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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, by Lawrence M. Schoen
NYC, A Tim Doherty Associates Book/Tor Books, December 2015, hardcover $25.99 (384 pages), Kindle $12.99.

In the very far future, civilization has spread throughout the galaxy, but there are no longer any humans. Humanity has been replaced by the descendants of uplifted animals.

Chapter One, “A Death Detoured”, features Rüsul, an elderly Fant, alone and naked, on a raft six days at sea. He is on his death journey, the traditional final rite of passage of every Fant on the world of Barsk. Rüsul expects to sail alone until he dies. He does not expect to be picked up by a spaceship of Cans (canines; Dogs) commanded by a Cheetah, Nonyx-Captain Selishta. She tells her Cans, “‘Maybe this one will know something useful about whatever shrubs and leaves the drug comes from. Hold him here a moment while the rest of the crew secures his flotsam, and then put him below in one of the vacant isolation cells.’” (p. 19)

The importance of Barsk’s drug, koph, is explained in Chapter Four, “Solutions in Memory”, in this description of Lirlowil the Otter and her ability to talk with the dead:

“Beautiful by Otter standards, she’d spent the last few years enjoying the peaks of privilege earned not by any acts of her own, but by the random chance that gifted her with being able to both read minds and talk with the dead. Unless you had the misfortune to be one of those disgusting Fant on Barsk, you could go your entire life without encountering a Speaker. The drug that triggered the ability was fiendishly expensive, and rarely worked the first few times. Alliance science had yet to determine what genetic markers resulted in the talent. Off Barsk, Speakers were unlikely, though hardly uncommon. True telepaths though, people who could effortlessly slip inside the mind of other beings and sample their memories and knowledge as easily as flipping the pages of a book, were orders of magnitude more rare.

The number of individuals with both sets of abilities would make for a very small dinner party indeed. Lirlowil’s mental gifts emerged with puberty and elevated her social status a thousand-fold. The discovery that her talents included Speaking occurred a couple of years later when she’d sampled some koph at a party and began seeing nefshons over the next hour’s time.” (pgs. 42-43)

Nefshons are the “shimmering subatomic particles of memory”, the relics of personality that constitute what is left of the dead. Taking koph enables those with the genetic ability to become a Speaker to pull together those nefshons from the dead and talk with them. Speakers are very sought after in galactic society by all who want to contact the dead: relatives who want to speak to loved ones, law enforcement officers who need to speak with the fatal victims of crimes, historians who want to interview illustrious deceased notables.

Speakers are notable themselves, and they can charge almost anything for their talents. They need koph to energize those talents. Therefore koph is “fiendishly expensive”. And it is found only on Barsk, which is inhabited by the disgusting Fant, who are disgusting because of their enormous size, because of their ugly, wrinkled, furless skin (furlessness alone is enough to render anyone hideously ugly in this galactic society), and because of those horrible long, prehensile noses and great, flapping ears that only the Fant have.

Everyone wants koph, and since only the despised Fant can deliver it, some among the galaxy’s Bears, Elk, Yak, Prairie Dogs, Cats, and other peoples (all furred) will do anything to get it. Nonyx-Captain Selishta, the Cheetah, is one who will fly down to proscribed Barsk to kidnap Fant and try to force them to reveal the origins of koph – which none of her victims know. Lirlowil the Otter, a pampered Speaker, is grabbed by galactic bureaucracy and made to use her Speaker talent to call up the nefshons of deceased Fant that may know how koph is made, so it can be manufactured for the benefit of society. And on Barsk, the Fant Speaker Jorl and the crippled Fant child Pizlo each tries in his own way to unlock the secrets of koph, nefshons, and the dead.

For the furry fan, it’s a vast and colorful galactic society:

“Jorl’s head turned so quickly toward this voice that his trunk nearly slapped the third Dog in front of him, causing that one to flinch, duck, and fall onto his ass. Jorl frowned. Cans were fiercely loyal and disciplined; they made up the bulk of the Patrol, but they were almost never in charge. Standing now in the gate, the source of the responding question, was a Cheetah. Unlike the Dogs, she wore neither hood nor mask. The blue of her gear proclaimed her officer status, and the molded insignia at her elbows, distinct to the initiated but easily missed if you didn’t know to look, marked her rank.” (p. 130)

Barsk is unusual in being an interstellar novel from a major science-fiction publisher, Tor Books, that began as two stories in a furry fanzine 26 years ago. “Of Storm and Furry: Peals and Vents” in Mythagoras #2, Summer 1990, and “Of Storm and Furry: Contemporary Past” in Mythagoras #3, Autumn 1990. From two short stories in a minor fanzine to a handsome hardcover book (with an attractive cover by Victo Ngai) is an impressive step; and Barsk is an impressive book. Don’t miss it.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon

Another animator, another graphic novel: Bob Scott is well-known for having worked on projects as wide-ranging as Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoons to Pixar films like The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Meanwhile, he’s been writing and illustrating an on-line comic strip, Molly and the Bear. “It can be tough on a family when someone new has moved in, especially if it’s a 900-pound scaredy-bear so terrified of wilderness life that he’s fled to the burbs. Fortunately Bear was found by Molly, a fearlessly optimistic 11-year-old can-doer who has taken him firmly in hand, devoted to seeing her hirsute BFF cope with modern life. Molly’s Mom is happy with the new sibling — Bear’s an excellent conversationalist and loves her homemade cookies. But Dad is having a harder time, his role as center of the universe now shared with an ursine behemoth who, unfortunately, adores him.” Now Cameron & Company have released the first collection of full-color Molly and the Bear comics in hardcover. It’s available over at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2016 Cameron & Company

There is a long and rich tradition of furries in fiction. From the classics of Aesop’s Fables to the latest and greatest in sci-fi/fantasy novels, comics and movies, we’ve seen countless stories featuring anthropomorphic creatures. Many of those stories are fine for what they are—morality tales or pieces of fizzy entertainment that allow us to escape into a different world for a time. Some of them, however, touch us so deeply, that they become landmarks for our personal development. When we find ourselves in the company of like-minded individuals, we find that many of us share the same landmarks; entire communities have developed on the backs of this shared connection.

JM (editor horse-in-chief of [a][s]) and I were talking about Fred Patten’s article “What The Well-Read Furry Should Read,” which features what Fred considers to be the top ten classics of the fandom. It’s not a bad list, but we had a number of questions. How on Earth did he manage to narrow down hundreds of years of furry fiction down to a ten best list? What was the criteria to make something truly great? How did Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Animal Farm make the list, but Maus and The Wind in the Willows did not?

I know how subjective terms like “greatest” can turn an innocuous list into a flashpoint of debate, and we here at [a][s] love our opinions and classifications as much as the next data-wonk. So we thought—why not create our own list of novels and stories that we believe serve as cultural touchstones for the furry community? If you wanted to give someone a list of four or five novels that explained the furry aesthetic and the community’s fundamental love of anthropomorphic animals, what would you include?

Thus, the idea for “The Furry Canon” was born. We’d like to introduce an ongoing, occasional set of articles that digs into a book or set of stories, reviews them on their own merits and then determines whether they should be added to a list of stories we feel represent the “idea/aesthetic” of furry as a whole.

This is a delicate operation. Who the hell are we to determine what gets added and what doesn’t? Well, we’re enthusiastic readers, just like you. To hold ourselves to an objective (or at least transparent) standard, we thought we’d make a list of criteria that would help determine whether or not a work should be added to the list.

QUALITY. Obviously, we wouldn’t add just any book or story to the Furry Canon. If we’re going to suggest these works the curious or uninitiated, at the very least they should be excellent books to read. Is the work strong enough that, even without the elements we’re most interested in, we’d be inclined to read it?

LONGEVITY. This is a little trickier, but there are a lot of stories that set the world on fire for a year or two, then mysteriously and suddenly fade away. Does the work still hold up, even across the gulf of time and the changes society has undergone since it was published? Is it a perfect encapsulation of a point in time of the furry community or the broader world? Is there something in the work that’s still relevant and vital?

RELEVANCY. Does the story capture a central aesthetic, idea or emotion that’s quintessentially furry? Does it serve as a cultural signpost for the community, something that we can know and understand? What is it about the work that serves as an excellent representation for our fandom?

Obviously, our decisions on what gets included and what does not won’t work for everyone—but we’re hoping that over time, we can cultivate a list of our own that works well as a literary representation of our community.

So, what do you think, [a][s] readers? What novels or collections would you put forward as candidates?

​Dear Papabear,

First, let me say how sorry I am for your loss. It hurts a lot to lose someone you love (trust me, I know). Please accept my deepest condolences.

So here it goes…..
I have recently discovered the fandom, and it looks awesome! I see a lot of things that I would like to become involved with (fursuiting, volunteering, making new friends, etc.), within the fandom. However, I am a little unsure if I would fit in with all of it though, due to my age (I’m 36). Is there in age limit on this? What is the furry view of age within the fandom? Would I be the oldest guy at Anthrocon?!?! Any advice you give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-Spirit Bear 

* * *
 
Dear Spirit Bear,
 
Thank you for your well wishes. As to your question, no, there is no limit on age. While it’s true that the majority of furries are in their teens and twenties, there are quite a few of us (including yours truly who is 50) who are older.
 
At 36, you’re what is known as a “greymuzzle,” or, as some of the overly sensitive types prefer, “elder fur.” Because the fandom tends to be so chronologically challenged, anyone 30 and over is considered “mature” by furry standards. I like greymuzzle because I have grey on my muzzle and because I believe it makes me look distinguished and shows that I’ve been around the block a few times.
 
Anyway, I founded a group on Facebook for greymuzzles that you are most welcome to join. I believe that people who are greymuzzles are hardcore furries. Many young furries are joiners and posers. They join the fandom because they think it’s outrageous and cool (which it is), but then when they get into the “real world,” finish school, get a job, etc., they consider furries childish and drop out of doing furry stuff. These are the “furry lights.” They don’t have true furry hearts. If you are a real furry, you are ALWAYS a furry until the day you die, is what this bear says!
 
So, welcome welcome, Spirit Bear! Love having another bear in the fandom! And your name says to me you see furry as something deeper than the fur. Good for you!
 
My advice: have fun with it. Avoid drama, whenever possible. Also, if you are financially secure, watch out for moochers and users (there are some of these around, sad to say). Attend furmeets and furcons (you will NOT be the oldest fur at Anthrocon, believe me), get involved with any special interest groups within the fandom (e.g., I also have a FB group just for bears), And just enjoy it as much as possible.
 
Life is waaaaay too short not to be enjoyed. Remember, the only real time you have is right now, so make the most of it.
 
Stay Furry,
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Windfall, by Tempe O’Kun. Illustrated by Slate.
Dallas, TX, FurPlanet Productions, July 2015, trade paperback $19.95 (325 pages), electronic edition $9.95.

This is a mature content book.  Please ensure that you are of legal age to purchase this material in your state or region. (publisher’s advisory)

It has been six months since the popular TV series Strangeville was cancelled after five seasons. The cast has split up and gone their own ways. For Max Saber (husky) and Kylie Bevy (otter), teenage supporting actors who played a high-school boy & girl on the series, this has meant returning to their homes across America. Yet they have remained in touch through texting, and after six months, both are wondering whether their TV romance might have been more serious than they realized. When Max, on his parents’ Montana ranch, gets an invitation from Kylie to spend a three-week vacation in her old New England town of Windfall – the town that the creepy, surrealistic Strangeville was modelled upon – he takes it. Yep, their romance is real. So is the horror of Windfall.

As readers of my reviews know, I don’t think much of funny-animal novels in which the characters are really humans with superficial animal features. But Windfall presents them in depth. There are constant mentions of fur, wagging tails, perked or drooping ears, the female otters’ whiskers and webbed paws. A teen rhino fan asks Max to autograph his horn. “The otter threaded her tail through the hole in the [car] seat and popped the key into the ignition.” (p. 41) Max calls Kylie “rudderbutt”. Some of it is occasionally anthro-specific, as when Kylie finds a deer’s skull while she and Max are camping in the woods:

“She knew that [the deer had been feral]. The eyes were too far to the sides and the neck attached at the wrong angle, leaving little room for the brain. Still it looked enough like a sapient deer’s skull to give her the creeps.” (p. 57)

But there are also human features. A sultry cocker spaniel has prominent “boobs”. Readers can take these as they will, but there is probably enough “animalicity” to satisfy most furry readers. The almost-two-dozen half-toned illustrations by Slate help a lot.

Strangeville is clearly inspired by the 1990-91 Twin Peaks TV series co-created, co-written, and co-directed by David Lynch. Windfall is divided into twenty chapters, each of which begins with a TV-guide summary of a Strangeville episode.

“STRANGEVILLE (WED/9p) S04E04 ‘Inside’: After her grueling battle with the army of alien ghost dragons, Sandy finally returns home to Strangeville, but not everything is how she left it.”

“STRANGEVILLE (TUE/9p) S02E03 ‘The Nine Portals, Part 1’: The Tribunal opens the Nine Portals, flooding the world with dangerous creatures. The gang must stem the tide before these monsters overwhelm them.”

“STRANGEVILLE (MON/9p) S01E12 ‘Slugfest’: Cassie learns in a vision that her dentist is secretly a slug monster. She must convince the others before her upcoming check-up makes her a perfect target for being eaten and replaced by a slug-clone.”

“STRANGEVILLE (WED/9p) S04E12 ‘Chocolate Heart’: An unknown person is causing havoc with a shipment of love-potion chocolates. Cassie, already coping with being in heat, unknowingly tries one.”

Kylie’s mother, Laura Bevy, was the executive producer and lead writer of Strangeville, and she modelled it “upon what she knew”, including making the ancient Queen Anne mansion that she and Kylie inherited (and haven’t fully explored yet) the creepy “haunted house” that turns out to be a gateway to the monsters’ dimension. Their small town of Windfall has been taking advantage of it, as Kylie explains to Max:

“The mustelid chattered on. ‘These days, the town’s cashing in on ‘supernatural’ tourism. Basically, Internet weirdos have heard we’ve got a bunch of ghosts and goblins, so they drive up here to be separated from their disposable income.’ She couldn’t suppress a smirk. ‘Having a TV show based on the town may have helped a little.’” (p. 43)

Windfall is a combination of funny and sweet for the first seventy pages. There’s a hilarious description of a video that Kylie plays for Max:

“‘Turkish film translated into Italian, now with bootleg subtitles by a non-native English speaker.’” (p. 49)

… about a zombie wife returned from the dead, or maybe she’s a cyborg, who gets topless and fires lasers from her nipples. Since Windfall is an anthro novel, the cyborg/zombie wife is feline, but I’ve seen something very like this with humans. (Have you seen the 1987 Hindi rip-off of Superman with a child actor who portrays a 5-year-old Clark Kent super-breakdancing? It’s on YouTube.)

Then at page 70 it starts getting into why the old Bourn Holt mansion that Kylie’s mom inherited had been deserted for thirty years, and why Windfall town is getting so many tourists interested in the supernatural. Max and Kylie investigate the town’s past. The novel is not quite halfway through when the first real monster appears.

Max and Kylie explore Windfall’s adjoining forests and such establishments as the sea-otter-run Thomas Creel Seaweed Farm & Brewery (seaweed beer?), a two hours drive away. As they travel together for long stretches, and they are now healthy twenty-year-olds, nature takes its course in pauses for explicit mature sex. Windfall is NC-17 for a reason, although the eroticism in Windfall is very consensual. What the two learn about the truth behind two hundred years of madness, and the reality of fighting interdimensional monsters, is almost an anticlimax. If you like lots of surreality, graphic sex, and furry anthros, don’t miss Windfall.

Art by Slate

 

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Fur Planet
• Buy the E-Book on Bad Dog Books

 

We found this in the Previews magalog: “Animation visionary Phil Mendez (creator of Kissyfur and The Black Snowman) brings an old legend to life in the story of the mystery and mayhem that occurs when an Ohgrr Pup and a Human Child meet over a magical bowl of soup. Take a sip of this fun tale for kids of all ages!” Oghrr Soup, a full-color graphic novel in hardcover, is available now from Bliss On Tap Publishing. Stuart Ng books has a black & white preview also.

image c. 2016 Bliss On Tap

Hello Everyone!

How do you know when you are tapped out emotionally and can not really support new connections? How do you let people down when they are interested in you but you don't reciprocate the feeling? How do you talk to people who can only make small talk? Also, how do you handle a relationship when you aren't in the best financial position?

For more information, including a list of topics by timestamp, see our Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 009 Emotional Bandwidth - How to manage your friends and relationships without losing your soul.

Hello,

I'm having a bit trouble figuring out what I should do. I have never been in a situation like this before so it would be helpful to hear what others think.

Situation:

My mate and I have been going out for about 6 months now. A couple weeks ago someone(male) asked him to be a pet and he agreed. The same person asked me as well and I agreed. Now, I'm not really into the master/pet thing, I just wanted to try it out. Probably because I was really scared of loosing my mate. Right now I'm still having reservations about it. I'm the type who can give myself only to one person at a time. 

He actually only lives about 2 hours away so we can meet him in person and master does want to do "those things" with us. My mate is sorta curious about getting done in the backside. Which by itself is no issue to me, but he wants to try it with master and if he likes it . . . he was wondering if I'd be ok with them doing that on the side. My mate did what he could to reassure me that nothing would change with us, that I would always come first, and there is no way he'd leave me for master. Especially since my mate is straight and master has a fiancé. I really don't like/want my mate to do this, but I want him to be happy. He said it's fine if I say "no", but I still really don't wanna ruin his fun and happiness even if it means I have to be hurting a bit from it. I tried doing a "pros and cons list", also thinking it might help to meet master first (which I will be next weekend), and possibly my mate might not like getting in the backside as well as get tired of this whole thing at some point. I just don't anymore. So if someone can tell me what they think and help give me something else to think about . . . it would be extremely helpful. Please feel free to ask me for more specifically details if you need them.

Thanks so much!

Anonymous (age 26)
 
* * *
 
Dear Furiend,
 
It’s nice that you are being open minded about this, but there are a few things here you might want to think about. First of all, if your mate decides he enjoys receiving guests at the back door, then he can’t really say he’s entirely straight. Secondly, my understanding of furry master/pet relationships is that the healthy ones are not about sex. Most master/pet relationships in the fandom are about a more father/son or mother/daughter or teacher/apprentice dynamic. There are many greymuzzles (or not even greymuzzles but simply more experienced and wiser furs who could still be in their twenties) who have big hearts and like to mentor young furs who need guidance. Those who wish to be pets are looking for a parent figure—either because they have no parents or because they have poor relationships with their parents. That’s why when I hear what you are describing, I am more inclined to call it a master/sex slave relationship. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because, despite the terminology, there can be a mutual respect here in which neither party is trying to hurt the other one but, rather, they get a sexual high out of this type of role playing.
 
So, first of all, recognize what your mate is proposing for what it really is. If you were comfortable with that, though, you would not be writing Papabear, would you? I’m sorry to say that by the time I got to your letter, you probably have already met this “master,” so perhaps you can write back and let me know how it went. I understand, too, how you might agree to be this master’s sex toy, but doing so out of fear of losing your mate is not the best of reasons. If you aren’t doing it because you enjoy it, then you shouldn’t do it.
 
I will praise both you and your mate for having open communication about this rather than his going off on the sly and having sex with master. Good for him! Good for you for not immediately dismissing it and for being willing to entertain the possibilities here! It might be that, after meeting this master and having a bit of fun and experimentation, you could decide it’s okay and even enjoyable. On the other paw, if you try it and decide it’s not for you, and your mate decides he loves it and wants to continue it, then you will need to reevaluate your relationship and decide if the two of you are as compatible as you thought.
 
As with Schrödinger’s Cat, the only way you will find out for sure is if you open the box. I’m very proud of you for being brave enough to do this, but do not forget that your feelings matter, too, and should be respected for the relationship to work.
 
Hugs,
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Zootopia, directed by Bryon Howard and Rich Moore; co-directed by Jared Bush; produced by Walt Disney Motion Pictures. 108 minutes. March 4, 2016.

Zootopia has already been anticipated, seen, and covered more thoroughly than any other anthropomorphic motion picture in furry fandom history.

We know that its theatrical release has stretched from February 10 in Belgium to April 23 in Japan. (Dogpatch Press has covered its furry fandom theater parties throughout the U.S. and in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, and Sweden.) We know that it was originally intended to be released as Zootopia worldwide, but due to various legal reasons it has become Zootropola in Croatia, Zootopie in France, Zoomania in Germany, Zootropolis in Denmark, Spain, and other countries, Zveropolis in Russia, and Zwierzogród in Poland.

It grossed $75,063,401 on its opening weekend in 3,827 theaters in the U.S. and $232,500,000 worldwide, breaking the records for the premiere of a Disney animated feature (Frozen with $67,400,000 in November 2013) and for any March animated feature (Illumination Entertainment’s The Lorax; $70,200,000 in March 2012). Its voice cast features Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde, and numerous others ranging from celebrity actors to professional voice actors, and including directors Howard, Moore, and Bush as minor characters. It debuted with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 92 reviews. Disney reportedly hired at least one marketing agency to promote Zootopia to the furry community.

In American furry fandom, Zootopia was released on March 4. By March 7, there were five in-depth reviews of it on Flayrah, some with up to 46 comments. They started out trying not to give away spoilers to those who had not seen it yet. By the 6th, they were discussing the movie as though it was a revered classic like The Maltese Falcon or Psycho, which movie fans still critique in detail despite the whole story being well-known to all. (Plus Wikipedia has a plot synopsis.) What more is there to say about Zootopia?

*** SPOILERS: ***

I compare it to those two mystery thrillers for a reason. The primary reason that furry fandom is interested in it is, of course, for its basic premise. Zootopia is set entirely in a world of anthropomorphic animals where humans never existed. Zootopia, its greatest city, has been designed by Disney’s production staff for all mammals, from the tallest giraffes to the tiniest shrews, to live in equality.   But the movie is also a mystery thriller. Zootopia consists, like the real world, of 90% prey animals and only 10% predators. Despite this, they are all intelligent and live together in harmony.

Something is causing individual predators to revert to savage, unthinking ferality, bloodily attacking their neighbors. There is a Zootopia-wide panic, with all prey animals fearing that their predator neighbors may become affected and attack them. The feature’s co-protagonist, a “cute” (the word is emphasized) rabbit policewoman, and her fox partner (a prey animal and a predator) learn that the plague is due to a deliberately-administered chemical rather than to natural causes, in a plot to spread panic and seize political control of the city. Toward the climax, it looks like the fox partner may be given the drug by the villains, to have the rabbit heroine eaten by her best friend. (If you want a more detailed plot synopsis, see the Wikipedia article mentioned above.)

Zootopia is a must-see on several levels. Firstly, for its premise of a city/world of all intelligent animals (mammals) living together, designed for the tallest to the smallest together.

Secondly, for its nature as a mystery thriller. It’s a good one, developing smoothly. The movie looks at first as though it is just about a tiny rabbit policewoman succeeding among her larger co-policemen, all large animals like water buffalo and rhinoceroses. Then it becomes the rabbit’s & fox’s search for 16 missing animals, which becomes increasingly dark and ominous. That appears to be due to a plague that threatens the whole city, which turns out to be a deliberate criminal plot. It’s original, too, considering its context. How many mystery movies or novels have there been in which the detective is menaced by being eaten by his or her best friend?

Thirdly, for its themes of prejudice and stereotypes, and its almost anti-Disney message of no, you can’t always be whatever you want to be. The movie begins with the young rabbit, Judy Hopps, thrilled to be going from her rural home of Bunnyborough to the almost-legendary metropolis of Zootopia, where all animals live in brotherhood and the motto is, “In Zootopia, anyone can be anything”. She quickly learns that despite this, there is plenty of species stereotyping and prejudice. The police won’t take a bunny seriously as a policewoman; they want big animals. Judy is assigned to meter-maid duty. Nobody will trust foxes for anything; they’re “all” sneaky and conniving. Judy has already experienced rabbit stereotyping: “A bunny can call another bunny ‘cute’, but when other animals do it, it’s a little …”. Audiences can easily substitute “black” and a particular n-word here. Judy is determined to become Zootopia’s first serious police detective rather than a token pigeonholed as a stereotypical meter-maid; audiences can equally substitute a woman applying for “a man’s” job. Judy succeeds, but she has to become incredibly persistent and become a superachiever to achieve what other animals get automatically.

Fourthly, for its excellent graphic artistry. The rabbit and fox protagonists are often seen in closeups, with every hair of their fur distinct. One of the production crew said in The Art of Zootopia, “There are multiple animal species in Zootopia, and each species’ fur has its own specific color, lighting, shape and texture. The uniqueness of each animal was a great challenge to us. –Michelle Robinson, character look supervisor” (p. 148) This is one of those films intended to be seen by fans over and over, or to freeze-frame upon when the DVD is released, to search for all of the many details in the crowded backgrounds.

Fifthly, for its in-group references. The “Mr. Big” shrew crime boss is an obvious The Godfather reference. Two of the sheep distilling Night Howler flowers into the feral-making toxic drug are named Walt and Jesse; Walt & Jesse were two of the main good guys making crystal meth in the 2008-2013 Breaking Bad TV series. The missing otter is Emmett Otterton; anybody remember Emmett Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas from 1971 (book) and 1978 (TV special)? Gazelle’s studly tigers = Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes’ Tony the Tiger. (Or am I stretching here?)

Zootopia has flaws, but in the overall gestalt they are minor. Aside from the main characters who look distinct, all of the animals of a species look alike. The polar bears look alike. The lemmings look alike. (But they’re probably supposed to.) Bellweather’s hench-sheep look alike. The mystery may have too many clues, although some are too basic to mysteries, or are obvious only in retrospect.

Why is harmless Emmett Otterton shot with the toxic drug? Presumably as a florist he made the connection with the Night Howlers flowers. The black panther being turned feral just as he is about to reveal an important clue to Judy and Nick is a strong giveaway that the feral plague is criminal-controlled instead of natural. Well, the very fact of Zootopia’s plot is a tipoff that the mystery will turn out to be a crime that gets solved — the feature would lack drama if it was a natural plague.  The discovery that the criminals distilling the Night Howler flowers into the toxic drug are sheep is a giveaway that the mysterious villain will turn out to be Assistant Mayor May Bellweather. And, frankly, the “Agatha Christie rule” of making the least likely suspect turn out to be the villain has gotten a little overused by Disney recently. Whodunit in Frozen? The Nicest Guy in the Movie who’s also the heroine’s fiancée. Whodunit in Big Hero 6? The Father-figure university professor who stands for honesty. So whodunit in Zootopia? The only less likely suspects would have been Flash, the DMV sloth, or Judy Hopps’ parents. (Wait; Gideon Grey, Judy Hopps’ red fox childhood bully, could have grown up, moved to Zootopia, and turned out to be the villain; after being absent from the 108-minute feature except for his childhood introduction at the beginning. No?)

Well, this review is probably unnecessary. Zootopia has been out for less than a week, and everyone in furry fandom who intends to see it seems to have seen it already by now. These are my thoughts on it, anyhow. I’ve just seen it today, and I’m already eager to see it again.

– Fred Patten

 

Thousands of years ago, a god-like man and a wolf-monster join forces — and spirits — to defeat a monstrous threat known as The Hungry Ones. A thousand years later, when the tribes are under attack once more, the spirit of vengeance known as the Ghost Wolf is born again — in the form of a fearless young woman. That’s the story behind Ghost Wolf, a full-color comic book series created by El Torres and illustrated by Angel Hernandez. Now Amigo Comics have released the first Ghost Wolf story arc at a single trade paperback, Ghost Wolf: Born in Snow and Blood. Check out the preview over at their web site.

image c. 2016 Amigo Comics

A followup to yesterday’s story:  ‘Fursonas’ beats Zootopia as most important furry movie, coming on Video On Demand.

“Most important?” What’s with the sensational title?

Not the biggest or most widely appealing. Just one that stands apart.

There’s never been a furry-made feature film that got support from the movie industry, until now.  Not just support, but pole position to open Slamdance, one of the most significant film festivals.  It got an award for representing the spirit of the festival. Then it sold immediately to a mainstream distributor with Hollywood press, while tons of larger movies sit on the shelf.

That’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened in fandom-made media.

Disney’s non-fanmade “furry” movie is getting all the attention, while a by-and-for-fans movie is getting what any furry moviemaker dreams of.  It’s a good reason for an article about what’s going on with the Year of Furry movies.

It was surprising that nobody talked about the Slamdance win when it happened… so here’s a little nudge to notice.  The best part of the hype is it’s not just a furry movie, it’s a legit movie.

More news to come!  Dogpatch Press will be on the story.

Director Dominic Rodriguez said that five furries attended the two screenings of his movie at Slamdance, with two in suit.  Slamdance released a video as part of their Spotlight Series of a short interview with him, the producer, and Boomer The Dog.

For the upcoming L.A. screening, Dominic asked me (Patch) to moderate the Q&A after the film – a heck of a compliment (though it’s not feasible.)  He said:

“The people from Slamdance suggested that we find someone noteworthy from the furry community for this job… just so you know, at the Slamdance Arclight screening last month, the Q&A moderator was JOHN LANDIS. Those are some cool shoes to fill :D”

And since this movie was compared to Zootopia as a big moment for The Year of Furry – one of Dominic’s sources ran into a Disney crew member, who reported that the film WAS purposely marketed (at least least in part) to furries. Hopefully there will be more such tips from inside the movie business.

Get to know more about Furry-related movies. With few exceptions, previous features are fiction.  It’s a very select group.

There was Germany’s Finsterworld (the very best of the list, a fine movie on it’s own terms with a Furry subplot that deeply ties to the story.  It was researched with Eurofurence ties).

In France, the comedy “Babysitting” won the “french oscar” (though it doesn’t tie furries deeply).  From Hollywood, “Wish I was Here” didn’t make much of an impression.  From Indies, “The Honey Cooler” and “Furries the Movie” (not furry-made) draw dislike.  There’s not much else.  (Bitter Lake is a non mainstream exception, the only fan-made feature so far.)

I’ve often thought there is a lot of potential for this little subculture to strike it big with it’s rich vein of oddball appeal, sweetness, fun (and of course, eye-popping sauciness in your imagination.)

Furmeets have major potential to bring cult movie vibes to life, the kind you can hug. A while back, it was exciting to share an idea of someday having a “Furry Film Fest”. Hopefully, one day Dominic’s movie will headline such a festival.

Wendy Grieb is a professional animation storyboard artist. She is also the illustrator of the Monster & Me series of illustrated children’s books, written by Paul Czajak. There are some good reviews of the adventures of Monster and Boy (in such books as Monster Needs A Costume, Monster Needs A Party, and Monster Needs Your Vote) over at Kid Lit Reviews. “All of the Monster & Me books are fun, carefree, and highly entertaining. Wendy Grieb’s brightly colored illustrations breathe extra life into Paul Czajak’s stories. Monster is a great character. Who wouldn’t want to listen to Monster tell a story. Who wouldn’t want to pretend they are Boy and sled down a hill with Monster at their side, or with Monster screaming up and down a rollercoaster hills?” You can also visit Ms. Grieb’s web site to find out more about her illustrations and storyboards.

image c. 2016 by Wendy Grieb

Roo and Tugs are joined in their portable studio by the (in)famous commediennes Margaret Cho and Selene Luna to talk about how they've found laughter while giving back to their communities and causes. During the episode we also learn about how they have had contact with the furry fandom, how they feel Hollywood perceives furries, and also read your questions to them on the air. Did you think we'd let these two lovely ladies escape without THE GAME? We didn't! We also have Space News, another reading from Fifty Sheds of Grey (the Furry Edition), Get Psyched! with Dr. Nuka, and an old-timey ad!



NOW LISTEN!

Show Notes

Nuka has re-recorded his panel from FC! If you’ve ever wondered about the furry fandom, now is a good time to watch this video!

Special Thanks

To our lovely guests - Margaret Cho and Selene Luna! You can check out their sites at www.margaretcho.com and www.seleneluna.com. If you're able, pay forward their generosity in your local community by speaking up! If Margaret or Selene (who are currently on tour together) are in your town, check them out, and tell them FWIW sent you.
T-Wolf
Husky in Denial (plus one for the awesome opening remix!)
Arrkay
Dronon
Syn Fox
Snare
Cane
Lynne
We had quite a few emails and tried to get everyone we could in! If we missed you, we apologize!

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Margaret Cho Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2016. ©2016 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Some music was provided by Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com. We used the following pieces: Spy Glass, The Show Must Also Be Go . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Get Psyched Music: Fredrik Miller – Universe, USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
worldsbestgrandpa – Pokémon – Polka Center OCRemix, USA: 2014. Based on Junichi Masuda – Pokémon Center Theme, USA: Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, 1996. Used with permission. (Original here.)
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!) S5 Episode 11 – Laughing While Giving Back (with Margaret Cho and Selene Luna) - Roo and Tugs are joined in their portable studio by the (in)famous commediennes Margaret Cho and Selene Luna to talk about how they've found laughter while giving back to the

Furry life is real life, kinda.

Ever had a furry friend disappear? That doesn’t happen in real life.

It’s an important event when someone close to you, non-furry, dies. Friends and family gather and mourn and celebrate and reflect on the life of the person they’ve lost. If the deceased was young, people lament the life that will never be lived. If the deceased is old, people talk about the value and brevity of a full life.

Celebrating life and death is important, and it’s something that is often denied to the furry friends of the deceased. Let’s say that I, your humble furry author, slip on some ice on Harleyford Street’s sloping pavement and get struck by an aggressively-driven number 36 bus this Thursday morning. You, gentle furry reader, will probably find out about this over social media a few days later.

You and I have a relationship, even if it’s only through you reading my words here on [adjective][species]. You will read about my death, just like we have all read about the deaths of other furries, and it’ll feel like I’ve been snuffed out without any opportunity for you to meaningfully participate in any sort of mourning process. Maybe you’ll read some comments here on [a][s], maybe you’ll have a quick scan through my Twitter feed or my Weasyl to see what I was doing or thinking in my last hours of life. You’ll probably feel downhearted, in particular for those people closest to me.

In the non-furry world, any vague acquaintance or family member will be able to participate in mourning my death. Someone with a distant relationship will be able to attend my funeral, pass on condolences directly and meaningfully, and be surrounded by other people who are sharing the experience. They will be able to process how a sudden death affects their relationship with life, and understand how it affects other people.

Mourning, even for a distant acquaintance, can be a valuable process.

Of course, all those non-furry acquaintances will only be celebrating a subset of my life. I have a second life, my furry life, and while the two lives intersect, that intersection is far from complete. The separation between those two lives means that furry friends immediately become second-class when someone dies.

It’s not just death of course. There are other life events that can only occur once, where furries must be either integrated or excluded: weddings, births, graduations, that sort of thing.

The need or desire to integrate one’s furry and non-furry lives drives many people to “come out” as a furry, to their friends and/or family. It’s often especially important for young people who aren’t independent from their parents – it’s tough to hide a big part of your life if you don’t have full control. This is often easier said than done, because—by normal societal standards—furry is weird.

I have heard Anthrocon chairman Uncle Kage advise young furries against “coming out”. To the best of my recollection, and I’m paraphrasing, his point is that if you treat furry like it’s something controversial, then it’ll seem controversial. Yet furry social structures can be different enough from non-furry life to be exactly that.

Furry relationships tend to transcend barriers that exist in the non-furry world. We get to know one another via a furry animal-person identity. And although our furry identities aren’t physically real, I believe that they are—ironically—a more honest and true representation of ourselves. Out there in our non-furry life, relationships only begin once we’ve sized one another up on the basis of social structures like class, race, gender, age, and affluence.

Our relative disregard for these social barriers is one of the best things about our furry life, but it’s also something that makes furry relationships seem weird or controversial to outsiders. Your furry friends probably don’t look like your non-furry friends. When you introduce your furry and non-fury friends to one another, those social barriers will be firmly back in place, and there is a real risk that the two groups won’t get along.

A lot of furry takes place online, of course, but little changes when we socialise in meatspace. Furry is still weird, and this is in contrast with other relationships that begin on the internet—perhaps online dating or fandoms—because these relationships aren’t forged in the unique furry social crucible.

The perils of being open about weirdness will be familiar to many of us, be that for unusual gender expression, or geeky interests, or sexual behaviour. It’s a terrible compromise to make, between being openly and genuinely yourself, and meeting the social expectations of others. And it’s worse that those people who fit comfortably in the mainstream often don’t understand the problem – they can be unable or unwilling to consider what it’s like to be a bit different.

If you are open about your furry life then a lot of new topics are on the table. The social structure of furry is complicated enough, but of course anyone with more than a passing curiosity will quickly learn about conventions, fursuits, and—of course—sex and pornography. These topics might—might—be okay with some close non-furry friends but are unlikely to be respected by a bigoted uncle. And of course furry can become fuel for gossip, and your message of furry fellowship can not be controlled in the face of rumourmongering and CSI episodes.

Many furries eventually come to some sort of uneasy compromise, where they are openly furry around a small subset of close friends and family, and share their non-furry social spaces with a small subset of their furry group.

This works well… most of the time. When something important happens, like death, our furry life is demoted to second-class status.

Worse is that we often never know what has happened when a furry friend disappears. There are a lot of reasons it may have happened: some furries leave the fandom, some change their furry identity, and some get hit by the number 36 bus. In many cases the reasoning is never shared online, and an awful lot of furs don’t many other furries in the offline world.

We asked this question—how many furries do you know in person?—on the Furry Survey up until 2013:

A huge proportion of furries know no other furries at all in person. Many of these furs will be young and/or live in isolated areas that make meeting close furry friends (temporarily) untenable. If something happens to one of these furries, the rest of may never know why. They will just disappear.

Grief is an important part of life. We furries rarely get the chance to properly acknowledge a death, and celebrate a life. Our friends and lovers and partners can simply fade away over time, in limbo, never quite gone and never to return.

With thanks to Jason from Marfed.

​My parents are highly against me being a furry. They have searched furry and all they got was furporn. I did not witness the search, so I'm not quite sure what they searched, but they are highly against it. I have a head of my own that I made, and I have many furry friends that go to school with me. Although, they still disprove of the fandom, they conform to the stereotypes that we all are into kinky, fetish, bestiality, having sex in suit stuff. I tried showing them Majira Strawberry's video about it, explaining that that is less than 30% of the fandom, but they won't have it. Each time they find a rogue angel dragon drawing or head base, they trash it without a second thought. I recently went through a major problem that got me and my boyfriend in severe trouble, and now we are restricted from communicating. He's 19 and is a furry, and I think that they associate our childish mistake with wanting to engage in kinky activities. Although, that was not our intention, we were just being dumb. But, I'm not sure how to tell them that I don't. I'm scared because they only like me to conform to their views of right and wrong. I don't know what to do.
 
Bloodlust (age 13)
 
* * *
 
Dear Bloodlust,
 
Hmm, well, first of all, if your parents know your furry name this is doing you no big favors. Second, and you will probably not like me for this, 13 is too young to be having a 19-year-old boyfriend, and if I were your dad I would be pretty darn nervous about that little development. Third, I would ask that you try to see things from your parents’ point of view for a little while and understand that they are trying to protect their baby girl. They are not trying to hurt you or impose insensitive rules on you or control your life. They simply care about your well-being. And, yes, that means they would like to see you “conform” to what they feel is right. After all, the only thing people can hold onto is their own sense of morality.
 
Ask yourself this: are your parents good people? Are they kind, and caring, and loving? Do they care about your life and whether or not you do well and are happy? If so, count yourself fortunate, for there are many children in the world who are not as lucky as you are.
 
What I’m trying to do in this reply, in case you don’t see it, is have you look at this situation from your parents’ viewpoint so that you won’t just think they are trying to be controlling and restrictive just to be mean to you.
 
There are many ways to be furry without getting anywhere near the kinky pervy side of it. For example, I would hope that your parents would not object to your seeing a movie like Zootopia. When I was your age, my Zootopia was Disney’s The Jungle Book and Robin Hood. I loved these animated features and watched them multiple times.
 
Bloodlust, let me tell you something here. As much as Papabear loves the fandom and knows that the majority of it has nothing to do with sex, the simple fact is this: the Furry Fandom is a fandom for adults and you, at 13, are not an adult. You might think you are, but you’re not. You’ll get there soon enough, though.
 
Therefore, my suggestion to you is to find ways to indulge your love of anthros that have nothing to do with the furry fandom until you are 18 years old (if your furry friends are into kinky stuff, it would actually be a good idea not to hang out with that crowd—you are too young). That might sound like a long time, but it will fly by. In the meantime! There are many things you can do such as watch furry movies, read comic books (G rated, please), watch TV cartoons, go on a Disneyworld vacation, and even be creative and learn how to draw or write stories.
 
So, Papabear is not going to give you advice on “how to convince my parents to let me be involved in the furry fandom.” The truth is, that ain’t gonna happen. Your parents are in charge of you until you come of age (and, frankly, sometimes beyond that). That is their right as parents. They recognize that the furry fandom is a fandom for sexually adult people (even though many furries themselves do not seem to recognize this). That is the simple fact.
 
Let me put it another way. Imagine there were a movie theater in which ticket buyers do not go into separate rooms where there is just one screen. Instead, there is just one huge room with multiple screens and they are all showing movies. Say 70% of these movies are clean, family-friendly movies, but the other 30% are X-rated films that leave nothing to the imagination. Would you want to go in there? Do your parents have the right to tell you not to go in there? The furry fandom—especially the online fandom—has almost no filters protecting the young from pornography.
 
Many young people believe that they can separate the porn from the G-rated furry stuff. Truth is, you cannot. The fandom has made it all too clear that porn is going to be in your face if you go to furry sites. Oh, sure, you can go to FurAffinity and click the SFW (safe for work) button, and you might even be able to avoid the kinky stuff for a while with some effort, but eventually, inevitably, someone is going to show you a picture of furries having sex.
 
Too many kids in American society are not allowed to just be kids. It’s become incredibly hard since I was your age to avoid images of sex and violence. Papabear does not believe this is healthy for those who are not yet sexually mature. Young people should enjoy some innocent pleasures for a while before they get mixed up in that stuff.
 
After reading the above, you might think Papabear has changed his mind about sex from earlier letters. No, I haven’t. I believe sex is a great thing and that imaginative and playful sex is fun and fulfilling ... for adults, and, I must emphasize, consenting adults.
 
Hon, give yourself a few years to enjoy the innocence of childhood. It goes far too quickly. Don’t rush. And don’t fool yourself into believing that you can avoid sexual imagery in the furry fandom. Finally, be grateful that you have parents who care about and love you enough to be involved in your life.
 
Hugs,
Papabear
 
P.S. Give your parents a hug now and then and tell them you love them. :)

Co-written by Patch and Pup Matthias. Find ‘Fursonas’ on the web and on Twitter.

2016 has been labeled The Year Of Furry.  Disney’s Zootopia is just the start.  There’s a surprising amount of other films to come with anthropomorphic animals. From Kung Fu Panda 3, Ratchet and Clank, The Angry Birds Movie, Secret Life of Pets, Sing, The Boy and The Beast, and TMNT 2 (yes it counts)… there’s a wealth of films for furries to enjoy (or love to hate) this year.

There’s a film apart from those that has surprisingly flown under a lot of people’s radars.  It’s not a big-budget blockbuster, and doesn’t have massive marketing. (With vast differences in “furry movies”, that’s why the headline is just to get your attention.)  Few have talked about it… but for this tiny fandom, it has special quality above any other.

Fursonas is a documentary directed by Dominic Rodriguez.  It looks at the fandom itself, to clear up fuzziness over what it’s about.

Dominic’s idea happened by accident. It started as a senior thesis project while he majored in filmmaking – in Pittsburgh, of course. His friend, Olivia, wanted to produce a documentary and she asked Dominic to direct. The original idea was to do something related to a local children’s hospital, but it never took off. Then Anthrocon 2012 drew notice. Dominic was able to convince his crew to check it out:

“I’d been interested in furry since I was about twelve-years-old. Over the years, I’d felt that no media had really done justice to the wonderful complexity of this community. I always wanted someone to make a good furry documentary, but I never imagined that it would end up being me.

I also should mention that I was a secret furry for the first two years of shooting this documentary. I didn’t tell me crew or the subjects that I had a fursona myself. It was important for me to approach this project as a filmmaker first and as a furry second – putting aside any biases that I had in order to make a good movie. However, I eventually realized that ignoring my bias was impossible and dishonest — so I learned to embrace it.”

 Dominic’s fursona art commissioned for the movie

Some of you might know him better as “Video”. His card-carrying, fursuiting fandom membership sets this movie apart from anything that has tried to involve us without being conceived by us.

In Documentary, there have been many attempts to explore/explain the furry fandom to outsiders.  The most well known is ‘Furries – An Inside Look‘.  Most are very short, and only lightly get into Furry 101, without much deeper philosophy about what furry means or why a person would feel it inside.

If you don’t feel furry, it can be hard to see deeper, let alone know the best starting point.  Is it history, artwork, games, literature, or movies?

There’s not much “canonical” furry media or even definitions in common.  Everyone defines what it means for themselves.  That doesn’t even get into the built-in schism of G-rated vs. yiffy stuff, which is hard to split apart from what people are into.  It’s truly a tough topic to tackle.

Dominic explains his intentions:

“I decided early on that I wanted to focus on fursuiting as my jumping off point for the interviews. Although we all know that you don’t need a suit to be a furry, there is something very meaningful and cinematic about these costumes. Obviously, if you own a fursuit, you’re passionate about the fandom and I wanted to talk to passionate people.

I understand that seeing so many suiters can be a red flag for some in the fandom, because many are worried about misrepresentation. I want to assure furries that the film goes way beyond the spectacle of fursuiting into exploring identity, community, media, and plenty of other things.

In 2012, with the first round of interviews, I felt it was important that the furries feel comfortable more than anything else. I allowed them to steer the conversation however they liked, because I wanted to make a looser, less manipulative film that allowed these people to speak in their own words. Over time, the subjects became more comfortable with me (as I did with them) so I was able to explore much deeper territory and ask more challenging questions.

It was a learning process, for sure. I was figuring it all out as I went along. I didn’t have much of a plan. It was just about getting as many different perspectives on furry as possible.”

Belonging and controversy is part of ‘Fursonas’.  One of its perspectives comes from Boomer The Dog – best known as the man who tried to make that his legal name in court, who makes his fursuit from cut paper. With his famous Dr. Phil interview, Boomer became a topic that leads some Furries to blindly lash out.

Boomer The Dog is a treasure of the community.  There – we said it.  There are countless members with standard ‘sonas and outward “respectability”.  There’s only one Boomer.  He’s harmless, as friendly as a real dog, and marches to his own beat.  Those who don’t know it might miss out on what makes this a fandom like no other.

