Big Hero 6

Walt Disney Animation has announced their first feature-length animated film based on a Marvel property Big Hero 6. Inspired by a little-known Japan-set Marvel series about a team of state-sanctioned superheroes, the film will center on a boy named Hiro Hamada and his beloved robot companion BayMax who join a team of crime fighters in a mythical mashup high-tech city called San Fransokyo.

This will be Walt Disney Animation Studios first movie inspired by a Marvel comic book series, an obscure 1998 series written by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Roulea. Disney bought the comic book company

The film is directed by Winnie the Pooh director Don Hall. Hall, a lifelong comic book fan who started at Disney Animation in 1995, was in the midst of directing “Winnie the Pooh” when Disney acquired Marvel in 2009. He found “Big Hero 6″ while digging through Marvel’s library for ideas and pitched it to Disney’s chief creative officer, John Lasseter, in 2011.

The film will release theatrically on November 07, 2014.

Disney Announces First Marvel Animated Feature originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on May 9, 2013.

Kristina Reed

Kristina Reed, the producer of the Academy Award Winning animated short Paperman was escorted from her seat at the awards show shortly after her film won the coveted statuette. It seems that in her exuberant mood to celebrate the win, Ms. Reed took to making paper airplanes, applying a lip-stick kiss, and sending the planes into the audience around her.

For those not so familiar with the short Paperman, paper airplanes are an integral part of the plot… and bright red lipstick also is an important visual. No doubt, Ms. Reed’s reaction was only over-exuberant fun on her part.

From her seat in the balcony, some of the planes reportedly fell to the main floor. Security escorted the producer from her seat and outside the Dolby Theater. There she was warned that her paper airplane making fracas would go down on her permanent record.

After approximately 10 minutes, Ms. Reed was allowed back to her seat.

If you haven’t seen the Oscar winning short, please watch in here. And then let us know what you think– are paper airplanes dangerous, or was Ms. Reed justified in her celebration?

Paperman Producer Kristina Reed Flies Out Of Oscars originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 25, 2013.

Bob Godfrey

Britain’s best-loved animator Bob Godfrey, creator of Roobarb & Custard and Henry’s Cat, died on Thursday 20h February aged 91.

Born in New South Wales, Australia, in January 27 1921 of British parents, he was brought home to England at the age of 6 months.

He grew up in Ilford, Essex (north-east London), and after leaving school attended Leyton Art School. In the 30s he worked as a Graphic Designer for Lever Brothers (now Unilever) before securing a job at the advertising agency Lintas.

During WW2 he served in the Royal Marines, and took part in the D-Day landings.

After the War he returned to Lintas, spent a year producing merchandising artwork based on the Animaland cartoons being made by David Hand for the Rank Organization (which he despised for being too “Disney”) then joined the animation studio of WM Larkin, who produced information and industrial films. Speaking later of his interview with designer Peter Sachs, Bob said:

When I went for a job, he asked me what I knew about film-making. “Absolutely nothing,” I answered with uncharacteristic modesty. “Good, you can start on Monday,” he replied.

Bored with the work they were producing during the day, Godfrey and fellow workers Keith Lerner and Jeff Hale (NB: no relation!) got together in the evenings and produced their own cartoon films, The Big Parade in 1952 and Watch the Birdie in 1954.

In 1955, the year commercial TV came to Britain, Godfrey, Learner and Hale set up their own animation studio, Biographic Cartoons Ltd. Their quirky humour set the tone for animated TV commercials in the UK.

Because of the speed with which they could produce limited but very funny animation, they also produced animated inserts for TV programmes, notably the Dick Lester/Spike Milligan series Son of Fred and Michael Bentine’s It’s a Square World, where little cartoon characters would be superimposed over the live-action, interacting with Bentine.

In 1957 Vera Linnecar and Nancy Hanna, also from Larkins, joined Biographics, which moved to larger premises in Dean St. In 1962 my friend David and I, keen would-be animators aged 14, got to visit Bob Godfrey at his studio. I remember he was very kind in interrupting his busy day to indulge two tongue-tied schoolboys, and told us how his first rostrum was built of two kitchen tables stacked one on top of the other – which they still used for line-testing (but which he couldn’t show us as it was in use at the time). I remember him warning us that our watercolour-painted cartoon animation would ‘boil’ when filmed – ironic since he would later exploit that technique in his Roobarb TV series!

