When
Captain America throws his mighty shield, all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield. Doc Bruce Banner, pelted by gamma rays, turns into
The Hulk; ain't he unglamorous?
Tony Stark makes you feel; he's a cool exec with a heart of steel. Cross the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar, you'll behold in breathless wonder the god of Thunder, mighty
Thor. Stronger than a whale,
he can swim anywhere; he can breathe underwater and go flying through the air.
[more inside]
posted by Trurl
on May 17, 2012 -
61 comments
"I decided I wanted to buy the Dorsey Brothers’ mambo record. However, I did not have the required 39 cents." Over at
The Comics Journal, cartoonist
Kim Deitch (previously), son of animator Gene Deitch
(previously), has been posting a wonderful, rambling memoir about the music in his life.
Part 1: The Dorseys and Beyond "Watch for Russ Columbo playing some hot violin in
this one."
Part 2: An Early Education - Jazz, folk and the ’40s - Alan Lomax, Jelly Roll Morton and jazz fandom
Part 3: Our hero stumbles on the birth of television, specifically,
music on televisionPart 4: Rock ‘n Roll - "
For a lot of Americans it was like the whole damn African jungle had landed in the middle of Ed Sullivan’s stage"
Part 5: Rocking Forward [more inside]
posted by mediareport
on Aug 7, 2011 -
3 comments
Two and a half years ago, we explored
the early history of Cartoon Network... but it wasn't the only player in the youth television game.
As a matter of fact,
Fred Seibert -- the man responsible for the most inventive projects discussed in that post -- first stretched his creative legs at the network's
truly venerable forerunner:
Nickelodeon.
Founded as Pinwheel, a six-hour block on Warner Cable's innovative
QUBE system, this humble channel struggled for years before Seibert's innovative branding work transformed it into a national icon and capstone of a media empire.
Much has changed since then, from the mascots and game shows to
the versatile orange "splat." But starting tonight in response to popular demand, the network is
looking back with
a summer programming block dedicated to the greatest hits of the 1990s, including
Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and
All That.
To celebrate, look inside for the complete story of the early days of the network that incensed the religious right, brought doo-wop to television, and slimed a million fans -- the golden age of Nickelodeon.
(warning: monster post inside) [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 25, 2011 -
116 comments
"Just last week you read about the H-bomb being dropped. Now two great English writers, two very imaginative writers — I’m gonna tell you if you have youngsters in the living room tell them not to be alarmed at this ‘cause it’s a fantasy, the whole thing is animated — but two English writers, Joan and Peter Foldes, wrote a thing which they called ‘A Short Vision’ in which they wondered what might happen to the animal population of the world if an H-bomb were dropped. It’s produced by George K. Arthur and I’d like you to see it.
It is grim, but I think we can all stand it to realize that in war there is no winner." [
via]
posted by brundlefly
on Jun 27, 2011 -
13 comments
Ten years ago today, Cartoon Network aired a very special episode of
The Powerpuff Girls. Though nominally a harmless kids series about three adorable kindergarten superheroes,
creator Craig McCracken attracted an unexpectedly diverse audience (50% male, 25% adult) by sneaking in a surprising amount of
violence and
adult in-jokes -- and on that last point, this particular episode was king. Broadcast on the 37th anniversary of their debut on the
Ed Sullivan Show,
"Meet the Beat-Alls" was an extended and sophisticated metaphor for the rise and fall of The Beatles, cramming
more than forty song references and dozens of visual jokes into only ten minutes of animated allegory. Catch the original episode
here or read
the transcript, but for the
full effect,
watch this remarkable YouTube mash-up that splices the referenced song clips directly into the audio track and plasters the screen with helpful annotations. Want more PPG goodness? You can start with the special
"Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!" (
part 2), a sly, hyperkinetic celebration of the show's tenth anniversary directed by McCracken himself that features every character (and totally subverts an important one). But as far as weirdness goes, it's hard to top
Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi, a long-running fan-made webcomic which stars the trio alongside Dexter, Samurai Jack, Invader Zim, and
tons of other network icons in an unusually dark manga adventure. Oh, and don't forget
your plate of beans.
posted by Rhaomi
on Feb 9, 2011 -
82 comments
Lucasfilm Animation is currently developing an all-new animated Star Wars series. Not
that one, a new series. And no relation to
the holiday special (
1978) or
Ewoks, the
animated series (
1985), or even
Droids:
The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO (
1985). The new
new series is set to feature creative involvement from Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, creators and executive producers
Robot Chicken, writing from The Daily Show's Brendan Hay, produced by Jennifer Hill (
The Backyardigans), and directed by Todd Grimes (
Back at the Barnyard). Unlike
the Clone Wars animated series, the latest venture into animation will be
one more humorous in tone and aimed at younger kids. Pre-School to Kindergarten aged kids young, and
the working title is believed to be "Squishies" (
or not).
