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Shown above is the animated film Kings of Power 4 Billion% by Paul Robertson. It's hard to see all of the detail in the YouTube video (I'd suggest downloading a torrent) but Robertson's animation technique is drawn pixel by pixel like an old school video game. In addition to video games he also draws quite a bit from anime and pop cultural references. Here's part two:

I'll always root for Pixar over Dreamworks, but this film may not be half bad...

The Animation Show is a showcase for independent animated short films which is put together by Mike Judge (of Beavis and Butt-Head fame) and Academy Award nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt. If the film isn't coming to your local town don't worry too much as they play to release a DVD as well.

The above commercials for Fruit Stripe Gum and Lifesavers date to the mid-70s. The design for the characters on the Lifesavers spot are wonderfully creative, it's sad to think that so much similar food advertising today is just so bland.

Vampz is a entertaining short animated student film from France. This movie is the work of three students of the EESA school: Adrien Barbier Lambert, Adrien Annesley and Lâm Le Thanh. Collaborating on music was Olivier Michelot, and the sound design is by Tamara Demicheli.

Found via dekku.blogspot.com.

I first ran across Maidokuro: The Awesome Corpse-Housemaid on iTunes as a video podcast and I was hooked right away watching episodes on my daily subway ride. Each episode (which only last s a few seconds each) stars a cute corpse maid who kills her client in a new clever way. The show looks better as a podcast but you can always catch episodes at YouTube.

Surrealism is always more disturbing to me than anything I've ever seen in the horror genre, which I think is due to the lack of conventional storytelling that we see in a typical slasher flick or monster movie. The above animated film Struggle of Love in a Dream (Hypn-eroto-machia —Гипнэротомахия) is a good example of how a lack of coherent structure itself can be somewhat chilling. Andrei Svislotsky was inspired by the paintings of Salvador Dali when he directed this film in 1992, however I also sense the chaos of the post-cold war under the surface the artwork.

Exhibit A: Manga Entertainment offers only four anime series on iTunes, and it's $50 for a season pass for 26 episodes of Ghost in the Shell — which you can watch for free on your DVR. I'd prefer the latest offerings from Japan in real time, and yes I don't mind spelling errors in the subtitles.

The one thing entertainment companies never seem to get is the concept of "not invented here" which is the kiss of death in the tech business. This isn't limited the ghetto of anime here in the United States, in fact a good example of this boneheaded behavior is when you see Viacom suing YouTube/Google. So while reading this Variety article on Funimation, this quote leaped off the page at me:

"Fukunaga is also confident in the company's pay-per-download system, which is basically an HTML-based iTunes, but for anime. "There were a lot of rights issues, and we couldn't monetize it fast enough last year," he says apologetically -- anime sites that don't bother with copyright laws, like the recently reformed Crunchyroll.com, have become must-visit web destinations for anime fans. Now that Funimation is getting back its piece of that action, Fukunaga predicts that the download sales will soon exceed the company's second-biggest asset, merchandising."

Instead of reinventing the wheel why doesn't Funimation focus on iTunes? If they priced each episode at $1 and put their entire catalog online I'd bet they increase their revenues. Now to be fair Gen Fukunaga has to negotiate each of those series with the Japanese, but I think the Anime studios have to understand that the market is in a bit of a glut and that their target audience has grown up with Napster. Or maybe Funimation and the Japanese studios should cozy up to Crunchyroll a bit more?

I've seen the other side and it isn't pretty — Hulu was just launched by the networks and I have to say that the site just doesn't do it for me. I've visited it only a few times, while I still find myself visiting YouTube and DailyMotion several times a day. Although it's a different culture showbiz should embrace rather than emulate the techies.

Isn't it great how Peanuts manages to address the over-commercialization of the holidays? Happy Easter Beagle Sunday...

I love this little animated film which was written and read by Rik Mayall, the comic genius behind the Young Ones. How often do you see bathroom humor mixed with a Shakespeare reference? By the way this film was done for Mastercard, there are several other animated films in the series here.

What I'd love to see would be for Disney to allow the Japanese studios to reinterpret all of the traditional Disney characters:

Disney to team with Japanese companies to produce animation in Japan

"Entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. will team up with several Japanese companies to produce animation for television in Japan, a leading market, a Disney official said Thursday. Disney will work with Toei Animation Co., Madhouse Co. and Jinni's Animation Studios, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to comply with company rules.

The move was aimed at localizing contents of Disney products for a wider audience, she said. "We need to make contents which fit the Japanese market to further boost the popularity of Disney in Japan," she said.

With Madhouse, Disney will produce a 30-minute TV program "Stitch!," an offspring of the Lilo & Stitch series, to be aired in Japan, the official said, adding that the company has not decided when the show will go on air."

Above and below are the latest international trailers for the upcoming Speed Racer film. I have no idea if the movie will be any good, but the art direction sure looks great! The film feels like a live action video game.

I love the look of this animated music video which features Kap10kurt, it sort of reminds me of a cross between a video game and the look of a Jamie Hewlett comic book. The video was animated by mathematic, who are based in Paris, France.

Found via Nerdcore.de.

There's an interesting interview with the former head of Studio Ghibli who has some interesting insights into the upcoming Hayao Miyazaki film Ponyo on a Cliff:

Executive Producer & Former President of Studio Ghibli Suzuki Toshio Reveals the Story Behind Ponyo

Found via FilmTwitch.net.

Shown above is a detail from the new poster for Wall*E from Pixar/Disney which will hit theaters on June 27th, below is the whole thing:

Shown above is a wonderful short animated film by Javan Ivey in which each frame is cut out of 4" by 6" bit of card stock — very creative!

Found via metafilter.

And the winner is Evangelion:

Tokyo Anime fair announces winners
'Evangelion' takes animation of the year award

"The Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF), the world biggest trade fair for toons, has presented "Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone" with its Animation of the Year award, organizers announced on Monday.

Receiving the Grand Prize in the Nominated Works section was "Adventures in the NPM," a Taiwanese short by Helen Huang that is an animated guide through the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Grzegorz Jonkajtys' "Ark" and Moin Samadi's "The Lost Puppet" were selected as Notable Entries in the General Category, the section's second prize. Young-kwang Jo's "Christmas in Taxi" scooped the Special Award, while Takashi Kato's "The Clockwork City" and Guillaume Briet's "BistRobot" won Notable Entry prizes in the Student Category."

That's a catchy tune, no? El Señor Rossi was an Italian animated series of films that ran from the early 60s to the mid-70s created by Bruno Bozetto. Although as an animator Bruno Bozetto for his film Allegro non troppo which was a humorous take on the Disney classic Fantasia. These days he's been doing quite a bit of Flash based animation.

Found via thisspartanlife.com.

In 1991 for some odd reason Brian Cirulnick and myself were able to talk John O’Donnell of Central Park Media into making the first Anime themed CD-ROM. The CD-ROM featured 1,000 targa images taken from various Anime TV shows and movies (everything from from Project A-ko to Urusei Yatsura) and 100 digital video clips which were produced using the then new technology QuickTime from Apple Computer. In fact the CD-ROM was the 2nd commercial title to feature QuickTime, the first I believe was a porno title. The other cool thing about the project was that it featured a multimedia presentation which contained a catalog showing a thumbnail sketch of each image. After it's release the CD-ROM started to sell well and was even picked up by Educorp (one of the early CD-ROM catalogs). However sadly the title was spotted in Japan by one of the copyright holders who mistook it for a video game and thus ending the shelf life of the project.

Shown above are the opening titles for Zero-sen Hayato (０戦はやと) an anime series that ran for 41 episodes back in 1964 and was produced by Fuji TV. The series got started as a manga by Naoki Tsuji and deals with fighter pilots during World War II.

This latest trailer for Kung Fu Panda doesn't look too bad, although to be honest I've always preferred Pixar to Dreamworks. I think it's that Dreamworks always relies upon sitcom jokes with well known actors while Pixar films are always about the story itself with the humor playing a supporting role. Also Pixar uses animation to tell the story while with Dreamworks you might as well use puppets.

The above film was produced by 18 animators living in St. Petersburg, Russia. I love how the entire film was created by drawing on Post-It Notes. The song featured is by Oppa Novy God.

Found via MetaFilter.

Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year, so we're exploring fanboy themes relating the Year of the Rat. Shown above is The Rat on Chaos a clever short animated film I found on YouTube from sanewave. Warning: This film contains some profanity and an animated rat going to the bathroom. Although no rats were harmed in the production...

Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year, so we're exploring fanboy themes relating the Year of the Rat. Shown above is Dougal and the Rat a short animated film directed by Morgan Williams of Club Cocoanut Animation (which also features the work of illustrator/designer Julie Williams).

Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year, so we're exploring fanboy themes relating the Year of the Rat. Shown above is Roland Rat Superstar, a British puppet character from the 80s. Roland was first conceived and voiced by David Claridge in 1983. The show would become so popular that it would inspire three UK chart hit singles and a video game. Here are some clips from the show:

Playing with a flip book gives you that primordial joy that goes to the heart of not just what animation is, but perhaps cinema itself. Shown above are but a few samples (click on the image to see it at full size) from the amazing website flipbook.info:

"Welcome to FLIPBOOK.info, a website entirely devoted to an art form half way between book and movie. We have a collection of 4420 flip books (also called flick books or folioscopes) from 1882 to nowadays with a great diversity of topics."

Ebiten was a Japanese TV show from the early 90s that featured a contest for amateur short movie directors. Shown above is the stop motion film Pulsar (1990) by Katushi Bowda, below is the film Power (1991) by Yoshinao Sato which was created with a copy machine technique.

That right! A third Toy Story movie is in the works (and it will be in 3D too):

'Toy Story' films to play in 3-D

Shown above are animated commercials from the mid to late 60s for Milkbone Dog Treats, Puma softdrink, Standard Oil, a public service Voting spot (done in a Terry Gilliam style), Marathon (starring the characters from the comic strip B.C.), Levi's, Hamilton Watches (spot by R.O. Blechman), Fritos, Graf's Diet Sodas, Hanes, a Buick dealership, and cherry flavored Chocks. And here's another set from the same era:

It's quite clever how this commercial for Contac in Japan features 3D stop motion animation characters drawing 2D animation. The pill character is called Mr. Contac and is from Osaka, Japan. He's been featured on all sorts of cute merchandise like this phone strap:

I love the comic book look of the opening titles above, they're for for the anime series Hakaba Kitaro which just started running this January on Fuji Television. The series focuses around the character Kitaro who was born in a cemetery and his missing his left eye.

The anime series Patalliro! ran from 1982 until 1983 and is interesting because it was based on a manga by Mineo Maya which focused on bishounen (i.e. pretty boys). The show was more comedy than anything else, but I think it's a good early example of Yaoi, which are manga focused on male gay relationships marketed to the ladies. There's a good article on the show here by Mary Kennard. It was funny for me to come across that article because back in the early 80s I knew Mary, as she could be spotted at meetings of the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization in New York City which I went to all of the time.

Recently I was reading that screen writer Jinzo Toriumi passed away. Toriumi got his start writing episodes of Astro Boy in 1964, and then in 1965 he moved to Tatsunoko Productions where he worked on Speed Racer, Gatchaman (Battle of the Planets to us American fanboys), and well into the 80s with shows like the Votoms. Shown above are the titles for the 70s anime comedy series Yatterman which he wrote the script for (along with Akiyoshi Sakai).

It's been ten years but I feel that Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke holds up pretty well (and will look still look great good ten, twenty, and thirty years into the future).

Shown above is the opening from the 1987 classic anime film Robot Carnival.

Inspired by Disney's Fantasia Allegro non troppo was THE animated film of 1977 directed by Bruno Bozzetto.

Forty years ago Tatsunoko introduced the classic anime series Mach Go Go Go which would become known in the United States as Speed Racer, which will be revisited by Hollywood in the upcoming year.

Produced by Miami's Soundac Studios the animated series Colonel Bleep was the first color cartoon made for television and entered syndication in 1957 as part of "Uncle Bill's TV Club".

Animated in 1947 by Famous Studios Naughty but Mice was the first cartoon in the Herman and Katnip series.

Shown above is an amazing promotional film for Disney's Snow White from 1937.

Before Mickey there was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, featured above in Trolley Troubles a short film made in 1927.

I was quite blown away by this cute moe themed Flash movie (shown above) which is by Ioshisu, which is a music/comedy group from Japan.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Romeo x Juliet (anime)
Status: Aired in Japan; Unlicensed

You may think that since you read Romeo and Juliet in high school, you don't need to read this description, but I guarantee that you do. Gonzo's Romeo x Juliet is like no version you've ever seen before. Set on the floating island of Neo-Verona, home to many pegasi, RxJ is a fantasy take on the tale.