Dominic addresses controversy:

“When I started this film, I imagined that some furries I would meet on my journey would disprove stereotypes, while others may confirm them. I knew that I didn’t want the film to be a slam piece, but I didn’t want it to be a boring PSA for the fandom either. I wanted it to be real.

Many furries have heard of Boomer The Dog or seen him on TV, but have not taken the time to get to know him. I had the advantage of living a mere 20 minutes away from Boomer, so I knew that if I was going to tell this story that I needed to reach out to him. One of the most common objections I hear about Boomer is that he isn’t a furry. From talking to him for four years, I know that he does indeed self-identify as furry. He also has more insight into the history and philosophy of this community than anyone I’ve ever met.

I’m sure if you’ve only seen Boomer on Dr. Phil or Nat Geo that you will seriously doubt the validity of that claim. I admit, I too was skeptical when I first set foot into his house. In those early days, I didn’t know if he would end up in the movie or on the cutting room floor. All I knew was that I had to talk to him. Today, I am happy to call Boomer a friend and I cannot implore furries enough to open their minds and to give him another chance.”

Fursonas had a long evolution to become a full-fledged feature film.  Daring to accept Boomer was part of the vision that took it to success.

Dominic started the doc as a short 12-minute senior thesis film, but he couldn’t image where it would lead.  Then in 2013, the crew was awarded a 10,000 dollar development grant from The Sprout Fund – a competition supporting short film makers to develop longer work, to nurture the Pittsburgh creative community.  It helped them to keep filming and broaden the scope of the documentary.

In 2014, two of the crew members, Christine Meyer (Editor) and Olivia Vaughn (Producer) became interns at Animal Media Group.  The production house let them edit ‘Fursonas’ at their facility.  After seeing the results, Animal offered to be their official production company for one final year of filming.

It gave Dominic support and resources to bring the film to another level, while keeping true to his original vision.  It led to film festivals:

“We submitted to dozens of film festivals around the world, and Slamdance was the first to accept us. It was an ideal festival for Fursonas because they emphasize real, raw stories from first-time filmmakers as opposed to big celebrities.”

For those not in the know, Slamdance is a big deal.  It focuses on emerging filmmakers and low-budget independent film. Notable names discovered at the festival include Lena Dunham (Girls), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), and Christopher Nolan.

Not only did Fursonas get accepted into the festival, it was the opening film.  It won a “Spirit of Slamdance award.”  The reception was so positive, that it sold to a mainstream distributor right away.

We're so thrilled that the 1st screened film on our 1st day of #slamdance2016 acquired distribution!! @FursonasDoc https://t.co/VvlXQHEvKM

— Slamdance (@Slamdance) January 23, 2016

To repeat… A documentary about the Furry Fandom, made by a Furry, got to open one of the US’s most sought after film festivals.  It was picked up for distribution shortly afterwards.

It’s not just furry, it’s legit.  It’s both.

Zootopia may be what we want… but Fursonas is the film we need.  It may be minor in comparison to Zootopia’s $150 million budget – but spirit-wise, this is huge. No furry filmmaker has accomplished such a feat. Most do just music video or shorts or con videos. This sets a new bar for the fandom.

It promises a film that both Furries and Non-Furries can not only enjoy, but relate to. Dominic says:

“At Slamdance, the reaction was very positive. We received the Spirit Award for “putting good energy into the festival.” Non-furries tend to find the movie relatable, since it doesn’t sugarcoat the real struggles that the fandom faces in representing itself. That conflict between identity and community isn’t something that’s exclusive to furry–you find it in communities everywhere. I had always hoped that this movie would go beyond that label of “furry documentary” and be something more.

Of course, I’m much more interested to hear what furries will think. Fursonas was intended for both furries and non-furries, but I think that people in this community stand to gain more from the film. There were five furries in the audience at Slamdance, one of whom traveled 300 miles for the screening. All of them responded very well to the film, and I had the pleasure of discussing it at length with them afterward.

If traveling 300 miles is any indication, this fandom is hugely important to a lot of people. I realize that I have a responsibility to do right by furries, and how I do that while still making a film that’s honest and real is something I’ve lost plenty of sleep over. I certainly don’t expect all furries to love what I’ve done, but my hope is that it starts a real conversation in this community.”

The film will have limited screenings in LA, Chicago, and Atlanta.  Follow the movie’s publicity for more information and screenings near you.

Pittsburgh Premiere
March 10, 2016
with a Q&A and special guests!

Los Angeles screening
Sunday, March 20 at 8pm
ArcLight Hollywood

Chicago screening
Wednesday, March 30 at 8pm
ArcLight Chicago

Atlanta screening
Saturday, April 2 at 2:30pm
7 Stages Theatre

“The Atlanta showing is the EXACT SAME WEEKEND AS FWA!! which is an insane stroke of luck!”

News and reviews for the film have been positive:

• Deadline Hollywood: “Gravitas Sews Up Slamdance Furry Subculture Docu ‘Fursonas’”
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Pittsburgh doc on furries finds distributor at Slamdance festival“
• Deadline.com: Slamdance Awards: ‘Million Dollar Duck’ & ‘Fursonas’ Among Indie Winners
• Furry Reddit: “Just saw the premiere of Fursonas at Slamdance!“
• Hollywood Reporter: ‘Fursonas’: Slamdance Review
• Forces of Geek: SLAMDANCE: FURSONAS (review)
• Hammer To Nail: FURSONAS – A Fantasy For All

Dominic is still in awe that his little thesis film has gained such amazing attention. Expect to see it streaming on Netflix or similar places this summer.

“I love that we’re getting a Video On Demand release because it means that furries all over the world will be able to watch the film and be part of this conversation. There will also be much more attention on the non-furry side of things. Whether more attention is a good thing or not will no doubt be endlessly debated. All I can say is that it’s important for me to be able to express myself as a filmmaker and to give other furries a voice.”

Unfurled is back for another night of podcasting. Vox has once more been devoured by the terrible nightshift beast. Tonight the cast discusses laptops vs tablets and Tal's design interests as well as the upcoming us elections. We want to thank Striker Cheguar for becoming our first Patron! You can help us out as well at https://www.patreon.com/unfurled Join us and enjoy the show! Episode -46 - Douche Saddle

Tiki Machine describe themselves as an “Indie/self-publisher featuring children’s books, art books, comics/graphic novels, and secret ancient tiki manuscripts”. Oh. Among the art books are a series of collections that feature different artists and animators illustrating a given topic. One of those is called Monster Mythos: A Folklore Bestiary. “A compilation art book of 50 legendary beasts, fiends and mystical creatures pulled from folklore and legend from the four corners of the world. Beautifully brought to life and interpreted by 18 animators and illustrators, whose hope is that the stories within will bring the same wonder and inspiration as they have for countless generations. Introduction by Dead of Night creator Dick Grunert.” You can pick it up over at Abe Books.

image c. 2016 Tiki Machine