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Animation

Phil Hartman's Comedy Album Is Being Turned Into an Animated Movie

by | May 7th, 2013

In the late '70s, nearly a decade prior to landing on Saturday Night Live, the late Phil Hartman recorded an album called Flat TV, consisting of him performing various characters and sketches. The album was lost and unreleased until Hartman's brother John dug it up and put it out on CD in 2002, and now, an animation studio is developing it into a film. Worker Studios has teamed up with Phil's brother Paul Hartmann (Phil dropped the extra 'n' at the end of his last name when he went into show business) on the project. Flat TV is a 22-track album of sketches written by and starring Hartman [...]

Animation

Fox's Late-Night Animation Block, FoxADHD, Launches a Daily Video Site With One Unsettling Debate Parody

by | October 18th, 2012

Fox's new late-night animation block, FoxADHD, is getting closer to its July 2013 launch. There's now a new site for it that's debuting a new video every day along with a bunch of really nutso gifs. The first video is above, a straight-up disturbing take on the presidential debates. You can follow the site or their Twitter feed for more such craziness. This first video sure does seem like a planted flag, letting us know that the Adult Swim pedigree of the folks launching this block is shining through, and they're not toning down the weirdness for a major network. And thank goodness for that.

Animation

Behold the Bizarre Animated Version of Louis C.K.'s Reddit AMA

by | December 13th, 2011

Louis C.K.'s Reddit AMA yesterday was so great. If only it could be animated by a Taiwanese media company into a video that shows him peeing on Reddit users in revealing outfits and battling the "movie monster" until it poops money into his mouth! Oh, okay. Good.

Animation

Ren & Stimpy Creator John K. Whips Up Manic Simpsons Couch Gag

by | October 3rd, 2011

The long and storied history of the Simpsons couch gag has just been addended to include last night's opening, drawn by Ren & Stimpy creator/animator John Kricfalusi. It's amazing to see how much the animation style changes the characters and tone of the show, even in a clip that's under a minute long. Kricfalusi's frantic, helter-skelter style makes for a remarkable couch gag, but it might also remind us to be grateful that the rest of Springfield is drawn relatively peacefully.

Animation

Here's What a 'Calvin and Hobbes' Animated Series Would Look Like

by | March 19th, 2013

Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Waterston has always been vehemently opposed to turning his beloved comic strip into an animated series – or repurposing it for any medium – but animator Adam Brown (Ugly Americans) made this short video, which gives an idea of what a Calvin and Hobbes show would look like. Brown commented on YouTube that he'd try to make more of these videos, which is great news as long as Bill Waterston doesn't catch wind of it. He should at least appreciate that the video is very respectful and loyal to his work  and a hell of a lot better than those "peeing Calvin" car decals.

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Animation

Jack McBrayer Gets Beat Up and Jane Lynch Wears a Smart Blazer to Promote 'Wreck-It Ralph'

by | August 2nd, 2012

Someone should write a pitch for a film in which Jack McBrayer is trained to be a professional wrestler by Jane Lynch. Too bad Wreck-It Ralph is animated. And boy is it animated. Disney released the concept art (see it below) for the films two leads and it shows how, in Ralph's case, the representation of a character could evolve wildly. It was probably for the best. Otherwise, you'd have half the audience wondering how Ralph goes to the bathroom with spikes for hands.

Animation

Harold & Kumar Could Potentially Go To White Castle Every Week

by | November 7th, 2011

After three feature films, Harold & Kumar might become an animated TV show. Jon Cho and Kal Penn would voice their own characters, and the writers of the first movie, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg will write the script. Considering the veritable forests of marijuana smoked in the average ten-minute span of the movies, they'll probably want to go in the cable direction. Assuming they find the right home, though, H&K could be the stoner animated duo for a new generation! Like Beavis and Butt-head, maybe.

Animation

30 Rock Gets Animated

by | April 21st, 2011

As part of the lead-up to the 100th episode of 30 Rock tonight, NBC is releasing some online-only animated shorts featuring voices from the show. The first one is above, with Jack Donaghy showing off his superpowers in order to procure some froyo from a dastardly Brian Williams. But of course!

Animation

'Ratatouille' Director Brad Bird on Animated Movies: "Why Does It Always Have to Be Cute?"

by | February 7th, 2013

"Where's the Francis Ford Coppola or the Alfonso Cuaron of the [animation] field? … Why can't there be an Annie Hall? … Why does it always have to be cute?"

- Brad Bird, director of Ratatouille, The Incredibles, and The Simpsons, decrying the state of modern animated movies.

Animation

Fox Is Taking a Cartoon Page Out of Adult Swim's Animation Book

by | January 9th, 2012

Fox just announced a new animation unit to develop and produce a late-night block of animation that will also have an online counterpart. You know, like Adult Swim. (They also hired the former development head of Adult Swim.) We'll have to wait till January 2013 to see any actual shows come out of it, but the creation of this unit definitely sounds like a good move for Fox. Full press release below:

Animation

Adam Sandler To Play A Bloodsucking Monster In Children's Movie

by | November 2nd, 2011

It's Dracula Adam Sandler! He'll be feeding on human flesh in the animated Hotel Transylvania next September with Steve Buscemi, Cee Lo Green, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Fran Drescher and David Spade. Vonderful.

Animation

The Simpsons' Wonderful Parodies of Pixar, Wallace & Gromit, and Other Animated Films

by | February 21st, 2011

Last night's Simpsons was a particularly excellent one, in which Bart made a short film that was then nominated for a slew of awards. It featured some truly great guest appearances by Ricky Gervais, JB Smoove and Russell Brand, but the real treat was seeing the four clips that they created for the other animated shorts nominated along with Bart's. They included loving parodies of a Pixar (sorry, "Mixar") movie, a Wallace & Gromit short, The Triplets of Belleville and Persepolis. The entire episode is worth a watch, especially for lapsed Simpsons fans who haven't checked in on the show in a while, but here are the parodies in [...]

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