Today’s Google Doodle is a video Valentine story of how a guy learns the way to a girl’s heart. Music by Tony Bennett.

These cute, colorful and rather kitschy Valentine’s Day cards were licensed by Paramount Pictures in 1939, and they feature characters from Max Fleischer’s animated version of Gulliver’s Travels.

They’re charming and simply ooze retro cartoon charm, so it’s no wonder these cards are highly prized by collectors of animation memorabilia, and Valentine’s Day card enthusiasts, over 70 years later.

Anyone have a nice color printer and some cardstock, I want to give one of these adorable cards to my Valentine! *wink*

–via Cartoon Brew

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Here’s your WTF moment of the day, an animated short featuring a giant hot dog eating the Caped Crusader! The hot dog has no facial features save a giant maw, so it’s hard to tell what it’s thinking about as it chomps down on old Batsy, but I bet it wishes it had a giant beer to help rinse the taste of spandex out of it’s mouth.

And so, the question remains-why would a giant hot dog do such a horrific thing? Because it’s hungry, of course!

BTW this video (LINK) could well be the reason why the giant hot dog went after the Dark Knight in the first place. Apparently payback reeks of mustard and relish…

–via i09

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Oh Disney animators, you know how to breathe life into characters in a way which makes them seem so real, from the dawn of the animated feature (Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs) to your latest hit (Tangled) you’ve almost never disappointed, despite the fact that you’ve been so busy buying up franchises (Marvel Comics,The Muppets) that you haven’t had time to keep your television programming (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) from becoming utter drek.

This video was created by a true Disney film fan (NkMcdonalds), and while it may not feature enough classics for my taste, it tugs at the heartstrings just enough to make you want to bust out the DVDs and have a Disney marathon. Great Mouse Detective here I come!

–via The Mary Sue

Digital artist Petros Vrellis created an interactive version of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night. The brushstrokes movie and activate music. Vrellis tells more about the project at Creative Applications. Link -via The Daily What

See also: Starry Night is Everywhere!

What could be cooler than a compilation of nuclear cooling towers undergoing demolition? Those towers imploding with surprised faces drawn on them! It’s an ad from Ecotricity, a wind-power advocacy group. -via Geekosystem

Once, a short film like this would have been called “experimental.” Now it’s an art form. Shinji Inamoto presents wildly transforming objects for the sake of enjoying the transformations. -via Laughing Squid

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This great Legend Of Zelda trailer was created by Joel Furtado for a game called The Lost Oracle, a sequel to The Wind Waker that doesn’t exist, at least not yet, because Nintendo might decide to do a sequel when they see this great animated short!

Link  –via Topless Robot

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I recently posted an article about the upcoming action figure series featuring Alfred E. Neuman as various DC superheroes, and there was a comment posted which stated something to the effect that MAD Magazine is dead, outdated and nobody cares.

I guess whoever wrote that hasn’t watched Cartoon Network at all since September 2010, when the hilarious, and extremely popular, animated sketch comedy show MAD premiered.

MAD often features superhero themed sketches, including this segment which aired July 2011 and features an adorable Adventure Time and Avengers mashup, with the least muscle tone ever displayed on a superheroic character design.

Watch and laugh, because MAD is still cracking people up to this day, but it can only make you laugh if you’re aware it actually exists.

–via The Mary Sue

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No one has ever accused me of being a fan of Wilco, or their alt-country sound, but I have been a huge fan of Popeye ever since I was a wee lad, getting in trouble for emulating the Sailor Man by beating up kids on the playground at preschool.

These days, I like my Popeye cartoons old and uncolored, and apparently so does Wilco, for they have cast a decidedly old timey version of the spinach munching tough guy in their new music video, which is the first hand drawn Popeye cartoon produced in over 30 years.

I yam what I yam, and that’s a Popeye fan, don’t hate!

