Some people take the holidays off – I, however, enjoy Christmas vacation by spreading classic cartoon joy all over my Southern California home base. On Christmas Day, December 25th, I will be back with another one hour radio broadcast at 6pm on KPFK (90.7 FM) Southern California. I call the show CARTOONS IN STEREO, and […]
Archive for December, 2017
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BOOK REVIEW: 20 Years of “Zits”
December 22nd, 2017 
Charles Solomon Twenty years ago–July 7,1997–a lanky blond teenager slouched down to breakfast; his father and mother bid him good morning (“Did you sleep well, Sweetie?”). His reaction: “As usual, my parents were on my case.” Comics readers discovered “Zits,” written by Jerry Scott and drawn by Jim Borgman, a genuinely funny new strip that combined the […]
TRAILER #2: Aardman’s “Early Man”
December 20th, 2017 Jerry Beck Set at the dawn of time, when dinosaurs and wooly mammoths roamed the earth, Early Man tells the story of how one plucky caveman unites his tribe against a mighty enemy and saves the day! Prioduced by Aardman Animation, directed by Nick Park and starring Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams and Timothy Spall, a […]
Ron Clements & John Musker To Receive Art Directors Award For Championing The Art Of Animation
December 19th, 2017 Jerry Beck Ron Clements and John Musker, Oscar-nominated Walt Disney Animation Studios filmmaking partners behind such animated features as Moana and The Princess and the Frog, will receive the William Cameron Menzies Award from the Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) at the 22nd Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards on Jan. 27th at the Ray […]
Warner Animation Group Names Abbate and Leahy As Senior Creative Team
December 14th, 2017 Jerry Beck Warner Animation Group, the animated film production arm of Warner Bros. Pictures, has announced the appointment of two senior-level creative executives: Allison Abbate has been named Executive Vice President, and Chris Leahy has been named Senior Vice President. Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Content Officer, Warner Bros. Pictures shares oversight of Warner Animation Group with […]
TRAILER: Universal’s “Woody Woodpecker”
December 13th, 2017 Jerry Beck One year ago we posted the Brazilian trailer for a live action/animation hybrid Woody Woodpecker feature. Well, “Guess Who?”… that feature makes its US debut on DVD on February 6th 2018, via Universal. Filmed in Vancouver and directed by Alex Zamm (Inspector Gadget 2), the movie stars Eric Bauza (Ren & Stimpy, Puss In Boots, […]
Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television to Premiere Six Original Series in 2018
December 13th, 2017 Jerry Beck Netflix and DreamWorks Animation Television are set to release six new original series in 2018 beginning with Trolls: The Beat Goes On! premiering Jan. 19, 2018, exclusively on Netflix. The new slate includes series inspired by DreamWorks’ beloved animated films as well as classic properties including an all-new She-Ra. From executive producer Noelle Stevenson, the […]
Bill Plympton’s “Your Face” Global Jam
December 12th, 2017 Jerry Beck In 1987, Bill Plympton burst onto the animation scene with the debut of his short Your Face at the Annecy Festival. After winning numerous awards and garnering a nomination for an Oscar, Plympton has gone on a 30-year career as “The King of Indie Animation”. To commemorate three decades, producer Ken Mora commissioned a special […]
2017 Golden Globe Nominees
December 11th, 2017 Jerry Beck The infamous Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their nominees today – and included in the mix were their choices for Best Animated Feature. Animated entries were also represented for Best Song, with Pixar’s Coco, Blue Sky’s Ferdinand, and Sony’s The Star being recognized there. The Golden Globes will be awarded in a ceremony from the […]
INTERVIEW: “Porky Pig” Voice Bob Bergen
December 11th, 2017 Greg Ehrbar He’s been the voice of Porky Pig for 27 years now, with so many credits he ranks #4 of the All-Time Top 100 Domestic Box Office Stars. Yet the one thing animation fans have never asked Bob Bergen is, how many kinds of ‘Porkys’ has he voiced? BOB BERGEN: That’s a really good question, because […]
TEASER: “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”
December 9th, 2017 Jerry Beck Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik […]
INTERVIEW: Carlos Saldanha on Making “Ferdinand” Believe-a-bull
December 8th, 2017 W.R. Miller Carlos Saldanha has become one of the most prolific feature animation directors in the world. After co-directing Ice Age (1999) and Robots (2005), he progressed to solo director with Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006), followed by Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Rio (2011), Ice Age 4: Continental Drift (2012), Rio 2 […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Ranma ½: OVA & Movies Collection”
December 7th, 2017 Charles Solomon Rumiko Takahashi’s gender-bending martial arts comedy Ranma ½ debuted as a manga in “Shonen Sunday Comics” in 1988 and in animation soon after. Three decades later, it remains hugely popular in both Japan and the United States. Although Takahashi has said she wasn’t commenting on gender roles in Japan, its absurd premise suggests otherwise. Wiry, […]
The “Robot Chicken: Santa Claus Pot Cookie” Season Premiere Special Interview
December 7th, 2017 Jackson Murphy The highly-anticipated Season 9 of “Robot Chicken” kicks-off Sunday night at 11:30pm with a brand new Holiday Special – Freshly Baked: The Robot Chicken Santa Claus Pot Cookie Freakout Special: Special Edition. Series co-creator Matthew Senreich and director Tom Sheppard give us a preview of Santa’s wild ride and other highlights of S9. Jackson Murphy: […]
Charles Solomon’s Animation Year End Review 2017
Although he wrote them in 1859, Charles Dickens might have been thinking of animation in 2017 when he penned the celebrated lines, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the […]