Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

– The Cartoon Network concern seems to be building. Yesterday’s post on Cartoon Brew appropriately called the reason for the problem, as if it weren’t obvious.

MONEY. That’s what makes the world go ’round.

When the Network started up, Ted Turner sought an outlet to capitalize on the Hanna-Barbera library he’d bought. He brought in Betty Cohen from TNT to run it, and she brought in Linda Simensky to program shows. Within a relatively short time, for a new cable network, they rose to the number one basic cable station in the US.
Programming cartoons – #1 !

Then Turner made the mistake of his career; he sold out to Time Warner. Idiots that they are, Time-Warner opened the goose that layed the golden egg. Gone were the people who made the Network a success; in were the new cool/hip people with their anime-all-the-time bent. They could get lots of cartoons from Japan for a song and dump it on the kids. Cheap programming brought no audiences.
(They forgot to buy Hello Kitty.)

The new classics that brought us live-action.

How to get cheaper programming? Cartoons difficult; live-action easy. The Cartoon Network is now showing Dumb and Dumber (I guess Dumber and Dumberer was too expensive!) and Saved by the Bell. Unfortunately they won’t be saved by any bell. These live-action shows will tank, and the elite Cartoon Network will become obso-lete before long.

No, I don’t think I’m being pessimistic; just realistic. Human Nature and Greed has a way of turning in on itself. Still and all, it’s entertaining to watch.

– The ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive has posted a fabulous book of cartoons by Milt Gross. This was given them by Kent Butterworth. (Thank you, Kent.)

Take a look at this material; Milt Gross was just one great cartoonist in the ’30′s. Everything he did was funny, and his short work with Warner’s & MGM produced some good moments. It’s all connected, isn’t it?

Kudos to the Animation Archive; their work is necessary and it’s always a pleasure to check in to their web site. I would love to see some animation art posted there, but I’m happy to take what they give me.

- The Tribeca Film Festival is rearing its lively head, and we’ve had some last-minute round-the-clock revisions to our short playing there. The music is being cut in today (hopefully it’ll match). The schedule should feel tense, but somehow it doesn’t. We have to get it in to the Fest’s hands tomorrow. Talk about cutting it close; that’s when our DigiBETA should exit the dubbing studio. Just a messenger away.

- For some truly Independent animated films debuting in NYC, the Film Forum is screening a great group of films May 10-23:

Cartoons, No Laughing Matter.

The titles and film makers include:

The Flooded Playground by Lisa Crafts (20 mins.) (Pictured to the right.)
It Pains Me to Say This by George Griffin (10 mins.)
The Back Brace by Andy London & Carolyn London (6 mins.)
El Doctor by Suzan Pitt (23 mins.)
Who I Am and What I Want by Chris Shepherd & David Shrigley (7½ mins.) British
Everybody’s Pregnant by Debra Solomon (5 mins.)
Dog by Suzie Templeton (5½ mins.) British
Son of Satan by JJ Villard (10 mins.)

As we get closer to the screening date, I’ll post this again. Included is an opening night screening with film makers Q&A. I’m looking forward to it, and want to make sure I post a reminder. In the meantime, mark it in your calendars.

- More current: Next Wednesday, April 19th at the Jacob Burns Film Center there will be a showing of 3D and puppet animated films. The films, for the most part, are on the dark side and show a good cross section of various styles of object animation.

They’ve put together a dense program. The films include:
THE PAINTED PRINCESS – Pooh Kaye. 1994. US.
THE GREAT COGNITO – Will Vinton. 1982. US.
PONY GLASS – Lewis Klahr. 1997. US.
CRACKING CONTRAPTIONS – Nick Park. 2002. UK.
STREET OF CROCODILES – Brothers Quay. 1986. US.
MORE – Mark Osborne. 1998. US.
(and pictured above) DARKNESS/LIGHT/DARKNESS – Jan Svankmajer. 1989. Czech

Showings are ar 6:00pm and 7:50. The Jacob Burns Film Center, at 364 Manville Road in Pleasantville, NY. For Directions.

- This is a short reminder that Turner Classic Movies airs some older animated shorts with excellent prints on Saturday mornings at 11:30am. (Naughty But Mice is Chuck Jones’ first short starring Sniffles.)

The schedule for April is as follows:

April 8 11:30 AM Cartoon Alley #13
Features three Sniffles the Mouse cartoons: Naughty But Mice (1939), Little Brother Rat (1939) and Sniffles and the Bookworm (1939).

April 15 11:30am Cartoon Alley #14
Features three Droopy Dog cartoons: Dumb Hounded (1943), Shooting of Dan McGoo (1945) and Wild and Woolfy (1945).

April 22 11:30am Cartoon Alley #15
Features three Tweety Bird cartoons: A Tale of Two Kitties (1942), Birdy and the Beast (1944) and A Gruesome Twosome (1945).

Apil 29 11:30am Cartoon Alley #16
Features three MGM Cinemascope Cartoons: Millionaire Droopy (1956), The Cat’s Meow (1957), Tops With Pops (1957).

