Week Links 34-2013

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An über helping of links this week. Please feel free to share with your friends!

Why is Disney hiding Infinity?

If nobody can find Disney Infinity in the Disney Store, and nobody is in the video game store, who is buying Disney Infinity? And how did Disney get its marketing strategy so wrong? Gaming entrepreneur Rodolfo Rosini is confused.

This is well worth reading to ponder the cultural differences between the US and UK when it comes to marketing.

Lisa Simpson, Daria, and Other 90s Cartoon Characters Take on New York Fashion Week

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Tip of the hat to Jessie Slipchinsky for this. Not much to say except that this is what happens when people do when they don’t have a firm grasp of a character’s character.

Starz Bows YouTube Comedy Channel with 3 Original Series

More proof that the more things change, the more they stay the same. My worry is that animation, in particular poor animation is becoming ubiquitous on YouTube and is going to all the kindling the technique needs when it’s time to crash and burn.

The surprise birthday party

Jason Tammemagi lays out his reasons why the ‘surprise birthday party’ episode grinds his gears:

For a start, it involves a secret. Secrets can haunt parents who, to keep them safe, need their children to be open and honest with them at all times. I must admit it’s a personal thing but I am not a big fan of secrets in children’s media generally.

This kind of episode is a staple of kids shows, but surprisingly enough, this is the first time I’ve seen it questioned.

On Women In Comics by Jeremy Whitley

Creator of Princeless, Jeremy Whitley lays out his concerns with how women are portrayed in many mainstream comics. While this isn’t directly tied to animation, it’s a powerful reminder that industries related to it continue to have problems when it comes to the fairer sex. My two cents is that restricting yourself to only one gender cuts your potential audience (for any product) in half; guilt by association and all that.

Can you build a better GIF? Zeega wants to remake the aged animation format for mobile

Yet more contemporary discussion about the internet’s favourite form of animation. This time it’s about an effort to make concept of short, soundless animations easier to create and view on mobile devices.

Things I learned from Ed Catmull

Antony Mayfield posted this excellent advice from Hollywood’s most underrated person.

Helpful Huck and Yogi

Yowp has this great post that starts with a bang:

A lead character that’s a thief is a good example for kids?

Today, someone would likely object, resulting in networks, producers and potential sponsors running around in fright, issuing panicked “cancel” orders to keep avoid upsetting even one crackpot. But in 1961, they gave the character his own show. His name was Yogi Bear.

It only get better from there with a newspaper clipping that discusses the “good news” that is Hanna-Barbera’s contemporary output:

There is violence by the bucketful, blood is thicker than water and the writers out-do each other in inventing novel ways of committing mayhem.

A short history of the Pixar logo animation

Does exactly what it says on the tin.

Tweets of the Week

 

4 thoughts on “Week Links 34-2013”

  1. TheGreatWormSpirit

    That Lisa image is the stuff of nightmares.

    The funny thing about Hanna-Barbera’s cartoons being called safe for children is that they too were accused years later for having violent shows. Their Gigantor rip off Frankenstein Jr. even getting cancelled due to parent complaints.

    1. Charles Kenny

      Yes, H-B were the prime target of Peggy Noonan and her Action for Children’s Television (ACT) effort. The funny thing is, cable came long and undermined all their efforts with the likes of Ren & Stimpy.

  2. Martin Juneau

    That Lisa Simpson picture look more a crude fanart than something approved by the creator. Totally gross idea, and i’m a outfit fan too.

    For the article about the portrait of womens in most comics series, i’m fear that such peoples treat womens/girls characters as bad models for the feminine gender. I have a main girl character for around four years and i’m enough aware of the dangers to the bad usage of girls characters in such series as this. Great point, too!

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