The Year of Disney

Happy New Year, readers!

If you guys read the Blue Bayou post, I'm planning on reviewing all the Disney animated features. That's my plan and I'm sticking with it. So you're probably asking why on Earth I'm doing this. Well, I love the Disney films (well, most of them as you'll see). After all Disney is usually the first thing we're ever exposed to as kids, and it's really hard to avoid it once something like Disney has entered your life. Hell, it's practically family to us. Also, as an animator, you can't help but feel that these are more than movies. They're works of art! I suppose I could have just made a list of what were my favorites to see if anyone agrees, but I always feel like I have to express why it is I like/don't like the film, that way, it comes off stronger.

So here's how this is gonna work; once or twice a week, I'll watch a movie in order of thier release and give my two cents on it, as well as share a video of what I consider the best scene. (I'm not uploading the whole film, just a smidge of it) If you like or don't like anything I like or don't like, that's fine. Everyone has their own opinions and I have mine. That's part of why I made this blog. So maybe tomorrow or so, I'll get started on the reviews, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the Year of Disney.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Where do I begin? Well, it's a classic and the first Dr. Seuss adaptation we see. It's wonderful, both in story and design. Chuck Jones' crew was really on their A-game with this short (especially considering the not-so-stellar Tom and Jerry shorts produced by him at this point.). I really enjoy the animation here. Again, this is stellar looking animation for a 1966 television production and you can tell the artists put their damnedest into it. I hear Ben Washam co-directed this with Chuck and I think his drawing style prevails here too, epecially in some of those grimaces the Grinch makes. (He had very unique expressions in Chuck's WB cartoons) That's my guess though. It's probably someone else, but that's my best bet. ;)

Best. Smile. Ever!

The story is sweet, simple, and translates well into the animated medium. The acting and narration by Boris Karloff is admittedly an odd, but fantastic choice. After all, it's the Frankenstein monster reading a kid's book! How cool is that? Dr. Seuss' rhyme scheme is charming, the music is audible candy, and so is the famous song we all know and love! (I don't even need to say it. You know what it is!)

So here's my Christmas gift to all of you: you get to enjoy this Christmas classic here in the best quality I have. Again, Merry Christmas, and may all your New Year dreams come true.

And a bonus, my favorite holiday tune that perfectly describes Christmas.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer

P.S.: NOT the Rankin-Bass one.



Merry Christmas, folks.

Blue Bayou vs. Claire de Lune

Today's post is focused on two versions of a Disney short film. Released as a part of the film Make Mine Music in 1946, Blue Bayou is a short that takes place in a marsh at night with some images of egrets flying and... that's pretty much it. What makes the short work, though, is the backdrop music chosen. Here, it's a popular song (well, back then anyway) named Blue Bayou.

However, another version of it exists. It's the same animation as before, but in tune to Claude Debussy's Claire de Lune. This version was originally intended to be a part of Fantasia, but was cut out of the final movie, probably for time allotment. Six years later, the Disney artists decided to use it in Make Mine Music, but attached the song Blue Bayou to it. This version was lost for a long time until some folks at the studio found an original nitrate of it in 1992 and decided to remaster it. You can find this version in Make Mine Music's DVD features. Which one is better? Well, both are beautiful shorts, but I think Claire de Lune works a lot better.

To give you guys a fair judgement, here's what wound up in Make Mine Music.

Now here's the Fantasia version.


Oh, and FYI, I'm thinking about doing posts starting in January that review every single animated Disney film. If you guys like the idea, give me a shout.

Felix the Cat

Hey folks! I'm sorry I haven't been around in a while (like a few months, it looks like!)  I've been busy with things such as school and work and trying to have a social life. Anyway, if you wish, you can view most of my newest works here.

So, to start things fresh, here's Felix the Cat.

The Legend of Rockabye Point

I don't know why, but I've been watching Chilly Willy cartoons lately. And of course, the best were the two directed by the man who designed his current look, the greatest cartoonist that ever lived, Tex Avery.

I find it odd that not a lot of people mention his post MGM stuff, but maybe that's because he didn't last too long in the business after Walter Lantz's studio. It sucks that he had a crap contract with them, because I could see him make one friggin' awesome Woody Woodpecker cartoon!

Anyway, this is my personal favorite during Tex's short 4-cartoon stay at Lantz's studio. Even though Avery kept saying he felt burnt out by this point, this shows that he still had the magic touch he's had since his early WB days. And goddamn, is it hilarious! 

Insert Penn State joke here.

I feel bad that I can't distinguish who animated what scenes, but it's still well animated. 

The Cuckoo Clock

Another Avery cartoon that gets overlooked a lot, in my opinion. It makes a good Halloween cartoon since it can be interpreted as a psychological horror, like in 1959's The Haunting. (Of course from the cat's point of view. That's a great design, by the way!) There's a lot of neat backgrounds in this one and  some of Grant Simmons' finest animation. I'm pretty sure he did that great scene where the bird shoots himself with a finger-gun. Cracks me up every time. Below are some model sheets from Kevin Langley's great site and a restored version of the cartoon. Happy belated Halloween! 

