Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- John Canemaker let me know last night about the death of Ollie Johnston, and it saddened me to hear the news. I met him a number of times in the 70′s and 80′s. I remember visiting the South Street Seaport and noticing that he and Frank Thomas were at a small gallery, there, signing books. It was a surprise to me, so I went in to say hello. The bigger surprise came when they remembered who I was and gave me a big greeting. Very few people were there, and we got to talk for a longer than usual amount of time. The moment stands out for me.

It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but I will remember him and cherish him through his animation. It’s nice to see him all over the blogs today.

Ralph Bakshi will be making a number of personal appearances signing his book, Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi , for those interested. His schedule includes the following:

Animazing Gallery – April 17, Thurs 6pm
461 Broom St (Between Greene and Mercer)

School of Visual Arts – April 18, Fri 3pm
209 East 23rd Street
(Bet. 2nd & 3rd Ave)
3rd Floor Amphitheater

Jacob K. Javits Conv Center – April 18 , Fri 6:30pm
IGN Theater
655 West 34th St

Anthology Film Archives – Apr 19, Sat 7pm
32 Second Avenue

Bakshi, of course, is a seminal figure in the history of modern feature film animation. His animated writing and directing credits include: American Pop,
Coonskin, J.R.R. Tolkien’s: The Lord of the Rings, Wizards, Fritz the
Cat, Spicy City, Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, and many more.

He will be signing his new book UNFILTERED: THE COMPLETE RALPH BAKSHI.
The book will be available for purchase at a discount.

- In case you’re wondering what direction Disney will be turning in their next big Broadway musical, perhaps there’s a good hint in what opened this past week on a Disney cruise ship out of Orlando.

Toy Story the Musical opened to a positive review in the Orlando Sentinal. You can watch a short video blurb here.

The musical features Randy Newman’s Oscar-nominated song, “You’ve Got a Friend,” which was heard in the film, as well as seven new songs penned by GrooveLily’s Valerie Vigoda and Brendan Milburn. Little Women’s Mindi Dickstein penned the book.

The production utilizes “larger-than-life props [that] help transform the 977-seat Walt Disney Theatre into a toy-sized world of fun and adventure. A rear projection screen aids the transformation between human-sized and toy-sized scenes and takes the show from the comfort of Andy’s room — to the frenzied world of Pizza Planet — to the frightening room of Andy’s neighbor, Sid.”

In a statement Anne Hamburger, executive vice president of Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment, said, “When we first thought of bringing ‘Toy Story’ to the stage, there was a great deal of excitement about the project. Everyone on our team could immediately see how the heart and comedy of these characters could come alive in a memorable way that is unique to musical theatre.”

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