Saturday 29 September 2012

Arts - July 2012

About time I started uploading some artwoiks here again =P

A few selections I drew whilst on holiday this year.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Animalympics (1980)

Well, the London 2012 Olympics may have long since finished, but for this animated movie the Olympics keep going on forever ;-)

Animalympics, created by Lisberger Studios, was originally broadcast for NBC's summer Olympics coverage, released as two separate specials (Summer and Winter respectively). Although intended for a theatrical release, it never really found widespread fame until Warner Bros released it for home video, and in later years it saw sparing repeats on Disney Channel USA.

I haven't seen this movie since I was at least 12, but having viewed it again with fresh eyes I've come to fully appreciate every moment of this. Every carefully-timed scene, every tone in each character voice, even the psychedelic music sequences of the 80's. A fantastic parody / homage to the Olympic games, it features a variety of talent and future big-name stars;

  • For voice-acting we have Billy Crystal (Monsters Inc), Harry Shearer (The Simpsons), Gilda Radner and Michael Fremer.
  • Music and songs by Graham Gouldman.
  • Animation by, amongst many others, Brad Bird, Dan Haskett, Roger Allers, Chuck Harvey and John Norton.

It's still laugh-out-loud hilarious as ever to me, and it's little wonder why many still recall it fondly today. With great animation, fun characters and their engaging storylines, who wouldn't?

Or if you can't afford the DVD from Play.com, view it in its eternity below (while it's online).



Friday 21 September 2012

Chuck Jones' Centenary

One of Warner Bros' most renowned directors of all time has finally reached his 100th birthday. From his early "Disney-esque" days with Sniffles the Mouse right to the very last with Thomas Timberwolf, Chuck, along with his own cast and crew - consisting of Mike Maltease, Maurice Noble, Ken Harris and Abe Levitow - have demonstrated his impeccable comedy timing and fantastic facial expressions. During his lifetime career, among many of his creations, the Road Runner and Wile. E. Coyote have become his most famous to date. And it's evident why!


Celebrate his 100th birthday by watching the playlist below - including a snippet of his collaboration with Cosgrove Hall Films' "Peter and the Wolf"!



OTHER LINKS OF INTEREST:


Friday 7 September 2012

A lot of Pageviews 0_o

Wow...I've just realised that this little ol' blog of mine has succeeded past 1,00094 pageviews since first starting out on this day three years ago (2009).

Quite pleased with that, really - but I couldn't have got so many or posted as much since then without the support and full backing from friends, watchers and fellow animation fans. Life for me has been quite rough this year, but now I'm reminded why I'm going to carry on carrying on for the benefit of you lads and lassies. And the hopes that one day, my talents will take me further still. Or failing that, continue keeping the obscurest of shows fresh and alive for today's youth.

In short: THANKS!!!