Have you ever been to the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco?
If not, you really should make a point of swinging by 655
Mission Street the next time you're in the Bay Area. Especially if you're an animation fan.
Take — for example — the event that the Cartoon Art Museum
is holding tomorrow night. Chris Butler — the co-director & screenwriter
of "ParaNorman" will be on hand from 7 – 9 p.m. And that CAM is currently presenting
"The Art of ParaNorman," an exhibit of puppets, costumes, props and
sets from this acclaimed Focus Features release … Well, if you were a fan of
this stop-motion movie, tomorrow night would be a great night to learn more
about "ParaNorman." Given that you personally quiz Chris about
how this Laika production actually came together.
Chris Butler, co-director and screenwriter of "ParaNorman," a Focus
Features release of a Laika Animation Studios'
stop-motion production.
It's an events like this that make the Cartoon Art Museum
such a valuable resource to the animation community. And given that CAM is the
only museum in the western United States dedicated to celebrating all forms of
cartoons & comics, it's really important that we keep the doors open at
this place.
Thankfully, I'm not the only one who feels this way. The
folks at Pixar Animation Studios are big, big believers in / supporters of the
Cartoon Art Museum as well. Which is why — this coming Saturday — Pixar will
be hosting its 9th annual CAM benefit.
For those of you who have never heard about this fundraiser,
it's kind of a dream-come-true for animation fans. Given that — from 3 to 8
p.m. on Saturday, November 10th — these folks will actually get the chance to
enter Pixar's Emeryville campus and then wander the halls of this storied
animation studio.
"So what would I get to do if I actually took part in
this Cartoon Art Museum fundraiser?," you ask. Well, for starters, you
could tour Pixar's second floor gallery space and check out all sorts of
pre-production artwork from "Brave." Better yet, you could drop by
the Studio Store and then load up on all sorts of
Pixar-Animation-Studios-employees-only, limited edition swag. Or bid on some
original pieces of artwork that Pixar staffers created just for this CAM
fundraiser.
Or if you're more interested in learning about how Pixar
goes about making its feature-length films and animated shorts, there'll be
artists on hand through the afternoon demonstrating how various characters are
drawn. Not to mention a presentation in the state-of-the-art Pixar Animation
Studios' theater, where the creators of "Finding Nemo 3D" and
"PartySaurus Rex" will then discuss how Pixar's most recent releases
were made.
This presentation — which will be hosted by Pixarian &
CAM board member Dr. Michael B. Johnson — really is a must-see for any
animation enthusiast and/or student of this form of film-making. Given that it
will feature a Q&A session with such Pixar vets as:
- Jim Capobianco, Finding Nemo Story Artist, Director of Your
Friend the Rat - Ronnie Del Carmen, Finding Nemo Story Supervisor, Director
of Dug's Secret Mission - Ralph Eggleston, Finding Nemo Production Designer, Academy
Award-winning director of For the Birds - Roger Gould, Creative Director, Theme Parks
- Mark Walsh, Finding Nemo Directing Animator, Director of
Partysaurus Rex - Bob Whitehill, Finding Nemo 3D Stereo Supervisor, Supervisor
on all Pixar 3D films
Over the course of this 5 hour-long event, light snacks and treats will be served. And if you're still hungry as this year's CAM
fundraiser draws to a close, wine and dessert will be served during the live
auction of a variety of original pieces of art (some of which have been created
by "Up" director Pete Docter) as well as signed Pixar-related memorabilia.
Doesn't that sound like a really great event? Mind you, the
tickets are a bit pricey (i.e. $500 per person, $450 for members of the Cartoon
Art Museum). But all of the funds raised go to a very good cause, the only museum
in the western United States dedicated to the celebration of all manner of
cartoon art & comics.
One of the "ParaNorman" sets currently on dispay at the Cartoon Art
Museum as part of their "Art of ParaNorman" exhibit
Now if you're interested in attending either of the events
mentioned in today's article, please keep in mind that the clock is ticking.
Mind you, while "The Art of ParaNorman" exhibit will be running at
the Cartoon Art Museum now through February 17, 2013, that film's co-director
& screenwriter will only be on hand tomorrow night from 7 – 9 p.m. General admission is $7, while CAM members can take advantage of a special two-for-one admission price for this Chris Butler event.
More to the point, tickets to the ninth annual Pixar
Animation Studio's CAM fundraiser will only be available for purchase now through
Thursday afternoon. After that, the list has to be closed so that Security at
this Emeryville, CA.-based operation can then make all of the necessary
preparation for all of the guests who'll be arriving onsite Saturday afternoon.
So if you've always dreamed of visiting Pixar and plan on
being up in the Bay Area this coming weekend, now would be a very good time to
pick up some tickets to Saturday's fundraiser.
For further information, please call 415-227-8666, ext.
300. Or if you'd prefer to purchase your tickets online, please visit
cartoonart.org. And just so you know: Tickets for this Saturday's Cartoon Art
Museum fundraiser will NOT be sold at the door.
Your thoughts?