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Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

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Those are the rambles I enjoy... =)

I like what you said on two accounts. The first makes good sense that it's a facet/extension of him because it's the product of his own imagination. It's something kind of simple but I never put that exact thought into it before.

The second is using Bloo as an outlet, and tapping into your inner Bloo to "do it right" so to speak. It's almost as if the Essence of Bloo is taking over you to animate himself! "Illusion" of Life my keister!

I like the show. It starting to show in Cartoon Network Taiwan. I would like to hear the English voice actors. The Taiwanese Voice Actors do a good job.

Mah Productions
"The only limitation is the mind."
http://www.mahproductions.com

I was wondering, what are the character's names in Taiwan?

Blahdy blahdy blahdy blahdy blahady...

Hi, Eric. My name's James Craven and I enjoy the show. I believe that the show is the funniest cartoon on television right now.

My six-year-old nephew, Eddie, loves Bloo. I was wondering - I know there's a handful of Foster's items either out right now (on the Cartoon Network's shopping site) or coming soon (such as the Scholastic books this summer), are there plans for any new items down the road that can be bought at mass merchandisers like Toys "R" Us or Wal-Mart? Also, when will we see the new episodes and can you give us a sneak preview of the next season?

Keep up the great work you, Craig, Lauren and everyone else is doing there in Beautiful Downtown Burbank!

Blahdy blahdy blahdy blahdy blahady...

I think I was being sarcastic.

I know that ;) I was just adding to your post.

hows the worklife on fosters treatin yah ape?

any shenanigans or inhouse hoopla worth mentioning?

"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo

Hi, excellent show, love watching it with the kids and husband!

I have a question. In the new episode "Partying is such Sweet Soiree" Bloo uses Madame Foster's Trans Am to find Mac. How do I get images of this car if I don't have a DVR or Tivo? I have a Trans Am and am in a local car club and loved it when this episode aired.

Not all that different Skinny. The pipeline and process if basicly the same. The only bigish difference is that on "Foster's" all the animation was directed by Craig McCracken, and Animation Director Craig Kellman. The new animation Director is now Lauren Faust. Where as on "Puffy," the storyboarders are the directors of their own episodes, so we have about four different directors with slightly different styles. Then the overall head honcho Darrell Van Citters has the final say on how it all looks so that the look doesn't stray to much from episode to episode.

Aloha,
the Ape

aah. thats a very interesting tid bit there.

I'd jsut like to say that me and my girlfriend LOVE Foster's, and we're seniors in high school. I'd also like to ask anyone if they notice a similarity in fosters to the opening of Monster's Inc, where the monsters are going in and out of the doors. For some reason, whenI see Foster's, it makes me think of that. Anyway, great job with the show Ape :)

hows the worklife on fosters treatin yah ape?

any shenanigans or inhouse hoopla worth mentioning?

i think he has moved on to Renegade animation from Fosters.

How is it different from Fosters Ape?

I guess that I'm the older one here. Oh well. :D

The show is absolutely FANTASTIC, just to have something about to start: story premises, characters, plot, visual stuff( enough said, since I even wouldn't know from where to start, by the way; they aired the FHIF movie just this last Saturday here in Brazil, and I'm NOT ashamed to say that I almost had my eyes glued to the screen; kinda difficult to can watch it in such wonder and already draw fanart( laugh )for it, but I can't wait for the actual episodes - the first one will be aired this next Friday, and I just want to know more )... and everything that just don't come to my mind right now, but you can figure what I mean.

I'm aware that it can sound so very silly and pretemptious, but, as I work as a teacher here, there's something I'd highly reccomend( I know, I KNOW, it SOUNDS strange, but, what else to say? It's commendable, so what... ? )for both parents and their kids watch altogether - as for myself, though( speaking as an laready fan here ), I specially liked the way the grown-up characters( Mac's mother, Frankie and Madame Foster )were developed, too!

Congratulations!

I don't know. I don't speak chinese.

