Yesterday, May 15th

The Animation Show is coming back to mtv2! Last year an Animation Show Special marked the debut of our third theatrical tour and this year a half hour of dynamite shorts will welcome the new 4th tour and 3rd DVD collection into the world. It’s been 17 years since MTV first debuted "Liquid Television" and 11 years since LTV’s step sister "Cartoon Sushi" came and went. MTV as an entity still has its hand in great animation as its satellite networks around the world produce incredible shorts, interstitials and series but here on the home front things have gotten pretty quiet. This special is a step back in the right direction as mtv2 picks up the animation reigns again. We’re scheduled to hit the air waves June 2nd but we will update everyone with exact dates and times soon.

One of the events I wished we’d been able to catch at last years OAIF was a retrospective on the Canadian animation studio Headgear which celebrated its 10 year anniversary last year. What was clear by talking to everyone that had seen the retro was the insane diversity of work that comes out of Headgear. Take these new spots by director Julian Grey for the Detroit Institute of Art. They’re sharp 2D spots (for one of the best damn museums in the country) called "Flower Woman" and "Hat Man". Julian directed a short that’s featured in our new tour this year called “Forgetfulness”. This spot was originally commissioned by the Sundance Channel and it knocked our socks off at the Platform festival last summer. Look for “Forgetfulness on the big screen this summer at the DIA’s cinema when Animation Show rolls into town and peruse Headgear’s site for more incredible work.

Last Tuesday, May 13th

We’ve gotten a flood of e-mails the last two days about the latest short film by animation artist Blu called “Muto”. Blu’s blog has been a treat the last few months as well leading up to this release as he’s dropped stills for what’s got to be a back breaking project. Now his incredible, painting on public walls, animation comes to life. Take a look above and for more info on Blu hit him up here.

Last Monday, May 12th

Smith & Foulkes of Nexus Productions just put up a new website for their new film "This Way Up".  The trailer gives you a little taste of how good this film is.  "This Way Up" is one of our first commissioned films and it truly was an honor working with these guys.  In the news section of the website they discuss how they pitched the idea to us.

Last Sunday, May 11th

Bountiful heaps of new shirts have arrived to the Animation Show shop! We’re thrilled to launch the start of a fun new shirt design project here at the show HQ working with different animators you’ve seen or read about here on the site. First up is champion indie animator Chris Harding who’s designed two groovy shirts inspired from by his weekly comic strip We The Robots.

We’ll get some modeling photos soon posted so you can see these designs in actions. The shirts are printed on sleek Quail Hollow brand T’s (think American Apparel upgrade). Each design is lovingly silk-screened without any nasty ink patches to slow you down.

Also ready is the devilishly new Pig Roast design from stop-motion monster PES. These too are screened on the uber sleek Quail Hollow T’s. This design is the perfect way to share the love of your favorite old timey cartoon.

Buckets of additional designs on the way! And look for great bundle deals with these new T’s now when you add an Animation Show DVD preorders into the mix. We have to give a huge shout out to our fulfillment company Music Today as well. These guys are top notch. They handle great online stores for everyone from Radiohead to the Rolling Stones. Shirts for all!

Friday, May 9th

Visual architects Blip Boutique and Aaron Koblin teamed up to animate Interpol’s latest video “Rest My Chemistry”. Koblin animates ‘data maps’ with systems of particles and cell growth translating them into abstract visuals. Wired has more details:

“The story we wanted to tell came from the idea of body chemistry, as the song addresses sort of what one does to ones body and stepping away from that for a spell. So since we knew we wanted to do something with mapping data, we started thinking about body systems, and how we could expound on the idea of systems from the smallest to the largest scales. Therefore we decided to have the imagery reflect systems of particles within cells to cellular growth and multiplication to overall body systems, to city grids, to global mapping to solar systems, and back down again.”

I just want tickets to an Interpol concert to see this projected on a jumbo-tron. Still trolling for a hi-res version to share but so far no luck.

