Month: October 2004

  • Off to Sydney

    Leaving L.A.
    10.30pm Nov 1st (LA time)
    5.30pm Nov 2nd (Syd time)

    Arriving Sydney
    1.00pm Nov 2nd (LA time)

    8.00am Nov 3rd (Syd time)

     
    We’ll be back in a couple of weeks!
    (The blog will keep going, of course)


    New tracks!

    Eddie has been busy. We have just uploaded six new mp3s to the eddiemuerte webpage: 

    • Baby’s Got A Minimoog
    • Electric Shock Haircut
    • Hey Chupacabra!
    • Jim Cherry Got Soul (thanks to Jim Cherry for use of name)
    • Mambo After Five (the original song was part of The Fuzz soundtrack)
    • West Coast Body Pop

    Some of these are instrumental versions; vocal versions coming soon! Enjoy! *update: stream this playlist HERE on Webjay. Click on the “Play Page” button.

    HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

  • Jakks Pacific Tour!

    Prior to Lucha Va Voom (see previous post), Lili and I, Joel, ML Director Ken Kessel and WB Exec Kim Christianson were invited by Jakks Pacific – makers of the ¡Mucha Lucha! toys – to visit their head office in Malibu!


    pics via millionaireplayboy.com

    The Jakks people – Jeremy and Leanne – were great; explaining the whole toy retail/distribution dynamic and how it works with an animated series.  We also got to see the awsome, AWESOME figures they have planned for the second series of ML Mix-A-Lot and Signature Moves figure lines.

    Man, do these rule.  What is great about Jakks, is that they watch every episode and pick up on the smallest of details.  Hence we have an ‘El Pared’ figure, complete with shooting hat and body wall-armor…a ‘Skelantonio’ figure with his own bone cage…a ‘Potato Patata’ figure with a butt you can use as an ink stamp (as seen in the first ever episode!). And the sculpting is SO good.  Great work, Jakks.


    Potato Patata Jr (Signature Moves series): BONK!

    As we sat amongst all the new prototypes, then came the best surprise of all…”okay you can take all of these home with you”!

    You should have seen Lili go…


    Mr Hasbeena figure. As awesome as the Headmistress.

    Lili: Yes, I was overcome with pure unadulterated GREED. At one point, Kim was holding the Mr. Hasbeena prototype – the one and only existing piece in the entire world -and before she could sing her praises (or take it home, which was my fear)  I butted in – “I’ll take that one”. And that one… and that one…

    We learnt that the figures are designed in-house (and we were also given a tour of these facilities), sculpted by Sculpco in Cincinnati (who also do the Samurai Jack figures) and manufactured by Jakks in Hong Kong. 

    So you want to know where/how to buy these toys? The sad news is that no one knows when they will be available for purchase. Much depends on Jakks closing a deal with a large distributor (eg, Toys R Us, Walmart etc) whenever this may be. Or make us an offer on eBay. Only kidding.

    Thank you to Jakks for the awesome tour and swag. We also came away with some WWE masks, belts, figures and this 80′s mulleted Collector piece: The Rockers!

    Jeremy: You can have this one. It’s worth $50.
    Eddie: Er.. no thank you. (puts it back down)
    Everyone: (stares at Eddie shocked)
    Jeremy: It’s OK. I know where his heart is.
    Lili: (who can’t pass on a freebie) I’ll take it!



    Two new mixes at AOTM: Totally Mashed Again and Rain or Shine (car mix)

    Tonight: The WB Animation Wrap Party!

  • Lucha Va Voom review
    by Eddie

    Lucha VaVoom at the Mayan Theatre in beautiful downtown LA… Hey look…they’re selling bootleg Rikochet and El Rey masks in the lobby!  ¡Arriba free enterprise! ;)

    Okay, I confess…the main reason I’m there is to meet Blue Demon Jr. It’s a double thrill, as his management asked us beforehand if he could make his ring entrance to the Mucha Lucha theme! What an honor!

