Sherman, Menken Team Up for...
A special musical treat is in store for attendees of this year’s D23...
Archive
Ralph Bakshi and the Canadian Caper, Part 2
Our story so far: Ralph Bakshi is asked by producer Steve Krantz to take over production of a troubled series, Rocket Robin Hood, which is being produced in Canada by Al Guest and a multi-national crew. He goes, having no idea what he’s walking into… “I took over the studio, [...]
Ralph Bakshi and the Canadian Caper, Part 1
For most people, working in animation is a job. If you’re anywhere around Ralph Bakshi, however, it’s probably an adventure. Bakshi, of course, is the producer/director of Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic, Coonskin, and the real film version of Lord of the Rings, as well as the man who revitalized Terrytoons in [...]
Ollie Johnston: Even ‘Old Men’ Need a Lift!
Those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s became familiar with the smiling, warm fellow who chatted with us over the airwaves every Sunday evening on The Wonderful World of Disney. But as I’m sure everyone knows by now, that avuncular quality was only one facet of [...]
Eep-Opp-Ork…Uh-Oh!
It was the rock song that defined a generation. All right, it wasn’t really. Instead, Eep-Opp-Ork-Ah-Ah, which highlighted 1962’s A Date with Jet Screamer, the second-aired episode of The Jetsons, is a spoof of two generations at the same time. But the combination of the wailing, jazzy tune by Hoyt [...]
The Best Interview in Animation
There are good interviews and bad interviews. Some interviewees stick to the marketing playbook at all costs while others tell stories they’ve told so many times that they actually believe them. Some people are afraid to talk, and others are afraid not to. I’ve experienced them all. For my money, though, [...]
Your Co-Star Will Be Added in Post
What exactly is “animation acting” these days? As the industry continues to evolve in the digital age, so does the definition of what constitutes animation and what does not. Once, acting for animation meant providing the voice for a cartoon character, and in a few cases, miming for the rotoscope. [...]
Don’t Toot That Horn! Leonardi & the Art of Claiming Credit
Forget the F-word. In animation and related fields like comic books, there is only one serious danger word, the one you utter completely at your own risk: the C-bomb…Credit. I won’t take the time to go into the myriad public feuds, even lawsuits, which have resulted from one person’s taking [...]
How Long Can They Hit a Homer?
It seems like only yesterday that those of us who write about animation were giving ink to the fact that The Simpsons was entering its seventh season, which made it the longest-running primetime animated series in history, surpassing the original run of The Flintstones. This week, however, the show begins [...]
Tales from the Toon Trenches: Big Roy’s Bad Day
When the late, great American artist Iwao Takamoto and his wife Barbara asked me to help write his memoirs in 2005, I was stunned and flattered. Iwao was a legend, and a quiet genius. He and I worked on the project for about two years, and then he tragically died [...]
Alex Toth: Out of Griping Comes Success
Like politics, animation sometimes makes strange bedfellows, particularly when creative visions and egos are involved. Back in the late 1990s, when I was regularly meeting with Joe Barbera in the hopes of putting a book together for him (one that would never be completed, alas), I heard a lot about [...]
BinWeevils Appoints Henwood...
U.K.-based digital social world BinWeevils, for kids 6-12, has appointed media...
Blue Sky’s...
Epic, the new animated adventure from director Chris Wedge and his gifted team...
