Animation Nation

If you're wondering why the official poster for Disney's next animated feature, 'Wreck-It Ralph' looks like an old school video game, that's because it's about an old school video game character, a villain actually, who wants to prove that he's really a good guy.

What's interesting is that there's a character by the name of Fix-It Felix. Wonder if this is a reference to Paul Felix, Disney's top production designer.

Here's a video from Disney's D23 Expo in Anaheim, California last August that gives us a little glimpse into the nature of the film. Follow Wreck-It Ralph on Facebook. Here's the link to the Forum topic.

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For the past few years now on YouTube, there's been some intriguing video involving the audio of a lecture by a significant personality on a specific socio-economic topic, accompanied by video of someone drawing out the lecture in images on a marker board. Sponsored and produced by The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) I've featured many of their videos on the Forums. The RSA is a charity which encourages the development of a principled, prosperous society and the release of human potential. An enlightenment organisation committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s social challenges. Through its ideas, research and 27,000 strong Fellowship it seeks to understand and enhance human capability so we can close the gap between today’s reality and people’s hopes for a better world.

This one went up on YouTube two years ago in April, 2010 and has had 8,376,788 views in that time as of this writing. Tom Hignite of Miracle Studios in Wisconsin recently bumped it up from my original posting in December, 2010 and reminded us of its important message. The narrator is Dan Pink who is a bestselling author on subjects pertaining to the changing world of our work. The Forum topic is here. I'm sure you'll appreciate the content of the message as well as the artistic skill behind the images.

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If you're looking to see what's happening in traditional animation, look to the French. Brilliant hand drawn feature film production is still thriving in their community. Case in point, one of the latest works to make it to the USA - 'Zarafa'.

From a write up in Animation Magazine, audiences in Los Angeles will have a chance to enjoy Zarafa, the beautiful new animated feature by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie when it screens as part of the City of Lights, City of Angels French Film Festival on Sunday. April 22, 2012 at 11 a.m.

Take a look at the trailer for Zarafa...

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AN's webmaster Adrian Foster known as Skynet on the Forums posted this video of interest in Current Events. Scientists in Japan have developed a new technology for holograms, creating the sensation of touch. This footage explains how it was achieved. The video is from September, 2009. I'm sure it's progressed beyond what we see here. Imagine the possibilities...

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Folks living in Great Britain who are fans of Beavis and Butthead have reason to celebrate as the irreverent cartoon will be back on the air starting this Monday, April 16, 2012. The trailer for the new series is up but at least here in the US we're not able to access it through this link. So instead, here's a link to MTV UK. There's more info available as to what fans can expect of the new Beavis and Butthead in the UK here.

In light of the news, let's have some fun by featuring the very first promo that aired on MTV way back in February, 1993 when Beavis and Butthead were still a mystery as to what we could expect.

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Ray William Johnson aka YourFavoriteMartian, YouTube's top subscribed member, has yet another animated music video out and it's super, man. Already has 807,342 views in just 3 days as of this writing. Animated by Cosmic Toast of Burbank, California.

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If you're a fan of TCM ( Turner Classic Movies) which in my opinion is perhaps the best cable channel on American TV, you're aware of the TCM Classic Film Festival which takes place in Hollywood this time of year. This is the third time it's being held to the great delight of classic movie fans.

This Saturday, April 14 at 1:00PM at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Holywood Boulevard, Walt Disney's timeless 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' will screen' at the very place where it debuted in 1937. How often does Snow White screen at the Chinese? This is a very rare opportunity and moviegoers in the LA area will have that chance to experience it this weekend.

In honor of the Snow White screening, I've assembled all the trailers that Disney Studios has prepared for the film on a dedicated topic on the Forums. Starting with the oriiginal 1937 trailer below, and including the re-release of the movie in 1944, 1958, 1987, 1993 and the release of the DVD in 2001.  

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The latest theatrical trailer for the upcoming Pixar feature 'Brave' has been released by Disney. This one with French subtitles and even more glimpses into what we can expect of a film that is likely to be the blockbuster of the year. There's a topic in progress on the Forums full of content for this movie that's gotten several thousand views as of this writing. You're welcome to check it out and add to its popularity.

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STASH is a video based magazine that features the most innovative and outstanding commercial animation, VFX and motion graphics that are happening anywhere on the planet. STASH is an essential resource for ad agencies, broadcasters, animation and VFX studios, designers, post houses, production companies and schools. An online library of animation VFX and motion design. 

And now, with STASH 91, they're promoting their publication through the use of video, giving us a glimpse into the incredible content that's being generated by the worldwide animation community every month. We've been including monthly updates from STASH in AN's Business Forum for many years, and we're happy to be able to include them on our homepage as a result of their new promotional videos. To learn more about STASH or to subscribe, follow the links provided to their site.  

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On April 8, just two days ago, marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. To commemorate the disaster, James Cameron narrates as CG animation shows what likely happened when the ship struck the iceberg and the process it went through as it sunk to the bottom of the North Atlantic to its resting place on the ocean floor. I don't know who produced this animated re-enactment but they did a fine job. 

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