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"Fur-One-One: 'FA' Edition" #16
9 years ago
MOVIES: Hot on the heels of 2016's animated animal fare (including "Zootopia", "The Secret Life of Pets", "Finding Dory", "Sing", etc.), a lot more feature film titles will be coming out in 2017. Among the US releases are "Rock Dog", "The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature", "Blazing Samurai", and "Ferdinand". Among life-action flicks with animals (real and/or CGI) are "A Dog's Purpose", "Born In China" (a documentary about Asian fauna), and "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" (the latter title with Bradley Cooper reprising his vocal role of 'Rocket Raccoon')...
TELEVISION: Lest you think that Disney is doing some hot business on the big screen, the 'Mouse Factory' is coming out with more anthropomorphic fare on the small screen in 2017. For example, Disney Junior will debut a spin-off of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (on January 15th), entitled "Mickey and the Roadster Racers" (a Disneyesque version of Hanna-Barbera's "Wacky Races"). Later in the year, Disney XD will premiere a reboot of the classic "Disney Afternoon" series "DuckTales" - with David Tennant taking over the role of 'Uncle Scrooge McDuck' (originally voiced by Alan Young, who [sadly] passed away last year). And Disney Channel will have its own cartoon show based on one of its feature-length films: "Tangled: The Series", as 'Rapunzel' returns (along with her long blonde hair), joined by animal characters 'Pascal' the chameleon and 'Maximus' the horse... Other animated shows on Disney Channel/DisneyJunior include new episodes of "Sofia the First", "Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital", "Goldie and Bear", "The Zhuzhus", and "The Lion Guard"... A new CGI series (from Belgium) for Cartoon Network - "My Knight and Me" - pairs up a very young squire and a rather inept knight, as they defend the kingdom against dragons and other foes... Meanwhile, the series finale of "Regular Show" debuts on Monday, January 16th on Cartoon Network... Watch for the debut of PBSKids, a new network devoted entirely to the children's fare associated with PBS. Among the animated anthropomorphic shows to watch are "Arthur", "Clifford, the Big Red Dog", "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood", "Dinosaur Train", and "Nature Cat". Consult your Cable TV listings for the channel airing PBSKids in your area...
COMICS: 2017 is not even one week old, and already a number of titles of animal-related comic books is getting ready for Free Comic Book Day on May 6th. They include "Animal Jam", "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Spongebob Freestyle Funnie", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", and "Underdog", with more titles to come... Here's a small sampling of comic titles to come in the weeks ahead: "Angry Birds", "Animal Noir", "Donald Duck", "Donald Quest", "Duck Avenger", "Mickey Mouse", "My Little Pony", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Uncle Scrooge" (all from IDW), "Gold Digger" (Antarctic Press), "Sonic the Hedgehog" (Archie), and "The Mighty Zodiac" (Oni Press)...
LITERATURE: Among the newest book titles with animals characters is "Word of Mouse" by James ("Middle School") Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, with illustrations by Joe Sutphin (published by Hachette) - the adventures of Isaiah, an intellectual mouse, who can communicate with humans (if only any of them will listen to him). Isaiah seeks out help from anyone in rescuing his family from the laboratory he'd escaped from. (Anyone who thinks this would make an excellent animated feature film, raise your hands!)
AWARDS: 'Award Season' had already begun a week or so ago, with the "Critic's Choice Award". In the cartoon field, Disney's "Zootopia" won the award for 'Best Animated Feature', while "Bojack Horseman" (on Netflix) won the award for 'Best Animated TV Series'. The next major ceremony will be the "Golden Globe Awards" - to be distributed on Sunday, January 8th (on NBC-TV). "Zootopia", "Kubo and the Two Strings" and "Sing" are among the nominees in the 'Best Animated Feature' category. Of course, the "Golden Globe Awards" are a precursor to the "Academy Awards", coming up in late February... Among additional ceremonies with animated films - including the latter titles, as well as "The Secret Life of Pets" and "Kung Fu Panda 3" - are the "People's Choice Awards" (to be given out on Wednesday, January 18th), and the "Annie Awards" (for all sorts of cartoon fare, to be distributed on Saturday, February 4th).
(ADDENDA: By the time you've read this journal, Disney's "Zootopia" earned the "Golden Globe Award" for 'Best Animated Feature'. Congrats to co-directors Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Jared Bush - not to mention an entire animation staff [artists, writers, effect coordinators, etc.], musical ensemble, and voice actor cast - for coming up with a film that both entertains and educates a world that needs to learn a lot more about 'diversity', 'respect', and 'trust'... Next stop: the "Academy Awards"!)
OBITS: 2017 was a year of many passages among personalities who had contributed to the anthropomorphic world. Among those we had lost were (in alphabetical order) author Richard Adams (96), who wrote both "Watership Down" and "The Plague Dogs"; Joe Alaskey (63), voice actor who specialized in portraying various "Looney Tunes" characters (most notably as 'Daffy Duck' in the "Duck Dodgers" TV series for Cartoon Network); British actor Brian Bedford (80), who is best remembered as the titular vocal role in Disney's "Robin Hood" (1972); Lois Duncan (82), the author of "Hotel For Dogs" (which would be made into a 2009 motion picture); character actor George S. Irving (94), who 'baby boomers' remember as the narrator of the 1960s cartoon series "Underdog"; actor Marvin Kaplan (89), the voice of 'Choo-Choo' on Hanna-Barbera's "Top Cat", as well as other animal characters on Ruby-Spears "Saturday Supercade" (in the "Kangaroo" and "Frogger" segments); TV producer/movie director/actor Garry Marshall (81), best known for producing "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley", and "Mork & Mindy", who provided the voice of 'Buck Cluck' - the father of "Chicken Little" (the 2005 Disney animated feature); entertainer Debbie Reynolds (84), who - in addition to her starring roles in classic film musicals "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" - voiced the title character in the (1973) animated feature "Charlotte's Web"; actor-comedian Garry Shandling (66), who provided the voice of 'Verne' the turtle in "Over the Hedge" (2006); veteran actor-writer-director Gene Wilder (83), whose credits include "The Producers" (1968), "Blazing Saddles" (1974), "Young Frankenstein" (1974), and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971). In the world of animals, Wilder portrayed 'The Fox' in the (1974) children's film "The Little Prince", and starred in a film adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's play "Rhinoceros" (also 1974); Tyrus Wong (106), the production designer for Walt Disney's classic cartoon feature "Bambi" (1942); and Scottish-born character actor Alan Young (96), who starred opposite a horse on TV's "Mister Ed", a lion on the big screen in "Androcles and the Lion" (1952), and provided the voice of 'Uncle Scrooge McDuck' on the original Disney's "DuckTales" TV series (1987-1990), as well as in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), and a few of the new 'Mickey Mouse' made-for-TV short subjects (2014-2016). Hail and farewell, one and all...
TELEVISION: Lest you think that Disney is doing some hot business on the big screen, the 'Mouse Factory' is coming out with more anthropomorphic fare on the small screen in 2017. For example, Disney Junior will debut a spin-off of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (on January 15th), entitled "Mickey and the Roadster Racers" (a Disneyesque version of Hanna-Barbera's "Wacky Races"). Later in the year, Disney XD will premiere a reboot of the classic "Disney Afternoon" series "DuckTales" - with David Tennant taking over the role of 'Uncle Scrooge McDuck' (originally voiced by Alan Young, who [sadly] passed away last year). And Disney Channel will have its own cartoon show based on one of its feature-length films: "Tangled: The Series", as 'Rapunzel' returns (along with her long blonde hair), joined by animal characters 'Pascal' the chameleon and 'Maximus' the horse... Other animated shows on Disney Channel/DisneyJunior include new episodes of "Sofia the First", "Doc McStuffins Toy Hospital", "Goldie and Bear", "The Zhuzhus", and "The Lion Guard"... A new CGI series (from Belgium) for Cartoon Network - "My Knight and Me" - pairs up a very young squire and a rather inept knight, as they defend the kingdom against dragons and other foes... Meanwhile, the series finale of "Regular Show" debuts on Monday, January 16th on Cartoon Network... Watch for the debut of PBSKids, a new network devoted entirely to the children's fare associated with PBS. Among the animated anthropomorphic shows to watch are "Arthur", "Clifford, the Big Red Dog", "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood", "Dinosaur Train", and "Nature Cat". Consult your Cable TV listings for the channel airing PBSKids in your area...
COMICS: 2017 is not even one week old, and already a number of titles of animal-related comic books is getting ready for Free Comic Book Day on May 6th. They include "Animal Jam", "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Spongebob Freestyle Funnie", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", and "Underdog", with more titles to come... Here's a small sampling of comic titles to come in the weeks ahead: "Angry Birds", "Animal Noir", "Donald Duck", "Donald Quest", "Duck Avenger", "Mickey Mouse", "My Little Pony", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "Uncle Scrooge" (all from IDW), "Gold Digger" (Antarctic Press), "Sonic the Hedgehog" (Archie), and "The Mighty Zodiac" (Oni Press)...
