Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- Last night, the Paley Center (formerly known as the Museum of Broadcasting) hosted a program celebrating the first animated Christmas Special on TV, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol. The program first aired in 1962 and was something of an instant success.

Present for the show were Judy and Roberta Levitow (the daughters of Abe Levitow, who directed the show), Darrell Van Citters (who’d written the recent, attractive book Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol: the Making of TV’s First Animated Special), and Marie Matthews (the voice of Young Scrooge) participated in a panel moderated by Jack Doulin (casting director – NY Theater Workshop).

The film looked glorous projected in High Def supplied by the DVD distributor, Classic Media. They also distributed free copies of the DVD to every member of the audience. What more could you ask for!

I was particularly taken with how beautiful some of the Backgrounds looked on the big screen; those in the last segment – ghost of the future, cemetary – were especially stunning. It was amazing to see the extraordinarily limited animation play so well with the brilliant soundtrack and the strong scenics. (It’s hard to believe the complete production for this show totaled just five months.)

The panel wasn’t particularly illuminating; I knew a good deal about the show having read Darrell Van Citters‘ amazingly informative book about the production. It seemed that was all the moderator really knew about the show; he’d read the book. Given the audience and the moderator’s theatrical background, there was a bit of a stronger focus on the Jule Styne and Bob Merrill songs, but, even there, the book offered so much more information. I wish Darrell had been the moderator. He’s so much more informed.

The program ended with Marie Matthews singing her song, “When You’re Alone in the World,” live to piano accompaniment. Nice.

Regardless, seeing the show projected and coming out into the lively Christmas world of Rockefeller Center left me in a good mood for the night. You should take another look at the show, even though on DVD.

There’s a screening upcoming in LA on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009 at 4:00pm. It’ll take place at the Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Avenue at 14th Street in Santa Monica. That screening will also be followed by a panel and book signing.

_________________
.

Another stop motion feature opening in NY:
A TOWN CALLED PANIC will have a 2-week run in New York at the Film Forum. The animated stop-motion film will screen December 16-29.

This seems to be an absurdist piece of animation wherein some small toys – a cowboy, an Indian, a horse, a dinosaur are animated shuffling about to a somewhat insane script. You can see a sample of the film here and you can see a short with the same characters here.

The Film Forum is located at West Houston Street (W. of 6th Avenue), with screenings daily at 1:00, 2:40, 4:15, 6:00, 8:00, and 10:00.

_________________

.
- Finally, since we’re talking about Christmas, let me promote some excellent merchandise provided by John Schnall. He’s created some hilarious e-mail cards that are personalized for you. They’re inexpensive and worth every dime he’s asking. You can see what he’s offering here, and you can see a sample done for me here.
.

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed