J.J. Sedelmaier Productions has created a Godzilla-themed promo for ABC's TV series SPIN CITY, THE DREW CAREY SHOW and WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONARE? "It all started last May with a call from Michael Benson, senior vice president (advertising and promotion) and Alan Cohen, executive vice president (marketing, advertising and promotion) for ABC-TV (LA), on the referral of Fred Seibert (former president of Hanna-Barbara)," said animation director J.J. Sedelmaier. "They wanted a cool animation spot for one of these shows to break through the clutter and attract attention. Cohen and Benson loved the idea of old-fashioned '50s or early '60s TV animation style. They loved the idea of using silly caricatures like in the BEWITCHED opening, with stylized colored backgrounds and terrific attention to design." The spot highlights Charlie Sheen's replacement of Michael J. Fox on SPIN CITY. Sheen was cast as Godzilla walking amuck among an urban skyline. When he almost squashes SPIN CITY co-star Heather Locklear, she whips out a bazooka. Enter, Drew Carey, who plays the opposing dinosaur, playfully flinging helicopters and six-story chunks of buildings at Sheen. "The entire concept is absurd," said Sedelmaier. "They originally wanted to use an out-of-synch Japanese re-recorded voice, and monster bodies with caricature heads stuck on top. I suggested taking it one step further, dressing the characters as dinosaurs, as if they were live-action actors." For ink and paint services, Sedelmaier used Virtual Magic, LA. Tony Eastman served as head animator for J.J. Sedelmaier Productions. Due to the popularity of the spot abc.com is offering screensavers for download.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
