Eggs, John and Faith Hubley, 1971

Habfürdő (The Foam Bath) Kovásznai György, 1979

HEY YOU GUYS YOUR DAILY CARTOON IS THREE YEARS OLD!

(OK, it was really three on the 14th but I forgot so I will do this on the anniversary I started the blog. Because it is my blog and I can do that.)

And just like a petulant three year old, I'm gonna post a full length Hungarian feature with no subtitles. Nyah.

I have been dying to see Habfürdő since I first ran across some blurry, poor quality clips on YouTube. I was immediately intrigued by the way that Kovásznai distorted faces and bodies to express changing moods and the characters perceptions of themselves and each other. I'm positive that I am missing a lot - unlike something like Fehérlófia the story isn't known or easy to follow, and it can be very wordy. But Kovásznai was a really fantastic animator with a unique aesthetic informed by his extensive artistic training, and on those merits I still find the film rewarding, especially since the artist communicates so well visually.

Kovásznai György was so cool his works were shown with those of the esteemed William Kentridge at The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest last year. THAT IS SO BADASS. My head would have exploded.


Habfürdő

Drawing on my Mind, Bob Kurtz, 1984

Bob Kurtz animates what's on George Carlin's mind, with... results.

OH SHIT, THERE'S MORE

Freak, Carmen D'Avino, 1977

A wise man once said:

"To keep busy is a marvelous answer to some dull existence. Life is a great adventure no matter what you do. Life is a joy".


He also made this, and many other wonderful things, because he was joyfully, adventurously busy and very wise.

The Tantalizing Fly, Max Fleischer, 1919

Women's Styles and Men's Styles, Harry S. Palmer, 1915

Histori del Gato y la Luna, Pedro Serrazina, 1995

Hen Hop, Norman McLaren, 1942

The Shrine/An Argument, Sean Pecknold, 2011

Music video for Fleet Foxes The Shrine/ An Argument.

The Mantis Parable, Josh Staub, 2005

Zero, Christopher Kezelos, 2011

Four Ways to Cover a Hole, Jorge Villalobos and Guillermo Rendon, 1996

Hasta los Huesos, René Castillo, 2001

Dim, Marek Skrobecki, 1992

Superman: The Bulleteers, Max Fleischer, 1942

The Mousochist, John R. Dilworth, 2001

John Dilworth is a strange person.

Not judging. I'm just saying.

Mexican Standoff, Bill Plympton, 2008

Video for the song by Parsons Brown by Bill Plympton.

The Adventures of Saw Boy Buck, Richard Mather, 2000

...otherwise known by his nom de guerre, "Dicko."

Wenzu, Ezra Wube, 2011

New work from Ethiopian animator Ezra Wube.

Migraine Boy, Greg Fiering and James Dean Conklin, 1996

Remember when MTV showed weird music videos and awesome cartoon instead of Snookis and Situations and pregnant teenagers and whatever the fuck else they got on?

If you don't, then I am sad for you.

Anyway, here is Migraine Boy. The episodes are short, so here is a bucket of them.
Pilot Episode


Margarine Boy


Grass


Indian


Ninja


Pretzel


Die

Les Maitres du Temp (Time Masters) Rene Laloux and Jean Giraud (Moebius) 1982

As many, if not all, of you know, Jean Giraud, aka Moebius and less often Gir, passed away yesterday. We are far poorer for his loss.

His work was delicate, precise, infinitely imaginitve, and utterly breathtaking. I was often struck most by his restraint - sometimes what he decided not to draw was as powerful as that which he included.

If you are unfamiliar with his work you could do far worse than to look here first.

This is the feature length film he made with Rene Laloux which you might be able to find on DVD if you are lucky.

I will also include here the Arzak, Rhapsody shortshttp://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000FBFYP0/">which are also available on DVD

Summer Bummer, Bill Plympton, 2012

Another Short Stories short.

Fresh Guacamole, PES, 2012

Another of Showtime's Short Stories, this one by Adam Pesapane, aka PES.

Cobwebs, Cyriak Harris, 2012

Showtime has worked with a group of independent animators and filmmakers to produce another series of Short Stories, which I will post here over the coming days, but which you will also be able to see on your televisions if your televisions happen to get the appropriate channel. Which is Showtime.

Anyway, first up - OMG NEW CYRIAK YOU GUYS

Mr. Resistor, Mark Gustavson and Will Vinton,

ALSO, one of those "making of" segments that so fascinate me.

Goliath II, Wolfgang Reitherman, 1960

Morris the Midget Moose, Charles Nichols, 1950

For the Remainder, Omer Ben David, 2012

Via Cartoon Brew

The Story of Animation, David Tart, 2012

The problem was not with the studios, or the quality of work they were producing, but rather with the clients: Most of them seemed to believe that animation was a simple, uncomplicated process, and were often disappointed to learn that there were very specific stages in the animation process that required their participation (and finances). It's almost as if they believed that creating animation was as simple as pitching an idea, and then sitting back while a couple of animators with pencil and paper goofed off, told jokes, and drank copious amounts of coffee until "wallah"! the animation was finished! Furthermore, they seemed to think that there would be no difference in cost between an animated film created in flash, 2D, stop motion, cut-out, motion graphics, or fully rendered Pixar-style 3D animation!

Via Metafiler.

The Truth About Mother Goose, Wolfgang Reitherman and Bill Justice, 1957

Animation by inmates of California prisons, workshops led by Gary Schwartz, 1992 and 1993

In 1992 and 1993, animator Gary Schwartz led workshops at The California Institution for Men - Chino, The California Men's Colony - San Louis Obispo and Chuckwalla Valley State Prison via the UCLA Artsreach/California Department of Corrections visiting artist program.

Here are some of the films they made.

CHUCKWALLA VALLEY STATE PRISON:

California, USA "a Piedra Production," 1992


Natures Way Piedra, 1993


The Snake, Schoonover, Adamski, and Wilson, 1992


CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR MEN - CHINO:

The Time Keeper, Joseph, 1993


Think Big, Cong, 1993


CALIFORNIA MEN'S COLONY - SAN LOUIS OBISPO
Fly Away, Alex and Marty, 1992


The Fall of the Mona Lisa, H. King, C. Matta, and J. Martinez, 1992


The History of Suckers, 1992


Snickers Bar, J.B. Sound, 1992


Art: A Breath of Life!, Jimmy Martinez, 1992


Cogitation on Incarceration, No. E-21823 CMC, 1992


Germ Warfare,1992


Escape to Self, Kevin Lock, 1992


THE BEGINNING


Via Metafilter