I just finished the animatic for the 30 second intro for “What a Prikk”. I think it came out very well and believe it will make a great intro!

So how exactly does someone make an animatic?

After you have a script written, whether you have audio or not, you need to have storyboards. Storyboards are images, like in comic books that tell the story visually. It is used so that the animators know what to animate, as well as giving the producer, or director or anyone working on the production an idea of what the cartoon will look like when it’s done. Animatics are very important parts of production. It helps time everything out and keeps it organized.

Typically storyboards are drawn on paper and then scanned into the computer. For What a Prikk, to save myself time, I’m doing something alittle different.

My process was first writing a script. After I got the script nailed down, I’d send it to the voice over artists. They would return with their audio files and i’d check to make sure everything came out well. After that I import the audio files into flash. I’m using flash for the animatic because in flash you can have a layer of audio, and a layer underneath where you can draw. This way, you draw the storyboards WHILE you time the animatic! It saves a whole lot of time and is much faster than scanning in storyboards, then timing them.

Since I’m going to be animating this myself, I know exactly what I’m going to animate from the drawings. It’s important that if you have someone else animating, the storyboards should be very detailed! Keep the drawings clean, and the action detailed…The animator shouldn’t have to constantly ask what’s happening in the animatic.

After the animatic is done, I export it as a .mov file. Then with quicktime pro I cut up each scene into separate movie files. Remember, a scene is every time the camera changes. In the animatic above, there are 3 scenes. The earth, the guy and then nuclear poweplant. I import each scene into it’s own flash file so that I can keep my computer running at optimum speed, as well as not having enormous flash files. After I animate ( which i’ll show you how I do when I do it) I export each scene and then re-combine them in quicktime.

So now, please enjoy this extremely short clip of the beginning of the intro. The stick figure is just a place holder for the to-be character. I did that so I could save time when making the animatic. Also, I cut it at the point right before it gets a little…doodie dirty! By the way, that’s Prikk narrating

More to come soon!

Steve

video © 2008 Stephen M. Levinson.

What a Prikk products HERE or HERE! I’d appreciate anyone’s interest in the products to help me fund my low budget ( but not low quality ) “What a Prikk” pilot! It would mean alot to me!

Reposted from Indy Mogul!

Not to sound too much like a shameless plug, but our friend Rob Schrab (who recently put together an episode of the 4-minute Film School) is encouraging fans to recreate the energy of his popular comic book series “SCUD: The Disposable Assassin” by means of a fan film contest. Rob co-created Channel 101, so he knows how valuable deadlines and obstructions can be to creating something.

If you’re a fan of Scud, or just like making stuff, check out all the information on his site. You can make whatever you want about SCUD, make it three minutes or less in length, and send him a link by July 31st.

This past Wednesday I attended a panel discussion entitled, Cross Cultural Traffic: Toying with Brands, Borders and Bootlegs.

It was hosted by The Korea Society and was a lively talk on and about Korean Toys, their origins, how they interrelate with Japanese, American, and their own Korean Pop Cultures.

The panel consisted of Eric Nakamura (publisher of Giant Robot Magazine), Joshua Bernard (editor of CollectionDX.com), and The Korea Society’s Seho Kim (creative director).

I think Eric summed it up best on his GR blog:

“The robots and such brought out a generation of creatives. Imagine a filmmaker like Joon Ho Bong, who made the Host. Did he watch monster films as a kid? Did he play with toys? Of course he must have. The geeks who collected toys are now in power at creative places, and look at what they’ve brought forward? A new world of creative minds.”

Of course, I eagerly took down notes and snapped a few pics. Enjoy!

-Jeaux Janovsky

The cult hit (and WAY ahead of it’s time) television series “ReBoot” is poised to make a come back. For those that don’t know the show, it was the first 100% CG series on television. It ran from 1994 to 2001. It celebrated all things computers, and is thus a great geek show.

From the site for the new film:

The last television episode of ReBoot aired in November of 2001 with a cliffhanger episode that left viewers wanting more. Through websites and online forums, die-hard fans continued to speculate, predict and in some cases fictionalize the next chapter in the ReBoot story.

Fast forward to 2007. Rainmaker Entertainment teamed with Zeros 2 Heroes Media to give ReBoot fans the power to decide which of five new concepts have the most merit. Over four weeks, thousands of comments, ratings, blog posts and votes poured in.

If you were a fan of the series, head on over to the site and give them your input.

-Floyd Bishop

Well, I was hoping to get the chance to do all the griffin turns, mouthcharts, and expressions before posting again, but things have been too busy. In the meantime, enjoy these “Crabulus-Destroyer of worlds” designs that we just nailed down. From episode #107, “Hard Sell”.

More coming soon!

-Steve and Eric (Homan)

Okay. Inspired by this blog post, I figured I’d ask which four cartoon characters you’d choose for a Mt Rushmore of animation. If you’ve been by the Warner Bros studio here in Burbank, you’ve seen their giant mural/billboard of Bugs, Fred Flintstone, Scooby, and Batman. But which four get your vote? Remember, they can be stars from any time period, TV or feature, as long as they’re animation characters and as long as there are but four.

Go!

– Eric

Here is a touch up of Prikk. After drawing Prikk several times, and more notably the action pose, I thought Prikk needed some angering up! Here’s the new Prikk face! I think it looks much more mature, and angrier. What do you think? I’m still going to use his old mouth, but that will be a special mouth when he’s disgusted and not in the regular sad and happy mouth charts ( I know what you’re thinking! Prikk needs a happy mouth chart? Don’t worry, it’s only when he’s rubbing something in either Jon or Martha’s face and is being very sarcastic and obnoxious.).

Steve

What a Prikk products HERE or HERE! I’d appreciate anyone’s interest in the products to help me fund my low budget ( but not low quality ) “What a Prikk” pilot! It would mean alot to me!

One of the most exciting categories in the Channel Frederator Awards is our “Cartoon of the Year” category. Normally, Cartoon of the Year is the highest rated cartoon on Channel Frederator. The only problem we ran into this year, however, is that we spent a good chunk of the year revising our star-rating system. Hmmm… What’s a producer to do?
Well, based on viewer feedback, we at Channel Frederator can usually get a handle on what our most popular cartoons are. So what we’re doing is offering up this list of 12 of our hottest cartoons. Your job is to e-mail us at vj@channelfrederator.com and tell us which cartoon you think deserves the distinguished award of Cartoon of the Year. You only have until Wednesday June, 4th, so make your voice heard! - Carrie

Here are the contenders. We’re counting on you folks!

Fumi & the Bad Luck Foot

Hot Cross Bunnies

Yeah, You Can Be My Muse

Max and the Pigeon Incident

A Great Big Giant Robot from Outer Space Ate My Homework

Kiwi

Make Mine Shoebox

Trapped In the Drive-Thru

Sub!

FredEx

Art’s Desire

Giant’s Kitchen

One of the most exciting categories in the Channel Frederator Awards is our “Cartoon of the Year” category. Normally, Cartoon of the Year is the highest rated cartoon on Channel Frederator. The only problem we ran into this year, however, is that we spent a good chunk of the year revising our star-rating system. Hmmm… What’s a producer to do?
Well, based on viewer feedback, we at Channel Frederator can usually get a handle on what our most popular cartoons are. So what we’re doing is offering up this list of 12 of our hottest cartoons. Your job is to e-mail us at vj@channelfrederator.com and tell us which cartoon you think deserves the distinguished award of Cartoon of the Year. You only have until Wednesday June, 4th, so make your voice heard! - Carrie

Here are the contenders. We’re counting on you folks!

Fumi & the Bad Luck Foot

Hot Cross Bunnies

Yeah, You Can Be My Muse

Max and the Pigeon Incident

A Great Big Giant Robot from Outer Space Ate My Homework

Kiwi

Make Mine Shoebox

Trapped In the Drive-Thru

Sub!

FredEx

Art’s Desire

Giant’s Kitchen

Check out the LATEST Episode of Refrederator, RIGHT HERE!

Last week we asked you to come up with your own theories on Casper’s demise.
They ranged from weird to surreal, wacky to morbid, psychotic to gore filled grossness!!!
We picked a few theories and gleefully combined them with Jeaux Janovsky’s illustrations of Casper’s many deaths for you.

Daniel Benaymini:
What people don’t know about casper the friendly ghost is that he was richy rich.
He tied one end of a diamond studded gold chain to the railing of the balcony on his mansion, the other end around his neck, and jumped off.

mtovarf
Casper was the first EMO who had the guts to commit suicide…
(by sucking helium balloons)

ptobcracker
Casper died by eating one too many cupcakes.

Jason P
One day,Casper became constipated, and couldn’t go to the bathroom.
Then he died on the toilet.

You guys are weird.
Thanks.

Hey Gang!
Check it.

We got Bosko and his Honey, Honey, in Looney Tunes’ 1932 classic Bosko and Honey.

(Clever title.)

And guess what?
Bosko and Honey go on a picnic.

Again.

Reheating the Classics up for you.
Refrederator
-Jeaux Janovsky

I know you’ve been waiting for it.


Mary J. Hoffman

Nicole Burch

Chris Battle

Shawn

Pedro Eboli

Stephen M. Levinson

Wired

-angie

Hi All You Cartoon Kats and Kittens!!

I’ve been off the Finster Finster Show blog for a while and thought I’d catch up with you. I’m preparing to pitch The Finster Finster Show! as a series and produce a second episode. Meanwhile; I’ve been busy with my Dragmaster dragster and getting to race this summer. The car will be on display here at Nickelodeon with my drag racing art. I’ve also been named Ed “Big Daddy” Roth Rat Fink artist of the year for 2008. Ilene Roth is charge of all the Rat Finky business and is hosting the Rat Fink Reunion in Utah during the first week of June. I’ve enclosed the artwork I did for the event. Enjoy!!! The Finsters and I will talk to you soooon! Take care!! Your Cartoon Pal……..Jeff

Well here it is. The finished drawing of the Prikk in action sketch. I’m going to blow it up as a poster and hang it up in my room! In case anyone else is interested (in the poster, or small sticker version), you can buy it HERE or HERE! I’d appreciate anyone’s interest in the products to help me fund my low budget ( but not low quality ) “What a Prikk” pilot!

Steve

Watch the New Episode Here! 

We bet some of you are still partying while the rest of us are at work suffering through post BBQ hangovers.

Us? Way too much root beer and a HUGE hot dog/hamburger/ketchup/mustard food-fight.

Luckily, we (and you) have this episode of Channel Fred to get you over the post-Memorial Day blues.

And lots of aspirin.

—Boxhead and Roundhead - Safari, submitted by Elliot Cowan
Our favorite Black and White Duo go on a safari! Watch them stare Nature and Death right in the face! Another death defying adventure from Friend of Frederator, Elliot Cowan.

—Str33t, submitted by leBeat
Skateboarding is NOT a crime, but killing cute cartoon creatures while doing so is. In some states at least.

—Hold On, Hold On - Thief, submitted by Catherine Richardson
Animated music video for the band Thief by Catherine Richardson, featuring a cast of furry animal people who discover a magical diamond in the rough.

—The Idiotic Adventures of Philippe and Pierre - Teleportal Trouble, submitted by Dave Schlafman/Pileated Pictures
In perhaps their most poignant piece yet, Phillipe and Pierre, of “The Idiotic Adventures of Phillipe and Pierre” Fame, star in the touching sci-fi drama, Teleportal Trouble.

This Thursday on The Meth Minute 39, Dan Meth takes us for another round at the intergalactic *saloon with a “Live-Action” Space Cowboy Cartoon. *Saloon not featured, I was just trying to come up with something witty for the Meth Minute portion of the newsletter.

Stay Frosty.
- Jeaux Janovsky

Cool Things We’ve been Eyeing on the Web:
OhOh! Divorce in animated tinsletown!!! Lisa Simpson’s voice files for Divorce!!! Gasp!

In the market for a bomb a$$ grill? Try Hip Hop Dentistry with the Rapper Dentist Daddy: Dr. Cunning. Awww Yea.

President’s Day Nightmare.

Soundtrack to this Newsletter: Fun, Filth And Fury! 18 Prime Punk Cuts

Lincoln Peirce, creator of the Random! Cartoon “Super John Doe, Jr”, has a brand new book out starring his comic strip character, Nate Wright, AKA Big Nate. I Smell a Pop Quiz! is available through Lulu.com. Please buy a copy to keep Lincoln distracted until “Super John Doe, Jr” airs on Nick and makes him super famous. The book is 128 pages, so maybe we’ll finally get to see Jenny come around.

– Eric

“Der Fuehrer’s Face”

During World War II, animation was a popular way to rally support for the troops, educate the country about how they could help out with the war effort, and serve as propaganda for the world.

“Daffy-The Commando” 

In addition to traditional length shorts, there were also several interstitial pieces created, such as “Any Bonds Today?”

