Channel Frederator Blog

Thanks to Boing Boing for bringing this Russian version of Winnie the Pooh, called Vinni Puh, to my attention. The state sponsored animation house Soyuzmultfilm crafted its own version of the Pooh tales back in the 1970s. They have their own distinctive style (I love the scribbly backgrounds) and the overall feeling is less delicate and more goofy than the E.H. Shepard interpretation we all know so well.

(By the way, it seems that Shepard ended up hating Pooh. Silly old bear!)

Thinking Pictures goes into detail about Russian interpretations of Pooh here. (Warning: It’s a brainy essay and uses words like Gemütlichkeit and Gemeinschaft. Mickey Mouse is apparently Gemeinschaft.)

And if you are hankering for more Soviet silliness, enjoy these additional Vinni Puh adventures:

Chapter Two (with subtitles)

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

—Anne D. Bernstein

“All The Cats Join In” from Make Mine Music is one of my favorite cartoon shorts. It’s got a great swingin’ track, cute Fred Moore girls, fluid animated jitterbugging, and ice cream! If you click on the links below and visit two highly recommended animation blogs, The Blackwing Diaries and Mayerson on Animation, you can get a detailed peek into the making of this clean-cut classic.

Mark Mayerson: PAGE ONE, PAGE TWO.

Blackwing (Jenny Lerew’s blog): PAGE ONE, PAGE TWO.

Lerew has tons of additional Fred Moore info on her site and sketches of assorted Fred Moore girls, including this sassy lass from “All the Cats Join In.” YOWSA!

—Anne D. Bernstein

Here’s to you George.

jay d smith

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George Carlin, stand up comic best known for his routine “The Seven Words” has passed away. He was 71. You may remember George Carlin as the voice of Fillmore, the hippie VW bus from the Pixar film “Cars”.

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There are rumors around the web of a new Inspector Gadget series set to start in early 2009.  It is said to feature many of the characters from the original series, but it has a darker tone.

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Simple. Clever. Succinct. That’s how I would describe this Post-It animation. But who’s behind it? Turns out it’s an Argentinian motion graphics company called Gazz. It’s worth it to explore their website, as only a few examples of their work show up on YouTube. You can check out a stop-motion town full of egg-cars and a smoking belly face ID for MTV, among other fanciful things.

Also, don’t miss the videos in the section called “zzzaping”, which compiles tests and demos. One project is a motion-capture kit comprising two marachas and a belt, which can harness your rhythmic chops and sexy hip action to make an animated monkey dance.

Here’s a lovely music video they did for the song “Marta Ý Nestor” by Robot Bajo El Agua. I really love the song, although I don’t speak Spanish and don’t know what exactly they are singing about— I suppose love?

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The Anime News Network is reporting that “Gon” will soon have his own television series. Korean company Daewon Media has secured the rights to Gon from Japanese company Kodansha. 

“Gon” is a comic book series featuring a small dinosaur type character with super speed and super strength. The stories have no dialog and no human characters. They all take place in nature, and place Gon with realistic animals in natural surroundings and situations.

Look for “Gon” in early 2010.

-Floyd Bishop 

Here’s to the weekend!

James Sugrue

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Amanda Visell has a solo exhibit called “Tic Toc Apocalypse” coming up this Saturday, June 21st at the M Modern Gallery. The opening reception is Saturday night, from 7 - 10PM. If you are in or around Palm Springs, be sure to check it out.

-Floyd Bishop 

On his blog, Ironic Sans, photographer David Friedman has undertaken an ongoing look at how Manhattan has been depicted in animation. “Animated Manhattan” is up to Part 20, and he’s covering all the bases: TV series set in The Big Apple (The Critic, MTV Downtown); famous cartoon characters paying a visit (Tom and Jerry, The Simpsons, Family Guy); feature films (Madagascar, An American Tail); and memorable independent shorts like Jimmy Picker’s 1983 Oscar-winning musical extravaganza Sundae in New York. (Ed Koch was born to be turned into a claymation character!)

For a bonus Picker Pick, here’s Earth Angel, where an alien falls in love with the Statue of Liberty and croons 50s style to his green gal:

For some behind-the-scenes with Plasticine, go here to watch a 20-minute doc of Picker’s appearance at the Quickdraw Animation Society in Canada.

—Anne D. Bernstein