July 2012
Furry Movie Award Watch: July
Posted by crossaffliction on Sat 21 Jul 2012 - 21:05This month, nothing new is going on in the circuit, so I have devised a thought experiment to try and guess what movies might have been nominated and won Best Animated Feature if it had always existed as an Oscar category.
Hello Kitty demonic toilet paper
Posted by Fred on Tue 24 Jul 2012 - 22:39
The Cartoon Brew has a picture of new “Hello Kitty/KISS” toilet paper, blending the Japanese cartoon character with Gene Simmons’ demonic-image rock-music label.
Unexpected licensed merchandise of cartoon anthro stars are nothing new. There is the Spongebob Squarepants child’s rectal thermometer, for example. Most of it is for children’s products, though.
Not Hello Kitty. The mouthless one, Kitty White, was created as a little girl’s merchandising icon by Sanrio Ltd. of Japan in 1974, to appear on school notebooks, junk jewelry, coin purses, and the like. Today those little girls have grown up, and want Hello Kitty on adult merchandise.
Review: 'Ice Age: Continental Drift' is worth the heatstroke
Posted by Equivamp on Fri 27 Jul 2012 - 06:03Note: I have been asked by crossaffliction to review this movie, as he is "on vacation". I understand I have big shoes to fill, so please, save the tomatoes until the end.
First off, I should probably explain the title of this review. It has to do with what a pain it was to go see this movie. My car is broken, and it is literally a hundred degrees outside. No biggie, go through Main Street and it isn't far from my house, walking won't be too hard, right? Unfortunately, Chanute won some Google-partnership thing. I'm not exactly sure why that means they have to tear up half of Main Street and temporarily close many small businesses there, but by God that's what they did.
What this meant for me was that I now had to walk much farther to circumvent the construction. Perhaps not much further, but I'm a hundred-something-pound weakling. I would have shaken my fists in anger to the heavens, but it was simply much too hot for such activity. So, by the time I reached the theater, I was sweating like a whipped bantha.
Anyway, on to the actual review.
It's ... anthropomorphic baked goods? 'The Ballad of Poisonberry Pete'
Posted by Fred on Fri 27 Jul 2012 - 06:08The Cartoon Brew presents a 5:41 minute Western featuring anthro pies, muffins, cupcakes, quiches, and other baked goods. A CGI student film by Adam Campbell, Elizabeth McMahill, and Uri Lotan of Sarasota, Florida’s Ringling College of Art and Design.
M.C.A. Hogarth publishes audiobooks of 'Stormfront', Kherishdar collections
Posted by Micah on Fri 27 Jul 2012 - 06:23M.C.A. Hogarth is now publishing audiobooks of her works, professionally narrated and unabridged. Her first three offerings are "Stormfront," a military SF adventure from her Pelted universe (home to Ursa Major-winning story "In the Line of Duty"), and the two Kherishdar collections, The Aphorisms and The Admonishments, featuring the catlike aliens, the Ai-Naidar. Audiobooks are available from Audible.com, iTunes and Amazon.
'The Jungle Gang' out in English
Posted by Fred on Sat 28 Jul 2012 - 07:39
Animation Xpress for 24 July reports that the four The Jungle Gang films are out, starring Bo, the bar-headed goose; Kuttu, the Slender Loris; and Bhoora, the blackbuck.
The Jungle Gang is the first Indian wildlife film series that has been made exclusively for children and young adults. The series has been created by Earthcare Films of Krishnendu Bose and financially supported by WWF-India.
“Jungle Gang is a fusion of CGI and live action wildlife footage shot in some of the most iconic National Parks of India.” The films are 15 minute each. “Bo is portrayed as a Ms. Know-it-all, Kuttu as a witty joker and Bhoora as a wide-eyed kid and foodie.”
'Ame and Yuki, the Wolf Children' opens in Japan as the #2 grosser
Posted by Fred on Sat 28 Jul 2012 - 09:00
Japanese animated feature Ame and Yuki, The Wolf Children (Ookami kodomo no Ame to Yuki), produced by Madhouse and directed by Mamoru Hosoda, was released in Japan on July 21, the same weekend as the Japanese release of Pixar’s Brave. Box office results show that The Wolf Children ranked second, earning $4,592,490 (¥360,372,690), while Brave was in fifth place with $1,858,971 (¥145,873,454). 1st and 4th places were held by live-action features, while #3 went to this year’s annual Pokémon feature, Pocket Monsters: Best Wishes 2012.
From an ANN summary derived from the movie’s website:
The theme of the film is the love between parents and children. The story covers 13 years and begins with a 19-year-old college student named Hana who encounters and falls in "fairy tale-like" love with a "wolf man." After marrying the wolf man [named Ookami, Wolf], Hana gives birth and raises two wolf children — an older sister named Yuki [Snow] who was born on a snowy day, and a younger brother named Ame [Rain] who was born on a rainy day. The four quietly lived in a corner of a city to conceal the existence of the "wolf children," but when the wolf man suddenly dies, Hana decides to move to a rural town far removed from the city.
