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TV Series

Ponies Come to DVD

Feb 15th, 2012
by rodney.
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At long last the wildly popular series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (from the Hub network of course) comes to DVD thanks to Shout Factory on the 28th of this month.  My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic — The Friendship Express will include five non-sequential episodes from seasons one and two of the series, including the premiere episode parts 1 and 2, “Over a Barrel”, “Hearth’s Warming Eve”, and “The Last Roundup”. You can order a copy on Amazon, and any number of other places too, of course.  If you’ve been on another planet and have no idea what we’re talking about, check out the latest incarnation of My Little Pony on Wikipedia and find out why so many adults have gone crazy for it!

image c. 2012 Hasbro, Inc/The Hub

Franklin Returns

Feb 13th, 2012
by rodney.
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Franklin is, of course, more than a turtle — He’s a well-known children’s book character with his own long-running TV series from Nelvana. Well now Franklin has returned to Nickelodeon in Franklin and Friends, a new CGI series produced by Nelvana and Infinite Frameworks. Here’s a press release we picked up from Cartoon Brew: “Franklin is back and better than ever in the brand-new CG-animated preschool series, Franklin and Friends, premiering Monday, Feb. 13, at 9:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. Based on the best-selling children’s book series by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark, published by Kids Can Press, the half-hour series follows a turtle named Franklin as he experiences adventures and milestones, learning lessons along the way with his pals Snail, Rabbit, Beaver, Fox, Goose and best friend Bear. The series emphasizes the importance of family, friendship, community, personal growth and helping others. Franklin and Friends, produced by Nelvana and Infinite Frameworks Pte. Ltd., will regularly air weekdays at 9:30 a.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.” The article goes into much more depth about the show, and includes a video snippet from the first episode.

image c. 2012 Nelvana/Infinite Frameworks

The 2011 Annie Awards

Feb 5th, 2012
by rodney.
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Your humble ed-otter was pleased and proud to attend the 2012 presentation of the Annie Awards for 2011, which took place at UCLA on Saturday the 4th. The Annie Awards are the “Oscars” of the animation industry, presented every year by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA). It was a busy year for the awards, with many of the numerous categories having up to 10 nominees.  And of course, entries with an interest for furry fans were well-represented. The big winner of the evening was clearly Rango, with five wins including the big one, Best Animated Feature.  It also won for Writing, Character Design, and Editing, as well as the new Members’ Favorite category (the single category voted on by all ASIFA members, regardless of their professional or fan status). Interestingly, it was not a complete Rango sweep, as Rio won for Character Animation (by Jeff Gabor) while Kung Fu Panda 2 won for Production Design, and Best Director (Jennifer Yuh Nelson). Secrets of the Masters, the back-up short included on the Kung Fu Panda 2 DVD, also won for Best Animated Special Production (which honors OVA’s and direct-to-DVD projects). Disney’s 2D Winnie the Pooh also racked up one win, for Feature Film Storyboards by Jeremy Spears.  The winner of Animation in a Live Action Production (a new category that was just introduced last year) was Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Minkyu Lee won Best Animated Short Subject for his 17 minute 2D film Adam and Dog. In the category of Best Game, the honor went to Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, the creation of well-known funny animal and fantasy cartoonist Michel Gagne. In the television categories, the big winner of the night was Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice from Disney, which won four awards.  (However the big prize, Best General Audience TV Production, went to perennial favorite The Simpsons). Penguins of Madagascar won for Editing in a TV Production, and Voice Acting (for Jeff Bennett as Kowalski). The entire show as hosted by comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, the voice of Remy in Pixar’s Ratatouille.  At the after-awards dinner party, Rango director Gore Verbinski remarked that the show was “The strangest thing I’ve ever seen”. We’d be hard-pressed to argue. For a complete list of all the winners and nominees, make sure to visit the Annie Awards web site. And remember, a membership in ASIFA not only gets you a discount on tickets to the Annie Awards, but lots of animation screenings and seminars throughout the year as well.

image c. 2011 Paramount Pictures

Underdog is Here Again

Jan 24th, 2012
by rodney.
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Those who only know Underdog from the rather odd 2007 live-action movie, sorry you! Underdog was a hit animated TV series produced by Total Television (who were also responsible for Tennessee Tuxedo), starting in 1964 and running more than 120 episodes until 1973 (and in re-runs ever since). Now Shout Factory have released the complete original series on DVD for the first time, featuring all 124 episodes in a 9-disc box set. Watch as Shoeshine Boy and his super-powered alter ego, Underdog, battle the evil likes of Riff Raff and Simon Bar Sinister to protect his true love, Sweet Polly Purebread. The DVDs also include original episodes of the Underdog back-up shorts GoGo Gophers, Klondike Kat, and Commander McBrag. Check it out at Shout Factory’s web site.

image c. 2012 by Shout Factory

Goodbye 2011… Hello Awards Season!

