It's Ottawa International Animation Festival time, my favourite time of the year!

Tonight Hotel Transylvania played at the Bytowne Cinema, followed by a Q&A with director Genndy Tartakovsky. This movie is a ton of fun to watch. There is a lot of physical comedy, and fotunately it is mostly well executed. The audience was laughing the whole way through.

Going into this movie I had no idea that Adam Sandler was in it, which is for the best because, had I have know, I might not have gone to see it. Surprisingly, I never realized it was him until the credits rolled. His turn as Dracula may actually be the best performance of his career.

The story itself is pretty light. The movie is essentially an ongoing arguement between an over protective parent and his young adult daughter (at 118 years old!) who yearns to be independent and see more of the world, but interrupted by numerous action and comedy scenes, plus a touch of romance. It's a simple and fast paced story at about 1hr and 30min.

To read a bit of what director Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack, Dexter's Lab, Star Wars Clone Wars) had to say after the film, hit the jump.

Dumb Running Sonic

Another Mystery Skulls song! This time it's featuring Sonic... with a twist.

Animaniacs tribute to Dubstep

CollegeHumor’s Favorite Funny Videos

This is kind of brilliant.

This Way Up

By request of my #1 follower (there's only one!), my blog returns!

Today I was thinking about the upcoming Ottawa International Animation Festival, and I was reminded of one of my favourite films that I've seen there. Here it is for all the world to see!

Don't worry, it's pretty short.