Read on for trailers and a more comprehensive plot summary . . .
Profile: Upcoming art site Weasyl seeks $5000 by July 31
Posted by GreenReaper on Sat 28 Jul 2012 - 20:32
A new site is to open this year: Weasyl, for "artists of all kinds". But they need money to do so…and the countdown ends Tuesday.
If funding falls short, the group will still be paid, but must forfeit an additional 5% - up to $250 - as well as the regular fee of up to 7%.
Update (30 Jul): The goal is met; funding is still open until Aug 1.
Update 2: The total raised was $6015.
A variety of artists are offering services to donors, who can also receive paid site access, ad space, and merchandise.
Staff plan to use cloud hosting (Amazon S3 and EC2), rather than purchase their own servers. The site is being organized by a team of eighteen, headed by co-owners Benchilla and Kihari, and lead admin Taw Echo.
Three staff gave an hour-long presentation at Anthrocon 2012. Members also promoted the site at this year's FWA.
Weasyl links: Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook accounts — Screenshots — Forums
Animation: 'Olympic Vermin' spoofs torchbearing ceremony
Posted by Fred on Sun 29 Jul 2012 - 15:05The 2012 Summer Olympics in London have generated considerable coverage. The Cartoon Brew website presents “Olympic Vermin”, an animated anthropomorphic take of squirrels, pigeons, rats, and other urban wildlife running their own torch relay through the city.
Stylized angular animation overlaid on live-action footage, by Amaël Isnard and Leo Bridle at London’s Beakus studio.
Harison Long-Randall, aka "Elden", has died
Posted by banrai on Sun 29 Jul 2012 - 18:40
Harison Long-Randall, known as "Elden" in the furry fandom, passed away at 3.02am this morning from complications from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run on July 16, according to family. Eyewitnesses said he heroically put himself in front of his girlfriend, Gemily (known as "Wolfgem" in the fandom) to shield her from the oncoming car. Their four Australian Cattle Dogs were also killed in the crash.
Long-Randall, 21, was a college student at American River College studying improv, an avid fursuiter and cosplayer, and was loved by many both in the fandom as well as out.
His last day in the hospital, Harrison said he remained puzzled that he was being called a hero.
"He said he had just done what he had been taught to do," his father said.
Donations for help with Harison and Geminy's medical bills are still being accepted through a fund set up by the Sacramento Bee, and more information on donating can be found here at the bottom of the article.
Review: 'Manifest Destiny', by Phil Geusz
Posted by Fred on Sun 29 Jul 2012 - 19:56
This is subtitled Freedom City, Book 2, and it does start soon after the last events of Freedom City. Familiarity with the events in Book 1 will definitely help, but Manifest Destiny stands well on its own.
Freedom City is an artificial city but a real country above international waters in the Caribbean Sea, about a hundred years in the future. Taking as a model the 20th-century “pirate” offshore radio stations located on abandoned marine platforms, Freedom City was constructed by those fleeing the confiscatory socialistic laws of the United States.
Freedom City declared its independence and operates under libertarian principles. Its freedom to allow the development and application of scientific and technological research, as opposed to the increasingly restrictive Public Safety laws of other countries, has made Freedom City a technological and industrial leader, but a social pariah among other nations; particularly the United States which even denies that Freedom City is a nation.
They’d tried to impose their crippling self-imposed limits upon us as well, and worked damnably hard at it. The USA had hampered Freedom’s construction every step of the way, and still claimed from time to time that we were an illegal outpost of Americans created as a haven by the evil rich solely in order to evade fair taxation and social responsibility. (Freedom City, pgs. 6-7)
“Manifest Destiny; Freedom City, Book 2”, by Phil Geusz. FurPlanet Productions, June 2012, trade paperback $19.95 (294 pages; on Amazon).
Fangcon's opening night: October 26
Posted by Jace Inugami on Sun 29 Jul 2012 - 20:50
Overture, curtains, lights,
This is it, the night of nights
Overture, curtains, lights,And that night will begin October 26 at Tennessee’s new Furry event, Fangcon. This three-day con will host its “Opening Night” in Nashville at the Millennum Maxwell House Hotel. Room rates start at $101 a night over the traditional Halloween weekend. Look for a lot of Halloween antics throughout the con, as well as activities. One of these is the Halloween Ball hosted by Goldenwolf. Bring your fursuit and dress your costume up in a costume. If you do not have a fursuit, just come in your own Halloween themed costume. After all, it is a Monster’s Holiday!