- For those desperate for their monthly Miyazaki hit, May will offer a rerun of the Miyazaki films in the late night schedule on TCM (with dubbed English versions). The schedule is as follows:

May 5 – 2:00am Castle in the Sky (1986)
A boy and girl race pirates to find a legendary floating castle.
Cast: Voices of James Van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Mark Hamill. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki

4:15am Porco Rosso (1992)
An airplane pilot with a pig’s head devotes his life to rescuing others.
Cast: Voices of Michael Keaton, Cary Elwes, Kimberly Williams. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki

May 12 - 2:00am Princess Mononoke (1999)
A woman raised by wolves leads forest animals in a fight to save their homes.
Cast: Voices of Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki.

4:30am My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
Two girls with a sick mother find escape with the spirits of the forest.
Cast: Voices of Dakota Fanning, Timothy Daly, Lea Salonga. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki.

May 19 - 2:00am Whisper of the Heart (1995)
A young girl goes looking for the boy who has checked out all the same library books as she.
Cast: Voices of Brittany Snow, Cary Elwes, Harold Gould. Dir: Yoshifumi Kondo.

4:00am Pom Poko (1994)
A group of magic raccoons use their shape shifting powers to save their forest home.
Cast: Voices of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Clancy Brown, J.K. Simmons. Dir: Isao Takahata

Jerry Beck on Cartoon Brew appropriately applauds the Motion Picture Academy for resuming their series of films that won the Best Picture awards and usually includes winners & nominees for short subjects. The has also been true of the NY chapter of the Academy.

– NY screenings are open to the public and have had some success with packed houses. Thanks to the incredibly diligent work of Patrick Harrison, the prints have been superb, and there is almost always a guest to talk about the film. There has been no break in this series, and each month there’s been a classic screening to look forward to.

On April 10th HUD will be screened; Patricia Neal will be interviewed by TCM’s Robert Osborne. The Ernest Pintoff short, The Critic, will be screened. Unfortunately, Mel Brooks, who doesn’t quite narrate, but comments – won’t be there.

(Ernest Pintoff)

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Tickets for the screening are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid I.D. and may be reserved over the phone by calling 1-888-778-7575. For more info go to: Oscars.org.

- People in LA also have a treat coming April 21st. The Brothers Quay will talk about their films in a personal appearance. This is something of a rare event, and it’ll be interesting to hear what they have to say.

Again, tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students and will be available after April 1. For more information go to the Academy site.

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- Amid Amidi has been busy today writing two excellent pieces on films & artists that inspire me. On Cartoon Modern, there’s a sampling of artwork and a thesis about Eyvind Earle’s work on Sleeping Beauty. On Cartoon Brew, there’s a link to view Yuri Norstein‘s masterful short, The Heron and the Crane. Enlighening and inspirational; worth the visits.

- Reviews (mixed but generally positive) are out for Ice Age 2. To read a few:
The NY Times
The LA Times
Roger Ebert
The NY Daily News

- Well, it’s official. The last two weeks of this blog are gone for good, but my “Web Host” tells me they’re more efficient since upgrading their cables. For some reason, a number of links to my site on others seem to have broken. Thank you for your patience with this nonsense.

- There were three particular items that I want to repost since I thought them valuable. I know that’s unusal for a blog, but what the hell – this is a Splog.

I had posted some Letterman art, 3 pages of Pinocchio production drafts, and art from a couple of my films by Bridget Thorne. I’ll start today by putting up the Pinocchio drafts (which are at the end of this page.) I’ll use Saturday to post the Letterman material, and I’ll post Bridget’s art and backgrounds next week.

(Click on any item to enlarge.)

- These three pages of the Production Drafts for Pinocchio finish off the “Little Woodenhead” sequence and have Gepetto introducing the puppet to Figaro and Cleo.

I have the sheets for this film through the Blue Fairy sequence and will post more of them next week.

- I’m still waiting for Disney to release a “Platinum” edition of Pinocchio. It’s arguably Disney’s best crafted film – certainly, it’s the highlight of the “Golden” era. It deserves extras up the kazoo. Unfortunately, these days the extras they offer from Disney don’t include the valuable commentary tracks of past DVDs. They offer games and puzzles for children. It’s sad for the collector to have to know what can be offered and accept what will be offered.

As I pointed out recently (lost to the archives) the Disney Rarities DVD is not the gem it should have been. Bad transfers, inadequate extras and no commentaries – other than the one for A Symposium On Popular Song by Richard Sherman which was added in a clumsy fashion making it pointless.

- Mark Kennedy has been posting some invaluable notes on color and composition by the late, Rowland Wilson. All you artists out there should take a look at these documents. I first met Rowland back at Phil Kimmelman‘s studio on “Conjunction Junction” for Schoolhouse Rock. Dick Williams then introduced him to me years later at Raggedy Ann & Andy. The guy was a consummate artist and a powerhouse of knowledge about his craft. You’ll have no doubt about it once you look at these notes.
Mark has a interesting, very informative site. I look forward to visiting it every day.

- Today I give you a stereo painting by Oskar Fischinger. Jeff Scher pointed it out to me, and I thought it too stunning an image to keep to myself.