As you can see, many of these cartoons featured charactures that played upon racial stereotypes… many of which are not politically correct in the eyes of today’s audiences. The big studios have gone to great lengths to keep many such cartoons as hard to find as possible for fear of a backlash. Maybe this is why we don’t see many war cartoons like we used to? There are still a few cartoons that handle such material, but do so in a much different way. For instance, have a look at this fight between Cartman and Saddam (explicit language):

It seems war and cartoons go together in some weird way.  While many main stream studios won’t touch such subject matter with a ten foot pole, we now have YouTube and the internet in general to fill the gap.

-Floyd Bishop 

Amazing illustration made by Kiichi for this month from the New Jenny-San Calendar english site. XJ5 icon created by gashi-gashi. Via the Teenage Roblog.

Four years ago, my partner Emil Rensing suggested I start a blog when I asked him what we should do online for our (Oh Yeah! Cartoons spin off) series My Life as a Teenage Robot. “You’ll learn something,” he said.

Boy was he right. All the Frederator blogs, Channel Frederator, and Next New Networks are all the direct result of the learning, and of course, that’s been in addition to all the great series, movies, and shorts, the great talents have been working on with us during those years.

A particular shout out and thanks should go out to a few folks:

Rob Renzetti created MLaaTR in the first place, inspiring us to create the first blog.

Eric Homan took my challenge to get the thing going, and keep it going.

Scott Peterson, MLaaTR’s story editor, wrote the blog for a couple of years when the rest of us were too scared to try.

Wichobot is the loyal and talented fan who took over the Roblog when the series was over, and has kept it going with our great fans over the last couple of years. It’s better now than we ran it, and proves the complete value of community in the modern, interconnected world.

And, of course, most of all, our loyal fans and readers who have read, suggested, commented, contributed, complained, and supported all of our efforts during the last four years. Without you we would literally be nothing.

Watch Stephen Silver as he draws a couple he saw standing in line at a theater. It’s a great insight into how he goes about creating characters, what he keeps from real life, and what he embellishes. It’s also nice to watch how he uses Autodesk’s Sketchbook Pro software.

-Floyd Bishop

I’ve been in a MAD frame of mind recently because of our friend, producer David Levin, who introduced us all to the magazine’s inner workings on Pulp Secret last year, and brought by a couple of his MADdest friends (editors actually) to talk a few weeks ago. Meeting them put me into the frame of mind to read David Hadju’s The Ten-Cent Plague about the repressive moment in the 1950s when states across America actually tried to censor books (in this case, comic books).

So much of it revolved around the mythology of EC comics’ and MAD’s publisher William Gaines that I started routing around for something to read on the history of MAD. Unfortunately no one’s seen fit to research anything resembling an objective view, so I settled for this 1972 virtually authorized biography. Which made me try and find one of his obituaries that so influenced me on the eve of my joining Hanna-Barbera and the cartoon business full time in June 1992.

Why such an influence? I was new to the cartoon business, never having had anything to do with making anything with characters or stories (I’d produced quite a few animated commercials), and I was scared to death because I had no idea what to do. Then I read one of Gaines’ mythologizing quotes and I started to feel like, even if I couldn’t begin to be the kind of eccentric character he was, maybe I’d have a chance.

“My staff and contributors create the magazine,” Gaines said. “What I create is the atmosphere.”

WALL·E toys are showing up in toy stores everywhere. Today I dropped some money on the U Repair WALL·E figure that you can take apart and reassemble.

Here is a quick video of some of the various WALL·E toys that are available…

For the mid range collector types, the InterAction Talking WALL·E might be a good choice. It seems to be the equevelent of the talking Buzz Lightyear figures that were so popular during the first Toy Story film release.

If you are a really hard core collector, and you have around $190 bucks to spend, you might want to look into this toy…

I usually don’t buy the Pixar toys (I think the last one I picked up prior to my purchase today was a Zurg figure) but I may have to pick up some more WALL·E figures.

-Floyd Bishop 

So here’s the schedule for the production of “What a Prikk”! (yes, I did create it 127 years ago) I’ve given myself a fairly good amount of time for each step of the production. I definitely believe I will finish many of the deadlines early, which will give me more time for the animation, which is planned to be 11 weeks. I’ll post about everything along the way, you can count on that! Sunday my friend Jeff is coming over to record for the voice of the BUMblebee! That will be the final of all the voices, and then I plan to cut the audio for the animatic. You might be wondering who has done the voices of the other characters…Well, not me BUT more on that soon!…I’m just all the background characters.

More to come soon!

Steve

First, we had “Fan Fiction” in which the viewers wrote and animated segments with any Meth Minute character they wanted:
Then I took all the real voice messages we’ve recieved from fans and animated the best bits into the way I imagine the callers.

The fans are more important than ever to the Meth Minute. They know and love the characters, they can quote catchphrases and know all the inside-jokes. We got a Meth Minute Universe here, folks, and you’re all welcome to come inside! I love it!-

Dan

The song “P-Cok” from the cartoon of the same name turned out to be a surprise hit. Download it right now, playa.

-Dan

Take a look.now watch the ORIGINAL:

Now look at the ORIGINAL:

Hey folks, Steve Lambe here! I was recruited by the Erics to start posting up some of the super cool stuff we’re working on daily for Fanboy. Mr. Homan just gave you guys a glimpse in the last post of the final Griffin design we did, so I thought it’d be interesting if I showed a “behind the scenes” on how we arrive at the final designs. I don’t know about you, but I love reading through “art of” books” just to see the evolution of characters. So here we go!

Step One : Read the script!

Knowing who the character is, and what they’re going to be doing is crucial. You don’t want to design a robot with cool tank treads, and then find out later in the script that he has spring loaded copper feet. Time is valuable so doing the research can save you headaches later.

Step two: Rough sketches.

With this being a CG production, there is a limit on new characters, so each character is precious. Eric loves to see exploration, so here’s what two versions I came up with to show him. (Digital sketches in Flash. I’m addicted to the cintiq.)

Step 3. Notes and Revisions.

Once Eric’s seen the sketches, he’ll go over it to suggest any improvements that can be made. Since he’s a badass designer, he usually has buckets of great advice and tweaks that help make the character really sing. (He probably did this in 2 minutes while listening to a voice track , making storyboard notes, and sculpting an ice monster. He’s magic like that.)

Step Four: Cleanup:

Once I get Eric’s notes, I incorporate his feedback into the final cleanup in Flash. After the lineworks done, I export a nice high rez jpeg for approval, and color.

Step Five: The Texture Wizardry of Chris Near.

Once everythings approved, the cleanup is wisked to the desk of texture wizard, Chris Near. Chris is fantastic at taking 2-D designs and bringing them into the third dimension. I heard he hunted down a real griffin with his digital camera just so’s he could use it’s feather textures in the final model.

I guess that brings us fully through Stage One of the design process. Coming soon…..Stage Two: Turnarounds, Mouthcharts, and Expressions. So please stay tuned!

-Steve.

That’s right folks! This is your chance to participate in the Second Annual Channel Frederator Awards.
We’re looking to get your input and feedback for our episodes. So upload a clip, send us an e-mail or call the Channel Frederator hotline at 888-414-8148. Tell us your thoughts on:

Your favorite nominees
Why Cartoons?
Who should be Cartoonist of the Year and why?
or
Just give us a shout and tell us you’re excited for the awards!

We want to make sure that our viewers, the most important aspect of the Channel Frederator Awards, get heard! - Carrie

That’s right folks! This is your chance to participate in the Second Annual Channel Frederator Awards.
We’re looking to get your input and feedback for our episodes. So upload a clip, send us an e-mail or call the Channel Frederator hotline at 888-414-8148. Tell us your thoughts on:

Your favorite nominees
Why Cartoons?
Who should be Cartoonist of the Year and why?
or
Just give us a shout and tell us you’re excited for the awards!

We want to make sure that our viewers, the most important aspect of the Channel Frederator Awards, get heard! - Carrie

This piece is described as: “An animated cartoon debunking the lie of evolution”

“If you believe in Macro Evolution, then you also believe we evolved from a rock”.

That’s a bit of a stretch. I don’t buy into the argument made in the piece but it’s nice to see some animation used to help explain the thoughts behind creationism. It was produced for the website Revolution In Christ.

-Floyd Bishop 

From Wired:

‘Internet People’ Creator Dan Meth to Get Freddie Award

By Jenna Wortham May 21, 2008 | 4:12:18 PMCategories: Art, Comedy, Comics, Events, Video, Viral

When animator Dan Meth released “Internet People,” a high-octane spin through web celebs, last year, the video went viral with nearly 3 million views.The hit clip (embedded right) is part of The Meth Minute 39, a surreal series of pop culture shorts hosted by user-generated cartoon site Channel Frederator.

Next month at the second annual Channel Frederator Awards, Meth will be taking home top honors — a special juror prize dubbed the Vanguard Award.

“We’re honoring the filmmakers, like Dan, who whose animations have been totally embraced online,” said Fred Seibert, founder of Channel Frederator and former head of Hanna-Barbera, in a phone interview. “Which takes a lot more time than putting Mentos into diet soda and filming it.”

At the inaugural Channel Frederator Awards ceremony in 2007, David Karp, who helped spawn the idea of an online portal for user-submitted animation, took home the honor. Shortly after, he created the wildly popular microblogging platform Tumblr.

Meth’s catalog of clever, spastic spoofs have tallied a collective 20 millions views. He’s currently at work on a “super top-secret project” to debut on Channel Frederator next month.

The Channel Frederator Awards will be presented June 4, and will air online June 10. More than 2,000 submissions submitted by cartoonists and animators were whittled down to 33 nominations, which include categories like “So Cute It Hurts,” Sick Sick Sick Award” and “Best Flash Film.”
Watch the selected submissions online at Channel Frederator and vote for your favorites.

.

Thanks Jenna.
–Fred

From Wired:

‘Internet People’ Creator Dan Meth to Get Freddie Award

By Jenna Wortham May 21, 2008 | 4:12:18 PMCategories: Art, Comedy, Comics, Events, Video, Viral

When animator Dan Meth released “Internet People,” a high-octane spin through web celebs, last year, the video went viral with nearly 3 million views.The hit clip (embedded right) is part of The Meth Minute 39, a surreal series of pop culture shorts hosted by user-generated cartoon site Channel Frederator.

Next month at the second annual Channel Frederator Awards, Meth will be taking home top honors — a special juror prize dubbed the Vanguard Award.

“We’re honoring the filmmakers, like Dan, who whose animations have been totally embraced online,” said Fred Seibert, founder of Channel Frederator and former head of Hanna-Barbera, in a phone interview. “Which takes a lot more time than putting Mentos into diet soda and filming it.”

At the inaugural Channel Frederator Awards ceremony in 2007, David Karp, who helped spawn the idea of an online portal for user-submitted animation, took home the honor. Shortly after, he created the wildly popular microblogging platform Tumblr.

Meth’s catalog of clever, spastic spoofs have tallied a collective 20 millions views. He’s currently at work on a “super top-secret project” to debut on Channel Frederator next month.

The Channel Frederator Awards will be presented June 4, and will air online June 10. More than 2,000 submissions submitted by cartoonists and animators were whittled down to 33 nominations, which include categories like “So Cute It Hurts,” Sick Sick Sick Award” and “Best Flash Film.”
Watch the selected submissions online at Channel Frederator and vote for your favorites.

.

Thanks Jenna.
–Fred

From Wired:

‘Internet People’ Creator Dan Meth to Get Freddie Award

By Jenna Wortham May 21, 2008 | 4:12:18 PMCategories: Art, Comedy, Comics, Events, Video, Viral

When animator Dan Meth released “Internet People,” a high-octane spin through web celebs, last year, the video went viral with nearly 3 million views.The hit clip (embedded right) is part of The Meth Minute 39, a surreal series of pop culture shorts hosted by user-generated cartoon site Channel Frederator.

Next month at the second annual Channel Frederator Awards, Meth will be taking home top honors — a special juror prize dubbed the Vanguard Award.

“We’re honoring the filmmakers, like Dan, who whose animations have been totally embraced online,” said Fred Seibert, founder of Channel Frederator and former head of Hanna-Barbera, in a phone interview. “Which takes a lot more time than putting Mentos into diet soda and filming it.”

At the inaugural Channel Frederator Awards ceremony in 2007, David Karp, who helped spawn the idea of an online portal for user-submitted animation, took home the honor. Shortly after, he created the wildly popular microblogging platform Tumblr.

Meth’s catalog of clever, spastic spoofs have tallied a collective 20 millions views. He’s currently at work on a “super top-secret project” to debut on Channel Frederator next month.

The Channel Frederator Awards will be presented June 4, and will air online June 10. More than 2,000 submissions submitted by cartoonists and animators were whittled down to 33 nominations, which include categories like “So Cute It Hurts,” Sick Sick Sick Award” and “Best Flash Film.”
Watch the selected submissions online at Channel Frederator and vote for your favorites.

.

Thanks Jenna.
–Fred

From the episode “Wizboy”. Designed by Steve Lambe, painted by Chris Near.

