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
"Five orphans with a spacecraft battle a lipsticked maniac from the Crab Nebula and his unlikely big flying robots. No one gets hurt."
In 1972, the anime action-adventure show
Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman (
Science Ninja Team Gatchaman,) premiered on Japanese television. Featuring graphic violence, extensive profanity and a transgendered
villain, it was one of the most popular animated series of its time. Envisioning similar success in the US,
Sandy Frank Entertainment acquired the series in 1978 but deemed it too graphic and shocking for domestic audiences. So they hired two Hanna-Barbera vets to "
re-version" totally
bowdlerize the episodes with new scripts, voiceovers music and effects, animation, etc., at a cost of $5 million and turn it into a brand new show:
Battle of the Planets. Here are the
original 1978 Battle of the Planets feature film (in 7 parts,) and the
first 19 episodes of the show, all available on Youtube.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Jan 28, 2011 -
61 comments
Based on
a quirky animated short that
charmed MeFi four years ago, Pendleton Ward's
Adventure Time is arguably the most delightful thing in animation right now. Following the surreal adventures of 12-year-old Finn and his magical dog Jake in the fantastical post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, the series has breezed through two seasons and
secured a third -- while generating a devoted fandom along the way (partially through savvy callbacks to things like 4chan's
Courage Wolf meme and
Kate Beaton's pudgy Shetland pony).
There's
an exhaustive wiki,
an active discussion board,
oodles of fan-art, and
AdventureTi.me, a fan-made repository of previous episodes (complete with
a mobile version) that makes catching up a cinch. Want more? Then check out the show's
bountiful production diaries, its
equally in-depth blog at Frederator Studios,
catch some official clips, follow Pen Ward
on Twitter, or
buy or
make your own awesome Finn hat (though not necessarily
what lies beneath). Oh, and a new episode is airing... oh, right now. Totally math!
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jan 24, 2011 -
54 comments
Friday Fun Time: Fight sequences are always fun to watch, but even more fun, I've learned, when they're animated. There are some great fights with some great characters like
stick figures,
monks and even
fuzz-ball heads. Even the classic animator vs animation fights are pretty good (volume
1,
2).
Look Ma! No YouTube links (thanks to
aniBoom and
MyTunes)
posted by FeldBum
on Sep 7, 2007 -
7 comments
Anime Music Videos. Yet another
remixing web subculture, they're usually a source of amateurishly produced angst. From the
competitive perfectionists, though, come
well lipsynched,
action packed,
meta-mashuped, and occasionally just
filthy stuff for cartoon nerds. Besides the usual metal, ballads, and pop rock, there's some
Daft Punk,
club,
and downtempo accompaniment. Or you can just go to
hell. Wear headphones and no-one will know.
posted by anthill
on May 28, 2007 -
22 comments
Raging Rudolph, a Martin Scorsese, Bankin/Rass Production.
Does my nose amuse you, is it funny like a clown, does it make you laugh?
No, no, no, great nose.
OK, I'm the Capo now.
posted by caddis
on Dec 10, 2006 -
9 comments
