Talk to the Snail

As a high-powered animation executive, I’m often stopped by people on the street who ask me, “What was the very first single 45 record you ever bought?” The answer is, natch, Daddy Dewdrop’s “Chick-A-Boom” (I suspect the same goes for many of you). Now, what’s been nagging me is where I first heard the song. I mean nagging me for decades. For so many years, I knew it was on a Saturday morning cartoon show. While I assumed said show was Where Are You, Scooby-Doo!, something deep inside told me that just wasn’t right. Now, thanks to the Internet, I’ve now discovered the answer is not from Scooby, but rather from Sabrina and the Groovie Ghoolies. And now, for your complete and total edification and somewhat guilty pleasure, the good folks at the YouTubes have proffered the very Sabrina clip that led me on a long and winding road on my life-long [Read more…]

“Ivan the Unbearable”
Random! Cartoons
Created by Andrew Dickman
Directed by Gary Conrad
Premieres Saturday, December 13, at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT on Nicktoons Network
Frederator Postcards Series 7.7, mailed December 3, 2008

– Eric

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
Frederator Postcards Series 7, 2008-2009

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

My name suggestion of Wubbzy and the Pippettes didn’t fly.

– Eric

Watch the premiere of The Mighty B on Nickelodeon Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. or else! I’ve seen a couple of episodes, and the best of the many compliments I can pay it is I think it’s funny just looking at the video, and I think it’s funny just listening to the audio. (But you should do both.)

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For you Angelenos out there, an animated verison of Felix Figueroa (aka Freddy Martin) and his Orchestra’s “Pico & Sepulveda” by SlushoSteve.

– Eric

A big congratulations to John Dilworth. His contribution to Random! Cartoons, “Garlic Boy”, is going to be screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival in Newport Beach, California. If you want to see the boy of garlic with his tonic that’s “good for what ails ya”, you need to go to the Shorts for Shorties screening at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, 4/26.

Oh, and you may also want to attend An Evening of Disney Animation Rarities with Roy E. Disney and Don Hahn, part of the festival on Wednesday night, April 30. From the festival website:

“Join noted filmmakers and Academy Award nominees Roy E. Disney and Don Hahn as they present an unforgettable evening of rarely seen Disney animated shorts and experimental films. Roy and Don will screen a collection of short animated films that had limited theatrical presentations, many of which are not available for viewing on DVD.”

– Eric

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The fine folks over at Juxtapoz have a sneak peak of some upcoming Kooky Kollectables from Bob Boyle’s Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! They’ll be available in August at all the usual places where you buy your vinyl stacking character figures.

Hey. How’d they get those pictures?

– Eric

Random! - hey, Nick, when are you ever going to air them? - Cartoons alum Doug TenNapel is in the news again - in a good way. Turns out Paramount has bought the movie rights to Doug’s next graphic novel, Monster Zoo. With his Tommysaurus Rex and Creature Tech also headed for the big screen, it’ll only be a matter of time before Doug will be buying and selling all of us ten times over.

– Eric