Since yesterday’s post was in honor of my late mother, this one goes out to my father who introduced me to legions of fantastic monsters, aliens, villains and robots.
Last time I visited him in LA we enjoyed some Ray Harryhausen. Here’s a complication of stop-motion animated goodness from the master himself.
Dad, you know I think of you fondly whenever I see something explode, zoom through space, rise from the grave or battle.
Precious moments. 🙂
Are you ready for the puppet show of the year? Puppets are not just for children I assure you. I found a great post detailing the as-yet elusive production of The Narrative of Victor Karloch.
The Narrative of Victor Karloch is a non-profit traveling stage show presented in the style of an eerie Victorian triptych puppet theater. The three original stories in the show are about 15 minutes in length and are written in the classic gothic horror tradition of Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James and Algernon Blackwood. The show benefits The Art of Elysium, a charity that encourages artists to help children battling serious medical conditions.
[The show] uses 30″ tall rod puppets, traditional shadow puppetry (woodcuts designed by Eisner Award-winning graphic novel artist Gary Gianni), rear-projected elements and full scale insert props to present the adventures of Victor Karloch, an alchemist, scholar, and ghost hunter, as he battles the supernatural forces of the Unknown.
Here is the trailer:
I can’t wait for this production!
I’m not much of a facebooker, but I don’t want to miss information and show listings so I actually joined the film page here.
Check out more info about the production and the star-studded cast here.
Oh, say it IS so! Guillermo Del Toro is rumored to be working on a stop-motion version of Pinocchio, collaborating with the Jim Henson company and Gris Grimly (whom I mentioned here).
If this was not already a promising team, NICK CAVE has signed on as music consultant! And Mark Gustafson, of Fantastic Mr. Fox fame, will co-direct.
I have no idea where Del Toro finds the time to take on more projects. I do hope this one happens.
I’m not sure how Madame Tutli-Putli managed to escape me in 2007.
This beautifully crafted short film won an Academy Award. The animation is stunning, and although the plot is left open to interpretation, I quite enjoyed the mystery.
Plus, they really capture the experience of being an introvert on a train (I related to Madame’s timidity on public transportation more than I’d like to admit).
Make what you will of the literal and metaphorical imagery found here, and don’t miss it if you love stop motion animation.
You can watch the film here.
This song is composed entirely of vocal samples, musical chords and sounds effects from Disney’s 1937 version of Snow White. Who knew Disney movies could be remixed into catchy trip-hop tracks? Well done!
There is also an entertaining Alice in Wonderland Gangsta Rap Mashup if you’re interested.
The holidays had some unexpected challenges in store for me this year (including hospitalized family, and what may be the largest data loss of my entire electronic life, if my paid backup service fails me). I’m trying to stay positive, so instead of lamenting anything quite yet, I’ll simply go ahead and give you a belated Christmas collection of links I had marked.
Incredible paper cut snowflakes
Amazing Galaxy Science Fiction Christmas covers
A great collection of gingerbread creations
Simon’s Cat: Santa Claws (I had the pleasure of watching two new cats “discover” a Christmas tree this year…this video pretty much captures it all):
I hope you all had fantastic holidays…whatever and however you celebrate!
My friend Ryan shared this the other day, and it is spectacular. “The Sandman” is an interpretation of a chilling European folk tale, featuring a wonderfully crafted villain.
If you are at all into stop motion animation (or delightfully nightmarish creations)…DO NOT SKIP THIS VIDEO.
Thanks, Ryan!
Since I’ve been blogging, every holiday seems to bring many things I wanted to post about (but never got a chance). So here are some quick audio, visual and video links worthy of sharing:
HalloweenShows.net: wonderful selection of Halloween TV shows, cartoons, vintage radio and specials
Halloween Radio (I haven’t personally tested this one out yet)
Careful With That Axe, You Meanie:The Manchester Morgue’s 2010 Halloween mix
Monster Mashup 2010 (Haven’t heard these music compilations yet either, but they could be fun)
Patrick O’Treaty by David Lowe (you can see this fellow go all the way from a concept sketch to a full sculpture on his blog):
Haunted Mansion Concept Art (in case we have other Haunted Mansion fanatics here)
2010 Gallery at PumpkinGutter.com
Extreme Pumpkins 2010 Contest Winners
Chronically Vintage Halloween Countdown: an amazing little array of selections.
Who says pumpkins are the only thing to carve?
This is a beautiful little stop motion film about two long distance correspondents (of sorts) who share fragments of life through messages in a bottle. Whether you choose to view the ending as nihilistic or transcendent, I dare say it’s rather poetic.
Here is a very unique stop motion film; the smallest known to exist. Various objects in the film show the scale. This is an impressive piece of work!
Professor Fletcher’s invention of the CellScope, which is a Nokia device with a microscope attachment, was the inspiration for a teeny-tiny film created by Sumo Science at Aardman. It stars a 9mm girl called Dot as she struggles through a microscopic world. All the minuscule detail was shot using CellScope technology and a Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics.
SheWalksSoftly 