cartoons Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Among all the other inequalities in cinema, one of the oldest is the general preference for feature-length films over shorts. Very few short films are considered essential masterpieces, and even fewer animated short films have that title. It's even more difficult if you consider that a whole generation of us grew up watching hours upon hours of cartoons on television (with commercials), without the knowledge or experience to discern that some of them might have been actual works of genius or art. How many times, for example, did I watch Chuck Jones's What's Opera Doc? (1957) without really contemplating or even noticing the detail and the imagination that went into it. I didn't know at the time that I would eventually go on to call it the Citizen Kane of cartoons.

Now the blog Shooting Down Pictures has compiled an essential list of 100 Important Directors of Animated Short Films, which -- at the very least -- gives us a starting point. The introduction specifies that the list is simply 100 important directors, and not THE 100 most important directors. The very first comment on the list was: where's Mike Judge? And the listmakers replied by saying that these filmmakers are primarily theatrical and not television-based. (That explains the lack of Rocky & Bullwinkle, too.) The list of directors was originally created when the folks behind the great movie-list website They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? decided to make a list of the 250 greatest short films, which never materialized.

With Michael Bay's Transformers pulling in Daddy Warbucks dollars at the box office, it's inevitable that we'll soon be seeing a flood of films based on cartoons making their way to theaters. The question is: Will we be treated to quality adaptations of cartoons that actually do lend themselves to the big-screen treatment ... or will we have to endure a two-and-a-half-hour "epic" entitled My Little Pony: At World's End?

As it happens, studios are already answering this question, with a bevy of 'toon-based films set to hit cineplexes this year and in the not-so-distant future. First, after years of speculation and anticipation, The Simpsons Movie lands in theaters July 27. Then in August Jason Lee lends his voice to a live-action Underdog movie (he's the superheroic dog), and in December he pops up again (in human form this time) as David Seville in the live-action/animation hybrid Alvin and the Chipmunks. And next summer, the Wachowski bros. will try to spin cinematic gold out of Speedracer, starring Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci (sorry, no Jason Lee this time).

Also on the horizon is a live-action CGI Thundercats flick, in which Lion-O and an army of humanoid cats (yes, you read that correctly) battle the evil sorcerer Mumm-Ra on a planet known as Third Earth. And last but not least is a real gem for the true cartoon aficionado: a live-action movie based on the Japanese anime 'toon Voltron, about five rebels who battle evil using robotic lions that unite to form one giant ass-kicking robot warrior (Voltron) when the individual lions inevitably get thrashed.

That's about it as far as upcoming cartoon-based film. Which other cartoons would you love to see made into movies? Personally, I'd love to see a crossover mash-up of two different 'toons, Alien vs. Predator-style. I mean, who wouldn't line up to see SVGB: Smurfs vs. Gummy Bears?

I never really understood the premise behind Transformers, but I didn't care. They were above and beyond the greatest toys a kid could dream of playing with. Who needed either action figures or Matchbox cars anymore? The Transformers were both. And as a loyal consumer child of the '80s, I followed my favorite toy line as it spun-off an animated television series, a comic book series and a full-length feature film. As I said, I didn't really get the story. All that mattered was that there were good guys (Autobots) and there were bad guys (Decepticons), same as any action cartoon. Anyway, the more I try to comprehend the premise of Transformers, the more questions I have about its logic, so I kinda prefer to be in the dark.

It's been nearly twenty years since I sold all my toys at a tag sale, and I haven't watched the television show or read a Transformers comic in all that time. So, when I decided to take a nostalgic look at Transformers: The Movie I was more in the dark than ever. Because it functions as a continuation of the television series, existing chronologically between the show's second and third seasons, there isn't much in the way of introductions. This is a movie for people familiar with the premise, the story and the characters of the Transformers universe.

When MTV stopped airing Liquid Television many years ago, I lost an outlet that let me see groundbreaking animation that I'd rarely get to see anywhere else. With the rise of the internet, and the birth of networks like The Cartoon Network, animation finally has more places to be seen, but it's tough to find quality stuff that pushes the envelope. Like the different shorts programs, this is where Sundance steps in. I've made it a point to book tickets to the animation spotlight before anything else, and I've always enjoyed the different films they choose. This year was no different, and the program was chock full of different types of animation and genres. From serious to comedic, and CGI to paintings on glass, there was a little slice of everything.

As a child, I adored the Muppet Babies. Part of this is because I adore the Muppets in general, and part of it is because it was a reasonably well written kids show with lots of Star Wars and Indiana Jones references. After the romping success of the toddler Muppets, everyone started jumping on the "make familiar properties into small children" bandwagon (you can check out a short summary of such programming over here). The lesson learned is a simple one: There is money to be made in the lucrative children market even if your property is not originally a child property per se.

Care to guess which major franchise is now hoping to move into the kiddie market? Oh wait, I already gave the answer to you in the title of my post. Drat. Well, yes, if you guessed Marvel Comics, congratulations ... you can, uh .. read. Good for you. As far as I understand it, Marvel Babies is still in "idea" form, which means they haven't officially sold the property to anyone. They were, however, shopping it around at the 2006 Licensing Show. If you've got further info on where this property is going, or if it has indeed been purchased, please share with the class.

Bits and pieces of thoughts associated with this post:

• The best comment I've heard about this story comes from Widge over at NeedCoffee, who wonders "will baby Gwen Stacy fall out of a crib and ... "
• If you look at the webpage detailing the Marvel Babies from the Licensing Show, you'll also notice another property which is apparently already running on Nick Toons. It's based on the childhood of -- I swear I'm not kidding -- Shawn, Marlon, and Keenan Wayans. The name of the show is -- wait for it -- ThugaBoo. Oh yes, I'm serious.

Okay, so maybe not everywhere ... but in Tasmania, at least. Do you remember when the Looney Toons experienced that odd revival in the nineties mostly on the back of the Tasmanian Devil (lovingly called "Taz") and Marvin the Martian? For awhile there, Taz even had his own cartoon, which I loyally watched as a youth. The property is still a money maker for the media giant Warner Brothers, and this odd connection may prove to be salvation for the mammal. The Tasmanian Devil, already an endangered species, is currently fighting with an outbreak of a facial tumor disease which apparently threatens their very survival. Learning of this plight, the execs over at Warner Brothers entered "lengthy" talks with the Tasmanian government and will now be joining the fight to save the creatures. Warner Brothers has promised to "look into substantial funding" for the Tasmanian Devil protection efforts. I don't know yet if they plan to use this as any sort of marketing tool, but it seems like too good of a story for them to pass up. And really, it's a cool thing for them to do, even if they've got ulterior motives. Now if someone would just make them aware of the horrible disease plaguing the Martians ...