MorphToons: December 2015
I shuttered 2015 with a dive into virtual reality, Oscar upstarts, and more.
animation that matters
MorphToons: November 2015
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet is one of 2015’s most compelling films, but it also happens to be one of the historical highlights of anthology animation.
We Nailed It: An Interview With Shaun the Sheep‘s Richard Starzak and Paul Kewley
I spoke with Starzak and Kewley about how and why Aardman’s low-budget, big-picture animation continues to compete in our blockbuster marketplace, and why stop-motion can be even more real than hyperreal CGI.
MorphToons: October 2015
Halloween found me wishing happy birthday to the one and old only Ralph Bakshi, whose anti-sermon shook the toonscape.
I Just Want Them to Wake Up: A Birthday Interview With Ralph Bakshi
“At my age, I wouldn’t release it if I thought it didn’t work.”
Poe, Reanimated
Extraordinary Tales brings Poe’s harrowing stories to the screen for newer generations raised on boundless technologies and influences.
Happy Anniversary, Takahata’s Only Yesterday
Led by women and empowered by the natural world, Only Yesterday may not be as well-known as Takahata’s masterpieces like Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, but its revelatory journey through the rural countryside still covers familiar territory.
Rethink What We Think is Normal: Interview With Dissonance Director Till Nowak
German-born artist and filmaker Till Nowak is a rare talent who can work across art forms and scientific disciplines, until his viewers are left disoriented and dazzled.
When Will We Strive Again For the Heights of Avatar and Legend of Korra?
Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are two of the most ambitious and moving animated series of this still-new millennium. Indeed, pound for pound, they can stand alongside most non-animated series and still hold their own.
MorphToons: September 2015
My continuing bow to The Iron Giant, Brad Bird’s timeless masterpiece of war and peace.
Interview: Ken Duncan On Creating New Scenes for The Iron Giant
I spoke with Duncan by phone about how his studio’s work on The Iron Giant: Signature Edition came to pass, and why hand-drawn animation, after years of laboring beneath CG’s towering shadow, is on the comeback trail.
Genndy Tartakovsky On Sony, Popeye, Can You Imagine and Samurai Jack
It doesn’t take long (at all) for the stubborn and refreshingly frank Tartakovsky to hold forth on his frustrations with the way Hotel Transylvania 2 and Popeye were handled.
Brad Bird Confirms The Iron Giant’s Signature
http://The studio’s reticence on the matter is understandable, given Bird’s well-documented love of cinema’s theatrical experience. “See it in the movie theater the way it’s meant to be seen,” Bird counsels
MorphToons: August 2015
From Banksy’s tragicomic Dismaland to Studio Ghibli’s vault, my birthday month was an arty head trip.
The Iron Giant’s Amazing Upgrade
With nearly two decades of growing cultural power beneath its indestructible belt, The Iron Giant is shaping up to be as potent and memorable as Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.
MorphToons: July 2015
I bowed to Bugs Bunny’s 75th birthday, dove into Oculus’ VR hole, and more, before absconding for Canada.
Happy Birthday, Bugs Bunny!
Whether he’s the destabilizing force of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes’ glory days, or more centered in contemporary reboots that can’t measure up, Bugs Bunny remains a towering cartoon influence.
Will Aardman’s Smart Shaun the Sheep Translate Stateside?
Aardman Animation’s wordless, stop-motion wonder Shaun the Sheep Movie, a spin-off of its brilliant Wallace and Gromit franchise, is one of the most clever shows on television. So how many Americans even know it has a feature film coming out in less than a month?
The Iron Giant Will (Finally) Return to Theaters
At long last, Brad Bird’s animated masterpiece of war and peace is back.
MorphToons: June 2015
I kicked off my first month as Cartoon Brew’s associate editor with an exclusive on the late, great John Lennon.
Geek The Beatles: John Lennon Sketchbook Makes Official Online Debut
“It was created from original drawings by John Lennon and a soundtrack that I also edited together, consisting of snatches of conversation between John and Yoko and song excerpts.”
HALT! WHO DARES ANALYZE MY CARTOONS?
I’m the associate editor of Cartoon Brew.
Path of Blood’s Cartoon Samurai Code
I interviewed for Eric Power for Cartoon Brew. Hide the kids.
Cli-Fi: Director Tomm Moore’s Song of the Sea
Like his Oscar-nominated feature debut The Secret of Kells, his new stunner Song of the Sea is steeped in regional folklore but still a universal wonder. But it is a more personal epic, about the extinction of mythological seal people called Selkies, as explored through a lighthouse family riven by loss and misunderstanding but healed by history and magic.
Cli-Fi: Peace On Earth’s Intertextual Extinction
Adults and children rarely see the Real World as it is, much less as it should be. If what they see is what makes them who they are, then they should watch Peace On Earth before every new year.