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August 6, 2008
Via MangaBlog, we have news of the Anime Almanac going a month without fansubs. Thanks to Netflix, FUNimations YouTube channel, and iTunes, the writer has a stress-free, very cheap month that includes 97 episodes of anime total, with an average of three episodes a day at sixty cents an episode.
So in my month without fansubs, I found out that I was able to watch over 90 episodes of anime using only completely legal methods, and I didn’t even end up poor because of it. With so many free and affordable options available, I never felt the need to go back to downloading fansubs. In fact, I found the experience to be personally liberating by relieving myself of the stresses created by the fansubbing community and exploring so many great shows of years past.It's not terribly surprising that there's so much white market material out there, at good prices, but the return to simple pleasures is the part of post that I really appreciate. The chance to watch on a big, flat screen (from a couch! not a task chair!) and the opportunity to rediscover "older" shows without the stress of having to appear fashionable, are something that's easy to forget in the rush to find new titles. But the truth is that there's now more legitimate anime out there than there has ever been before, and if we want to see that trend continue then we have to vote with our dollars (or, in this case, our sixty cents) and support that. August 5, 2008
Nothing stays buried for long in the Internet age. Remember the Buffy the Vampire Slayer animated series that was supposed to continue the adventures of everyone's favourite cheerleader-turned-undead policewoman? (No? Then check out some of Eric Wight's concept art in black and white and colour for a refresher.) Well, the pilot episode has made its way to Youtube. Check it out below:
[Thanks, Animation Magazine.] Labels: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Eric Wight, Joss Whedon  To an origami purist, cutting or tearing paper is like an old-school Catholic eating fish on Fridays; at best, it's frowned upon, and at worst someone thinks you're going to hell. Which is why it's all the more remarkable that Brian Chan makes his origami masterpieces like the Totoro nekobus above from just one sheet of uncut paper. Once you've finished checking out his nekobus gallery, you can also marvel at his paper WALL-E posed to recreate shots from the Pixar film, or watch the video below of him folding the sad-eyed robot. [Thanks again to the Nausicaa.net Hayao Miyazaki mailing list.] Labels: anime, Hayao Miyazaki, Pixar, Totoro, Wall-E  They say the best things in life are free, and in this case it's hard to argue. Since July there's been an exhibition in Manchester called How Manga Took Over the World, and they've been offering free anime screenings that will continue through to September 21. The roster is staggering: there are daily screenings of the first episodes of Astroboy, Tetsujin 28, Noein, Naruto: Unleashed, Otogi Zoshi, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Dominion: Tank Police. But that's just the appetizer. Every Thursday through Saturday, there are screenings of anime features, many of which have been seen on DVD but really deserve to be shown on the big screen. Drool-worthy entries include Hayao Miyazaki's Laputa: Castle in the Sky (start lining up—it's this Thursday!), the Cowboy Bebop movie, Akira, and the wonderfully old-school Golgo 13. Check the Urbis website for dates and time. [Thanks, Nausicaa.net.] Labels: anime, features, festivals, United Kingdom  Yoshitaka Amano completists will want to hit Right Stuf or Amazon to preorder Yume Juma, aka Ten Nights of Dreams, an anthology of strange and wonderful shorts based on the short-story collection by Soseki Natsume. Amano's short is, of course, dreamy, with his signature elfin characters flowing through some borderline-gaudy CGI. (Though the rest of the movie isn't animated, it's certainly worth watching. One of my top picks from last year's Fantasia festival, I consider it a perfect example of why I love movies in the first place.) Labels: anime, anthology, Fantasia festival, live action, Yoshitaka Amano
If you're in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo or Nagoya right now, you can catch the original Ghost in the Shell on the big screen—sort of. Bandai Visual has gone all George Lucas over the 1995 Mamoru Oshii classic, updating the digital effects and reuniting the original voice cast for a 6.1 surround-sound recording. (I'm curious to see if the extra effort is as superfluous as in the Star Wars makeovers; so far as I'm concerned, the CG in Ghost in the Shell is still quite watchable.) Check the trailer below for a glimpse of the new look.