    So after being introduced to the legend by fellow WBA artist Chris Aguirre (who’s a close friend of Demon), it’s showtime…

    I’m struck how the formula for VaVoom hasn’t changed: Joke match with chickens/Burlesque/Semi-seriousmatch/burlesque/Intemission/burlesque/burlesque-fight/minis/burlesque/burlesque/main…as it’s the sixth(?) time they’ve done this, I’m thinking they really need to start varying things to keep it fresh…

    Los Sanchos (Angel, AWC) and Human Tornado (YAY!) Vs Los Gallineros (from
    RevPro). AWESOME somersault off the front platform into the crowd by Tornado.  The Gallineros seemed strangely subdued tonight.  Los Sanchos get the pin.

    Misterioso, Durango Kid and Casandro Vs Chee-lan-go, Principe Unlimited and Pilota Suicida. Good match…great spots as usual by Durango/Chilango.  Casandro played the Exotico to the hilt, and went for the laughs – which was kinda weird considering he was wrestling as a rudo.  Rudos win for the second match running. *Exoticos are gay/transvestite luchadores. See description
    here.

    Poubelle Twins Vs Some Masked Guy (AKA ‘the Bodyguard) Poubelle Twins did some nice lucha moves…they’ve been practising!

    Espectrito/Gurrerrito del Futura Vs Tsuki/Someone in a clown gimmick. Same match we’ve been seeing at VaVoom for the last few years.  Tsuki and Doink Jr. win.

    El Hijo del Santo/Blue Demon Jr. Vs Super Parka/Felino. Ah, Felino – that well known Mexican badass rudo. So they screw up the music and make Demon come out to Mission Impossible.(Santo’s theme)  Damn –  I hope he tears someone a new one backstage after the match. He’s in the ring when they correct themselves…then I get to mark out as the Mucha Lucha theme fills the theatre. ¡Arriba Demon! Super Parka comes out and starts wrestling hooded!

    STORY POINT: Okay, this will have gone over the heads of  90% of the audience, but Super Parka lost his hood to Santo in Tijuana a few months back. (
    We were there)  In the rules of Lucha Libre, he can never wrestle in the hood, in a match, again.

    Santo tries to make him take it off.  SuperParka says he lost the hood in Mexico, not the US, so “bite me”. (Well maybe not ‘bite me’ exactly, but you get it…)

    SuperParka and Santo lock up.  Here come the gay jokes from VaVoom’s
    resident comedians.
     
    Then finally…FINALLY…the most awesome moment in all of the VaVooms… SuperParka tells the comedians to shut the fuck up.  He starts to leave.  The comics don’t know if it’s a shoot or not.  Then SANTO tells them to shut up.  And they do. SuperParka is being the biggest dick on the planet and getting super crowd rudo heat!

    Good match…Santo works hard, Demon takes the chops and chair shots. When the comedians try to interject, it’s Felino’s turn to tell them to shut the fuck up!  For the first time, get a relatively straight lucha match!

    Santo rips SuperParka’s mask off and he finishes the match unhooded. Santo puts the clutch on Parka as Demon pins Felino for the win.

    Post match, SuperParka challenges Santo to a “Mask against Hair” match, right here, right now.  Santo accepts and pins him in 10 seconds.  Parka runs off, hair intact.  That welcher…

    Decent crowd, who were into everything.  Always a thrill to see Santo and Blue Demon.

    Lili: Meeting Blue Demon Jr was a blast. I was trying on my lousy Spanish.. “Mucho gusto. Gracias por ayudarnos…” when Liz the promoter chuckled – “He speaks English, you know!”

    I also had the pleasure of meeting the other lucha legend – El Hijo del Santo. Before the event, El Santo was promoting T-shirts with the El Santo character design on them. I congratulated him on his cartoon and shook his hand. (gush) Told him how much I was looking forward to seeing it.

    Blue Demon Jr. who was standing nearby, had overheard the conversation and later on asked us: ”Mucha Lucha is showing in Mexico and also in America?” 

    Tom and I replied: ”Yes, Mucha Lucha airs in America. The show is also on Cartoon Network all over the world.”

    Blue Demon was very impressed: “Santo’s cartoon only shows in Mexico.” (ha ha ha)

    He’s a funny guy, Blue Demon Jr. .. So very honored to have met him.