– Eric (Homan)

Art for your enjoyment on this lovely humpday

Geoff Munn

Sean Patrick Sullivan

Colter Avara

Elliot Cowan

Tommy Cannon

-angie

Here is a group shot of the Dribbles, which were part of a pilot spin off of the highly successful “Gullah Gullah Island”. A terrific Nick Jr show that was co-produced and created by the very talented Kathy Minton. She’s now the driving force behind Lucky Rabbit Media.
Joey Ahlbum

**GUNS ARE BAD!**

Here’s a drawing I’m working on of Prikk in action… I’m going to add color and what not soon! And no, he doesn’t have a license for his weapon…tisk, tisk, tisk!

More to come!

Steve

… by creator Eric Robles.

– Eric (Homan)

My good friend Chris Kennett told me he had an urge to draw Prikk, and decided to turn it into a good luck message! This has truly made my day week production! It’s hard to describe the feeling this drawing truly brings to me; that he spent his time drawing a character I created! And I didn’t even ask him to! lol. I’m very excited about this drawing, he even got ALL the details right! This is really going to help me keep going! Thanks a lot man!

I’ve gotten a great response from people about Prikk’s design, and am really glad! I think Prikk is one my most well designed character! Thanks again Chris!

Steve

Didier Ghez has posted a great piece of film on his Disney History blog. From the blog:

If you have read this blog from the start, you may remember this post, in which I mentioned Servants’ Entrance (1934) from Fox, which contains a six minute long animated nightmare sequence in b/w made by the Disney Studio.

The live-action section of the clip is also fascinating. Did anyone say Snow White?

While this piece predates the Disney’s Snow White by three years, there are several similarities.

I had no idea that Disney did any work for studios other than themselves, save the Alice comedies and their war time shorts. I was surprised to see this very rare piece of animation, and I’m anxious to read more on the Disney History Blog.

-Floyd Bishop 

Here’s a sketch of Prikk’s best friend, who is a BUMblebee! He doesn’t have a name…you’ll find out why!

More soon!

Steve

Artwork by Joanna Davidovich

Essay by Amid Amidi

Why Cartoons?

Tex Avery. Chuck Jones. Bob Clampett. John Hubley. Bobe Cannon. Frank Tashlin. Friz Freleng. Bob McKimson. Emile Cohl. Winsor McCay. Ward Kimball. Jack Kinney. Hugh Harman. Rudolf Ising. Max Fleischer. Lotte Reiniger. Bill Hanna. Joe Barbera. Willis O’Brien. Otto Messmer. Walt Disney. Ray Harryhausen. Ub Iwerks.

Why Cartoons?

Karel Zeman. Bretislav Pojar. Jiri Trnka. George Pal. Walerian Borowczyk. Osamu Tezuka. Bob Godfrey. George Dunning. Alexandre Alexeieff. Claire Parker. Stan Brakhage. John Whitney. Jan Lenica. Witold Giersz. Terry Gilliam. Vladimir Kristl. Lou Bunin. Dusan Vukotic. Boris Kolar. Fyodor Khitruk. Peter Sachs. Richard Williams. Yoji Kuri. Stan VanDerBeek. Ralph Bakshi. Gene Deitch. Len Glasser. Luzzati & Gianini. Norman McLaren. John Korty. Kihachiro Kawamoto. Ladislas Starewicz. Ryan Larkin. Ernest Pintoff. Fred Crippen. Jan Svankmajer. Len Lye. Hy Hirsh. Frederick Back. Oskar Fischinger. Jay Ward. Peter Foldes.

Why Cartoons?

Bruce Bickford. Brad Bird. Trey Parker. Matt Stone. John Lasseter. Smith & Foulkes. Marv Newland. Michael Sporn. Yuri Norstein. Isao Takahata. William Kentridge. John Canemaker. Don Hertzfeldt. Koji Yamamura. Bill Plympton. PES. George Griffin. Joanna Quinn. Patrick Smith. JJ Villard. Nick Park. Raimund Krumme. Pritt Parn. Paul Fierlinger. Guilherme Marcondes. Peter Chung. Mike Judge. Koji Morimoto. Pete Docter. Caroline Leaf. Marcell Jankovics. Henry Selick. Richard Condie. Paul Vester. Bob Jaques. Sylvain Chomet. Phil Mulloy. Oscar Grillo. Hayao Miyazaki. Paul Driessen. Aaron Springer. Masaaki Yuasa. Tim Burton. John Kricfalusi. Andreas Hykade. Georges Schwizgebel. Jonas Odell. The Brothers Quay.

Why Cartoons?

Bill Littlejohn. Rod Scribner. Irven Spence. Emery Hawkins. Bill Melendez. Pat Matthews. Tom Oreb. Dick Lundy. Frank Smith. Jimmy Murakami. Grim Natwick. Ken Harris. Ben Washam. Hawley Pratt. Paul Julian. Bob Givens. Pete Alvarado. Gene Hazelton. Bill Tytla. John Sibley. Hardie Gramatky. JP Miller. Jim Tyer. Lillian Friedman. Ty Wong. Pete Burness. John Gentilella. Don Morgan. Walt Peregoy. Ralph Hulett. Jim Bodrero. Art Babbitt. Jack Zander. Preston Blair. Jules Engel. Herb Klynn. Victor Haboush. Ray Aragon. Iwao Takamoto. Warren Foster. Mike Maltese. John Dunn. Abe Liss. Ted Parmelee. Maurice Noble. Ed Benedict. Eyvind Earle. Mary Blair. Ken Anderson. Bill Peet. Don DaGradi. Freddie Moore. Marc Davis. Milt Kahl. Frank Thomas. Ollie Johnston. Eric Larson. John Lounsbery. Bill Scott. Bill Hurtz. Art Heinemann. Gene Fleury. Bernyce Polifka. John McGrew. Phil Eastman. Bob Dranko. Phil DeGuard.

With artists like these working in the animation medium, the only question should be:
Why Anything Else?

Artwork by Jim Manocchio

Why Cartoons?
Essay By David B. Levy

Most of us working in this industry know how lucky we are. An animation artist’s life is enriched by their work. This does not mean to suggest that animators are work-a-holics (although some clearly are).

Why cartoons? Oscar-nominated animation filmmaker Michael Sporn explained it best in a bonus feature on the DVD for his award-winning films White Wash and Champagne:
“Animation has the potential to be the greatest of all the arts. It combines drawing, painting, music, acting, photography, and computer art. Anything you can think of can be combined by the animator to be used at his or her disposal.”

The word “cartoons” conjures up a medium for children despite all the art and craft inherent in bringing to life any cartoon. I first encountered the bias against cartoons as a serious pursuit in a conversation with my high school guidance counselor. When I informed him of my decision to become an animator he asked, “What’s that?”

I replied, “You know, cartoons? Walt Disney? Bugs Bunny?”

“That’s kid stuff,” he said, dismissively.

I snapped back, “It’s for kids, but adults make it.”

Then he informed me that I needed a real career, one that I could count on. He suggested becoming a plumber or an electrician.

All these years later I think I finally understand his attitude. Cartoons are often loud, silly, and meant for children. Animation is a far broader term. I wouldn’t say that I work in cartoons. I would say I work in animation, sometimes on projects aimed at preschoolers, other times on projects geared to stoned college kids.

My guidance counselor was right about one thing. Animation is not an industry one can count on and many find it very difficult to break in to a first job let alone to build a career. An animation artist’s life, even after becoming established in a career, is often one of instability. Jobs are short term and sometimes few and far between. There’s usually no health insurance and often the animation artist does not work at any one job long enough to qualify for unemployment insurance. Such conditions naturally weed out those who are not fully committed to a life spent in this art form.

Acclaimed independent animator Patrick Smith recently spoke to my School of Visual Arts class, telling the students that he used to wake up at 6 AM and work on his own film until 9 AM and then go to work at MTV for a full day. He carried on this way for years until his first film, Drink, was complete. In this way Pat Smith showed his personal commitment to achieving something no matter what the industry might throw his way. Each of us has the potential to make our own luck, to pave the road for our own opportunities, and to make a very happy life for ourselves in animation or cartoons.

Artwork & essay by Eric Robles
Why Cartoons? Ever since I could remember, I have always related cartoons with some form of emotional reality. Whatever the characters were feeling, the end result left me with a feeling of pure enjoyment. Animation is my world and cartoons are my life.

Artwork & essay by Joey Ahlbum
Animation is like a drug, you make something move and you’re hooked. But then, just making things move is not enough, you want a bigger rush, so you try to tell a story or maybe make people laugh. Before you know it, you’ve spent a year animating Custer’s Last Stand complete with the 7th calvary and entire Cheyenne Nation.

I guess that’s WHY CARTOONS, because if you wanted to, you could animate just about anything you could imagine. By the time you finish, you might find yourself broke, no friends and living at home with your parents, but you just might have created an amazing piece of animation that’s never been seen before.

Artwork by Joanna Davidovich

Essay by Amid Amidi

Why Cartoons?

Tex Avery. Chuck Jones. Bob Clampett. John Hubley. Bobe Cannon. Frank Tashlin. Friz Freleng. Bob McKimson. Emile Cohl. Winsor McCay. Ward Kimball. Jack Kinney. Hugh Harman. Rudolf Ising. Max Fleischer. Lotte Reiniger. Bill Hanna. Joe Barbera. Willis O’Brien. Otto Messmer. Walt Disney. Ray Harryhausen. Ub Iwerks.

Why Cartoons?

Karel Zeman. Bretislav Pojar. Jiri Trnka. George Pal. Walerian Borowczyk. Osamu Tezuka. Bob Godfrey. George Dunning. Alexandre Alexeieff. Claire Parker. Stan Brakhage. John Whitney. Jan Lenica. Witold Giersz. Terry Gilliam. Vladimir Kristl. Lou Bunin. Dusan Vukotic. Boris Kolar. Fyodor Khitruk. Peter Sachs. Richard Williams. Yoji Kuri. Stan VanDerBeek. Ralph Bakshi. Gene Deitch. Len Glasser. Luzzati & Gianini. Norman McLaren. John Korty. Kihachiro Kawamoto. Ladislas Starewicz. Ryan Larkin. Ernest Pintoff. Fred Crippen. Jan Svankmajer. Len Lye. Hy Hirsh. Frederick Back. Oskar Fischinger. Jay Ward. Peter Foldes.

Why Cartoons?

Bruce Bickford. Brad Bird. Trey Parker. Matt Stone. John Lasseter. Smith & Foulkes. Marv Newland. Michael Sporn. Yuri Norstein. Isao Takahata. William Kentridge. John Canemaker. Don Hertzfeldt. Koji Yamamura. Bill Plympton. PES. George Griffin. Joanna Quinn. Patrick Smith. JJ Villard. Nick Park. Raimund Krumme. Pritt Parn. Paul Fierlinger. Guilherme Marcondes. Peter Chung. Mike Judge. Koji Morimoto. Pete Docter. Caroline Leaf. Marcell Jankovics. Henry Selick. Richard Condie. Paul Vester. Bob Jaques. Sylvain Chomet. Phil Mulloy. Oscar Grillo. Hayao Miyazaki. Paul Driessen. Aaron Springer. Masaaki Yuasa. Tim Burton. John Kricfalusi. Andreas Hykade. Georges Schwizgebel. Jonas Odell. The Brothers Quay.

Why Cartoons?

Bill Littlejohn. Rod Scribner. Irven Spence. Emery Hawkins. Bill Melendez. Pat Matthews. Tom Oreb. Dick Lundy. Frank Smith. Jimmy Murakami. Grim Natwick. Ken Harris. Ben Washam. Hawley Pratt. Paul Julian. Bob Givens. Pete Alvarado. Gene Hazelton. Bill Tytla. John Sibley. Hardie Gramatky. JP Miller. Jim Tyer. Lillian Friedman. Ty Wong. Pete Burness. John Gentilella. Don Morgan. Walt Peregoy. Ralph Hulett. Jim Bodrero. Art Babbitt. Jack Zander. Preston Blair. Jules Engel. Herb Klynn. Victor Haboush. Ray Aragon. Iwao Takamoto. Warren Foster. Mike Maltese. John Dunn. Abe Liss. Ted Parmelee. Maurice Noble. Ed Benedict. Eyvind Earle. Mary Blair. Ken Anderson. Bill Peet. Don DaGradi. Freddie Moore. Marc Davis. Milt Kahl. Frank Thomas. Ollie Johnston. Eric Larson. John Lounsbery. Bill Scott. Bill Hurtz. Art Heinemann. Gene Fleury. Bernyce Polifka. John McGrew. Phil Eastman. Bob Dranko. Phil DeGuard.

With artists like these working in the animation medium, the only question should be:
Why Anything Else?

Artwork by Jim Manocchio

Why Cartoons?
Essay by David B. Levy

Most of us working in this industry know how lucky we are. An animation artist’s life is enriched by their work. This does not mean to suggest that animators are work-a-holics (although some clearly are).

