THURSDAY THEME SONG: MEN IN BLACK
This week's animated spin-off based on a live-action movie is Men in Black: the Series which is based on the 1997 hit Men in Black which is based on the comicbook of the same name.
Produced by Adelaide Productions, makers of Jackie Chan Adventures, Ghostbusters Extreme and Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, MIB: the Series debuted on the WB! in 1997 immediately following the movie. The events of the show spin directly out of the movie's plot and focus on the movie's main characters, Jay and Kay. The series lasted a whole four seasons, from 1997 to 2001.
In the show, Jay and Kay are still partners and must defend Earth from the various invading forces set out for world annihilation. Many supporting cast and villains from the movie pop up to say hi but none of them, including the main characters, are voiced by their original counterparts. Ed O'Ross and Gregg Berger replaced Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K and Keith Diamond replaced Will Smith as Agent J.
The show had a very slick style with creative sets, aliens and character designs that follow the style of this animation company. It was a pleasure to watch and the writing, despite one or two poor episodes, was very well done. I will be picking this one up if it ever comes out on DVD.
December is always a slow month for new animation news. One one really makes big announcements until January. The only thing going on is that every Christmas movie, tv special and obligatory Christmas episode will make its way to the tube.
I hope you enjoy this month! Tomorrows' Thursday Theme Song will be the last week for November and there will be no Thursday Theme Songs for December but I am sure that you won't even notice that it is gone!
Katie and I just returned from a sunny trip in Iowa visiting Katie's family for Thanksgiving. While I was there I decided it would be a good time to get engaged! That's right! I asked Katie to marry me and she said yes!
This week's television theme song is a spin-off of the 1988 Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice. The series ran four seasons and 94 episodes on ABC and FOX from September 1989 to December 1991 and was animated by Canadian company, Nelvana. Beetlejuice was an instant hit on ABC's saturday morning lineup and soon aired every weekday afternoon on FOX as well.
On November 14th, 1931, the Warner Bros. animation department released their sixteenth cartoon staring Bosko, the Ink-Talk Kid. In Bosko's Soda Fountain, Bosko is a soda jerk who takes pleasure in serving the local denizens ice cream in a musical and comical fashion. Meanwhile, Honey is teaching Wilbur to play the piano coaxing him with the promise of ice cream when they are done. She calls up Bosko and asks him to bring over an ice cream cone, to which, Bosko races over to her house nearly spilling the ice cream cone several times.
Does this sound like a pretty weak plot to you? Well this is the basis of most of the old Looney Tunes cartoons of the 30s. With the invention of 'talkies' (movies with dialogue) Warner Bros. animators Hugh Harmon and Rudy Ising created Bosko in 1927.
A second teaser trailer for the Simpsons Movie debuted during yesterday's episode of the Simpsons. I find it a little funny that they are putting the emphasis on its traditional 2D animation but most of the backgrounds and props seem to be computer generated but use Toon shading to give it a '2D look'. It still looks nice.
This short lived two season, 26-episode Saturday morning cartoon aired on CBS from September 1991 to September 1993. It followed the adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown as they visit parallel time zones. Joining the cast is Doc Brown's wife, Clara, and their children, Jules and Verne, and Marty's girlfriend, Jennifer Parker.
The more I researched Paul Driessen for today's post, the more fascinated I was by his work. First of all, he's not a trained animator. He went to school (the Art Academy in Utrecht) for graphic design and illustration. He worked in Holland animating TV commercials. Director George Dunning discovered Paul when he was searching out animators for his movie Yellow Submarine. This movie was based on the Beatle's song and required very (for lack of a better term) trippy animation. Paul was perfect for the job. I've included a clip from the movie in this post. I wanted to put up some of his solo work but unfortunately couldn't find it in the right format to display here. Although this is a very good glimpse at his style. His lines are always wiggly and moving. He has a way of morphing one shape into another (which you can see in the beards and hair growing on the Beatles). His animation seems very childish at first, as far as character design. But if you actually watch it, you'll be amazed at the fluidity of movement and the realism of the characters. I encourage you to go to 
I am the manager of a rock band called A Sheep at the Wheel. We have just finished shooting our first music video for the new single Machine Guns & Jesus Christ!
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has released a list of the eligible animated movie for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. A Whopping sixteen films meet Academy requirements!
Jim Carry was an unknown when he made Ace Ventura: Pet Detective but his portrayal of the titular character was so popular that not only did he make a sequel but the character also got a television series of the same name. He then went on to make The Mask which also got it's own cartoon spin-off.
First on the list is Marv Newland. He got his start in LA and broke into the animation scene with his short Bambi Meets Godzilla in 1969. He did a lot of television commercial work, including animated advertisements for Sesame Street.