  • ¡Mucha Lucha! stuff

    “Getting Ahead” is one of our favourite ML episodes from Season 2. Written by Peter Hastings and storyboarded by Greg Colton, this story appears in the new Kids WB Jam Packed Action comic book! Here’s a sample page:


    STAMINA and RIKOCHET in “Getting Ahead” 
    From Greg Colton’s Storyboard
    We also love the skeleton design of Rikochet by Jorge Gutierrez

    More:

     

    P.S. Don’t forget Lucha Va Voom Thursday night! Blue Demon Jr. will be there!!!


  • My first car: a used Pepper White 2002 Mini Cooper

    Eddie:Monrovia! Is that like the People’s Republic of Monrovia?

    Actually, it was more like Arcadia where we had the car insured. On Route 66 no less! In Australia, auto insurance is optional, but here in L.A. it’s compulsory and costs a fortune. (Especially for a new driver with a lovable car and 90027 zipcode. Sigh…)

    Kaliman!

    Last night we watched Kaliman en El Siniestro Mundo de Humanon on DVD, a live-action movie based on the famous Mexican comics superhero, Kaliman. It was late, we were both so tired and kept falling asleep.

    That’s not to say the movie was by any means boring. Each time I opened my eyes, something bizzare was happening on screen. ‘Zombie-tronics’ .. Hooded mad scientist… A human head wired up in the lab … Also interesting that Canadian Jeff Cooper was cast as the Mexican (or er - Indian?) telepathic superhombre.

    I think we need to watch this again when we’re more awake to mentally fill in the plot-holes. Gotta find out how the veiled scantily-clad lady with the deformed face turned out looking OK by the end of the movie… Or was there no explanation offered?

    Tonight: Dropped by Wacko – there was a Pop Surrealism book signing…worked on Jive Turkey redesigns… Eddie and I had a late dinner at Koraku (Little Tokyo) with Keith and Nathan. Looks like I missed out on a great PWG wrestling/lucha match tonight! Next week: Lucha Va Voom and AWS @ Frank & Sons!

  • So this afternoon when we visited the Walt Disney studios in Burbank, we showed our photo IDs at the gate (as you do) and received our entry passes. We have no idea how the security person came up with THIS…



    Hey everybody, just call me “Al”!

    Yesterday was the Daffy Duck for President Event at WBA and we are so bummed that we didn’t make it.  FREE copies of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection 2 DVD were given out to all attendees and we missed out.

    Good news: I received my California Drivers License!

    Links:

  • *updated



    How could you go wrong with a luchador on a vespa?
    The latest ePostcard by McCarty Photoworks!

     


    From War of Monstars! (via Snappy Shorts)

    Mr Otis Fodder’s Halloween Mix! Click on the windows for mp3s!


    Just added a direct link to the Macromedia Flash ’8ball’ post in the right sidebar for easy access. The comments are still coming in, and please feel free to keep adding suggestions.

    Thanks to Chris Georgenes for linking to this post! Check out Chris’ websites  – Mudbubble.com and keyframer.com - especially the Flash tutorials.


    Coming soon to ¡Mucha Lucha! on Kids WB, two episodes with lots of GIRL ACTION - “Slamazon And On” & “Buena On Wheels.”


    Slamazons!


    … the ’Roller Derby’ episode!


    Random…

    There is an El Santo animated series premiering on Cartoon Network Latin America on October 27th! Thanks to Oscar for sending me THIS and THIS (in Spanish, with pics!) * Oscar, when are you going to start your Lucha Libre blog?

    Soviet Memorabilia! + quirky posters.

    A couple of years ago, when Eddie and I were in Brighton (UK) we came across a cute TOMY ”Mr. D.J.” radio in a second-hand collectibles store. We kicked ourselves later for not buying it because the memory of this toy ended up inspiring the design for our Jive Turkey DJ robot character.  Browsing through eBay yesterday, I am excited to see that there are lots of  cute TOMY robots!!

    For example, this TOMY Spotbot. (pic below) I’ve collected more images over at the Grabbag. 

    Design/illustration contests, now accepting submissions:

  • Sayonara Ultimo Dragon?