–via ComicsAlliance

This makes no sense at all, but does that matter when a video has cats and boots and other stuff? It’s even got a catchy chant! Animation by Henry Edmonds, with music by Robert Clouth. -via Buzzfeed

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First motion pictures went talkie, then everybody got on board the color train, leaving those black and white gems to gather dust because later generations found the lack of color “uncool”.

This video shows a side-by-side comparison of the black and white original versus the colorized version of “Smile Darn Ya, Smile” Here’s how this Merry Melodies short got it’s color:

…in 1992, Ted Turner paid to colorized a batch of black and white Merrie Melodies from 1931-33. This was back before computers were employed to add colors, so the cartoons were shipped to South Korea, traced frame-by-frame (well, almost), new cels were inked and painted and shot under the camera – creating a “color” cartoon from a “worthless” black & white print.

I can’t believe they would go through so much trouble just to add color, and the end result looks a bit too wonky to me. But what do you guys think-with digital colorization available now, should we colorize black and white films or not?

–via Cartoon Brew

This optical illusion street art was placed on the road outside of Universal Studios: Japan to promote their new Flying Snoopy ride. The characters can only be seen properly crossing the road from the right perspective and then voila! Peanuts-Abbey Road parody! What a creative and cute way to advertise a new ride!

Link

Who was it: Stefani Germanotta or Jerrica Benton? These singers are better known as pop star Lady Gaga and ’80s cartoon rock star Jem. In today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, you’ll be given twelve statements, and you decide which diva it applies to. Believe it or not, I scored 75% without knowing anything about either of them! How did you do? Link

No cartoon bunnies were harmed in the making of this violent cartoon by Dylan Vanwormer and Logan Scelina. Carrot Crazy was their senior thesis film at Ringling College of Art and Design. -via the Presurfer

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Way before Peter Jackson turned the works of Tolkien into an epic series of movies, before Rankin Bass presented us with an awesome animated version of the books, there was another animated version in the works.

And by the looks of this animatic for The Hobbit, which was created by animator Gene Dietch in 1966, it was going to be one tripped out ride. The style reminds me of Mary Blair (Disney’s Small World) or Jay Ward (Rocky & Bullwinkle), but what do you think? Would you have enjoyed watching The Hobbit animated if it were produced in this style?

–via ComicsAlliance

The magic begins after closing time at Type Books in Toronto. This video is brought to you by the same folks who did Organizing the Bookcase last year, with a lot of help from friends. – via I Am Bored

I don’t know what Mannings is advertising here, but it’s a lovely story of selfless devotion nonetheless. A Babelfish translation of the related site offered no help, but if you can read Chinese, you may be able to clue us in. Link -via Everlasting Blort

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Continuing the parade of “dear god, make it stop!” inducing advertising for The Phantom Menace in 3D, a new animated commercial has emerged for Lipton Brisk Iced Tea that, I must admit, is beautifully animated and very cute.

There’s even a mobile app centered around the battle between Yoda and Darth Maul, which you can check out here.  Now, why do I have the feeling that these ads are going to look a whole lot better than a 3d converted version of The Phantom Menace?

–via The Mary Sue

Lee Hardcastle remade the 1982 John Carpenter movie The Thing in claymation! And there are no human characters -Pingu the penguin makes a better hero, anyway. See a “making of” video as well. See the storyboards at his website. Link -via Metafilter

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With the start of a new calendar year, movie studios have started rolling out teasers and previews for their upcoming features, to ensure that ticket sales are high.

Personally, I don’t really care about the latest Hollywood blockbusters, and I prefer my features, and actors, to be animated. That’s why this list of animated features being released in 2012 had me so excited, and most of them look like great fun!

But you don’t have to take my word for it, peruse the titles for yourself at the link below, and sound off about which ones you’re looking forward to watching on the big screen.

Link

A lonely cosmonaut has a very strange New Year celebration in this holiday animation by Anton Korolyuk and Artem Bizyaev. -via the Presurfer

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This adorable 8-bit style animation comes to us fresh from some walls in Lecco, Italy, where pixel penguins stroll the day away, dodging the occasional Space Invader and *ahem* helping the flowers grow.

