General

The Story Behind the Toonville Murders: Part Two

Join Jim Korkis now for the exciting conclusion of yesterday’s intriguing tale. Here’s one Hollywood-related story that really shouldn’t have ended up on the cutting room floor.

Published

21 years ago

July 22, 2003

Jim Korkis

This installment we conclude the story of the comic book that never was that would have featured animation historians Jim Korkis and John Cawley rescuing classic black and white cartoon characters from the evils of computer animation. Even though this was written over ten years ago, it is frightening to see how in some ways it is still a contemporary story. And if anyone in our reading audience has a copy of the John Bray version of the Gertie the Dinosaur cartoon that often runs in documentaries about dinosaurs and is always misidentified as the Winsor McCay version, please contact me to work out a trade from my personal Archives. I am in the process of putting together an article on the history of Gertie from a different perspective. You can tell the Bray version because instead of being white, the dinosaur has a lot of gray shading. This was Bray’s attempt to cash in on Gertie’s success with an unsuspecting public. And I promise not to inflict the readership with any other unpublished projects but this was one of those that has always remained near and dear to my heart and I just wanted it to have a larger audience and since websites are the fanzines of the new millennium, I figured this would be a good chance.

THE TOONVILLE MURDERS BOOK TWO

On television, Guenther the Dinosaur is blaming the animation industry for the death of his aunt, Gertie while Korkis and Debby ask Cawley to explain what he meant when he said it was murder. The door to the apartment swings open and Molly Moo Cow appears with a bucket of toon water, a mop and some rags and says if Debby wants the cleaning deposit back, she had better get to work.

The trio shove past the cow and race down the stairs. Behind the cow, the image on the television shifts into the weird shadowy form seen in Book One and laughs a crackling laugh. Outside the building, running to the police station, the trio don’t hear the cow’s death moo.

At the police station, the human policemen (who all resemble popular television policemen) refuse to believe there is any foul play since there is no motive and old, out of work toons could be depressed enough to commit suicide. They point out that some even go in for assisted suicide through “cel washing”. As the trio start to leave, they spot Foxette flirting with her boyfriend, Sgt. Frank Fox, a token toon policeman.

Cawley explains that Gertie was animated on rice paper, not cels like other toons, and shouldn’t have left a similar grey sludge. Although intrigued, Sgt. Fox knows he won’t be able to convince his superiors so he suggests a trip to Toonville to hunt for evidence. Toonville is not a minority ghetto (like Disney’s Toontown) but a tourist attraction similar to Olvera Street or Chinatown in Los Angeles, clean but oddly quaint. Foxette and Debby are
sent back to the Toon Placement Center to cross check information about other toon deaths.

Toonville is alive with activity: humans tourists snapping pictures of famous cartoon landmarks and fallen anvils, sleazy toons trying to peddle counterfeit cels done in Taiwan, dozens of stores selling toon food (some of which explodes) and souvenirs. As Fox, Korkis and Cawley see all this while touring Toonville, they also spot toon pickets outside a Toon Movie House advertising a Computer Animation Festival. Guenther leads the protestors who carry signs saying “Computer Animation Kills”, “I’d Rather Do Saturday Morning Than Be Computerized”, “Walt Spins In His IceBox at 24 frames not 30”.

Korkis and Cawley try to talk to Guenther but he is suspicious of humans and thinks Sgt. Fox has sold out his toon heritage. “Gertie was a superstar, man,” he yells with a sneer, “but she was too animated, too funny for these cheap button pushers.”

Some human computer animators (caricatures of actual artists) come out of the movie house and taunt the toons with chants of “Go back inside your ink bottle!” The result is a riot between humans and toons with toon props and toon violence.

A black and white toon with human lips pulls Korkis and Cawley out of the way of a falling toon anvil. He is Jerry who identifies himself as having appeared in bit parts in CLUTCH CARGO and SPACE ANGEL cartoons. He says he has the information that they’ve been searching for and he’ll trade it to them in exchange for them featuring him prominently in their next book. They agree despite Sgt. Fox’s hesitation that Jerry doesn’t “look right”.

Jerry points them down a blind alley and as they go down it, they hear a crackling sound behind them. They turn and see Jerry’s image break up and transform into a variety of objects like a desk lamp, a ball, a tin toy and finally a gigantic baby with an evil glare and saliva dripping down its mouth.

“What is it?” stammers Korkis.

“That, gentleman, is state-of-the-art computer animation and it’s going to kill us,” replies Sgt. Fox.

Join us next time for “The Digitization Dance” or “The Baby with the Big Byte”.

THE TOONVILLE MURDERS BOOK THREE

As the gigantic baby advances toward Sgt. Fox, Korkis and Cawley, a huge toon hammer appears and smashes the figure of the baby which sputters, jerkily changes shapes and finally dissolves into a series of sparks on the ground. “These things never could handle the classic gags,” says Guenther holding the hammer.

The group decides that a computer programmer must be behind all this and they all return to the Toon Placement Center to plan their next course of action. Debby and Foxette reveal that a computer animator had been making inquiries about some of the old characters shortly before their deaths. The article that Korkis found in the first book was about a computer animator who claimed he had made a breakthrough in computer animation and had created characters that moved smoothly, had personality and could “handle the classic cartoon gags”.

“What may have happed to those toons is more horrible than death,” states Cawley.

Debby and Foxette go to the next room to get some other evidence they found but moments after they leave, they scream. Fox, Guenther, Korkis and Cawley break into the locked room and stare in horror at two inky smudge puddles on the floor.

The next scene is the studio of Lassiter Lucas, a computer animator who looks like Steven Spielberg—baseball cap, Hawaiian shirt, beard, glasses, etc. His studio is like an animal experimentation lab. Small cages filled with toon characters including Foxette, lab equipment, no windows but a flickering light coming from the doorway of the next room.

In the room, Debby Doodle is strapped to a table gridded off into small squares. Lucas uses a device on her that when he traces part of her, that part disappears and then re-appears on the large computer screen as a wire frame pattern. Debby is obviously terrified.

When Lucas is finished, Debby is trapped in a computer with her Uncle Dinky, Gertie the Dinosaur, Molly Moo Cow and dozen of others. They explain (in flashback form to show the action) how Lucas kidnapped them, left ink smudges so people would think they were dead and wouldn’t look for them, and digitized them into his computer world where he intends to dazzle his peers in the industry.

Lucas laughs and tells them that if they don’t behave he’ll scatter their images forever. “I can hardly wait to colorize you. Even your own animator will never recognize you when I am finished!” chortles Lucas.

The door to the studio swings open to reveal Sgt. Fox, Guenther, Korkis and Cawley. When his computerized henchmen had not returned earlier, Lucas prepared for trouble. Throwing a switch by the side of the computer screen, the entire studio becomes a computer animated battlefield with the types of dangers one might find in a computer video game. The quartet survive the gauntlet, throw the switch back to normal and capture Lucas.

“It will be a complicated and time consuming process to bring those toons back from that computer program,” states Sgt. Fox, “We’ll need the help of some top notch character animators or else they’ll come back looking the way Betty Boop did.” The characters are horrified. “Fortunately, since so many studios have laid off some of their top people, we should be able to find the talent we need at bargain basement prices.”

“At least we can share this story with the world,” says Korkis, “Maybe someday they’ll all learn that faster and cheaper is not necessarily better.”

THE END

General

Seward Johnson bronzes add a surreal, artistic touch to NYC’s Garment District

Published

9 years ago

June 23, 2015

Jim Hill

Greetings from NYC. Nancy and I drove down from New
Hampshire yesterday because we'll be checking out
Disney Consumer Products' annual Holiday Showcase later today.

Anyway … After checking into our hotel (i.e., The Paul.
Which is located down in NYC's NoMad district), we decided to grab some dinner.
Which is how we wound up at the Melt Shop.

Photo by Jim Hill

Which is this restaurant that only sells grilled cheese sandwiches.
This comfort food was delicious, but kind of on the heavy side.

Photo by Jim Hill

Which is why — given that it was a beautiful summer night
— we'd then try and walk off our meals. We started our stroll down by the Empire
State Building
…

Photo by Jim Hill

… and eventually wound up just below Times
Square (right behind where the Waterford Crystal Times Square New
Year's Eve Ball is kept).

Photo by Jim Hill

But you know what we discovered en route? Right in the heart
of Manhattan's Garment District
along Broadway between 36th and 41st? This incredibly cool series of life-like
and life-sized sculptures that Seward
Johnson has created.

Photo by Jim Hill

And — yes — that is Abraham Lincoln (who seems to have
slipped out of WDW's Hall of Presidents when no one was looking and is now
leading tourists around Times Square). These 18 painted
bronze pieces (which were just installed late this past Sunday night / early
Monday morning) range from the surreal to the all-too-real.

Photo by Jim Hill

Some of these pieces look like typical New Yorkers. Like the
business woman planning out her day …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the postman delivering the mail …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the hot dog vendor working at his cart …

Photo by Jim Hill

… the street musician playing for tourists …

Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention the tourists themselves.

Photo by Jim Hill

But right alongside the bronze businessmen …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and the tired grandmother hauling her groceries home …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there were also statues representing people who were
from out-of-town …

Photo by Jim Hill

… or — for that matter — out-of-time.

Photo by Jim Hill

These were the Seward Johnson pieces that genuinely beguiled. Famous impressionist paintings brought to life in three dimensions.

Note the out-of-period water bottle that some tourist left
behind. Photo by Jim Hill

Some of them so lifelike that you actually had to pause for
a moment (especially as day gave way to night in the city) and say to yourself
"Is that one of the bronzes? Or just someone pretending to be one of these
bronzes?"

Mind you, for those of you who aren't big fans of the
impressionists …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there's also an array of American icons. Among them
Marilyn Monroe …

Photo by Jim Hill

… and that farmer couple from Grant Wood's "American
Gothic."

Photo by Jim Hill

But for those of you who know your NYC history, it's hard to
beat that piece which recreates Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photograph of V-J Day in Times Square.

Photo by Jim Hill

By the way, a 25-foot-tall version of this particular Seward
Johnson piece ( which — FYI — is entitled "Embracing Peace") will actually
be placed in Times Square for a few days on or around August 14th to commemorate the 70th
anniversary of Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day).

Photo by Jim Hill

By the way, if you'd like to check these Seward Johnson bronzes in
person (which — it should be noted — are part of the part of the Garment
District Alliance's new public art offering) — you'd best schedule a trip to
the City sometime over the next three months. For these pieces will only be on
display now through September 15th.

General

Wondering what you should “Boldly Go” see at the movies next year? The 2015 Licensing Expo offers you some clues

Published

9 years ago

June 10, 2015

Jim Hill

Greeting from the 2015 Licensing Expo, which is being held
at the Mandalay Bay
Convention Center in Las
Vegas.

Photo by Jim Hill

I have to admit that I enjoy covering the Licensing Expo.
Mostly becomes it allows bloggers & entertainment writers like myself to
get a peek over the horizon. Scope out some of the major motion pictures &
TV shows that today's vertically integrated entertainment conglomerates
(Remember when these companies used to be called movie studios?) will be
sending our way over the next two years or so.

Photo by Jim Hill

Take — for example — all of "The Secret Life of
Pets" banners that greeted Expo attendees as they made their way to the
show floor today. I actually got to see some footage from this new Illumination
Entertainment production (which will hit theaters on July 8, 2016) the last time I was in Vegas. Which
was for CinemaCon back in April. And the five or so minutes of film that I viewed
suggested that "The Secret Life of Pets" will be a really funny
animated feature.

Photo by Jim Hill

Mind you, Universal Pictures wanted to make sure that Expo
attendees remembered that there was another Illumination Entertainment production
coming-to-a-theater-near-them before "The Secret Life of Pets" (And
that's "Minions," the "Despicable Me" prequel. Which
premieres at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival next week but
won't be screened stateside 'til July 10th of this year). Which is why they had
three minions who were made entirely out of LEGOS loitering out in the lobby.

Photo by Jim Hill

And Warner Bros. — because they wanted "Batman v
Superman: Dawn of Justice" to start trending on Twitter today — brought
the Batmobile to Las Vegas.

Photo by Jim Hill

Not to mention full-sized macquettes of Batman, Superman and
Wonder Woman. Just so conventioneers could then see what these DC superheroes
would actually look like in this eagerly anticipated, March 25, 2016 release.

Photo by Jim Hill

That's the thing that can sometimes be a wee bit frustrating
about the Licensing Expo. It's all about delayed gratification. You'll come
around a corner and see this 100 foot-long ad for "The Peanuts Movie"
and think "Hey, that looks great. I want to see that Blue Sky Studios production
right now." It's only then that you notice the fine print and realize that
"The Peanuts Movie" doesn't actually open in theaters 'til November
6th of this year.

Photo by Jim Hill

And fan of Blue Sky's "Ice Age" film franchise are in for an even
longer wait. Given that the latest installment in that top grossing series
doesn't arrive in theaters 'til July
15, 2016.

Photo by Jim Hill

Of course, if you're one of those people who needs immediate
gratification when it comes to your entertainment, there was stuff like that to
be found at this year's Licensing Expo. Take — for example — how the WWE
booth was actually shaped like a wrestling ring. Which — I'm guessing — meant
that if the executives of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. didn't like
the offer that you were making, they were then allowed to toss you out over the
top rope, Royal Rumble-style.

Photo by Jim Hill

I also have to admit that — as a longtime Star Trek fan —
it was cool to see the enormous Starship Enterprise that hung in place over the
CBS booth. Not to mention getting a glimpse of the official Star Trek 50th
Anniversary logo.

Photo by Jim Hill

I was also pleased to see lots of activity in The Jim Henson
Company booth. Which suggests that JHC has actually finally carved out a
post-Muppets identity for itself.

Photo by Jim Hill

Likewise for all of us who were getting a little concerned
about DreamWorks Animation (what with all the layoffs & write-downs &
projects that were put into turnaround or outright cancelled last year), it was
nice to see that booth bustling.

Photo by Jim Hill

Every so often, you'd come across some people who were
promoting a movie that you weren't entirely sure that you actually wanted to
see (EX: "Angry Birds," which Sony Pictures Entertainment / Columbia
Pictures will be releasing to theaters on May 20, 2016). But then you remembered that Clay Kaytis —
who's this hugely talented former Walt Disney Animation Studios animator — is
riding herd on "Angry Birds" with Fergal Reilly. And you'd think
"Well, if Clay's working on 'Angry Birds,' I'm sure this animated feature
will turn out fine."

Photo by Jim Hill

Mind you, there were reminders at this year's Licensing Expo
of great animated features that we're never going to get to see now. I still
can't believe — especially after that brilliant proof-of-concept footage
popped up online last year — that Sony execs decided not to go forward
with production of Genndy Tartakovsky's
"Popeye" movie. But that's the
cruel thing about the entertainment business, folks. It will sometime break
your heart.

Photo by Jim Hill

And make no mistake about this. The Licensing Expo is all
about business. That point was clearly driven home at this year's show when —
as you walked through the doors of the Mandalay
Bay Convention Center
— the first thing that you saw was the Hasbros Booth. Which was this gleaming,
sleek two story-tall affair full of people who were negotiating deals &
signing contracts for all of the would-be summer blockbusters that have already
announced release dates for 2019 & beyond.

Photo by Jim Hill

"But what about The Walt Disney Company?," you
ask. "Weren't they represented on the show floor at this year's Licensing
Expo?" Not really, not. I mean, sure. There were a few companies there hyping
Disney-related products. Take — for example — the Disney Wikkeez people.

