Bugs Bunny is Still Dead

Bugs Bunny in the year 2000.  Bob Clampett got it right.

The animation world is a tither over Warner Bros. announcement of it's umpteenth revamp of the Looney Tunes franchise in Wabbit - A Looney Tunes Production.  Fans are either salivating or puking.  Much ado about Bugsy.

Time to Think

During pre-production on Looney Tunes: Back in Action, I met with director Joe Dante about the  animation director's position.  While talking to Joe and the producers, I expressed my opinion that they should storyboard the movie before building any sets to avoid making anything they would not use.  The producers laughed smugly, telling me they had five sound stages rocking out sets as we spoke.  Ha ha!   And furthermore, they will have only two months to board,  but that's okay because they're going to throw a lot of bodies at it.

"The problem with that,"  I said, "is there's no time to think."

Joe, a nice, laid back kind of guy, suddenly slammed his fist on his desk. "YES!"  he said.  "They NEVER give you time to think!"

I didn't get the job.  Thank GOD!

Time to think has become more and more scarce as computer technology allows work to be done faster.  But don't blame technology!  This is the same bean counting game producers have played for years,  but CG has given them a great excuse to push it beyond reason.  

Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design

The Noble Approach - Maurice Noble and the Zen of Animation Design

Animation designer and director Tod Polson has been working for over a year on a new book about the life and art of legendary designer Maurice Noble, who had a 60 year career in the animation business and was responsible for the look of some of the most famous Looney Tunes shorts, including What's Opera Doc?, Duck Dodgers and the Road Runner series. FLIP caught up with Tod at the Animation Workshop in Denmark and asked him a few questions about his new project.