I really like how they freeze the animation at the end and pan across to show you the rest of the amazing graffiti art that adorns this city wall. Now that’s what I call fresh!

–via WoosterCollective

A game of one-upmanship gets out of hand in a rivalry between two painters. You can see the end coming, but that doesn’t detract from the charm of this animation by Giant Creative. -via Tastefully Offensive

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Here’s a silly little animated short for all you Team Fortress fans out there, starring everyone’s favorite firebug Rudolph! Watch as he tries to burn the competition, and sing along as he is admonished for being such a useless class! Merry multiplayer mayhem to all, and to all a good fight!

–via Ology

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The holidays are in full swing, and everyone wants to share good tidings with one another in their own unique way via the interwebs. The animators in this group are no different, and they have a particularly endearing way of showing their love for the holidays.

Enjoy this adorable short by Muckpuddy Animation of New Zealand, and head to the link to check out the other three shorts that are as stylishly diverse as they are charming.

Link

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I’m not sure how many No Reservations fans we have here at Neatorama, but if you caught Bordain’s Christmas special, you’ll not that this animation was lacking from the final cut. That’s because executives found it a bit too creepy. Personally, I found the Samantha Brown scene to be far, far more terrifying than this animation, but she gives me the creeps anyway.

Via Laughing Squid

Not only is this claymation clip from Yo Gabba Gabba’s Christmas Special as cute as it can be, but the song will stay with you. Produced by Kirsten Lepore with music by Adam Deibert, performed by James Husband. -via Buzzfeed

There is something very wrong with Santa’s reindeer, like rabies or some sort of nerve related affliction, because they’re twitching out all over the place in these creepy cute animated GIFs by Mel Roach.

They’re perfect for watching, looking at, or just plain ignoring as they flail around on your screen. Happy holidays!

Link –via TheMarySue

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Iconic animator, Monty Python alum, and one of the best darn filmmakers ever Terry Gilliam made The Christmas Card back in 1968, as part of an animated short called Storytime.

Full of Gilliam’s signature tongue-in-cheek humor and cut paper style animation, it sure puts me in some sort of holiday mood!

–via BuzzFeed

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These racy little public service announcement shorts from MTV aim to show the young folks that sex is no accident, in a style inspired by 80s cartoons.

Watch as young men and women unwittingly end up in sexual situations due to vehicle related accidents, complete with nearly NSFW moments that may make some viewers blush, and a sweet soundtrack reminiscent of those used during Miami Vice chase scenes.

Link

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Hasbro has created these awesome stop motion shorts to advertise their new line of Kre-O Transformers Sets, their version of LEGOs that come in sweet box sets featuring your favorite Autobots and Decepticons. I guess Megatron was on Santa’s naughty list this year!

–via ComicsAlliance

This animated GIF by Matt Layzell of Treat Studios celebrates the epic awesomeness of the holidays with a bright, splashy display that could only be improved by playing Iron Maiden  in the background.

Share this one with someone who doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, to warn them against getting their name stuck on the Naughty List.

Link –via ComicsAlliance

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jeff Gurwood recreated the opening scene in stop-motion animation. Indymation, starring action figures, took six months to complete. -via The Daily What Geek

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Watch as Pac-Man lets down Ms. Pac-Man, and his little Pac children, by succumbing to Skyrim addiction. This NSFW  pixel animation is very relatable these days, as Skyrim has created an epidemic of video game addiction virtually unmatched since the world was introduced to Warcraft.

C’mon Pac-Man, you know if you don’t bring home those power pellets the Ms. is going to let herself get caught by a ghost!

–via GeeksAreSexy

As the young’ns become slightly older’ns, and a new decade fad replaces the old, our popular interest sights are set upon the 1990s, a time of Bush/Clinton, Nicktoons and Cross Colours (which some kids felt the need to wear backwards, thanks to flash-in-the-pan kid rap act Kris Kross).