Photo by Jim Hill

I'm assuming that some Disney Consumer Products exec is
hoping that Wikkeez will eventually become the new Tsum Tsum. But to be blunt,
these little hard plastic figures don't seem to have the same huggable charm
that those stackable plush do. But I've been wrong before. So let's see what
happens with Disney Wikkeez once they start showing up on the shelves of the
Company's North American retail partners.

Photo by Jim Hill

And speaking of Disney's retail partners … They were
meeting with Mouse House executives behind closed doors one floor down from the
official show floor for this year's Licensing Expo.

Photo by Jim Hill

And the theme for this year's invitation-only Disney shindig? "Timeless
Stories" involving the Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Lucasfilm brands that
would then appeal to "tomorrow's consumer."

Photo by Jim Hill

And just to sort of hammer home the idea that Disney is no
longer the Company which cornered the market when it comes to little girls
(i.e., its Disney Princess and Disney Fairies franchises), check out this
wall-sized Star Wars-related image that DCP put up just outside of one of its
many private meeting rooms. "See?," this carefully crafted photo
screams. "It isn't just little boys who want to wield the Force. Little
girls also want to grow up and be Lords of the Sith."

Photo by Jim Hill

One final, kind-of-ironic note: According to this banner,
Paramount Pictures will be releasing a movie called "Amusement Park"
to theaters sometime in 2017.

Photo by Jim Hill

Well, given all the "Blackfish" -related issues
that have been dogged SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment over the past two years, I'm
just hoping that they'll still be in the amusement park business come 2017.

Your thoughts?

General

It takes more than three circles to craft a Classic version of Mickey Mouse

Published

9 years ago

June 9, 2015

Jim Hill

You know what Mickey Mouse looks like, right? Little guy,
big ears?

Truth be told, Disney's corporate symbol has a lot of
different looks. If Mickey's interacting with Guests at Disneyland
Park (especially this summer, when
the Happiest Place on Earth
is celebrating its 60th anniversary), he looks & dresses like this.

Or when he's appearing in one of those Emmy Award-winning shorts that Disney
Television Animation has produced (EX: "Bronco Busted," which debuts
on the Disney Channel tonight at 8 p.m. ET / PT), Mickey is drawn in a such a
way that he looks hip, cool, edgy & retro all at the same time.

Looking ahead to 2017 now, when Disney Junior rolls out "Mickey and the
Roadster Racers," this brand-new animated series will feature a sportier version
of Disney's corporate symbol. One that Mouse House managers hope will persuade
preschool boys to more fully embrace this now 86 year-old character.

That's what most people don't realize about the Mouse. The
Walt Disney Company deliberately tailors Mickey's look, even his style of
movement, depending on what sort of project / production he's appearing in.

Take — for example — Disney
California Adventure
Park's "World of Color:
Celebrate!" Because Disney's main mouse would be co-hosting this new
nighttime lagoon show with ace emcee Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Goldberg really had
to step up Mickey's game. Which is why this master Disney animator created
several minutes of all-new Mouse animation which then showed that Mickey was
just as skilled a showman as Neil was.

Better yet, let's take a look at what the folks at Avalanche Studios just went
through as they attempted to create a Classic version of Mickey & Minnie.
One that would then allow this popular pair to become part of Disney Infinity
3.0.

"I won't lie to you. We were under a lot of pressure to
get the look of this particular version of Mickey — he's called Red Pants
Mickey around here — just right," said Jeff Bunker, the VP of Art
Development at Avalanche Studios, during a recent phone interview. "When
we brought Sorcerer Mickey into Disney Infinity 1.0 back in January of 2014,
that one was relatively easy because … Well, everyone knows what Mickey Mouse
looked like when he appeared in 'Fantasia.' "

"But this time around, we were being asked to design
THE Mickey & Minnie," Bunker continued. "And given that these Classic
Disney characters have been around in various different forms for the better
part of the last century … Well, which look was the right look?"

Which is why Jeff and his team at Avalanche Studios began watching hours &
hours of Mickey Mouse shorts. As they tried to get a handle on which look would
work best for these characters in Disney Infinity 3.0.

"And we went all the way back to the very start of Mickey's career. We began
with 'Steamboat Willie' and then watched all of those black & white Mickey shorts
that Walt made back in the late 1920s & early 1930s. From there, we
transitioned to his Technicolor shorts. Which is when Mickey went from being
this pie-eyed, really feisty character to more of a well-behaved leading
man," Bunker recalled. "We then finished out our Mouse marathon by
watching all of those new Mickey shorts that Paul Rudish & his team have
been creating for Disney Television Animation. Those cartoons really recapture
a lot of the spirit and wild slapstick fun that Mickey's early, black &
white shorts had."

But given that the specific assignment that Avalanche Studios had been handed
was to create the most appealing looking, likeable version of Mickey Mouse
possible … In the end, Jeff and his team wound up borrowing bits & pieces
from a lot of different versions of the world's most famous mouse. So that
Classic Mickey would then look & move in a way that best fit the sort of
gameplay which people would soon be able to experience with Disney Infinity
3.0.

"That — in a lot of ways — was actually the toughest
part of the Classic Mickey design project. You have to remember that one of the
key creative conceits of Disney Infinity
is that all the characters which appear in this game are toys," Bunker
stated. "Okay. So they're beautifully detailed, highly stylized toy
versions of beloved Disney, Pixar, Marvel & Lucasfilm characters. But
they're still supposed to be toys. So our Classic versions of Mickey &
Minnie have the same sort of thickness & sturdiness to them that toys have.
So that they'll then be able to fit right in with all of the rest of the
characters that Avalanche Studios had previously designed for Disney Infinity."

And then there was the matter of coming up with just the
right pose for Classic Mickey & Minnie. Which — to hear Jeff tell the
story — involved input from a lot of Disney upper management.

"Everyone within the Company seemed to have an opinion
about how Mickey & Minnie should be posed. More to the point, if you Google
Mickey, you then discover that there are literally thousands of poses out there
for these two. Though — truth be told — a lot of those kind of play off the
way Mickey poses when he's being Disney's corporate symbol," Bunker said.
"But what I was most concerned about was that Mickey's pose had to work
with Minnie's pose. Because we were bringing the Classic versions of these
characters up into Disney Infinity 3.0 at the exact same time. And we wanted to
make sure — especially for those fans who like to put their Disney Infinity
figures on display — that Mickey's pose would then complement Minnie.

Which is why Jeff & the crew at Avalanche Studios
decided — when it came to Classic Mickey & Minnie's pose — that they
should go all the way back to the beginning. Which is why these two Disney icons
are sculpted in such a way that it almost seems as though you're witnessing the
very first time Mickey set eyes on Minnie.

"And what was really great about that was — as soon as
we began showing people within the Company this pose — everyone at Disney
quickly got on board with the idea. I mean, the Classic Mickey that we sculpted
for Disney Infinity 3.0 is clearly a very playful, spunky character. But at the
same time, he's obviously got eyes for Minnie," Bunker concluded. "So
in the end, we were able to come up with Classic versions of these characters
that will work well within the creative confines of Disney Infinity 3.0 but at
the same time please those Disney fans who just collect these figures because
they like the way the Disney Infinity characters look."

So now that this particular design project is over, does
Jeff regret that Mouse House upper management was so hands-on when it came to
making sure that the Classic versions of Mickey & Minnie were specifically
tailored to fit the look & style of gameplay found in Disney Infinity 3.0?

"To be blunt, we go through this every time we add a new character to the
game. The folks at Lucasfilm were just as hands-on when we were designing the
versions of Darth Vader and Yoda that will also soon be appearing in Disney
Infinity 3.0," Bunker laughed. "So in the end, if the character's
creators AND the fans are happy, then I'm happy."

This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on Tuesday, June 9, 2015