Dec 31st, 2011
by rodney.
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As we wish you all a happy, healthy, and creative New Year in 2012, it’s time to start thinking about what we’re going to award from 2011! Besides the Oscars and the Annie Awards (which many of us follow closely), for Furry Fandom it’s time to start thinking about the annual Ursa Major Awards, the anthro-fan’s answer to the Hugo Awards ™ from science fiction fandom. Nominations for 2011 are open to any and all, and they open on January 12th. If you visit the Ursa Major Awards web site, you’ll find the Recommended Anthropomorphics Reading and Viewing List for you to peruse, listing some of the many interesting items of anthropomorphic interest that came about in 2011.  Like what?  Well… movies like Rango, Rio, Puss in Boots, and Kung Fu Panda 2… TV series like Thundercats, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic… books and stories by authors like Kyell Gold, Alflor Aalto, MCA Hogarth, and Paul Kidd…  plus comics, games, artwork, and a brand new category for Best Anthropomorphic Web Site. All this and much much  more! But remember: An item does NOT need to be on the Recommended List for  you and your friends to nominate it for an Ursa Major Award. It just needs to be Furry! [Check the web site for how the Ursa Majors define that!] After the the nominations are tabulated, the voting will begin this spring — followed by the Ursa Major Awards presentation at CaliFur in Southern California this June.  Remember, last year more than 1,000 fans world wide took part in the voting.  Help to make that number even bigger in 2012!

image c. 2011 ALAA / Heather Bruton

Little Nutbrown Hare on TV

Dec 25th, 2011
by rodney.
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Guess How Much I Love You is an popular and award-winning children’s book written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram. Now SLR Productions has created Guess How Much I Love You: The Adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare, a 2D animated TV series with young children in mind. Like the book, the series takes place in an idyllic woodland where Little Nutbrown Hare lives and learns with his father, Big Nutbrown Hare, and all their friends. The series has been running on Disney Junior Australia, and is set to premier soon on Disney Junior USA. If you check out the SLR Productions web site for the show, you’ll find a link to another interesting TV series they’re working on called Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs. Yes.

image c. 2011 by Anita Jeram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that’s all for now. Except, of course, to say MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you all.  We’ll see you in 2012!

Gon — Not Forgotten

Dec 19th, 2011
by rodney.
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In the “about bloody time” department: Word is out that Gon, the globally-popular manga by Tanaka Masashi, is finally being made into a CGI animated TV series. Gon, if you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know (or perhaps if he threw one on top of you) is a miniature dinosaur-like creature of tremendous speed and power. He lives in the animal world, and always seems to be getting into fights (comical, but still…) with other animals over simple matters like food and territory. Interestingly, this famous Japanese manga is being brought to television by an animation house in Korea, Daewon Media, with the help of the Japanese publishing house Kodansha. There’s a preview video up on YouTube which shows footage that was displayed recently at the TV trade show MIPCOM. The show is all set to premier in Japan and Europe early next year, with the rest of the world hopefully to follow soon after.

image c. 2011 Daewon Media

The Annie Awards Are Announced

Dec 9th, 2011
by rodney.
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On December 5th nominations were announced for the annual Annie Awards, presented by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA). These are the Oscar Awards of animated cartoons, people, and every year their prestige in Hollywood circles seems to increase. As usual the nominations for 2011 included several films and TV series of interest to furry fandom — as well as a few of what are likely to be considered glaring omissions. Taking their cue from the Oscars themselves perhaps, this year the Annie Awards have no less than 10 nominees for Best Animated Feature Film, up from the usual 5 of years past. Notable anthropomorphic films up for the honor include A Cat in Paris, Cars 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, Rango, and Rio.  Nominees for Best Animated Special Production (i.e., direct-to-video or DVD) include Adventure Time: Thank You, Ice Age: Mammoth Christmas, Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters, and Prey 2 — but not, interestingly, Dreamworks’ Gift of the Night Fury. Among the nominees for Best Animated Television Production for Children are Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and Penguins of Madagascar. Conspicuous in their absence perhaps: My Little Pony — Friendship is Magic and the reboot of Thundercats. What’s up with that? The Annie Awards will be presented at a gala Hollywood ceremony on February 4th, 2012, at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California. You can find out more about the Annie Awards, including the full list of nominated productions and people, at the Annie Awards web site.

When Animation Took Over

Dec 3rd, 2011
by rodney.
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So how’d we miss this? Well, it finally turned up in the Previews magalog, so now it can be told.  Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s, animated cartoons (both feature and on TV — remember this was pre-web) were in a sorry stage, and worthwhile projects were few and far between. After the doors were kicked open (and the bar raised — very much!) by movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in the late 80’s, animation really exploded in the 1990’s… culminating, of course, in the highest-grossing 2D animated film of all time — The Lion King — and the beginnings of the empire we now know as Pixar. Back in 2007, author G. Michael Dobbs (a former editor for the magazines Animato and Animation Planet) published a book that details this late-century explosion of animation called Escape! How Animation Broke into the Mainstream in the 1990’s. Through extensive reviews and interviews with with animation professionals, the book not only examines how animation became the box-office powerhouse we now know it as, but also how the cartoons of the 1990’s and after forever put to rest the notion (long-held in western civilization) that cartoons are not a medium that grown-ups should think about much. The book is still available in paperback at Amazon, from Bear Manor Media.

image c. 2007 Bear Manor Media

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