Why cartoons? Oscar-nominated animation filmmaker Michael Sporn explained it best in a bonus feature on the DVD for his award-winning films White Wash and Champagne:
“Animation has the potential to be the greatest of all the arts. It combines drawing, painting, music, acting, photography, and computer art. Anything you can think of can be combined by the animator to be used at his or her disposal.”

The word “cartoons” conjures up a medium for children despite all the art and craft inherent in bringing to life any cartoon. I first encountered the bias against cartoons as a serious pursuit in a conversation with my high school guidance counselor. When I informed him of my decision to become an animator he asked, “What’s that?”

I replied, “You know, cartoons? Walt Disney? Bugs Bunny?”

“That’s kid stuff,” he said, dismissively.

I snapped back, “It’s for kids, but adults make it.”

Then he informed me that I needed a real career, one that I could count on. He suggested becoming a plumber or an electrician.

All these years later I think I finally understand his attitude. Cartoons are often loud, silly, and meant for children. Animation is a far broader term. I wouldn’t say that I work in cartoons. I would say I work in animation, sometimes on projects aimed at preschoolers, other times on projects geared to stoned college kids.

My guidance counselor was right about one thing. Animation is not an industry one can count on and many find it very difficult to break in to a first job let alone to build a career. An animation artist’s life, even after becoming established in a career, is often one of instability. Jobs are short term and sometimes few and far between. There’s usually no health insurance and often the animation artist does not work at any one job long enough to qualify for unemployment insurance. Such conditions naturally weed out those who are not fully committed to a life spent in this art form.

Acclaimed independent animator Patrick Smith recently spoke to my School of Visual Arts class, telling the students that he used to wake up at 6 AM and work on his own film until 9 AM and then go to work at MTV for a full day. He carried on this way for years until his first film, Drink, was complete. In this way Pat Smith showed his personal commitment to achieving something no matter what the industry might throw his way. Each of us has the potential to make our own luck, to pave the road for our own opportunities, and to make a very happy life for ourselves in animation or cartoons.

Artwork & essay by Eric Robles
Why Cartoons? Ever since I could remember, I have always related cartoons with some form of emotional reality. Whatever the characters were feeling, the end result left me with a feeling of pure enjoyment. Animation is my world and cartoons are my life.

Artwork & essay by Joey Ahlbum

Animation is like a drug, you make something move and you’re hooked. But then, just making things move is not enough, you want a bigger rush, so you try to tell a story or maybe make people laugh. Before you know it, you’ve spent a year animating Custer’s Last Stand complete with the 7th calvary and entire Cheyenne Nation.

I guess that’s WHY CARTOONS, because if you wanted to, you could animate just about anything you could imagine. By the time you finish, you might find yourself broke, no friends and living at home with your parents, but you just might have created an amazing piece of animation that’s never been seen before.

Raw Artin’ Around on this lovely Monday Afternoon

chris battle

geoff munn

kiyomitsu saito

james elston

niko anesti

george pfromm II

-angie

Mailed the week of May 18, 2008

A short from
The Meth Minute 39

Frederator Postcards Series 1, 1998
Frederator Postcards Series 2, 1999
Frederator Postcards Series 3, 2000
Frederator Postcards Series 4, 2003
Frederator Postcards Series 5, 2004-2005
Frederator Postcards Series 6, 2007-2008

Watch the short, Here.

We’re proud to present the first appearance of Casper the Friendly Ghost in Famous Studios’ “The Friendly Ghost” from 1945.

Have you ever wondered how Casper died?

We wanna know your theories.

Drop us some creepy comments down below, or send us some spooky emails to: vj@channelfrederator.com

Happy “FUN-eral” Viewing People!

-Jeaux Janovsky

Toys R Us is having a great sale this week on many of their movie line related toys, including figures from the new “Indiana Jones”, “Narnia”, and “Speed Racer” product lines. If you need some more figures for your office cubicle, you may want to swing by your local Toys R Us this week.

-Floyd Bishop 

Last Thursday I attended my first life drawing class! It was really great! All my worries with deadlines and work, school and family problems no longer existed. I was just focused on the drawings and really had a great time! I can’t wait for my next class! I’m going to post my progress as I go along! I can’t wait to see how I progress over the next months! I have a lot to learn and am very eager to do so! Below are the images, in order of creation!

Enjoy!

Drawing 1

Drawing 2

Drawing 3

Drawing 4

Drawing 5

Drawing 6

Steve

Muttley first showed up in the 1968 series “Wacky Races”, as the sidekick to Dick Dastardly. Both characters were based on characters from the film “The Great Race”.

Dick Dastardly was based on the character Professor Fate, while Muttley was based on Max Meen. Dick Dastardly and Muttley have appeared in later Hanna Barbera series as bumbling villains.

In “Wacky Races”, Muttley wore only a collar, but in “Dastardly & Muttley and their Flying Machines” he wore an aviator’s cap and scarf.

A lot of people confuse Muttley with Mumbly. It’s easy to do, since they are so similar. While their laugh is similar, Mumbly has gray fur, wears a trench coat, and fights crime. He’s almost the other side of Muttley in that regard.

Interestingly enough, when they needed villains for the “Laff-A-Lympics” series, Hanna Barbera used Mumbly as the team leader of the Really Rottens.  He was accompanied by a Dick Dastardly clone named “The Dread Baron”. This is a weird place for Mumbly, as in his series he fought crime. As the captain of the Really Rottens, he does some rotten things. I’m not sure why these two characters were used, as it would seem that Dick Dastardly and Muttley would be more than suited for the task.

Maybe someone with some knowledge of the inner workings of Hanna Barbera could help explain the seemingly duplicate characters?

 -Floyd Bishop

The Impressions > We’re a Winner

It doesn’t take much to get me in an impressionistic mood, so our friend Steve Woolf’s photo and title moved me there today.

Was Curtis Mayfield the most impressive singer/songwriter of his day? Of his genre? Probably. And it’s probably why it took me so long to pick a single to feature here. I ended up with We’re a Winner because aside from being a favorite I seem to remember it being a core sample for something from the Space Jam soundtrack, so I thought some of the older young folk reading might recognize it.

–Fred

Earle Warren & Phil Schaap, Columbia University, 1985; Photography by Nancy Miller Elliott

Phil Schaap’s obsessive nature has made him an invaluable resource in the world of jazz (and plagued many of his relationships he’s had that I’ve witnessed). And he’s become such a fixture in the New York radio community that the editor of The New Yorker has devoted an extensive profile of Phil this week that I’d recommend to anyone who loves Charlie Parker.

Anyone who knows Phil (he and I were in college radio in the early 70s; he still broadcasts on the station today) can argue pro and con for slightly less long than his description of a, say, 1947 Count Basie recording session, but I found his philosophy of jazz incredibly refreshing when he told me about it at a bar in 1999, and is recounted in the profile:

“The school system is creating six thousand unemployable musicians a year—from the Berklee College of Music, Rutgers, Mannes, Manhattan, Juilliard, plus all the high schools,” he said. “There are more and more musicians, and no gigs, no one to listen. So what happens to these kids? They work their way back to the educational system and help create more unemployable musicians. My rant is this: I’m not trying to teach you to play the alto sax. No. I’m trying to get you to learn how to listen to Charlie Parker.”

Phil Schaap by Risko

My only sadness for Phil’s legacy is that his nature is such that most of his encyclopedic knowledge has not been archived (as far as I, or anyone I know, knows) and most of it will be lost to the world with him. We still have his thousands of hours of irreplaceable interviews with jazz artists, and I can only hope my college radio station hasn’t mishandled them more than we know they already have.

(Except for diehards and jazz radio archivists, this is a good place to click away from this page.)

While I’m on the subject of Phil and jazz radio on WKCR, Columbia University (impossible to untangle) I thought I’d add a couple of small comments to an interview he gave on the subject a few years ago:

Phil kindly mentions a bit of my influence on making jazz a crucial part of New York radio’s legacy behind Jamie Katz, Sharif Abdus-Salaam, Alan Goodman, Jim Carroll, and, of course, himself. He neglects a more critical and deep influence on a number of us, a true eclectic with many obsessions, particularly jazz, David Reitman.

The role of the jazz birthday marathons mentioned in the interview (and profile) play a large, and rightful, role in Phil’s legacy. He neglects, or doesn’t know, their actual source. During the stodgy years of WKCR in the 50s & 60s they had an annual ritual, the Beethoven’s Birthday 24 hour radio marathon. We jazzbos were annoyed that the classical department (which bored many of us) got such a hunk or airtime. Why didn’t the “classical” musicians of modern America, the jazz musicians, get the same honor? When Alber Ayler died we spontaneous absconded with the format for our own purposes and codified it with Coltrane’s birthday in 1971.

There were a number of jazz performances recorded in the studio (I was the engineer of most of the earliest ones) and subsequently released on record. The first was Gunter Hampel’s Spirits with Jeanne Lee and Perry Robinson.

–Fred

Gentle Giant has created  a series of sculptures for Disney, based on some of their most famous dragons. In this new interpretation of the characters, the dragons are much more fearsome than their animated counterparts. The above image is Mushu from “Mulan”.

That’s the same expression I had when I first realized the sculpture was Mushu. If you’re into the whole reimagining thing, then these figures might just be something you would like. Other characters in the series include Elliot from “Pete’s Dragon”, and Maleficent from “Sleeping Beauty”.

The dragons stand between 8 and 13 inches tall, and retail for $300.00. You can learn more about the figures, and place an order, at the Gentle Giant website.

 -Floyd Bishop

Congratulations to Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! creator and executive producer Bob Boyle for winning his first Emmy in the category of Individual Achievement in Animation. Bob, pictured above with sk8rgurl Michelle Kwan, will be honored at the June 13th Emmy Awards ceremony. Congratulations, again, Bob. You deserve this one.

– Eric

Fanboy and Chum Chum creator Eric Robles loves to draw Fanboy in every possible pose over and over again, so much that Fanboy is shaping up to be one of animation’s most expressive characters. Sometime in 2009, not only will you see all of these moods - and more - of Fanboy, but it’s quite possible you’ll see them all within the space of a minute.

– Eric (Homan)

Premieres today at 5:00 p.m. on Nick.

– Eric

I wanted to start off this section of Art and Essays from teammates from Team Frederator, with my art piece for the Awards Booklet. Kicking things off, so to speak. -Jeaux

Ben Ross
most people will tell you their childhood cartoon experience started on a saturday morning. well, mine were in the morning, but most of my cartoons were watched on the weekdays.
my mom and dad both worked so my sister and i were dropped off at susan’s, the babysitter. she was a large woman with a big bleached blonde beehive, long press on nails, and a big heart. she’d take us to the park right outside her apartment complex and we’d tag-a-long on her daily errands around queens.
to be perfectly honest i really couldn’t give a crap about the park or the sale that the local bodega was having on green beans. i wanted to get indoors, sit down with my baby sister on the green shag carpet in front of the big tv while susan’s son robbie slept on the cheeto stained couch and watch some fucking cartoons.
for the average four year old weekday cartoons started at about six in the morning, which was about the time i arrived at susan’s. there was thundercats, dennis the menace, scooby doo, transformers, voltron, my little pony and jem (two shows i sat through ’cause my sister loved ‘em) and my all time favorite he-man and the masters of the universe . (wow, i never knew how ridiculous and long that title is.)
let me take some time and talk about he-man for a bit. he-man, to a four old is probably about the coolest dude in the world. he is super strong, has a magic sword, rides on a giant tiger like thing called battle cat, and his arch enemy is a goddamn skeleton! how fucking cool is that? uh… really fucking cool. what really sold it for me was he-man wasn’t he-man at first, he was some nerdy prince dude named prince adam. he did prince like things like wear purple shirts and pants. however give that dude a sword and have him recite some magic words about castle grayskull and bam! he becomes the master of the universe. awesome.
now i could talk about how it all came crashing down with the live action movie starring mr. ivan drago himself, or the thousands of times i got pinched by the evil spring loaded “damage indicators” on the battle armor he-man action figure, but i’ll save that for another essay.
the cartoons i watched as a little kid may have been corny and not the best, and most of them were probably made just to help toy sales, but that really doesn’t matter. all that matters is that they were cartoons. cartoons that took you away from reality if only for 22 minutes. i <3 cartoons.

Dan Meth
Why Cartoons? What a strange question. I think what we should be asking ourselves is, “Why anything BUT cartoons?” What other human achievement is more pure, powerful, and vital to the well-being of mankind than cartoons? Nothing. Have you ever LAUGHED from science, engineering, architecture, or politics? No.
The cartoonist should be hailed as a SAINT. No other vocation is as selfless and important (ok…maybe doctors, firemen, teachers, etc. but whatever). As the saying goes, “If you’ve made one person laugh you’ve saved the whole world.” I think Ghandi said that… or maybe the guy who created Dennis the Menace.
Cartoonists save the world and ask nothing in return. They are like modern-day MARTYRS; aching backs bent over drafting tables and Wacom tablets, eyes blinded by Mac screens, evenings of selfish fun sacrificed to omnipresent deadlines. And all to save the world. Cartoons have stopped wars (can’t think of which particular war at this moment). Never do they cause violence or unrest (except for Danish cartoonists).
They are mystics, saintly artisans placed by cosmic destiny to eliminate pain and suffering from a cold galaxy of uncaring animalistic savagery. Cartoonists deserve the entire world’s utmost respect and a comprehensive dental plan. This will probably never happen… but at least they have the Freddy awards; a night in which cartoonists can honor each other.