Mah Productions
"The only limitation is the mind."
http://www.mahproductions.com

Thanks Doob, glad you like the show. By the way, new episode this Friday. I can't remember which one it is though.

Sorry Echi, I didn't mean to shut you down or anything, I was just hoping for more of an explanation about the Teen thing. I'm not sure by making people older or younger makes a show better or not, it's in the writing. I think a good example is Rugrats. It was a very popular show, then they had them grow up, and I think they lost their audience. I'm sure McCracken could do a really good teen cartoon, but I'm not sure if he would want to.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Very nicely done stuff :) Keep up the good work Ape!

Now, now Eric. Tell us how you really feel. Nah, j/k.

I have to say that Frankie (voiced by Ms. Grey DeLisle) is my favorite character. Especially in Everyone Knows It's Bendy where upon hearing Bendy saying that Frankie was a total poser about punk rock and that she was a dork, we hear her wimper "I'm punk rock". That line had me ROTFLMMFAO. Her voice is a natural fit for that character.

Blahdy blahdy blahdy blahdy blahady...

Thanks for the kind words Marcos and Spooze. We're glad you like our show. Actually a lot of adults like the show, esspecially ones with kids.

Just to let everyone in the states know, new episodes for the second season starts later this month in Jan 2005. Don't miss the first episode.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Foster's Home is one of the most brilliant cartoons I've ever seen. Bloo, Eduardo, and co. are some of the most memorable characters ever.

This show makes me glad I have TiVo, so I can go to school and watch it every day. This show needs a better time slot, so more people my age (I'm 17) can appreciate it.

I actually stumbled across this when searching high and low for a clip of Bloo rocking out on air guitar (from episode 4) that I can make an animated .gif from. Can anybody help me out here? :)

I also prefer the Rugrats as babies.

Thanks Doob, glad you like the show. By the way, new episode this Friday. I can't remember which one it is though.

Sorry Echi, I didn't mean to shut you down or anything, I was just hoping for more of an explanation about the Teen thing. I'm not sure by making people older or younger makes a show better or not, it's in the writing. I think a good example is Rugrats. It was a very popular show, then they had them grow up, and I think they lost their audience. I'm sure McCracken could do a really good teen cartoon, but I'm not sure if he would want to.

Aloha,
the Ape

Do any of your friends speak Chinese? Please ask them and post them in this thread.

And to Animated Ape, is there plans for a Christmas and/or Holiday episode in the works? Maybilly an Easter episode too with Mr. Herriman playing the Easter Bunny?

Blahdy blahdy blahdy blahdy blahady...

Yeah Bloojim, I guess Cartoon Network UK shows the whole season one right after another as opposed to here in the US were they are currently showing new episodes ever other month. Why? I have no idea. I just make em move. :D

Also this friday there will be a new episode for Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends. The episode will be "Mac Daddy," in which Mac inadvertantly creates another imaginary friend while he was asleep. Check your local listings but I believe it airs at 7:00 pm this Friday, May sixth. Happy viewing.

Mahalo,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

I'm glad someone like my ramblings Scattered. :P

In my head I have all the characters have distinct personalities and I know, at least for myself, how each character would react to a situation. This helps me animate all the characters differently, so they all don't move the same. So I'm always thinking 'character' when I'm animating, and that's what makes it fun. When you see all these different characters having their own distinct personalities, that's what makes all the hard work worth while.

Yeah, Grey is awsome as Frankie. If it wasn't her voice, she would be a totally different character. We actually have a great voice cast, and that makes our jobs sooooo much easier. When we hear their voices, it's so easy to imagine what the character is thinking and feeling. That is so very key to animation. Who cares about celebrities, if the voice acting isn't there it's not going to work. Actually Brad Bird just talked about that on NPR on Monday 4/4/05, I think, on the show "Fresh Air." If you go to their website, you should be able to hear that interview. Any way, he goes on to talk about why he chose Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter and the rest of the cast. Some really good tid bits on that show.