Thursday, May 8th

Animator/Visualist’s Max Hattler and Robert Seidel have hit the road for a twenty three event tour crisscrossing Japan for the love of audio-visual madness (April 22 - May 27) w/more info at Max's Japan update page. The duo are giving talks, screening films and tearing up festivals and clubs with wicked live VJ sets. Japan’s Metropolis has more on the duo’s trip. Max rocked our bay area shows last year and this pairing with Seidel looks like the perfect marriage of organic and abstract visual delight. Grab a plane and check it out.

Monday, May 5th

How about an all new Animation Show 4 trailer to start off your week. We’ll embed the youtube version above for anyone looking to take this with you... OR for all you classy types we have a nice hi-res Quicktime here as well.

The track is “Busco Oro” by Pueblo Café.

A huge congrats to Bill Plympton whose latest short “Hot Dog” won 1st place in the Independent film category at Sunday’s ASIFA – East Awards. For all of you Chicago residents Bill will be on-hand for the big Animation Show premiere at the Music Box Theatre Friday May 23rd! This will be another crazy kick-off with big giveaways, weird preshow oddities, and Bill! 

Catching up a bit with Bill today on the phone it sounds like his latest feature "Idiots and Angels" has been going over splendidly at the Tribeca film festival. You can read some the fantastic write ups here from The Gothamist and The Village Voice.

I’ve only seen a few of the shorts that screened at the ASIFA awards but I gotta give a huge congrats to Arthur Metcalf for his short "Fantasie in Bubblewrap" which swept up the 'Best in show' award. We weren’t in NYC to attend the awards ourselves but word is Bubblewrap slayed em so look for this to keep grabbing eyeballs at festivals to come later in the year. Great to see NY filmmakers Signe Baumane, Alex Budovsky and Joy & Noelle Vaccese take home some love as well. All in all sounds like a great night of animation was had by all.

Friday, May 2nd

The summer kicks into high gear this weekend! In Austin we’re rolling over to the Alamo Village (2700 W anderson lane. (512) 476-1320) so you’ve still got a chance to come out and see the show. As you may have heard a certain superhero movie takes over a gazillion screens today laying waste to the cinema landscape. Pascal illustrates the point beautifully above. The multiplex near us started screenings of Iron Man yesterday at 8 pm and has showtimes running every half hour since. Nothing beats popcorn at 3am...  right? Advantage – Iron Man.

After last weeks debut in Austin and Columbus we’ve tighten down the last of the nuts and bolts in our new touring omnibus and prepare for grand delivery across the country. The feedback from Austin and Columbus was solid and seeing the program with a packed house resolved a lot of questions. It’s always a bit of a gamble going out for reviews this early on but the program garnered a nice reception from the small handful of critics that took a peak. Thank you all for the emails and support that have been rolling into the site the last two weeks as well. Here are a handful of press highlights from last week’s launch.

The Animation Show 4

Austin Chronicle (pick of the week)
-Part of the joy of the program is its all-inclusiveness; there’s room here for the dirty-bird chortles of "Yompi the Crotch-Biting Sloup" and the earnest, gosh-wow inventiveness of PES’s “Western Spaghetti”. At 20-plus entries, the program slightly blurs in its haste and expanse, but even that is addressed in Julian Grey's elegiac adaptation of former poet laureate Billy Collins’ “Forgetfulness,”. It’s a lovely, tender short, a moment of quiet in an overstuffed but superlative program.

Austin American Statesman
-The spectrum of animation is here, from stop-motion to primitive ink. Some shorts bask in pregnant quietude; others twitter with such spastic speed that their impact hits subliminal registers. A global survey of a spunky art form that has little in common with the extreme showcases of Spike and Mike.

Austinist
-Featuring a wide range of styles and narrative structures, including repeat appearances of some jail-bait bunnies, a Teletubby like crotch-cruncher and a couple of wacky, half-witted Australians, our eyes were glued to the screen for the full hour and a half.

Columbus Alive
-The latest edition lives up to its track record of presenting high-quality animation from around the world and giving audiences a good time. One thing definitely in its favor is volume — more than 20 shorts are included, the number pumped up by several series of short shorts featuring recurring characters. The program is also nicely light on filler, with several memorable, stand-alone shorts that cater to various tastes.