Nina Paley interview done by local blogger online now

Caroline Small's interview with Nina Paley is up at tcj.com, with part 2 now up as well. Caro, as I've never called her, joined HU last month, and one can frequently find her lurking around cartoonist events in DC, although she always claims she's there for her cousin. Well, now the truth is out.

Library of Congress animation exhibit reviewed at City Paper

Library of Congress' "Molto Animato!" Exhibit Is Hardly Vivace

Posted by Mike Rhode on Mar. 10, 2010

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/visual-arts/2010/03/10/library-of-congress-molto-animato-exhibit-is-hardly-vivace/#more-19988

Is Second Life animation?

Obviously, it's an animation of a sort, just like motion capture movies like Avatar. But is it suitable to be considered comic art and covered here? I'm not sure - I've decided that Avatar and Alice in Wonderland are not the type of animation I want to cover here.

Read this and then feel free to give me your opinion -

Second Life's virtual money can become real-life cash
By Michael S. Rosenwald
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 8, 2010; A01

Cavna on animation Oscars race

Animation station: A race to the finish for these features
By Michael Cavna
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 7, 2010; E06

Palin's 'Family Guy' quibble is the gift that keeps giving

Not so much a 'Patriot,' actor rejects praise from O'Reilly, By Lisa de Moraes, Washington Post March 5, 2010; C04.

Family Guy's considered take on Down syndrome not appreciated by everyone

See The TV Column: 'Family Guy' actor speaks out against Palin joke
By Lisa de Moraes
Washington Post (February 25, 2010); C06

UK's Telegraph uses DC-area reviewer for Gervais show

The British newspaper, The Telegraph, is using a Washington-based reporter to review a Hollywood(iirc)-created cartoon based on British podcasts -

The Ricky Gervais Show (HBO): Review; The American cable TV channel HBO's animated series using the original recordings of The Ricky Gervais Show podcasts features the funnyman himself as well as his longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant.
By Rachel Ray, in Washington
Published: 2:35PM GMT 22 Feb 2010

Belgian stop motion animation 'A Town Called Panic' at Landmark in DC

Here's the Post's review: "Movie review: 'A Town Called Panic' is a surreal riot," By Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, February 12, 2010; WE29.

Feb 4-6: Archer cartoon voice Aisha Tyler at DC Improv

According to the interview, she's at DC Improv, 1140 Connecticut Ave thru Saturday - tickets are $15.

 

She's Pretty Funny: Comedian, actress and cartoon voice Aisha Tyler keeps pushing boundaries [Archer].

Written by Express contributor Roxana Hadadi

Express February 4, 2010

Comic Riffs scores an Up interview

THE OSCARS: Pixar's 'Up' soars to score a historic nom, By Michael Cavna, Washington Post Comic Riffs blog February 2, 2010 has an interview with "its writer and co-director, BOB PETERSON."

Virginia animator featured in Post

Animation Odyssey: Charlotte Rinderknecht wants to build a state-of-the-art film studio in Virginia. Can her debut short help take this dream beyond fantasy?
By Stephanie Booth
Washington Post Magazine Sunday, January 24, 2010; W18

OT: Animators Bill Plympton and Patrick Smith have started a blog

Animators Bill Plympton and Patrick Smith have started a blog - Scribble Junkies. I'm a big fan of Plympton's work - he comes through town about every other year and I'd recommend meeting him, seeing his animation and buying his cartoon books.

Zadzooks reviews animation and comics

Zadzooks: Robot Chicken: Season 4, Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side and Witchblade: The Complete Series, Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times January 14, 2010

Telnaes' year in review

I'm a little slow to get to this, largely because I still believe newspapers are for reading, not viewing, but here's Ann Telnaes' excellent year in review animation. All the cartoons she's done for the Post since 2007 are available which I think is damn nice of the Post.

Now with a corrected link!

Cavna on Gigacon

In Art Institute of Washington holds first Gigacon, an animation convention, By Michael Cavna, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday, January 11, 2010; C01, there's a line that makes me think I'm missing a big part of the local scene:

Unlike many major cities, including Baltimore, Washington lacks a true comics convention (the closest thing perhaps being the annual Small Press Expo in Rockville). Tillman, who last year hosted a panel at the granddaddy animation event, San Diego Comic-Con, thinks the time is ripe for Washington. "We've got so many animators and so many other artists and so much talent in the area, there's no reason Washington shouldn't have its own big convention."

I have heard that we lack a local comics con partly due to the lack of affordable reasonably-sized spaces which is why SPX is now in Rockville, Gaithersburg or North Bethesda. Still, let's here from our "so many animators".

Post on Simpson's anniversary

Fox anniversary special salutes 20 years of 'The Simpsons'
By Jen Chaney
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 10, 2010; E04

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs DVD

Jen Chaney gives the animated Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs DVD a rave review in today's print Express. I saw this movie recently and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This also appeared in the following day's Washington Post, and online.

Catching up with Cavna

Michael's got a piece on the Post's new Sunday Funnies design. I agree with him that Doonesbury reads horizontally much better. This vertical thing may work fine for native Japanese readers* and people that read a LOT of manga, but for me it's distracting.

Another new post is on animation and the Academy Awards and he's got quotes from the makers of the movies that should be of interest. Of these, I've seen Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Ponyo, all of which I thought were excellent. Coraline rests on the DVD pile, but I've already read the book and listened to the audiobook so I wasn't in as much of a hurry as I normally would be.

I'm glad that Avatar is not being considered an animated film. I think a line is going to have to be drawn between movies that are intended to look animated and movies that are not, no matter how much computer-animation is backing both types.



*Feel free to insert any other cultural group of your choice.

Adult Swim music featured in Express

Animated Mixtapes: Adult Swim
By Christopher Porter

Express (January 5, 2010): 21

http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2010/01/adult-swim-mixtapes.php

Porter links to some free downloads.

Seth 'Family Guy' MacFarlane interview in Express

Seth 'Family Guy' McFarlane has an interview in today's free Express paper, reprinted from the LA Times.

The Express cropped the last question which totally changed the tenor of the end of the interview. The last Q&A was:

How did it make you feel?

Like I had no spine.