Just in time for Father's Day, here's a sweet animated film Tend, about a father who becomes too focused on tending a fire, at the expense of his young daughter. Read the rest
Animated short 'Tend' explores fatherhood and priorities
Cute cartoon about a parking spot stealer
There's a kind of joke called "a long driveway to a small house," and the cartoon "Parked in My Spot" is a great example. There's not a huge payoff, but the story itself is pretty amusing and nicely animated. Most people respond to stolen parking spots with tales of vengeance and wrath, but this one is more playful thanks to both parties not being too worked up about the situation. Read the rest
Alexa Ruins Families, cartoonified
Cartoonist Lauren eLL secretly recorded a funny family video, then turned it into a charming cartoon about how Alexa Ruins Families. Read the rest
This spare and clean animation asks some cosmic questions
In I Am Here , director Eoin Duffy addresses the strange sensation when we realize our entire lives have led up to one fleeting moment. Read the rest
Watch the first episode of 'Our Cartoon President' for free
Our Cartoon President takes jabs at Trump and his rag-tag band of misfits. Showtime released the premiere episode for free:
State of the Union. The President tries to revive his low approval ratings by delivering the greatest State of the Union speech in history and to strengthen his relationship with First Lady Melania by naming her the national bird.
• Our Cartoon President | Series Premiere (YouTube / Showtime) Read the rest
Review: Voltron, Legendary Defender
My people raised me on the greatness of Voltron Lion Force. So when I discovered there was a remake on Netflix, I was excited. Scared. The bland unpleasantness of the Thundercats reboot lingers still with me. Last night I caught the first episodes, and I have to say I 👏 was 👏 pleasantly 👏 surprised. Read the rest
The voice actors behind the Peanuts gang (1968)
This is a photo of the voice actors behind some of the animated characters in the Peanuts gang. Notice that all the kid roles are actually voiced by children.
Kristy Sproul of Voice Chasers, a voice-acting forum, writes:
The original image had appeared in the February 10-16, 1968 issue of TV Guide to promote the upcoming Peanuts television special, He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown. While some of the voice actors in that photo originated their characters in the first Peanuts special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, it wasn't the case for all of them.
We were able to get our hands on an original copy of that very issue, featuring the Smothers Brothers on the cover, and were pleased to find it not only included the full staged picture of the cast in the recording studio (with animator Bill Melendez, the voice of Snoopy), but it was also accompanied by a full, two-page spread with a small bio of each of the voice actors in the photo. Coverage on voice actors, especially those that were not celebrities, was extremely rare back in those days.
Unfortunately the voice of Charlie Brown, former child actor Peter Robbins, landed in prison in 2015 after a run-in with the law.
Also, and I'm sure you all know this, the voice of the grownups in Charlie Brown's world was actually the sound of a trombone. Wah, wah.
images via Kristy Sproul of Voice Chasers Read the rest
DuckTales reboot is on the way
If you or your kids are of a certain age, DuckTales may play a large role in your late-80s/early-90s nostalgia. Disney is bringing the show back, and the new opening sequence by Golden Wolf pays homage to some iconic shots while giving it a pretty cool update. Read the rest
Watch this trippy Soviet kid's cartoon from 1976
Box with a Secret (Шкатулка с секретом) is a Yellow Submarine-inspired children's fairy tale about a child who discovers how to fix a magical box that stopped working. You don't have to know Russian to enjoy its Communist-era message about aristocracy. Read the rest
Animated series about Donald Trump's hair from Ferris Plock, Kelly Tunstall, Form & Fiction
Day Dreamers Limited -- the artist collective of Kelly Tunstall, Ferris Plock, and creative studio Form & Fiction -- are making an animated series starring Donald Trump's Hair as the protagonist! From Hair to the Throne:
Whenever the President drifts off to dreamland or is too busy Tweeting to notice, The Hair gets to work: undoing Trump’s wrongs, pacifying allies, counteracting hostilities, and unifying a divided nation....
This is not just a show about cheap laughs and making a mockery of our President. The overarching theme is the bipolar and symbiotic relationship between President Trump and The Hair, which together represent our divided nation.
Our plans are to have The Hair engage and challenge not only the characters in the fictional world of Hair to the Throne but in the real world as well. Just imagine for a moment, the delightful Twitter conversations @realTheHair will have with @realDonaldTrump as we hold our President accountable for being elected to the most powerful office in the free world. If every person whose voice was ignored on Election Day gives just one dollar, we will send the world a powerful statement, followed by even more powerful action. Only you can help us turn The Hair into a symbol for hope and democratic responsibility! #HopeIsInTheHair
Watch Gerald McBoing-Boing, the wonderful Oscar-winning cartoon from 1950
No, Mark and Carla didn't name bOING bOING after Dr. Seuss's wonderful story. (The far stranger truth is right here.) But nonetheless, the story of young Gerald McCloy, aka Gerald McBoing-Boing, is a true delight! Please enjoy this Oscar-winning animation of Gerald McBoing-Boing, adapted from Seuss's story by Phil Eastman and Bill Scott, directed by Robert Cannon, and produced by John Hubley.
They say it all started when Gerald was two— That’s the age kids start talking—least, most of them do. Well, when he started talking, you know what he said? He didn’t talk words— he went boing boing instead!
(Thanks, UPSO!)
Watch this Bloom County Christmas special from 1991
Based on Berkeley Breathed's 1991 children's book A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story, this TV special aired on December 18 of that year. In a 2003 Washington Post interview, Breathed responded thusly to a question about where one could find a VHS or DVD copy of the cartoon:
Hopefully in the rubbish pail. We can do better than that and we will with an eventual Opus film... but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I presume your family was on speed when they watched it. I would imagine it helps.
Cartoonist John Callahan may finally get a biopic
Quadriplegic alcoholic John Callahan was one of the most controversial American cartoonists from the age of newsprint. Now he may finally be getting a long-awaited film about his life starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Gus Van Sant. Read the rest
Donald Duck is a quite effective and surreal math teacher
"Donald in Mathmagic Land" was released in 1959. As Walt Disney said, "The cartoon is a good medium to stimulate interest."
"Somebody Goofed," an animated Jack Chick tract
In acknowledgement of evangelical comic artist Jack Chick's death yesterday, please enjoy this classic animation of the Chick tract "Somebody Goofed," created in 1998 by longtime Boing Boing pals Syd Garon and Rodney Ascher.
Spider-Man cartoon from 1967 reimagined by multiple animators
For Halifax, Nova Scotia's Nocturne arts festival animators from the province recreated the 1967 Spiderman cartoon "Vulture's Prey" in their very different personal styles.
To him, life is a great big bang up Whenever there's a hang up You'll find the Spider-Man
Priceless 170-year-old Japanese fart scroll digitized
About 170 years ago, during Japan's Edo period, a 34-foot scroll called Fart Battle (He-gassen) was created by unknown artisan(s). The work lives on in glorious hi-res digitized collection at Waseda University. Read the rest
