Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

– Last night we tried something different around here. I pulled out the old,
lo-tech 16mm projector and I dusted off some of my collection for a small gathering of friends. Pizza and cartoons always works.

It helps to put together an eccentric program sometimes. I let the music do the walking and put together a musical tour. (Some might say torture.)
The program was a loopy one:

. I have a scope section of Pencil Test from Raggedy Ann & Andy – Tissa David’s “Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers” section. We watched this first because it was the only scope film I was showing. There’s a whole big lens change for Cinemascope. So I was able to set it up before anyone came, and just pull off the lens after that film.

. From there we went back to the 1929 Mickey Mouse Club sing-a-long of “Minnie Yoo Hoo” which I have attached to a rare trailer for Snow White. I don’t think animation was done yet, because the entire trailer is in live action.

. Jumping to New York’s Fleischers I programmed “The Little Dutch Mill” since this has my favorite Fleischer 3D multiplane use. The cinecolor has faded from red and aqua blue to one color – magenta. Somehow, that didn’t hurt the film.

. Back to MGM, we saw “To Spring” with the multitudes of gnomes bringing on the spring (appropriately, it was a beautiful day – finally – in NY) and “Swing Wedding” which includes Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller as frogs performing in the swamp.

. Clair de Lune with the Debussy track. This was done for the proposed Fantasia 2 and included in a later feature compilation as Blue Bajou.

. George Dunning’s “The Tempest.” was for the art crowd in me.

. Leave ‘em with a laugh. You can’t go wrong with Tex Avery’s “King Sized Canary,” and I didn’t go wrong.

Basically, I let music guide the program moving from the Minnie’s Yoo Hoo chant to swing and classical through modern and gave it all up for a laugh. It made for a lot of fun. If you have a 16mm projector, I suggest you try it. So much more fun than dvd/video.

- There are a couple of blogs/sites I rush to visit every day, and I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to tell you about them. There are those that I am religious about visiting, even if and though I suspect nothing’s changed. The four I’ve pointed to often enough include:

My favorite animation reading is still at Michael Barrier‘s site.

And I also look forward to reading what Mark Mayerson has to say about some of the classic works of animation art. His is an invaluable site.

Of course there’s also Cartoon Brew, Cartoon Modern (get there today to see Walt Peregoy designs), and Hans Perk’s A Film LA are immediate stops.

- However, after those four I jump to two favorites I haven’t given attention to.

Uncle Eddie’s Theory Corner is right up at the pinnacle among the favorites. Time to lighten up. This guy is the funniest man out there (he should have his own TV series, animated or otherwise.) His drawings always on display – they change daily – is Don Martin on some kind of high. However, Eddie’s knowledge is enormous; it’s not just for laughs. There’s depth here.

Check out some of his posts about art here or cartoonists here or women here or comedy here or lots of other subjects.

It all seems scattered, except for two things. They all tie back to animation and how to do it well. And they all come out of the mind of Eddie Fitzgerald who has to be one of the most positive and original voices I look forward to reading every day. Even when he says he won’t be there for four days I go back to see if just maybe . . .

I love this site. (By the way, check out the Fry & Laurie films he’s posted today. Stephen Fry has always been a favorite of mine, and Eddie features him today.)

- Blather from Brooklyn is another one of my favorite visits, and it’s usually how I end my blog reading in the morning.

The site has nothing to do with animation, (unless you feel as I do that everything has to do with animation) but it gives an incredible view of the New York I love. Because of the title, I originally thought the site was Brooklyn-centric, but I was wrong. There are posts about artwork around town here, haiku created from gravestones here, or photos of the Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue here. The site is by Annulla (not much more is revealed, but (s)he also has another blog called Annulla Cooks, and it’s great if you’re into recipes and cooking.
I used to visit Rachelle Bowden‘s blog for her travel around NY, but she now is in Chicago. Fortunately, I also like Chicago – though it’s no New York. And she’s also into food.

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