While the series is unlicensed, Gonzo has made noise against fansubs of the series via FUNimation, which has not announced the series as being licensed- leading fans to speculation on Gonzo's release plans. In any case, the series features a rather strong, sword-fighting Juliet as the only remaining member of the house of Capulet, which was destroyed by the leader of the Montague house years before. Montague is now the Duke of Neo-Verona, while the Capulets lay in the dust.

Juliet, who frequently defends the townspeople using the name The Red Wind, is given the task of restoring the family honor by defeating Montague, but not until after she's already met and fallen for Romeo. The decisions that she makes will alter the lives of those around her irreparably- and in more ways than any of them imagine.

Below: The opening titles for Romeo x Juliet.

Gia Manry is a Portland, OR-based professional writer specializing in pop culture/entertainment writing. Read up on more of her work at giapet.net or hire her at GiaManry.com.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Ouran High School Host Club (anime)
Status: Aired in Japan; Unlicensed

For reasons unbeknownst to anyone, FUNimation sat on this license for quite some time before announcing it; it actually aired in Japan in 2006. Nonetheless, the shoujo reverse harem series (reverse in that it's one girl surrounded by many good-looking guys) is a big hit with both the ladies and the gentlemen for both its zany humor and it's relatively subtle drama.

Haruhi Fujioka is the lone impoverished scholarship student at Ouran High School, a school for kids so rich that a group of boys started a Host Club to entertain their female schoolmates in. One day Haruhi stumbles upon the Host Club while seeking a quiet place to study and instead accidentally breaks an expensive vase- and becomes the club's newest toy to pay for it. At first a mere gopher, Haruhi eventually is given a makeover and becomes a host…then, and only then, do the guys realize that Haruhi is actually a girl.

The real genius of Host Club, though, isn't the switcheroo it plays on classic gender roles. The true brilliance is that while the comedy stems from poking fun at traditional shoujo romance archetypes, the drama comes almost entirely from watching the characters grow up and learn who they are, a refreshing change of pace from the usual soap opera anime.

Below: Opening titles for Ouran High School Host Club.

Gia Manry is a Portland, OR-based professional writer specializing in pop culture/entertainment writing. Read up on more of her work at giapet.net or hire her at GiaManry.com.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Darker Than Black (anime)
Status: Aired in Japan; Licensed by FUNimation

Talk about a pedigree: Darker than Black was animated by BONES, the studio which produced, among other things, Fullmetal Alchemist, Wolf's Rain, and Blood+. It was directed by Tensai Okamura, who directed the Cowboy Bebop movie and also worked on its TV series, as well as directing the Wolf's Rain OVA. And perhaps greater than all of these is the music, created by none other than Yoko Kanno, the master who composed music for Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, various Macross series, and a dozen or so others. This collection of anime superstars pulled together a captivating series that is visually and musically stunning.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (anime)
Status: Partially aired; Licensed by Bandai Entertainment

The studio that creates the Gundam franchise, Sunrise, developed this political soap opera in the guise of a mech show. It features character designs by the world-famous manga group CLAMP, stellar animation, excellent voice acting, and tons of drama. And best of all, it's also getting a second season, currently undated.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Gundam 00 (anime)
Status: Currently airing in Japan; Unlicensed

Okay, it's got Gundam in the name, so I hardly need to tell you that the show looks amazing and involves both mechs and politics. But if the sheer volume of Gundam Universal Century shows scares you, don't worry: Gundam 00 is, like predecessor Gundam Wing, a completely independent series from the rest of the franchise. Its first season is currently airing in Japan, with a second season scheduled for October of 2008.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2 (anime)
Status: Not yet aired

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya- which was released in North America by Bandai Entertainment throughout the second half of 2007 is getting a sequel! Seeing as the first 14-episode series covered only a fraction of the so-far-10-volume novel series, it's unsurprising that a season 2 was announced. Given the international buzz the first season received, it seems likely you'll hear about the new season, so here's a quick rundown.

Shown above is Usavich which is a animated series created by Kanaban Graphics for MTV Japan. The series started out in 2006 and so far 23 episodes have been produced which feature a couple of rabbits who are trapped in an Russian prison. Looking at this I wish MTV in the United States was doing animation again...

