Week Links 09-2013

A lot of week links today. Some you may have already read, others probably not. Enjoy!

The Life and Death of Looney Tunes Producers: Schlesinger and Selzer

The reincarnation of Jerry Beck’s Cartoon Research site is throwing up plenty of golden nuggets. One of the latest is this excellent post about Leon Schlesinger and Edward Selzer and two non-animating men were responsible for some of the greatest cartoons ever committed to celluloid. As I say in my comment, it’s a real shame their style of management has fallen by the wayside.

DreamWorks Animation: Where Innovation and Imagination Collide

The Motley Fool has this mostly-fluff piece about DreamWorks and how technology is used throughout the company. The gist of the article is that the company is worthy of investor interest and has potential. Its still worth a minute of your time though.

Animation Learns a New Language

Michael Sporn over on his Splog has a complete article from the July, 1946 issue of The Hollywood Quarterly of the above title. Written by John Hubley and Zachary Schwartz, it discusses how animation was adapted during World War II to much more than entertainment. A comprehensive article that will be of interest to anyone with an interest in animation history.

How Disney Bought Lucasfilm—and Its Plans for ‘Star Wars’

You might have already seen this on other sites, but if not, definitely head over to Businessweek and have a read. Essentially, it was a very lucrative business deal for both parties.

Shopping as the New Prince

Peggy Orenstein details a new video game from Disney entitled ‘City Girl’. Here’s the description:

With suitcase in hand, it’s time to leave your small-town life behind and head to the big city to make your dreams come true! Do you have what it takes to skyrocket to stardom? In the spirit of Sorority Life, Disney City Girl gives players the chance to engage in a stylish and aspirational virtual world!

As a recent New York transplant, the player will explore the city with the help of her fabulous friends, from BFF Jenna to adventurous Auntie Kate. She’ll discover the best places to shop and hang out, choose from a variety of glamorous career paths, and visit exotic locations. As she progresses through her career, your City Girl will accrue style points, continually decorating and upgrading apartments, expanding her wardrobe, and facing off with her friends in “Daily Look” fashion competitions! From a grungy studio to a Park Avenue penthouse, from overworked intern to successful CEO, from country bumpkin to glamour girl, City Girl will keep you coming back again and again.

Peggy does a good job of outlining why such a game is totally unrealistic and not just because it encourages false dreams. It’s a bit of a shame that a large corporation like Disney feels the need to pander to perceived tastes rather than taking a stand.

But… the Little Mermaid gave up her voice!

On the subject of Disney, Rebecca Hains saw the trailer for (now-shelved) The Little Mermaid 3-D release and noticed that the trailer proclaims that the film “gave voice to a whole generation”.

Eh? I’m scratching my head with that one. Head over to Rebecca’s blog for her thoughts and comments.

Animation Studies Blog

The Society for Animation Studies has launched a blog on their website. It looks at animation in a much more ‘academic’ sense and covers topics that you are unlikely to find anywhere else on the web.

Korra by Courtney Godbey

 Tweets of the Week

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[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/MediaReDEF/status/309223862338461696″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/cathal_gaffney/status/309299111016927232″]

Remember Tugg? Apparently it’s doing pretty well:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/MediaReDEF/status/309577982471708672″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/crashtesterX/status/309756910209478659″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/BoxnRoundhead/status/309802614122508288″]