THE ARTLESSNESS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

So my oldest son is going into middle school.

And like his weirdo parents,

he's less of a math/science kid

and more of an artsy creative kid.

So we've been looking for a school that'll

embrace his creative side.

Problem is...

there are very few schools that 

push the arts.

Sure, there are schools that stress

PERFORMING ARTS...

but not

VISUAL ARTS!

Every school has a 

band

and a

chorus

and 

school plays.

But barely any art classes.

Maybe an

'art on a cart'

teacher might come in once a week.

But even that's disappearing.

WHY?

While playing an instrument 

or acting in a play is a wonderful thing...

how many of those students go on to a career

in music or acting?

I'd like to argue that more careers might come out of 

visual arts training.

Stuff like:

Illustration

Fashion Design

Editorial

Graphic Design

Advertising

Filmmaking

Game Design

Industrial Design

and let's not forget the 

poor saps who get into

Animation

Perhaps teaching visual art

is more subjective than

teaching music or acting?

Perhaps a play or a concert is 

considered more of a big ticket school event

 than an art show?

Everybody likes when their kids make art when they're young

So why are we chasing them away 

from it so early?

Anyway...

one of the schools in our area has some amazing

performing arts magnet programs and 

is just starting a visual arts program.

To apply,

kids need to present a portfolio

of their work.

There's even a place on the application

to include the URL for their online

portfolio if they have one!

LOL

I don't even have an online portfolio!

So we've been compiling some of my son's work

and having him work with an art tutor to help him 

create some new pieces to show.

And he's kinda kickin' butt.

Check it out:

Sooper proud dad over here!

THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER

On Tuesday night I ventured out to

meet some old NYC animation pals

and watch the first public screening of

Richard Williams'

unreleased 

"director's cut"

for

THE THIEF AND THE COBBLER.

It's not really a director's cut, though.

Technically it's the last surviving workprint

before the film was 

taken away from Mr. Williams in 1992

by the company that was financing the film.

Seeing no end to the film's ambitious production

(it started in 1964)

(yes... 1964)

they decided to steal away with Mr. Williams' baby 

and hastily hack and slash it into a more mainstream

Disney-esque musical:

Needless to say,

it didn't do well

at the box office.

That's not to say that

Mr. Williams' version

(if ever finished)

would have done well.

It's one of the most

gorgeously animated films of all time,

especially taking into account that there were 

no computers used 

to create the most 

technically and organically

animated scenes

EVER

drawn by hand.

But where the design and animation shines,

the story and characters fall down and go pbbbbbt.

Scenes and sequences are gratuitously looooooong

and lead us far, far away from the plot.

Too much time is spent on execution instead of emotion.

Perhaps that would have all been solved if the film was finished.

But we'll never know.

All we've got is this time capsule

showing an unfinished labor of love.

Regardless,

all fans of animation should watch this cut.

There are copies around.

(most of us in the business saw pencil tests and workprints

on illicit videotapes that were floating about

before the internets)

And while you may have missed the screening,

an exhibition of Mr. Williams' work 

is still up in the 

Samuel Goldwyn Theatre.

Go check it out if you get a chance!

And if you're interested in being an animator,

Mr. Williams'

ANIMATION SURVIVAL KIT

is a 

MUST HAVE:

I KNOW THAT VOICE WORLD PREMIERE!

Remember when I showed 

you the trailer for 

the work-in-progress documentary

about animation

voice actors

called

I KNOW THAT VOICE?

If you don't remember

(and are too lazy to click the link)

you oughta know that 

the film is the baby of

sooper awesome voice actor

John DiMaggio

aka

Bender

Jake the Dog

Joctopus

Shnitzel

Four Arms

Dr. Drakken

etc etc etc

And after a couple years,

a million hours of interviews,

lots of writing, editing 

and much love...

it's

DONE!

Last week was the

sooper exclusive

WORLD PREMIERE

at the

Egyptian Theatre

in Hollywood, USA

so 

Mr. Maxwell Atoms 

and I

disguised ourselves as 

voice actors and snuck in!

It was quite the gala

red carpet 

event:

And 

EVERY

sooper famous

voice actor

was there...

but we hung out with

Dana Snyder 

instead:

Mr. DiMaggio

and his co-producers got up to say a couple words

before the film started:

And then it was time for the screening,

which, of course, rocked.

Seriously.

EVERYONE 

is in the movie.

Tom Kenny

Hank Azaria

Rob Paulsen

Kevin Michael Richardson

Billy West

Jim Cummings

Dee Bradley Baker

Grey DeLisle

Bill Farmer

Bob Bergen

Mark Hamill

Cree Summer

Lauren Tom

and

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM 

ON THE INTERNET TO LIST THEM ALL!