Gotta-get-it-first otaku can score the Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Blu-ray box set from Japanese distributors on December 19. The set includes 1080p and MPEG-4 AVC versions of the film (English dubs included), an extras disc, a new music CD, and of course a nifty new booklet. [Thanks, Crunchgear.] Labels: anime, Blu-ray, Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii FlipBook for iPhone and iPod Touch from Josh Anon on Vimeo. How would you like a simple little app for your iPhone that lets you draw and animate on the fly? Josh Anon provides with his Flipbook application ($9.99 at the App Store), a well designed piece of kit that allows you to create movement frame by frame. When you've perfected your masterpiece, upload it to flipbook.tv, the sharing site built to display your animated treasures. Via TUAW Labels: computer animation, Flipbook, iPhone, Software August 4, 2008
Ian Fenton's brilliant little one-minute dissertation on locomotive grannies is in the running for the Virgin Media Shorts 2008 title to be judged by a panel headed by Lex "Keyser Söze" Luthor himself, Kevin Spacey. If The Big Push happens to win, Ian will net a cool £30,000 and the opportunity to work with Virgin Media and the UK Film Council on his next 60 second opus. Via The Northern Echo.co.uk Labels: Kevin Spacey, shorts, United Kingdom, Virgin Media  More Clones! More Wars! More Clips from Clone Wars!!! I can't get them to play yet (I'm sure it's not the fault of the site. I need to stop trying to stream video while writing in cafes) but I anxiously await the opportunity to be teased by more animated clone massacre footage. Bring it on! Via IESB.net Labels: CGI, Clone Wars, trailers  They pretty much have me hooked until the dialogue at the end. Felicity just doesn't sound like an ass-kicking Amazon to me... Click the image to pop over to Yahoo Movies and watch the trailer. Previously on fps: Wonder Woman Animation Director, Lauren Montgomery's Blog Labels: Blu-ray, DC Comics, DVD, Wonder Woman August 3, 2008
 A lot of animation is inherently mechanistic—one look at your average dope sheet will tell you that. That's why I'm always interested in shorts where a director makes the interlocking structure of the animation an integral part of the film. While I was catching up on my Directors Notes podcasts late last night, I listened to an interview about a great little short called Duelity. Duelity is an ambitious student film project by Vancouver Film School motion graphics students Marcos "Boca" Ceravolo and Ryan Uhrich, in which they playfully compare the creationist and the scientific theories of the origins of the universe. Duelity is actually three shorts in one: one film expresses the creationist view using the language and imagery of the scientific view, and the other does the reverse. Each has its own narration and soundtrack. The third film comes from playing both films side by side simultaneously, and the result is stunning. Every element interlocks perfectly (right down to the credits), creating a third, unified piece. The Duelity website has all three versions of the film available for your viewing amazement and pleasure. I can't even begin to imagine what the planning charts for this looked like, which is why I intend to take some time to visit the Directors Notes page that includes pre-production materials along with an interview with both directors. Labels: motion graphics, shorts, student animation, Vancouver Film School August 1, 2008
 - Studio Ghibli's Ponyo will screen at the 65th Venice International Film Festival (taking place at Venice Lido from August 27th to September 6th) along with Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers. Hayao Miyazaki will be in attendance and commented, "Lido is very beautiful place. I'm glad that I can walk there again." Via Ghibli Wiki - Goro Miyazaki talks in depth about layout and the Studio Ghibli production process. Via Ghibli World - CG images from the new Gatchaman movie with animation produced by Imagi are up at the felix ip。蟻速畫行 blog. - WTF?! Is Keanu Reeves really going to end up playing Spike Spiegel in the upcoming live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop? Do I care? Via FirstShowing.net - Is Pixar going to slap us with a sequel to Monsters Inc? Pete Doctor is playing coy but we think it's gonna happen. Straight to video anyone? Via MTV Movies Blog - More high-def Harryhausen!!!! Sony is eyeing an October 7th release date for the 1958, stop-motion animation/live-action classic, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad on Blu-ray and standard DVD. Via HighDef Digest.com Labels: anime, Cowboy Bebop, gatchaman, Hayao Miyazaki, Pixar, Ray Harryhausen, Studio Ghibli  The Pixar Blog has posted 5 new images from the upcoming film, Up. If you don't work for Pixar and didn't attend the San Diego Comic Con, chances are you haven't seen these yet. Click on over to view them all in giant, decent-res glory! Link: The Pixar Blog Previously on fps: Up Sneak Peek Labels: Pixar, San Diego Comic Con, Up
Disney: Blu-ray Sale at Amazon.com!