LITERATURE: Among the newest book titles with animals characters is "Word of Mouse" by James ("Middle School") Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, with illustrations by Joe Sutphin (published by Hachette) - the adventures of Isaiah, an intellectual mouse, who can communicate with humans (if only any of them will listen to him). Isaiah seeks out help from anyone in rescuing his family from the laboratory he'd escaped from. (Anyone who thinks this would make an excellent animated feature film, raise your hands!)
AWARDS: 'Award Season' had already begun a week or so ago, with the "Critic's Choice Award". In the cartoon field, Disney's "Zootopia" won the award for 'Best Animated Feature', while "Bojack Horseman" (on Netflix) won the award for 'Best Animated TV Series'. The next major ceremony will be the "Golden Globe Awards" - to be distributed on Sunday, January 8th (on NBC-TV). "Zootopia", "Kubo and the Two Strings" and "Sing" are among the nominees in the 'Best Animated Feature' category. Of course, the "Golden Globe Awards" are a precursor to the "Academy Awards", coming up in late February... Among additional ceremonies with animated films - including the latter titles, as well as "The Secret Life of Pets" and "Kung Fu Panda 3" - are the "People's Choice Awards" (to be given out on Wednesday, January 18th), and the "Annie Awards" (for all sorts of cartoon fare, to be distributed on Saturday, February 4th).
(ADDENDA: By the time you've read this journal, Disney's "Zootopia" earned the "Golden Globe Award" for 'Best Animated Feature'. Congrats to co-directors Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Jared Bush - not to mention an entire animation staff [artists, writers, effect coordinators, etc.], musical ensemble, and voice actor cast - for coming up with a film that both entertains and educates a world that needs to learn a lot more about 'diversity', 'respect', and 'trust'... Next stop: the "Academy Awards"!)
OBITS: 2017 was a year of many passages among personalities who had contributed to the anthropomorphic world. Among those we had lost were (in alphabetical order) author Richard Adams (96), who wrote both "Watership Down" and "The Plague Dogs"; Joe Alaskey (63), voice actor who specialized in portraying various "Looney Tunes" characters (most notably as 'Daffy Duck' in the "Duck Dodgers" TV series for Cartoon Network); British actor Brian Bedford (80), who is best remembered as the titular vocal role in Disney's "Robin Hood" (1972); Lois Duncan (82), the author of "Hotel For Dogs" (which would be made into a 2009 motion picture); character actor George S. Irving (94), who 'baby boomers' remember as the narrator of the 1960s cartoon series "Underdog"; actor Marvin Kaplan (89), the voice of 'Choo-Choo' on Hanna-Barbera's "Top Cat", as well as other animal characters on Ruby-Spears "Saturday Supercade" (in the "Kangaroo" and "Frogger" segments); TV producer/movie director/actor Garry Marshall (81), best known for producing "Happy Days", "Laverne & Shirley", and "Mork & Mindy", who provided the voice of 'Buck Cluck' - the father of "Chicken Little" (the 2005 Disney animated feature); entertainer Debbie Reynolds (84), who - in addition to her starring roles in classic film musicals "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" - voiced the title character in the (1973) animated feature "Charlotte's Web"; actor-comedian Garry Shandling (66), who provided the voice of 'Verne' the turtle in "Over the Hedge" (2006); veteran actor-writer-director Gene Wilder (83), whose credits include "The Producers" (1968), "Blazing Saddles" (1974), "Young Frankenstein" (1974), and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971). In the world of animals, Wilder portrayed 'The Fox' in the (1974) children's film "The Little Prince", and starred in a film adaptation of Eugene Ionesco's play "Rhinoceros" (also 1974); Tyrus Wong (106), the production designer for Walt Disney's classic cartoon feature "Bambi" (1942); and Scottish-born character actor Alan Young (96), who starred opposite a horse on TV's "Mister Ed", a lion on the big screen in "Androcles and the Lion" (1952), and provided the voice of 'Uncle Scrooge McDuck' on the original Disney's "DuckTales" TV series (1987-1990), as well as in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), and a few of the new 'Mickey Mouse' made-for-TV short subjects (2014-2016). Hail and farewell, one and all...
