Via Animated Bliss:

As of Saturday, January 29, Kids’ WB! is inviting viewers to join everybody’s favorite mascarita – The Flea – for the first-ever “Kids’ WB! Like The Flea” interactive event.

Kids who think they can “Be Like The Flea” – the star of Warner Bros. Animation’s comedy-adventure ¡Mucha Lucha! Gigante – are encouraged to log onto www.KidsWB.com and apply. Each participant has a chance to receive a phone call from Kids’ WB! and have their “poot” featured on-air during the weekday airing of ¡Mucha Lucha! Gigante (3:30 p.m. ET/PT), beginning Monday, February 7.

Our characters are being used to encourage kids to fart.  Our work is done 

More on Cantinflas! We received an email this morning from Uriel.A Durán (Mexico City) in response to Eddie’s previous post. It appears that these DVD collections “..mix the Cantinflas Show (from the 70s,by Diamex) episodes with the awful Amigo & Friends episodes (mid-80s,by Hanna-Barbera).”

A pic by José Luis Moro, the show producer and character designer…

“the image is production art from Diamex’s pilot episode,”Edison” (Hanna-Barbera did an “Edison” episode too,unfortunately, that’s the one included in the DVD collection).” - Uriel

These drawings of Cantinflas are so great and full of life. Thanks for sharing, Uriel!

Eddie and I have both been sick with the flu this week. Eddie’s getting better; but I am still a lethargic snotty mess. We have been trying to keep up with our committments nonetheless.

Eddie has recently finished the first draft storyboard for our Boy Lobster pilot episode; and I have been working on some Character Figure ideas…

(click to enlarge)

Random news and links…

Aaron Simpson has started a blog  – Cold Hard Flash. Aaron is a producer at Warner Bros Animation in charge of developing the studio’s brand new (ie, post-Mucha Lucha) Flash-based properties. We think it’s very cool that Aaron is actively working within the system to encourage more Flash-animated TV series, and to establish a permanent, in-studio Flash animation production crew. Which is just what WBA needs.

Skullduggery.com.au – the weblog of illustrator, Doug Holgate. (thanks for linking to us!)

In a group email from Beck Wheeler (Melbourne, Australia):

“I thought I’d let you all know that I have got some artwork in an exhibition at Intrude Gallery, 122 Gertrude St, Fitzroy. I have got the latest series of ‘plush’ toys, to come out of my studio on display……hot off the sewing machine. The show opens on Saturday 5 Feb, at 2:30pm“.

Also on Sat 5 Feb… Rafael is exhibiting in Better Than Naked. (nothing to see on the website unfortunately) But we won’t be going to this as it’s Keith‘s birthday party.

First, it was Ringo Starr. Now it’s The Who’s Tommy (via cartoon brew). Do we really want to see rock stars from a bygone generation animated? Who’s the target audience here?

Pontani Sisters Go-Go Robics Part II!  It’s out! Angie Pontani actually gave me a heads up about their new DVD a couple of months ago: “…there are more novelty dances in this one then you can shake a stick at!” (We both loved Part 1… Although I still find the Mashed Potato impossible to do)

New favorite bookstore: Mystery and Imagination (Glendale).

And a message from eddiemuerte - More MP3s coming soon! Read about his song ideas HERE.  - he blogs!

More ML TAZOS!
(or Pogs, or whatever they’re called…)

(From the top, L to R): Masked Toilet, Buena Girl, Hermanos Serpentina, Smarticus,
Don Cerebro, El Queso Grande, Monster of San Luis Rey, El Malefico,
Captain Ahab, Dr Maskenstein, Buena Girl, El Perrero (dogcatcher),
Tic Tac Toe (they called him El Gato?), Masked Dog, The Flea, El Rey,
Rudo Claus, Frankenluchador, Buena Girl, Sr. Hasbeena,
Mayan warrior, Slamazonian Queen, The Flea, Kyoto,
Count Bob

Thanks to Oscar, our ML swag collector and correspondent in Mexico

P.S. Somebody ate 25 bags of Cheetos for these (!!!)

UPDATE: Just learnt that the game, ”Tic Tac Toe”
is called “EL GATO” in Mexico!

Cantinflas! - Eddie

I was pleased to hear about the Cantinflas cartoon show being available on DVD, as it’s something I’ve always wanted to see – especially since finding a picture book based on the series, at a market in Mexico City, a few years back.

The shorts on the DVDs have been grouped in subject matter.  The one I bought was titled ‘Deportes’ (Sport).

The first three shorts (Toros, Futbol and Boxeo) look great; the design is very reminiscent of the early DePatie/Freling Pink Panther cartoons – although I actually prefer the character design in the Cantinflas shorts.  There’s a real rough, sketchy quality to the linework (it almost looks like it could have been drawn directly onto cel), and the animation is nice and fluid. 

Then suddenly, it all turns to crap.  It’s as if somebody hired Filmation to produce the later series.  All the groovy, stylized character design, look and feel is gone, replaced by a hacked out generic approach that makes Gilligan’s Planet look appealing.

Ah well, the first three cartoons are worth the price of the DVD alone…I’m willing to take a chance on more DVDs in the series, just to see the style of the earlier shorts.

Screengrabs from “Toros” and “Boxeo”:

  
    
  
Yes, she’s stark naked!!

Links: Cantinflas Animated,  The Cantinflas Chronicles, Cantinflas Episode Guide (Big Cartoon Database)