Godspeed, Allen Stovall

May 8th marked the latest premature loss to our hunched and goofy community with the death of Allen Stovall at the age of 69.  He was a veteran visual effects animator on features such as "Cats Don't Dance" and "Hercules". He always carried a gentle, mellow vibe, with a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile on his face.   

We first met in 1987 while doing 7-Up commercials at Duck Soup Produckions (yes, Produckions) a small commercial house in Santa Monica.   I recall going with Allen and a few others after hours to a sleepy little bar down the block called Father's Office.  Over beers, we started talking about strange dreams.  I shared a flying dream, where I floated up to a cloud which opened up to reveal a hilly, verdant village inside.  On the threshold of entering I panicked and backed off, waking myself up.

"You were Astral Travelling."  Allen said.

"What?"  I laughed.  I thought he was joking.  He wasn't.  

And so I was introduced to the concept of Astral Projection.  From what I could wrap my head around, you could travel to the after-life while still tethered to your earthly body by a silver umbilical cord.  But break that cord and you're dead!  Allen explained it with more nuance. 

The conversation somehow segued to the time he lived in Nicaragua during the counter-revolution. 

 "What?"  I laughed.  I thought he was joking.  He wasn't. 

Backstory: In 1979,  the Nicaraguan government was overthrown by the leftist, USSR backed Sandinistas, freaking out the US government.  In 1981 the right wing Contras (counter-revolutionaries) formed to overthrow the overthrowers with US backing under President Reagan.  It was quite a mess.  

Allen was very much bothered by Reagan's Contra policy and got involved - really involved.  He saved as much money as he could, working extra hours at his Filmation job.  In 1985,  he took his "She-Ra: Princess of Power" savings and joined a group of like minded Americans called "Architects and Planners in Support of Nicaragua" doing humanitarian work from the capital city of Managua.  He tasked himself with creating a comic book to teach impoverished locals, many illiterate, how to build their own homes complete with hiding places from the Contras.

Sample pages from Allen's "Manual Grafico"

This endeavor was not without risk.  One member of the American group, Ben Linder, was killed by Contras in 1987 while working on a small hydroelectric dam project.  Among the pall-bearers at his funeral were Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and....Allen Stovall.   

For all his bold adventures, Allen was no raconteur, no Commander McBragg.  He seemed to prefer listening.  So when he'd break out one of these stories, they always landed as jaw-droppers.  Allen was a very smart, unique, and most humble guy.   I last saw him about six years ago, at the Union Christmas party in the Gene Autry Museum.  He'd been fighting throat cancer with great courage for many years, and was doing pretty well at the time.   But last Monday he broke his silver tether,  joining that Nicaraguan village in the big cloud.   

Adios, Amigo!  And my sincere condolences to his wife, Jennifer.

And gratias, Al Holter, for your invaluable input with this post.

-Steve

And Now, A FLiP Editorial Cartoon

Since the election ended, I've had this idea rolling around in my head. Rolling, rolling, in perpetual motion. The only way to stop it was to let it out.  It has been a very long time since I've done caricatures, something I prided myself on back in my school days and early career.  Finding that place in my mind that interprets someone's looks into odd shapes was like finding a long lost favorite toy.  

Once I finished the cartoon, of course I had to find an audience, however small.  And so I post FLiP's first ever editorial cartoon. Hopefully it makes you laugh (unless you're part of the problem, then by all means gnash your teeth in ire). 

-Steve

What's Going On

Ed Bell's professional animation career spans 34 years, including stints at Disney, Kroyer Films, Hyperion, and Collosal Pictures.  I've known him since we were CalArts kids in the early '80's (and he still returns my calls).   In the wake of the George Floyd murder, I asked him a few questions.  He has generously shared with FLiP his raw feelings about our times, his experience as a protester, and of life as an African-American artist in the animation industry.  Please read and absorb.  -Steve 

By Ed Bell

The times are hitting me hard, this time around.

In ' 92 I was helping clean the streets post Rodney King, volunteering for Maxine Waters in South LA. I saw the place I grew up in after National Guard had rolled in, and there was so much work to be done. So my sense of deja vu and dread is dark and heart breaking. This won't be a well written essay. There's some rambling, off the subject.

So, How were the protests I attended?