Just place it in your stereoptican viewer and see it in 3D. Alternatively, hold it up to your nose, and slowly pull it away until the two images fuse into one. Or, as I prefer, just enjoy it as is.

(Click on images to enlarge slightly.)

This image came from the Artscenecal site. To see another of Oskar Fischinger’s stereo paintings go here.

Stereoscopic imagery is quite an interesting offshoot in the art world. It’s fascinating that Fischinger would have been so involved in it. Salvador Dali was also interested. You can find a number of his images on line at 3D Gallery Anaglyph, however you’ll need your red and blue glasses to view them properly.

– Congratulations to Lisa Crafts on the success of her animated short film, The Flooded Playground, which just completed its run at the Slamdance Flm Festival at Suede in Park City, Utah. The film is a stunningly attractive piece combining drawn, digital and pixillated animation with photo-montage and sheer filmaking virtuoso. Done by hand and finished in photoshop and after-effects the film has a unique look typical of Lisa’s art.

It presents a dark, surreal world where a child is forced on the journey through the complexities of childhood. There’s a short clip featured on Lisa’s site and a review at AWN.

- Congratulations also to Don Hahn for his promotion to the interim head of Disney Feature Animation. He will supervise things until the Disney/Pixar merger is finalized and John Lasseter will move into that role. Don has been a prime mover there for years producing many of the studio’s recent animated successes from Beauty and The Beast to The Lion King to Lorenzo The Cat. Don also has an interesting book out: Animation Magic 2001, and The Lion King : A Giant Leap

-The most outrageous bit of news yesterday was the trade of sportscaster, Al Michaels, from ABC/ESPN to NBC/Universal for a package of golf programming through 2014 and exchange of the copyright to Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit to Disney. This reverts the rights of the Disney-developed cartoon character stolen under his nose by Charles Mintz (along with a number of his animators) in 1928.

Al Michaels has this in proper perspective when he said, “I’m going to be a trivia answer some day.” It is interesting to see animation discussed on the sports pages of our newspapers!

- Curious George opened today to reviews like this ** star comment by the NY Daily News: “‘Curious George’ has long been a bedtime staple, but this animated film version may be the first time his story puts parents to sleep.” Or a more positive one from The NY Times: “A Cartoon Monkey With No Aspirations to Cultural Commentary”.
I guess it’s a children’s film, so it doesn’t have to entertain the adults.

The Motion Picture Academy will screen the Oscar nominated shorts, both animated and live-action, on Saturday, February 25th. They’ll screen all ten nominees twice – at noon and at 4:00 pm. Admission is $5.00 for the general publicand $3.00 for Academy members (although Academy members should see the films for free Thursday, Feb 23rd at 7:00 pm).

Location is at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International, 111 East 59th Street (between Park and Lexington avenues). You can reserve tickets by calling (888) 778-7575.

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

- We’ve added a new page to our website.
Click on the highwire guy on our main page and it takes you to a The Man Who Walked Between The Towers.
If you click on the black cat it takes you to the Poe Page.

- Tonight ASIFA Hollywood hand out their Annie Awards. Three New Yorkers are represented in the animation short category. They are: John Canemaker for The Moon and The Son: An Imagined Conversation, Bill Plympton for The Fan and The Flower and John Dilworth for Life in Transition. We wish them all luck.
To see the rest of the nominees click the Annie to the right.

- It was a bit difficult watching the Werner Herzog documentary, Grizzly Man, on the Discovery Channel last night (repeated tonight at 8PM). There were more commercials than show, and they kept repeating the same ad for a firefighters documentary at every break. Not the way to see any film by Herzog. Any film (period!). I kind of expected it: 3hr. show / 1:42 hr movie.

- Meanwhile, on the Middleastern front, according to one report, “. . . More than 500 people, led by the extremist group al-Ghuraba, marched to the Danish embassy in Knightsbridge carrying banners calling on Muslims to “massacre” those who insult Islam . . .”

Yes, this is still over the controversy started when a Danish cartoonist drew an image of Mohammad (depicting the Prophet is verboten for many Muslims). The cartoons have been reprinted in numerous papers across Europe and as far away as New Zealand. Stones were thrown at the Danish Embassy in Gaza, and tempers are rising. The Danish cartoonists are now, reportedly, in hiding fearing for their lives. Dangerous, these cartoonists. More. (AP photo)

The 5 Oscar nominations for Best Animated Short Film went to:

“9″ directed by Shane Acker

Badgered directed by Sharon Colman

The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation directed by John Canemaker

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello directed by Anthony Lucas

One Man Band directed by Mark Andrews & Andrew Jimenez

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The 3 Animated Feature nominees include:

Howl’s Moving Castle directed by Hiyao Miyazaki
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit directed by Nick Park and Steve Box

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- On a strictly personal note, I couldn’t be happier for my friend, John Canemaker. He’s a fabulous person who’s continued making films for many years. His enormous and deserved success in animation history only informs the films he’s done. This film had to have been difficult for him to make, and I’m absolutely pleased at the success it’s having.

I’m also happy to see another 2D animated film, Badgered, nominated. Two out the five nominations are 2D, and the predominance of cgi is gone from these categories. None of the cgi features made it. This is interesting.