New ideas for the blog and some more characters!

Hey hey, readers. I know I haven't posted reviews in a while, but I will when I get a chance. But in the meantime, I'd like to share what I plan on doing here from now on. I'm actually considering a new series of written reviews on here called "Animated Animosity" where I review the animated films that are... less than good. I wanted to try this for a while after Disneyyear and Pixargust was over. I'll also try out other animated movies too because there's a bunch that deserve to have a look. Those will usually be in some sort of theme to it and I'll likely do what I did in Pixargust and keep posting in the span of a month or more. Whatever I review will normally be up to me but if I get enough requests to review a certain movie, I'll do it. Oh, and expect a surprise Disneyear review in a month or so!

 I'm also planning on buying a microphone soon for video posts that will have me talking over a random theatrical short and even some TV cartoons from past and present while I talk about what I think of them. It'll be basically like a live commentary. I'll also post the original short or episode without my voice over it in case you haven't seen it yet. I'll also keep posting my artwork as well. There's lots more coming soon, so keep tuned here.

In the meantime, here's my star character, Ralph. Ralph is like any mouse: quiet, timid, and curious. But since Ralph is very small, he has to use his brain instead of his brawn to get himself out of trouble in a calm, collected manner. Ralph has Ralph also is a cultured person, preferring the arts, classical music, and some jazz over today's standards. He's pretty talented at creating art, has a nice singing voice, level-headed, a MENSA member, and modest. Ralph also has a very friendly persona, helping anyone out so long as they don't hurt him. He comes from a long line of laboratory mice, which is why he's white with blue eyes and likely explains how he's so smart. Ralph is a mix of myself with a little bit of Dean Martin's wit. The tail design just came to me.

Then there's Benny, a devious little squirrel that's full of fun and energy. Benny has a usually happy, up-beat persona. He may be a wee bit nuts and may come across as annoying to his neighbor Gordon, but he does use his head occasionally when there's trouble. It's just easier for him to be energetic and popping up at random moments. He has the ability to pull cartoon weaponry out of thin air. He also has a speech impediment where whenever he hits an "s" sound, it comes out as a whistle. He also has a dark side to him, showing extreme animosity towards someone that does him any kind of harm making him want to get even by any means necessary. Benny's one of my favorite characters that I made and he'll be loads of fun to make cartoons for in the future.

Finally, we have Bear and Eli, a pink toy panda and 

elephant brother and sister duo. Bear is a toy panda that acts acts as Eli's big sister. She is a sweet, caring individual but isn't afraid to take on responsibilities. She doesn't mind baths and respects rules. She is authoritative and has a more realistic approach to things than her brother. It's her seriousness that can make her frustrated with Eli sometimes, but she still loves her brother all the same and will do anything to keep him happy and safe. Eli is a toy elephant and is Bear's little brother. He is all heart and extremely playful and child-like in temperament and it's because of this that he can get frustrated easily and doesn't always know how to handle his emotions. He loves to play and makes friends but hates veggies and baths. Overall, he's a big bundle of love. Their origin story is an interesting one. Back in high school, I had a friend, Vicki, who had these two pink stuffed animals named Bear and Eli. Respectively, they were a bear and an elephant. So after she made a short play script for our Children's Theater class based off of the two toys, I thought about what they would look like as cartoons. These designs were my end results and I continue to draw and write stories for them to this day.

Like I said, stay tooned for more (sorry for the pun!) in the future! 

Decisions, Decisions...

Here's two different title cards for the cartoon, Eli's New Pet. I have several like this where I have more than one pick for theme music. So would you guys like to see #1 or #2 on the final cartoon? It would help if you commented on which one to stick with.

More Credits

More of my own title cards for the cartoons It's a Dog's Life, I Guess, Smart-Alec-Kazam!, and Bathtime for Eli . Now with animated credits!

The Book of Eli

This is a title card for an idea I had for Bear and Eli. It's a mini series called "The Book of Eli" where Eli reads from his storybook and tells classic fairy tales to Bear as she dreams. His stories are always a nice twist on the old favorites.

I thought it was a cute idea. What do you guys think?

Eli's New Pet

After Bear and Eli's "mother", Suzy, tells them about her getting a new puppy, Eli becomes disheartened because now he wants a pet of his very own. Felling sorry for him, Bear suggests they go to the pet store to look. They argue about whether to get a kitten or a puppy. When no one was looking, all the animals escape and it's up to Bear and Eli to get them back to the store. In the end, Bear surprises Eli with a brand new puppy.

Based on characters and script created by Vicki Wood. Probably the first Bear and Eli cartoon I'll make.

Bathtime for Eli

It's bath day for Bear and Eli. After Bear finishes hers, it's time for Eli's. One small problem: Eli hates taking baths and tries to get out of taking it. Bear makes several attempts to get him to take his bath, but misses her chance each time. And every time she does get Eli, he escapes somehow. Will Eli ever get clean?

^Here's a theme for whenever Eli is being forced to take a bath with Bear pushing him to the tub. (Petulant Penguin by Dennis Farnon)

Bear and Eli

Meet Bear and Eli, a brother and sister team of two toy animals: one is a panda and the other an elephant. The two have marvelous adventures inside the world of imagination whenever their "mother", a little girl names Susie Wood, goes to school everyday.

Bear acts as Eli's big sister. She is a sweet, caring individual but isn't afraid to take on responsibilities. She doesn't mind baths and respects rules. She is authoritative and has a more realistic approach to things than her brother. It's her seriousness that can make her frustrated with Eli sometimes, but she still loves her brother all the same and will do anything to keep him happy and safe.

Eli is like Bear's little brother. He is all heart and extremely playful and child-like in temperament and it's because of this that he can get frustrated easily. He hates veggies and baths. Overall, he's a big bundle of love.

Back in high school, I had a friend, Vicki, who had these two pink stuffed animals named Bear and Eli. Respectively, they were a bear and an elephant. So after she made a short play script for our Children's Theater class based off of the two toys, I thought about what they would look like as cartoons. These drawings were the result.