Posted by Joe Strike on Mar 15, 2012 in
Animation,
Television 
Hey, it’s uprfront time again, when the TV networks do their best razzle-dazzle to get the advertisers excited over their new and returning shows. Nickelodeon’s particularly good at this (not that I’ve been to that many all told) and yesterday’s was no exception. Once again the network took over the Jazz at Lincoln Center venue on Columbus Circle and invited several hundred ad agency folks and a few media reporters (hi mom!) to the event. Read more…
Posted by Joe Strike on Mar 9, 2012 in
Cinema 
And now, in the tradition of Ishtar, Waterworld, Pluto Nash and so many other over-inflated, big budget Hollywood turkeys comes…John Carter. John Carter completely lives up/down to its advance thumbs-down buzz: noisy, uninvolving, unlikeable characters, every cliché in the book strung together like pearls on a necklace – and poorly performed. Full disclosure: I only was able to sit through the first half hour of this thing before bailing, so maybe it got better after I left – but I doubt it. Read more…
Tags: Disney
Posted by Joe Strike on Feb 25, 2012 in
Comic Books 
Hey wow, now you can own every Fold-In Al Jaffee ever did for Mad Magazine! (But only 1964 through 2010; you’ll have to wait until 2058 to get last year’s worth.) That is, you can if you’re willing to drop $79 for the just-published 4-volume hardcover slipcase edition. However it would’ve cost you quite a bit less last night if you bought it at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in downtown Manhattan – and Al, who was on hand would probably have signed it for you. The occasion: a celebration of the book’s release. Read more…
Tags: Mad magazine
Posted by Joe Strike on Feb 14, 2012 in
Animation 
A double-header today: Late afternoon Nickelodeon treats us to a mini-upfront for their new “NICKMOM” brand, and early evening Bill Plympton premieres his restored and colorized version of a classic Winsor McCay ‘toon, The Flying House. Not much in common between them except for two factors: my presence… and free food. (Nick gets the edge, thanks to their open bar.) Read more…
Posted by Joe Strike on Jan 16, 2012 in
Animation,
Fandom 
Talk about growth spurts. Close to 900 people crowded into a midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom at last weekend’s Bronycon II, vs. perhaps 1/3 that number at its September predecessor. The new venue – a long corridor and ballroom at NYC’s Hotel Pennsylvania (the fading epitome of 1940’s swank) – might’ve been bigger than the Chinatown loft where the September con was held, but was nonetheless instantly overcrowded. After one made their way past the undermanned registration desk, the next bottleneck to brave was a narrow doorway leading to the ballroom. (When you have dealer’s tables, an autograph line and random attendees all trying to occupy the same space at the time, traffic can’t help but gum up a bit.) Read more…
Tags: My Little Pony
Posted by Joe Strike on Mar 24, 2010 in
Animation 
Tom Stathes’ latest Cartoon Carnival, number five to be exact, was presented at a storefront venue known as Vaudeville Park, and hosted by Cinebeasts, a local film society. Not only were the cartoons time-warp material; the twenty-somethings who’d organized the evening were dressed for the occasion in bowties, bowler hats and suspenders, a pianist was playing Fats Waller tunes, the SRO audience consisted of everyone from college kids to retirees, and never mind the open bar – they were handing out free popcorn! Read more…
Tags: Mickey Mouse
Posted by Joe Strike on Mar 18, 2010 in
Animation,
Cinema 
I haven’t been to NYC’s Museum of Modern Art since their admission price hit a serious $20. (Sure you can get info free Friday evenings courtesy of Target – if you don’t mind standing on line for two hours.) I take that back; I’ve been there once or twice since, but gratis, wearing my fedora with the ‘PRESS’ pass tucked in the brim. Read more…
Tags: Tim Burton
Posted by Joe Strike on Mar 9, 2010 in
Animation 
All props due to Pete Docter, he was long overdue an Oscar & yeah Up‘s a great film… but why do I get the feeling Academy voters see ‘Pixar’ & check off that box without even thinking about the other nominees it? Who knows the Oscar rules around here? People in the animation field pick the final five, but does the entire Academy vote for the winner? If that’s the case, maybe nobody should bother submitting their films the same year Pixar has one in the running… then again, I’m sure those other producers will happily settle for “OSCAR NOMINATED BEST ANIMATED FEATURE” on their movie’s DVD box. Read more…
Tags: Oscar, Pixar
Posted by Joe Strike on Jul 14, 2009 in
Fandom 
I admit it, I’m a furry. Admit it? Right now I’m feeling rather proud of it. I don’t know what you think furries are, you’ve probably been brainwashed by the Vanity Fair–CSI Complex. What we are is a bunch of people with varied but overlapping interests in anthropomorphic animal characters. Like the Democratic Party, we’re a ‘big tent’ fandom – if you’re into cartoon, comic strip or comic book ‘funny animals,’ if you’ve built a ‘fursuit’ so you can physically become your animal alter-ego, if you draw your own pictures or write your own stories about ‘anthro’ characters (also known, just like us, as ‘furries’), you’re in. Read more…
Tags: Fandom, Furry
Posted by Joe Strike on Jun 30, 2009 in
Animation 
Everyone’s had that tingling feeling running (as they say) up and down one’s spine when they experience something awesome. Last night I saw a preview of Hayao Miyazaki’s new film Ponyo — and the feeling hasn’t gone away yet. Read more…
Tags: Anime, Disney, Hayao Miyazaki, Japan
Posted by Joe Strike on Jun 18, 2009 in
Animation 
If you take the J train over the Williamsburg Bridge, get off at Kosciusko Street and walk a few blocks west, you’ll come to a storefront that looks like it’s home to a going out of business sale, with benches and various other effluvia out on the sidewalk. Inside is a bar and club called Goodbye Blue Monday that’s most definitely in business: the place is decorated not unlike Pee-wee’s playhouse or the home of some mad collector of antique TV sets, mountains of action figures and bizarro furniture (the rocking chair made out of two motorcycle gas tanks was pretty impressive). Read more…
Tags: Art Clokey, Bosko, Popeye
Posted by Joe Strike on Jun 1, 2009 in
Cinema 
Michael can, Peter sells it, Dudley’s more and Peter cooks; in short Wrong can do no wrong. Cut to the chase: The Wrong Box is one of the funniest movies ever made, period (wait, make that an em dash) — Some Like It Hot funny, Blazing Saddles funny, Airplane! funny — and it’s not on DVD (at least not legally). Fortunately, as I discovered over the weekend, you can catch it on the planetary repository of audio-visual material known as ‘YouTube’ in delicious ten-minute chunks: Read more…
Tags: 1966, Comedy, Dudley Moore, Michael Caine, The Wrong Box