This massive desk doodle seems to sum it all up, in terms of animation anyways, with all the greats present and accounted for- Rugrats, Johnny Bravo, the Simpsons, Animaniacs, Sonic and Gumby? What’s he doing in there?

Link

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This collection of rock star appearances in animation is fun to watch, and may turn you on to some sweet cartoons you’ve never heard of, like this clip from Rock & Rule featuring Lou Reed performing “My Name Is Mok”.

Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Tom Petty, Marilyn Manson and Donnie Osmond all make guest appearances in this collection, and I know that Donnie Osmond isn’t who most people think of when the term “rock star” is used, but he’ll be the first to let you know that he’s a “little bit rock n roll”, so I guess that’s good enough for me.

–via Flavorwire

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Misery Bear buys a “happiness machine” in hopes of relieving his misery. But you know that’s not going to happen. He gets a new friend, whose true nature you will recognize before Misery Bear does. A BBC Comedy production. -via The Daily What

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Remember when Saturday morning cartoons were full of fantasy adventure? This throwback Skyrim cartoon by Harry Partridge reminds me of watching the Dungeons and Dragons animated series as a youngster, with eyes full of wonder and monster manual in hand.

–via Destructoid

The Brothers McLeod have a series of videos called The Existential Pleading of the Inner Heart. This installment, Fear of Flying, continues the musings on everyday anxiety with a particular focus on flying. -Thanks, Myles!

Every pop culture character looks funnier when they’re Simpsonized! Awesome toon creator Dean Fraser has taken on the video game Batman:Arkham City via his Springfield Punx blog, where stiff upper lips and yellow skin abound.

Please note that Dean’s illustrations start about halfway down the page linked to below; the drawings on the upper half are done by various fans and aren’t nearly as well done as Dean’s great designs.

Link –via ComicsAlliance

More than 2,500 still photos were taken to make this video. At first, you’ll wonder why they used stop-motion animation, but it soon becomes necessary. Then there are a few “how did they do that?” moments. If you like it, continue for the improved photographic stunts in the sequel. -via Metafilter

Blackboard War II

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Batman and Star Wars would be a pretty sweet crossover, with Batman battling the Imperial Army forces while trying to contain his own dark side.

But this fan art mashup by Dean Fraser contains concepts I find a bit strange, like the fact that the Joker is the Emperor and is therefore Batman’s superior, or Nightwing being directly opposed to Batman as Luke Skywalker, but the character designs are spot on and very well done so I guess strange concepts be damned. Funniest character mashup in this series- Penguin the Hutt!

Link –via BuzzFeed

Ormie wants a cookie. There’s a reason we put cookies up on top of the refrigerator -so little pigs can’t get them! Ormie does have his own Facebook page, though. Link -via the Presurfer

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Indie darlings Fleet Foxes have a way with a melody, and when accompanied by this incredible stop motion animation, these songs sound so good they’re sure to make new fans of all within earshot. Enjoy this wonderful video by your new favorite band.

–via Booooooom

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It took Kalle Mattson, Kevin Parry, and friends over six months to create this cute stop motion short, a lot shorter than the time-frame covered in the video! Watch as history is told via illustrated paper, on an ever turning globe that brings it all back around again.

–via BuzzFeed

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This is one badass Fantastic Mr. Fox X Inglourious Basterds mashup! Watch as Mr. Fox and his animal squad prepare to fight the Nazis in an alternate furry version of WWII.

–via Heavy

Six famous thought experiments explained humorously in a minute each, by David Mitchell of the BBC’s That Mitchell and Webb Look. Produced by The Open University. -via The Daily What

Kevin Parry took a year to complete this stop-motion animation at Sheridan College. Filmmaker Tim Burton called it “a cross between 2001 and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” And then he said it was “really cool.” -via reddit