Lee Rubenstein
Why Cartoons?
Cartoons make us human.
They are responsible for kids getting up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
They poke fun at political figures.
They make us laugh so hard that milk squirts out of our noses.
They describe how to use your seat cushion as a flotation device.
They grace our favorite album covers.
They sell our breakfast cereal.
They dawn our metal lunch-boxes.
They teach children to speak other languages.
They tell stories.
Why Cartoons?
Well, why the hell not?
by: Lee Rubenstein

I wanted to start off this section of Art and Essays from teammates from Team Frederator, with my art piece for the Awards Booklet. Kicking things off, so to speak. -Jeaux

Ben Ross
most people will tell you their childhood cartoon experience started on a saturday morning. well, mine were in the morning, but most of my cartoons were watched on the weekdays.
my mom and dad both worked so my sister and i were dropped off at susan’s, the babysitter. she was a large woman with a big bleached blonde beehive, long press on nails, and a big heart. she’d take us to the park right outside her apartment complex and we’d tag-a-long on her daily errands around queens.
to be perfectly honest i really couldn’t give a crap about the park or the sale that the local bodega was having on green beans. i wanted to get indoors, sit down with my baby sister on the green shag carpet in front of the big tv while susan’s son robbie slept on the cheeto stained couch and watch some fucking cartoons.
for the average four year old weekday cartoons started at about six in the morning, which was about the time i arrived at susan’s. there was thundercats, dennis the menace, scooby doo, transformers, voltron, my little pony and jem (two shows i sat through ’cause my sister loved ‘em) and my all time favorite he-man and the masters of the universe . (wow, i never knew how ridiculous and long that title is.)
let me take some time and talk about he-man for a bit. he-man, to a four old is probably about the coolest dude in the world. he is super strong, has a magic sword, rides on a giant tiger like thing called battle cat, and his arch enemy is a goddamn skeleton! how fucking cool is that? uh… really fucking cool. what really sold it for me was he-man wasn’t he-man at first, he was some nerdy prince dude named prince adam. he did prince like things like wear purple shirts and pants. however give that dude a sword and have him recite some magic words about castle grayskull and bam! he becomes the master of the universe. awesome.
now i could talk about how it all came crashing down with the live action movie starring mr. ivan drago himself, or the thousands of times i got pinched by the evil spring loaded “damage indicators” on the battle armor he-man action figure, but i’ll save that for another essay.
the cartoons i watched as a little kid may have been corny and not the best, and most of them were probably made just to help toy sales, but that really doesn’t matter. all that matters is that they were cartoons. cartoons that took you away from reality if only for 22 minutes. i <3 cartoons.

Dan Meth
Why Cartoons? What a strange question. I think what we should be asking ourselves is, “Why anything BUT cartoons?” What other human achievement is more pure, powerful, and vital to the well-being of mankind than cartoons? Nothing. Have you ever LAUGHED from science, engineering, architecture, or politics? No.
The cartoonist should be hailed as a SAINT. No other vocation is as selfless and important (ok…maybe doctors, firemen, teachers, etc. but whatever). As the saying goes, “If you’ve made one person laugh you’ve saved the whole world.” I think Ghandi said that… or maybe the guy who created Dennis the Menace.
Cartoonists save the world and ask nothing in return. They are like modern-day MARTYRS; aching backs bent over drafting tables and Wacom tablets, eyes blinded by Mac screens, evenings of selfish fun sacrificed to omnipresent deadlines. And all to save the world. Cartoons have stopped wars (can’t think of which particular war at this moment). Never do they cause violence or unrest (except for Danish cartoonists).
They are mystics, saintly artisans placed by cosmic destiny to eliminate pain and suffering from a cold galaxy of uncaring animalistic savagery. Cartoonists deserve the entire world’s utmost respect and a comprehensive dental plan. This will probably never happen… but at least they have the Freddy awards; a night in which cartoonists can honor each other.

Lee Rubenstein
Why Cartoons?
Cartoons make us human.
They are responsible for kids getting up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
They poke fun at political figures.
They make us laugh so hard that milk squirts out of our noses.
They describe how to use your seat cushion as a flotation device.
They grace our favorite album covers.
They sell our breakfast cereal.
They dawn our metal lunch-boxes.
They teach children to speak other languages.
They tell stories.
Why Cartoons?
Well, why the hell not?
by: Lee Rubenstein

Enjoy.

sakari singh

wired

joey ahlbum

brad gake

diego poveda

george pfromm II

Today I was lucky enough to attend an advanced screening of the upcoming Dreamworks film “Kung Fu Panda”. I went into the film trying to keep an open mind. Everything I had seen from the film made it look like a fun film, but I’ve been burned before. This film delivered and then some. It kept me involved and entertained from the opening sequence right through to the end credits (and there is a small bit of animation after the credits… stick around for it).

It’s hard to believe this is the same studio that released “Shark Tale” just a few short years ago. If you remember the promotions for that film, they really promoted the heck out of the all star voice cast. Angelina Jolie and Jack Black, two “Shark Tale” alum appear in this film, but this time the voices seem to fit the characters very well.

Don’t judge the film by its marketing.

The action sequences in the movie were exciting and fast paced. If you enjoyed “Samurai Jack”, then you will really enjoy this film. Many of the action sequences have you feeling out of breath and just blown away by the amount of raw energy exerted by the characters on screen. The poses, timing, and acting choices are all stellar. There are several times in the film where a single pose or facial expression will get a laugh. In my opinion, the animation crew on this movie has managed to out perform any of the other Dreamworks films to date. Animation fans will be wanting to frame by frame this movie.

The character design is marvelous. They really come alive, from their shape and surfaces to the voices and actions. I was impressed by the level of malleability of the characters, with a range of facial expressions and flexible poses not often seen in CG.

Everything from the sets to the props are great to look at, full of tiny details, but all in support of the aesthetic look of the film. The lighting made you feel like you were in peaceful Chinese valley, or a dark isolated prison cave, depending upon the sequence. After leaving the screening, I went directly to the book store and purchased the Art of Kung Fu Panda book.

I was really looking forward to this film, and I wasn’t disappointed. Each department in the Dreamworks pipeline plussed the work of the department before it, just as it should be with any great animated film. In my opinion, “Kung Fu Panda” is right up there with “The Incredibles”. For me, the worst part about today’s screening was the fact that I’ll now have to wait until June 6th to see it again.

Do not miss this film.

Four and a half Fredbots out of five.

-Floyd Bishop

A forum post from Lenny Boudreau’s Channel Frederator RAW:

Is there money to be made making web animations? We all know that the people at the very top of the game are making enough money to pay high price call girls $2000 an hour JUST to drive them around in their limousines, but what about the rest of us?

How many of you do this for a full time living, part time to supplement a “day job”, for occasional chump change, or simply as a hobby? I fall in the “occasional chump change” category. Nothing I do is commissioned. I make animations and videos, post them on certain sites that pay a royalty, and then three to six months later I get a check or a PayPal payment for two or three hundred bucks (minus those PayPal fees).

I think of it as supporting my habit. I guess it’s not bad. I could be spending a crap load more on golf clubs and golf course fees every year. Plus, creating web content means I get to be around my kids more often than if I golfed. My kids love helping out with voice acting or suggesting silly jokes for use in my videos.

What avenues are there? Mobile content. Online greeting cards. AtomFilms. Anything else out there I should look at.

What are you guys doing?

Lenny

So Nick aired “Cheese & Crockers” - not “Land Before Timmy” -  this afternoon. Let’s guess that “Land” will be shown tomorrow. Sorry for the switch. Clearly the work of anti-fairies.

– Eric

New episode today at 5:00 p.m. on Nick.

– Eric

I’m going to be spreading some essays and art like pollen around the flower field that are the new Fredblogs for the next few days. I thought it would be fitting to start with Team Frederator, starting with the head honcho: Fred Seibert.
Take it away Fred!
-Jeaux

Fred Seibert
Cartoons have always made me happy. Gee, I think they make everyone happy.

Crusader Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Tom Terrific, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Pinocchio,  Ren & Stimpy, Beavis & Butthead, Adventure Time, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Everyone has their own list, but it all adds up to happiness, doesn’t it? I mean, why cartoons? What other choice do we have?

Eric Homan
Why Cartoons? Because I’ve got a disbelief demanding to be willingly suspended.
When I was a kid, my whole world (i.e. whatever spewed out of the boob tube) was one big cartoonish stew of unreality, but it wasn’t due to animation alone. Sure, there was Huck Hound being chased by a giant potato, but the live-action shows I was watching weren’t that much less ridiculous and broad.
I watched Arnold the Pig testify in court, Uncle Martin struggle with whether to return home to Mars, Herman and Lily celebrate their 100th anniversary, and Maxwell Smart best a tribe of angry Indians terrorizing the nation’s capital with a giant arrow.
I can’t name too many live-action shows airing today where those plotlines would be even remotely acceptable.
And I miss that.
At the risk of sounding like an old man with rose-colored glasses, our live-action shows used to be more cartoony.
(I guess you could counter, today, our cartoons are more live-actiony.)
So, “Why Cartoons?”
Well, they’re my number one TV source for those far-fetched, implausible, and preposterous stories I’m so eager to believe in.
Now, if only the Law and Order crew moved to a pineapple under the sea…

Carrie Miller
The CFA staff really debated and thought long and hard about our essay topic this year, and actually, “Why Cartoons?” was one of the first ideas to come up.
We quickly turned away from it, declaring it too vague. After about one million other ideas later, we circled back to “Why Cartoons?” and took another view on it.
We thought about the wide variety of answers and thoughts we would get on this topic and finally decided that “Why Cartoons?” really was the best.
Unfortunately, when I sat down to write this essay, I was really stumped.
I mean, I love cartoons.
I wouldn’t work in any other industry. But why cartoons?
My passion for cartoons didn’t necessarily start in front of the Saturday Morning TV shows. I mean, come on. I was a kid in the ’80s, so there wasn’t a lot to go on.
Then, many years later, along came this little show called The Powerpuff Girls.
Those ruff & tuff girls were so cool. Then, I was hooked on Dexter’s Laboratory, then it was Samurai Jack.
All of these shows hit while I was in college and truly inspired me.
Somehow, God knows how, I ended up here at Frederator Studios. It was at Frederator I realized it wasn’t cartoons I loved. I mean, cartoons are great, but what I really love are cartoonists.
Cartoons are great because great people work on them. Beyond being some of the most creative and amazing artists I’ve met, cartoonists are just such wonderful people. I’ve never met one who isn’t goofy in some way or another.
They don’t take life too seriously, they’re always laughing, and their brains just plain work differently than other humans’. In addition, when you’re talking about cartoons, you’re not usually talking about one cartoonist. You’re talking about an entire TEAM of these goofballs.
Layout artists, storyboard artists, background painters, character designers, animators, and more all have a hand in the finished product you watch on TV. The final cartoon is a beautiful combination of these personalities and talents.
These are the people who make it worth while for me to come to work every day. If I were producing a documentary, or a live action show, I just don’t know that I’d really love what I do.
I truly love working with cartoonists, and that is “Why Cartoons”.

Scott Moschella
The influence of cartoons on my daily life is undeniable. I was raised on a steady diet of cartoons, both the saturday morning and weekday afternoon varieties. Their stories and characters have become a part of me along with their sugary theme songs. Which is fitting because I was also raised on a steady diet of sugared cereal. The random things that I say and do on any given day usually have a hint of wise ass, thanks to Bugs Bunny, and a tinge of idiocy, thanks to Daffy. And I’m always ready to do a horrible rendition of the Duck Tales theme song… ooooweeeeoooo!

Why cartoons? Simply because I don’t think the human race will ever invent a better way to tell a story than cartoons. In cartoons, there’s no limits or special effects budgets. You can cast any actor in any role and you can put them in any situation in any place. Anything is possible. If you can imagine it, you can put it in a cartoon.

And now that I’m a little bit older, I can appreciate all the time and work and love that goes into them which makes them so special - things like background art, sound design and spot-on comedic timing. I love cartoons and would hate to imagine life without them.

Jeaux Janovsky
24 frames (Why oh Why Cartoons?)
A poem writ by Jeaux Janovsky (Beat Cartoonista)

cartoon ink runs thru his veins
cartoon thoughts inside that brain
cartoon movement fuels his limbs

24 frames per second

four fingered fat hands waving goodbye
porkpie hat held oh so high
bulbous nose honking and a blowing
Straighten up that bowtie, seams are a showing

24 frames per second
outta this town

Why Cartoons?
It’s the only life he knew.

Why Cartoons?
It’s the only one he’ll choose.