Last week I was at the rally at City Hall where I've been many times with the same purpose. With the Mayor, we took a knee.  News cameras and vans were everywhere. Helicopter presence. Police had guys in high windows watching everything. My son said he assumes they were snipers. He is 16. That was a very full block of protesters. People kept a few feet of distance. Wore masks. We heard from the mayor and civil Rights leaders. Jamie Fox spoke. Mothers who have lost their kids to law enforcement spoke. Synchronized voices, calling for justice and for peace in the streets, there was no looting or throwing things. It felt like a familiar ceremony. A little catharsis. A smidgen of solidarity. But I've been a little numb for days at this point. My kid spent hours on his phone watching other cities go bananas, at the same time as we gathered in a well behaved but tense crowd at City Hall. 

FLiP-ping Out

What can be said that is not already being said about the state of affairs in our country?   And who cares what an animation blog thinks of national affairs?  All I know for sure is that the protesters are on the right side of history.  I know for sure we have a President who only represents those who agree with him and rejects the rest - loaths them, calls them names, belittles them.  We can surely do better than having a school yard bully as leader, someone who only cares about himself.  But what do I know, I'm an animator.  But for what it's worth, I'm with them.
-Steve

Brenda Chapman Speaks at the United Nations

Brenda Chapman....she who laughs last....

On Monday, director Brenda Chapman spoke at the United Nations as part of a TEDx event BRAVE: United in Action.  What's TEDx?  According to their site, "TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring individuals together to share in the spirit of TED’s mission, 'Ideas Worth Spreading.' Our event is called TEDxUNPlaza, where x = (independently organized TED event)."

Brenda took some time out after the event to tell FLIP about it.

The SKaB or How I Got Involved in a Community Project

In the small town where I grew up, things haven't changed much.  It's a safe town to grow up, a place where you can still walk or ride your bike to school.  Being an economically depressed area, there are very few recreation programs, so kids have to entertain themselves.  They ride skateboards and bikes that go vertical as well as horizontal, but without a designated place to do this, otherwise good kids end up riding where they should not - on the handrails of church steps, on public benches, and even on the roof of the post office.  And when church ladies,  township officials, or the postman would yell at them, these little smart asses would say, "Build us a skate park."

Cheeky, yes.  But they were right.  They are the next generation of the town's citizens and this is what they do for recreation.  And while the township had parks with swings and ballfields, there was no skate park, at least not until a small group of citizens, including my wife Donna and I,  took up the cause.

Speaking of Public Art.....Who Needs It?

Public art, Las Vegas.  Can-oe believe it?  

I just returned from our annual family vacation, visiting Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Las Vegas in a rented, fire engine red Dodge Caravan.  Throughout the trip, from the cities to the suburbs to the little isolated cowboy towns, we took note of the variety of public art.  It stands out to us because in Southern New Jersey, where we live, public art is seen as a frivolous luxury.

In a May 23rd article in The Press of Atlantic City, New Jersey State Senator Jim Whelan "took aim at the estimated $12 million behind the art initiatives during his opening remarks Wednesday at the East Coast Gaming Congress. Whelan, D-Atlantic , said he’s frustrated to see dollars being spent on the arts when financing to advance the city is becoming more scarce.

“The question is: Is anybody asking for art? I don’t think so,” Whelan said."

If You Can't Eat the Rich, Tax the Rich

Hey Americans, did you file your income tax returns yet?  Just a reminder, your deadline is TODAY.   Sure, you could pull a Weslie Snipes, but even he would not recommend that.   Think the system is unfair? Well, Tax the Rich: An Animated Fairy Tale feels your pain.  Ed Asner narrates this short that offers a liberal perspective on our tax system.

The short was created through the California Federation of Teachers, a labor union.  It was written and directed by Fred Glass of the Labor and Community Studies Department of City College of San Francisco. This was not his first foray into film.   His  documentary on the history of the California labor movement, Golden Lands, Working Hands, aired on  PBS in 1999.

Loud Commercials - There Oughta be a Law.....What? There Is?

According to the FCC's website:
"Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) rules require commercials to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany. In the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, Congress directed the FCC to establish these rules, which went into effect on December 13, 2012."

I hereby use this platform to formally invite the FCC to watch TV in my house.  Not a night goes by without reaching for the remote because of a loud commercial.   The most worn button on my remote is the mute.  Want to blast some loud music into my house, Home Depot?  Be mute!  What?  You're the Pizza Hut ad that comes after the loud Home Depot commercial?  Sorry, I can't hear you because you're mute too.  And you too, T-Mobile. And Chili's. And Ford Fusion. And fuck you, Flo from Progressive Insurance.  And fuck what's next on NBC.  All because the assholes at Home Depot CAN'T KEEP THE NOISE DOWN!