posted by filthy light thief
on Apr 6, 2010 -
76 comments
The adventures of Batman will incorporate many different elements of the Batman mythology. Our half-hour series will have a darker look and tone to it, keeping in line with the movie version and recent comic book interptretations. With a nod to the crime films and novels of the 1940s, we will combine both old and new in this "Dark Deco" visual design and create a fresh take on The Batman. -
Batman: The Animated Series, the writers guidelines (pdf)
posted by Artw
on Dec 12, 2009 -
53 comments
Saturday morning cartoons were once a staple of American television, but by the year 2000
they had all but disappeared. Of course, the Internet
never forgets. Case in point:
Cartoon Network Video -- a free, searchable, ad-supported service that provides hundreds of full-length episodes of classic shows like
Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Johnny Bravo, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and
The Powerpuff Girls, as well as current offerings and scads of shorter material. Too recent for you? Then give
Kids WB Video a whirl -- it does the same thing with the same interface, but for older programs like
Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, Thundercats, and the original
Space Ghost. If you're in the mood to learn (and don't mind some live-action),
PBS Kids Video has educational fare such as Arthur, Wishbone, and Zoom. And don't forget about
Sesame Street,
The Electric Company,
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,
The Magic Schoolbus and
Schoolhouse Rock! Now if only we had some
Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs...
posted by Rhaomi
on Sep 22, 2009 -
160 comments
“He’s courageous, he’s optimistic, he’s representing everything that Mickey Mouse should have represented but never did. There’s even something
Jesus-like about him—a 9-year-old Jesus after 15 packets of Junior Mints.”
SpongeBob SquarePants at ten years old.
posted by ColdChef
on May 13, 2009 -
61 comments
While
Adult Swim is generally regarded as the pioneer of
irreverent short-form animation -- especially for
'toons that
reimagine past
hits -- it wasn't always the king. In fact, the late-night programming block arguably found its birth in a
series of
short toons and
interstitials that ran in the heyday of its daytime alter ego, the venerable Cartoon Network. The brainchild of C.N. Creative Director Michael Ouweleen and Hanna-Barbera chief Fred Seibert, these cartoons reinterpreted the network's properties through stock footage, indie music, and original animation in a wide variety of styles, as well as introducing prototypes of characters that would become some of the most famous in the history of American animation.
(warning: monster post inside) [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 30, 2008 -
80 comments
Adult Swim Fix. Streaming full-length Adult Swim episodes twenty-four hours a day online. Seven archival episodes will be available at all times, while premieres will continue to debut on Fridays, two days before they appear on-air.
posted by ND¢
on Apr 27, 2006 -
24 comments
Best. Episodes. Ever. Though I think they're wrong about the worst. In honor of the upcoming 300th episode of
the Simpsons, Entertainment Weekly looks back at the 25 best episodes and 1 worst. May the arguments, and uneeded meme generation, begin.
posted by eyeballkid
on Feb 1, 2003 -
128 comments
Homer Simpson is Canadian, says Groening. In Montreal for a performance of "The Simpsons", Matt Groening noted his dad was born in Canada and Homer is named for him so...
"That would make Homer Simpson a Canadian".
He goes on to say the show will be on for at least another 14 years.
That should give us something to talk ab
iot.
posted by Blake
on Aug 5, 2002 -
24 comments
Skeletor and Gang: What is it about the combination of stop-motion animation, He-Man action figures, and sped-up heavy metal that makes me laugh until I hurt?
"Skeletor, Mantenna and Grizzlor are having a party! Oh no! Moss-Man attacks! Defend us Squeeze!"
posted by emptybowl
on Apr 5, 2002 -
7 comments
Save "The Tick" Petition A true travesty of justice was the cancelling of the Fox series "The Tick." In a world where naked statues are veiled at public expense, can we afford to miss out on original programming?
posted by Samizdata
on Jan 29, 2002 -
31 comments
Family Guy, the uproariously funny and at times controversial Fox cartoon, has apparently
been cancelled as of this season. A
petition is presently circulating. Many others are writing letters. For me, I'm just sobbing quietly in a dark corner.
posted by nickd
on Jan 28, 2002 -
50 comments
Broadcast "quality" animation in 3 days? Something disturbing about tonite's southpark that just occured to me. it was basically about the ellian controversy, and the raid on easter sunday, they even had janet reno dressed up as the easter bunny for the attack, and they used "the closet photo" to kill kenny. now I know southpark animation isn't that difficult, but that seems awfully fast for them to put together an episode, espeically given that they've been advertising the episode all month...I'll be dreaming of conspiracy theories to explain this one tonite
posted by nomisxid
on Apr 26, 2000 -
10 comments
Are americans really this stupid or does the rest of the world just have better things to do? TV owners are suing a company for running an ad with a CGI cockroach in it after destroying their TV's while trying to kill the roach. Will wonders never cease?
posted by jedrek
on Apr 18, 2000 -
12 comments
Clerks: The Animated Series is coming to ABC in May (here's
a preview in quicktime format). How far will ABC let slacking, smoking, cursing vandals go? Are they gunning for SouthPark? I can't imagine a watered-down version of Clerks being very funny at all, the whole point of Clerks the movie was the absurdity of the dialogue and jokes. Don't get me wrong, I used to be an über Kevin Smith fan, but I just can't imagine enjoying a kid-friendly version of the New Jersey universe.
posted by mathowie
on Mar 7, 2000 -
9 comments