In the 50s & 60s Bob Godfrey used his income from commercials to make a constant stream of wacky entertainment shorts: Polygamous Polonius (58), Do-It-Yourself Cartoon Kit (59), Alf, Bill and Fred and The Rise and Fall of Emily Sprod (both 64), to name but a few.

With influences ranging from the saucy seaside postcards of Donald McGill via Music Hall and the Beano comic to radio’s The Goon Show, Godfrey epitomized the British sense of humour, convention and sexual repression being his main targets. He found a kindred spirit in scriptwriter Stan Heywood, whose first step into comedy writing had been selling a gag to Spike Milligan for the Goon Show.

In 1965 Bob Godfrey left Biographic to set up under his own name. This coincided with a decline in advertising’s interest in animation, but Godfrey continued his output of shorts.

In the 70s he pushed boundaries further. Henry 9 to 5 (70) won a BAFTA award; Karma Sutra Rides Again (71) was initially banned, but later received an Oscar nomination.

After reading a book on Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Godfrey asked distributor British Lion, who had backed Karma Sutra, to give him some money to make a half-hour special about the Victorian engineer. “Yes, they said, here’s £20,000. They’d have given me money to animate a toilet if I’d asked them,” he told the Guardian newspaper in 2001.

The resultant film Great! (75) went on to win a BAFTA and an Oscar. But the shorts never made much money, so he seized the chance to animate the Roobarb series for BBC TV. The simple boiling marker pen drawings had a charm that was matched by the narration from the late, great Richard Briers, who had also voiced Brunel in Great!

He made further TV series, culminating in Henry’s Cat (scripted by Stan Hayward, 2000), continued to release shorts, and hosted a TV series about animation techniques (The Do-It Yourself Film Animation Show on BBC1, 74).

He also taught animation at West Surrey School of Art and Design. He told the Guardian:

“I teach the basics of animation, then it’s up to the individual.
“Great illustrators don’t always make great animators. I’ve known people who couldn’t draw at all who were great animators. You can always spot the ones with real talent. They don’t listen to you.”

He was co-chairman of the Education Commission and a director of the executive board of the International Animated Film Association.

He is survived by his wife, Beryl, and two daughters. Two more daughters predeceased him.

(Special Thanks to Peter Hale, who graciously wrote this obituary for us.)

Bob Godfrey dead, age 91 originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 24, 2013.

Brave

It was a big night for Disney animation at the Oscars tonight with Disney short Paperman taking home Best Animated Short, and Disney/PIXAR’s Brave grabbing the statuette for Best Animated Feature. Paperman had previously won the Annie for Best Short, while Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph had won the Annie for Best Feature Film… so not so much on the Annies predicting the Oscars anymore.

Brave is a fresh fairy tale that takes place in rugged and mythic Scotland. The impetuous, tangle-haired Merida, though a daughter of royalty, would prefer to make her mark as a great archer. A clash of wills with her mother compels Merida to make a reckless choice, which unleashes unintended peril on her father’s kingdom and her mother’s life. Merida struggles with the unpredictable forces of nature, magic and a dark, ancient curse to set things right.

Brave was directed by Mark Andrews, written by Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman and Irene Mecchi and produced by Katherine Sarafian.

Paperman is a relatively simple tale of a boy meets girl chance encounter leads to the hero desperately attempting to re-introduce himself to a pretty girl via the medium of paper planes from his office skyscraper to hers. His failed attempts and passion for his original goal manifest in the hundreds of discarded planes as they try to guide, prod, poke and shove him towards his destination whilst gently persuading the goal of his affections along to a possible reconciliation too.

Paperman is directed by John Kahrs and produced by Kristina Reed.

Had Wreck-It Ralph won the Oscar, it would have made for an interesting Jeopardy question… as both Wreck-It Ralph and Paperman release together.

Disney Grabs The Oscars originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 24, 2013.

Cinderella

From this date in 1950 comes a Disney feature film based on a story by Charles Perrault. Cinderella really marked the return of the Disney studios top the animated feature film, and marked the beginning of the middle period of the Disney oeuvre.

Beautiful Cinderella has been forced by her jealous stepmother and ugly stepsisters to become a servant in her own home, though she keeps a positive outlook with the help of her friends, the chatty mice and chirping birds. When the King and the Duke plan a royal ball so that Prince Charming might find a bride, all the eligible maidens are invited-including Cinderella. Though the ugly stepsisters destroy the ball gown that Cinderella’s animal friends have made, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother sings a magic song, and creates all the things Cinderella needs to get to the ball.