Rambling.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

justa question about fosters

i was just wondering how you came up with the idea for the look of the mansion. was it just something you thought up, or did you get different ideas from real houses?

Nope, I don't know the guy. Looks like he's working out of the Atlanta studio. He has some really nice work though.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

So, you are one of the people who got hired instead of me. :p

Yep :D

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

New site:
http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/fosters/

Also note that this TV series is being done in FLASHHHHHHH.

Thanks for the link Harvey, but the pictures you posted didn't work.

They should be adding more character bios and clips to the website in the near future. The hour and a half pilot will be airing on Cartoon Network on August 13th, with the regular series episodes being show after. I'm not too sure what time the show is airing though. They are starting to run adds on Cartoon Network now, although I have yet to see them, and you'll also start seeing advertizing on bus stops and billboards soon enough.

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Thanks for the link Harvey, but the pictures you posted didn't work.

I don't know why those images aren't showing up.
If you right-click where the images are supposed to be, select "properties," copy the web address, and paste it into a browser's address field, then the images will show.

The show premise reminds me an awful lot of Calvin and Hobbes.

"The show premise reminds me an awful lot of Calvin and Hobbes." Thanks. That's a great complement. Not that I have anything to do with the stories. :D In what way does it remind you of Calvin and Hobbes?

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

In what way does it remind you of Calvin and Hobbes?

Hobbes was an imaginary friend.

Oh, ok Harvey. I thought you thought the simularities ran deeper than that.

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

That's a pretty big similarity. There aren't many comic strips/books or animated series whose central theme is imaginary friends. I can think of two: Calvin and Hobbes and Foster's Home.

There's a movie about imaginary friends coming out: Where the Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation). It was originally going to be completely animated. Now I think just the monsters are being animated.

There is also Mr. Snufalufagus on Seasame Street. Wasn't there also a movie called Dead Fred, about a childs imaginary friend? Fred Flintstone also had Kazoo. I could also probably stretch it a bit and include Toy Story and Toy Story 2 since to Andy, his toys were alive. It is a fun concept, with a lot of area to explore. I hope the show will be around long enough to explore some of it.

Also, if anyone is going to Comic Con down in San Diego, the show's creator, Craig McCracken, will be on the Cartoon Network pannel on Friday from 3:00 to 4:30, along with our director Craig Kellman. It should be a fun weekend.

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Is Snufalufagus imaginary or is he just invisible to everyone but Big Bird?

In the movie, Harvey (1950), the giant rabbit is REAL, but invisible to everyone except Elwood (Jimmy Stewart).

Gazoo (Harvey Korman) was another real friend who was invisible to all but Fred and Barney.

I never saw Drop Dead Fred, but - based on what I've read - Fred is another of those invisible friends who the heroine THOUGHT was imaginary, but turned out to be real.

Hobbes is part real and part imaginary. He's a real toy that Calvin imagines having adventures with.
________
Isn't there supposed to be a special Clampett panel at ComicCon? That's where I'D be if I were going.

Well, harvey, I think you just need to wait and see the show. It might not be as simular as you think.

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Similar to what? Calvin and Hobbes? No, I don't have any preconceptions about Foster's similarity to Calvin and Hobbes. I'm just observing the uniqueness of imaginary friends as a central theme of a series. So far I can only think of two series in history that use imaginary friends as a central theme: Foster's Home and Calvin & Hobbes.

That's really cool Ape.

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

Are you going to tell us what type of work you do on the show, Ape?
Lengthy detail would be appreciated.

Thanks phacker.

I'm one of the animators of the show Harvey. We animate the whole show using Macromedia Flash, and also use Illustrator and After Effects.

Here is a show summary from Toonzone.
http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=103702

"Cartoon Network will unveil Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, a new animated series from The Powerpuff Girls-creator Craig McCracken, the network announced today. The series will debut with a 90-minute movie on Friday, July 16, and will premiere as a series on Friday, Sept. 3. The network has ordered 26 episodes.