     From Wrestling Observer:

    Ultimo Dragon had his dream match earlier today from an historical standpoint, teaming with Jushin Liger & Great Sasuke as the three biggest jr. heavyweight Japanese stars of the 90s, facing the greatest jr. heavyweight gimmick ever, against three different Tiger Masks (the current, the original and Koji Kanemoto, who was the third one). Reports we got were it was an awesome event. It was the final match in Japan of “Ultimo Dragon.” He returns in a month or two to WWE, but without his mask.

    P.S. Ultimo Dragon inspired our RBN character – Genuine Fighting Kenzo.



    Gerald McBoing Boing the full cartoon is online! How cool is that! There are other UPA classic cartoons on this website, including The Unicorn In the Garden and Tell-Tale Heart.

    It’s that time of the year…
    Some dates / Memo to Self:

    More later!

  • Ken Bautista has a Pixar blog (via Cartoon Brew)

    Image on the left is from Jean Kristau’s  “Mexique” photocollage series.

    Mike’s Amazing Cakes

    Tyson the Skateboarding Bulldog now has his own website!

    Has anyone tried The Rasterbator? - “The Rasterbator is a web service which creates huge rasterized pictures out of relatively small image files. The pictures can be assembled into extremely cool looking posters up to 20 meters in size!”

    Eddie and I had the pleasure of having drinks with George Krstic on the weekend. (George is co-creator of Cartoon Network’s Megas XLR) There is a special 2nd. Season Big Screen Preview of Megas XLR this week: Friday Oct. 15th, 10:30 AM @  AMC Burbank, 140 East Palm Ave. (Theater 7) We’ll be there!


    © Zagreb films – still from Surogat

    We might also go to the Z is For Zagreb screening (animated shorts by Zagreb studios)- Oct. 30th. Will there be any Dusan Vukotic films (eg, Surogat & Cowboy Jimmy)?


    In the Comments section of Momus’ blog on the “Uncanny Valley” phenomenon, (via cartoon brew) there’s a mention of cute “featureless” cartoon characters and how they are easier to empathize with because the viewer has more room to project. (The antithesis: creepy Polar Express-style CGI characters which alienate the viewer for being too realistic and leaving almost nothing to the imagination.) 

    One comment on cute/iconic characters:

    “It seems that you can get away (literally, in the case of Gloomy Bear) with murder as long as you have the same basic head-to-body ratio of a toddler, a puppy, a kitten, etc. Just as an exercise, try redrawing the Bug’s Life bug or Gloomy Bear with a realistic adult insect / bear head-to-body ratio. They instantly lose almost all of their appeal.” - momus

    Realistic is not as much fun. As every traditional character designer/animator knows, the CUTE formula is simple and it works!


     
    © 2001 Fwak! animation

  • Beatboxing, as a skill, continues to amaze me. Via Rummage Through The Crevices (a music blog) - Tim Barsky and Yuri Lane ”are two insanely-talented beatboxers who spit out killer rhythm lines and play wind instruments – at the same time! Barsky’s instrument of choice is the flute; Lane’s is the harmonica.” I can’t believe that these sounds are not made by real instruments. 

    A tour of L.A. through vintage postcards. (via PCL LinkDump)

    Not only am I applying for a Cali drivers licence, I am also on the lookout for a car. Something used/affordable, small, stylish and sporty. I’ve had my eye on the Smart coupe for years, but unfortunately Smart cars aren’t available in the USA until 2006. Back to Autotrader


    The SMART convertible coupe

    … Another month’s subscription to the wonderful CartoonRetro.com. I especially LOVE Shane Glines’  development artwork for his “Lily & Flinch” series.


    © Shane Glines | Cartoonretro
    (‘Lily’ inspired by Louise Brooks)


    A ¡Mucha Lucha! Halloween

     

    Coming soon – two Mucha Lucha Halloween episodes: Banditos de Los Muertos & Field of Screams! Storyboards are by Lane Lueras and Darren McGowan.

    Once again, (sigh) we are going to miss the Day of the Dead celebrations in L.A.  One of these days we MUST make it South of the Border this time of the year…

    We will however, be in L.A. for this year’s Lucha Va Voom Halloween Show. Who’s going? (see blog entry from last year’s show)

    On November 1st, we are flying back to Australia (& possibly Malaysia) to catch up with friends, family, & our Fwak! studio for a couple of weeks.


    Currently listening to: