CNN has reported that Fox has pulled from its website the March 17^th “Turban Cowboy” episode of Family Guy showing Peter Griffin running down marathoners with his car in his bid to win the race. An edited Family Guy hoax clip making fun of Monday’s bombing was pulled down by YouTube as well.  Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane tweeted yesterday, “The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent. The event was a crime and a tragedy, and my thoughts are with the victims.”

16 top episodes culled from all three seasons of J.G. Quintel’s Emmy® Award-winning series Regular Show have just been released on DVD by the folks at Cartoon Network.  Needless to say, that’s 16 great opportunities to share in the hijinks of Mordecai and Rigby, our friendly neighborhood blue jay and raccoon, bored stiff park groundskeepers, best friends and consummate slackers.  The show is one of the few animated series that works both for kids and adults without alienating either.  We had an opportunity to talk to J.G. (The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Camp Lazlo) about the show’s success and the challenges faced in creating an animated television series.

 

As you can imagine, in my position at AWN, I receive a lot of DVDs.  Many great films, many not so great films. So it’s always a treat when the postman delivers a DVD of a film you really enjoyed and have been waiting to watch up close and personal in all its splendiferous Blu-ray-ness deliciousness (sorry, been watching too many Diners, Drivers and Dives lately).  I’ve been waiting with great anticipation for my copy of Wreck-It Ralph to hit the mailbox. Thankfully, it finally arrived.  I haven’t been this happy since my eldest daughter took over her car payment. 

As an unabashed fan of the film, I can honestly say, with all bias and lack of objectivity, that the high-def Blu-ray version is exquisite.  What a treat to watch on a big screen TV, comfy couch, warm slippers, hot popcorn and trusty bottle of Makers Mark in hand.  Not even my poor old mutt Cassie, polluting the family room with such toxic ferocity I thought Union Carbide moved in next door, could spoil my moment of animation fanboy bliss.

 

For her role as Visual Development Artist on Wreck-It Ralph, Lorelay Bove tapped into her Spanish roots and her love of Catalan modernist architecture to help influence the style, color and character design for Sugar Rush, a candy-coated cart racing game. Inspired by this distinct artistic style that includes such masters as Antoni Gaudi, the filmmakers were able to envision Sugar Rush as a sweet landscape environment that was both credible and melt-in-your-mouth edible.

With Wreck-It Ralph about to be released for the home entertainment market, we chat to the talented artist to discover more about the hilarious, arcade-hopping animation and the amazing artistry behind it…

 

If you spend time analyzing successful people, you will tend to find a repeating list of similarities. Attributes like talent and charisma often get the most ink, but more often than not, a person’s drive and the quality of their education is a far better determinant of a bright future. Successful educators nurture this type of person, or set someone on the path to becoming one by creating a learning environment that is as engaging as it is relevant to their student’s future ambitions. And when it comes to careers in art, animation, and digital content creation, students that learn on industry-standard technology – like Wacom’s Cintiq – are more prepared for the professional world, and its elevated expectations.

A product of British Columbia-based Capilano University’s two year, Commercial Animation program, Gemma Reeks-Coad is living proof of how the right tools, in the hands of the right artist, breed success.

It’s nice to see our little neck of the woods get a bit of attention from mainstream media now and then, especially with meaningful and thoughtful commentary about films that while known to many in the industry, for the most part are unknown to most everyone else on the planet.

KPCC, a Southern California public radio station, has published an excellent audio review, complete with transcription, of the new Animation Show of Shows short film DVD collection.  The piece, by Charles Solomon, simply and succinctly gets to the heart of what makes independent animation so special. 

We thank those AWN readers who contributed their thoughts on the passing of legendary Russian animator Fyodor Khitruk.

--

"This is a great loss to Russian animation. Khitruk was the teacher of many famous Russian directors - Norshtein, Nazarov, Petrov, Maksimov, Aldashin and many others.  He was my teacher also. Khitruk was not only a good director and a teacher but also a unique person, a great conversationalist.  He always had positive energy."

Igor Kovalyov

Director

"Fyodor Khitruk helped modernize Russian animation. His sense of rhythm, his humor, his ability to tell stories concisely made him an example. But more importantly, his graphic virtuosity made history. Othello 67, the very short film (50 seconds) he made for the international competition organized for the Montreal World Exhibition is a masterpiece of irony and pacing."

Marcel Jean

Artistic Director, Annecy International Animation Film Festival

We've posted two-time Oscar-winner Andrew Stanton's (Monsters Inc, Toy Story, John Carter, Finding Nemo and others) commencement address from last month's Animation Mentor graduation.  Humor, insight and enthusiasm from one of Pixar's brightest stars.

Watch it exclusively on AWNtv!

 

 

It is with great sadness that I report Dr. Changyou Chen, father of AWN contributing writer and Ingrid Pitt: Beyond The Forest animator Perry Chen, passed away from cancer last Thursday, July 19.  A memorial service is scheduled this Sunday, details below.

 

Two hours of schmooze followed by over three hours of presentations by teams all vying for Best VFX Oscar gold, the annual VFX Bakeoff was a long but ultimately enjoyable evening. Always a gathering of industry legends, this year was no different – giants Rob Legato, Scott Farrar, Joe Letteri, Michael Fink, John Knoll and John Dykstra were just some of the presenters.  Though it’s possible to glean new insights into how a particular vfx shot was handled, the most entertaining part of the evening remains the occasional quip or funny anecdote shared by a presenter.  While the victuals at Kate Mantelini are always great (upscale mac n’ cheese + cold night = smile), each year it seems more and more people get squeezed into an impossibly narrow space.  While not great for locomotion or bathroom breaks, the sardine can confinement does make for interesting eavesdropping.  You don’t really catch entire conversations, nor complete context, but your ears do perk up if you catch something particularly funny, biting or just plain mean.  After all, this still is Hollywood.  And while it’s not quite Housewives of the Renderfarm, it’s still pretty amusing.