The series is set in a rambling Victorian mansion, overseen by Madame Foster, that serves as a haven for imaginary friends who are no longer wanted or needed by their former owners. The central character is Mac, a smart, creat ive boy who lodges his own imaginary friend, Bloo, at the Home and who is in turn "adopted" by its inhabitants as their surrogate kid.

Characters on the show include: Frankie, Madame Foster’s 22-year-old granddaughter, who cooks, cleans and handles the never-ending crises; Mr. Herriman, a giant, monocle-wearing bunny who was Madame Foster’s own imaginary friend and who helps her run the establishment; Wilt, a playmate originally created for a basketball-loving boy; Eduardo, a muscular but jittery tough; and Coco, who helped a little girl stranded on a desert island, but who is now himself teetering on the edge of sanity.

"Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends is about friendship," says creator McCracken. "It’s a character-based comedy about all the fun you can have when your best buddies are a collection of oddballs and misfits. It’s a 100-percent character driven show that focuses on good stories and great jokes and takes advantage of creativity and imagination."

The series is being produced by Cartoon Network Studios."

Oh, and don't pay attention to the air dates, those are wrong. :rolleyes:

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

I'm one of the animators of the show Harvey.

Are you just an all-around animator, or have to been assigned a specific character or animation task, like lip-synching?

animation duties

Harvey, all of us animators here on our show are all around animators, and some of the most talented I've seen. We are assiged shots and are responsible all animation in that shot, much like how PIXAR assigns shots. So we animate all the characters, lip-sync, facial expressions, props, camera moves, and effects animation. Some animators are better with certain characters, and are often assigned more difficult shots with thoses characters. So we touch all the main characters in each episode. I hope that helps you out Harvey.

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

That was of such great help to me.
Now I can breathe again. :D

I have more questions, but you're probably pretty busy.

Well, Harvey, ask away. If I can answer them I will, and if I can't, well, then I can't. :D

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

What is your least favorite part of that animation process? (My least favorite thing is rigging muscle deformers. :p )

I'd have to say my least favorite part of animation is the lip-sync. I don't hate doing it, but it's just boring. Although rigging muscle deformers doesn't sound like much fun either. :D

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Yes, in 3D, modeling all the visemes and expressions can be tedious as well.

How many illustrators and animators are required for this Flash series?
Is it substantially fewer than the number required for a "traditional" show like Powerpuff or Dexter?
Is any outsourcing required or can you handle it all in-house?

I'm not exactly sure how many people we have on our preproduction staff, but for sure we have an animation director, and a Flash director, 10 animators, 3 compositors, and an asset manager. With the 10 animators, we are able to complete an entire episode in roughly 5 weeks. I'd imagine our preproduction staff is about the same as other Cartoon Network shows, as we still need all the same stuff, storyboards, backgrounds, props, character designs, effects and the like.

The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

one kids' pumped!

Well just from the stuff my little girl has seen (I got the latest Animation magazine which had Fosters on the cover) She was so excited, she told me all about it, I guess they have a few previews running on Nick or Cartoon Channel and shes diggin it!
One kids view, for what its worth. I think it looks very cool but havent got to read MY magazine yet...I really am impressed by the use of Flash here.Thanks for all the info Ape.
swankaman

Make that TWO kids!

Funny swankaman (and Ape!), but just today my son mentioned something about this cartoon as well...strange but true!

it took a second to register in my gray matter, and then I said "What? What show was that?"

And his initial critique was of a positive nature!

So Ape, it seems you have a couple of kids interested at least!

Splatman :D

Thanks Swanka and Splat. I hope your kids really enjoy it, and I think they will. Now all we need are their pops' wallet behind the merchandizing, and we're in bussiness. :D

We just screened our most recent episode at the studio, and it was very funny. Each episode just keeps getting funnier and funnier.

For those who don't know, the show premieres August 13 at 7:30 on Cartoon Network. And here is a link to the show's site. http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/fosters/index.html It's a fun little site and is up dated weekly.

Aloha,
The Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

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