“All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.”- Walt Disney

What better way to get my feet wet with this cool new blogging platform than with a post of my good friends Nick and Monty, AKA the Gross Brothers.
Every episode would begin with the brothers recounting their latest exploits to their freinds who listen with a mixture of awe and skepticism to these “Tales Beyond Belief!”
joey ahlbum

I found this “making of” video today. It’s more of a publicity piece, highlighting the voice talent, but  it does show some footage that hasn’t been in the trailers before.

One of the coolest things about this film is the fact that Ian McShane plays the part of Tai Lung, the Snow Leopard (the bad guy… or is he?)

You might know Ian McShane from his role as Al Swearengen from HBO’s “Deadwood”.

“Kung Fu Panda” will be in theaters June 6th.

-Floyd Bishop 

Who is the 2008 cartoonist of the year?

We would love to tell you the answer to that intriguing question… But quite frankly, we aren’t sure yet. At Channel Frederator, we are posing that very question to you, the viewers, because you make Channel Frederator what it is.

So please, rack your brains and think of a cartoonist that has made an impact on your cartoon watching experience… Send us your input, your ideas, and any or all of your choices for the 2008 cartoonist of the year… And your pick just may be awarded the prestigious Channel Frederator Award.

Let the brain-racking begin.

-Angie

Who is the 2008 cartoonist of the year?

We would love to tell you the answer to that intriguing question… But quite frankly, we aren’t sure yet. At Channel Frederator, we are posing that very question to you, the viewers, because you make Channel Frederator what it is.

So please, rack your brains and think of a cartoonist that has made an impact on your cartoon watching experience… Send us your input, your ideas, and any or all of your choices for the 2008 cartoonist of the year… And your pick just may be awarded the prestigious Channel Frederator Award.

Let the brain-racking begin.

-Angie

New episode, today at 5:00 p.m. on Nick.

– Eric

Stay tuned after the credits of the latest Meth Minute cartoon to see some super rare footage of the people behind the characters you love. At the recent New York Comic Con, Pete of Pulp Secret interviewed myself and three of my actors/friends/zine collaborators and got them to reprise their MM39 roles in the flesh. Tom Forget AKA Rags, Benjamin Marra AKA Space Cowboy, and Devin Clark AKA Mike Tyson. * If you’re interested in the magazine we’re selling cruise on over to Mammal Magazine’s website and purchase a copy. Soon to be a collector’s item.

   
Niko Anesti created the amazing 8-bit soundtrack for the latest Meth Minute cartoon. Alot of people wanted an mp3 of the arcade version of Watermelon Nights so here it is. Click to download it!

Mike Reagan, aside from his various film (Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday or Elmo in Grouchland), TV, and videogame projects, has been our honored composer on Ape Escape Cartoons and the 52 episodes of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!. He came by the studio the other day and was telling me about the trés cool set up he’s put together for the music on Ape, and rather than my explaining it to you, I thought I’d let Mike do the honors himself:

I am having a BUH-LAST writing the music for Ape Escape! Working with Kevin Kolde and Karl Torge has really challenged me in the best way possible - really getting to stretch my muscles in this series. Their knowledge of music is pretty wide - we’re just a bunch of big kids doing what makes us laugh - it’s just fantastic. They introduced me to the world of Hoyt Curtin, Les Baxter, Bert Kaempfert and so many other great composers - music I’ve heard all my life, just hadn’t taken the time to really crawl inside it.

Each episode is pretty fast paced, with many twists and turns - so there’s just a ton of music to write. Everything from themes to accentuate the stupidity of some characters, to writing music in the style of Bernhard Kaun for the Frankenstein monster episode or 50’s style montages… the list goes on and on. Glad you liked the Frankenstein episode!

To quickly access each theme, I’ve created a system using pictures on a USB device that’s essentially 128 buttons that you can assign to just about anything. So, I basically save markers in Logic for each theme, then assign a series of key commands to a single button to grab what I’m hearing in my head and paste it at the right spot. After 18 episodes I’ve got over 40 buttons programmed right now, but there’s room for 128. I’m going to do the same thing for Wubbzy - get another box of 128 buttons and start organizing themes in the same way. For the pictures, I search through the Ape Escape quicktime movies and capture the screen shot that’s most appropriate for each theme. Specter, Jimmy, Nathalie, Monkeys, and Professor are the main themes, so there’s different (and multiple) pictures for them, but there are also montages, falls, stings, sinister themes, location based music like Paris, Hospital waiting room, Vegas, etc… that get pictures on their buttons, too. For instance, there’s a Paris love theme that has a picture of the Iefell Tower, and the barnyard / Turkey in the Straw tunes have pictures of a chicken.

It’s so much faster associating a piece of music with a thumbnail picture as opposed to remembering a marker number or a folder path… this keeps the creativity at the forefront, and the math and memorization on another planet.

To quote Napoleon Dynamite’s brother Kip:
“…I still love Technology, always and forever”

via LiveNews

Mattel, the American producer of the action figures for the new Batman movie, has pulled the late Heath Ledger’s original “Joker” figurine from production, claiming the toy was too scary.

The move has left collectors scrambling to buy the limited edition original before supplies run out.

Read the full story here… 

 -Floyd Bishop

 **The Matte Plastic blog will be up to full force soon. We had some login weirdness related to the recent format change. Keep watching this space!

This sign came from Chris Battle’s page on Channel Frederator RAW. (Somehow, no one showed it to me when I ran the studio) –Fred:

Another treasure from Hanna-Barbera Studios. My girlfriend at the time swiped this from the ladies room. That’s one of Craig Kellman’s retro re-designs of Betty Rubble, pulled from the style guide and made to school dirty girls with no manners in proper ladies’ room etiquette

Personally, I think it should been Wilma doing the nagging.

Ever since I was little I wanted Super Powers like Superman.
And now I think I must have some sort of super power, because the latest edition of Refrederator: Pop Up Superman Monday recently got featured on the Juxtapoz (Hipster Art and Culture Mag) website.
If you ask me, I feel like I’m flying now, and it’s not just all the caffeine in me.
Keep Kryptonite away from me!
-Jeaux Janovsky

Brand new Fairly OddParents episode, today at 5:00 p.m. on Nick.

– Eric

Lovin’ the RAW Art on this rainy Monday.isaacpiplupevan tedlockdave savagevince mascoli

http://www.channelfrederator.com/episode/REF_20080512

This week on a Very Special Refrederator…

Look up in the sky!

It’s a bird!

It’s a plane!

It’s POP UP SUPERMAN Monday!

Comic fans! Classic Cartoon fans! Come together and Rejoice!!!
Refrederator is proud to present the 1941 Superman Cartoon: The Mechanical Monsters.
MM was directed by Dave Fleischer and produced by Paramount Pictures.
The Refrederator team added wise ass  pop-up commentary.

If you liked this, and want to see more Pop Up Specials, write in and let us know! Comment down below or send an email to: vj@channelfrederator.com

Up, Up and AWAY!!!

-Jeaux Janovsky

I am extremely excited that my “Random Cartoon” short, “Thom Cat,” has been selected for the Brooklyn International Film Festival’s Fourth Annual kidsfilmfest! This year’s competition is scheduled for June 1, from 1-4pm at the Brooklyn Lyceum Theatre. KFF received over 100 submissions from more than 10 countries, you can read about the festival here: http://www.kidsfilmfest.org/news/ –Mike Gray

The What A Prikk boat has been sailing famously! I just finished the script, entitled “Jokes On You” and am very happy with it! The script came out to six and a half pages, for the 5-6 minute long episode. I’m sure I’ll think of more jokes along the way, and if I do I’ll just add them when I storyboard!

More to come soon

Steve

Nick will air five brand new Fairly OddParents episodes this week. Beginning Monday, you’ll need to tune in at 5:00 p.m. every afternoon to watch. I’ll post the new title cards throughout the week, but, for now, enjoy this oldie but goodie from “Hail to the Chief”.

– Eric

Mother’s Day is tomorrow, Sunday, May 11th here in the United States. I thought I’d do a post that shows off two examples of great animated Moms.

In “Dumbo”, Mrs. Jumbo (we never see Mr Jumbo) gets put into solitary confinement for defending her son at the circus (and destroying the circus tent in the process). Dumbo is sad because of his mother’s situation, so Timothy the Mouse takes him to see her. It’s a very powerful sequence, even without the music, but the soundtrack really drives home the mood of the piece.

That’s not the best Mom in animation though. That accolade would have to go to Elastic Girl/Mrs Incredible/Helen Parr from “The Incredibles”. Have a look at this sequence:

The set up of Helen Parr going from normal Mom stuff (like talking with Dash and Violet, and then dealing with the baby sitter on phone) to crisis management is very well done. When she pleads with Violet to help them out, trying to reassure and demand action at the same time, you get a real sense of her motherhood. Perhaps the most powerful thing she does in this sequence is also the fastest. When she leaps from the cockpit to shield her children from the blast, man! What a thing to show on screen! You hear stories in the news all the time of a mother protecting her children at all costs, throwing themselves into certain injury or peril so that their children will be saved. To see it happen, and build up over the sequence, intercut with Bob Parr’s reactions to hearing all of this happening is intense. After the explosion, Helen wakes up a few short seconds later, but you’ve got that initial “Oh my God, is she dead?” feeling when you see it for the first time. Her line “Brace yourselves!” isn’t a funny line in and of itself, but it gets a laugh. I think that’s because the audience is relieved that she’s OK. This is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful sequences in feature animation, and one of the strongest animated films.

Anyway, I Happy Mothers Day to all the moms reading the blog, and to all those kids out there, do something nice for your mom tomorrow. Now you can’t say you forgot!

-Floyd Bishop

Mailed the week of May 5, 2008

Frederator Postcards Series 1, 1998
Frederator Postcards Series 2, 1999
Frederator Postcards Series 3, 2000
Frederator Postcards Series 4, 2003
Frederator Postcards Series 5, 2004-2005
Frederator Postcards Series 6, 2007-2008

I’m going to be spreading some essays and art like pollen around the flower field that are the new Fredblogs for the next few days. I thought it would be fitting to start with Team Frederator, starting with the head honcho: Fred Seibert.
Take it away Fred!

Fred Seibert
Cartoons have always made me happy. Gee, I think they make everyone happy.

Crusader Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Felix the Cat, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Tom Terrific, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Pinocchio,  Ren & Stimpy, Beavis & Butthead, Adventure Time, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Everyone has their own list, but it all adds up to happiness, doesn’t it? I mean, why cartoons? What other choice do we have?

Eric Homan
Why Cartoons? Because I’ve got a disbelief demanding to be willingly suspended.
When I was a kid, my whole world (i.e. whatever spewed out of the boob tube) was one big cartoonish stew of unreality, but it wasn’t due to animation alone. Sure, there was Huck Hound being chased by a giant potato, but the live-action shows I was watching weren’t that much less ridiculous and broad.
I watched Arnold the Pig testify in court, Uncle Martin struggle with whether to return home to Mars, Herman and Lily celebrate their 100th anniversary, and Maxwell Smart best a tribe of angry Indians terrorizing the nation’s capital with a giant arrow.
I can’t name too many live-action shows airing today where those plotlines would be even remotely acceptable.
And I miss that.
At the risk of sounding like an old man with rose-colored glasses, our live-action shows used to be more cartoony.
(I guess you could counter, today, our cartoons are more live-actiony.)


So, “Why Cartoons?”
Well, they’re my number one TV source for those far-fetched, implausible, and preposterous stories I’m so eager to believe in.
Now, if only the Law and Order crew moved to a pineapple under the sea…

Carrie Miller
The CFA staff really debated and thought long and hard about our essay topic this year, and actually, “Why Cartoons?” was one of the first ideas to come up.
We quickly turned away from it, declaring it too vague. After about one million other ideas later, we circled back to “Why Cartoons?” and took another view on it.
We thought about the wide variety of answers and thoughts we would get on this topic and finally decided that “Why Cartoons?” really was the best.
Unfortunately, when I sat down to write this essay, I was really stumped.
I mean, I love cartoons.
I wouldn’t work in any other industry. But why cartoons?
My passion for cartoons didn’t necessarily start in front of the Saturday Morning TV shows. I mean, come on. I was a kid in the ’80s, so there wasn’t a lot to go on.
Then, many years later, along came this little show called The Powerpuff Girls.
Those ruff & tuff girls were so cool. Then, I was hooked on Dexter’s Laboratory, then it was Samurai Jack.
All of these shows hit while I was in college and truly inspired me.
Somehow, God knows how, I ended up here at Frederator Studios. It was at Frederator I realized it wasn’t cartoons I loved. I mean, cartoons are great, but what I really love are cartoonists.
Cartoons are great because great people work on them. Beyond being some of the most creative and amazing artists I’ve met, cartoonists are just such wonderful people. I’ve never met one who isn’t goofy in some way or another.
They don’t take life too seriously, they’re always laughing, and their brains just plain work differently than other humans’. In addition, when you’re talking about cartoons, you’re not usually talking about one cartoonist. You’re talking about an entire TEAM of these goofballs.
Layout artists, storyboard artists, background painters, character designers, animators, and more all have a hand in the finished product you watch on TV. The final cartoon is a beautiful combination of these personalities and talents.
These are the people who make it worth while for me to come to work every day. If I were producing a documentary, or a live action show, I just don’t know that I’d really love what I do.
I truly love working with cartoonists, and that is “Why Cartoons”.