Once there, she instantly catches the Prince’s eye. They spend the whole night together, but it is over much too soon. As the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella races from the castle in a gallant attempt to get home before the last strike of the bell. In her haste, she loses her slipper on the steps of the castle.

With the slipper as his guide, the Prince searches the kingdom for the fair lady. He sends his Grand Duke out to find the one lady whose foot fits the slipper. Try as they might, none of the stepsisters can fit in. They give Cinderella a try, and it fits! Cinderella is brought to the castle, and she and the Prince live happily ever after.

Cartoon of the Day: Cinderella originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 15, 2013.

Rango

Released two years ago today, and last year’s winner of the Academy Award for best feature animated film, the cartoon oif the day is Rango. Directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp– wow, that sounds like a couple of pirate films we know– this stylish western was on the tops of many lists last year. Let us know what you thought of this one.

A comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West. The story follows the comical, transformative journey of Rango, a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in?

When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt, a lawless outpost populated by the desert’s most wily and whimsical creatures, the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds that he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt… until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, Rango starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be.

Rango is an exciting new twist on the classic Western legend of the outsider who saves a town, and himself in the process.

Release date is that of Los Angeles premiere; general release date was March 4, 2011.

The first animated feature film for award-winning special effects house Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).

Cartoon of the Day: Rango originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 14, 2013.

Freeway Phobia No. 1

Goofy was always good fun, and good fodder for stories. Freeway Phobia No. 1, with a story written by William R. Bosché is no exception. And, as in many previous films, Goofy plays all the parts. Watch this today for a great belly laugh!

Goofy demonstrates how not to drive on the freeway: first, the overly timid driver, then the overly aggressive driver, and finally the inattentive driver, shaving or eating. Goofy plays all the parts.

Often considered or classified as an ‘Educational’ short, this cartoon is not. According to internal Disney documentation, this short was originally classified as a ‘Goofy’ short at its original release.

Alternate Title: “Freewayphobia or The Art Of Driving The Super Highway.”

Cartoon of the Day: Freeway Phobia No. 1 originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 13, 2013.

The Jockstrap Raiders

The full video of the Student Academy Award winning Animation “The Jockstrap Raiders” is now available to view online. Five years in the making, this was a labor of love for director Mark Nelson. The film became his Masters thesis project at UCLA.

The Jockstrap Raiders is a Student Academy Award winning animated short film about a group of misfits during world war I. It takes place in Leeds, England where our heroes are all excluded from the war due to various abnormalities. Threatened by the invading German Kaiser and his army, they must learn to become a team and overcome their deficiencies in order to save Britain, and the world.

Completed at UCLA, it is Mark Nelson’s MFA thesis project. The short has won many awards, including: Student Academy Award; Best Animation, British Animation Festival; Best Animation Macon Film Festival; Best Narrative Short GI Film Festival; Audience Award Orlando Film Festival.

The Jockstrap Raiders Invade The Internets! originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 12, 2013.

Adam And Dog

Academy Award nominee “Adam and Dog” is now fully represented online. If you are interested in seeing the full 15 minute short, you now can because director Minkyu Lee has posted the full version to the Internets.

Of the other Oscar nominated films, Paperman and Fresh Guacamole have full versions online, too. British entry Head Over Heels has only a teaser video available right now.

Simpsons short The Longest Daycare is not currently available online.

All videos that are online can be viewed directly from their BCDB page.

Adam and Dog Full Video Online originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 9, 2013.

Netflix

Netflix announced it has signed a multi-year license agreement with Turner Broadcasting and Warner Brothers, thus opening the door for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim shows to come to instant online streaming. Beginning March 30, Cartoon Network shows like “Adventure Time,” “Johnny Bravo,” “Green Lantern: The Animated Series,” “Regular Show,” and “Ben 10“will have whole seasons available for streaming.

Adult Swim titles will be appearing soon. “Archer,” “The Boondocks,” “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” “Robot Chicken,” “Children’s Hospital” and more are now available for viewing. Futurama has been on Netflix for some time now.

Don’t expect a whole lot from “Toonami” block– now part of Adult Swim– on Netflix because of licensing issues for the older shows.

Cartoon Network Coming To Netflix Streaming originally appeared on Big Cartoon News on February 9, 2013.