Farewell Lady Thatcher

People in England of my generation call themselves "Thatcher's children". Whether you are left or right politically, her influence was undeniable as she re-shaped the dialogue of both politics and economics in Britain.

She was mercilessly satirised by cartoonists, especially by the TV series Spitting Image that seemed made especially for her and her confrontational style of politics.

Pregnant and Chained to a Lamppost

Rebecca today with dog Charlie and the lamppost she saved.  She never did get its name.
Photo by Roger Wilson, Glendale News-Press

You weren't expecting that title, now were you?

Back in 1994, animator Rebecca Rees was well on her way to producing her second son, Wilder, when she found herself in the center of a chapter of Glendale, California history known as "The Adams Hill Rebellion". Don't Google it, I just named it that.

Animators with Shotguns

In 1992, I was in San Francisco doing storyboards for The Nightmare Before Christmas.  My friend and colleague James Baker called to see if I'd be into going skeet shooting.  Dave Gordon had shotguns and wanted to go to a shooting range in Oakland.  My experience with rifles was strictly of the arcade variety, but I had a car, which made me an ideal person to let tag along.

We headed over the Bay Bridge to a grassy firing range I swear I have seen on Mythbusters.  The first thing I learned about shotguns is that their recoil hurts.  On my first try, the gun kicked back so violently, it whacked me in the mouth.  I saw cartoon stars for a few seconds as I rolled my tongue along my teeth, taking inventory.  James didn't do much better, and Dave had to give us a lesson on how to hold on to the beastly thing.

After a few rounds, the range pro (or whatever he's called) came over and not only fine-tuned my rifle holding, but also adjusted my stance.  By simply pointing my toes in a certain direction, I became a clay pigeon killing machine.

Pull!   BLAM!   Pull!  BLAM!

A Brief Plea for Freedom of Speech

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, also known as The Bill of Rights

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America states as follows:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Animation as Propaganda

As we approach election day, the airwaves have been blackened with rhetorical flack as the two parties try to pick off what undecided voters remain.   But of all the political propaganda I have seen this fall, this short, Why Obama Now is the best.  WHY?  Because the filmmaker, Lucas Grey, took one of President Obama's stump speeches and illustrated it in animation.  And while this may not sound interesting, it is very well done.

The still frame is very misleading - this is not another silly Jib-Jabesque cut-out photo face thing.  Grey uses the medium of animation to visually sell the President's views on economics.  The graphics - a stylized animation reminiscent of U.P.A. - is a perfect counterpoint to Obama's monotone delivery.  Grey not only animates the content of the speech, he adds material to support the speech as well.
It's as intelligently done as it is skillful.   You may not agree with the viewpoint, but I don't think anyone could argue with the quality of the short.

Why Obama Now is another great example of the magic of animation.  Ideas are communicated with stripped-down, simplified visuals that entertain as they inform.
-Steve

ObamaCare and Me

Yes, I'm weighing in on health insurance.

My wife, Donna, and I did not have health insurance when she was diagnosed with cancer last year. (see earlier post.)  She had left a job with insurance, and was looking into buying private insurance when it all hit the fan.

Thanks to the Affordable Health Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare), we were able to get insurance even with Donna's pre-existing condition.  If opponents of this law had had their way (and they eventually may),  we would have been denied insurance, and would have faced severe financial stress while trying to fight a life threatening disease.

There's been an awful lot of nasty rhetoric being tossed around, decrying this law as unconstitutional. An invasion of privacy.  An attack on our freedom.

I thought they were talking about Facebook.

This is about health insurance.  Not Communism.  Not the Taliban.  Not gay whales.  Not Mo-Cap.   Health insurance.  We are being forced to get insurance. Insurance companies are being forced to insure the sick.  That's the deal.

Some gnash their teeth in panic, imagining that their fears and prejudices come to life and gang-bang them in the name of ObamaCare.  Donna and I experienced this law in the real world, first hand.  It helped us.  That's not a Democratic thing nor a Republican thing.  It's a human thing.
-Steve

And now, a cartoon.....

Bimbo's Initiation

Not unlike getting a law through Congress.