Scott Moschella
The influence of cartoons on my daily life is undeniable. I was raised on a steady diet of cartoons, both the saturday morning and weekday afternoon varieties. Their stories and characters have become a part of me along with their sugary theme songs. Which is fitting because I was also raised on a steady diet of sugared cereal. The random things that I say and do on any given day usually have a hint of wise ass, thanks to Bugs Bunny, and a tinge of idiocy, thanks to Daffy. And I’m always ready to do a horrible rendition of the Duck Tales theme song… ooooweeeeoooo!

Why cartoons? Simply because I don’t think the human race will ever invent a better way to tell a story than cartoons. In cartoons, there’s no limits or special effects budgets. You can cast any actor in any role and you can put them in any situation in any place. Anything is possible. If you can imagine it, you can put it in a cartoon.

And now that I’m a little bit older, I can appreciate all the time and work and love that goes into them which makes them so special - things like background art, sound design and spot-on comedic timing. I love cartoons and would hate to imagine life without them.

Jeaux Janovsky
24 frames (Why oh Why Cartoons?)
A poem writ by Jeaux Janovsky (Beat Cartoonista)

cartoon ink runs thru his veins
cartoon thoughts inside that brain
cartoon movement fuels his limbs

24 frames per second

four fingered fat hands waving goodbye
porkpie hat held oh so high
bulbous nose honking and a blowing
Straighten up that bowtie, seams are a showing

24 frames per second
outta this town

Why Cartoons?
It’s the only life he knew.

Why Cartoons?
It’s the only one he’ll choose.

“All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.”- Walt Disney

Orrin Zucker, of It’s Jerry Time, wrote us yesterday with news of his latest endeavor, WebJam .08.

“We’re getting that animation festival off the ground! It’s playing in Boston May 22-24. We’re trying to reach animation fans in the area, and thought you guys might be a good way to do that…”

WEB JAM .08, is the showcase for the best of animation from the internets, and will premiere at the Coolidge Corner Theater, Brookline, MA May 22, 23 & 24, 2008.
Some highlights from the festival, curated by Orrin include:

Jib Jab

Happy Tree Friends

Dan Meth & Lee Rubenstein’s Fredex: The Secret Lives of Robots
(and a wealth of many more internet gems!)

For more info, go to http://webjamfestival.com/
I’m hoping to be able to trek out there, and enjoy some of these online hits on the big screen. I sure hope y’all feel the same!
-Jeaux Janovsky

What do Mike Wallace, Billy Joel, Eric Robles, and Ghostface Killah all have in common? If you answered, “They’re all Shriners,” you’re only half right. The truth is they’re all celebrating birthdays today. So if you run into Mike, Billy, Eric, or Ghostface today, wish them a good one. And watch out, Robles. I’m catching up to you!

– Eric (Homan)

Drawings by Andy Kelly.

– Eric (Homan)

“What A Prikk” is a go! I’ve gotten great feedback from the idea and have decided to finally make the animation, which will be about 5/6 minutes. I’m aiming for a 5 month production beginning in mid-May and will blog about each step as I go along. In fact, I’ve actually begun working on the script and am happy so far! I”ll be posting character turnarounds, audio clips, storyboards, animatic clips, animation, and so on and so forth.

“What A Prikk” is about three dysfunctional animals; Prikk, Jon and Martha, and their awful lives. This is a VERY raunchy and inappropriate cartoon and I hope no one thinks less of me because of it

More to come soon!
Steve

This week’s cartoon is a bit of a departure. It’s the first one that I spent next to zero time animating! I got Ultra Kawaii’s Ben Ross to create an entire recap of the Meth Minute series in his ridiculously authentic 8-Bit style. Then I got his musical equivalent, Niko Anesti, to redo a couple MM39 songs in arcade sound. Bam! We got ourselves a unique cartoon:

-Dan

Have a look at this video. It’s got the Jefferson Airplane song White Rabbit, mixed with visuals from Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland”.  The results are great, with each part making the other stronger.

-Floyd Bishop 

I’ve fixed the post. As Joey pointed out in the comments, it was Jefferson Airplane, NOT Jefferson Starship.

Have a look at this first video blog from the Goob. It’s pretty cool. Hopefully we’ll see the Goob get to Hollywood soon.

-Floyd Bishop 

Check out some of this Wonderful Wednesday Art!

solomon mars

geoff munn

pedro eboli

bill porter

e3d/v

gene blakefield

Here’s a character drawing for an idea I have. I’ve been pitching it around, but still have not thought of any good names. Let’s keep it at Nerd/Jock Idea for now The Jock side looks a little too generic.. gotta work on that.

It’s pretty simple really… First I draw what I think the guest looks like.

Then Adam Rosette does a version that blows mine away:

Then he does it up in Flash:

BAM! That’s Animation the Nite Fite way. Quick, fun, and hard rockin.-Dan

http://www.channelfrederator.com/episode/CFR_20080506

We want to wish you and your mothers a happy Mother’s Day and a belated Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

We hear giving your mom episode 131 of Channel Frederator makes for a great, inexpensive present!

If that doesn’t work, you can always give her the Brand New Channel Frederator Blogs!

We make Moms swoon everywhere.

— 100 Jahre Lesezirkel, submitted by leBeat
I have no idea what this means, but it has something to do with delivering packages and teaches one the lesson to keep one’s dog on it’s leash. Very fun design in this one!

— Stupid Pet Tricks, submitted by Crow Winters
Stupid Pet Tricks is a fun and very green music video from Crow Winters. Not to be confused with Dave Letterman and his stupid pet tricks.

— Papercut, submitted by Pedro Eboli
Pedro Eboli gives us all Papercuts of joy on our eyeballs with his great short, Papercut! Very cool.

— Simon Monkey in The Wandering Wand, submitted by Reynaldo Leon
What would an upright walking monkey do if he had a magical wand? Exactly what happens in this short by Reynaldo Leon. That’s what.

This Thursday on The Meth Minute 39, Dan Meth & Ben Ross bring their brand of 8 bit loving nostalgia with a nintendo-esque tribute to the Meth Mnute. Totally Rad!!!

Stay Frosty.
- Jeaux Janovsky

Cool Things We’ve been Eyeing on the Web:
Nockforce. These guys bring the Word Up.

Ralph Bakshi’s book, Unfiltered.

The NEW Channel Frederator Blogs. Brand. Spanking. New. Check it. Oooh, wait, You’re on it already!

Soundtrack to this Newsletter: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion/Orange

Trying out the new Blogging platform! Yay!

Here’s a sneak peek at some concept art for a new mini comic I’m creating about a little boy stranded in a cave/ear canal.

-Jeaux

You might remember the Frederator Studios production tag we’re making for Fred. The first version was done before we got any input from Fred. After talking it through and watching it over and over, it’s clear that the robot doesn’t read as well as it could (it’s tiny in the large frame), and the big green “F” on the robot’s chest is hard to read at best.

For inspiration as to how you could handle such a task, we had to look no further than the 1950’s:

The production tag is much shorter than this intro piece, so we’ll have to have a lot happening fast. Keep watching to see what we come up with.

-Floyd Bishop

From a commenter the the other day: “Any thoughts on a Bonus Shirt!? Featuring Penguins!?”

From Pen: “Heh.. totally. I’ll do the bonus penguin shirt come Monday.”

–Fred

I caught up with this geneaology post about my namesake, no relationship, Fred Seibert, from Kenmore, Ohio on my Google Alerts.

It was great to meet with Travis Pomposello over coffee last week. he’s the creative force behind Bella Vita Creative.

Here’s the CD cover that I did for his dad, Tom Pomposello, back in 1993.

Joey Ahlbum

MSNBC is reporting that Seth MacFarlane has signed a new deal with Fox.

From wunderkind to TV mogul: After 2 1/2 years of negotiations, “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane has inked a new overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV that would make him the highest-paid writer-producer working in television.

The pact, which could be worth more than $100 million, will keep MacFarlane at 20th TV through 2012. It covers his services on “Guy” and his other two animated series for 20th TV and Fox — “American Dad!” and the upcoming “Guy” spinoff “The Cleveland Show” — as well as his series development, which includes a multicamera comedy with “Guy” writer Gary Janetti. It also encompasses new-media projects related to MacFarlane’s TV series as well as DVD and merchandising revenue from them. (”Guy” alone has grown into a $1 billion franchise with red-hot DVD and merchandise sales.)

“I get a lot of pleasure out of making shows,” MacFarlane said. “It’s a bonus to be getting paid well for it, and it’s a double bonus to be getting paid exorbitantly for it.”

Whether you like the show or hate it, you can’t argue that it has been a HUGE money maker for Fox. It’s nice to see a creator rewarded for their work.

-Floyd Bishop

Animator Ross Bollinger stopped by on Friday for the first time and showed us his film “The Mosquito Who Gave Up Blood.” Nice to meet you Ross. Come back soon.

Young artist Jonathan Nin spent the day with us at Frederator/East the other day and left us some of his great artwork.

Ryan Sias was one of our earliest Frederator blogees, so it’s always good to see him. Last Friday Ryan stopped by with his latest comic, Da Beaver: Environmental Hero.

Thanks to Ryan for kind permission to post art from his comic.

Illustration by Natalie Dee

I’ve talked about our new Frederator Blogs platform for too long, so now I wanted to tell you some of the details. If there’s any bugs you find as a reader (and I’m sure you will), please let us know at theblog@frederator.com or just leave a comment here.

Probably the best thing about this change for you is the ease of finding information. The quality search over in the right column works beautifully (finally). Since we can now tag and categorize posts that gives you another way to organize and search the information that’s valuable to your particular interests. And there’s also a ‘classic’ archive list by date.

Going forward, we’ll be changing our commenting system to the community based Disqus and we’re going to be doing a lot of adjustments on how the columns work, how the link roll will be exposed (or work with drop down menus), that kind of thing. There might also be some more graphic design, but that’s not really on my mind right now. We’ll also be messing with the RSS feeds for those of you who like them.

Many of you have already asked why we’ve made the change, and a lot more have asked why we’ve waited so long?

We started the first Frederator blogs in 2004 (here and here) on the Blogger platform. But it quickly it became clear we wanted to give a voice to the incredible cartoon talent in our orbits and the technology of the day wouldn’t support us too well. We turned to our brilliant developer David Karp (soon to be the brains behind Channel Frederator) and he invented one of the very first “multi-user” blogs on top of the latest (and, of course buggy) hosting technology; it’s the design you’ve been reading us on for the last three years. By late 2006 though, it was clear that Wordpress, Blogger, and others had caught up, but by that time David was caught up in inventing yet another evolution in the medium, the brilliant Tumblr (not yet ready for multiple users, if you were going to ask), and he didn’t have time to help us move. It took quite a while, but eventually we hooked up with Rudy Jahchan (from Galacticast), David’s Chief Technologist Marco Arment, Nate Olson, and Michael Lee (our saviors) and they’ve taken care of the porting, recoding, hosting, blah blah blah blah etcetera etcetera we’ve needed to make this transition possible.

So, right now, Frederator Blogs is using the Wordpress multi-user platform, and hopefully, its flexibility will make possible all the updating we need to do in the foreseeable future.

There’s more, I’m sure, but I can’t think anymore right now. Enjoy messing around and let us know what’s going wrong at theblog@frederator.com. Thanks for being so patient and so loyal.

We want to thank you all for making your toon loving voices heard! Thanks for taking the time out to vote!

To find out if your picks made the grade, keep those eyeballs peeled here until we officially announce the winners!

In the meantime, feel free to visit our Awards page to view all the nominees and categories you might’ve missed!

And finally, all week we’ll be sneaking you exclusive first peeks into our brand spanking new Channel Frederator Awards 2008 booklet!
I’ve seen some pieces and essays, and boy, does it beat up last year’s booklet!
Bam!
-Jeaux Janovsky

We want to thank you all for making your toon loving voices heard! Thanks for taking the time out to vote!

To find out if your picks made the grade, keep those eyeballs peeled here until we officially announce the winners!

In the meantime, feel free to visit our Awards page to view all the nominees and categories you might’ve missed!

And finally, all week we’ll be sneaking you exclusive first peeks into our brand spanking new Channel Frederator Awards 2008 booklet!
I’ve seen some pieces and essays, and boy, does it beat up last year’s booklet!
Bam!
-Jeaux Janovsky

http://www.channelfrederator.com/episode/REF_20080505
Howdy Classic Cartoon Fans!

This week we introduce you to a road raging goat in Official Films’ Goofy Goat Antics from 1931.

This goofy goat really gets our goat!

Make sure to watch til the end, not only will you want to join your local Glee Club, but we have a “SUPER” special surprise for you!

