It's VERY Hard...

My head is FULL of useless trivia and knowledge about things in which most people have no interest. This, coupled with my self-diagnosed attention-deficit disorder, sometimes cause me to come across as bizarre or overbearing. I at least get to entertain myself, though.
 This brings me to this post. I finally had a chance to stop and watch "FURY" (the WWII movie featuring Brad Pitt leading a tank crew) last night. Interesting flick, but-- of course-- I was distracted by a recurring feature of one of the main stars, Logan Lerman (of Percy Jackson movies fame).

You can't tell me that you don't see it.

"Waking Sleeping Beauty" An Interesting Film (To ME)

Just got home from catching a matinee showing of a limited-run engagement of "Waking Sleeping Beauty", an insider documentary about the rise (and subsequent fall) of Walt Disney Feature Animation in the late 80's and 1990's.

The flick offers a lot of behind-the-scenes home movies, photos and interviews.

Peter Schneider, Roy Disney, and Jeffrey Katzenberg (pictured below) are all featured in the film, as well as the vilified Michael Eisner, the man hand-picked by Roy to run the studio.

1970's CalArts students.

The animators feared Katzenberg for creating a pressure-cooker atmosphere, and ultimately he caught a lot of blame (warranted or not) for the collapse.

All in all, I enjoyed the film, and I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in the way things worked.

Academy to Celebrate Disney’s Milt Kahl

From ANIMATIONMAGAZINE.NET:
Academy to Celebrate Disney’s Milt Kahl
Thursday, March 26, 2009By: Thomas J. Mclean
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will celebrate the life and career of animator Milt Kahl, one of the famous “nine old men” of Walt Disney Studios.
The event, titled “Milt Kahl: The Animation Michelangelo, A Centennial Celebration,” will be held April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The event will be hosted by animator Andreas Deja and will feature a panel discussion moderated by critic and animation expert Charles Solomon and featuring Kathryn Beaumont, Brad Bird, Ron Clements, John Musker and Floyd Norman.
The event also will feature rare film interviews with Kahl, who died in 1987, an analysis of his drawings and clips from his work on such classic films as Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Mickey’s Circus, The Jungle Book and The Rescuers.
Tickets for the event cost $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. They may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, in person at the Academy box office or by mail. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved.

In Case You Missed It.....

Last night, I happened across a cable-tv showing of a Warner Brothers animated feature from 1999, "The IRON GIANT". This was a well-written and superbly-animated film by Brad Bird (The Incredibles) before he joined Pixar. The animation was gorgeous, and Bird's eye-catching designs captured the 50's sci-fi feel perfectly. If you get a chance, I highly recommend watching it, and/or adding it to your collection.


The use of both traditional animation and computer graphics made for a beautifully-rendered production, and the plot was strong and entertaining. Think "Classic Disney"..... It was a very well-made film that I don't believe was marketed properly by Warner Brothers, otherwise it would have been a much bigger box-office success.

The WHO's Pete Townshend, who is listed as a producer, had previously adapted a version into a rock opera/musical in the late 80's or early 90's, and had attempted to get his made into a feature.

This was the cover to the original novel by Ted Hughes, before the story was watered-down and sugar-coated for mass appeal in America.

AND, on a totally unrelated note, I thought you would also appreciate an old character model sheet from the old 'TerryToons' series "TOM TERRIFIC":

I used to watch this when it was shown on "CAPTAIN KANGAROO".