Some highlights:

Dee Bradley Baker making monster sounds

with the use of a jar for extra resonance

Bob Bergen slowly breaking down,

syllable by syllable 

how Porky Pig says a word

and then impossibly stringing a bunch together.

Jim Cummings and Kevin Michael Richardson

challenging each other with dueling Mike Tyson

impersonations

Jess Harnell's story about a skeptical kid 

who refused to believe he played Wacko

and to be honest, 

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM 

ON THE INTERNET TO LIST THEM ALL!

 What made it really fun were all the

woops

woots

and 

cheers

that occurred when an actor came on screen.

The VO community is a very

generous group and

EVERYONE

got excited to

see their peers on the big screen.

Afterwards, there was a brief 

discussion with the producers and a couple of the actors

which was sooper fun:

from right to left:

Tom Kenny

Maurice LaMarche

Rob Paulsen

John DiMaggio

Andrea Romano

director Lawrence Shapiro

and 

producer Tommy Reid

Keep an eye on your theaters for

I KNOW THAT VOICE!

It's

DELICIOUS!

Just like

voice director

Kris Zimmerman's

brain:

LA TIMES FESTIVAL OF BOOKS 2013

I'm kinda stoopid 

and haven't gone to the 

LOS ANGELES TIMES

FESTIVAL OF BOOKS

in a couple 

years.

Last time I went it was

on the campus of

UCLA

but these days it's at

USC.

As always,

there was

LOTS

to see and

DO!

There were books by sooper pal

Dan Krall:

Scooby and the Mystery Machine:

Free Scooby Snacks:

Lots of people:

Dinosaurs:

and 

Smurfs:

Okay,

FINE!

I admit I didn't get a lot of

good pictures.

I didn't even see anyone

 I knew this year!

I also totally missed seeing

sci-fi author

John Scalzi

in person.

I've only chatted with him

online and would have loved to 

meet him.

SO...

I owe you a better blog post

about the festival next year.

OPERATION: ART SHOW

It only seems right

that I contribute to something called

OPERATION: ART SHOW

I mean, 

after naming over 150

KND episodes

OPERATION: THIS

or

OPERATION: THAT...

to be included

in

OPERATION: ART SHOW

just seems

appropriate.

So what is this event,

you ask?

It's a benefit to support

these guys:

Part of the benefit

will be a silent auction

so some of us

Disney folks

jumped in to help

with some artwork.

Here's what I done:

If you're in the LA area

next month,

stop in at the event:

Sunday March 10th

2pm - 6pm

Hollywood American Legion Post 43

2035 North Highland Ave
Hollywood, CA 90068


$5 Entry, Cash Bar, Free Parking
(Walking Distance Metro Red Line Station)

Meet a K-9 Marine Team!

Many people aren't aware of the role that dogs play in our military. 

 Their superior senses are vital tools in locating people, drugs and explosives; 

and it’s estimated that a single dog saves 150 lives during its career.

 Items like heating and cooling vests & pads for extreme temperatures, 

first aid supplies, beds, not to mention toys and treats are 

essentials that our K-9 troops desperately need. 

Please join us for a very special art show dedicated to providing 

these extraordinary animals with the care they deserve.

   

JOEY ADAMS ART AUCTION BENEFIT

Remember when I showed you that
KND drawing I did for an upcoming auction?

Well, the event is this Thursday, April 5th
at The Animation Guild in Burbank, Ca.

The auction is to benefit storyboard artist Joey Adams and his family.
After losing their infant daughter to a genetic disease called HLH in 2009,
their twin boys were hit with the same thing last Christmas.
And while both survived, one of them is still struggling
and in dire need of a bone marrow transplant.

Needless to say, the family's medical bills are astronomical.
So a group of amazing folks in the industry have put together
an art auction to help them out.

And while my KND drawing might bring in some spare change,
here are two pieces that oughta get people to bust open their piggy banks:


That there's an original Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie sketch.

You can say, "DANG BOY!" now.

After you're done,
say it again for this:


No.
You're not dreaming,.
That is the very firstest ever
FISH HOOKS/ALMOST NAKED ANIMALS
mash-up painting by Noah Z. Jones,
creator of both shows.
This kinda thing just hasn't been done before.
But now it has,
and for a good cause.

If you're in the LA area,
come on by the auction and show your support.

If not, you can donate over at
SUPPORTTHE ADAMS.COM
Head on over for further information and photos of the kids.

I RUN THIS TOWN

I had to start running.

It was only a couple months after moving to LA
that I realized it had to be done.

In New York I was always walking.
Always climbing stairs.
Always rockin' the sidewalk turbo-style
alongside my fellow New Yorkers.

In Los Angeles I was in a car.
And I totally felt myself turning to oatmeal.

So I started running.

Now I've always liked running.
Although I DID once draw myself giving a rude gesture
to my college lacrosse coach
with a word balloon stating
"I will never run for you ever again"
when I graduated.
But aside from that.
I like running.