Reheating the Classics Up again.
-Jeaux Janovsky

You’ve seen the video… now download the mp3!Now see the video again:

I was honored to stand up for Pen and his team to pick up Adventure Time’s FIRST PLACE prize at the annual AISFA-East Animation Awards in New York City last night. It was a packed house befitting this highly prestigious festival. Everyone in the East was there from winner Bill Plympton, to President Dave Levy, to former President Linda Simensky, and too many other friendly faces to mention.

AT was proud to be in the company of all these fantastic winners and add it to the awards shelf.

–Fred

Rob Richards, who runs the Animation Backgrounds blog, has posted another great piece from “Lilo & Stitch”.

While many of the backgrounds posted on Rob’s site are great, I think the backgrounds from “Lilo & Stitch” are especially nice. It’s sometimes hard to catch the level of detail while watching the actual film, but many of these backgrounds could stand on their own as paintings.

I am anxious to see what happens with Chris Sanders’s new project at Dreamworks.

-Floyd Bishop

Hello all! Well, we had our very first internal network pitch and it went amazingly great! Thanks to the Amazing work of the Fanboy and Chum Chum crew we are starting on the right foot. It truly is exciting to see where the show is going with all the funny and talent people involved. The first episode was written by Steve Tompkins, directed by the very funny Brian Sheesley, storyboarded by the super talented Eddie Trigueros and overseen by Supervising Producer Shaun Cashman. We pitched in one of the smaller conference rooms, which would have been a bad thing if I would have had no laughs but it was a very funny room with the gags and story keeping everyone entertained. After the pitch we waited for the Network executives to debrief and they came out with smiles. So, we went out for some drinks to celebrate a very successful first network pitch. So here are some pictures.

Enjoy,
Robles

A rare cameo by Mr. Eric Homan

Shaun Cashman and Script coordinator Michael Caine

Powerhouse team of Therese Trujillo and Mac Middleton

Steve Tompkins and Brian Sheesley

I’ve been promising a move to a new, easier to use platform for Frederator Blogs for quite a while now. Finally, we’ll be there in the next 24 hours. More details will follow, but if you click on the image above you’ll get a idea of where we’re heading.

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our Last Category is #11, aka the Bad Ass Bunny Award!

They’re just a bunch of bunnies!

(they’re cute, they’re cute),

Na na na na, na na

But they’re coming to get you

(cause they’re badass, too)

Bair nair NAIR

So you’d better watch out!

(did you hear what we sang?)

Wahh, dahb, d-d-d-DOOOO!!!

Cause they’re coming to get YOOOOOUU!!!

(fly like the wind)

Cha-cha-cha.

Hot Cross Bunnies Submitted by http://www.kikutowne.com/ GoogleElizabeth Ito
One day, I predict that Elizabeth Ito will be designing toys we toy nerds and little kids alike will all want.
I’m not sure if it will be the bunnies from HCB, or another variant version of her character Mister Monster…
Either way, her bunnies are Bad Ass.

In The Beginning Submitted by Choom Lam
Choom Lam presents us with a faraway time when Bunnysauraus Rex’s ruled the land. It’s cute and grisly and very keenly animated. Also, very Bad Ass.

Animals In Love/Binge and Purge Submitted by Ben Meinhardt
Who thought that Animals (and Bunnies) that were in Love could also be so Bad Ass?
Prepare to be rocked by this fantastic short by Vancouver Film School student Ben Meinhardt titled “Animals in Love”!!!

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our Last Category is #11, aka the Bad Ass Bunny Award!

They’re just a bunch of bunnies!

(they’re cute, they’re cute),

Na na na na, na na

But they’re coming to get you

(cause they’re badass, too)

Bair nair NAIR

So you’d better watch out!

(did you hear what we sang?)

Wahh, dahb, d-d-d-DOOOO!!!

Cause they’re coming to get YOOOOOUU!!!

(fly like the wind)

Cha-cha-cha.

Hot Cross Bunnies Submitted by http://www.kikutowne.com/ GoogleElizabeth Ito
One day, I predict that Elizabeth Ito will be designing toys we toy nerds and little kids alike will all want.
I’m not sure if it will be the bunnies from HCB, or another variant version of her character Mister Monster…
Either way, her bunnies are Bad Ass.

In The Beginning Submitted by Choom Lam
Choom Lam presents us with a faraway time when Bunnysauraus Rex’s ruled the land. It’s cute and grisly and very keenly animated. Also, very Bad Ass.

Animals In Love/Binge and Purge Submitted by Ben Meinhardt
Who thought that Animals (and Bunnies) that were in Love could also be so Bad Ass?
Prepare to be rocked by this fantastic short by Vancouver Film School student Ben Meinhardt titled “Animals in Love”!!!

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

Congratulations to Nicole Mitchell. Her CalArts hand-drawn cartoon, “Zoologic”, is one of eight films nominated in the animation category in this year’s Student Academy Awards. Frederator knows the film real well; it won Grand Prize in the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival last year (that’s Nicole with NNAF host Hal Sparks above). Winners of the Student Academy Awards are announced at a ceremony in Beverly Hills on June 7. Nicole, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for you.

– Eric

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our tenth Category is The Kiwi Award!

Yeah, yeah, we know. We could’ve incorporated the Kiwi Award (your favorite film from New Zealand) into the Best International category. But it turns out, during the past year, we received a disproportionately high number of terrific films from the Middle Earth. Why is that? Beats us. Maybe it has something to do with all that Pav and Anzac biscuits.

Dominate Wax Submitted by Flux Animation Studio
Watch the short that made 2 Channel Frederator employees blush and that Fred dared to show!
Dominate Wax is a fun, little, dirty sex-romp of a viral short that was passed around the world.

Sparkle Friends in “Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em” Submitted by Mukpuddy Animation Ltd.
The Muks are regular Friends O’ Frederator, and have been big supporters of us from the get go. Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em is a great Episode of Sparkle Friends and shows what happens when everyone wants Remote Control. Great job Muks.

FOT - Champion of the World Submitted by Alex Dron
Soccer is a great game. FOT knows this, and so does his creator Alex Dron. Alex is an animator who has an incredible sense of design and animation style. Very cool stuff.

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our tenth Category is The Kiwi Award!

Yeah, yeah, we know. We could’ve incorporated the Kiwi Award (your favorite film from New Zealand) into the Best International category. But it turns out, during the past year, we received a disproportionately high number of terrific films from the Middle Earth. Why is that? Beats us. Maybe it has something to do with all that Pav and Anzac biscuits.

Dominate Wax Submitted by Flux Animation Studio
Watch the short that made 2 Channel Frederator employees blush and that Fred dared to show!
Dominate Wax is a fun, little, dirty sex-romp of a viral short that was passed around the world.

Sparkle Friends in “Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em” Submitted by Mukpuddy Animation Ltd.
The Muks are regular Friends O’ Frederator, and have been big supporters of us from the get go. Rock ‘em, Sock ‘em is a great Episode of Sparkle Friends and shows what happens when everyone wants Remote Control. Great job Muks.

FOT - Champion of the World Submitted by Alex Dron
Soccer is a great game. FOT knows this, and so does his creator Alex Dron. Alex is an animator who has an incredible sense of design and animation style. Very cool stuff.

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our Ninth Category is The So Cute It Hurts Award!

We weceived hundweds of submissions duwing 2007, many of which we categowize as absowutewy adowabaw.
We hope you feew the same way, too, as we pwesent to you the cutest of the cutest, the most wovabaw cawtoons of 2007. And wemembew, Channew Fwedewatow Woves You.
(I can do impressions. That was my patented “Barbara Streisand meets Tweety Bird” impression. I’m available for children parties and Old Folks Home Soiree events.)

Bobble & Squeak Submitted by Choom Lam
Choom presents us with a short, simple, cute well designed tale about a monster and his little dog friend-monster.

CuddleBee Hugs’n’Such Submitted by Adrian Molina and Alex Hirsch
CuddleBee is so adorable you want to punch him in the face, and Watson the deer is a great “Everyman”-deer thing.
Hilariously, sugar coated cuteness from Adrian & Alex!

Giant’s Kitchen Submitted by Jiwook Kim
This is the story of a girl who wants to help a hungry giant.
According to Jiwook: She “wanted to make something funny, not weird.” Well, she made something very, very cute. This makes me want to throw away my Easy Bake Oven.

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our Ninth Category is The So Cute It Hurts Award!

We weceived hundweds of submissions duwing 2007, many of which we categowize as absowutewy adowabaw.
We hope you feew the same way, too, as we pwesent to you the cutest of the cutest, the most wovabaw cawtoons of 2007. And wemembew, Channew Fwedewatow Woves You.
(I can do impressions. That was my patented “Barbara Streisand meets Tweety Bird” impression. I’m available for children parties and Old Folks Home Soiree events.)

Bobble & Squeak Submitted by Choom Lam
Choom presents us with a short, simple, cute well designed tale about a monster and his little dog friend-monster.

CuddleBee Hugs’n’Such Submitted by Adrian Molina and Alex Hirsch
CuddleBee is so adorable you want to punch him in the face, and Watson the deer is a great “Everyman”-deer thing.
Hilariously, sugar coated cuteness from Adrian & Alex!

Giant’s Kitchen Submitted by Jiwook Kim
This is the story of a girl who wants to help a hungry giant.
According to Jiwook: She “wanted to make something funny, not weird.” Well, she made something very, very cute. This makes me want to throw away my Easy Bake Oven.

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

So, we’ve been getting so many requests for the early Adventure Time T-designs, and so many new people discovered the store along the way, Pen and I thought we’d throw in a bonus week or so.

Announcing the All-12-Adventure-Time-T-Shirt-Time-Store!!!

Check ‘em out, tell your friends.

–Fred

Check out these talented artists, and have a great weekend!

pedro eboli

nick r

elliot cowan

capmconnundrum

ben camberos

frame damage

jeaux janovsky

-angie

Not all fan videos are created equal. Youtube has no shortage of bad videos of animated content set to random songs. This video from YouTube user Poopydough is one of the good ones though. He combined the Cake cover of the Black Sabbath song “War Pigs”, with visuals from the Cartoon Network series “Clone Wars”. He matched up key lyrics with visuals that correspond, and the results are pretty nice.

I still prefer the way Black Sabbath does the song though.

-Floyd Bishop

Mailed out the week of April 28, 2008.

Frederator Postcards Series 1, 1998
Frederator Postcards Series 2, 1999
Frederator Postcards Series 3, 2000
Frederator Postcards Series 4, 2003
Frederator Postcards Series 5, 2004-2005
Frederator Postcards Series 6, 2007-2008

The show’s not even out yet, and it’s already amassing some great, somewhat genius fanart.
Look at this beauty of a gem I found hidden deep within the heart and caves of the Internet.
-Jeaux Janovsky

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our 8th Category is the SixSixSix Award.

Of all the vile, degrading, and deplorable cartoons we’ve received since the last Channel Frederator Awards, our panel of experts in disgust deemed these three films the most barfbag-worthy.

We hope you’re all truly offended.

How Can I Say No to Sex at School? Submitted by Dave Carter
Hey Kids! Say No to sex and God loves you!

Slaughterween Submitted by Rory Cooke
A lonely misunderstood school boy sets out to impress his class on Halloween.

Respire, Mon Ami Submitted by Chris Nabholz
Set in France, a lonely child finds companionship in a friend who tags along on a series of small adventures that take you though multiple settings before leading up to a climactic finish with a struggle between life and death.

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

Welcome stranger!
I reckon you just stumbled into the Channel Frederator Awards Nominee and Category Corral.

This here’s the rootin, tootinest spot to view them little critters runnin around and brandin em with yer vote!
We’re gonna be a bloggin it up with a blogpost a day fer each Category!!! Yee-HAW!

Our 8th Category is the SixSixSix Award.

Of all the vile, degrading, and deplorable cartoons we’ve received since the last Channel Frederator Awards, our panel of experts in disgust deemed these three films the most barfbag-worthy.

We hope you’re all truly offended.

How Can I Say No to Sex at School? Submitted by Dave Carter
Hey Kids! Say No to sex and God loves you!

Slaughterween Submitted by Rory Cooke
A lonely misunderstood school boy sets out to impress his class on Halloween.

Respire, Mon Ami Submitted by Chris Nabholz
Set in France, a lonely child finds companionship in a friend who tags along on a series of small adventures that take you though multiple settings before leading up to a climactic finish with a struggle between life and death.

Don’t forget to go to our voting page and vote as fast as you can say giddy-up!
-Jeaux Janovsky

This Sunday, May 4, ASIFA East is holding its 39th Annual Animation Festival at the New School’s Tishman Auditorium on 66 West 12th Street in the Big Apple. I’d be happy to post about the event any other year, but this time around I’m extra glad to announce that Pen’s “Adventure Time” has won in the category of sponsored films over two minutes. While Pen won’t be on hand to get his prize, Fred and Carrie will be there, representing. Congratulations, Pen. Carrie and Fred, please send pictures.

– Eric