It appears that Amazon.com is ready to blow out some Disney and Pixar Blu-ray discs! In addition to a slew of live action titles, the online retailer is offering these animated films at a discount:
Find more animated films like Meet the Robinsons and Dinosaur at the Disney Blu-ray Sale page Labels: Blu-ray, Cars, John Lasseter, Pixar, Ratatouille July 31, 2008
According to Jim Hill, Tron director Steve Lisberger is out of the picture, barred from bringing his vision for a sequel to his 1981 live-action/CG animated hit to the big screen. Who's taking his place? A director named Joseph Kosinski, who has yet to direct a feature film. Don't let this disturb you too much, though. From the look of his work (evidenced above), we're going to be in for a real treat. Correct me if I'm wrong here but doesn't his work remind of a young, CGI-loving Ridley Scott? That can't be a bad thing, where a Tron sequel is concerned. Watch more of his award-winning commercials at these links: Saab Nike X-Box Via Ain't It Cool Labels: Disney, Joseph Kosinski, Steve Lisberger, Tr2n, Tron July 30, 2008
Disney isn't giving us a whole lot of insight into their upcoming film, The Princess and the Frog (directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, directors of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin) with this new trailer. But I don't care. This looks beautiful. Thank the lord for Ed Catmull, John Lasseter and the return of Disney's 2D animation division. 2009 can't come soon enough! Watch the trailer in other formats: The Princess and the Frog Labels: 2D, Alladin, Disney, Ed Catmull, John Lasseter, Little Mermaid, Pixar, The Princess and the Frog Neil Gaiman posted an article from the Guardian about Jamie Hewlett. I was in high school when I came across his work in the pages of Deadline, the UK alternative music and comic magazine. Since then he has blown up, as band member/creator of The Gorillaz, the best animated studio band EVER, among many other projects. The article makes clear how much he has been influenced by a wide variety of SF, comic and animated pop culture, included Warner Bros., Hayao Miyazaki and Rene Laloux. He and band-mate Damon Albarn have created the opening titles for the BBC's Beijing Olympics coverage and its a stunner. Labels: BBC, comics, shorts, Television, United Kingdom  I've been remiss in posting about a comic book project called Who Is Rocket Johnson? The anthology brings together numerous Disney artists and directors to help raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Besides looking great, it's for a great cause.One copy sold on eBay for over 500 dollars, and the rest of the limited print run of 1000 copies were made available at the San Diego Comic Con for $20. If you still want to get your hands on a copy, get in contact with Stuart Ng in California or The Labyrinth in Toronto while quantities last! Labels: auctions, comics, Disney, San Diego Comic Con  Hero Complex, the LA Times geek blog, posted some pictures for those of us who can't make it to the San Diego Comic Con of a display of maquettes from Coraline, Henry Selick's 3D stop-motion feature, based on the young adult novel by Neil Gaiman.Labels: features, Henry Selick, Laika, San Diego Comic Con, stop-motion
Amid Amidi of Cartoon Brew and Harry McCracken of Harry-Go-Round have both commented on the San Diego Comic Con preview of footage from Up and Bolt. Take a look at this teaser for Up.
Original Video- More videos at TinyPic Labels: CGI, Disney, features, Pixar, San Diego Comic Con |
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