The voice of Po, Jack Black.

I walk in, keeping my fingers crossed; the first Panda is one of my favorite animated films of recent years – why mess with perfection? That movie seemed so complete, so self-contained, with Jack Black’s Po character fulfilling his destiny as the Dragon Warrior; how do you build on it without repeating yourself?  And a skeptic might uncharitably describe Antonio Banderas’ feline swashbuckler as a one-note character: can he carry an entire film on his furry shoulders?

Toy Story 3. © Disney/Pixar.

To quote a line from Toy Story 2’s ad campaign, the toys are back in town, and to paraphrase one from What’s New Pussycat, together again for the last time. And it looks like the real deal too: Pixar is bidding farewell to Woody and his pals. Frankly, I wish all my goodbyes were this sweet.

Well, I guess it was too much to hope for, lightning striking twice in a row. (Then again, Pixar was able to pull it off to the third power with its Toy Story iterations.) But to put it bluntly, Kung Fu Panda 2 is no Kung Fu Panda. No, it’s not bad, it’s just that if KFP was a home run with two men on base, KFP2 is a double – a solid double nonetheless, maybe even drove in a run, but still a double. (Make that a triple if you’re not as much in love with Kung Fu Panda as I am.)

Beyond South Park and Dr. Katz, not much has stuck to Comedy Central’s cartoon wall. Drawn Together came close with three seasons. Lil’ Bush vanished with Bush II’s presidency, TV Funhouse came and went awfully fast back in Y2K – and anybody even remember Shorties Watching Shorties or Kid Notorious? Well, next month Comedy Central tries one more time with Ugly Americans, a higher-than high concept show that just might stick around for a bit.

Jim Cummings Ph: Eric Charbonneau ©Disney

Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

By Jim Cummings, with an intro by Joe Strike

 Disney's simply-titled Winnie the Pooh movie opens this Friday, July 15. It's back to basics for the bear with very little brain; the new Pooh takes several previously never animated A.A. Milne stories and weaves them into a tale that harkens back to the warmth and charm of Disney's 1960s Pooh featurettes.

Pooh and Disney have had a long association since the first featurette, 1966's Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. He's appeared in any number of TV series (in both puppet and animated form), direct-to-video releases and now the first theatrical Pooh release since 2005's Pooh's Heffalump Movie.

Sadly, Sterling Holloway (the original Pooh) and Paul Winchell (likewise Tigger) are no longer with us, but veteran voice actor Jim Cummings has vocalized these two inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood for over thirty years. His enthusiasm for voicing the bear and the tiger is of Tiggerish proportions, as you're about to read...

Saturday morning at the movies, watching a cartoon – what could be more reminiscent of the joys of childhood?

Well, the cartoon this particular Saturday morning (September 10, 2011) was not exactly the kind of matinee I used attend back in Brooklyn when the theaters had ‘matrons’ who kept the kiddie section in line. Today I’m wearing polarized lenses and watching Disney’s upcoming 3D re-release of The Lion King.

Been a while since I’ve seen Simba and company in action onscreen. In fact, I think I’ve seen the Broadway show more recently than the movie. (No.2 box office champ for 1994, and the film that triggered the short-lived 1990’s feature animation craze that gave us classics like Anastasia and Quest for Camelot.)

Megamind. All images courtesy of DreamWorks Animation.

Ever wonder how Wile E. Coyote would feel if he ever caught the Road Runner?

(Actually, Seth MacFarlane did more than wonder; in his Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy show, with the bird long digested, Wile E. turns to Jesus to fill the void in his heart.)

The inept arch-villain Megamind has the same problem; now that he’s finally offed his nemesis, the smug ‘n smarmy superhero Metro Man… what’s left to do? Terrorizing Metro City and kidnapping feisty reporter Roxanne “Roxie” Ritchi doesn’t have the same zing without someone to oppose him. There’s only one option left – and it ain’t looking for Jesus…

Bugs Bunny and Daffy - The Looney Tunes Show

Now that CN has aired the first season of their new Looney Tunes series (or to be precise, The Looney Tunes Show), it’s time to enjoy them on DVD. What to do with these characters has been Warner Bros.’ challenge for years now. The classic theatrical shorts have matured from classic to just plain old. (Masterpieces all, but old just the same.) Attempts to bring them up to date have given us excretions like Loonatics, so-whats like Baby Looney Tunes and faux old-time toons like Carrotblanca.

Under exec-producer Sam Register, they’ve finally gotten it right: contemporized their merrie menagerie while keeping their core personalities intact. It took a bit of a trip into sitcom-land to accomplish, but IMHO (as they say online) it works.

You know the tingles, that feeling running up and down your spine when you experience something awesome. Last month the Disney folks were kind enough to invite me to a preview of Ponyo – and I swear a day and half later the tingles were still with me.

Miyazaki’s not just concern for, but identification with the environment is once again an integral part of the story. (The once-human scientist “had to leave that all behind to serve the Earth.”) Unlike several other Miyazaki films, Ponyo’s rooting in Japanese culture and myth didn’t leave the Miscweant mystified. (Will someone please explain the endings of Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke to me?) Disney asked us not to review the film, so I won’t talk about the well-known stars who provide the English voices or describe its plot in any detail. I’ll just say that after I left the screening I walked 25 blocks home rather than be de-tingled on the subway. I didn’t even feel like turning on the TV for the next 36 hours or so, until the tingles faded away on their own; I wanted to hold onto that magic as long as I could.

Ralph Bakshi

Cartoon rebel Ralph Bakshi was the guest of honor at Soho’s Animazing Gallery for the opening of “The Works” – not the creations of his decades in animation, but the collage paintings he’s dedicated himself to since turning his back on his former medium.