Tex Avery: Who Killed Who?

Ah, good ol' Tex. Nothing you make ever disappoints me.

Model sheet of Tex.

Now, assuming you didn't know who I'm talking about, Fredric Bean Avery (nicknamed "Tex" by his friends) was an animator from, big surprise here, Texas who completely revolutionized the way we look at cartoons today. To keep it short, here's a passage by Gary Morris who, I think, Best describes Avery's approach:

"Above all, [Avery] steered the Warner Bros. house style away from Disneyesque sentimentality and made cartoons that appealed equally to adults, who appreciated Avery's speed, sarcasm, and irony, and to kids, who liked the nonstop action. Disney's "cute and cuddly" creatures, under Avery's guidance, were transformed into unflappable wits like Bugs Bunny, endearing buffoons like Porky Pig, or dazzling crazies like Daffy Duck. Even the classic fairy tale, a market that Disney had cornered, was appropriated by Avery, who made innocent heroines like Red Riding Hood into sexy jazz babies, more than a match for any Wolf. Avery also endeared himself to intellectuals by constantly breaking through the artifice of the cartoon, having characters leap out of the end credits, loudly object to the plot of the cartoon they were starring in, or speak directly to the audience."

A few examples of what we're talkin' about here. Trust me, there's more. Lots more.  :)

Be sure to find this book! Worth every penny! :D

I think the reason I look up to him is because he and I are actually very similar. Avery was actually a very shy person, but really expressed his true feelings on screen with his films. And while Avery was born in Taylor, I was born in Seabrook (about a 30 min drive from Houston). I think my sense of humor may have come from his cartoons, actually. Tex was wonderful at using sight gags and was just as witty verbally. (See pics above)

If you're interesting in learning more, John Canemaker has written a book all about Avery's best work: at MGM studios. It's a little pricey (from $40 - $130 on Amazon.com), but it's a read that's worth it. It's also chock-fill of model sheets, animation cells and stills, layouts, and more. 

All yours for £ 24.99

It's also a shame that his cartoons aren't restored on a DVD set in America (aside from the Droopy Collection). There's one in France, but I doubt it'sgonna work on a Region 1 DVD player. Oh, and they're censored. I say it's about time those cartoons got the uncensored DVD treatment in the motherland! But if you want it, you can find it here.

Anyway, since it's close to Halloween, I thought I'd post Who Killed Who?, a murder mystery by you-should-know-who-by-now. A great early effort from him, filled with wonderful jokes, fast-pacing, good animation, and Santa!..... Wait, wha?

Baseball Bugs

A reenacting of the last Astros game.

With baseball season coming to a close, I figured this would be appropriate. Baseball Bugs is one of my favorite Bugs cartoons because I think Bugs as a single ball team reminds me of many of the underdog teams we all root for and want to see win. In my case, that would be the Houston Astros. Good God, those poor guys had a bad season. 

The last game I went to personally, they lost 13 to 6. The conga scene with the Gashouse Gorillas at bat really reminds me of the way the Astros practically let the Cardinals win that night.. Even the scoreboard looked like it did in this 'toon.

Well I like this cartoon because of that and it's friggin' hilarious! Oh, and look out for some good Virgil Ross animation in this one. Enjoy! ;)

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Plight of the Bumblebee

Today's cartoon is an interesting one to me. I know over the years, Disney's been bound to trash several ideas over the years, like Fantasia sequels during Walt's life time. Before I found this one, I never thought that they would toss out a Mickey Mouse cartoon. (Kind of ironic, when you think about it.) The weirdest part of it is that the animation is 95% complete. A few years ago someone on YouTube found a pencil test of said cartoon and news of the short spread across animation forums like the influenza.

Anyway, it's called Plight of the Bumblebee and was originally directed by Jack Kinney, hands down the best shorts director at Disney.(He mostly handled the Goofy series as well as two Donald Duck cartoons I know of like my favorite one, Duck Pimples.) The story is that Mickey finds a bee named Hector singing bebop (get it?) but sporadically hits an operatic note. Mickey offers to be Hector's manager and he signs Hector a contract. However, he finds out that the insect has a weakness for flowers because whenever he drinks from one, he instantly gets drunk. (I admit, that idea is pretty funny.) So Mickey finds a way around it and Hector becomes a successful singer with his help.

What do I think of it? Well, I think it's very entertaining and would have loved to see it finished. Coming from Kinney's crew, it's top notch over most of the shorts at the time and is far better than anything Mickey appeared in after Mickey and the Beanstalk. There's wonderful, lively animation by John Sibley and Fred Moore (he designed the current Mickey look and I'm sure got dibs on animating in every one of his 40's and 50's shorts. )  Sibley called it the best Mickey short ever and claimed it was shelved because he and Moore looked it over and felt it had an awkward length to it. Kind of an odd way to go really...

Who knows? My hope is that maybe John Lassenter or someone at Disney sees this and gets the idea to try and make this short see the light at last. I can see it happen.

With his talent and my brains, we'll hit the TOPS!!

I posted the cartoon's pencil test on my Facebook account and so far haven't gotten any guff from it. Enjoy!