Found via loland.net.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Lucky Star (anime)
Status: Aired in Japan; Licensed by Bandai Entertainment

While it may at first appear to be geared exclusively towards hardcore anime fans, Lucky Star can be hilarious to anyone who's ever been or known a high school-age female. Mixing a random sense of humor reminiscent of the popular slice-of-life Azumanga Daioh with a lot of otaku in-jokes, Kyoto Animation- the studio responsible for the hit series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya -has made a hit that fans and non-fans alike have been enjoying.

Konata is your average short, blue-haired, uber-anime geek high school female. She plays hentai games, collects figures, and reads manga instead of doing her homework. In stark contrast, Kagami is a somewhat bossy, hard-working all-A student. Throw in Kagami's slightly ditzy twin Tsukasa and the walking encyclopedia Miyuki and you get some of the funniest conversations ever aired on TV, such as a lengthy discussion of how to eat various pastries. No, really.

These four are later joined by a younger set, including Konata's sweet younger cousin Yutaka, the quiet Minami, and even an American exchange student (and anime fan) named Patty. Oh, and did I mention the "Lucky Channel" yet? The meta segment ostensibly exists to discuss the making of the series, but is actually a vehicle for two other characters: "newbie" voice actor Minoru Shiraishi and his senior, the jaded and faded starlet Akira Kogami. Yeah, Lucky Star seriously packs on the funny.

Gia Manry is a Portland, OR-based professional writer specializing in pop culture/entertainment writing. Read up on more of her work at giapet.net or hire her at GiaManry.com.

Our Top Ten Anime and Manga Series to Watch For in 2008: It's easy to find out about a Bleach or a Naruto once it's being aired on Cartoon Network, but it can take years for an anime to be licensed, dubbed, and put on TV. So here's our sneak peek at one of the ten manga or anime series that we feel are likely to hit it big in America in 2008:

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (anime)
Status: Aired in Japan; Licensed by ADV

Giant mechs, cute girls, and not one but two badass heroes- it would have been tough for Gainax to go wrong on this one, but they didn't slack off. Instead they created a genuinely fun, visually stunning series with more heart and soul than any other that aired in Japan in 2007. ADV has licensed the series and fast-tracked it, setting a release date of February 2008 for the first volume.

Clanky is very clever! Clanky was a brand of chocolate flavored syrup from the early 60s which featured a plastic bottle in the shape of a spaceman. I love how this commercial combines a 3D set with with 2D animation, the commercials has an amazing amount of detail with over a dozen characters on the screen. Also the lollipops on the planetscape are a nice added touch!

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This is the first trailer for the upcoming Speed Racer film and it looks pretty grand! The casting looks very true to the cartoon, in fact it sort of bought a tear to my eye...

Persepolis looks pretty amazing, although it's a bit odd to see them speaking French in Iran. Here's the second trailer which just came out:

I watched the above video clip and raced to the Anime Network website, and man was I let down! I'm what you call a pre-sold audience, I'm an anime fanboy and I love watching stuff on my computer. Well I launched their player, it started up a bit slow but so far so good. Next it played a commercial, now I'm willing to watch a bit of advertising before the show (that's what pays the bills!) but the commercial skipped and jumped and timed out. It was for a horror film too, so I wanted to watch it but I couldn't make out what was going on.

Next the Anime I wanted to watch started to load up - and load up - and load up - and then it crashed my browser! Nope it's not me, I watch video all the time on YouTube, DailyMotion, and even CNN (which plays well enough that I don't mind the commercials) and I have a broadband connection too, but the Anime Network Online Player just doesn't like my computer. I hope Anime Network can fix the tech side of things because the service looks interesting (and would be worth a second try).

From 1980 comes this public service announcement showing that Spiderman would prefer an orange over a cash reward. Although I wonder how he would eat it with that mask?

This is a nice short 3D animation by Richard Sur who attends the Vancouver Film School in Canada.

This video is from 1997, an era when MTV was still showing music videos and had some entertaining animation. Who would have ever thought that we'd wish for the good old days of Beavis and Butt-Head?

I'm very much an Apple fanboy at heart, but I have to say that I've been very impressed with the high quality of the visual marketing for Zune by Microsoft. Shown above is The Masks: War To Peace a short animated film by PandaPanther and music by the Black Angels.

Found via Urban Retro Lifestyle.