It was pretty hard to start again.
I took it slow at first
(and still ended up spraining a hip)
but eventually worked my way to
getting up at 6am every morning,
walking a mile to the local park,
running two miles on the path,
walking back a mile,
and getting home just in time
to feed the wolves before school.

I've been doing that over two years now.
And it'a a good feeling.
I get a lot of thinking done on those outings, too.
(It helps that I'm a morning person)

So last weekend I decided to run my first 5k.


It was kind of a no-brainer.

I like running.
I like hockey.
and
I like good causes.

And it wasn't like I had to train.
I run every day.
So 5k is easy.
(that's 3.2 miles to you non-metric folk)

And I had a lot of fun doing it.
Even thought it rained
THE WHOLE TIME.


Yuck.

Still... I came in 7th in my age group with 23 minutes and 52 seconds:


And 115th out of 690 overall:


I'll take that.

Now on to the New York City Marathon!

LOL jk
No thank you.

I'll stick to a 5 or 10k.

QUADROPHENIA

I don't know about you,
but I need to listen to music when I work.

I can't when I'm writing.
It's too distracting.
But when I'm drawing...
the music MUST go on.

And it's no secret that my favorite band is The Who.
But did you know that my favorite album is
QUADROPHENIA?

Yup.
The whole thing.
Every song.

Such drive (5:15, Bellboy).
Such emotion (Love, Reign O'er Me).
Such teenage angst (Cut My Hair, The Real Me)

I never get tired of it.

So how happy was I when I heard that Mr. Townshend was remastering it?
Kinda happy.
I usually don't care for remastered stuff.
I like the music how I remember hearing it.
But the super deluxe edition they were releasing has a big hardcover book,
song by song track notes and all sorts of bonus goodies.


Okay...
I'm in.

Then I heard they were gonna have a listening party at the
Petersen Automotive Museum here in LA.
I guess because they have some Vespa scooters there.
(which were very important in the English Mod movement when Quadrophenia takes place)

So off I went.
And the museum was AMAZING!
(if you like cars)

Me?
Cars kinda make me go "meh".
Still, you can't help but be impressed by the place.

So as I walked around and looked at car after car (after car)
while the remastered songs of Quadrophenia played over the speakers.
But after half an hour I was pretty much done
so I wandered over to the listening area.
Which wasn't much.
Just a bunch of folding chairs around a sooper amazing speaker set-up.
There was a Who concert playing on a DVD,
but it wasn't Quadrophenia so it wasn't quite in sync with what was playing.



To be perfectly honest...
It was kinda lame.

But I couldn't leave.
I was meeting a friend later at the museum across the street.
So I had an idea.

I went back to my car and got my sketchbook.
After all, the Kids Next Door were practically BORN to the strains of Quadrophenia.
And you know what?

I had a GREAT time just sitting there drawing my kids.
It was relaxing and fun!

Another good reason for staying was that they were gonna have a drawing
to win a copy of the remastered edition.
10 of the regular ones and 1 of the super deluxe.
And there was barely anyone at this thing.
So i figured I was a LOCK to win one.



But I didn't.

Fortunately for me, only 3 people showed up to claim their prize.
So they drew again.

And I didn't win again.

Fortunately, 2 people didn't show up to claim their prize that time.
So they drew again. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...

I didn't win AGAIN!

Ugh.

So I asked for one for Christmas.
(Thanks Mom and Dad)

Anyway...
Here's what I drew while I sat there listening to my favorite album of all time.



Maybe I can finish it if the band tours.

LA OBSERVATIONS (part 2)

Back when I first moved to LA I sketched some of
my more scientific observations in my sketchbook.
(My dad's a scientist so I TOTALLY know science.)

Now that almost two years have past,
I thought it was time to do it again.
For the sake of science.


And as an added bonus I've included these drawings that my two little maniacs have done in their sketchbooks:




Ugh.

They're already better than me.

I CAN FLY!

I pity those without sooper powers.
I really do.

I even pity those with only one or two sooper powers.
Because me?
I have lots.
Like for instance...

THE ABILITY TO MAKE MYSELF ITCHY AT WILL!

THE POWER TO REEEEEEEALLY LIKE PEANUT BUTTER!

SOOPER GIANT FOREHEAD!

HYPER FORGET-A-PERSONS-NAME-RIGHT-AFTER-THEY-INTRODUCE-THEMSELVES POWER!

But my favorite sooper power is my ability to FLY!

What's that?

You think I'm lying?

Well, get yourself a big bowl.
Put your words in it.
Add milk.
And prepare to eat.

Check it:


How about some video proof?



And here's DOCUMENTED proof:


BOOM, SUCKUHS!

What kind of sooper powers do YOU have?